//------------------------------// // Dragon: Searching for Esbern // Story: Skyrim: The Faces of Death // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// After using the hidden passage to leave the Thalmor Embassy, with all of the information she might need to tell Delphine what the Thalmor knew about the dragons, Amaryllis walked down the road and found that the Breton caught up with her, to which she waited for him to get a fair distance ahead of her before weaving her power around her form again, shifting back into her Khajiit disguise before heading down the road as well, at a much slower pace so she didn't catch up with the man and freak him out. She also made sure to change her armor as well, picking leather armor once more, since that lead to any ignoring her presence and that was what she wanted, especially since the Thalmor would be looking for someone who looked like one of their Justiciars and not a random wanderer who was traveling along the roads, or a bandit for that matter since she knew some bandits who wore this type of armor. Based on what she was seeing right now it didn't look like anything was wandering around the road that she was walking on, meaning the Thalmor must have cleared the area out to be sure all of Elenwen's parties were safe and sound, not that such a thing mattered anymore since her target had been eliminated and all of the First Emissary's rules no longer mattered to her followers, meaning she was able to walk down the road with ease and not have to worry about threats. As she considered all of that she also noticed that the road she was walking down passed by the ruin that had a beam of light coming down on it, something that caused Amaryllis to shift her course as she headed up some stairs and found a statue of the female Daedric Prince she must have pissed off by refusing to do the quest to take down that necromancer, Meridia if her memory was right, though the presence of the strange gemstone informed her that someone had bought the item from Belethor and brought it here, causing her to turn and depart from the temple. Even though she stopped for a moment, just to check the temple out, Amaryllis eventually reached the carriage that would allow her to head to the other Holds, hence why she purchased a ride to Whiterun and climbed in back as soon as she paid the carriage driver, even though Za'kera and Lydia must have taken another carriage back when she departed from the inn and headed for the party, something she stopped thinking about as she sat down and focused on what she had taken, just to see what sort of information Delphine would be given. Once the carriage was a good distance from Solitude, and had passed by the road leading up to the Embassy's main gate, Amaryllis pulled out the dossiers she had collected during her investigation and focused on Delphine's, quickly finding that the former Blade was a high-priority target and wasn't to be underestimated, because, according to the journal, she was responsible for a number of damaging missions that ruined the Dominion's plans and operations, and had escaped before she could be purged, explaining why the Thalmor wanted to capture and kill her. A few moments later she closed the first of the dossiers and switched to the one that talked about Ulfric, where she learned that, in some way, the rebel Jarl was an asset to the Thalmor, apparently due to something that happened in the past, giving her some dirt that could be used to acquire his assistance in the future, though the interesting part was that Elenwen ordered for light assistance to be given to the Stormcloaks, without it being traced to them, and that allowing the Stormcloaks to win was unacceptable. That was another bit of confirmation that the Thalmor was seeking to weaken both Skyrim and the Empire with this war, by doing all sorts of things to prolong it and make things unfavorable for the Empire, even though she had no idea how the Stone that Elenwen had mentioned fit into the puzzle, something that caused her to close the second dossier and switch it for the last one she had found. Esbern, as she learned from her reading, was one of the Blades' loremasters, meaning he knew nearly everything that the order had known before all of the Blades' archives were destroyed during a siege on a place that they called Cloud Ruler Temple, which told her that if someone knew how to bring down the dragons it had to be Esbern, hence why the Thalmor were interested in finding and capturing him, so they could torture him and extract the information that he knew on the matter... something that was confirmed by the note she had picked up as well, revealing that the Thalmor knew nothing about why the dragons were returning after all this time. With that information gained Amaryllis set the dossiers and note back in her pack, making sure that they were safe for the future and didn't get lost, before leaning back as she glanced out at the landscape that was passing by her, not focusing on anything as she considered what she had learned and what she had figured out back when she finished the assassination that ended with the Emperor being killed, as it seemed like Akatosh might have been building a method for someone to bring down the Aldmeri Dominion. The Divines knew the Dominion were a threat to the rest of Tamriel, or at least it sure seemed that way based on what she was learning right now, and she had a feeling that her client for this mission might be a priest or follower of one of the others, likely Talos given that the person in question had been a Stormcloak, but she felt that there was more information to learn before she