Shadows of the Past
Chapter 7
Ustengrav, they discovered, was a relatively easy barrow to explore. A wandering mercenary named Rhaemar joined them and helped them clear the dungeon of necromancers, skeletons and draugr. He was a Bosmer and a crack shot with a bow, putting both Kaidan and Edna to shame. When they got to the final room where the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller should have been, he wondered at the engineering that raised the dragon effigies out of the water, but let both Kaidan and the Dragonborn grouse about their objective not being there without comment. He headed east when they exited the ruin and bid them good luck on their journey, leaving Edna a gift of a bundle of Argonian-made An-Xileel arrows.
"They'll do a bit more damage than those steel ones you're currently using, Dragonborn," he told Edna. "Take them with my compliments, and keep practicing!"
"I will, Rhaemar!" she replied, thanking him. "You've taught this old gal a thing or two I never imagined I could do!"
The Bosmer gave a friendly wave as he continued on his journey.
But Kaidan was not in such a good mood. "So, no Horn. Now what?"
"Well," Edna said as they rested on the side of the barrow mound, "I found this note stuck in the hand on the tomb. Someone has taken the Horn."
"A note?" Kaidan queried. "Let me see." She handed it to him and he opened it and read it aloud. "Dragonborn, I need to speak to you. Urgently. Rent the attic room at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood, and I'll meet you. - A friend."
Kaidan looked up. "Attic room?" he repeated. "But there isn't an attic room there!"
"You know that, and I know that," Edna nodded. "And I think the person who wrote this note knows that, too. It's likely their way of making sure we – or rather I'm – the one their looking for."
"Urgh!" Kaidan groaned. "You've gotta be kidding…we'll be stinking of draugr for days, and not even the damned Horn to show for it!"
"Well, I'm going to have to go meet with them," Edna replied. "I have no choice. If they have the Horn, I need to know why they took it, and what they want in exchange for it. I can't complete my trial with the Greybeards unless I bring it back to them."
"Whoever left that note had better have a damn good explanation," Kaidan intoned. "Or I'll take it out of their hide!"
"Let's find out what they want, first, shall we?" Edna suggested, though her face was grim. "But…keep that option open, alright?"
The trip back to Riverwood took two days to accomplish. Edna wanted to stop at Whiterun first to sell off things they'd picked up at Ustengrav, but a dragon decided to drop down on them as they approached the giant camp of Bleakwind Basin. At first, Kaidan thought the giants were their allies, helping them to fight the dragon, and indeed, the behemoth humanoids were able to do an incredible amount of damage when the firedrake landed, but it first had to be enticed to do so. Edna used her new arrows sparingly, and along with her new-to-her Orcish bow, she was seeing some significant improvement on the amount of damage she was able to inflict.
But once the dragon was dead, the two giants turned on them, and while Edna was still in the rapture of devouring the dragon's soul, Kaidan was forced to bodily pick her up in his arms and run for all he was worth until the giants grew tired of pursuing them. Winded, he set the Dragonborn down just outside of the campsite where the Khajiit parked their caravans.
"Goodness, Kai!" Edna worried, digging into her pack for stamina potions. "Are you alright? I never imagined the giants would attack us like that. We didn't offer them any harm." She made him drink down two of the minor potions she was able to find, and gradually his breathing steadied.
"We were in their territory," he explained, when he could finally speak. "It wouldn't have mattered if we meant no harm or not. It's why I always try to steer clear of them and their camps. Oh, and here's a tip: if you see a mammoth with carved tusks, get away as fast and as far as you can, because that's how the giants mark their herd."
"That's…good to know," Edna said thoughtfully. "I have to admit, I've never seen a giant before coming to Skyrim."
"Cyrodiil doesn't have giants?" Kaidan asked.
"I'm sure they do," Edna shrugged, "but as I've said, I haven't seen one. Minotaurs, on the other hand…"
She let that thought trail off, and Kaidan grinned. He'd have to ask her about that some time.
Once inside the city, they quickly sold off the armor, weapons and potions they knew they wouldn't need, adding to what Edna called the 'Breezehome nest egg.' She asked Kaidan to see what kind of arrows he could buy that would be as strong as the An-Xileel arrows, then headed up the hill to Dragonsreach to disenchant a few items they'd picked up that they didn't need.
