Valthume was thirty miles of bad road off the main way. The party rode their horses the old fashioned way most of that distance, not willing to gain speed at the risk of injury to their mounts. First they passed a walled city of the orcs, the suspicious creatures staring at them as they rode by.

 

“We don't want you here,” called out an Orc female on the wall.

 

No problem thought Nora as she led her party around the perimeter of the city and onto the path. They fought some goblins, disgusting green skinned creatures like smaller versions of the orcs, their shamans throwing lightning while their warriors hurled spears. The party cut them down from horseback, not bothering to loot them. Elesia and Jordis sustained injuries and were healed on horseback, as were the few pack beasts had taken spears in their flanks. Nora hated how so many enemies went after the horses, innocent beasts who were only there because the humans dragged them into it. It had always been that way.

 

The morning had turned into afternoon by the time the party got to Valthume. Nora thought that Eldawyn could use a break, since she had two other mages in the party. Valdimar asked if he could pass on this ruin. Nora wasn't sure why he was asking, but she let him have it, since everyone else was anxious to delve into the ruin.

 

As they entered the antechamber of the ruin they were confronted by a ghost of glowing blue. Nora felt no evil from the creature, and held up a hand to stop her party from attacking.

 

“Leave, stranger,” said the ghost in his strange, echoing voice. “Evil stirs in this place. I fear for the security of the very land if it should break free.”

 

“What evil?” asked Nora, looking around the vestibule.

 

“We stand at the tomb of Hevnoraak, who has been dead for many generations. I fear, however, that his return may be at hand.”

 

Oh great, thought Nora. Another world threatening evil awakes. Why can't they just go to oblivion and leave this world alone?

 

“Who was Hevnoraak?” asked Sofia, her wide eyes searching the shadows.

 

“He was a dragon priest of terrible power,” answered the Ghost. “Hevnoraak planned his resurrection obsessively before dying. My duty in life and in death is to make sure he stays in this tomb for eternity.”

 

“What are his powers?” asked Lydia, looking intently at the Ghost.

 

“He had a way of enthralling people and built up a loyal army of followers. Good men fell under his spell and were forever twisted. Made... evil. After that, fear was enough to keep them in line. He could torture and humiliate them and they would not rebel. Even in death, they serve him still.”  

 

“And who are you?” asked Nora, deciding that this spirit was a boon and not a threat.  

 

“I am Valdar,” said the spirit. “I took it upon myself to keep this evil contained. But I feel that my strength is fading while his grows. Perhaps a living hero could help.” The ghost looked at Nora hopefully.

 

“I guess that's our cue,” said Elesia with a laugh.

 

“What do you need us to do?” asked Nora.

 

“Hevnoraak placed his blood in three vials within these ruins. He hoped to come back as a lich of terrible power.”

 

“Then let's go hunt down these vials,” said the Dragonborn, glancing around at her people and judging their determination. “Is there a way to stop him from coming back.”

 

“With the vials you can return him before he gathers his full strength, then defeat him. And you would do this, despite the danger?”

 

Several of her companions laughed. “Hell, the day is almost halfway over, and we haven't had our dose of danger yet,” said Jordis.

 

The main chamber was huge, with a large sarcophagus sitting on a raised platform, a throne on another dais across from it. There was an ewer in front of the throne, and thousands of coins scattered about.

 

“We'll worry about that loot on the way out,” ordered Nora, leading the way to an exit out of the chamber. She stepped over a pressure plate, pointing it out to Lydia, who was right behind her, then saw the log trap that the plate triggered.

 

The party started to run into Draugr immediately. These were more powerful than most, and it seemed this dragon priest had chosen his followers carefully. J'Zargo seemed to be in his element, gleefully burning down Draugr as they advanced while being mindful of his partners. Very few of the Draugr made it through the fire of the Khajiit, and Nora let him have his fun.