figured out what in the world was going on. At the same time part of her didn't want to give Delphine any of the information on what the Thalmor might be up to, even if she had no idea what most of the information meant, especially when she considered what little she heard about a Stone and the Snow Tower, because she didn't want to stoke the flames of her hatred for the Aldmeri Dominion and make her do something stupid after learning what she had found. Za'kera, on the other hand, would be worried about this information and she really had no idea what would happen once she told her friend what she had learned, to which she decided to think about this for a time and not just immediately tell her companions everything that had been gathered inside the Embassy, before gazing out at the rest of the landscape once more, allowing it to pass her by as she considered what was going to happen once she returned to Riverwood and gave Delphine the information she wanted, which would be interesting since the Thalmor had no idea what was going on either. It took Amaryllis some time to return to Whiterun, where it was in the early afternoon when she arrived at her destination, to which she thanked the carriage driver and climbed off the carriage without delay, something that was followed by her heading towards Riverwood and nodded as she found some of the Companions walking down the road, showing respect to the great warriors who did their best to make Skyrim safer, before heading for her destination, even though she found nothing in her path and was able to reach Riverwood with ease. Before she headed inside the Sleeping Giant Inn, so she could find both of her companions and deliver the information she had found to them, Amaryllis glanced around the rest of the village for a time and made sure there were no dangers lurking in the shadows of the various structures, like some Thalmor or other assassins, but thanks to her powers she didn't feel anyone who might be a threat to Za'kera and Lydia, or their plans to bring down Alduin and his revived dragons. Due to that information she was able to enter the inn, since she didn't have to worry about anyone dangerous following her inside, and found that Za'kera happened to be sitting in one of the chairs while Lydia was leaning against one of the wooden pillars of the structure, while Delphine was hanging out near Orgnar, though for some stupid reason she hadn't changed out of her travel attire and still looked like an adventurer, like how she looked when she was in Solitude. Based on how the Thalmor operated, due to everything she had seen and heard during her time in the Embassy, she was sure that a Justiciar had likely made the connection between her and Malborn, or something to that effect, which meant her contact might be in danger due to her idiocy, but instead of saying anything to Delphine, and being annoyed after doing so no doubt, she walked over to where Za'kera was sitting and took a seat near her new friend. "My 'boss' completed her mission and is on her way to Hammerfell, though she sent me to deliver this," Amaryllis said, to which she reached into the pack she carried and pulled out two of the four items that had been taken from the Embassy, the first being the note that talked about the Thalmor's investigation into the dragons while the second was the dossier on Esbern, that way Za'kera would know some of the information she had learned so far and would be able to make Delphine listen to what they had to say, "I'll also be traveling with you, until she calls for me to join her." "I see. Well, she has my thanks for recovering this information," Za'kera replied, where she accepted the items in question and glanced over them for a few moments, even though she was happy to see that her friend had been able to make it out of the Embassy without being harmed by any of the Thalmor, meaning she must have succeeded in fulfilling her contract to kill Elenwen, before shifting her glance down towards the items Amaryllis had given her, quickly finding that Delphine had been wrong in assuming the Thalmor knew anything about Alduin and the dragons, items that she handed back over to her friend, who would keep them safe for the foreseeable future. Once that was done Za'kera stood up and headed over to Delphine's room, something that caused the lady to move not a few seconds later as she opened the door in question, allowing the four of them to head into the room and down into the hidden room, all while Amaryllis closed each door to make sure they were safe, even though no one besides Orgnar was in the inn at the moment, so they didn't have to worry about intruders for the time being, and once they reached the bottom of the stairs Delphine turned and leaned on the table as she stared at Amaryllis. "It would seem that your boss made it out of the Embassy, meaning she must have found something and gave it to you so we can learn what the Thalmor know." Delphine commented, her tone revealing that she honestly didn't trust the disguise that Amaryllis had used to gain the information that had been given to Za'kera, not to mention what she hadn't shared yet, but such a thing caused the lady to pause for a moment as she likely wondered what they might learn from her enemies, hence why she focused on Amaryllis, "Did she discover anything useful?" "She discovered that the Thalmor know nothing about the dragons." Amaryllis replied, showing Delphine that she had, in fact, taken the time to research the information that had been handed to her, before she arrived in Riverwood to hand all of it over to Za'kera and make sure Delphine understood that the mission had