"Ah, Dragonborn!" Farengar greeted her cordially when she entered his study. "How can I help you today?" Enda hid a private smile. Kaidan's 'little talk' with Farengar, though rude and direct, had had some positive effect on the Nord.
"I was hoping you could help walk me through the steps of enchanting something," Edna explained. "It was something I never bothered learning to do when I was with the Legion, but I'm finding now that it might be a good idea to at least be able to recognize what type of enchantment has been laid upon something, and how to create my own enchanted items."
"I would be happy to explain it all to you, Dragonborn," the mage said, delighted. "So few people actually come to me for assistance of this kind." He led her over to the enchanting table set up at the back of his study, behind his desk.
"First, you'll need to start by learning an enchantment," he explained. "Take an enchanted weapon, piece of armor, or a piece of jewelry, then use the Arcane Enchanter to learn its secrets. The item is destroyed in the process, so be sure it's something you're okay with losing."
"How do I do that?" Edna asked.
"Oh, just lay the item on the table, and place your hands here and here." He took her hands and placed them into position. "What did you want to disenchant?"
"Let's start with this necklace," Edna replied, pulling it from the pouch at her belt. Farengar took it and laid it on the table with the chain spread out so that it didn't touch itself anywhere along its length. Edna replaced her hands on the table.
"Do you feel that thrumming?" the court mage asked, and when Edna nodded, he continued, "Now concentrate on the necklace and imagine all the energy in it seeping out into the glyphs on the table. When they all light up, it's done, and your item will turn to ash. Keep your hands on the table until the glow from the glyphs fade, and let the energy from them flow into you."
Edna did as he bid, and was both surprised and delighted to see the markings on the table light up as Farengar said they would. It was a tingling sensation, but not an unpleasant one. When the glow faded again, Edna realized that she knew now what spell had been laid upon the necklace. In this case, it had been a skill enhancement for blocking.
"That's amazing," she murmured, and Farengar smiled.
"Once you know an enchantment," he told her, "you'll need a filled soul gem, and something to enchant. You'll use the Arcane Enchanter for that, too. In this case you'll put the item to want to enchant on the table, and place your hands here and here." He repositioned her hands onto a separate part of the design. "Then, you place a soul gem here," and he indicated the spot where the gem needed to sit, "and concentrate on the type of enchantment you want. Using the soul gem, you channel the energy through the gem and into the item. The soul gem gets used up and cracks into fragments, and your item is enchanted. The stronger the soul gem, the stronger the enchantment; and the more skilled you are at enchanting also affects how strong that enchantment will be. Of course I have everything you need for sale, if you have the coin."
"What about black soul gems?" Edna asked. "I've heard about them, but I don't know much; are they stronger than grand soul gems?"
Farengar shrugged. "Yes and no," he replied. "Grand soul gems are used to capture the souls of the strongest creatures – giants, mammoths, powerful draugr and other undead like liches; but only black soul gems can capture the souls of humans, mer and the beast races of Argonians and Khajiit. I don't keep a supply of those, so you'll have to find them someplace else if you intend to soul trap bandits or necromancers."
Edna thanked him, and he left her to it. She practiced disenchanting the items she'd brought with her, and enchanted a few items with the petty and lesser gems she'd picked up in Ustengrav. She didn't bother enchanting her armor and weapons yet; save that for when she got better, she reasoned. Eventually, she left Dragonsreach and returned to Breezehome as the sun was setting. Lydia had laid in a supply of food, and Edna spent the rest of the evening immersing herself in cooking and baking food for the road.
Kaidan and Edna set off for Riverwood the next morning. It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining, the temperature was warm – well, warm for Skyrim – and the scents and sounds of the countryside filled the air. Farmers called to each other across their fields; the ringing of iron on wood rang through the trees as lumbermen cut trees and chopped logs into firewood; the aromas of mountain flowers, lavender and tundra cotton wafted on the breezes, and salmon splashed upstream to their spawning beds.
