U.O.T.W. Chapter 76 Runaway

• Posted by Sotek September 6, 2015 - Filed in TSC: CB Story - 1,056 views

  

  

   

  The Black Wolf ran behind a boulder and stopped for only a few seconds, just enough to gather his wits and see where he actually was. There ahead was Ivarstead so he ran towards it at full speed.

  “Wow, you can run some. So what’s your plan?” Sheogorath stated in his typical high pitched voice.

   

  The Black wolf started running across the bridge towards the town guards who had gathered there at the edge of the town to see what the commotion from Aela’s frantic yelling was all about. Sotek eyed them up quickly as he made his way towards them.

  “My plan is simple. I’ll get the guards to stop Aela so I can get this whole mess sorted out”.

   

  “Oh cool, that’s great!!! Except for one tiny teeny detail... You’re not Sotek the Argonian, you’re  Mr Bad Wolf is coming to eat our children. Watch out!!! The guards have seen you... Run!!!” As Sheogorath looked on his face filled with a wild ecstatic look of homicidal joy. 

   

  Sotek however looked up in horror as a sword came crashing down near him. He rapidly turned on the spot and headed away from the town to where he had only just came from.

  Sheogorath, being overjoyed at the sequence of events, cried out in his usual high pitch tone in the Black Wolves ear.

  “Oh wow that was close... Damn this is exciting”.

   

  The Wolf found himself once again on the bridge running away from Ivarstead. All of a sudden a second arrow shot towards him. He just managed to move out of its flight path as it sped past him, barely missing his shoulder.

  “Hey that’s your Girl, Aela. Why is she trying to kill you?”

   

  “Shut up, damn ya”. Sotek yelled in his mind franticly. Ahead of him he could see Aela readying another shot while Farkas and Vilkas were both poised to lash out with their Swords the very moment he would reach them. He quickly glanced over his shoulder to see the three guards who were chasing him. Each one waved their swords menacingly in the air.

   

  Aela took aim, but just as she fired the Black wolf darted to the right then without slowing down it jumped over the side of the bridge and landed straight into the river with an almighty splash. Aela just stared at it with complete disbelief.

  “What the hell! Get it you bloody morons”. Vilkas and Farkas helplessly gawped at the Black Wolf as it struggled to swim while the current dragged it down the river.

   

  Sheogorath clapped as he watched the scene play out before his eyes.

  “Oh wow, that was smart. But now what you going to do?”

   

  Realism hit home as Sotek quickly found out to his cost that he had forgot he was a wolf. His paws franticly fought against the current but he was able to do little to prevent himself being washed away. All the while Aela’s glare bore down on him.

  “I was going to swim for it but, let me guess... Wolves aren’t great swimmers”.

   

  “Argonians are, but yup you’re not Argonian you’re a wolf. Quick get to the side, there’s a waterfall!!! You’ll drown, then she won’t be you’re girl anymore” The moment Sheogorath spoke, he grinned wildly then laughed loudly like a madman.

   

  The Black wolf franticly tried his best to control his panic as he desperately paddled trying to get to the opposite side of the bank. He managed to get some grip with his paws then he burst out of the water running full pelt once again. This time he headed down a mountain trail towards some woods. Just as he got to the edge of a small corpse of trees, an arrow sliced past him and slammed into a trunk. Instantly it burst into flames causing Sheogorath to screech loudly.

  “Eeekkk!!!  What moron gave her that bow?”

   

  “That was me”. Inside, Sotek groaned as he darted between the trees. He used them for cover as he desperately made his way along the rocky trail to the valley below him.

   

  “Ah I guess that’s a ‘seemed a good idea at the time’ situation”. Sheogorath stated as he grinned at the Black Wolf.

   

  Vilkas stopped running as he plotted the Wolf’s heading and course. He nodded to himself before yelling out to the other Companions.

  “Aela, come back here. I got an idea”.

