It took an hour for Vilkas and his brother to locate Sotek and the Huntress. The two Companions had set a solid pace when the Argonian had set out to ‘capture’ his mate. Aela, ever fleet of foot, kept a reasonable distance between them; only slowing down to keep her pursuer several feet away rather than lose him altogether. Whenever she started to outpace him, she eased off her speed, taunting the Argonian; never letting him get too close.
They were eventually spotted lying down between several large boulders which formed part of a rocky plateau. Farkas thought they were hiding from them but Vilkas knew different. For one, they were laying on their chests, facing a small ravine. Vilkas’s second argument was the fact that they stayed perfectly still when the two brothers approached them.
When they did finally acknowledge the Whelps and Companion’s presence, Aela flapped her hand at them, warning them to maintain their distance.
“Wolves”. Vilkas commented to the group. “I bet they are watching wolves”.
“We’ll soon find out, look”. Farkas stated as he watched Sotek and Aela silently crawl backwards as they slipped down the slope, taking care not to disturb the ‘wolves’ on the other side.
Once they were clear of the ridge they got up and quickly headed back to the pack. Without any explanation, Sotek guided the group back the way they had come from, leaving the area where he and Aela had just been. Once they were far enough away he dropped his pack on the ground and Aela quickly followed suite, ditching all her gear except her bow and quiver.
The ‘Harbinger’ then gave the Whelps strict instructions not to follow or go off.
“You Whelps stay here and wait. Vilkas, Farkas, I’ve a proposition to put to you both. Follow us”. Sotek then lead them off away from the Whelps and headed back up the rocky tundra where it seemed the mountains had over the years tried to take more territory away from the plains.
When they neared the edge of a narrow chasm, Sotek crouched down then crawled across the grass on all fours so he could remain out of sight. Aela kept up with him and moved several feet to his left so the two brothers could position themselves either side of him. Warning them both to be quiet, Sotek pointed to what Aela and himself were so fascinated with. Amongst the jagged rocks was an old mine with some fortifications built up around it.
Although Aela didn’t need to, she explained what they were looking at.
“There… that’s an old mine entrance. It would seem that bandits have reinforced it to make a camp”.
Farkas wasn’t overly impressed. He immediately guessed what Sotek and Aela were planning and he didn’t like it one bit.
“Bandits? You want to use the Whelps to take out the bandits?”
Sotek nodded at him while he watched the two brother’s features. He didn’t need to guess they weren’t happy with his suggestion but he decided to go ahead and sell it as best as he could.
“Yes. Look at them, there’s three bandits outside. Aela will confirm it’s just three as we’ve been watching them for half an hour. We could hit in three groups. Farkas and group one take out a single bandit. Vilkas and group two take care of the second bandit while Aela and I will be group three. Once our target is down we can assist on your targets… if they are still standing”.
“Which is doubtful”. Aela added in the hope of fortifying Sotek’s proposal.
Vilkas groaned and rolled over onto his back. He stared up at the clouds and studied the peaceful mountain range to the north. Mentally, he plotted various paths through the mountains and made his way to Dawnstar just for the hell of it while he thought about the bandits. Without breaking his gaze from the mountains, he spoke.
“Inside it will be a different story. We won’t be able to pick them off one at a time. It will be chaotic and people will get split up. How can you guarantee their safety once we go inside? Can you guarantee their safety?”
Sotek chuckled at Vilkas’s concerns. As he replied, he watched a small smirk on Aela’s face grow to a full on wolfish grin.
“Oh defiantly because if you’re both willing, then I ask you both to search the camp for loot and secure it. You two and the Whelps remain outside while Aela and I clear out the mine”.
Farkas falsely laughed and grunted in response.
“You and Aela? More like Red and Scarface”.
The Argonian looked sharply at Farkas. Instead of telling the Nord what he wanted to hear, Sotek decided to tell the truth of things and come clean.
“Yes… you’re right; Aela and I will barely go in a hundred yards. I know Kodlak won’t be happy but…..”
At that point Aela stepped in. She could see the opportunity slipping through her fingers and she wasn’t prepared to walk away without a fight. Almost screeching with passion, she confronted Farkas directly.
“Damn it Farkas. You saw what we were like earlier. I know it’s a bit stupid with the Whelps being here and all but come on… I’m dying here”.
Vilkas grinned at Aela and lightly shoved her in the shoulder, forcing her to back away from his brother to break her threatening behavior and to allow Farkas some space to breathe.
“Yea right. You’d say anything”.
Sotek sat down on the grass and turned to the three Companions. He asked them all to sit down around him while he tried to be as open as he could with the whole plan and his reasons for the proposition.
“Forget as to why Aela; it’s irrelevant at this point. What I want from you three is the ok. Are you prepared to try it or am I pushing the Whelps too much?”
Aela shuffled closer to him on her haunches and crossed her arms defensively. She gave the two other Companions a glaring stare almost daring them to oppose her.
“Well I’m up for it”.
Surprising both her and the others, Sotek snapped back at her and rebuked her attitude as well as her readiness to agree to his proposal.