They made good time and arrived at the small lumber town of Riverwood at midday, and Edna insisted on dropping in to see her niece and nephew before going into the Sleeping Giant. Kaidan personally felt it was unnecessary, as neither Lucan nor Camillia would have known she was there had she not stopped by. But he dutifully waited by the door while Edna made her short visit. He noticed that Camillia studiously refused to meet his gaze, and chuckled to himself. She must have been taking her aunt's earlier words seriously. He hoped so. He'd hate to have to come right out and tell the girl he wasn't interested in her.
At length, Edna rose and they left the Trader to head over to the Sleeping Giant, entering the cooler confines of the inn. As their eyes adjusted to the dimmer interior, Kaidan noticed the innkeeper, wearing a simple blue gown with a brown over-corset, watching the door carefully. Almost as if she's waiting for someone, he thought.
Edna approached the woman and put her hands on her hips.
"Can I help you?" the blonde, middle-aged Breton woman asked.
"Yes, I think you can, Delphine," Edna drawled. "I'd like to rent the attic room, please."
"You know my name?" the innkeeper said slowly. Kaidan noticed she had tensed up immediately, and he felt himself bracing himself for any immediate physical confrontation, though he wasn't sure what the woman could have done, without a weapon at hand. Still, there were any number of pots, pans and chairs around that could be improvised.
"I heard Orgnar call you by name the first time I was in here, a few weeks ago," Edna said easily. "I was visiting my niece and nephew at the Trader at the time."
"Your Lucan and Camilla's aunt, then," Delphine said, relaxing. It was a statement, not a question. "Well, as I'm sure you've already seen, we don't have an attic room, but you can have the one on the left." She held out her hand for the rent, and Edna dropped the septims into the younger woman's hand.
Without a word she turned and entered the first chamber on the left side of the common room. Kaidan followed, puzzled.
"I don't get it," he said when they were inside.
"Just wait for it," Edna said, raising her hand. "I expect we'll get our answers very shortly."
Indeed, not a handful of minutes passed before the door opened and Delphine entered the room, holding something behind her back. Edna rose from the bed where she sat, and Kaidan got up from the chair.
"Did you need something?" Kaidan demanded.
Delphine looked from him to Edna and back to him again, and seemed to make up her mind about something. She turned to Kaidan.
"So you're the Dragonborn everyone has been talking about," she said, clearly amused. "I think you're looking for this." She held out the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller to him.
Kaidan looked at it as if she'd offered him a snake. "Me?" he blurted. "Dragonborn? Not bloody likely!"
Delphine's hand lowered, and she looked confused. "I don't understand," she muttered.
"Then let me explain it to you," Edna smiled, enjoying this. She took the Horn from Delphine's hand. "I believe I'm the one you're looking for."
"I don't fucking believe this," Kaidan growled. "We crawled all over that stinking, draugr-filled tomb, and you had the Horn here the whole time?"
For a moment, Delphine looked as though she might argue, then her mouth compressed into a thin line. She whirled on her heels and said, "We need to talk. Follow me." She stalked off across the common room and to a private chamber on the other side, not waiting to see if Edna or Kaidan followed her. The Dragonborn and her bodyguard exchanged looks.
"Looks like I took the wind out of her sails," Edna chuckled.
Kaidan grinned, but asked, "Do we follow her? We've got the Horn, now."
"I know," Edna nodded, "but I'd still like to know why she took the Horn and how she knew to go after it. It won't hurt to hear her out."
They trailed after the innkeeper and found her waiting at a large wardrobe built into the wall at the far end of her room.
"Close the door," she said tersely, and when Kaidan complied, she continued, "Now we can talk." She pressed a hidden catch, and the back panel of the wardrobe slid to one side to reveal a short flight of steps leading down to a hidden room. Here they found an alchemy lab in one corner, an arcane enchanter next to the doorway, a bale of hay and a practice dummy in another far corner and a table with a book and a map lying on it in the center of the room.
Delphine put the table between her and her company before speaking. She shook her head, almost as if she still didn't believe how events played out.
"So," she began acidly, "the Greybeards seem to think you're the Dragonborn." She shook her head again. "I hope they're right." She didn't sound confident about it at all, and Kaidan bristled inwardly.
"The Greybeards are right, dear," Edna said, as if to a child. "I am Dragonborn."
