Chapter Text
Juniper slowly made her way down the hall, pausing at the open door. She could catch the end of a conversation between two Thalmor soldiers. Carefully peeking around the corner, she saw a large foyer, multiple doors, another hallway, and stairs were around the room. There was no way she could sneak past the soldiers and not get lost at the same time. She bit her lip, trying to figure out the best way to get past them.
'Well, I'm either going to make this work or they're going to kill me.' Juniper thought. 'If anyone is going to have the information I need, it'll be the interrogator, Rulindil.' She felt a prickle of anxiety raising the hair on the back of her neck at the name. It was vaguely familiar and the only way that would be possible- she swallowed hard and shook her head to dispel the sensation.
Reaching up and unpinning her long hair, she carefully fanned it out. Next she loosened the laces on the front of her dress, bringing attention to the top of her chest and proudly displaying her amulet of Auriel. Her hands shook slightly as she took a couple of breaths before holding her chin high, striding through the doorway with all of the confidence she could muster.
Both soldiers noticed her immediately, hands moving to rest on the hilts of their swords, but Juniper spoke up first.
"Excuse me," she somehow managed to not let her voice waver "can one of you please direct me to Rulindil's office?"
"Rulindil? What business do you have with him?" The soldier on the left approached her, stopping only an arm's length from Juniper. She had to fight the urge to flinch and step back.
Juniper did her best impression of a sultry look; flipping her hair over her shoulder, slightly cocking her head to the side, pushing her chest out the way she would see her friends do. She looked up through her lashes at the mer. "Of course," she purred "I have a meeting with him." then reached out to walk her fingers up his chestplate.
The soldier cleared his throat while his compatriot snickered and answered "The Justiciar's office is out that door, across the terrace, and will be on the left as you enter the solar." Juniper tossed him a smile and a soft thanks then walked off in the direction the guard had indicated. Her heart slammed in her chest as she walked out the door, past the other guards who gave her cursory glance but thankfully didn't seem alarmed by her presence.
As Juniper entered the solar, she could hear angry voices. There was a soldier in gilded armour facing away from her, apparently oblivious to her presence. Juniper quickly darted to the right, hiding behind the small bar and listened, not needing the assistance of a spell this time as the voices carried easily through the empty rooms.
"He's talked, hasn't he? He knows where that old man you're looking for is, he told me himself." The voice of a man rang out through the foyer.
There was a loud bang then that vaguely familiar voice of another man with an Altmeri accent responded. "You'll get your money when he has told the rest of his story, as agreed. Everyone talks, in the end. Now, I have work to do. Leave me to it if you ever want to see the rest of your payment."
A human man stormed out of the office, stomping loudly as he burst out the front door and into the cold. Juniper listened as the other man walked down some steps and slammed a door behind him. Pulling out her bow and notching an arrow, she carefully looked around the bar and spotted the single guard pacing aimlessly in circles around the room, humming to herself. As Juniper leaned forward to line up a shot, the lower limb of her bow bumped a bottle of wine on the bar shelf, knocking it over and shattering it.
The guard whipped around, drew her sword, and opening her mouth to shout for help. An arrow to the face sent the guard stumbling backwards, the crashing of her armour echoing through the foyer. Juniper froze, terrified that the ruckus would alert the other guards outside and prayed that the wailing Skyrim wind would help mask the noise. Luck seemed to be in her favour as the door remained closed and she couldn't hear any Thalmor coming to incinerate her where she stood.
Juniper carefully made her way to the office, searching for anything that could give her some sort of clue. The chest behind the desk caught her eye and she inspected the lock. It surprisingly wasn't enchanted as far as she could tell but she was not particularly skilled at lockpicking. Frowning, she attempted a spell to unlock the padlock, but her spell wasn't strong enough. Running back to the foyer, she grabbed the shield from the dead guard and used all of the strength she had to smash the lock off of the chest.