been completed, though as soon as those words left her lips she could see that the lady wasn't all too happy with her. "Really? They know nothing? I find that hard to even believe, given their track record... are you sure that the information is accurate?" Delphine asked, her tone revealing that she was now of the opinion that they had wasted their time sending in someone who looked and acted like a member of the Thalmor, because she seemed to be of the opinion that Amaryllis' disguise had been a real Justiciar and had betrayed all of them to their enemies, meaning it was only a matter of time until some Justiciars busted into the inn, or at least that was her thoughts on the matter. "Why would you even agree with our plan if you weren't going to believe the information we received?" Za'kera inquired, as that bothered her the most, that they went out of their way to 'assist' Delphine in acquiring the information that the Thalmor had on the dragons returning, which appeared to be absolutely zero based on what Amaryllis had shared with her, and the lady had the nerve to question what they had found, something her friend agreed with and even went a step further by pulling the note once more. "Okay, okay, you're right. I just... I was sure it must have been them." Delphine replied, even though Amaryllis felt that she honestly didn't care about what they were saying and just wanted to get to the heart of the matter, meaning she was more focused on figuring out why dragons happened to be returning and what they could do to stop them from wrecking all of Skyrim, to which she sighed for a moment, "If the Thalmor know nothing about the dragons, than who... or what... might know anything that might be of use to us and our mission?" "No idea... though it seems that the Thalmor might be looking for someone called Esbern." Amaryllis remarked, figuring it was time for either her or Za'kera to drop that bomb on Delphine, as she was a former Blade and Esbern was one as well, meaning that it might distract her from discovering that the Thalmor knew nothing about the dragons and that their brief mission into the Embassy had given them next to no leads to follow. "Esbern? He's alive?!" Delphine inquired, where this time around it sure seemed like she was more interested in what they had to say on the matter, something Amaryllis could confirm since the lady's emotions had lit up with the mention of one of the surviving Blades that had escaped the Thalmor's notice, before she considered what little they had said so far and glanced at one of the walls for a few seconds, even though she glanced at them again when she was ready to speak about this new piece of information, "Honestly, I thought the Thalmor had gotten their hands on him years ago, since I stopped hearing from him, as we had locations for hidden messages and one day they stopped coming. That crazy old man... I'm glad he's safe, but I'm not surprised that our enemies are on his trail, especially if they were trying to find out what's going on with the dragons." "Well, they seem to think he's hiding out in Riften." Za'kera stated, recalling the information that had been inside the book Amaryllis had shared with her, before they bothered talking with Delphine about what the Thalmor knew, though as she said that a thought came to mind in seconds, that there were likely Justiciars inside Riften looking for Esbern or a clue as to where he might have hidden himself from their enemies, meaning if they didn't act soon they might lose the one person, in all of Skyrim, who might be able to offer some assistance to their mission. "Riften, eh? Probably down in the Ratway, then... it's where I'd go, if I were Esbern." Delphine remarked, where it was easy for them to see that she had regained herself and already had a plan of sorts that might get them what they needed, even if she had to thank them for gaining this information in the first place, before she considered something that might be of use to them, "Well then, the three of you had better get to Riften and head for the Ratway... your looking for Brynjolf. Trust me on this, he's... well, he's got connections you can use to track down Esbern, though they might come at a price. At the very least this is a good starting point, though when you eventually find Esbern... if you think I'm paranoid... you may have some trouble getting him to trust any of you, so just ask him where he was on the 30th of Frostfall and he should figure out that you aren't enemies... until then, I'll be waiting upstairs." Amaryllis said nothing as she waited for Delphine to leave the room, something that Za'kera and Lydia replicated since all of them could see that their ally was heading back up to where Orgnar was standing, though once she was sure that their unwelcome guest was gone she beckoned for her friends to remain down here for a few more moments, as there was one more thing she wanted to do before they headed outside and started to head towards Riften, and she could see that both of her companions were eager to see what she had for them. "Za'kera, I have a present for you, taken from the Thalmor Embassy," Amaryllis said, where she reached into her pack for a few seconds and withdrew the special ebony blades she had stored inside them after recovering them, something that did cause her friend to smile as she realized what had been recovered, especially since they had been her weapons for a long time and had been stolen from her when Elenwen's forces captured her not that long ago, framing the Khajiit for a crime she hadn't committed. "Summer's Grace and Winter's Fury... its wonderful to have these blades in my