U.O.T.W. Chapter 101 Witches' Brew

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    It didn’t matter whether or not Sotek was hoping for sympathy or even a rallying cry of retribution, what he received was a roar of hysterics from the other three Companions. It certainly didn’t help the matter with the pathetic look he had given them. Aela crouched over her horse and wrapped her arms around its neck so she could hold on as tightly as possible while her eyes watered with laughter.

    Vilkas was content to bellow loudly like a crazy Khajiit on skooma. Farkas however was more forthcoming. He slapped Sotek on the back, pulling his shoulder. The bulky Nord was too caught up in the moment to notice Sotek’s face which had changed from a ‘why do I bother’ look into an ‘I’m going to break skull’s’ snarl.

    Aela’s laughter subsided to a chuckle and she grinned at the hapless Argonian.

    “Ok, that’s enough... sorry. I’m sorry. So... there’s Silverhands inside. Good, we can get some payback. That bastard’s owed a slap”.

    Sotek just blanked her and the two jackals who were now wearing silly expressions while they tried to subdue their laughing and gazed towards the sun instead. It was already close to the horizon, which in itself was a trivial matter but for some strange reason, cogs began to turn as a plan started forming in his head.

    He deliberately tried to avoid looking at any of his siblings directly in the fear of starting them off again in fits of laughter. Instead, he looked towards Aela’s leg and kept his gaze fixed on her thigh.

    “How far is Whiterun from here?”

    Vilkas’s chuckling came to a gradual stop. This was partly down to the fact that his amusement was, by now, literally burnt out and secondly due to his curiosity in Sotek’s question. He called out to him and examined his features for any clue to what Sotek was thinking.

    “About two hours ride. Why?”

    Sotek closed his eyes so he could blot out the others while he put forward his plan which he hoped they would all agree to.

    “I’ve a suggestion... if you three are willing. I’ll throw it to the wolves and see if anyone bites”.

    Aela’s eyes lit up as she stated her plan in the vain hope that it was along the same sort of lines as Sotek’s own one.

    “Red and Albino burst inside the mine, howling like a pair of Hircine’s hounds while Farkas and Vilkas follow behind?”

    Now it was Sotek who started laughing. He shook his head and leaned across to kiss her.

    “Oh Aela. To start with, Red and Albino are Hircine’s hounds... No. Vilkas, Farkas, would you two be willing to wait here and keep an eye on the mine? You can have a scout about see if any Silverhands are running around if you want but what I don’t want you to do is head in the mine until we get back. What you say?”

    Aela rapidly turned her head around to each of them but she quickly realized that the two brothers had no idea as to what was going on. She was left with no other choice but to ask Sotek directly for information regarding his idea.

    “And where are we coming back from? The Silverhands are in there!!”

    At that point Sotek nearly felt sorry for her. She looked like a sick puppy that had to leave her favourite chew toy behind when she was dragged off for ‘walkies’.

    “We, my not so sweet but often ravenous she wolf, are heading to Whiterun. Don’t worry, we will be back in four or five hours so you’ll be able to change then Red can run around rampant, biting and clawing at will”.

    Aela looked at him with an aura of confusion which was mixed with a large dose of attitude. She screwed her nose up at the very thought of riding off leaving the others behind. Not because she was worried or concerned about them, but more so of the fear of being left out.

    “What the bloody hell are we going there for? These bastards will have cleared the mine out before we even reach the sodding gate!!”

    Farkas and Vilkas had no idea either as to why Sotek needed or even wanted to head back to the city. Aela smothered her face with her hands in despair but then she realised she couldn’t see Sotek so she peeked through her fingers at him.

    “Why don’t we just wait here for a few hours? Those bastards will be asleep. What’s the point of going to Whiterun? Our supplies are good, we don’t need anything. Do we?”

    Sotek glanced at the mine entrance and thought back to when Albino tried to kill the wolf. He had one hell of a time fighting it let alone the bandit in fort Greymoor. Albino was a scrappy fighter but he lacked strength. Sotek knew he would be at a disadvantage and he fully intended to level the playing field, or at the very least try to.

