On the way to Kynesgrove I ran into some folks trying to kill me, specifically. Thugs, who turned out to be hired by the Battle-Borns, who somehow found out I stole their note that had the whereabouts of Thorald. They weren't instructed to kill me, but seemed that just teaching me a lesson wasn't enough for them.

I wasn't prepared for this, so I ran, casting spells back at them when I could. Unfortunately, that isn't the easiest way to hit someone, so it took quite a bit longer than I would have liked. As I wasn't watching where I was going too well, I ran into a group of bandits. They wanted in on the action, too.

And then, to top it all off, a dragon attacked. There was no use to running anymore, so I stood my ground. It took a lot of magicka potions, but in the end, I prevailed.

Turns out the dragon was guarding a word wall at Bonestrewn Crest, which had the word FO ("frost"). While I was running from everyone, I bounded into the dragon's turf. Oh well.

Eventually I do get to the place Delphine specified. And what should I find there?

Oh look, it's my old buddy Alduin, doing some magic to one of those weird mounds.

That wasn't quite what I was expecting.

Alduin then makes fun of me for being a Dovahkiin ("dragonborn") and not even being able to understand Dragon, before flying off. What a jerk.

Delphine decided this is a good time to speak up, and suggested that we take out this new dragon while he's still groggy.

He wasn't offended.

Even so, he'd got more fight in him than a lot of dragons. But that didn't stop me from ending him, this time for good.

Delphine owed me an explanation.

She had figured out that those mounds were actually dragon burial mounds, though, and figured the dragons were not just tired of hiding, but were actually coming back to life. She thought the Thalmor would know something about it, so she said she was going to figure out a way to find out. And I was supposed to meet her back in Riverwood later to learn the plan.

But I had other plans. Maybe one of these times I'll help her, but for now, I'm done with this mystery. Resurrecting long-dead dragons? Waaay out of my ability to do anything about it.