“No Aela. That’s not good enough! I need to know if you all feel it’s justifiable or if it’s just Scarface and Red crying out for blood. Aela you can’t say yes because Red will get to kill. You say yes because you honestly feel the Whelps are ready for this. There are three bandits there. We have no idea how many are inside or if there are any others around. All of you… talk it over for a few minutes then let me know. Do we go in or do we come back another time without the Whelps”.
With that Sotek got up and made his way to the group of Whelps leaving the three Companions behind.
Farkas looked at the other two and shrugged his broad shoulders, effectively removing him from the debate.
“Hell I don’t know”.
Aela shook her head at him then put forwards her case.
“It’s three bandits. We could have taken them out within a minute but he wants the Whelps to have a chance. The bandits are outnumbered and we have surprise; I say we do it”.
Vilkas huffed and cupped his hands together to rest his chin on them. His elbows sat on the edge of his knees which supported them with ease.
“If we were at Jorrvaskr and he proposed to take out the Whelps to hit a small bandit camp, both you and Kodlak wouldn’t let him. Why the change of heart?”
The she-wolf growled in response and gritted her teeth as she snapped back at him. His hesitation and refusal to comply was wearing thin with her so she tackled him directly.
“It’s three stinking bandits for crying out loud. What do you want from me? Hmm?”
Vilkas wasn’t intimidated at all. He leaned back and met her head on using the same methods he had seen Sotek use; although with limited success.
“What I want is for Aela the Huntress to say what she thinks and not Red! Aela! Why the change of heart?”
Aela turned around and watched Sotek who was by now with the Whelps. He had the Imperial girl’s bow in his hand with his arm around her, helping her to improve her aim. The Huntress smiled, just a fraction as she watched the Imperial shoot her bow. The arrow flew straight and true, thudding into an old tree stump.
“Because I believe in him; if anyone can lead us after Kodlak it’s him. I for one won’t stand in his way. Its three bloody bandits for Hircine sake. If he said he’ll tackle them by himself we wouldn’t doubt him. There are three of us, him and six Whelps. What’s the problem?”
Vilkas looked at the mine again and studied the layout. After noting where the bandits were, he ran though Sotek’s plan and he couldn’thelp but think Sotek was right.
“Aela go get them. We’ll wait here and keep watch”.
She jumped up on her feet and ran hard towards the pack. As soon as Sotek saw her he picked up his backpack along with Aela’s before instructing the Whelps to do the same.
“Grab your gear. I think you are going to need it”. Then he led them towards her.
As soon as she met them she gave Sotek a hug. Her eyes seemed wild and hungry as she excitedly relayed the news.
“It’s a go! They both agree”.
Sotek silently nodded then made his way to where Vilkas and Farkas were waiting. As he approached them, he could see they weren’t entirely happy with the situation so he tried to hustle them into submission.
“Vilkas? Are you sure you’re both ok with this?”
“Not entirely, no as it happens”. His eyes were staring at the mine door as he wondered just how many bandits were inside.
Sotek walked up to him and tugged his shoulder, forcing the Nord to look at him.
“What if I had Aela ask the Harbinger? If he is in agreement will that remove your doubt?”
“Yes... I’m sorry Sotek; I know we are more than capable here but I don’t want the responsibility of the Whelps. If the Harbinger says yes then we go...”
Aela almost screamed at him. She ranted and stamped her foot in anger as she scowled at her sibling.
“You said you were ok with this. Why change your mind?”
“Because I’m not ok with it, that’s why. You don’t know how many there are, do you?” He watched Aela’s eyes as they flicked about from him to Sotek and the Whelps. She couldn’t answer him and he knew it.
Sotek however tapped Aela on the chest and wiggled his finger at her, calling her close. He whispered in her ear and with every passing word, the smile on her face grew.
When he had finished he stood up straight and addressed her in front of everyone.
“Aela, as fast as you can, ask the Harbinger about the camp. Tell Vilkas what he says”.
Aela nodded at him and gave Vilkas a sickly devious smile before looking straight at Sotek.
“Harbinger, Sotek wants to tackle the bandit camp. I agree, Farkas is dithering while Vilkas is against it. Do we go or not?”
Sotek gave Vilkas a cheeky smile while his tail slowly slid through the grass, forming a long smooth curve.
“Vilkas, we go. This is my decision... I take the blame should it go wrong”.
Leaving Vilkas speechless, the Argonian turned to the Whelps and forewarned them of the situation.
“Ok, this is for real; playtime is over. We’re tackling a bandit camp. Follow your alpha’s and do what they tell you to”.
He then set about dividing up the Whelps into two groups and explained their roles as well as giving the two brothers the alpha positions.
“Farkas, you lead group one and tackle the bandit on the left. Vilkas take group two and tackle the bandit on the right. Aela and myself will take out the central man then we’ll give support where needed. This is important... Once you see my signal, count to ten then fire. Only fire after ten seconds of me signalling; I’ll need time to aim once the signal has been given. Move out and for the love of Hir... whoever... keep the bloody noise down”.