    “I’m sorry, I’m not ready. No, there’s something I need to do first. If you want you can wait here with the others. I’ll be as quick as I can”.

    Aela patted her horse and prepared to ride off.

    “I’ll go with you. I just wished I knew what you were up to. We won’t be long guys, and then we’ll have some fun”.

    Sotek laughed at her last comment.

    “Fun? You’re thinking food”.

    Grinning at him, she snapped her teeth together loudly.

    “Well it’s your fault, Harbinger wannabe!! If you don’t feed me, then what’s a girl to do? If you fed me more, I wouldn’t have the urge to go around biting people would I”.

    Sotek reached into his bag and pulled out an apple which he promptly tossed over to Aela for her to eat.

    “Here, catch”.

    She caught it but instead of eating it, she threw it straight back at him as hard as she could. It splattered against his armour, coating him in apple juice and slime.

    “I don’t want no stinking apple, I want food!!!”

    Farkas laughed at her while he passed a piece of linen wrap to Sotek.

    “Well, when we all go in you can have all the Silverhands you want”.

    Aela’s eyes flashed seductively at the thought of Red razing the mine to the ground.

    “Great, there will be a few in there. I can get messy”.

    Sotek chuckled at Aela’s desire to let Red out. He knew perfectly well that once she changed into Red there would be no stopping her.

    “You’re an animal”.

    She responded by sticking her tongue out at him and grinned like a demented creature on a hunt.

    “So are you”.

    Their eyes locked on to one another’s gaze. As Aela stared in Sotek’s eyes, a feint memory flashed in her head of the day he took his second trial. She raised her eyebrows a few times in succession in the hope that her mate would know what she was wanting from him. Sotek gave a slight laugh then nodded in agreement. He knew. As one they tipped their heads back then howled out together as if they were a single entity.

    “Awwwwoooo!!”

    They both met each other’s gaze once more and smirked to one another before turning their horses southwards towards Whiterun, leaving Vilkas and Farkas behind them, watching the entrance to the mine.

    Vilkas’s assessment of the time it would take to get to Whiterun wasn’t, to Aela’s surprise, that far out. It actually took the two of them two and a half hours but that was due to the fact that Sotek had to slow up his horse for the final stage of their journey as his shoulder was causing him an incredible amount of pain.

    The moment the stables were in sight, Sotek dismounted and walked his horse towards it while he held his arm against him as best he could to try to ease the pressure and the tenderness. He smiled across to Aela so she wouldn’t worry or be concerned with the fact that it was hurting him but she wasn’t fooled for a second.

    “So what are we here for? All you’ve done is make your shoulder worse”

    Once he secured his horse to the fencing near the stables, he went into more depth about what he wanted to do in the hope that Aela would understand and more importantly, accept his reasoning.

    “I need to see the Alchemist, Arcadia. There’s something I need to do. Basically, make a few potions” Sotek explained. “I know it seems odd, but ... I need to do this, Albino, he’s. He needs help so I got an idea”. Aela’s face told him all he needed to know. She was still clueless as to his intentions. Sotek beckoned her to follow him as he headed through the main gate.

    One thing Aela presumed that Sotek had forgotten was the time. Whiterun was shrouded in darkness except for the few fire braziers dotted around the city. She first cast a glance at the War Maiden’s which was locked up for the night. Even the furnace had started to cool which was obvious from the soft reddish glow which had dimmed from its usual sun like glare.

    “It’s shut. The War Maiden’s shut and Belethor’s. Oh yea... And Arcadia’s place. It’s all bloody shut you cretin!!”

    Sotek just laughed at her as he made his way along the path towards the market square.

    “Don’t matter. She’ll open up for me, she always does”.

    Aela felt a growl form in the back of her throat but she repressed the urge to snap at him. Instead she glared along the stone cobbled street at the shop instead.

    “Does she now!!”

