Rakel looked around for a way to lift the unconscious argonian and get him somewhere to get fixed up. She called for anyone who
would listen to come and help. The local blacksmith spotted them as he was preparing to smith an iron cuirass. He put down his
hammer on the workbench and ran to help.
"Sir, my friend is hurt. He suffered a broken bone." Rakel said frantically.
Alvar turned his head and called for his wife, Sigrid who was hanging fresh clothes on a clothesline. As she was putting the final
clothespin into place, she shot him a look that sent shivers down Alvar's spine.
"What is it?" She yelled, clearly not happy about him interrupting her morning chores.
Alvar was taken aback by his wife's rather brash attitudue.
"Someone is hurt, I-I don't know his name, but we have to help." He stopped and thought, a light bulb went off in his head, "go get
Bjorlam, tell him we need to borrow his carriage."
Silgrid nodded her head and ran to Whiterun; which is actually closer than many think. It is actually the next town over from the
small settlement of Riverwood.
What seemed like hours later, Alvar's wife, Sigrid came back to Riverwood riding shotgun in Bjorlam's carriage.
Bjorlam pulled the reins hard to make the horse stop. When the horse came a full stop, both he and Sigrid stepped down to find two
people surrounding a shadowy figure. Upon further inspection, they could see what the people were kneeling next to was an
argonian with a makeshift brace on its left leg.
Bjorlam spoke after reaching the unconscious lizard's form.
"How did he come to be like this?" He asked, shocked.
Rakel glanced at them, lost in thought. Her mind snapped back to the present as she pondered how she was going to put her
\thoughts into words.
"Sir, this man's wife literally sprinted to get you because, you see my friend here," She motioned towards the argonian, "he suffered
a broken leg and fell unconscious while we were walking back for Broken Fang cave." Bjorlam nodded as if he understood, "Can you
lift him onto my carriage so you and I can transport him to Whiterun?" He asked.
Rakel nodded firmly and smiled warmly at Rakel.
"Yes, I can do that." Bjorlam grabbed the Argonian's arms and Rakel grabbed his legs; careful not to put pressure on his broken leg.
"Here we go, ready? 1...2...3!"
Rakel and Bjorlam lifted Hasir onto the back of the cart, lying him against one of the seats' wooden backrests. They positioned his
legs so that one leg was bent at the knee with his foot on the floor of the carriage while the injured leg was propped on the bench.
He took a plant out of his bag that he picked earlier; he moved it back and forth under the argonian's nose.
Rakel furrowed her eyebrows.
"What are you doing?" Rakel asked, eyeing the carriage driver suspiciously.
Bjorlam smiled at Rakel as he showed her the plant, explaining its medicinal properties.
"I am attempting to wake him using lavender. Its sweet smelling aroma is known to penetrate the unconscious mind of anyone
caught in the cruel snare of the not-so-permanent sleep. Its working. He's coming around."
"Hey, sleepy head. How are you feeling?" Rakel said, climbing onto the bench across from him.
"I feel ok, the pain has subsided for now, thanks to your quick thinking." He smiled at her.
She smiled back. Hasir looked over to Rakel.
"'I probably would've been dead if it wasn't for you rescuing me back there."
She said it was nothing. He smiled back at her as he tried respotioning himself so that he was more comfortable.
"I am glad the priestess of the church of the wild hunt decided to send someone with me and I'm glad it was you.-"
He shrugged, wincing because of the renewed wave of pain that shot through his leg.
"You know, I wouldn't have met you if we hadn't crossed paths that day in Riften." He was definitely glad to have met her.
Bjorlam climbed into the driver's seat and spurred the horse to life. They galloped past streams, open fields and waterfalls. As they
crossed the stone bridge that was situated five feet from the main gate of Whiterun, a wooden stable came into view.
He parked his carriage at the stables near the city, Rakel thanked him for his hospitality. She reached into her leather bag, pulled
out an orange leather coin purse and handed it to him. He shook his head, handing it back to her. “you keep it. I did my good deed
for the day, free of charge.” he said, giving her a warm smile.
"Now you go and get your friend fixed up," He turned from her to the argonian, "I hope you feel better." The argonian smiled and
thanked him. He then put his hand on Rakel's shoulder as she helped him out of the carriage. The argonian extended his
unoccupied hand, "By the way, my name's Hasir, nice to meet you." Bjorlam shook it and said it was nice to meet him. The argonian
hobbled, with the help of Rakel, to the main gate of Whiterun.
Once inside, Rakel asked Adrienne, the co-owner of the local armory, warmaidens, where she could find a temple where her
friend could be healed.
Adrienne put her hammer down next to the forge and walked over to Rakel and the Argonian.
"You're in luck, we do have a temple where your friend can be healed." A tad annoyed, the brown-haired nord added, "His name
is Hasir, by the way." Rakel sighed, "Where are my manners? I'm Rakel." Hasir, meanwhile was fighting to stay conscious. He
would momentarily lapse into brief periods of unconsciousness.
She closely inspected Hasir, she creased her forehead when she saw he only had weight on his right foot.
"What happened exactly?" She asked, curious
"We were in a cave fighting silver hands when he caught a sword just below the knee; shattering his tibia."
She lied, not wanting to reveal the real reason, lest Adrienne thought she was mad.
Adrienne looked at the ground, ashamed. She had no person experience to measure this against as she had suffered no broken
bones.
"I...had no idea, that must've hurt." Rakel said that Hasir was and still is in alot of pain, even though he tries not to show
it. Adrienne said Rakel had better hurry to the temple to help fix Hasir right away
Rakel did as Adrienne instructed her to do. She walked Hasir, who had his left leg half raised off of the ground because he had all of
his weight on the right leg to take away some of the pain, to the temple as if they were in a three-legged race and were taking their
time with no worries about what place they came in.
