“The Thalmor don’t know anything about the dragons? That can’t be right.” Delphine rubbed her eyes. “The pieces fit together so well!”

 

 Sloan shook her head. “That is what the file said. They are starting to build contingency plans for the dragons and even more for the war, since they are afraid the two sides will come together to fight a common opponent.”

 

“I suppose that makes sense. Still, it puts us back at the beginning.”

 

“Pretty much. Also, there were some other files pertaining to other people of interest for the Thalmor. I’ll look at them more thoroughly when I go back, but you might be interested to know they have a file on you.”

 

“I assumed they would. Did it show any signs they know where I am?”

 

“Not from what I was able to glean. It is a very large folder, so I didn’t have time to go through the details. The most recent entry was from a couple years ago, about a possible sighting in Dawnstar.”

 

“Interesting. Someone up there had sharp eyes! Anything else?”

 

“You might also be interested to know Ulfric Stormcloak is connected to the Thalmor in some way. Again, his file was very thick, but it looks like he worked for or at least with them for some time.”

 

“Are you suggesting the leader of the Stormcloak rebellion, which is dedicated to the expunging of both the Empire and the Thalmor, might be in cahoots with them?”

 

“It wouldn’t be the first time a man in power secretly played both sides of the field. I suspected this might be the case but wanted to get some confirmation before saying anything since so much has changed. Last time, our Trendil discovered Ulfric was not just in cahoots but was actually a Thalmor puppet. The war in our previous lives was stalled on purpose by those in charge. The soldiers were sent on skirmishes with each other or to fight unrelated battles against others, such as the Foresworn. Other than the Stormcloaks taking Whiterun and Falkreath early on, nothing really happened in the war until our version of Trendil took things into her own hands very late in the game.”

 

“This is all very fascinating. It sounds like the war was real, at least for a time, if the Stormcloaks captured cities. Then something must have changed.”

 

“Perhaps. I know Jarl Balgruff did not want to take sides in the war; perhaps his recalcitrance extended to the plan to stall everything, so the powers that be decided he needed to be removed.”

 

Delphine nodded. “Siddgeir, in Falkreath, is young, impetuous, and full of Imperial zeal. He may have been removed for similar reasons.” She sighed. “I’ll see what my little birds can dig up. What other files did you see?”

 

“Those were the only ones I opened. Most of the rest were labeled with what seemed like some kind of code instead of real names. Fred200, HM1919, CC, Tirloque and Malicia, MTB, hyperiondl, Miauzi, Esbern, Lucky Sparrow, Yor…what?” Sloan stopped as Delphine gasped.

 

“Did you say Esbern?”

 

“Yes. Do you know that name?”

 

“I do, indeed! I thought he was dead, but it seems strange for them to carry a file on a dead man.”

 

“Is he important? I can look through his file next time I’m there, if you want.”

 

“Please do. Make it your priority, even over Ulfric. If he is alive, he could be the key to finally getting some answers.”

 

“Why? Who is he?”

 

“He is a Blade, like myself, but he is also a scholar and historian. If anyone knows why the dragons are back, it would be him.”

 

“All right. I’ll go back and take a look.”

 

“Thank you. Speaking of Ulfric, there is possible big news on the civil war.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Rumor has it that the Stormcloaks and Imperials clashed in an ancient temple dedicated to one of the old gods on the trail of some ancient Nordic relic. Although they outnumbered the Imperials ten to one, the Stormcloaks were routed by a single quote-unquote ‘she-devil.’”

 

“A she-devil? Like some sort of Daedra?”

 

“It could have been a summoned minor Daedra, I suppose. Atronachs are very popular with mages from both sides of the war. But no summoned atronach is powerful enough to route an entire company of soldiers on its own.”

 

“So what do you think happened?”

 

“It was probably a member of the Keṣ Tshaâki. Are you familiar?”

 

Sloan nodded, even as she parsed through her memories. Her Stormcloak clients had been very talkative about their opponents’ military system and tactics. So many boring lectures and stories while they boozed themselves into fucking shape! “The KeTs? Yes, I heard about them. Some sort of special assignments team with the Imperials, right?”