    Sotek would have smirked but he easily guessed Aela was feeling for whatever reason a bit jealous and threatened so he wisely kept quiet. As he approached the shop he banged on the door in the hope that Arcadia would hear him while Aela leant against a pillar and quietly seethed. Sotek stepped back away from the shop and gazed up at a specific window which Aela felt was a bit odd. She was unable to contain herself any longer, not that she wanted to, and yelled at him.

    “What the hell are you looking at up there?”

    Sotek slightly glanced across to her so he could judge just how bad her mood was. Her foot was going frantic which caused him to gulp. He was in trouble. Without thinking he blurted out a reply in the hope it would settle her somewhat but he didn’t think it through.

    “She’ll be in bed by now. It’s her bedroom window”.

    He jerked sideways from a hard punch in his arm which caused him to jump. Turning to face his attacker, he found himself face to face with Aela and she was far from happy. Her hand grabbed him by a bone spike and forced his head to the side so she could holler at him.

    “How do you know she’ll be in bed by now? And while we’re on the subject, how the bloody hell do you know which window is her bedroom one? Start talking slime ball”.

    A gentle ‘cough’ from behind caused Aela to let go of Sotek and spin around on the spot. One of the Whiterun guards peeked over her shoulder at Sotek and pointed towards the Bannered Mare.

    “If you’re looking for Arcadia then she’s at the inn”.

    Sotek gave a sigh of relief and backed away from Aela then rolled his head around his shoulders to relieve the strain from his neck.

    “You wait here; I’ll be back in a second”. He then headed off to the Inn while keeping half an eye on his tail.

    Arcadia was sat at a table with a few friends enjoying one of several different brews. There was a basket of buttered rolls on the table as well but neither Arcadia nor her friends were eating them. Sotek went over to her although he kept a bit of a distance just in case Aela had happened to peek through a window.

    “Hi, I’m sorry about this but I badly need a few ingredients, we’ve got an ermm bandit lair to take out and I need to make a few potions”.

    Arcadia just smiled then handed over her key to him.

    “I’ll be there in a minute, you take what you need and get started”. She then tipped the basket of rolls towards him as a way of offering him some.

    Sotek gratefully took two then thanked her for the key. He turned around on the spot and walked straight into Aela who was standing behind him.

    “Whoa! Ermm hi”. He could see she wasn’t overly happy.

    She turned back to the doorway and headed outside with Sotek right behind her. The door slammed shut as she confronted him on the steps to the Inn.

    “She gave you her key?”

    “Yes, to get some ingredients”. Sotek knew she was feeling a bit vulnerable and jealous so he put his arm around her to make her feel more secure. “Oh come on, you got to relax. You’re my mate, you know that”.

    She seemed to drastically calm down and stopped the blatant hostility as her arms folded into his chest. As he held her tightly she whispered to him although she refrained from making any eye contact.

    I’m... look this werewolf business. I’m feeling a bit...” She stopped talking as her eyes fixed on the alchemists shop door.

    Sotek smiled as he caressed her back. He tried to comfort her and lay her fears at rest.

    “I’m the one that should be scared. You might not want to know if my werewolf form can’t compete with dreams”. He held her hand and led her to the shop then opened the door. “You need a clear head for this. Are you ok?” He watched her emotions as she stepped inside the shop.

    Aela looked around the place. The whole store smelt of an array of different ingredients. Some of them were sweet like apples or bloom from the trees. Most however were not. A pungent smell of death seemed to reek from bone meal while the fire salts stank out the place with a pungent stench of sulphur. Death bell lay out on a shelf along with a mixture of other plants which seemed strange and alien to her. A large jar rested on the counter which was full of Sabre Cat eyes. Aela felt her stomach turn in her gut as she envisioned them all flowing her as she walked around the room.

    Realising she was being silly; she tried to effectively start the whole episode again. Using a far better tone she genuinely asked about Arcadia and the shop.

    “She really lets you in here to mix potions at night?”

