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."
...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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!"
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Surtr huffs in annoyance, "You are only partly correct... While my gifts may have had a hand in my accomplishments, that doesn't mean I didn't work for them! Were you there when I toiled under my abusive Fighter's Guild-mates!? Were you there when I killed my first man!? Were you there when I took a dagger to the back during an ambush!? NO!"
He stomps up to Sirgar, looming over him with his now impressive 7ft height, "If you had any inclination of what I've been through you would stay and silently work on some farm somewhere, hoping your time to act would never come." he shoves Sirgar in the chest, "At any time you could have left and joined a mercenary group to find your fortunes! The Companions would have accepted you had you shown promise! Any city guard would have trained you! Yet you complain to me about how hard your life was sitting at home enjoying mother and father's grace!?"
"WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO!? YOU TOOK ALL THE GOLD, AND SOMEONE HAD TO STAY AND LEARN TO MANAGE THE MINES! YOU TOOK THAT OPPORTUNITY FROM ME!" he roars in response, tightly gripping his fists.
"I'D HAVE YOU ACT LIKE A MAN!" Surtr shouts back, silencing his brother, "Our parents don't rule you! And your excuses for your weakness disgust me! Just say it how it is and stop lying to yourself! You are weak! You deserve nothing! You have no right to say anything to me about unfairness!"
"YOU WANT ME TO ACT LIKE A MAN!? HOW'S THIS!?" he shouts as he draws a hidden dagger from his belt and holds it up threateningly.
"Put that down, brother." Surtr growls as his pupils' contract at the 'threat'.
"OR WHAT!? WHAT, THE LEGENDARY DRAGONBORN AFRAID OF A DAGGER!? MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE DRAGONBORN INSTEAD!? MAYBE YOU STOLE THAT FROM ME TOO!?"
"Shut up, and put the knife down. Before you do something stupid."
Sirgar almost hysterically laughs at his face while drunkenly waving the dagger around, "Hah! Pathetic! Tell me! How many of your women would bother if they saw how scared you are now!? Just another thing you stole from me!" he erratically thumps his chest.
Grinding his teeth, Surtr finally loses his temper and slaps the knife out of his brother's hand before grabbing his throat, and slamming him against the alleyway wall with a hard *thud!*.
"You remind me of the many cowardly bandits that harass roads, you say a lot, but when the time comes you beg like the rat you are. You are right, we were never brothers, no one like you would ever share my blood." he growls as Sirgar frantically clutches the armoured hand holding him in place.
"If you are so intent on finding something to whine about, let me give you one." Surtr grouses, dropping Sirgar and stamping on his leg, crushing it at the joint and crippling him for life.
Sirgar, of course, screams out in pain, crying as he holds his mangled leg. Surtr ignores it though, sending one last glance at him before walking away to follow Esbern's map.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Louise' eyes blink open as she slowly sits up and surveys the area around her, only pause as she sees only darkness... She couldn't differentiate the floor from everything else, or if she was trapped in a small box or an endless black landscape.
How did she get here anyway? She and the others had just discovered a relatively large port city and had decided to rest and continue planning how to approach it in the morning... Was she dreaming? If she was, she wasn't sure if this was an improvement or not...
Usually, her dreams had her reliving her many failures in life, the mistakes that'd led to the deaths of almost everyone, including her own family... The death of Henrietta. Her familiar's betrayal...
She grits her teeth at the thought and is about to go into one of her many rants when she hears a quiet chuckle behind her... She turns and is greeted by a shadowed silhouette of what seemed to be a man... "Who are you? Why have you brought me here?"
"Hm, you did not have a problem listening to me previously." the man remarks as his face, or mask, comes into view. "I am Miraak, what is my benefactor's name?"
...
"You're the one who spoke to me? I thought you'd look... Not human..." she trails off, having thought the voice belonged to something more monstrous than a mere man. "Ah-, my name is Louise-," she pauses for a moment and decides to not mention her last name... After everything she'd done, she didn't deserve it. Not in the slightest. "Just Louise."
Miraak idly nods, "Well then Louise, shall we discuss the manner in which your help will come?"
She nods, "Yes, but first, what do I get out of this?" she inquires.
"What will you get...?" Miraak parrots, rolling the words in his mouth, he smiles under his mask, "Let me show you. Gol Hah Zaam!" he shouts and a wave of strange energy washes over Louise. She stumbles backwards and is unable to avoid it, causing her to drop to a knee as something itches at her mind... She just couldn't tell what IT was.
"Tell me, how do you feel?" Miraak asks, walking out of the shadows and towards the girl.
"Strange..."
"Stand." he commands, and she does so, quickly standing upright while seeing nothing odd with this situation.
"Lie down." she does so.
"Sleep, and forget this dream." she does so.
Louise' form fades from the black expanse, leaving Miraak standing there alone. "A strong, yet damaged mind. I wonder how many sessions like this it will take..." he ponders aloud in the comfort that no one could hear him.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
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