U.O.T.W. Chapter 71 A Heavy Heart

  • “Tilma!!! The door!!!”

    Kodlak yelled as he and Vilkas carried Sotek through the doorway and up the stairs to the main hall. The Harbinger literally dropped Sotek on the floor then turned his attention back to the door. Tilma had already shut it and secured it with a latch despite the fact that they all knew it wouldn’t hold. “Vilkas, the book shelf”. A second later the door heaved as Red smashed her paws against it.

    Tilma screamed as she stood at the top of the stairwell. She was frozen to the spot as every bang sent a wave of fear coursing through her body. Kodlak ignored her as he and Vilkas lifted a bookcase and literally dropped it down the stairwell. Over the course of a few minutes various pieces of furniture found themselves being added to the rapidly building barricade. The final piece of furniture was one of the large dining tables. It landed with an horrendous crash as it smashed a bookcase which it landed on.

    Kodlak watched the barely visible door then nodded to himself.

    “That should hold her… I hope. Vilkas can you pick Sotek up. We need to bring him to the temple”.

    Tilma in a daze picked up a linen wrap which fell to the floor when they threw down a bookshelf.

    “Let me bandage his arm first…”

    “There’s no need for that lass, the healing potion stopped the bleeding. Come and sit down… I’ll get you a drink. Vilkas take him to the temple. Don’t say what happened. You don’t know… Just what the hell did happen?” Kodlak paused as he thought back to the events from the Undercroft. For one of the few rare moments his head was a complete blank.

    Vilkas smiled briefly.

    “Sabre Cat… A Sabre Cat attacked him…”

    Kodlak clicked his fingers in agreement to Vilkas’s suggestion.

    “Yes, a Sabre Cat… I’ll be there as soon as Tilma’s ok”. He poured her a glass of brandy then steadied her hands to help her drink it.

    Three muffled howls echoed from the Undercroft which made Tilma shake in fear. “The Nines… What’s wrong with her?”

    Kodlak pulled off his chest armor which fell to the floor in pieces the moment he unstrapped it. He sighed then sat alongside Tilma.

    “Red’s having her seasonal… Yes I know it’s early… Don’t ask me why… I’ve got to check on Sotek, will you be ok?”

    Tilma stared at the stairwell as her face filled with horror.

    ‘”What if she gets out?”

    Kodlak shook his head as he tried his best to reassure her.

    “Red won’t… She can’t get passed the door”

    Tilma wasn’t having none of it. She was too far gone to listen. As she replied to the Harbinger she almost screamed at him.

    “What if she does? That door won’t hold her… Will it?”

    Kodlak rose to his feet then drew his sword. He rested it on the table as he sadly shook his head.

    “Pray that it does… Now I must go to the temple”. He headed to the double doors and exited the hall however when the door swung back a hand shot out from nowhere and stopped it.

    Kodlak sharply turned around to see Tilma standing just behind him. She slowly reached out and held his hand while her eyes fixed on the stairwell. As if to voice her fears a series of loud bangs originated from the door to the Undercroft. It only took a single glance for Kodlak to know that Tilma was genuinely afraid. He only pondered his options for the fleetest of moments before he gently escorted her outside to the temple.

    “I think it’s best if we both check on Sotek. Don’t you? Hmm?”

    As they walked passed the Gildergreen tree Tilma staggered as her foot caught the lip of a stone slap. With the reflexes expected from someone far younger, Kodlak’s hands shot out and snatched her from the fall. He could see how much she was shaking so he sat her on a bench and unclipped his hip flask from his belt.

    “Here, and for the love of the Nines sip it…”

    Tilma timidly took the flask from him but she was too shook up to drink it. Kodlak gently retrieved the flask and he himself held it to her lips.

    “Sip it… Don’t do a Farkas on me and guzzle”.

    Her hands grabbed at the flask and she drank deep of the brandy which felt like liquid fire. She coughed and spluttered which caused a faint smile to cross the Harbingers face as he saw some color return to Tilma’s cheeks.