   

  “Did you see how fast that bastard moved? Damn”. Aela stated. She was impressed with the speed and agility of her quarry. She knew most wolves would have been finished by now and if the truth was to be told, no matter how she acted, she was actually starting to enjoy herself as the troubles of Jorrvaskr fell to the wayside.

   

  Vilkas held up his hand at her as he tried to curb her enthusiasm.

  “I’ll chase it through the woods while you two head down the path. The wolf will break out there at the bottom”. Vilkas explained about the canyon on the east side and the river which cut off the western mountain range. “He can’t cross there, and he won’t hit the river”. Aela and Farkas quietly headed down the route which Vilkas had told them about then prepared to face the oncoming prey. Around ten minutes later, Vilkas made his way through the trees making as much of a racket as he could, shouting out as he went.

   

  Upon hearing him the Black wolf stopped, and stood there on all fours as silent as a grave. His ears pricked upright and turned towards every sound.

  “What?”

   

  Sheogorath appeared alongside him with a bemused expression on his face. He tilted his head as he imitated the wolf before him.

  “What, what? What you stop for? They’re coming, here, here! Right here, coming here... Why stop?”

   

  “Shut up! I’m trying to think” The wolf listened as intently as he could at every sound possible. His mind stretched out as if he was mentally picturing what he could hear.

   

  Sheogorath rolled his eyes in jest as his hands fell to his hips.

  “You’re not very good at this are you... Oh well I had such hopes”.

   

  “What do you mean? Aw shut up damn you”. The more the Wolf  listened the more sure he was that something was going on. Realism dawned on him that he was heading towards a trap.

   

  “Look they’re coming and your still here!!! They meet you and bang... Game over”.

   

  “But they’re not though, that’s just one of them. Where the hell are the other two?” His wolf ears worked overtime as he listened to everything, the wind, birds in the trees and even a stag in the distance.

   

  Sheogorath paused as he glanced at the trees.

  “What?? Are you sure? Wait there, not here”.

   

  The wolf turned towards him but he was gone already. Sotek huffed as he glanced around to try to think where Sheogorath had told him to wait until he remembered that Sheogorath never pointed anywhere.

  “What? Wait where? Oh for howling out loud you bastard...” He stayed still for a few more seconds as he tried to place the other two companions location.

   

  Sheogorath suddenly appeared next to him and yelled out despite the fact that only Sotek could hear him.

  “He’s over here! Oh sorry wrong side... Ok, ok you are good at this, that’s Vilkas... The other two are at the end of the woods, death by arrow or canyon drop to the east. You tried drowning, so that’s out”.

   

  “Oh marvellous, canyon it is then. And there’s no need to sound so happy about it”. He broke from cover and headed east. His four paws hammered into the ground as he ran as fast as he could towards the cliff edge.

   

  Aela saw him in the distance through the tree line and almost screamed. Her bow found itself dangerously close to being smashed against a rock.

  “Oh great. Great plan you bloody moron. Well done Vilkas you bloody...” She looked around in desperation as she saw her prey slip out of her fingers. As there was no one about she broke all the Harbingers rules and changed into her werewolf form before giving chase once more.

   

  The wolf ran through the trees, then he heard a thunderous pounding as heavy paws slammed into the ground. He turned around but couldn’t see anything despite the rumbling approach of the leviathan. Suddenly to his left, Red burst through some bushes, swiping with her claws at him as she ran full bore towards him. He just managed to duck underneath her attack with inches to spare.

   

  Red, so intent on the chase kept her eyes fixed on her target, but having missed him, she crashed into a tree at speed, stunning herself for a few seconds.

   

  “Oh well done Red, you got him! Oh wait, no you missed” Farkas called out laughing.

   

  Red shook herself down then proceeded to chase the black wolf once again.

   

  The black wolf tore through the undergrowth, going so fast he nearly shot over the edge of the cliff which appeared from nowhere. Sheogorath screamed out at him as his eyes opened wide in shock.