possession again," Za'kera replied, where it took her all of a second to drop her mismatched blades and accept her true weapons, allowing Amaryllis and Lydia to see her return the blades to her sides and drew them out of their scabbards, the fire blade in her right hand while the frost blade rested in her left, something that was followed by her stepping to the side before she moved her body and swung both of her weapons for a few seconds, moving like a graceful dancer, before coming to a stop with a smile on her face as she sheathed her blades, "Amaryllis... thank you for this." Amaryllis smiled at that, as she was happy to help her friend in any way she possibly could, and with the note revealing the truth behind the crime Za'kera had been framed for, which she was keeping safe for the time being, though the wave of happiness that came from the Khajiit told her that she was definitely pleased to have her blades once more, something that lead to her collecting the pair of discarded blades, one being of elven make and the other being made by the dwarves, and stashing them inside her pack so they could be sold off later. Once that was done Za'kera headed up the stairs that were behind her and returned to the upper level of the inn, where Amaryllis and Lydia followed after her without wasting any time and found that Delphine was true to her word, she was going to be waiting for them while not acting like the rest of the innkeepers Amaryllis had seen so far, but that was her problem to deal with. A few moments later the three of them stepped outside and started to head in the direction of Helgen again, as Za'kera wanted to use the shorter route to get to Riften so they could save some time, given that they had no idea what Alduin was up to or what any of the revived dragons might be doing at the moment, though at the very least they wouldn't have to worry about enemies since they had done a good job clearing part of the road. While they walked, however, Amaryllis also informed Za'kera of the other information she had obtained during her brief period of time inside the Embassy, revealing that the Thalmor had definitely lied about her committing a crime, all because they were worried about her ruining whatever plans they were trying to complete, but as she said that she also kept the part about her forming an army to herself, since she still wasn't sure if it meant anything for them, even though Za'kera sighed and resolved to clear her name once Skyrim was no longer in danger, once they had stopped the dragons and whatever Alduin was planning. Other than that the road was bare and there were no travelers, even the Imperials and the Stormcloaks were no where to be seen, save for a number of soldiers in a camp that rested off to their left, which meant that the group was able to reach the crossroad near Ivarstead within about two hours, where they turned down the other path and headed to the east, as it would bring them to Riften and allow them to start the search for Esbern, even though Amaryllis had an idea of how to get around Delphine's suggestion of tracking down Brynjolf. The road they were following allowed them to see a fortress that rested off to their left, even though it was on a lower level than what Amaryllis and her companions were walking on right now, though it appeared that bandits were hanging out all over its walls, meaning that she would have taken them out at one point in time, had she not joined up with the Dark Brotherhood and accepted her destiny as the Listener. Za'kera did seem like she wanted to head down there and smash all of the bandits as well, especially since it would allow her to use her recovered blades in battle, but since time was of the essence, since they had no idea how close the Thalmor were to finding Esbern, she focused on continuing down the road in front of them while making a mental note to come back here at some point in the future, as she disliked bandits as much as Amaryllis did. Other than that there were only a few other structures that Amaryllis and her companions passed by, one happened to be a mill that was off to their left, which felt so out of place, while further along the road they found one of the Orc Strongholds, since most Orcs preferred to live out in the wild and not stay inside cities like Solitude, and they even noticed the two story house that rested in the middle of the lake that was right outside Riften, Goldenglow Estate if Amaryllis recalled its name correctly, but the only thing they didn't see were any living enemies, rather someone had marched down the road they took and killed every bear and wolf that might prey on travelers, allowing them to keep moving without having to worry about enemies. When they reached Riften, however, Amaryllis asked that Za'kera and Lydia follow her, as she knew where they needed to go, thanks to her prior visits to the Ratway so she could speak with Delvin, something that caused the pair to nod for a few seconds as they fell in behind her and started to follow her as she headed for the stairs, though as she did that Amaryllis spotted a light brown furred female Khajiit off in the distance, who seemed to have an elven dagger as a weapon and wore ordinary clothing, like a traveler of some kind. As she glanced in the direction of the Khajiit she realized that she had to be one of the few sent to find Esbern, like a watcher to be sure no one else was looking for the same person, or maybe she was an assassin sent to make sure anyone else who was looking for their target was crushed, but what interested her was the fact that she felt a wave of sadness, mixed with concern, coming from the