A number of journals and dossiers filled the inside of the chest in addition to a roll of parchment regarding dragons. Juniper quickly shoved all of the documents into her bag to sort through later and made her way down the stairs to what she assumed was an interrogation room, judging by the muffled screams she heard behind the door. Juniper undid the laces to her skirts, slipping them off which left her in the trousers she had worn underneath. She cast a muffle spell on herself before she slipped through the door.
Inside the interrogation chamber, a female Thalmor soldier was beating a man who was chained up in one of the cells. A Justiciar was sitting at a desk adjacent to the cell, overseeing the beating with his back to Juniper. The human was gasping out. "I don't even know anything...There's an old man...he lives in Riften. He could be the one you're looking for. He's old and seemed kind of crazy. That's all I know."
The Justiciar rose from his seat and paced the room. He huffed impatiently "That will be all for now. I must say I continue to be disappointed in your lack of cooperation. I hope next time you will do better."
The human sobbed "What else do you want from me? I've told you everything. Listen, If you let me go I can take you to Riften, show you where--"
The Thalmor soldier struck the human again, shouting "You will not speak unless Master Rulindil permits you to!" She raised her arm to strike again but a poisoned arrow pierced her shoulder, knocking the mace from her hand. Screaming, she fell to her knees, thrashing as the frostbite venom entered her system. Rulindil whipped around, shock spells readied at the tips of his fingers. He didn't even need to shock her, one look at his face was enough to paralyze her.
Juniper felt the fear drop in her stomach like a cold stone as he zeroed in on her location. Rulindil reared up and sent an arc of lightning her way. She deflected it with a ward and launched herself to the side, flinging an ice spike towards the Justiciar's head. He ducked behind an upturned table as Juniper drew an arrow back on her bow. As soon as Rulindil appeared from behind the table, Juniper sent the arrow flying towards him, it missed a killing blow but still hit his abdomen. The mer bellowed furiously at her, readied another shock spell in one hand, ripping the arrow out of his body with the other. Juniper tossed her bow to the side, pulled her dagger from the strap on her leg, and took a deep breath and let a Shout burst from her lips "WULD!"
Rulindil had no time to react as the Bosmeri woman was in front of him literally in the blink of an eye. Juniper didn't hesitate this time, she rammed her dagger up the underside of Rulindil's throat. He gurgled and choked, spell dying from his hands as his long fingers gripped her wrist. Her eyes met his and in an instant a memory hit her.
Juniper's face slammed into the wood table, embedding a splinter in her cheek. Two strong hands, much stronger than her own, held her wrists above her head. Ears were ringing and she could barely hear her own whimpering over it. Another hand fisted in her hair, jerking her head back so she was forced to look directly at her captor. The Thalmor emblem emblazoned on his chest was the first thing she saw until the mer leaned down, face level with hers. Long pale hair framed harsh amber eyes that in the torchlight almost seemed to glow red.
He sneered at her, obviously enjoying her despair. Releasing her head he ordered a soldier to chain her wrists. She felt a blade at her back and heard the tearing as her robes were ripped to pieces, leaving her in the remnants of her small clothes. A large hand palmed her rear, digging the nails in and drawing blood, causing her to sob again. She felt the heat of his body as he leaned over her small frame, smelled his breath as he hissed in her ear.
'I'll show you what it truly means to submit to the Dominion."
Juniper let out an anguished scream, wrenching the dagger from Rulindil's head. He collapsed to the ground, body shuddering for a moment before falling still. Juniper took a few ragged breaths as she dry heaved, trying to bring herself back to reality. Her hands were shaking, the sweat on her brow not only from the exertion of the scuffle. She looked back to where the soldier lay still in the cell, whether she was unconscious or dead, Juniper couldn't bring herself to care. Then she looked to the prisoner, who was watching her through his long, blood-caked hair. Juniper walked back over to her bow, picking it up with a lot more care than when she had disposed of it during the rush of adrenaline.
Neither the prisoner nor Juniper uttered a word as she walked to where Rulindil's body lay and searched him for a key, quickly finding it in the breast pocket of his robes. The human eyed her warily as she entered the open cell.
