ʜ ᴇ ʀ ᴏ // Teldryn Sero

o.1.1 // the shrine

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No one's POV.
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Once the Dragonborn had felt well enough to walk on her own, the trio began their journey to the Skaal Village. Teldryn kept close by Rhea's side while Frea was rambling on and on.

   Teldryn ignored the frantic rambling of the Skaal woman and stuck close by Rhea. He leaned down to her, with his tall frame and her rather short stature. "Are you feeling alright?" He muttered. Rhea shrugged, keeping her hand on the hilt of her blade. She pulled her cowl up further, even though it already covered her whole face. The cold bit at her nose through the fabric.

   "I'm freezing, and i still feel awful." Rhea admitted. Teldryn looked down with interest now. He could see that she was off-balance.

   "You need to rest." The mercenary sighed, shrugging off the cloak of his armor and settling it around Rhea's shoulders. She snorted.

   "Has the great Teldryn Sero gone soft? Or do you just feel bad for me?" She hummed, keeping her eyes straight ahead, though her hands tugged the cloak tighter.

   Teldryn scoffed. "Nevermind, then. I could just let your ass freeze." He huffed, crossing his arms.

   Rhea raised an eyebrow. "I have the blood of a dragon, the cold has never been an issue. The wind however, is making my skin go numb." She chuckled lightly. "It seems you're the one who's freezing, Sero."

   Teldryn looked down. He was shivering indeed, so used to the warmer areas of Solstheim and places like Blacklight. Hell, the Grey Quarter was warmer than this. Rhea grinned, pulling the cloak around her arms. "You aren't getting this back, though. But I think we should stop in Raven Rock after we're finished in the village. Get some liquor and decent rest before we set out for Miraak again." She hummed, kicking the snow lightly.

   Teldryn nodded quickly. "I couldn't agree more. However, the Skyrim offer still stands." He smirked, rolling his shoulders back a bit. "I'm not sure why House Redoran is so insistent on maintaining Solstheim. Seems like more trouble than it's worth." He sighed, glancing around at the snow and ash. Rhea simply hummed in agreement.

   "Maybe while we prepare to face Miraak again, we can get some things in Skyrim. I need to stop by my home anyway." She glanced around, noting the houses up ahead, barely visible in the snow.

   Frea slowed her pace, walking beside the two for a moment. "The village is just ahead. Storn has used his magic to raise a barrier around it, protecting the few of us left. That the barrier is still there is a good sign." She hummed, running up towards the village.

   Teldryn and Rhea made eye contact, holding in their laughter. "It's hard to believe she is f'lah. That sort of act she's putting up is way too annoying for Solstheim citizens to tolerate." The mercenary chuckled under his breath.

   Rhea covered her mouth with the back of her hand. "Gods, she couldn't be from Skyrim either. That kind of annoyance would get you killed." She snorted, taking mental note of the Dunmer language spoken by Teldryn. Come to think of it, he had called her "serjo" just earlier...a term of respect. Interesting.

The mercenary and his patron followed behind Frea, cracking jokes and snickering while they entered the village. However, their conversation was cut short as Frea rushed to an older man.

"Father! I have returned! There is yet hope!" The Skaal woman beamed as she embraced her father. The man, maybe in his late fifties or sixties, tilted his head.

"Frea! What news do you bring? Is there a way to free our people?" The man - Storn - questioned frantically.

Rhea and Teldryn stayed close at each other's sides, listening.

"No, but I have brough someone who has seen things... she has confirmed that Miraak is indeed behind the suffering of our people." Frea muttered dejectedly, stepping to the side to gesture at the Dragonborn.

Storn examined the girl before sighing. "I feared that it would be so." He mumbled, shaking his head. Frea stared at him with an expression of worry and confusion.

"But how is that possible? After all this time..." She covered her mouth.

"I fear there is too much we do not yet know." Storn said, gritting his teeth. Frea grumbled, turning quickly to Rhea.

"Please, tell Storn what has happened."

Rhea sighed heavily, leaving Teldryn's side as she stepped forward. Storn looked her over, then frowned.

"So you have seen things, yes? My magic grows weak, and so does the barrier around our village. Time is short. Tell me what you know." The elder spoke, voice laced with a mixture of hope and melancholy. Rhea bit her cheek.

"I've seen Miraak." She informed. Rhea could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins as her status of 'Dragonborn' felt similar to how it used to. It felt....relieving....yet it was hard. Hard to endure. Hard to remember.

"Really? How?" Storn leaned forward, his interest sparking.

"Miraak is behind what's happening to your people." Rhea pulled the cloak tightly around her arms and shoulders. Teldryn stepped forward to stand beside her once again. He could practically feel the mixed emotions radiating from the Dragonborn. Rhea exhaled slowly, the tension in her body decreasing ever so slightly with the mercenary inches behind her.

"How do you know this?" Storn raised an eyebrow.

Rhea's mind went back to the Black Book. She cringed, shaking her head. Gods, that was a nasty memory. "I read a book in Miraak's temple. It took me somewhere, and Miraak was there." She explained, voice wavering at how nonchalant she sounded.

"The legends speak of that place. Terrible battles fought at the temple. The dragons burning it to the ground in rage. They speak also of something worse than dragons buried within. Difficult to imagine, but if true..." Storn tapped his chin, deep in thought.

"What does all this mean?"

The Skaal man looked up once again, staring at Rhea with pale eyes. "It means what I feared has come to pass. Miraak was never truly gone, and now has returned. If you could go to this place and see him... Are you like Miraak? Are you Dragonborn?" He asked finally, voice thick with hope.

Rhea sucked in a breath and nodded. "I am indeed Dragonborn." She confessed, feeling her shoulders tense.

Storn released a sigh, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Then perhaps you are connected with him. The old tales say that he, too, was Dragonborn." He hummed. Rhea nodded again. She remembered Miraak claiming to be Dragonborn. Gods, she wished it wasn't real, but he was definitely connected to her in some way. She could feel it.

"What does it mean if they're both Dragonborn?" Teldryn interjected, brows furrowed under the helm. None of this made sense to him just yet. Maybe after a few bottles of Sujamma...

"I am unsure. It may mean that you could save us, or it may mean that you could bring about our destruction. But our time here is running out. The few of us left free of control cannot protect ourselves for much longer." Storn sighed heavily, shaking his head. He thought for a moment before looking up at Rhea and Teldryn once again. "You must go to Searing's Watch. Learn there the word that Miraak learned long ago, and use that knowledge on the Wind Stone. You may be able to break the hold on our people there, and free them from control."

Rhea turned and looked to Teldryn, a smirk growing under her cowl.

"I don't like that look, outlander."

"Ready to fight a dragon?"

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fuck sake that was a lot of dialogue
thank god for copy and paste forums
anyway, i hope you enjoyed! i love seeing some plot without plot.
don't worry, we'll get to more RheaDryn soon
in the mean time...
like, love, caress my book
later
1332 words