"I hope so," Delphine said sourly. "But you'll forgive me if I don't assume that something's true just because the Greybeards say so. I just handed you the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. Does that make me Dragonborn, too?"
"You were the one who invoked them, young lady," Edna said crisply. "You don't need to be snide with me. You took the Horn, because somehow you knew that a Dragonborn would be sent to fetch it. And when we showed up, you automatically assumed it was Kaidan, because he fit your image of who a Dragonborn should be, am I right?"
Delphine said nothing, but she didn't need to. It was clear to all that she had made an erroneous assumption.
"Now," Edna continued, more pleasantly, "you've achieved your goal. You wanted to catch a Dragonborn. Here I am. What do you want with me?"
"I didn't go to all this trouble on a whim," Delphine said. "I needed to make sure it wasn't a Thalmor trap. I'm not your enemy. I already gave you the horn. I'm actually trying to help you. I just need you to hear me out."
At the mention of 'Thalmor', both Edna and Kaidan tensed, and Kaidan threw a glance back over his shoulder at the door at the top of the stairs.
"You have my attention," Edna said slowly. "Go on. I'm listening."
Delphine blew out a small breath, as though she had just cleared one hurdle. "Like I said in my note," she continued, "I've heard that you might be Dragonborn."
"And just why are you looking for a Dragonborn?" Edna demanded. "Come to the point, Delphine."
The Breton woman frowned, as if she disliked being ordered about, but she merely replied, "I'm part of a group that's been looking for you…well," she amended, "someone like you, for a very long time. If you really are Dragonborn, that is." The arrogance was back. "Before I tell you any more, I need to make sure I can trust you."
Kaidan shifted restlessly, but Edna placed a hand on his arm.
"'Trust me,'" Edna echoed, and she seemed amused by the statement. "My dear girl, what reason have you given me to trust you?"
Delphine's lip curled in a sneer. "If you don't trust me, you were a fool to walk in here in the first place."
"I've had enough of this!" Kaidan shouted. "We don't have to take this crap from her, Dragonborn!"
Again, Edna put her hand on Kaidan's arm, as if to prevent him from drawing his sword, but she smiled at Delphine instead.
"So now I'm a fool?" she mused softly. "Well, my dear, it appears diplomacy will never be your strong suit. You went to great lengths to attract me here, and you've given me the only thing I came for, so it would appear that right now, you need me more than I need you. And I have an appointment to keep with the Greybeards," here she hefted the Horn. "So I will bid you farewell. But I will leave you with this bit of advice, free of charge: you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar."
She turned and headed up the stairs, with Kaidan fuming in her wake. They made it as far as the door of Delphine's room before the innkeeper appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Dragonborn! Wait!"
"No, let's go," Kaidan hissed, but Edna turned around.
"Yes?"
"I'm…I'm sorry," Delphine said quietly. "I…I let my temper get the better of me. Please. Come back downstairs, and I'll tell you more about why I wanted to find you."
"There now," Edna beamed. "See? That wasn't so hard. Come on, Kai. Let's hear what she has to say."
When they returned to the hidden room, Edna said briskly, "Now, let's start at the beginning: why did you take the Horn from Ustengrav?"
"I knew the Greybeards would send you – send the Dragonborn, that is – to that tomb if they thought you were Dragonborn," Delphine explained, then shrugged. "They're nothing if not predictable. All the histories I read when I was younger indicated that the Greybeards always send the Dragonborn to retrieve the Horn as a rite of passage. When I heard them call, I headed there right away to get the Horn before they could send whomever the next Dragonborn would be. When you showed up here, I knew you were the one the Greybeards sent, and not some Thalmor plant. Though I will admit, you're right: I did assume your friend here was the Dragonborn. I made an assumption that could have been a fatal mistake."
"You mentioned the Thalmor," Edna recalled, her eyes narrowing in speculation. "Why are they after you?"
"We're very old enemies," Delphine frowned. "And if my suspicions are correct, they might have something to do with the dragons returning. But that isn't important right now," she continued dismissively. "What is important is that you might be Dragonborn."
"You still have doubts?" Edna asked, arching one eyebrow.