 

In one chamber a swarm of Draugr came at them. Nora sprayed Wall of Fire on the floor, forcing the creatures to take damage. They made it through, all weakened, all falling to the magic of the mages on the other side. Some of the Draugr could shout, staggering the party, but Nora countered with her own, knocking them back and onto the floor, then letting her non-mages cut them down.

 

One room contained large spiders, things that still gave Nora the creeps. She burned them, then their egg sacks, until Lydia protested. She let her Housecarl gather all the spider eggs she wanted, as long as Nora didn't have to touch them. And then the largest spider she had ever seen descended from the ceiling, spitting poison that hit Sofia and Jordis. Both women cried out and went to their knees. Nora sent a fireball into the arachnid, followed by one from J'Zargo, and the spider curled up as it burned. Nora hastily cast Cure Poison on Sofia, then Jordis, and in moments the women were back on their feet.

 

“Thank you, my Thane,” said Jordis, Sofia nodding. “I've never felt such venom before. Untreated, I'm afraid we both would have died.”

 

They moved on, passing traps, barred passages, stairs leading down. Doors to pick, and Nora did it expertly. Sometimes that led to a chest that had to be picked as well. Some contained great treasures, others junk, and Nora was wishing she had a spell that would tell her which a chest contained. She doubted such existed, and she figured she would have to find out the old-fashioned way.

 

They found a skill book, glowing with power, and Nora read it, feeling her Restoration power grow. She passed it on to her other mages, letting them advance, and making a note to give the book to Eldawyn when they got out of the ruins. She cast Clairvoyance several times, following the smoke, pulling some levers to open closed portcullises, until they came upon the first of the bottles they were looking for. Draugrs came out of popping Sarcophagi, something that Nora was getting used to, and the party attacked them with gusto.

 

She cast Clairvoyance again, backtracking, on the path of another bottle. They entered a room to find a chest, which Nora opened. Another enormous spider came down from the ceiling, and Sofia and J'Zargo fried it before it could hit anyone with poison. More traps, more Draugr, and finally they reached the second bottle.

 

The third was much trickier, and almost caused a death. Nora used Clairvoyance to locate a pedestal with a claw. She checked the surroundings, seeing several nozzles that she was sure would shoot fire, then cautioned her people to step clear. She carefully pulled the claw from the pedestal, unaware that Jordis had shifted to get a better view. The jet of flame hit the sword maiden, burning her badly as she was unable to move. Elesia tackled Jordis out of the flame, catching some of it herself, and lay on the floor moaning as Jordis tried pulling air into burned lungs with labored breaths.

 

“Shit,” cursed Nora, as she pulled up her best healing spell and sent the magic into Jordis. She poured all of her power into the Sword Maiden, and though her skin healed, she was still having trouble drawing breath.

 

“J'Zargo. Heal Elesia. Sofia, help me over here.”

 

Elesia was fine after J'Zargo sent all of his magic into her, but Jordis was still breathing heavily even with two mages pouring everything they had into her. Lydia forced a potion down Jordis' throat while the mages continued to heal. Finally, when just about everyone was exhausted, Jordis' breathing smoothed out.

 

“Let's rest here a moment,” said Nora as Jordis sat up, wincing some but no longer in danger. Her long blond hair had been burned away in places where it came from under her helmet, and the Housecarl would have a reminder to be more observant in the future.

 

“I'm sorry, my Thane,” said the young woman, sucking down another potion, then long droughts of water.

 

“I'm just glad we didn't lose you, honey,” said Nora, patting the girl on the back. Jordis had proven to be a valuable member to the party, but she was still so very young, and Nora did not want to report to Elisif that the girl had died in her service.

 

The claw opened a door, the puzzle easily read from the back of the artifact, opening the final chamber. They moved forward cautiously; Nora sure that something was about to happen. She looked for traps, found none, and signaled for everyone to be prepared. Three bows were readied, two mages had spells in hand, and Nora grabbed the bottle off its pedestal. Just as she did a dozen Sarcophagi popped open, their Draugr occupants coming out to play.