"I'm not going to kill you," Juniper said gently "I just want to know who you are and what they asked of you." With some difficulty, she unlocked the rusty cuffs, the man falling to his knees.
"I'm Etienne Rarnis. They were asking about a man named Esbern. They said he was one of the Blades." He panted and groaned on the ground for a few moments before he was able to continue. "I told them I thought he might be the old man who lives in the Ratway under Riften because he matched the description. I spend most of my time down there, so they must have assumed that I knew."
Juniper attempted to put the pieces together, but her train of thought was interrupted by the door on the far side of the dungeon swinging open. Two Thalmor soldiers strode in, one of them dragging a beaten and bloody Malborn with him. Juniper passed a dagger to Etienne, weary as he may be, and pulled another arrow from her quiver.
The soldier to the left shouted "It's over! We have your conspirator." The other one shoved Malborn to the ground. Juniper took a deep breath and unleashed another echoing Shout.
"FUS!"
The two soldiers were launched back against the wall. One slumped against the wall motionless, the other was left dazed and moaning on his back. Malborn, who who was spared the force of Juniper's Shout due to being on the ground, scrambled down the steps to where Juniper and Etienne stood.
"This way!" Malborn yelled as he bolted for a trap door in the corner. Juniper tossed him the keys and he managed to unlock the bolt to the trapdoor. She kept a close eye on the Thalmor soldiers while the men hauled open the door then leaped down out of sight. Juniper braced herself for impact as she threw herself down the dark hole after them.
Juniper was wholly unprepared to land in a pile of half frozen corpses, having to fight the instinct to retch as the putrid smell of rotting flesh hit her nose. Malborn rushed forward, pulling her to her feet and dragging her behind him and Etienne. The three of them scrambled through the cave passage as quickly as their legs could carry them. It wasn't long before they burst from the cave opening straight into the cold shore Northwest of Solitude. The sky was dark, the Aetherial Aurora sparkled across the black ocean in front of them. Juniper didn't have much time to admire it because Malborn stomped over and shoved her down into the sand.
"I hope it was all worth it." He spat as Juniper stared up at him from the ground. "The Thalmor will be hunting me for the rest of my life." He whirled around, marching East towards Solitude, while leaving Juniper and Etienne to follow silently.
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"Esbern? He's alive? I thought the Thalmor must've got him years ago." Delphine mused as she paced through her bunker in the Sleeping Giant Inn. "Figures the Thalmor would be on his trail, though. Esbern was one of the Blades archivists back before the Thalmor smashed us during the Great War. He knew everything about the ancient dragonlore of the Blades."
Juniper bounced on the balls of her feet, thinking for a moment before speaking. "So the Thalmor think the Blades know about the dragons… they seem to believe he is hiding in Riften."
Delphine nodded. "Probably down in the Ratway, then. It's where I'd go." She scribbled something on a piece of parchment. "When you find Esbern... you may have some trouble getting him to trust you. Just ask him where he was on the 30th of Frostfall. He'll know what it means."
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'Riften may be the city of Autumn, but the Ratway Warrens are more like the city of fish and shite.' Juniper groaned and scrunched her nose in disgust as Jenassa quickly knocked on the metal door to Esberns' supposed hideaway. The small slot in the door was slid open with a loud clunk and a set of eyes appeared on the other side. Juniper spoke urgently to the pair of eyes "Esbern? Open the door. I'm a friend."
A man's voice sputtered "What?! No, that's not me. I'm not Esbern. I don't know what you're talking about."
Juniper bit her lip and uncomfortably shuffled her feet. 'Of course,' she huffed 'We make it all the way here just for me to forget the date.' She opened and closed her mouth a few times. "Delphine said…" she trailed off, trying to remember. She turned to look at Jenassa pleadingly, who in return gave Juniper an exasperated look and stepped forward.
"Delphine said to remember the 30th of Frostfall."
