In The Ratway Warrens: "Go away!" Esbern? Open the door. I'm a friend. "What?! No, that's not me. I'm not Esbern. I don't know what you're talking about." It's okay. Delphine sent me. "Delphine? How do you... so you've finally found her, and she led you to me. And here I am, caught like a rat in a trap." The Thalmor have found you. You need to get out of here. "Oh, how reassuring! Most likely you're with the Thalmor and this is just a trick to get me to open the door!" Delphine needs your help to stop the dragons. (Persuade) "So Delphine keeps up the fight, after all these years. You'd better come in and tell me how you found me and what you want." I'm the one the Blades have been searching for. I'm Dragonborn. "What's that you said? Dragonborn? Then... there really is hope after all? You'd better come inside. Quickly now, Thalmor agents have been seen in the Ratway." There are Thalmor agents in the Ratway. Looking for you. "And no doubt you're one of them. Leave me alone!" Delphine said to "remember the 30th of Frostfall." "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." While opening the door: "This'll just take a moment..."

"This one always sticks... there we go."

"Only a couple more."

"There we are!"

"Come in, come in! Make yourself at home."

"That's better. Now we can talk." After entering Esbern's home: "So Delphine keeps up the fight, after all these years. I thought she'd have realised it's hopeless by now. I tried to tell her, years ago..." The Thalmor have found you. We have to get out of here. "Yes, yes, so you said. But so what? The end is upon us. I may as well die here as anywhere else. I'm tired of running." What do you mean, "the end is upon us"? "Haven't you figured it out yet? What more needs to happen before you all wake up and see what's going on? 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. Nothing can stop him. I tried to tell them. They wouldn't listen. Fools. It's all come true... all I could do was watch our doom approach..." Alduin... the dragon who's raising the others? "Yes, yes! You see, you know but you refuse to understand! Oh, yes. It's all been foretold. The end has begun. Alduin has returned. 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." It's not hopeless, Esbern. I'm Dragonborn. "What? You're... can it really be true? Dragonborn? Then... then there is hope! The gods have not abandoned us! We must... we must... We must go, quickly now. Take me to Delphine. We have much to discuss." You're talking about the literal end of the world? "Oh, yes. It's all been foretold. The end has begun. Alduin has returned. 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." What do you mean, "it's hopeless"? "Haven't you figured it out yet? What more needs to happen before you all wake up and see what's going on? 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. Nothing can stop him. I tried to tell them. They wouldn't listen. Fools. It's all come true... all I could do was watch our doom approach..." Alduin... the dragon who's raising the others? "Yes, yes! You see, you know but you refuse to understand! Oh, yes. It's all been foretold. The end has begun. Alduin has returned. 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." You're talking about the literal end of the world? "Oh, yes. It's all been foretold. The end has begun. Alduin has returned. 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." It's not hopeless, Esbern. I'm Dragonborn. "What? You're... can it really be true? Dragonborn? Then... then there is hope! The gods have not abandoned us! We must... we must... We must go, quickly now. Take me to Delphine. We have much to discuss." While packing his items: "But, give me... just a moment... I must gather a few things..."

"I'll need this... No, no, useless trash... where'd I put my annotated Anuad?"

"One moment, I know time is of the essence, but mustn't leave secrets for the Thalmor... there's one more thing I must bring..."

"Well, I guess that's good enough... let's be off..." If approached again: "You'll have to speak up. I'm a little deaf in my right ear." Wait here. "All right. Don't be long." Follow me. "Good. We should keep moving." Do you know the way out of here? "Yes, yes. We should proceed cautiously." What's so important about me being Dragonborn? "Not yet, not yet. When we get to Riverwood... with Delphine... I'll tell you both then, when I've collected my thoughts. I never expected... well, suddenly here you are and now I'm too muddled to explain myself. I still need some time to get used to the idea that there might be hope after all." Who are you? How do you know Delphine? "Hasn't she told you? We were both Blades, back when that still meant something. Now we're just fugitives from the Thalmor. I didn't know she was alive, but I'm not surprised. She was a survivor." Why are the Thalmor so interested in finding you? "Well. They've been hunting down Blades since the Great War, on general principle. But if you mean me, now, in particular... maybe they've started to get an inkling of what the return of the dragons means. I don't suppose they want the world to end any more than we do. Or at least, they'd prefer it to end on their terms." What happened on the 30th of Frostfall? "It was a cold day. The end of Frostfall is nearly winter in the Jerall Mountains. We heard the news at Cloud Ruler by courier, riding hard from the Imperial City. 30th of Frostfall, 171. Thirty years ago. The Great War started that day. The Thalmor ambassador his ultimatum to the Emperor Titus Mede: the heads of every Blades agent within the Aldmeri Dominion. I knew, that day, that it was truly the beginning of the end." "We should keep moving."