"Delphine. What an unpleasant surprise." Dovah said.
"Yeah, it's nice to see you too." Delphine quipped back. "Now, do you mind explaining why you tried to hide this from me?"
Dovah raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you are talking about."
Delphine shoved Dovah into the wall. "How stupid do I look to you? I am not blind as to what the Dark Brotherhood has done! They have the blood of a Dragonborn, which is no doubt from the Argonian! You knew all along there was more than one Dragonborn and you didn't tell me!"
"It's not like it was common knowledge!" Dovah snapped as Delphine let him up.
Delphine gave Dovah a cold stare. "You have a duty, Dovah! A duty to the Blades! And so far, you've shrugged off those duties in exchange to praying to the sky or whatever the graybeards have you do!"
"It's more than just 'praying to the sky' you over-bearing, phenomenal snow-backed wench!" Dovah snapped with rage.
Delphine's eyes flashed with clear agitation. "What did you just call me?"
"You heard what I said!" Dovah retorted.
Delphine immediately started to crack her knuckles loudly. "Those are fighting words, Dragonborn."
"Oh, did you figure that out already?" Dovah said, assuming a fighting stance.
"Enough!" Krog stepped between the two before blows could be exchanged. "We have more to worry about right now than whatever it is you two are arguing about! True, there is more than one Dragonborn right now, and maybe someone should have been told. However, we need to worry more about the Dark Brotherhood right now! Plus, don't you think this is what they would want, for us to tear each other apart? Think!"
Dovah and Delphine grudgingly stood down. "He is right." Delphine said. "Sadly, he is right. We need to meet up somewhere secure. The Blades' hideout is too far away from here. It would take us several days just to get there..."
"Let's go to my house in Whiterun." Dovah offered. "There are many people there, and these days, it's even better guarded, so it would be difficult for the Brotherhood to get an agent in, theoretically. Plus, I have a stockpile of armor and weapons in a chest in my bedroom for the rest of the guys. Maybe even a few new robes for the lady mage..." Dovah winked at Kalur.
"Well, we don't have many options." Krog said. "Let's go. We can make it to Whiterun before it gets dark. It will only be a couple hours."
# # # # # # # # # # #
Later, in Whiterun…
As they entered the city, they saw the usual crowds of people waking here and there, to and fro from the markets and cloud district. Ta'liq was enraptured by everything in the city, even more so by the towering view of Dragonsreach.
"Amazing." He breathed.
"So where is your house?" Dulian questioned.
"Over there." Dovah pointed to a two story home. "They call it 'Breezehome,' as for why, I never figured it out. We'd better get inside."
Dovah opened the door, and the group stepped inside. It was a nice little house, with furniture that would be expected from such a dwelling. A small fire pit lit up the center of the living room, with a cooking pot for meals. Two chairs were placed around the fire pit, along with a bookcase, several shelves with food storage, and a weapons rack. There was a big table in the back, with more storage, and a cupboard. A small set of stairs led to the upper part of the house, where there were two more rooms.
"Nice place." Krog said as they walked in.
"Lydia! I'm home!" Dovah called as he walked in.
A lady in steel plated armor walked in from the smaller bedroom upstairs. She had jet-black hair that went down to her shoulders, fair skin, and brown eyes.
"Hello again, my Thane." She said. "I see you have brought company?"
"Yes. About that..." Dovah said. "What I'm about to tell you, you should not tell anyone else."
Lydia raised an eyebrow. "With all due respect, my Thane, these are not… Outlaws, are they?"
"No." Dovah said. "It's nothing like that. How can I explain without sounding crazy, it's...? It's..."
"They're Dragonborn." Delphine interrupted. "And the Dark Brotherhood is after them."
"Delphine!" Dovah snapped, his hand going over his face in frustration.
"Well, you weren't going to tell her the truth! Somebody had to!" Delphine quipped back. "Might as well be up-front, I say!"
"Oh, why do I bother?" Dovah rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath as he went upstairs. "...Lydia, I'll explain everything to you in private. Come. As for the rest of you, make yourselves at home. I'll be back down with some bedding for the night."
