An alarm in Sloan’s head went off the moment she entered their room at the inn and she dove to the side, rolled, and came up holding the dagger she had stashed under the bed.

 

“Impressive instincts.” An amused somehow familiar female voice. Sloan tried to remember where she had heard it as it continued, “I was right about you. So who are you?”

 

The blonde woman Sloan had rescued sat at the table. Her expression matched her sardonic tone but it was something else that tugged at Sloan’s mind. She knew this woman, she was certain of it. But who…

 

It came to her in a flash and the name blurted out before she could stop it. “Delphine?!”

 

The woman’s expression shifted in an instant to a calculating mask and a knife of her own appeared as if summoned. “How do you know that name?”

 

Sloan heard Mishi’s voice sneer, “Sloppy!” in her head as she eased her dagger down and laid it on the floor. Delphine had taught Kira everything she knew, and Sloan had only beat Kira because of Melissa’s armor; she inferred from this that she did not want to be on Delphine’s bad side.

 

“I apologize, I should know better than to just blurt out people’s names. I just…did not expect to see you. Here.”

 

Delphine had not moved a muscle. “You did not answer my question.”

 

Sloan eased away from the dagger and sat on the bed, placing her hands on her knees so they would be in full view. “My name is Sloan Shae.” It still felt strange to say her last name; she had known it for two-and-a-half-ish years but, having lived most of that time under the guise of false identities, it still felt foreign to her tongue.

 

The name seemed to have an effect on Delphine as well – although she did not move, her demeanor eased just a little. “I thought as much. What is the Jatbûfî Tong doing in Dark Brotherhood territory? My understanding was that the truce forbade that.”

 

That was a lot of information to parse at once, starting with the fact that the Dark Brotherhood apparently existed in this Skyrim. She would have to apologize to Aventus. Also, apparently Melissa was part of a Tong, which had certainly never come up as even a hint of a possibility last time. Although that would explain why she had been so difficult to track down.

 

Sloan didn’t have enough information to answer Delphine’s question, so she tried deflecting it with one of her own. “You are with the Dark Brotherhood? I thought you were with the Blades.”

 

Delphine stilled back to being wary. “No. I am not with the Brotherhood. And the Blades have not been around for a decade.” Her eyes narrowed. “You know much about me; much that I have taken great pains to conceal. Did Melissa send you?”

 

“No. I am not part of the Jatbûfî Tong. You can think of me as a freelancer.”

 

Delphine raised an eyebrow. “I find it hard to believe they would just let one of their own leave the Tong.”

 

“Probably not. But I was never part of the Tong. I was raised in the Honorhall Orphanage and didn’t know I had any family until after they kicked me out.”

 

Delphine’s other eyebrow raised. “That raises many more questions than it answers.”

 

Sloan smiled. “I know. I can tell you the entire story, but I don’t know if you will believe any of it.”

 

A pause, then Delphine stowed the dagger and smiled. “Try me. Care to join me for dinner?”

 

***

 

Two hours later, Sloan pretended to sip wine while Delphine tapped her chin in thought.

 

“You were right – that tale is very difficult to believe. If the dragons really are coming back, that changes everything. Especially if what you say about a Dragonborn being here is true – if there is a Dragonborn, she will need to be my top priority.”

 

“There are no signs of dragons yet. I don’t know exactly when they started showing up last time, but I suspect they will arrive any day now.” If this version of Skyrim has them, Sloan did not add out loud.

 

Delphine fingered her wineglass as she thought. “Do you remember anything at all? Surely there were rumors when something as momentous at that happened.”

 

Rumors, eh? Sloan tried to think back. The first murmurs of dragons had filtered into the Vixen soon after she started working there. Sometime after her training but still early enough that she wobbled in the heels.

 

The thought made her smile – sometimes she missed those simple innocent days, despite the numerous dicks they brought with them.

 

She shook her head, trying to parse through half-remembered tales she hadn’t paid much attention to in the first place. Only one thing seemed to stand out.

 

“Helgen.”

 

Delphine raised an eyebrow. “Helgen? What about it?”

 

“It was destroyed, somehow. There was talk about it for weeks. Some thought it was from the war but others claimed a dragon did it. The dragon rumors did start around the same time, so I don’t know if they really had anything to do with it or if people just conflated the two things because they both happened around the same time.”