 

“Exactly. There are a lot of ancient ruins around Tamriel filled with old coins and relics. One of the main jobs of the Keṣ Tshaâki is to delve into those places to recover what they can. They are chosen for their battle prowess and make formidable foes.”

 

“If one is capable of routing that many soldiers at once, they must be!”

 

“Indeed. But that is not the big news. Apparently none other than Galnar Stone-Fist was leading the Stormcloaks.”

 

“Wow! The right hand man himself? I'm pretty certain an event involving the loss of Galnar did not happen last time.  Do we know what happened to him?”

 

Delphine shook her head. “My little birds didn’t get there until after the battle was over. They saw a few Stormcloaks straggle out but none that fit Galnar’s description. My guess is the stragglers were left for dead by the Imperials. ”

 

“Did your contacts trail them?”

“Yes. They went back to Windhelm, although quite a few succumbed to their wounds along the way.”

 

“interesting. I Can’t  imagine they would just leave his body if he died, so presumably the Imperials captured him. “

 

“That's my assumption. We’ll know for certain soon. The execution of  figure that important would certainly be announced.”

 

“Unless they ransom him instead. “

 

 Delphine frowned. “It seems unlikely they would send him back for any reason. The removal of the Stormcloaks’ top general would do much to move the war forward. “

 

“If the situation is the same as ours, they may well return him under the premise of a ransom or prisoner exchange to keep the balance. They will not want the war to end.”

 

Delphine tapped the table, the only sign of her clearly troubled thoughts. Finally, “Well, that may be. If so, there still would be some sort of announcement.”

 

Sloan nodded. “No doubt.”

 

“On a side note, this whole thing made me realize something. I think I may know what happened to our elusive Dragonborn.:

 

Sloan quirked an eyebrow.  “Oh?”

 

“Just a suspicion.” Delphine snorted. “Although your report on the Thalmor and the dragons proved my suspicions are not always accurate.” She sighed and poured herself a glass of wine from the bottle on the table. “Help yourself, if you like, while I tell you what I think may have happened.”

 

Sloan shrugged and poured herself a glass as well, although she did not take a sip until she saw Delphine do so first.

 

“We know the Dragonborn was at Ustengrav three weeks ago, at about the same time as you. I sent my little birds to scout for her along every path from Ustengrav to High Hrothgar I could think of but there was no trace of her. I think that is because she knew the civil war needed to end before the dragons could be dealt with…”

 

Realization dawned on Sloan and she finished the thought. “…so she went to Solitude to join the Legion.”

 

“Exactly. Now, imagine you are General Tullius…no, not him. He is Cyrodillan, he wouldn’t care. Imagine you are his Legate, Rikke, who is a Nord, and the bloody Dragonborn strolls into your office. What are you going to do with her?”

 

Sloan nodded. “Make her a KeT.”

 

 “Yes. You wouldn’t put someone like the Dragonborn in the regular lists. You would place her in the Keṣ Tshaâki “

 

“Are you suggesting the KeT who defeated all those Stormcloaks was Sian?”

 

“No, the rumors explicitly mention cat ears, so it was probably a Khajiit. I was pondering the mystery of our lost Dragonborn when my little birdies brought me the news and the realization that their so-called she-devil was probably really a Keṣ Tshaâki led me to put two and two together.”

 

Sloan nodded. “It makes sense and explains why she wasn’t where we thought she would be.”

 

“It should also make it easier to find her. I have my little birdies watching for her around Solitude.”

 

“That’s a good idea.” Sloan drained the last of her wine and stood. “I’ll head back to the Embassy in a couple days. I need to make arrangements first.” She paused as a yawn came unbidden to her lips, then laughed. “Before that,though, I think I’ll sleep.”

 

“You’re welcome to sleep down here. There are a couple beds behind that curtain.”

 

“I…think I’ll take you up on that, thank you.”

 

“Off course.  Have a nice rest – if you need anything, I’ll be upstairs playing innkeeper.”

 

“That sounds…peaceful.”

 

Delphine snorted. “If you think innkeeping is peaceful, you have never been an innkeeper.”

 

Sloan just smiled as Delphine left, then sighed and started removing her daggers as, for the first time since forever, it seemed, she dreamed of a different life; a simple one, not invested in murder and secrecy. A life where she could be…well, normal.

 

It seemed a dream more impossible than any.

 

 

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