-Ch. 9-
Ozgar took a deep breath of the crisp Frostfall air as he walked through the familiar town gates of Riverwood. He hadn't been back to Whiterun hold since leaving for High Hrothgar. Though, he would have continued spending at least a little time in Morthal, had his detour not proved so costly.
Instead of the Horn of Juergen Windcaller in the main chamber of Ustengrav, Ozgar only found a letter from "a friend." The letter directed him to rent the attic room at the Sleeping Giant Inn, here in Riverwood.
It was a happy return, if not a bit embarrassing. He was glad to have spent the time he did in Morthal.
Still, before tending to his put-off quest, he had an even older one to rectify.
Oz was much different than the first time he walked into the Riverwood Trader. He wore Apprentice robes over steel plate armor, rather than tattered, bloodied stormcloak armor. Still, Camilla recognized him immediately.
"Oh, Lucan! Our strapping young hero has returned!" She cheered.
Lucan excitedly spun around behind the counter. "Huh? Oh! It is you!" He said with a big smile. "We thought for sure you were dead!" Immediately regretting his words. "But we're of course happy you're not."
"Of course." Oz said, winking at Camilla. He removed the Golden Claw, recovered all those weeks ago, and placed it on the counter.
"You found it?" Lucan said, delighted. "There it is. Strange... it seems smaller than I remember. Funny thing, huh?" He looked up at Ozgar and Camilla, who both returned puzzled faces. He waved his hands and took the claw to a shelf near the counter. "I'm going to put this back where it belongs. I'll never forget this. You've done a great thing for me and my sister."
"Happy to help." He smiled. "Sorry it took so long." He chuckled.
"Yes, don't take so long to see us again." Camilla said with a wink. She stood and touched Oz's arm. "Don't be a stranger." She smiled, batting her eyelashes at him.
Oz blushed. "O…Of course! I'm sure I'll be back soon." He stammered out, reluctantly shuffling out of the store.
—
The Sleeping Giant was reminiscent of the Inns of Whiterun and Hjaalmarch; Cozy and rustic - though the Sleeping Giant was much more crowded than the Moorside. The Bard was better too.
As he approached the bar, he was stopped by a pretty, older Breton woman. She looked him up and down, scrutinizing him. "So, what's your story? Just here to… relax?"
He sighed and blushed again. He should write Idgrod while he was here. And Muiri for that matter.
"I'm, um, actually looking to rent the attic room." He explained sheepishly.
"Attic room, eh?" She asked with an arched eyebrow. "Well, we don't have an attic room. but you can have the one on the left. Make yourself at home."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I was told by a friend to rent the attic room, specifically."
"Go to the room on the left, kid." The woman said sternly.
"Yes, ma'am." Ozgar nervously obliged. He'll figure out some way to find this mysterious 'friend.'
As he entered the room, he heard the door shut behind him, the Breton woman standing in front of it. "So, you're the Dragonborn I've heard so much about. I'm Delphine. We need to talk." She said, crossing her arms under her chest.
Oz raised his arms in the air. "I'm sorry ma'am, I'm n-"
"Not here." She cut him off. "Follow me." She said, turning to a wardrobe in the room. She pushed the back panel, revealing a hidden stairway.
The young orc followed her down, heart racing.
At the bottom of the stairs was a small cellar, outfitted with weapons and enchanting tables. In the middle of the room was a map of Skyrim, with several holds and locations circled.
"I think you're looking for this." Delphine said, tossing Oz an ornate warhorn. She raised an eyebrow. "The Greybeards seem to think you're the Dragonborn. I hope they're right."
Oz swallowed, trying to hide his surprise. He stood up a bit taller. "The Greybeards are right. I am Dragonborn." He said proudly.
Delphine smirked."I hope so. But you'll forgive me if I don't assume that something's true just because the Greybeards say so." She shifted her weight, placing a hand on her hip. "I just handed you the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. Does that make me Dragonborn, too?"
Oz furrowed his brow, struggling to find his words. "What's with all the cloak and dagger?"
"You can't be too careful. Thalmor spies are everywhere."
Oz took a step forward, assessing Delphine. "You know, you look familiar…"
"So you were paying attention." She smirked, again crossing her arms under her ample chest, almost daring Ozgar to lower his gaze. "I arranged to have Farengar recover the dragonstone for me. It's what I do. I make things happen from behind the scenes." She lifted her voice as she finished. "After all, here you are."
"Here I am." Oz smirked. "What do you want with me?" He asked, his mind still racing with a thousand possibilities of where this was going.
"I didn't go to all this trouble on a whim. I needed to make sure it wasn't a Thalmor trap." She said, throwing her hands up in 'surrender.' "I'm not your enemy." She continued, "I already gave you the horn. I'm actually trying to help you. I just need you to hear me out."
"Go on, I'm listening." Oz said, carefully placing the horn into his bag.
"Like I said in my note, I heard that you might be Dragonborn."
"What do you want with the Dragonborn?" Oz shot back.
Delphine now stood taller, prouder. "I'm part of a group that's been looking for you... well, someone like you, for a very long time." She explained, circling around to her map table. "If you really are Dragonborn, that is. Before I tell you any more, I need to make sure I can trust you."
"How do I know I can trust you?" Oz scoffed.
Delphine chuckled. "If you don't trust me, you were a fool to walk in here in the first place."
Ozgar cocked his head to the side. She had him there.
"So what's the part you're not telling me?" He asked, placing his arms on the table, the two leaning across the map, glaring intensely.
"We remember what most don't - that the Dragonborn is the ultimate dragonslayer." She said, matter-of-factly. "You're the only one that can kill a dragon permanently by devouring its soul." She eyed him up and down. "Can you do it? Can you devour a dragon's soul?"
Oz thought back to that day at the Western Watchtower. Singed and afraid, but refreshed somehow by the dancing energy emanating from the dragon's skeleton. "Yes, that's how I first learned I was Dragonborn."
"Good. And you'll have a chance to prove it to me soon enough."
Ozgar stood back and crossed his arms. "So what's the part you're not telling me?"
Delphine sighed. "Dragons aren't just coming back, they're coming back to life." She said, staring deadly seriously into Oz's eyes. "They weren't gone somewhere for all these years. They were dead, killed off centuries ago by my predecessors. Now something's happening to bring them back to life. And I need you to help me stop it."
Ozgar furrowed his brow and held back a chuckle. "Do you know how crazy this all sounds?"
Delphine did chuckle. "A few years ago, I said almost the same thing to a colleague of mine." She let out a thoughtful exhale. "Well, it turned out he was right and I was wrong."
Oz stroked his beard. "Well, what makes you think the dragons are coming back to life?"
Delphine began pointing to the various circled locations on her map. "I know they are. 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." She said loftily. "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."
Ozgar gave her a determined nod. "Let's go kill a dragon."
"I need to get on my traveling gear. Give me a moment and I'll be ready."
Delphine crossed to a chest in the corner of the room. She hastily removed her dress, and began dressing in her form fitting leather armor.
"Oh!" Oz exclaimed as he saw Delphine in her underclothes. He swiftly turned around.
"Psh." Delphine laughed, seeing the orsimer's modesty. "How quaint."
"Um, I actually remembered some business I need to tend to in Whiterun." He said, bashfully attempting to steal glances as Delphine changed.
The Breton groaned. "I can't wait around for you to make up your mind. I'll meet you at Kynesgrove. Don't waste time getting there."