 

Nora quickly slid the bottle into a shoulder bag, then unleashed slow time. Everyone slowed down around her, herself included, only not as much. She pulled Dawnbreaker from its sheath and charged at the nearest Draugr, which tried to get its weapon up and only succeeded in being cut down in a fiery explosion. The blast of flame, only harming undead, spread to a half dozen nearby draugr and they exploded as well. Nora continued on, striking down two more before time returned to normal, then stopping to catch her breath and watch J'Zargo burn down the last two.

 

“J'Zargo is glad Nora is on his side,” said the Khajiit.

 

And I'm more than happy you are on mine, thought Nora, smiling at J'Zargo.

 

The Khajiit had already improved much as a mage in the short time he had been with her, supporting Faralda's theory that the use of magic in combat situations led to faster improvement. By the time the Khajiit returned to the College he would be very advance indeed.

 

Nora followed the chanting to the word wall and learned the first word of the Shout, Aura Whisper. Not sure what use it would be, she left it unlocked for the moment. Following the smoke trail of Clairvoyance, the party made their way through the huge maze that was the ruin. Nora felt like she had been down here all day, though her implant told her it had only been two hours. Still, she was exhausted, and thought her people were too. Something to do with the oppressive feel of the place perhaps.

 

“Empty the vessels in the ewer when you are ready,” said Valdar. “Then sit on the throne.”

 

Nora hoped the ghost was playing it straight, and that they weren't about to unleash something better left buried. Still, she got no evil feel from Valdar, and thought he was earnest. Pouring the three vials into the ewer, Nora called up a Golden Saint to aid them in the battle. Her people moved to stand around the sarcophagus, weapons ready, and Nora took a seat.

 

All hell broke loose as Hevnoraak rose from his sarcophagus, not as a Draugr as Nora had expected, but in the form of a spirit, a dragon priest, much like the one she had fought in Labyrinthian.

 

“Shit,” she said as she jumped to her feet, charging forward. All of her people struck, her summoned Saint sent arrows into the creature, even Valdar attacked, all with little effect. The Dragon Priest summoned a field of lightning around him, and Nora had a flashback to Annekke dying in such a globe.

 

She shouted Slow Time and charged forward, releasing Chain Lightning into the spirit. It seemed to have no effect, but just like with Morokei, physical damage seemed to be the only way to harm him. Nora stepped into the lightning field, the pain of the shock running through her, unable to tell how her other people were doing. An occasional arrow came out of nowhere, she caught the flash of a weapon striking, but otherwise it seemed to be her against the dragon priest. She kept swinging Dawnbreaker, the sword glowing with power as it attacked its chosen enemy. Just when she was about to give it up and retreat the dragon priest came apart.

 

“You did it, hero,” said Valdar, drifting toward the vestibule. “You have my thanks, and that of all of Skyrim.”

 

Nora was more worried about her people. All made it through, some a little more singed than others, but a couple of healing spells had them all ready to travel.

 

Darkness was falling when they exited the ruin, to find that Eldawyn and Valdimar had erected the tents, built a fire, and had a meal simmering in the pots. Nora approved of their decision. She really didn't want to be out on a bad road in the dark, and this position seemed safe and secure enough. She felt slightly dirty, but nothing compared to how she had felt after the Markarth guards had worked her over. The thought of that sent a shudder through her. The blessing of Dibella had helped immensely, but she still wasn't over it. PTSD, and she wondered if it would ever leave her thoughts.

 

*     *     *

 

 

Nora climbed into her tent, to find Valdimar and Eldawyn waiting for her, both naked.

 

“I,” said a startled Nora, not sure that she was ready for this.

 

“Hush, darling,” said Eldawyn, kissing Nora. “Jolene told us what to do, and Valdimar was good enough to cooperate.”

 

The big man moved and kissed her as well, his lips softly touching Nora's, a tender kiss that sent shivers up her spine. “Tonight is all about you, my Thane.”

 

“Nora. When we're in bed I'm not...”

 

“Hush, my Lady,” said the man in a near whisper. “You are a high-born lady this night, deserving of this pleasure. A precious jewel. All about you, not about me.”