Everyone did so. Krog went over to the fire pit and got some wrapped up potatoes and beef from his pack, and started cooking. Dulian sat down in one of the chairs, getting out a quill, ink, and a journal from her satchel, levitating the ink well with a charm, and started writing. Ta'liq just sat down on the floor near the fire pit, warming his hands. Kalur did the same. Delphine simply leaned against the wall, watching everything with a trained eye.
"So, what are you writing about?" Kalur asked Dulian.
"I'm actually glad you asked." Dulian responded. "Even though I'm here to help with the dragons, I'm also here to learn and scribe. As a member of the Lunmites, I'm supposed to chronicle an adventure I've had from time to time and all I've learned from it to pass it onto the next generation in the archives. Although I know a lot about magic, I've only been in the Lumnites for about a year, and have been looking forward to an adventure such as this one for some time."
Delpine looked intrigued. "I've never heard of the Lumnites before. This must be some sort of initiation, I presume?"
"Yes." Dulian replied. "It's part of a requirement to be a junior member, though I'm not sure people will believe this story though. But it's worth a shot, I think." She looked around the room at everyone as Dovah came back down with some extra blankets and pillows. "If you don't mind, could you tell me a bit about yourselves?"
The stories then began, from one to the next. Kalur told his story first. He was born in Black Marsh twenty-one years ago. His father was a rebel, part of a group trying to uproot the Thalmor, as he had told Krog earlier. He felt like a misfit growing up, and left Black Marsh to wander when he was sixteen. Kalur said he arrived in Skyrim about two years ago, and was entranced by it's subtle yet deadly beauty. The harsh living didn't take that much effort for him to get used to, thanks to his experience as a wanderer, though he told them only sparse details about him nearly becoming a slave, thanks to Atrius.
Ta'liq was next to start telling his tale. He was born in a typical Elsweyr village, deep in the jungle, called Karriyo nineteen years ago. He was always curious about things and people, with an itch for adventure to match. This got him into trouble from time to time growing up. His parents got into the caravan business when he was ten, seeing they wanted their "little cub" to experience as much of the world as he could in their lifetime. They traveled much of Tamriel, Ta'liq learning many new things on the way. Ta'liq was happy as he traveled from one place to the next, and things were well for him and his caravan. That changed two years ago, when they were attacked on a road near Windhelm, Raiders ambushed the caravan camp, burning and destroying everything in sight. Ta'liq had somehow managed to survive by pure luck; he was knocked out after he had fallen out of a tree he was in as he picked off some of the raiders with his bow, and landed in a thicket. No one else survived, and he had to use all his wits and knowledge to continue living. He sadly admitted to petty thievery, which he regretted even though he wasn't usually caught.
Krog was next. He was twenty-six years old, born in Skyrim in an Orc stronghold, and was proud of it. His mother died from childbirth complications. He father always said she was a great warrior, yet had the patience of a saint when she needed it. Krog wished he could have known her, but also said he wasn't all "boo-hoo about it" either. He learned to hunt and fight at an age of five, and grew skilled with the art of the sword by fifteen. When he was eighteen, he learned of the companions, and decided to join their circle. He enthusiastically boasted about a few adventures he had with his shield-brothers, and many grand fights. As for why he left, he only would say it was a personal matter.
Dovah told his tale next. His tale began with him nearly getting executed when he first arrived in Skyrim due to a "misunderstanding" with Imperial and Stormcloak forces at the border, which went on to learning about his Dragonborn gifts with the thu'um from the graybeards, which went on to many travels, and much dragon-slaying, all the way to his final bout with Alduin. He was careful when he told them about Paarthunax, whom he had decided not to kill, and rather learn from instead. Due to that meeting, he was much pickier about the dragons he would slay. Delphine didn't talk much, only telling Dulian to refer to her as Dovah's ally, and a "knight of the blades."
This took up a fair portion of the night to get everyone's life story down, along with the most recent events. It was midnight by the time everyone was asleep, and Dulian had everything scribed in paper.
Everyone then got into their make-shift beds, and went to sleep shortly after.