The man was quiet for a moment, pondering before speaking "Ah. Indeed, indeed. I do remember. Delphine really is alive, then? You'd better come in then and tell me how you found me and what you want."
The slot in the door slammed shut followed by a series of knocks and clicks before the door swung open to reveal an older Nord man. Esbern quickly ushered them in, giving a quick glance around the Warrens before slamming the door shut behind them. Juniper peered around the small room. For living in a sewer, Esbern had made it surprisingly comfortable. A small cooking set up, a bed, table and chairs, and a plethora of scattered books adorned the small space. Esbern shuffled past them and began to speak "So Delphine keeps up the fight, after all these years. I thought she'd have realised it's hopeless by now…"
"The Thalmor have found you. We were sent to get you out of here." Jenassa spoke, the stress of possibly being caught evident in her voice. "They likely will reach the Warrens any minute now."
Esbern shrugged "Yes, yes, so you said. But so what? The end is upon us all. I may as well die here as anywhere else. I'm tired of running."
Juniper, who had been inspecting a book on the bedside table, looked up at Esbern. "What do you mean?" She inquired.
"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Esbern cried as he threw his hands in the air. "Alduin has returned, just like the prophecy said! The Dragon from the dawn of time who devours the souls of the dead! No one can escape his hunger, here or in the afterlife! Alduin will devour all things and the world will end. I tried to tell them but they wouldn't listen. Fools. It's all come true…" Esbern lowered himself into a chair, his eyes weary as he stared emptily at the corner of his quarters. "All we can do is watch our doom approach..."
"Alduin…" Juniper mused, knitting her brows together before it clicked. "The dragon who's raising the others?"
"Oh, yes. It's all been foretold. The end has begun. Alduin has returned." Esbern sighed. "Only a Dragonborn can stop him. But no Dragonborn has been known for centuries. It seems the gods have grown tired of us. They've left us to our fate, as the plaything of Alduin the World-Eater."
The room went silent as Jenassa looked sideways at Juniper, who looked between her and Esbern before saying meekly "Esbern… I- I am Dragonborn."
Esbern stared at Juniper for a moment, mouth agape before speaking. "What? You're... can it really be true? Dragonborn?" Esbern burst out of his chair, startling both women as he exclaimed "Then there is hope! The gods have not abandoned us! We must... we must go to Delphine! We have much to discuss." The nord began to move about the room with a spryness that surprised Juniper as he began to quickly gather his things while muttering excitedly to himself.
Jenassa, who had moved to the door to keep watch turned to them and hissed "There is noise in the corridor, we must move quickly!"
Esbern hefted his pack over his shoulders and led the women out of the door. The group could hear the clattering of boots and distant shouts echoing through the Warrens. Esbern pointed them to a stairway to the side, moving the group through the Warrens as swiftly and silently as possible. About halfway out towards the exit, they rounded a corner right into the view of three Thalmor agents who immediately spotted them. One of them raised his voice in command of the others. "There they are! Seize them! I want the Blade alive!"
Juniper, Jenassa, and Esbern took off through the Warrens, the Thalmor hot on their trail as they weaved in and out of hallways and gates. Thankfully, Esbern's knowledge of the many pathways gave them a small advantage. As they reached one of the rooms leading out, Juniper stopped to grab a sword that lay on the ground. She whipped around, slamming the door behind her, jamming it closed with the sword then took back off in the direction of her companions. As she reached the far end of the room the Thalmor agents, led by a Justiciar, reached the gate. She heard the Justiciar shouting "Someone blast this damn gate!" as she rounded the corner and ran back to the Ratway Cistern.
Juniper frantically burst through the door to the bowels of Riftens lower docks, Jenassa and Esbern hot on her heels. They'd barely managed to evade the Thalmor in the Warrens but it was only a matter of time before they would make it back out behind the trio. The three of them were determined to be out of the city and away from the Justiciars as quickly as possible. People turned to stare as they sped past to get through the gates, the aspen leaves of Riften whirling around their feet as they made a mad dash towards the safety of Riverwood.