    Sotek chuckled out loud while he shifted through a basket of flower heads.

    “Yes, but I’m not mixing them. You are!!! And it’s not potions you’ll be mixing”.

    Aela felt confused once more and aimlessly looked around the shop.

    “Me? What the hell do I know about alchemy? If we’re not here to make up potions then what are we doing here?”

    Sotek whispered a single word in her ear which filled her face with a wondrous smile.

    “Poisons!”

    She stared at the Alchemy table as if hit contained all the answers.

    “Poisons?”

    He briskly nodded and set to her to work.

    “Yess, now we’ll need these”. He past her the red mountain flowers that he picked earlier, then he poked around various ingredients on the shelving.

    Having found what he was looking for, he smiled back at her with a mischievous grin.

    “Ah here we go! Three of these”. He picked up three dark purple flowers and laid them on the counter. “Deathbell. Now, grind them up”. After he past the plants to Aela he sat back and rested on a stool so he could watch her brew the poisons.

    She did as she was instructed, completing each stage in a casual, calm manner. After a good few minutes of boiling and grinding ingredients, she had three bottles of Damage Heath poisons standing by the side.

    Sotek gave her a hug and lightly clapped his hands together.

    “Well done you”.

    She allowed herself a smile to self congratulate her achievement. Slowly, with each week she was getting the hang of preparing and making potions.

    Sotek passed her the Slaughter fish eggs along with a sneaky wink.

    “Now for something a bit different. This one will do damage over time”. Then he went back to the shelves, and started sorting through the various items. His gaze broke away from the shelf and started scanning the rest of the shop.

    “What the hell? It’s not here”.

    “What’s not here? And what are you trying to do?” Arcadia called out just as she entered the shop.

    Sotek turned around and faced her directly as he pointed to a shelf with an empty wooden bowl.

    “You’re out of Orange Dartwing!!”

    She tutted at him then dismissed him from the conversation.

    “Yes I am!! Because you keep using them. Still and silent please!! Now, Aela, what is he trying to do?”

    Aela couldn’t help but smile at the way Arcadia handled Sotek. She was almost like a younger version of Tilma. Aela decided in that precise moment that Arcadia wasn’t the threat she thought the alchemist initially was.

    “We are trying to make up some poisons; at least that’s what I’ve been told”.

    Arcadia beckoned Aela to a chair then started gathering ingredients from her shelves. As Sotek reached over for one, she slapped his hand.

    “Get off”.

    Aela laughed at him which caused Arcadia to look across at her. She smiled at the young Companion then started telling her about when Sotek first came into the shop all those months ago.

    “He didn’t have a clue! There was a big pile of plants he placed on that tray there... all blinking sorts, half of them were useless”.

    Sotek huffed as he glanced at the tray which Arcadia had pointed to on his initial visit to the Cauldron.

    “You kept a third of them for yourself! Thief!”

    Her rebuke was fast and forthcoming. Aela knew there and then that she had won the argument.

    “And you nearly poisoned yourself, or any other poor sod that would have drank that potion. Now shut up!”

    She gathered up some Skeever tails then placed them on the Alchemist table and beckoned Aela to follow her.

    “Can you grind them up for me please?”

    Sotek went over to the table but she almost yelled at him.

    “No!! Not you, we’re having a girl’s brew night. All you have to do is stay out of my way!!”

    Aela went to the table laughing at Sotek while he began eating the two bread rolls he took from the Inn. Under Arcadia’s instructions and tutorage, she started to grind up the tails.

    Sotek sat in a chair watching them. He couldn’t help himself and commented on the situation.

    “A girl’s night? More like a witches night! Making poisons, oh wonderful. As if Aela’s cooking’s not bad enough as it is”.

    Aela just laughed at him.

    “Oh don’t worry, I haven’t poisoned anyone yet”.

    Arcadia turned to her in an equal measure of surprise and disgust. She gently held Aela’s arm and nodded to herself.

    “No? That will never do. I’ll show you a few. You never know when you need them”.