  “Stopp! Oh wow I nearly had kittens”. The Black Wolf’s claws desperately tried to grip into the loose earth and rock. With less than a foot to spare, he just managed to turn and follow the canyon away from where Farkas and Vilkas were heading towards.

   

  Red broke through the tree line, then she herself had a look of panic as she franticly gripped into the rock and earth. She kicked up a cloud of dust as she only just managed to prevent herself shooting over the top.

  “Damn it Red, go bloody careful” Vilkas shouted out as his heart fell to his stomach.

   

  The Black wolf saw a tree that had fallen from a landslide. It landed between the two sides of the canyon forming a bridge so he ran towards it. Within a few seconds he felt hot breath on his back. Turning around he nearly panicked as he saw that Red was inches away from him. He shot across the tree, instantly feeling it crack as it tried to bear his weight. Before he was half way across, his instinct told him that Red had stopped. He slowed down then looked over his shoulder. Red was at the edge of the tree snarling and growling.

   

  She started to go across... Instantly Sotek felt the tree struggle to hold the weight of both of them. He turned to face her, slowly backing up as he did, growling at her, trying desperately to get her to back away.

   

  Red was angry, she hurt her head when she hit the tree so now she was out for blood. Suddenly she charged at the Black wolf. He turned trying to run as Farkas called out to her.

   

  “It won’t take the weight, get off!” But his warning came too late. With an horrendous ‘crack’ the trunk broke in two and sent both the Black wolf and Red down the depths of the chasm towards the river, but even as she fell Red snapped at him trying to get to him. Desperate to taste the blood of her kill.

   

  The Black wolf had no control at all. The most he could do was howl out and prepare for the river they were falling into. He stared at Red who unbelievably was still trying to bite him as they fell.

   

  “Oh wow, that girl of yours is a killer. I’d hate for her to be chasing me”. With two titanic splashes they hit the water below.

   

  Instantly both Red and the Black wolf got pulled under by the current. The Black wolf’s paws franticly clawed at the river bed as he tried to make his way to the riverbank. His claws just started gripping the stony bed and slowly he managed to make his way to the surface. Red clawed at the river floor ripping up mud and stones as she tried to prevent the river’s current from dragging her along. Red gave up trying after three useless attempts at gaining any grip and moments later Aela transformed back as she was carried further downstream.

   

  Aela broke the surface screaming out in frustration as she saw the Black wolf who was even further down the river, struggle to get to the side.

  “Oh no you don’t you bastard!” She swam as fast as she could, making it to the riverbank then she notched an arrow and fired at the wolf who was still in the water.

   

  Fortunately he saw her in time and dived under the surface losing what little grip he had. As he tried to get to the side he managed to claw himself up on a slight raised bank just as a third arrow struck the ground in front of him. He turned towards her and charged... Howling out as he approached his target.

   

  Sheogorath laughed as he watched Sotek close the gap between Aela and himself.  

  “Nothing says I love you like a big bite on the arse!”

   

  Sotek jus realised what he was doing and fought off his reaction.

  “Aww damn it all”. He suddenly turned around and headed away from her. As he ran, he darted from one rock to another never running in a straight line for more than a few seconds using as much cover as he could. All the while arrows flew past him.

   

  “The bloody bastard!” Aela shouted out in frustration as she grabbed a rock which she threw towards the wolf who was hopelessly out of range.

   

  “Yaay you got him, oh hang on... Nope you missed again”. Both Vilkas and Farkas laughed as she screamed at them with the top of her lungs.

   

  “Aela! You’re taking this a bit personal. I know your worried about Sotek, but take it steady”.

   

  “You take it steady, you bloody pair of apes!” She hollered at the two brothers venting her anger and frustration upon them. “How the hell do I get out?”

   

  Farkas glanced along the bottom of the canyon from the top of the edge and shrugged his shoulders.

  “Ermm follow the wolf, we’ll head down and meet up with you”.