area the lady was in. Such a thing told her all she needed to know, the Thalmor were likely holding someone important to her hostage and were forcing the Khajiit to do all sorts of things to earn the freedom of whoever was being held against their will, though right now she kept the figure in her mind, in case they found her later on, as she headed down into the canal and entered the Ratway, something that was followed by her making her way over to where the Ragged Flagon rested. While she did that, and both Za'kera and Lydia kept an eye out for any dangers that might be stalking them, Amaryllis called forth her power for a moment and let some of her magic wash over her as she reverted back to her true assassin attire, something Delvin would recognize, and made sure that the hood was up, meaning the only thing that anyone might see would be a Khajiit tail, though given her growing reputation she knew that no one would focus on the race she had picked out. Not a few moments later she found the door in question and pushed it open, revealing the Ragged Flagon to her friends, who stared out at it for a couple of seconds, before she walked over to where she had found Delvin and quickly discovered that he was sitting at one of the tables, just like he had been doing the last two times she had been down here, hence why she walked over to where he was sitting once more... though as she did that she felt the eyes of someone else on her, as in a female Imperial who was wearing black armor, which showed off her midriff, and had long raven black hair, though she suspected that the newcomer was a high ranking member of the Thieves Guild. "Ah, my friend from the Brotherhood comes for another visit." Delvin commented, showing them that he realized who was in front of him and that his words caused the other thieves to stand down, leading to nearly everyone else going back to their duties or just relaxing, even though Amaryllis found that the Imperial lady was staring at her with her silver eyes, or at least it sure seemed that way right now, before he beckoned for her to sit and she did so, "So tell me, what can I do for the Brotherhood this time? Need to exchange some jewelry for favors, or are you going to spend some coin to acquire some specific items?" "Actually, I'm here on other business... we're looking for someone called Esbern," Amaryllis replied, though while she knew that Delvin owed her and the Dark Brotherhood nothing at this point, given that his connection was to Astrid and the last leader of her Family had been burned to death, or at least that was the official story, she was hopeful that he would listen to her at the very least and allow them to be on their way, but if she needed to pay for the information she was sure that she could come up with the coin, given what was inside her personal chest, "and we have reason to believe that he's here, somewhere in Riften, so I figured that you might be able to point us in the right direction." "That's because he's here, living in the Warrens like someone whose desperate to be hidden from his enemies," the lady spoke up, where Amaryllis and Delvin glanced at her for a moment, even though it was clear that Delvin was surprised to hear her talk in the first place, like he expected his boss to remain silent and just watch them for a time, before moving out to do whatever it was she did when she wasn't robbing people of their goods, before she jerked a thumb towards a door that was just beyond where they were sitting, one that likely lead into the depths of the Ratway, "we have an arrangement with him: he pays us once a month for food and lodging, and we tell no one he's down there... the only reason I'm even saying anything is because he's missed at least two months of payments, granted he was able to get by since Mercer, my predecessor, was a terrible leader and missed several things before his demise. I was planning on heading down there in a few days, to remind Esbern of his dues and to see if he had enough coin to fulfill his end of the bargain, but then a couple of Thalmor came and offered a fair amount of coin for the right to head into the Warrens and see if he's the one they're looking for... but since the Dragonborn and her allies are here, we can't have Esbern being carried off by the Thalmor, so I'll take you down to him." Amaryllis wasn't at all surprised that people were starting to recognize Za'kera as the Dragonborn, since she had slain two dragons so far and both had been near important cities, Whiterun and Windhelm, so stories of her deeds were reaching far and wide at this point in time, even if it was the start of her tale, though what was odd was that the leader of the Guild was willing to take them to where Esbern happened to be hiding, even if it meant running into a group of Thalmor that were here for the same reason they were here. The lady introduced herself as Raven Nightwing, a rather odd name based on everything Amaryllis had heard so far, though right now none of them were about to say something about that as she lead them towards the door in question and opened it, allowing her and the three of them to enter what appeared to be a rather decent sized chamber, though sure enough there were three Thalmor, a Justiciar and two soldiers, who looked like they were looking around the place. Za'kera, knowing that these people wanted her dead, drew her blades and rushed at the wizard who was guarding the opening in front of them, while at the same time Lydia found a warrior on the level that was below them and drew her battleaxe as she leapt into the air, meaning she was going to crush her target and possibly split her