Vajhira eyed them nervously, after a while, she emerged from behind them and became rather frank with them.
"Look, if you are feeling uncomfortable or otherwise want to back out for any reason, please, tell me and I will let you step aside
while we continue with the worship." She looked at them concerned.
Hasir and Quinchal shook their heads. Hasir said, "No way, we came here to become part of the church of the wild hunt and
by Hircine, that is what we are going to do!" He said as he slammed his fist triumphantly downward onto the altar of Hircine. the pelt
fell off the altar and lay dirty on the floor. "Sorry about that." Hasir dsif, giving Valjira a sheepish grin. "Let me pick it up for you."
He bent down and felt around for the fallen pelt and picked it up and placed it back in its position on the altar.
"Well," Vajhira clapped her hands together, "with that out of the way, we can proceed." She looked from one argonian to the other.
"now Quinchal, Hasir, who would like to go first?"
Quinchal raised his hand. The khajiit extended her hand, handing him a pelt and bade him go to the altar and place the pelt down
upon the altar. Quinchal did as she asked. He placed both hands on the altar.
"I have chosen to take on the role of hunter in Hircine's pack. My job is to hunt for food and help keep the pack fed. I chose
Langshen as my wolf spirit." Hasir leaned against one of the three round platforms that jutted out of the wall. "I become a werewolf
when Hasir came to my home of Akavir, came into my temple and bit me for no reason other than his wolf was hungry."
Vajhira smiled at this nicely put, if not brutally honest, observation.
"Very nicely done Quinchal, and very informative. Next up, Hasir."
Hasir straigtened himself and walked to the altar, he was also nervous, but less so than Quinchal. He put both hands in the
indentation that Quinchal had left behind, Hasir smelled his nervousness and fear even before he approached the altar.
"Let see, where do I begin?" He thought for a second, " My role wasn't chosen by me. My wolf spirit already knew what he wanted
to be. He is an alpha, a quality that I must say fits my personality perfectly. I was bitten by a werewolf when I was undertaking a
task for Molag Bal." Vajhira's head whipped around in his direction.
"That blasphemer Molag Bal? What in Oblivion could you have been doing for him?" Vajhira nearly shouted this at him.
"I was doing a task that, when completed, would solidify my entry in to the Whetfang coven, but while on that errand of sorts, I
became under attack by four nords that transformed into mighty beasts when the moon had shown itself." Vajhira yawned; clearly
getting bored, which could be evident by her constant yawning. She let her body go limp and slump down on the cold stone floor, she
used the wall of one of the round ledges as a backrest.
Vajhira eyed Hasir and hissed indignantly at him
"Skip the extraneous details, get to the point."
Hasir looked taken aback "Okay, keep your skrt on for Hircine's sake." Hasir took a deep breath and continued, "So there I was,
facing down four massive wolves, I was able to dispatch three of 'em with my trusty silver katana. The fourth, however, had me
splayed out like a grotesque snow angel and then slashed my right eye with his right paw. I still have the scar." He then
proceeded to show of his clearly visible but faded scar over his left eye.
Vajhira sighed. She wanted a sasinct story, not a meandering river that yielded little or no fish.
"For Hircine's sake, can you answer the last question without going on some longwinded tangent?"
Hasir nodded and tried to keep his story to small ponds instead of wide expanses of aimless oceans.
"As for who my wolf spirit is? He is a white wolf by the name of Frost, an aspect of Hircine and his role is to protect," Vajhira cleared
her throat, Hasir turned to look at her, she raised an eyebrow, clearly interested now his story had some meat to chew on. She was
not the only one who was surprised. A collective gasp tore through the congregation like a wave would an ocean. Hasir cleared his
throat and continued, "Anyway, it is his job to protect Skyrim from Molag Bal and his evil machinations."
Vallhira stood up and walked to the altar lifted up the two grey wolf pelts and said a prayer that was also an invocation to Hircine for
his accepting of the latest additions to his pack. She lowered her head while holding the wolf pelts aloft. The congregation also
bowed their heads.
