Kapitel 578: Familial Woes

Esbern shakes his head at Surtr's question, "No. It's written that only the prophesized Dragonborn would be able to open it."

Delphine folds her arms from where she was leaning on the temple, "So, how about it? Let's head there and stop the end of all things."

Surtr just sends a dismissive sniff her way, "You two can stay here and let me deal with it."

"What!? You can't just leave us out of it now! We discovered this place! We should accompany you, as true Blades should!"

Again, the Dragonborn waves her off, "I'd rather go naked than with an old man and a coward at my back. Go play with swords at the nearest brothel, because you're no warrior to me... And the less said about this decrepit archivist the better."

Delphine can only grit her teeth in response to his words, a Blade couldn't argue against the Dragonborn, even if he was entirely incorrect... She hadn't even run away last time either! She'd been knocked out and had a branch jammed into her lung, forcing her to breathe blood as the surviving Stormcloaks carried her away!

Unfortunately for her, Surtr just grabs the map and shoves it into his pack after rolling it up and securing it. "I'll send a Courier for you should I require your aid. Otherwise, stay out of my way." he growls as he steps out.

...

"Well, a fiery disposition suits the Dragonborn..." Esbern sighs, running a nail along the empty table without a clue on what to do now... They could try and restart the Blades now that the Thalmor wasn't hunting them but, it probably wouldn't end well considering Surtr's apparent dislike of them.

"Come on, we're following him whether he likes it or not."

"Ah, but-"

"We're merely protecting the Dragonborn from the shadows. Even if he thinks otherwise."

...

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Surtr marches out of the Blue Palace and down the street but stumbles slightly as someone seemingly ambushes him from the side. He's about to crack their skull when he notices just who it is... "Mother...?" he utters, confused.

Sorli nods, her dirty face and grey hairs providing a stark contrast to last he saw her. She was thin, like someone who hadn't eaten well in weeks or months. "Son! When we heard that you were summoned to Solitude I couldn't help myself from coming to meet you!"

"We...?" he questions, only now looking to the side and spotting his father, Pactur, and his brother, Sigar. Each looked in a similar state to Sorli, weak, dirty, with torn clothes and unhealthy completion... "Did something happen while I was gone? You should be back in the Stonehills managing the mines..."

"You didn't hear? Thane Bryling was killed and all commissions were stopped, all the miners left and we were stuck without gold, contacts... We tried to find aid in Morthal but it was attacked by the Stormcloaks, forcing us to Dragonbridge."

His brother folds his arms antagonistically, "Which was already overpopulated, leaving us with no work... We've been living on the streets while you." he gestures at Surtr's Dragonbone armour and Wuuthrad, "Have been gallivanting around Skyrim, fucking whores and throwing away enough gold to buy the Stonehills a hundred times over."

Surtr tilts his head at his brother's attitude... Had anyone else spoken to him like this he'd have broken their face with a punch, but he supposed he could be lenient considering what they've been through.

Sorli glares at Sirgar, "Don't you speak to him like that, he's been too busy with the dragons to see us, you know that!"

Sirgar seethes, "You're wrong! You heard the bards as well as I did! He'd bedded half of Skyrim and not thought about us at all! He sided with the Stormcloaks who put us on the streets in the first place! How can you just ignore all that!?"

Pactur rests a hand on his shoulder, "With the fate of the world at stake, I think we can be leniant... He's here now isn't he-"

"ONLY AFTER WE TRAVELLED TO FIND HIM OURSELVES! I BET HE'D FORGOTTEN COMPLETELY ABOUT US UNTIL NOW!" Sirgar angrily exclaims.

True enough, Surtr hadn't thought at all about his family ever since he slew his first dragon... It wasn't like he was intentionally ignoring them but, they just didn't factor in his mind... He couldn't even feel guilty about their state as the Imperials had to be taken down, even at the cost of his own family...

"Sirgar, you are out of order! How dar-"

"YOU'RE ONLY TAKING HIS SIDE BECAUSE HE'S THE GODS DAMNED DRAGONBORN!? I'M SORRY FOR NOT MATCHING THAT, BUT I WON'T BOW AND SCRAPE TO GET SOME HANDOUTS FROM HIM!" he spits at Surtr's feet, "He's no family of mine!" he shouts before quickly striding away... Which might've looked better if he wasn't wearing dirty rags.

"Son, I'm..." Pactur trails off as he looks at Surtr.

He shakes his head and lets out a breath, "He's right, I hadn't thought about any of you..." he shoves a hefty sack of gold into Sorli's hands, "I don't know what you expect from me, but I can't give anything but gold until Alduin's dead..." he starts walking after Sirgar, deciding to have a chat with his disgruntled brother.

His parents just watch wide-eyed as he leaves, unsure of what to say or do at his admittance...

"Sirgar, stop." Surtr asks as he finds his brother walking through an alleyway, his tone unintentionally commanding despite his best efforts.

"Piss off, I don't need anything from you."

"Are you still angry that father agreed to send me off while you were stuck at home? Is that it?"

Sirgar stops and turns to face him, "Obviously! You were giving literally everything! You got our gold! You got freedom! You've even got the favour of the gods! You might be able to fool everyone else, but I know that you're the same weak shit that you always were!" he gesticulates at him, "All this armour and shit doesn't mean anything! All of your accomplishments aren't your own!"