    A loud huff signalled that Arcadia found herself the victim to Sotek’s scavenging. Her eyes narrowed as she sharply turned towards him.

    “What have you done with my Deathbell?”

    “Ermm, she used them!” Sotek pointed to Aela, in an attempt to pass the buck to her.

    Aela wasn’t prepared to take the blame especially when she was acting under his orders. She pointed straight back at him along with a threatening glare.

    “Only ‘cause you told me to!!”

    Arcadia passed Aela some more which she had in a large basket that was stored behind the counter.

    “Add these to the mix”.

    Arcadia then disappeared in a side room for about a minute. When she returned, she bought out a bag and a potion.

    “Here you go mix these up with it”. She passed to Aela three pieces of giant lichen. “And this is for you; I’m hoping it will help with your shoulder”.

    Sotek looked at the bottle which she had given him. He examined the label but it had scribbling all over it so he couldn’t read what was on it.

    “What do I do with it?”

    Arcadia laughed at him.

    “You drink it silly”. Aela joined in and started giggling like a little girl.

    Sotek looked at them suspiciously.

    “You’re both mixing up a poison, then ask me to drink something?”

    Arcadia glanced across the room at him in surprise. She knew he was now a talented Alchemist but he still had a few lessons to learn. What impressed her was the fact that he had a good idea as to what she was actually putting together.

    “A poison? Not two or three?”

    Sotek shook his head at the suggestion.

    “That’s a single poison! Whatever it is, it’s potent. I’ve never mixed those three ingredients together before. Two of them yes, but not the three together”.

    Aela looked at the bottles she made, there were three sitting there by the time she finished brewing the poisons. One thing made her wonder about them, the bottles seemed harmless enough but Sotek’s words told a very different story...

    Arcadia picked one up and weighed it in her hand.

    “Go careful, these are very potent. Ravage health, damage health, and weakness to poison. These bottles... they kill!!”

    She then beamed a great big grin at Sotek and pointed to the bottle he was still holding.

    “Now you got to drink yours. Get on with it!”

    Sotek pulled out the stopper then without even sniffing the contents, he drank the whole thing. His face screwed up as his tail thrashed around wildly.

    “Urgh!! That tastes awful. Juniper berries. I keep telling you to add them”. He yanked his flask off his belt and rinsed his mouth out while he looked around for somewhere to spit out the water.

    Arcadia held her hand up to him as she laid out a warning.

    “Don’t you spit in here... Swallow it. As for berries, I did. Ten of them”.

    Aela couldn’t resist a wind up and called out to him.

    “Hey, I got a bottle missing”.

    Sotek just looked at her and hissed out a warning of his own.

    “Don’t you even dare to ssuggesst it. Hsss”.

    Once the poisons were safely stored in Aela’s pack, the two Companions headed outside into the night. Sotek thanked Arcadia for her time and the ingredients which they had used.

    “Thanks for your help. My shoulder doesn’t feel so stiff now and the pain’s lessened. How much do I owe you?”

    Arcadia smiled at him then handed him a piece of parchment.

    “It was a pleasure. Aela, I look forwards to your next visit. Not so much your visit Sotek. Go on, get out of here!”

    Sotek took the parchment and folded it up without reading it then slipped it in a pouch.

    Aela saw the letter, but she didn’t ask about it. She silently followed him outside the main gate so they could retrieve the horses. She tried to blank it but she couldn’t. A small flame of jealousy started burning in her heart once more.

    “What was on the parchment?” The moment she had asked, she wished she hadn’t. “Sorry, that’s your business. Don’t tell me, I don’t want to know”.

    Sotek moved his horse next to hers and chuckled at her.

    “Oh wow, you are jealous aren’t you”.

    She stopped her horse and sternly looked up at him. Her eyes darted around to see if anyone was nearby but once she saw that they were alone, she snapped at him.