 

Eldawyn cast a spell that washed over Nora, calming her. Then she and Valdimar slowly undressed their friend, peeling her armor off of her and laying it aside, then pulling off her small clothes, until Nora lay naked on the furs, her skin glistening in the glow of the magical lights. The big man kissed her again, then started working his way down, licking and kissing her nipples for an endless time, while Eldawyn moved to Nora's vacant mouth and kissed her deeply. Valdimar continued down, over her navel, then further, teasing around the edges of her bush, then into her groin. His tongue and lips teased at her labia, his tongue thrust into her vagina, and he licked and kissed her clitoris.

 

Nora felt the shivers of pleasure from the man's touch on her sex. No anxiety, no fear, only relaxed pleasure. Eldawyn moved down and joined Valdimar in pleasuring the Dragonborn's sex. Nora felt the stirrings of an orgasm and went with it, soon crying her passion out into the night. The pair slowed their assault, letting her enjoy her pleasure, then the afterglow, before going back to licking and nibbling on her sex organ. It didn't take long until Nora was crying out from another orgasm. Valdimar whispered something to Eldawyn and moved up, getting his body between Nora's legs, the tip of his penis touching her opening.

 

“I'm not sure..”

 

“Hush, darling,” said Eldawyn in her ear, nibbling on the lobe. “Let the man work his magic.”

 

Nora whimpered and nodded, and Valdimar gently pushed the first inch of his penis inside her. He let it stay there, enveloped by her warmth for some minutes, then slid another inch in. He kept working it in until he was fully inside Nora, then lay still, his weight supported on his arms as he let his pulsating cock sit comfortably within the woman. Eldawyn played with Nora's breasts, then ran her hands over the ridged muscles of the man's back, giving what she could to the coupling.

 

“All about you my precious darling,” said Valdimar, leaning down and gently kissing Nora's lips. He started moving then, slowly, gently. All the way out, then all the way in. After some minutes of this he varied his thrusts, in and out for the first couple of inches, then deeper to do the same thing at the bottom of her vagina. Nora felt another orgasm coming and let herself go with it. She trusted these two, and her trust allowed her to get past her fears, her insecurities. She could feel the love of both, lulling her into a sense of comfort. This was not about a man slaking his lust on her, but giving her all the pleasure he could. Her back arched, her lips quivered under those of Valdimar, and she cried out her passion into his mouth. And still he continued to thrust slowly into her.

 

Nora came two more times before the man grunted his own orgasm, but Nora felt no ejaculation.

 

“What?”

 

“A trick I learn for servicing high-born ladies,” said the smiling man. “Some wanted the feel of a cock, but not the seed. I have an orgasm, but I clamp down on my muscles to stop my ejaculation.”

 

Nora had had lovers on Earth who could do that, which required training and daily exercise, but she had never had one here. She looked into the man's eyes in wonder. He continued to thrust gently, building her up to another orgasm, then another of his own without ejaculation. Nora wondered how long he could keep this up, but was starting to feel sore and tired herself.

 

“I'm, satisfied, my lover,” she told the man, who smiled, kissed her, and withdrew.

 

“Now, if my lady Eldawyn will oblige.”

 

“Oh sure, darling. Dump that cum in me.” But the Altmer smiled when she said it and quickly lay on her back, legs spread, arms welcoming the man. Valdimar slid his cock into the Altmer, then went at it with a passion. Nora watched entranced as they fucked for over twenty minutes, Eldawyn riding a pair of orgasms as Nora gently played with the Altmer's breasts, then the balls of Valdimar. Finally those balls rose up into his sack, and with a roar he shot their contents into the elf, who had yet another orgasm.

 

Valdimar lay on his back, out of breath, a sheen of sweat on his skin. The women both reached down to play with his genitals, and being a young man he was soon hard once again.

 

“Now,” said Nora, a lopsided smile on her face. “I want to ride you. And I want you to finish in me.”