    Tilma was out of breath but she soon recovered and replaced the stopper before she gave the flask back to Kodlak.

    “Thanks… That’s potent stuff… Cyrodiil?”

    Kodlak just nodded as he watched her. She rested against his chest as she turned back towards Jorrvaskr.

    “We’ve lost the Undercroft… Everyone’s clothes, supplies, the kitchen, everything… She’ll be in that state for three days at least. You can’t let anyone go down there… She don’t care who it is… She’ll kill them. We need to make arrangements for the Whelps. Where will they stay?”

    Kodlak sighed as he studied the layout of the town.

    “Where indeed. We’ll requisition the Bannered Mare… The Whelps can stay there while repairs go underway. We’ll have to stay at the hall with the Inner Circle. Right now though someone else needs our attention. Stop your worrying woman, we’ve been through worse than this”. Kodlak gently pushed her away and rose to his feet. Tilma looked up to see his friendly hand being offered to her. She took hold of his hand and pulled herself up. Just before they entered the temple, Kodlak took a deep breath as his hands rested on the doors. He seemed calm and in control but mentally he was dreading what he was going to find inside the sanctuary.

    The large temple doors opened and both the Harbinger and Tilma entered to find the priestess Danica Pure-Spring unstrapping Sotek’s armor. Sotek was laying on one of the fur covered stone beds. He was propped against Vilkas but his head was slumped forwards. Sotek lurched to the side as Danica tried to pull off a pauldron however she kept tutting as her robe kept becoming entangled on one of Sotek’s bone spikes. Tilma initially gasped as a fear gripped her. Kodlak knew what she was thinking as the thought initially occurred to him as well. He may be old but there was still life in him and his eyesight.

    “Tilma, gain some control will you. He’s breathing isn’t he?… Go sit yourself down. Vilkas? Danica? What by the nines are you trying to do?”

    Vilkas had a blank expression on his face as he was just as perplexed as Danica was. The priestess half turned to the Harbinger as she pulled at a strap to Sotek’s chest piece.

    “I’m trying to take his armor off… It’s like one of those Dwemmer puzzle cubes from Morrowind. Kynareth’s mercy, how does he equip it so quickly?”

    Kodlak stepped up to the mark and took over. He lent Sotek’s torso against his shoulder and quickly unfastened all the straps. In no time at all he lent Sotek back down on the table so Danica could proceed to clean up the blood which smothered his shoulder. Kodlak quietly cursed as he saw the wound properly for the first time. If Danica was shocked at the tearing of Sotek’s scales then she certainly didn’t show it in her voice. She was calm and collected as she cast her healing spells. Light flooded the bed as Kodlak turned away to protect his eyes. However when he looked back he could see extensive scarring along the left side of Sotek’s chest and shoulder along with savage looking puncture wounds where Red’s fangs had penetrated the flesh and muscles.

    Sotek’s shoulder had regained it shape from the breakage earlier but Kodlak knew the wound was severe.

    “How bad is it? I know it looks bad, but?”

    Danica started wrapping his shoulder in oiled soaked weaves of linen as she answered Kodlak solemnly.

    “It’s bad… It’s too early to say for sure but don’t expect much from him over the next forty-eight hours… He’s in for a bad time, that shoulder might never heal. You need to expect the worst. And Aela, I do hope she stays with him. It will be bad enough when he finds out he’s lost his shoulder let alone knowing he’s lost her as well…. Sorry, it’s too early to tell… Time is what he needs, then we will know. Where is she? Why isn’t she here with him? And what exactly happened?”

    Kodlak glanced at Vilkas who shrugged his shoulders and gave the Harbinger nothing except for a blank vacant expression. Kodlak raised his hand slightly as if to tell Vilkas not to worry.

    “Aela’s in Ivarstead. Bears are causing a nuisance at the mill. She left early this morning so she don’t know. She won’t be back for a few days”.

    Danica sighed as she covered Sotek with an old fur. All the while she talked to the Harbinger she tended to the Argonian who made no sign that he was even close to regaining consciousness.