Wait!" Inigo yelled, "What about me?"
Vajhira sighed.
"Very well."
Inigo took a deep breath. His inner demon was fighting to come out. instead of trying to push it down, he willed it to the forefront of
his mind.
"Unlike most of you, I have not had a glorious life, I escaped from my home after the guards accused me of killing my brother
Fergus, I got to Skyrim alright. Soon, though, imperials guards were swarming all of my family like flies and they threw me Riften jail
for my crimes." he walked over to the right side of the altar, where Hasir was standing.
Inigo sighed and continued with his story; gesturing to his scaly friend.
At first, I thought Hasir was a hired assassin who came to end my life." He chuckled a little. "I soon realized that was not the
case, that Hasir came to save me from my impending doom. So that is why I am here instead of on a chopping block."
When he finished, Vajhira stood up.
"Inigo, we wanted to hear how you choose your wolf spirit, your role in the pack and how you contracted the disease, not your entire
fucking life story!" She fumed.
"Okay, I am sorry." I wonder if her head is as squishy as a spider's? He thought, smiling to himself.
"Anyway, I became a werewolf when I had Hasir bite me because I wanted my life to be something more than a scared khajiit
running from his past. My role in Hircine's pack is the delta male, it is my job to train the young pups and older, more experienced
wolves so that they will be ready for a fight, though, I will still fight for my pack."
He chuckled at himself, leaving everyone else lost for words and wondering why he was laughing,
"You should see your faces." He said, wiping a tear from his eye, "I am not a wolf. As a khajiit would look foolish as a wolf." He
waved a dismissive hand, "Wow, you church types are so gullible." He inhaled deeply, "I do not wish to be a delta anything." He said,
"As for a pack role, I already have one."
Vajhira cocked her head, brow furrowed.
"What is your role then?" She pointed a finger at the khajiit, "No bullshit please."
Inigo defensive raised his hand.
"No bullshit here, but I felt I was born to be a counselor."
"Finally." Vajhira said, rolling her eyes. She stood up and approached the altar for the prayer. "Lord Hircine, we, your humble
servants, beseech you to accept these souls into your embrace and may you, upon these souls' deaths accept them into your Hunting
Grounds in the great hunt, whenever that may be. All hail the wolflord, may your greatness never cease. Praise to you, lord
Hircine." The congregation, including the newcomers, repeated the mantra.
Vajhira raised her hands for silence and said the gathering has concluded.
"Go and serve Hircine by hunting in the wilderness and as always, live in peace with his and his sister's creations."
"What? Why so soon?" Quinchal, Ingo and Hasir asked together
She looked around and brought the two argonians and khajiit to a secluded part of the underforge. She directed the Argonian, Khajiit
and the tsaesci argonians to sit on a curved platform that sat near the rock wall. Hasir and Quinchal did as she asked.
"You two still need to go through an initiation." She stated, pointing to both of them.
"I thought the pelts were our initiation." Hasir said, shocked and a bit outraged
She shook her head. "I am afraid you still need to prove yourselves. Now let's see; your initiation will be different from other
worshippers." She scratched her head, hoping an idea would come to her. "You need to go out and kill four of Hircine's aspects and
return with five totems of Hircine: Alrabeg, the hunter, who carries with him the spear of bitter mercy. Storihbeg, the manbeast who
wears the wolf skull totem. Uricanbeg, the great stag who carries the totem of the hunt, Gullibeg, the fox who carries the totem of
brotherhood and Hrokkibeg, the bear who carries the totem of claw and fang.
Hasir scratched his chin.
"Before we go any further... erm, Valjira?"
She turned and smiled at him.
"Yes Argonian, what may I do for you?"
Hasir scowled at her and stood up angrily, almost knocking the three creatures off the perch they sat on.
"My name is Hasir, not 'Argonian' you got it?" He said, eyes positively blaring with the fires of Oblivion.
Vajhira told Hasir to calm down which he did immediately.
"Sorry about that, er, the nord armorer in town asked me to talk to you."