 

“Are you sure?” asked Valdimar as Nora mounted him, placing the tip of his cock at her entrance, then sliding down on him until he was fully inside her. Nora started working her way up and down on the cock, feeling the pulsing organ filling her, then leaving her almost empty, riding the waves of pleasure.

 

“I'm sure,” she grunted, riding the pleasure of a long, unending orgasm, her mouth open in a silent cry. Eldawyn moved into position to lick both her and the man, enhancing their pleasure. Nora rode until her thighs quivered with fatigue, determined to get Valdimar off. She felt his penis swell, then the flood of warm seed flowing into her pussy. She continued to ride, squeezing the walls of her vagina on the welcome invader, milking him for every drop. When she felt him begin to soften she stopped moving, leaned forward, and kissed Valdimar deeply, letting her tongue play with his.

 

Nora rolled off the man, laying on her back and catching her breath. She had let a man cum in her, but this time it felt right. She had wanted the seed of this man, desired it, and she felt good.

 

“Thank you,” she breathed out. They had planned this, discussing what they would do while Nora was in the ruins. Plotting behind her back, but with only the best of intentions.

 

“Any time, my Thane,” said Valdimar, while Eldawyn nodded. Nora turned over and was soon fast asleep, a dreamless night ahead.

 

*     *     *

 

Nora woke with a smile on her face, her two partners lying entangled with her. It had been magic of a sort. The blessing of Dibella, the calming magic of Eldawyn, the gentle technique of Valdimar. She could still remember the rape, but it was a distant memory, like something that had happened long ago. She wished she had these resources when she had been raped by the Raiders, or when the Supermutants had almost split her asunder. She hadn't had them then, but she was sure glad she had them now.

 

She let the pair continue sleeping while she crawled out of the tent to see the lightening sky and the rest of her people sitting around a blazing fire. Elesia and Sofia were cooking breakfast for all, while Lydia and Jordis saw to giving the horses their morning feed and J'Zargo gathered wood.

 

“Feel better now?” asked a smiling Elesia, stirring a pot.

 

“Does everyone know?” asked a laughing Nora, sitting naked by the fire.

 

“Not everyone, though Eldawyn did tell us. You look more comfortable now. Not so self-conscious.”

 

“The man was wonderful. And my Altmer friend was not so bad herself. You both need to try that combination when you get a chance.”

 

“It sounded wonderful,” said a wide-eyed Sofia. “And the big brute was never that way with me.”

 

Nora laughed. What she had done with Valdimar and Eldawyn was special, maybe not to be duplicated.

 

“So where to today.”

 

“To Falkreath, and the Destruction page. Then on to see Delphine in Riverwood.”

 

“Sounds good,” said Sofia, spooning out some porridge into a bowl, then handing it and a spoon to Nora. “Eat up.”

 

An hour later they were all dressed, the horses saddled, and Nora prepared for the first Teleport. She felt on top of the world.  There was no shame weighing her down, and she was sure of herself and her mission in this world. The party disappeared from the environs of Valthume and reappeared on the road, a couple of hundred yards from some Thalmor, who called out and ran at them, demanding to know what they were doing. Before the Thalmor got within reach Nora teleported again, leaving the confused Thalmor behind. She might have killed them, but there were other people near enough to see, and she didn't want to get a reputation for killing Thalmor. That meant killing them only when there were no witnesses.

 

Eight jumps to the crossroads in just over an hour, Nora taking it easy on herself, then three more to get in the vicinity of the Falkreath Watchtower, where the Destruction page was said to be. It took over an hour to locate the Watchtower, which despite its name was some ways off the road and hidden by the trees. Nora went into the tower under an invisibility spell, creeping up the stairs. There were some bodies in the tower, including a few in mage robes, and she wondered one again why all of these experimenters were so set on killing their apprentices. Arryn Grey was at the top of the tower, reading a book and oblivious to the figure sneaking up behind her. She must have been fascinated by the book, but her fascination ended as Nora drove a glass dagger up through the base of her skull, severing her brain stem. Perhaps she might have tried to take the mage alive, if not for the evidence that she was a cold-blooded murderer.