    “I’ll send a message to the Innkeeper. She needs to know”.

    “No!!!” The Harbingers hasty reply caught the priestess by surprise but Kodlak quickly recovered and composed himself. “It would do no good and just fill her with worry… She can’t help him until he’s awake and Aela would be a nightmare if she was here now. She’ll be a distraction. You take care of him and I’ll sort out her when she returns, she will understand my decision… She won’t be a help now, would she”.

    Danica nodded as she reluctantly agreed.

    “Yes, it’s for the best I suppose. I still feel that she needs to know but you are her Harbinger so I leave that to you. Now, tell me… What happened to him?”

    Kodlak drew her attention to the doors with a slight nod of his head as he blatantly lied to the priestess in her own every temple.

    “A Sabre cat attacked him from behind. He threw someone out of the way. If he just drew his axe and attacked it then he wouldn’t have got hurt. Then though the Sabre Cat would have reached its intended target…. It’s not Sotek’s fault… The blame rests with me, I didn’t see it. He stepped into the breach and pushed me out of its way. I’m just grateful that Vilkas was there, he’s the one who stepped in to pull Sotek’s tail out of there…”

    Danica softly smiled across to Vilkas before shoving Kodlak towards the doorway.

    “You would think Sotek knows better after all the times he spends on the plains with that girl… Mind you I would think that a Harbinger would also know better that to tell fibs in the temple of Kynareth. But no doubt the Nines will forgive you as will I. I’m sure you have your reasons… Now I have a patient to see to and you are under my feet. Be gone, all of you… Out!!!”

    As Kodlak ushered Vilkas and Tilma outside the priestess called out to him. He stopped then glanced over his shoulder at her.

    “I’ll look after him, you look after them…”

    He nodded slowly as he whispered back to her.

    “Thank you…” Once the three of them were outside, Tilma seemed to be better off in herself as she breathed in the fresh air. This eased the Harbingers tension who then sought to solve their next set of problems. “Right, Vilkas, Tilma we have a lot to do and little time. I don’t need to remind you both that we also have nothing between us. Vilkas gather Farkas and the Whelps. We need furs and food… See what you can find. Tilma I’ll leave you to ask Hulda at the Bannered Mare with regards to food and rooms. Also have a word with Elrindir at the Drunken Huntsman and that brother of his… Anoriath. We can stay at the hall of Jorrvaskr but the Whelps… With Red’s howling it will cause too many problems. We’ll try to fit them all in the two Inn’s. Anoriath should be able to help with meat”.

    Tilma cursed as she looked up the steps to Jorrvaskr.

    “I’ll have to pop into Belethor as well. I’ve no cooking utensils… We’ve nothing”

    Kodlak face palmed himself as the whole desperate situation suddenly dawned on him.

    “And we have no gold either… I’ll have a word with Jarl Balgruuf. He might lend us some coin. No doubt that fetcher Proventus will push for interest to be added to it… Vilkas meet us in the hall this evening. Divide the Whelps into two groups and send them to the two Inn’s… Good hunting”.

    Kodlak ascended the stairway which rose up towards the Cloud District then stopped at the edge of the Dragonsreach bridge. He cast his eyes across the plains where Farkas would be hunting with the Whelps. His gaze drifted back to Jorrvaskr as he muttered to himself.

    “What a mess Kodlak... You can sit back and blame Aela, hell even Red all you want old timer. Ultimately it’s down to you. Aela, Sotek... I’m sorry... We’ll sort it all out one way or another...” With a heavy heart he pushed open the doors and entered the grand hall in the hope that Jarl Balgruuf and Proventus would help the Companions out in their dark hour of need.

    Whilst Kodlak was dealing with Jarl Balgruuf and Proventus in the hope of borrowing coin to get them through the next few days, Tilma was busy arranging some supplies and rooms for the Whelps to sleep in the two Inns. Vilkas however was heading through the main gate to locate his brother Farkas who was currently engaging two wolves with the help of the Whelps somewhere on the western plains.