in half, leading to Amaryllis drawing her daggers as she located the third one and realized that she was standing right behind a grated window, only her target would be moving in the next few seconds. Before she had a chance to react to what her foe was doing a silver arrow went flying through the air and struck the soldier in the chest, knocking her into the wall behind her, before she noticed that the projectile had come Raven, who had summoned a bow and used one of her arrows to take the soldier down, though as that happened Lydia cut her foe in half and Za'kera used one blade to cut off the Justiciar's right hand before ending her target's life. Thanks to that happening the group was able to make their way through the couple of twists and turns before reaching the depths of this chamber, which brought them to a door that connected to what seemed like the end of the Warrens, or at least that was Amaryllis' thoughts on the matter, and when they walked out into the area, with Raven unlocking a grated door for them, they spotted a heavily locked door near the end of the chamber and walked over to it, something that lead to Za'kera knocking on the thick wood for a few seconds. "Go away!" a old voice stated, meaning that the speaker was definitely older than Delphine and was definitely male, which told Amaryllis that they had found their mark, as she believed what Raven had told them earlier, though as they heard that everyone came to a stop and focused on the door in question, especially since a slot near the level of one's head opened and revealed an elderly male Nord staring at all of them. "Esbern? Open the door, we need to talk." Za'kera replied, figuring that the best course of action right now was to ensure that the old Nord knew that she and her friends were looking for him and that they needed to speak with him, where due to Raven stopping at this door they understood that she had brought them to the person they were looking for and had, in her own way, saved them time in looking for him, which was when she considered something, "Delphine asked us to come find you, before our enemies tracked you down first... also, I'm Dragonborn, if that helps you understand that we're not trying to hurt you." "What?! No, that's not me. I have no idea who this Esbern is, not do I have any idea what you're..." the old Nord started to say, though that was the moment that he recalled exactly what Za'kera had just said, meaning he must have caught onto the fact they knew Delphine and had been sent to find him, even if she had said 'asked', but right now none of them cared that much and knew that anything that might speed things along would be greatly appreciated, especially since they had no idea how long it would be before more Thalmor showed up, "You said that Delphine sent you? You had better come inside, all of you. Quickly now, as Thalmor agents have been seen in the Ratway." "I'm the one who sent him that information... figured it might entice him to bargain with me," Raven remarked, as one the old Nord, Esbern, had stopped talking he closed the slot he had been speaking through and started to mess with his locks, so he could open the door and allow them to enter his domain, where Amaryllis found an actual bird raven fly out of one of the nearby shadows before flying around her for a second or two, something that cawed for a moment before vanishing as quickly as it had appeared, meaning it must have been made out of magic, "clearly my bet failed, but it allowed him to know that enemies were getting close and that he had a choice to make... which you are going to help him make, though I am eager to see what happens after this." For a few seconds Amaryllis wondered if Raven might know about Akatosh's plan, as it seemed weird for a thief to do any of this, or care about what might happen once they were done with their task and had departed from the city, but before she had a chance to really say anything the door opened and Esbern ushered them inside, causing Za'kera to step forward as Amaryllis and the others followed after her, something that was followed by him closing the door once everyone was in his chamber, a decent sized room with a desk, a bar with supplies, and a bed with some scattered books. "So Delphine keeps up the fight, trying to tear down the Thalmor, after all these years." Esbern commented, where he let out a chuckle for a moment, as if he was expecting her to be somewhat different from what he had known in the past, but as he said that he seemed to consider what he knew and why they were here, leaving the group to just stand there while they waited for him to say something, before he sighed, "I thought she would have realized that it's hopeless... I tried to tell her, many years ago, but she never listened to what I had to say..." "Esbern, what do you mean 'it's hopeless'?" Za'kera asked, though Amaryllis considered the prophecy of the Dragonborn for a few seconds, especially the line about something called the 'World-Eater', where she had to wonder if it was linked to the return of Alduin, who seemed pretty important to the dragons who used to call Skyrim home, and as she considered all of that she could tell that Za'kera was thinking about something similar, or at least she hoped that was the case and not her imagination on this matter. "Haven't you figured it out yet? What more needs to happen before you all wake up and see what's going on?" Esbern said, as if whatever he knew was supposed to be common knowledge or something, though his statement caused them to just stand there and focus on him, all while waiting for more information to be shared with them before