 

“There is a nearby ruin, my Thane,” said Lydia when Nora came down the tower. “Shriekwind Bastion, maybe five miles from here.”

 

“Then let's check it out,” said Nora.

 

They found the Bastion easy enough, as it was visible from the road that skirted the south shore of Lake Ilinalta. From the outside it was just another Nordic ruin. From the inside it was a nightmare of undead, skeletons, Draugr and vampires. At first it seemed that only skeletons were present, starting with a couple outside the ruins that were easy kills. The ruin itself led nowhere, but there was a path up the mountain, and following that led to an entrance.

 

“J'Zargo and Jordis watch the horses this time,” said Nora to her party before plunging into the dark cave entrance. “The rest come with me. You two can follow in the next ruin.”

 

Both accepted the order. Nora was very fair in making sure that everyone got their chance at some adventure, and the pair trudged back down the short path to look after the beasts. Nora led the way through the dark entrance, into a brightly lit hallway with filtered sunlight coming down from above. They wended their way through several small rooms before entering a large open space fronted by several levels connected by stairs. And skeleton archers that rained arrows down on them.

 

“Take cover, shields up,” ordered Nora as she sent a fireball into one of the archers, blasting it to bone splinters. Eldawyn and Sofia joined in, and soon there were no more skeletons. Leading the way up the stairs Nora was ambushed by a vampire, the creature coming out, its energy draining spell hitting the Dragonborn. Dawnbreaker glowed with power as Nora swung it into the creature, tossing a burning body to the ground.

 

Nora could feel the effect of the vampire virus on her, a weakening. She called up Cure Disease and cast it on herself, ridding her of the deadly virus, then continued on, looking out for traps along the way. There were plenty of those, some of devious ingenuity. Spear traps, thrusting spears out to catch the unwary. A circular floor panel that would drive whoever was standing on it into the spikes in the ceiling. Dart traps, spouts of fire. And many gates with puzzles to keep the slow witted from breaching them. Nora took them all one at a time. She had run into some similar traps in the Wastelands of home, but the ingenuity of the people who had developed these with the technologies available would have been considered a wonder, if not for the purpose to which they were put. Murder.

 

They ran into some more skeletons, Draugr, and then the vampires became the dominant monster. They were hard to fight, even stronger and faster than Nora. Their arrogance was their undoing, as they attacked people with enchanted weapons and magic as if they were farmers. A few of her people got infected in the fights, but Nora called up the Cure Disease spell to heal them all. She was very happy she had learned that spell, since it meant they hadn't had to carry scores of potions with them. Eldawyn also knew the spell, though it seemed to be beyond Sofia.

 

After an interminable climb that seemed to take hours they reached the word wall and Nora ran toward it. The word burned in her mind, and she knew the second word to Elemental Fury. She still wasn't sure what use it was to someone like her who possessed her own natural speed, but it was something she could call on if needed.

 

The last thing she wanted to search for was the Destruction Wild Shrine, said to be near Haldir's Cairn. Riding down a road, discovering the Cairn, she soon found the shrine from its magical emanations. All of the mages prayed at it, leaving with stronger destruction spells, well worth the trip.

 

“Okay. Let's go on straight to Riverwood and see what Delphine makes of these files.”

 

Nora teleported them the two hundred miles to Riverwood in fourteen jumps, the last being a mere three miles. They appeared outside of Riverwood, to the alarm of some travelers, a Khajiit caravan that gave the wielders of strange magic a wide berth.

 

“I expected you would have gotten here sooner,” complained Delphine when they walked into the Sleeping Giant Inn.

 

“We detoured to Markarth and spent a few days there to clear up some problems,” said Nora.

 

“How is that possible?” asked Delphine, her eyes wide. “Can you fly?”

 

“No, Delphine. I can teleport. It's a spell I learned from the Psijics.”

 

“Teleport? So you can go anywhere you want in an instant.”