"I always have doubts until I have tangible proof of anything," Delphine replied. "It's how I've managed to stay hidden from the Thalmor for so long. I don't take anything at face value."
"So," the Dragonborn said slowly, "what's the part you're not telling me?"
Delphine blew out a sigh, but whether it was frustration, exasperation or relief, it was hard to tell. Her posture indicated she was still on edge, but a bit more confident than she'd been several moments ago. It was almost as if, Kaidan thought, Delphine was deciding how much to confide in them.
"We remember what most don't," she finally said. "That the Dragonborn is the ultimate dragonslayer. You're the only one who can kill a dragon permanently by devouring its soul." She stared keenly at Edna, as if still in doubt. "Can you do it?" she demanded. "Can you devour a dragon's soul?"
Edna nodded. She had picked up the Breton woman's slip in using the first-person plural. "Yes," she said simply. "It's how I learned I was Dragonborn."
Relief seemed to war with caution on Delphine's face. "Good," she stated. "And you'll have a chance to prove it to me soon enough."
This seemed to amuse Edna no end. "My dear child," she chuckled. "In point of fact, I don't have to prove anything to you. But if it will make you feel better, I'll play your little game a while longer."
Delphine scowled. "You know, I'm at least as old as you are," she said sourly.
Edna grinned. "Physically," was all she said. "But I still think you're holding out on me," she went on, "and that means you're acting very childishly. If you really want me to help you with whatever agenda you have going, you're going to have to be a bit more forthcoming than you have been."
Delphine simmered, but said nothing as the Dragonborn continued. "You said you thought the Thalmor might have something to do with the dragons 'returning.' What, exactly, did you mean by 'returning'?"
"Dragons aren't just coming back," Delphine explained, and if she was irritated about Edna's attitude, she kept it from showing on her face. "They're coming back to life. They weren't just gone somewhere for all those years. They were dead, killed off by my predecessors. Now something's happening to bring them back to life. And I need you to help me stop it."
"Do you have any idea how crazy this all sounds?" Kaidan demanded.
Delphine seemed amused by this accusation. "Ha!" she chuckled, but there was no mirth in it. "A few years ago, I said almost the same thing to a colleague of mine. Well, it turned out he was right, and I was wrong."
"What makes you think dragons are coming back to life?" Edna frowned.
"I know they are," Delphine insisted. "I've visited their ancient burial mounds and found them empty. And I've figured out where the next one will come back to life. We're going to go there, and you're going to kill that dragon. If we succeed, I'll tell you anything you want to know."
Edna started at Delphine so intensely that the Breton woman's brow wrinkled. "Is there a problem with any of that?" she demanded.
"You were at Dragonsreach when we gave Farengar the dragonstone," Edna stated. "I saw you there."
Kaidan realized with a start that Edna was correct; even he had felt at the time that he'd seen the hooded woman before.
"The markings on that stone are the same on that map there in front of you," Edna continued, "except you've made your own notations. So that stone was a map of the dragon burial sites. That's why you wanted it."
Delphine gave Edna a look that could only be translated as admiration. "So you were paying attention," she murmured. "Very good!"
"Alright," Kaidan said brusquely. "Where are we off to, then?"
"Kynesgrove," Delphine replied, pointing it out on the map. Edna leaned over and saw a mark located somewhat south of where Windhelm would be, had this been an actual map of Skyrim. A large red circle had been drawn around the black marking of the dragon mound, with 'Kynesgrove' written above it in red. "We can leave now and try to get there before the next dragon is raised. Just give me a few moments to get into my gear. Turn your backs, please."
Edna did as she was bid and immediately noticed a long, curved blade hanging on the wall similar in style to Kaidan's, but shorter. She recognized it for what it was, and several things clicked into place in her mind, but she said nothing while Delphine dressed in her leather armor.
"Okay, that's better," the Breton woman said at length. "Let's get on the road to Kynesgrove." She headed up the stairs to speak with Orgnar about running the inn in her absence.
"Are we really going to follow her to Kynesgrove?" Kaidan scowled. "I don't trust her."
"I think we have to, my friend," Edna replied. "If she's wrong, she'll have a lot of explaining to do, but if she's right, and there is a dragon there, or soon-to-be one, we can't let it do to Kynesgrove what that other dragon did to Helgen."