    Vilkas’s first move was to try to hire out a horse but he was almost stopped at the first hurdle as he never had any coin either. The stable boy however accepted his story that he had left his gold behind and he was in a hurry to meet the other Companions. He scribbled down an i.o.u. for 50 septims in a small tatty ledger then mounted up on the steed and rode across the plains.

    Within half an hour of searching he saw the group in the distance towards the southern side of the tundra. As he neared their position he could make out a small pile of furs which caused him to huff slightly.

    He dismounted his horse then secured it as Farkas came over towards him and whispered so the Whelps couldn’t over hear them talk.

    What’s the news brother? Is she secured?”

    Yes... No... Kind of... Hell Farkas it’s a bloody mess. She’s lose in the Undercroft. However she’s contained. Everything’s down there so we need to gather supplies. Furs, meat... Hell even fish”. Vilkas paused as he prepared to give Farkas the worst of the news.

    Farkas picked up on Vilkas’s emotions immediately and pressed him for answers.

    “Where the hell is Sotek? He’s a good hunter, we need him here. He can gather fish damn faster that all of us put together...”

    Vilkas gulped then addressed the Whelps along with Farkas at the same time.

    “Sotek is erm... He’s hurt, badly in fact... A sabre cat attacked the farm to the south. He... He’s taken a blow to the shoulder, he’s in a bad way. Aela is as of this moment heading to Ivarstead to deal with a bear situation. She’ll be gone for a few days. Now I warn you all once and once only... She don’t as of yet know how Sotek is. When she gets back you keep your traps shut... The Harbinger will speak with her and only the Harbinger. Is that understood?” As one the Whelps nodded however Farkas could tell that something else happened. He knew when his brother was lying, he could see the signs easily.

    Farkas went to pull him aside but Vilkas cut him off before he could say a word.

    “We’ll talk later, now isn’t the time. We need more furs so here’s what we’ll do. The whelps can stay here as a group and fish for erm, fish... We’ll go bag some deer and we can talk then”. Without any further explanation Vilkas set the whelps on their task then headed out northwards with Farkas in the hope of securing some extra furs.

    Once the two Companions were a good distance away, Vilkas informed Farkas of the whole situation which they were currently in.

    “Reds loose in the Undercroft. She bit Sotek’s shoulder, its broken. He’s heavily scarred and out cold in the temple. The Whelps can’t stay at Jorrvaskr so we’ve to split them up. The girls can go to the Bannered Mare while the men can stay at the drunken Huntsman. They can’t stay at Jorrvaskr, we can hear Red’s howls. The poor bitch is going crazy down there”.

    Farkas stared at Vilkas like he was temporarily insane. He fell silent for a few seconds before he poured out his rant at his brother.

    “This is crazy, everything is down there... Why didn’t she lock the bloody door? She has a big bloody lock for crying out loud... My cloths, the supplies... Gold... We have no bloody gold”.

    Vilkas shoved him in the chest to shut him up so he could explain what the Harbinger was planning in an attempt to sort out the mess.

    “Harbinger’s speaking to the Jarl for a loan. Tilma is arranging for the Whelps to stay at the Inns. We have bigger problems than drinking money”.

    “I’m not on about drink Vilkas, it’s just... Oh hell”. Farkas fell silent as he accepted their fate. Instead on pushing forwards his issues, he concentrated on the job at hand.

    By the time evening had set in, the Companions were already within the safety of Whiterun’s walls. As instructed the whelps separated off into their groups and headed off to the two inns while Farkas and Vilkas entered the hall of Jorrvaskr. Tilma divided up the furs that the Companions had collected but as she prepared to lay out the bedding, both Farkas and Vilkas simply took two furs each and settled out on two benches.

    Vilkas pointed to the fire pit as he covered himself over with the animal skins.

    “We’ll be fine with these. Set those furs down near the steps so the pit will warm you. This hall gets cold at night. Harbinger, what about training?”

    Kodlak supped on a glass which he momentarily forgot was filled with water and not the sweet mead which he was accustomed to.