 

“Sure,” said Nora, laughing. “Fifteen miles at a time, and with rest breaks in between. And I have to have been to where I am going to use it, otherwise I have to ride there, though I can do that a little faster as well.”

 

“You're full of surprises, Dragonborn. How advanced a mage are you?”

 

“Not quite master, but almost there,” said Nora with another smile.

 

“By the Nine. How did you advance so quickly?”

 

“No one really knows. Only that I did. But let's get on to talking about dragons. You know, what you sent me into that nest of snakes to discover.”

 

Delphine thought for a moment, obviously digesting the news that the woman she was trying to control was now a powerful mage in her own right. “Well, did the Thalmor know anything?”

 

“They're as clueless as you are. They don't know, but they seem willing to take advantage of it.”

 

“That's hard to believe. But I guess we'll have to look for some other explanation. Anything else.”

 

Nora slid the straps of the pack off her shoulders and pulled out the folders she had stolen from the Embassy, laying them all on the table. With the exception of the dossier on Elisif. It really didn't say much that Nora didn't already know, and she didn't want Delphine privy to the private information of her friend.

 

“It seems that the Thalmor see Ulfric as an asset. No longer under their control, but still an asset.”

 

“Makes sense. As long as Ulfric is running the rebellion the Empire is weakened. Anything else.”

 

“They were questioning a man from Rifton about someone named Esbern. It's right in that folder there.”

 

“Esbern?” cried Delphine, picking up the folder and leafing through it quickly. “He's alive?”

 

“The Thalmor seem to think so. And they think he's in Rifton. Who is Esbern, by the way? And why is he so important?”

 

“Esbern is one of the last of the Blades,” said Delphine, still looking through the file. “He must have gone undercover about the time the Thalmor took out the rest of us. He was the archivist of the Blades, and would know more about Dragons than anyone in Skyrim. But if the Thalmor think he is in Rifton?” Delphine was silent for some moments. “The Ratway. The warren of tunnels under the city. That's where he has to be. You need to fly, or teleport, to Riften immediately. Talk with Brynjolf. He's someone I know in Riften, and if anyone knows where Esbern is hiding out, he will.”

 

“Okay. I'll start out in the morning for Rifton.”

 

“Can't you start now. I mean, if you really can teleport?”

 

“I haven't been to Rifton. In fact, the closest I have ever been is Darkwater Crossing or Windhelm. I'll have to ride most of the way. But once I've been there, I can use teleport to go back.”

 

“Well, get moving.”

 

“In the morning, Delphine,” said Nora firmly. “I want to go to my home and offload some things. See about the children I adopted. You know, family things. Then I'll head to Rifton.”

 

“I hope you're not too late,” said Delphine, clearly not liking Nora's answer, but unable to do anything about it.

 

“I'll talk to you when I get back, with or without Esbern,” said Nora, walking up the stairs, out of the secret room.

 

Nora got her party to the castle just as the sun was setting. Letting her people take care of unloading, bringing what needed to be brought into the armory in. She headed up the stairs to the main floor, anxious to see if her children had arrived.

 

“Momma,” shouted three young voices as she entered the main hallway, and two young ladies and a little boy collided with her, wrapping their arms around her.

 

“Well, I see you settled in,” she said, looking over Lucia, Sophie and Blaise. All were clean and well dressed, with just a little bit of the dirt that children attracted like magnets. “Has Lucia shown you two around.”

 

“It's wonderful,” said Blaise, looking up at Nora with a smile. “More than I would ever have dreamed of.”

 

“How long are you home for, momma?” asked Sophie, her face beaming with a smile.

“I'm afraid I have to head out in the morning.” She almost laughed at the groans from all three, but thought that would have been cruel. “You know I have important things to do.”

 

All three nodded their heads.

 

“But we have tonight to have dinner together. And then perhaps you would like to hear some stories about all the wonderful adventures I have been on.”

 

The evening was perfect, Nora getting to know her adopted children, again feeling like a mother. When she tucked them in that night she felt fulfilled. Maybe it wasn't saving the world, but it was saving their world, and that was worth something.