She asked Hasir what this was about.
"Sorry? May I ask what this is about? Who sent you, was it Adrianne or Eorlund?"
Hasir cleared his throat impressively.
"Adrianne sent me, she said you would know what it's like to be a 'fish out of water'."
The brown furred khajiit nodded while eying him with her lamp-like eyes. She knew that someone would ask her about this sooner or
later.
"Yes, what Adrainne says is true. I came from Cyrodiil after I finished my work for Hircine there." She bowed her head as if
ashamed of something. "When I arrived in Skyrim, I was alone, not knowing anyone in a land I had only read about," Hasir cocked
his head in confusion, "My mother, she would often read me story of her adventures all over Tamriel; she was an adventurer. My
mom always had a funny way of telling me of her adventures." She said, making a sound somewhere between a chuckle and a sob.
"Anyway, When I came to Skyrim, I did not have any friends, so I did what any priestess would do: spread awareness of the daedra
from town to town." Hasir asked her what happened. She said she was ousted from almost every town, with the inhabitants shouting
things like 'demon worshipper' and the 'divines are better'." She told him, though sobs, that every other town shared the same
mentally about her race's a way of worshipping until she came to Whiterun were everyone she asked pointed her to Jorrvaskr.
She dried her eyes and continued her story; delighted to have a audience that stuck to her story like a barnacle to an underside of a
ship.
"It was at Jorrvaskr that I was most welcome, unlike everywhere else that shunned me for my beliefs, the companions of Jorrvaskr
took me in as one og their own. They gave me food, shelter, a place to sleep and, more importantly, friends who would make me feel
accepted."
Hasir asked her how she landed a job as priestess of Hircine in Whiterun. Valjira smiled and said she'd be glad to tell him.
"When I told the harbinger of the companions, Kodlak who I was, he told me that some people in Jorrvaskr worship and revere
Hircine more than others. I did not press this matter further. Instead, he directed me toward this place," She smiled as she gestured
around her, "and I've been here ever since his gesture of kindness to a khajiit outcast."
She turned to Hasir and rested against one of the totem's altars.
"So, my advice to you is to not be afraid to reach out and introduce yourself to the people of Whiterun. You may just find that they
are more than willing to help a fellow fish out of water like yourself." As she said this, her eyes swam with tears. She wiped the tears
away with a brown furred arm.
Hasir opened his mouth to say something but Vajhira put a clawed finger up to silence him and said they have work to do. Hasir shut
his mouth and nodded. Valhira's mind went back to her thoughts before she had this rather heartwrenching coversation with the
Argonian.
She paused for a breath, explaining to them the aspects and the totems they carry.
"You also need to kill Uricanbeg, the stag and bring back a drum. You also need to kill Gullibeg, a fox who carries with him a bone
wand."
She took another breath.
"Finally, you need to kill Horrikbeg, who carries the totem of claw and fang."
This caught Hasir's attention. He chuckled a little.
"No need, I already handed the totem to Hircine personally."
Vajhira positively beamed at this.
"perfect, you only need to collect the spear and the other three totems then."
The two argonians waved goodbye to the congregation and Vajhira, who handed them a map of each of the four enemies and items'
locations. For this mission, hasir, I need you to go alone, which means no help from your friends. I have another task ready for
Quinchal. She turned her head in Inigo's direction, "I have one for you too Inigo. The smart blue cat and Quinchal slumped their
shoulders, clearly saddened by this.
After a few seconds, Hasir spoke.
"Excuse me Vajhira, but, I don't know the terrain, I am not from here. I also have no tracking experience."
The khajiit looked up from the corner of the room were they sat and called over her shoulder to the congregation.
"Rakel, can you come here please?" She sounded so laid back and calm as she said these words.
A female nord that had long, brown shoulder length hair dressed in a fur bra, a fur skirt and fur shoes walked up the aisle and sat
down next to Vajhira, "Yes, what is it?"