Aela came alongside him as they were following the rocky tundra towards the chasm opening. She had no problems with his leadership, it was his speed which troubled her and she readily suggested a change of plan.
“Wouldn’t it be better if I gave the signal? I can aim faster than you”.
Sotek, full of resolve, shook his head and refused her idea. He knew if it did indeed go wrong then the blame would fall on one person and one person only; the one who initiated the attack in the first place.
“No. I give the signal. The responsibility is mine and I’ll not have someone else say you ordered the attack. This is on my shoulders, not yours”.
Without any hesitation, he gave the hand signal for the group to split up in their relevant packs. Each member quietly made their way to the positions given out then they all stayed there quietly awaiting for the signal to start the attack.
Sotek pulled out his bow then visually checked the two groups. Both Farkas and Vilkas gave him a nod informing him that they were ready so he turned towards Aela and whispered.
“You ready?”
“I’m always ready”. She hastily replied as her hungry eyes fixed on her target. She mentally controlled her breathing and drew back the drawstring, feeling the tension in her bow as she prepared for the count. Sotek made the signal then readied his arrow all the while he and Aela counted down in their heads.
About nine seconds later the whole pack started firing, sending a fusillade of arrows over the totally inadequate defences, killing all three targets within a mere second of one another. Not one bandit had the chance to scream.
Leaving the others to provide cover, and with both bows drawn ready to fire, Sotek and Aela moved into the camp.
Aela checked on the three corpses and counted the multitude of arrows protruding from their bodies.
“Three arrows in that one and there’s four in this one. Someone missed their target.... again. Look, there’s no pink flight. Pink of all bloody colors”.
Sotek tutted then looked at the rock at the back of the fortifications. A single arrow had struck one of the support beams. Knowing the Imperial girl had a pink flight; he pulled it out then stabbed the dead bandit with it so no one else would know she had missed.
He turned back to Aela and commented on the Whelp’s marksmanship.
“I was a terrible shot too. She will get better... Hey look!” He chuckled to himself and pointed to the third body.
“I got the kill shot on ours though! Look, you hit him in the stomach while I got him in the heart”.
She came over to the body and looked at it before thumping Sotek in the arm.
“That’s your bloody arrow in his gut; it’s green. My flights are red. Why the stomach? When we get back its more practice for you”. She then punched him in the chest for emphasis. “Here, this is what you’re supposed to hit”.
He laughed in her face and placed himself at the same level as the Imperial.
“Well I never said I’m a great shot either did I”.
Aela snarled in response then told him to summon the group to them.
“No you didn’t, but then I never said your training is finished either. Next time you’re in the yard, you had better be working on your archery. Give them the signal you reptilian scum”.
Sotek tutted as he mockingly copied her words.
“Reptilian scum? Me? Naaa”. He cast his flame spell sending a sheet of flames upwards several feet as it stretched out, lighting up the sky around it like it had done a month before when he was on a hill signalling Aela.
Both Vilkas and Farkas gathered their respective groups and headed inside the camp where Aela was impatiently tapping her foot. Sotek ignored her open display of irritation and gave his final instructions to the Whelps.
“Vilkas and Farkas will guard the entrance of the mine. No one except for them is allowed to follow us in. If you did then we might mistake you for an enemy. You... you don’t want that. Stay outside and gather up everything you can. Loot the lot, boxes, check the barrels and the bodies. Vilkas, we won’t be long”.
Sotek and Aela exchanged nods then the Huntress pushed open the mine doorway and stepped through, leaving Sotek to cover her rear. As they entered the tunnel, it slightly sloped downwards where at the bottom of the slope a single bandit stood with his back to them. They both readied an arrow then fired. Both projectiles hit the target squarely between the shoulder blades, sending him toppling forwards. He bashed his face against a rock as he fell but the Nord never felt the impact; he was dead before he hit the mineshaft floor.
They made their way to the corpse then without saying a single word or communicating to each other in any way, they both transformed into their werewolf forms.
Within seconds Scarface had dropped down on all four paws and was tearing at the body, ripping away the pathetic iron armor like it was a shell encasing the fresh bloody meat inside. Red simply looked on as he ate but to her surprise he stopped eating then stood back, moving away from the food source.
Red looked at the mutilated body where in the chest, still intact, lay the one thing werewolves craved more than anything; the heart. She respectively moved away and lowered her head in submission, accepting Scarface as her alpha. Scarface tilted his head for the briefest of moments then growled; commanding her to feed. She darted forwards, covering herself in blood as her claws shattered the remaining ribs to pieces so she could feed off the heart. As she fed, her mate came alongside her, flailing strips of meat and muscle from the bandit’s legs.
They both howled in unison, warning all who stood in their path then side by side the two werewolves, Scarface and Red charged along the tunnels, seeking out their prey.
Comments
As to the noise, they will just presume it's Aela... I hope...
Ahh the Imperial Girl... Will she ever learn?
Sotek and Aela... Will they ever behave?
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Surprising both her and the (others), Sotek snapped back at her and r... more