"Aye," Kaidan replied, humbled. "No one should have to go through that. Alright, Dragonborn," he said staunchly. "I'm with you all the way."
The trip to Kynesgrove was more pleasant than Kaidan expected, with the exception that Delphine seemed to think the Dragonborn was incapable of looking after herself.
"Better to stick together," she advised, as Edna lagged behind. Delphine was setting an exhausting pace. "I don't want you to get yourself killed before we even get there."
"Keep a sharp lookout," she scolded when Edna would stop to catch her breath. "We can't afford any delays."
Kaidan would have said something, but a gesture from Edna made him hold his tongue.
"Remember, we're not looking for trouble," Delphine cautioned as they passed Fort Amol. "We need to get to Kynesgrove as fast as we can."
"Should have taken the carriage, then," Kaidan grumbled, but Delphine was already too far ahead to hear him. "I swear, if she complains one more time...I won't be responsible for my actions."
"Just let it go, Kai," Edna panted. "At the pace she's setting, we should be there before midnight."
"Could have waited a day, couldn't we?" Kaidan groused. "Arrived in the day time? Be able to actually see the fucking dragon?"
"Kai…" Edna sighed, but said nothing more as she needed her breath for running.
As the Dragonborn had predicted, however, they did arrive in Kynesgrove before midnight. A snowstorm moved into the area almost as soon as they arrived, which Kaidan felt was unnatural and suspicious, but a woman came running out of the inn towards them, screaming about a dragon attacking the town. He looked around, but in the snow and dark, he couldn't see a dragon. He could hear it, though, somewhere to the northeast of town. They ran up a narrow track that led to a mine and beyond into the wilds to an enormous mound that looked like Ustengrav, except closed up.
"Lorkhan's eyes," Delphine swore. "Look at that big bastard! Keep your head down," she advised, dropping to a crouch. "Let's see what it does."
The snow dropped off, though the sky was still clouded over, and both Kaidan and Edna could see what Delphine had spotted. Edna gasped.
"Oh, sweet breath of Kynareth, no! Not that one!" she whispered.
"Dragonborn, what is it?" Kaidan asked, worried. Though it was night, Edna looked as though she'd seen a ghost.
"Sahloknir," the dragon spoke in a deep, guttural voice in a language none of them could understand, "ziil gro dovah ulse!"
"Steady," Delphine murmured. "We don't know what's happening. Let's watch and wait. This is worse than I thought..."
The dragon spoke again, in a voice that boomed across the night sky.
"Slen tiid vo!"
The ground beneath their feet began to tremble, then to pitch and roll, and the mound in front of them began to pulse and expand, until it erupted forth, spewing head-sized chunks of earth in all directions. Kaidan did his best to cover Edna's body with his own until the rumbling subsided. Turning, the hairs on the back of his head stood straight up as the skeleton of a long-dead dragon clawed its way out of the torn and sundered ground. As the three humans watched in horror, energy seemed to be pulled from the air all around the skeleton, drawing into it in fiery clumps that stuck and melded into the skeleton, becoming flesh. The newly-raised dragon raised its head to the one who hovered overhead, black wings pumping against a blacker night.
"Alduin, thuri!" it called Boaan tiid vokriiha suleyksejun kruziik?"
"Geh, Sahloknir," the huge black dragon replied. "Kaali mir."
And then the enormous dragon turned to stare directly at Edna.
"Ful, losei Dovahkiin?" it drawled. "Zu'u koraav nid nol dov do hi."
Edna made no reply, not understanding what it said, but this only seemed to amuse the dragon.
"You do not even know our tongue, do you?" it sneered at her. "Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah."
This insult seemed to galvanize Edna from her fear as nothing else could have done. She stood then and bellowed out, "FUS RO!" still frustrated at knowing only two words of the Shout. But to her horror, the concussion passed harmlessly through the dragon, as it turned its attention back to the other and said carelessly, "Sahloknir, krii daar joore," before flying off.
"I don't think that's a good sign," Delphine said, pulling her bow off her back.
"Well, let's do something about it then!" Kaidan yelled, as the dragon lifted itself into the air.