    “Yes I am!! I can’t help but feel you’re disappointed with your werewolf form. How long will it be until you feel it’s down to me? It was my blood that gave you that form. I pushed you into it”.

    Sotek passed her the note and casually explained about his ‘relationship’ with Arcadia.

     “She don’t charge me for ingredients, she gets me to find them for her. What you have in your hands is a list of what she requires. I simply get what I can from the list. Now let’s sort this out here and now. You think I’m unhappy with Albino, yes?”

    Aela looked at his eyes, there in them was the typical determination she had seen for so many weeks.

    “Yes, I know you are. I don’t want to lose you, but I just can’t help but feel I will”.

    Sotek laughed at her right in her face.

    “Right, a wager! If Albino kills more Silverhands than Red, then this stops. I love you, you know that. Do we have a deal?”

    Aela summed up albino’s capabilities. She had doubts about him as well as Sotek’s abilities. With Red though there was no doubt. Red was ferocious and a killer.

    “What do I get if I win?”

    Sotek sat back on his horse and thought a bit about his offer. He glanced across the plains and smiled to himself.

    “A days hunting on the far western plains. Just me and you. Albino and Red, hunting. We’ll camp out for the night”.

    Aela shook her head at his suggestion. She wanted to, she really did but there was a problem with it. A cost. One she wasn’t prepared to pay.

    “No! That’s too painful for you”.

    Sotek just smiled at her and brushed off her concerns.

    “That is what I’ll give you if you beat me, but Red will have to kill more than Albino does. Do we have a deal?”

    Although Aela wasn’t overly happy with the situation, she gave in and shook his hand.

    “Deal, let’s get moving. How’s the shoulder?”

    Sotek looked at his shoulder then he flexed the joint. He was expecting a wave of pain from it but he was pleasantly surprised when it felt almost ‘normal’.

    “It feels good actually”.

    The moment he turned away from Aela, she shot off racing up the path in a full gallop towards the other two Companions. She cackled at him as she glanced over her shoulder.

    “Hahaha. Catch me!”

    Sotek turned his horse around and gave chase.

     

     

Comments

19 Comments   |   FlamezSword likes this.
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  January 19, 2016
    Never thought about that Exuro. It's usualy 'why can't you shut that trap of your's. You are making things worse' scenario.
    Never looked at it like that before.
  • Exuro
    Exuro   ·  January 19, 2016
    So true Lissette. It's funny, the opposite is true for most characters.
  • The Long-Chapper
    The Long-Chapper   ·  January 19, 2016
    In my opinion, it's now become one of Sotek's most endearing qualities. So much crap can be avoided if he just opened his mouth. 
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  January 19, 2016
     
    Yea that lack of explaining really gets to Lissette as well. It's a definite fault with him but one which gives me ample opportunities to have a play. Even Kodlak and Danica will talk to him about it.
    Don’t expect him to change any time soon...  more
  • Exuro
    Exuro   ·  January 19, 2016
    Oh man, Sotek is really bad about explaining what he's doing/planning but somehow he always finds a way to redeem himself. Nothing like brewing poison to bring the girls together.
    @Lyall: Yeah, there are a lot of pointless little grammar/ spelling d...  more
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  January 11, 2016
    Librarian, you are more than welcome to Arla..
    AELA however... She belongs to Sotek and Sotek belongs to her.
    It's a wolf thing. :)
  • Ebonslayer
    Ebonslayer   ·  January 10, 2016
    Sotek! Snack time!:)
  • BlueDremora
    BlueDremora   ·  January 10, 2016
    Love it! Only thing that brothers me is Sotek and Aelas relationship, but thats just because I dont like argonians all that much... In my mind Arla belongs with my imperial character haha :P
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  January 10, 2016
    Don't worry, Sotek has a plan with the poisons. it will all make sense later on...
    (I hope)
  • Ebonslayer
    Ebonslayer   ·  January 9, 2016
    No errors today.

    I thought he was going to make a set of potions that would strengthen Albino. Besides increasing Aela's skill I don't see the point in making those poisons.