Vajhira cleared her throat, "Rakel, I need you to assist Hasir with defeatiing four aspects of Hircine and the acquisition of five of his
totems. Hasir will share his map with you. You can defeat the aspects and collect the items together." She said this in the same soft
voice that she had called her over with.
Rakel nodded. While Rakel and Vajhira spoke, Hasir couldn't take his eyes off Rakel. He had never seen a more beautiful nord
in his life. He especially liked her brown eyes and that long, earthy-toned hair that he longed to touch.
The world seemed to fall away for a moment as if it was just him and Rakel. Hasir's wandering mind snapped back when Vajhira
said, "well, don't just stand there mouth agape like an idiot, say something."
"Huh? What?" Hasir looked around nervously as if to check if anyone had seen him during his idiotic 'moment.' No one noticed.
Vajhira repeated herself, unsure if Hasir had heard her the first time.
"I said, introduce yourself, you stupid lizard!"
Rakel held out a hand to Hasir.
"My name is Rakel, good to see we will be working together to obtain the totems."
Hasir looked iinto her beautiful brown eyes, took her hand and firmly pumped it up and down, "Nice to meet you, Rakel, I'm-" He
began but Rakel merely smiled.
"Hasir, I know, the congregation won't stop talking about you ever since your speech at the altar."
Hasir rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, feeling a bit embarrased. Rakel said it was nothing to be embarrased about. She
thought it was intriguing.
Vajhira shouted at them, clearly fed up with his theatrics.
"For the love of Hircine, would you two get moving already? We're burning moonlight, geez."
Hasir and Rakel left the Underforge, Hasir held the map aloft so that they both could see it.
"Hmm, says here in the notes she wrote that we have to defeat Alrabeg the hunter and bring back the spear of bitter mercy."
Hasir smiled to himself, "what are we waiting for? Let's hunt for those relics." Before Rakel could say a word, he was off.
"Hey Hasir, what about the map?" She called after him. "What a stubborn reptile." She said, shaking her head.
She ran after him. After several seconds of lagging behind, only seeing his tail, she finally caught up with him.
"Hasir, glad I caught up with you, here," She handed him the rolled up map. "You'll need this to pinpoint exactly where those
guardians of the totems are."
Hasir thanked her and they looked at the map again to see where the bearer of the first totem, Alrabeg, could be found.
Rakel pointed to a spot on the map Southwest of Whiterun, "Broken Fang cave, I know that place well, it is where I created my
first home when I came to Skyrim from Solsthiem. I am still accustomed to nature as the thought of sleeping in a man-made bed
makes my skin crawl." She paused and then added, "Not that sleeping in a man made bed is a bad thing." She shrugged, "I'm sure I
can manage either way."
"What in Hircine's name does this have to do with finding the totems?" He asked, a bit irritated.
Rakel apologized and started to head in the direction of Broken Fang cave with Hasir close behind her. As they exited through the
giant oaken doors, the moon began to rise. Their fell to their hands and knees and they were in their wolf forms. He looked over and
saw a silver wolf standing mere feet from him. He padded over and sniffed her, half expecting to smell a familiar scent, he did not.
Instead, he smelled snow and pine. He could also hear the beat of her heart, which was slow and steady. His, however, was
threatening to burst out of his chest. His pupils became bigger and his breathing heavier. His mind struggled to focus on the task at
hand.
The female wolf felt no such attraction to him, or so she thought.
The wolves ran full pelt over the drawbridge, blanked the exquisitely carved parapet above the drawbrige and the stone walls of the
watchtower. Their goal was simple: head to Broken Fang Cave, they were not going to let anything stand in their way.
At around nine o''clock, the werewolves reached a cave that looked like it just sprouted up out of the grassy plains surrounding it.
The two rocks that the cave face was made up of looked like they were pressed together using hist sap that had begun to peel at
the highest point of its application, forcing the rocks to lean two different ways. The wolves also saw a lone tree growing on the west
side of the cave.
The wolves could smell a particularly strong scent of silver coming from inside. Had Vajhira sent them into a trap? The wolves shook
thia rather absurd idea out of their heads as they went into the cave.
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