 

Delphine frowned. “Helgen does seem like a logical place for the Stormcloaks to strike. That would give them a base of operations on the other side of the pass and put them in range of both Falkreath and the underbelly of Whiterun.” She laughed. “My tavern in Riverwood might be in danger.”

 

“Now that you mention it, the Stormcloaks did take both Whiterun and Falkreath in quick succession. Although I don’t think that happened until a year or two later.”

 

“Well, it does take a lot of time to organize large scale engagements. Two years does not seem unreasonable to consolidate the smaller towns around the area and prepare for taking a city like Whiterun.” Delphine sighed. “Despite the outlandish sound of it, your bearing shows you speak the truth as you know it. Although I am cognizant that you have been trained to hide your tells.” A laugh. “At the very least, it cannot hurt to be prepared. I’m going to put out some feelers for Stormcloak movement then head back to Riverwood. You may join me, if you wish.”

 

Sloan shook her head. “I am looking for old friends who might be able to help.” She had not mentioned her sisters, other than the rumors of a Dragonborn – she had learned during her many debriefings to be concise and stick with only the relevant facts. “Perhaps when I find them, we’ll come to Riverwood. It’s not like I know where else to begin.”

 

“Sounds good.” Delphine stood, wiped a napkin over lips before dropping it in a dainty pile on the table, and started to rise.

 

“A moment.”

 

Delphine raised an eyebrow and resettled herself in her seat. “Yes?”

 

“I apologize – I know the professional courtesy is not to ask, but if you don’t mind – what was your goal in pretending to be a victim earlier?”

 

“Ah, that.” Delphine laughed. “Since it is no longer relevant, given your information, I don’t mind telling you: I think there is something strange about the way the Stormcloaks have gone about things. I was going to infiltrate and investigate. I assume you had a similar plan? As I thought. Then you surely discovered that they send their volunteer whores to their camps, not keep them in town.”

 

Sloan laughed. “I learned that too late.”

 

“My goal, then, was to present myself in a way that might tempt that man to keep me in the barracks. My intel suggests that, despite their claims, only the volunteers who meet certain criteria are made into so-called ‘Campers.’ The rest become general barracks whores and scullery maids. Those who resist the initial…let’s call it interview are deemed too calcitrant to go.”

 

“I see. Then I should have followed your example.”

 

“Since we are breaking professional courtesy, what were you after?”

 

“I believe a relative of mine may have joined the Stormcloaks. I was hoping to confirm my suspicions. And maybe try to reverse that decision, if it wasn’t too late.”

 

Delphine raised an eyebrow. “A relative of yours? If he is anything like the rest of your family, the Stormcloaks may just win this war after all.” She stood and gave Sloan a nod. “I hope to see you again, should your words be true. That said, although it would make you a liar and an enemy, I hope to learn your message of doom is untrue.”

 

“I would not mind being proven wrong, in this case. But I do not believe I am. Watch the skies, my friend.”

 

“Travel safe. If all comes to pass as you have said, find me in Riverwood. If it does not, hope our paths do not cross again.”

 

“Farewell.”

 

Sloan watched Delphine leave the inn then “accidentally” spilled the rest of the wine and left after many apologies and coin. Much like with Mishi all that time ago, she did not believe Delphine had poisoned her drink but it was not a chance she was willing to take.

 

She had not found what she was looking for; at least, not yet. But she had found a contact, some information, and a place to begin. It was more than she had had at the beginning of the day. She went to the room her companions had rented as she considered her next steps, opened the door, and stepped in.

 

Then promptly turned around and left the room when she found said companions going at it again. On her bed, no less.

 

She would need to do something about those two, sooner rather than later. She stood in the hallway and thought for a bit until an idea came to her – perhaps she could fix both of her Windhelm issues in one stroke. It was worth a try and, since she currently had no way to scope out the Stormcloaks (well, she had ways, but none she was desperate enough to try just yet), she figured she might as well give it a go.

 

With new resolve, she turned and made her way back out of the inn, then turned the corner toward Aventus’.

 

 

Next chapter

 

Previous chapter

 

Start from the beginning