making a response of any kind, something Esbern seemed fine with, "Alduin has returned, just like the prophecy said! The Dragon from the dawn of time, who devours the souls of the dead! It is said that no one can escape his hunger, here or in the afterlife, and that his vast hunger will lead to Alduin devouring all things, bringing an end to our world... nothing can stop him. I tried to tell them, Delphine and the others, but they wouldn't listen to my warnings, especially since all of the signs have come true... all I could do was watch our doom approach..." "You're talking about the literal end of the world?" Amaryllis asked, because if that was the case, and the Divines were tired of the mortal races who called Nirn home, than it made no sense for Akatosh to even be involved with her and the rest of the Dark Brotherhood, to take down the current Emperor and leave an empty seat that someone could fill in due time, no doubt Za'kera if things were supposed to go as she was starting to think, "Surely if Alduin was such a threat to our world the Divines would have done something about it, instead of bringing about another legendary hero to tackle the problem that's heading our way?" "Oh yes, the end of the world has been foretold... and now, the end has begun." Esbern stated, once more focusing on part of what they were saying, something that seemed to be getting annoying as time went on, though Za'kera remained silent as they listened to what the old Nord had to say, where Amaryllis found Raven glancing at the door, meaning something had to be happening outside the room, or might happen soon, "Alduin has returned, and only a Dragonborn can stop him, but, sadly, there is no such hero at this time, just like its been for centuries... it seems the gods, both Divines and Daedric Princes, have finally grown tired of us, and have left us to our fate as the plaything of Alduin the World-Eater." "Well, that's where you're wrong, Esbern, as there is hope for us, as I am Dragonborn," Za'kera replied, though as she said that statement she gathered some of her power and loosed her Unrelenting Force on a corner of the room, near Esbern to be exact, something that caused a number of items to be scattered around with the sheer power of what she had done, a fact that caused Raven to raise an eyebrow for a moment, though all of Esbern's tomes and stuff were unharmed, since all of it was behind her and her companions. "Wha... you're... can it really be true? Dragonborn?" Esbern inquired, his tone revealing that he was amazed by what he had just witnessed and that hope had been restored to him by discovering that a Dragonborn really did exist, instead of them being left to the whims of a dragon that could apparently destroy the entire world, before he snapped back to reality as he glanced around his room for a few seconds, "Then... then there is hope! The gods have not abandoned us! We must... we must... We must go, quickly now. Take me to Delphine, as we have much to discuss." As Za'kera nodded they found that Esbern had a number of tomes he wanted to collect before they left the Warrens, all so he didn't leave secrets for their enemies to take and use against them, though while he did that he also tossed a necklace of some kind over to Raven, one that was made of silver and had a few jewels inside it, showing her that he rememebered his deal and that he was paying her the rest of what he owed, to which she nodded and pocketed the item, but Amaryllis noticed he paused when he pulled out a katana and attached it to his belt. Based on what little she knew the katana was one of the weapons that the Blades carried into battle, which made sense given that she had seen on in Delphine's hidden basement earlier, resting on one of the weapon racks she had set up, though he's seemed special in some way, which told her it had to have some sort of enchantment on the blade, but once that was done Esbern made one last check of the area before nodding his head as he fell in line with Za'kera and the others. With this part of their mission accomplished Za'kera opened the door and started to leave the room, though Amaryllis stopped her as she felt something again and found that three Thalmor agents had followed them into this part of the Ratway, though since none of them had noticed the opening of the door, even though one was on their level and the other two were on the lower level, it gave her a perfect chance to take one of them out, hence why she pulled her bow out and readied an arrow within a few seconds. Sure enough none of their enemies noticed her movement and she was able to knock the wizard down with an arrow to the head, where she found that neither warrior heard the noise of him falling and assumed that they were busy, though as soon as the way was clear Lydia rushed out and leapt off part of the walkway, crushing one of the warriors with the weight of her battleaxe, all while Za'kera dropped down and parried an incoming attack from the other one, even though her foe was slow and let her cut him down with ease. With that done they retraced their steps to the Ragged Flagon, without bumping into any additional enemies, before Raven came to a stop near Delvin and let the group leave the bar while she stayed behind, as her part in this was definitely over, even though Amaryllis felt that this might not be the last they saw of her, before turning all of her attention to leaving the Ratway and heading back to Riverwood, as it was time to see if Esbern had any information for them to use or if they had wasted their time, but she was hopeful and suspected that Delphine would be pleased with their actions.