   

  “Well move your bloody selves” She yelled at them once more.

   

  Vilkas turned to Farkas and grinned.

  “Oh yea she’s copped”.

   

  Farkas chuckled as he watched Aela kick out at the water but not before screaming profanities at a fish that swam close by her boot.

  “The Nines help the wolf now”.

   

  The Black wolf scrambled over the rocks and headed out of the canyon just as an arrow flew past him. He knew he was way out of effective range but he still ran as fast as he could.

   

  Soon afterwards he found himself on the outskirts of a muddy plateau, where hot springs shot out of the ground every so often. Looking around, he saw some bushes nearby so he headed to a mud bowl then slowly walked through it. Only then did he sprint off and run in a big circle to slowly make his way back to the bushes where he hid in silence.

   

  Sheogorath once again appeared by his side and looked out from his hiding place.

  “Ok we have a plan... What is it?”

   

  Sotek calmly smiled to himself as he listened out to the three Companions who were tracking his paw prints in the muddy earth.

  “Revenge”.

   

  Sheogorath stood bolt upright as he insanely scratched his head.

  “Revenge? How is that going to help you? Don’t get me wrong, or right for that matter, revenge is all good  but how will that help?”

   

  The Black Wolf laughed to himself as his eyes glinted evilly.

  “It won’t, but don’t worry you’ll enjoy this”. Aela came around the edge of the canyon, following the tracks he made to find herself facing the mud pits.

   

  Vilkas and Farkas joined up with her then they started following the trail through the mud bowls. Aela stopped as she followed the tracks with her eyes.

  “What? The crazy bastard went through the mud... What bloody wolf does that?” Aela had tracked all sorts, but she had to admit this was not normal behaviour.

   

  Suddenly he broke cover, surprising the three of them totally. He jumped sideways and body slammed into Aela’s back sending her forwards straight into the mud bowl. As she fell she grabbed the other two Companions who were standing either side of her in an attempt to stop herself from falling. All three of them fell into the pit face first, causing an almighty splash of filthy mud to cover the entire area. The Black wolf darted across using the three of them as a stepping stones forcing each one’s head one by one into the mud. Within a few seconds he was off, running away from the pits towards a mountainside.

   

  Needless to say Sheogorath was ecstatic as Sotek’s audacity.

  “Oh wow that was so funny... Damn your good my boy. You’re like a crocodile egg... All fun and scaly”. Sheogorath couldn’t stop laughing, at the scene behind them.

   

  The black wolf paused as he gave himself a smile of satisfaction before he turned towards Sheogorath. Sotek didn’t want to but he just had to ask.

  “How is a crocodile egg funny?”

   

  Sheogorath rolled around the floor laughing as he told Sotek his tale.

  “I made Hriskar give one to the orphanage in Riften for their breakfast. A big egg it was. Oh their exited little faces when they sat at the table... Doubly funny when it hatched”

   

  The Black Wolfs maw nearly dropped to the floor but the yelling from the mud pit bought him back to reality and he quickly headed up the mountain for a better view of his surroundings.

   

  The three companions climbed out of the pit but Aela was screaming for all she was worth at the Black wolf, shouting all sorts of threats and coarse language. As she climbed out both Farkas and Vilkas looked at each other totally smothered in mud then nodded to each other silently.

  “That bloody bastard did that deliberately”. Aela yelled as she turned towards the two brothers who were both glaring at her. “What?”

   

  As one they grabbed her arms and legs as she shrieked at them both.

  “Get the hell off me you apes... Let me go!” They threw her back in the mud pool where she landed heavily on her backside absolutely covered in mud.

   

  “What the hell did you grab us for, he was after you”. Farkas shouted. The two of them then headed to the river to clean up leaving Aela sitting there in the mud. 

   

  Overhead, looking down from the mountain side, the black wolf watched them all. He then headed away from the scene however inside he allowed himself a small laugh.