    “Urgh... There will be no training until Aela is back with us... Keep everyone away from the hall. I’ve explained to Jarl Balgruuf that there is fire damage to the Under Croft so everyone knows we can’t use the Undercroft for a few days”.

    Upon hearing his voice Red growled as her paws thudded a few times upon the stairwell door. Tilma screwed her face up as she wrestled with her nerves.

    “She is in for hell when she changes... The mess down there... As if her room is bad enough”.

    Kodlak sighed as he sat on the steps near her.

    “You can’t blame Aela. I’m the Harbinger, it’s my responsibility to see to the welfare of all the Companions. I failed to see that her door had a lock. I failed fulfilling Aela’s needs as well as Red’s. It’s my fault Red is down there and it is my fault that Sotek is in the temple. I alone bear the blame”.

    Farkas sat up on the bench which he was using for a bed and joined in the conversation however as he talked all he could hear was Red’s growling.

    “We all knew she would need a lock. The fact is that we all thought we had more time... Red!!! Shut the hell up!!!”

    Kodlak tutted as he laid down on the fur bedding. He turned on his side and faced the stairwell as a single tear escaped the confides of his eyelid.

    “Yelling at her won’t help. Get some rest, we’ve a few hard days ahead of us”.

    Over the course of the next few days Farkas and Vilkas kept the whelps busy on the plains or in the valley near Riverwood, hunting wolves, deer and the occasional rabbit. Tilma cooked the Companions evening meal over the fire pit and in the morning she would wash up the plates in a metal tub which they borrowed from Adrianne. With regards to the main meals, they all joined the Whelps in the Inn’s however Kodlak kept an eye on the books and he was fully aware of the bill they were running up.

    Throughout all that time Kodlak sat at the top of the steps to the Undercroft and listened out at Red shuffling around and on occasion howling out to anyone who would listen. If Kodlak wasn’t there then he would be found at the temple sitting alongside Sotek who even on the third day was still unconscious.

    Despite the circumstances everyone made the most of their predicament while Red prowled around the Undercroft in her relentless search for food, water and prey...

     

     

Comments

14 Comments
  • Relycs
    Relycs   ·  April 9, 2016
    Please dont, there's no need to :).
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  April 9, 2016
    I appologise for this Relycs. This is something I check for now although there may be a few chapters which escaped...
    On a higher howl, it's good to know you like the way I've fleshed out Kodlak and the others. Tilma can bring so much more to the li...  more
  • Relycs
    Relycs   ·  April 8, 2016
    You mispelled "Under Croft" every time, should be "Undercroft".

    Paragraph 34 from the bottom, "septums" should be "septims".
  • Relycs
    Relycs   ·  April 8, 2016
    I liked how Kodlak, Tilma and Vilkas managed the situation, really gives them some depth. Great chapter.
  • Justiciar Thorien
    Justiciar Thorien   ·  March 10, 2016
    Whoa! Whoever is going to enter the Undecroft when Aela changes back... I totally don't envy them...
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  October 23, 2015
    Nordic Carved armor
  • Ebonslayer
    Ebonslayer   ·  October 22, 2015
    I have a quick question. Is the armor they were talking about in the temple dragonscale or Nordic carved?
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  August 27, 2015
    Thanks for the error pointing Exuro.
    The brandy's great for calming nerves Kodlak just wishes someone would sip it lol. I dread to think what the Whelps think while all this is going on...
  • Exuro
    Exuro   ·  August 26, 2015
    Good ol' Cyrodiilic Brandy, I used it too. It helps with everything, except arrow wounds.
    The whelps must think the inner circle is completely crazy. They only catch bits and pieces of the drama and plot we read, and if you only look at all the dram...  more
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  August 19, 2015
    *Lissette
    There's a few people dreading to see the undercroft  by the time Red's finished with it. I haven't decided as of yet who will be first (Probably Kodlak) but I know Aela and Sotek won't be going down there...
    Meli
    Thanks for pic...  more