After several minutes, they reached the front door of the temple. She did not stop to admire the lavender plants growing outside, or
notice how intricately carved the door was; she was on a mission, and she would see it completed. Once inside, she saw three grey
stone beds spread out along the perimeter of the room. Each bed had two pillars around them that were used to support the
building. Rakel saw Daniica Purespring, the owner of the temple of Kynareth and the head healer there. She walked up to Danica,
while supporting Hasir.
"Lay him down one one of the beds over there, I will be with you shortly." Danica said, as though she did this song and dance
before, which she did. Rakel could see Danica was tending to two other patients. She had a full plate.
Rakel laid Hasir on the stone bed closest to the exit door of the temple. When she had free time, Danica walked over to where Hasir
lay.
"So, what is he in for, hmm?" Danica inquired. Rakel said he broke his leg while they were fighting the silver hand.
Danica gasped, "Better watch out for them. They and the companions are at odds because the silver hand freely murder their kind."
She took Rakel's blank expression as one of confusion. "The silver hand are werewolf hunters and the companions are-"
Rakel finished her sentence, "Werewolves, I know," Danica looked shocked by how she knew this.
"Now, what were you doing fighting the silver hand?" She asked.
Rakel shrugged.
"Well, I just wanted revenge."
Danica had a confused look on her face,
"Revenge for what?"
Rakel told Danica that when she first encountered the silver hand. She discovered that they ran an illegal fur trading operation.
Danica gasped. Rakel told her that was not the worst of it. She told her that the pelts of her parents' wolves were among the furs
traded and that is why she sees it as her mission to destroy every last silver hand member on Skyrim.
Danica eyed her cautiously.
"So, if I am to guess correctly, your parents are werewolves?"
Rakel nodded and stated that the night her parents were killed, the silver hand sent werebears in to their camp while Rakel was
asleep and used them to kill her parents, while they put up quite a fight, the werebears won in the end. The Silver Hand then snuck
in and skinned her parents with her watching. "I am sorry for your loss." Danica told her. Rakel thanked her and said that means
alot.
Danica's forced her mind to think about her duties,"I need you to leave so I can operate on...?"
Rakel rolled her eyes as she hated speaking for anyone. This case, though was an exception.
"His name is Hasir." Rakel said, "I don't do well with blood and surgery, so I'll wait in the room at the back of the temple." She left
Danica to practice her craft.
Rakel sat on a chair that was facing a bed at the rear of the temple. While Rakel's body was calm and collected, her mind wasn't.
She would constantly think of Hasir and she would wonder if he would be ok. She had to remind herself that Danica knows what she
is doing. AFter all, she told herself, she is the finest healer in Whiterun.
Meanwhile, in the temple's main room, Danica was busy measuring wisp wrappings that she had taken from her cart that was
wheeled up next to Hasir's bed. It had various types of salves, wisp wrapping, and linen straps that a healer who commonally
use to join two broken halves of bone together to facilitate the healing process.
She firmly pressed the bits of broken tibia together, made sure the bone was joined together and then she submerged the wisp
wrappings in water from a basin that was perched on the medical cart. She then applied the wet wisp wrappings onto Hasir's left
leg, unwrapping it very methodically; she wrapped the wrapping around his foot in a crisscross pattern and stopped an inch above
the patella.
Next took another, thicker linen wrap and wrap that around the inner wisp wrappings and wait for it to harden. Once it hardened, she
applied a hard lather cast over the hardened wisp wrappings and waved avender under the reptile's nose; his eyelids fluttered open.
She washed her hands and wheeled the cart to the back room when Rakel was sitting as this was where she stored all her medical
instruments.
Upon seeing Rakel, she smiled and gestured inside the temple,
"Okay, you can see him now."
Rakel entered the main room of the temple and, seeing Hasir awake, ran over to him.
"Hi," She said, smiling at him. He looked up and returned the smile, "how are you feeling?"
He smiled, lifting himself gingerly off his stone bed.
"A bit groggy, but otherwise fine."
Rakel said it looked nice on him. Rakel offered him her shoulder.
"Hasir, put your hand on me, I will help you stand ok?"
Rakel's eyes ran wet with tears as she hugged him,
"I am just glad you are ok." Rakel told him.
Hasir smiled and went to hug her, but Rakel pushed him back on the bed, saying that he should not overdo it.
"I missed you too." Hasir shivered, "The moon will be up soon, plus it's cold out, let's go inside somewhere warm."
Rakel looked at hin curiosly as if his wolf is as injured as he was.
"Why? Are you afraid of wolfing out?"
Hasir laughed and waved dismissively at her; saying that that was not the reason. Rakel sighed and let Hasir expound on the real
reason for his trepidation.
"Do you really want me to be seen as a 'lame wolf' by the rest of the pack?" Rakel laughed at this; Hasir shot her a nasty look, "It's
not funny, I meant it." She wiped a tear from her eye, "I'm sorry for laughing, but the way you said it was hilarious." He scowled at
her. On a side note, Rakel said that there is a mead hall across the way that they can relax in.
Rakel and Hasir made for Jorrvaskr. Once there, they went inside and saw at least fifteen chairs surrounding a horseshoe table that
stradling a still burning fire. Rakel pulled three of them out; one for Hasir, one that he could rest his leg on. The last chair she pulled
out was for herself which she placed beside Hasir. She looked for a pillow for a bit, then not seeing any, sat in her chair.
He was really tired after a long day, especially after what had happened, he said he was going to sleep. Rakel said good night
to Hasir and closed her eyes. Hasir's head rolled sideways to rest on Rakel's shoulder.
Early the next morning, Hasir woke to the hall bustling with life around him; the three large tables were set with mugs of mead and
various meats; not only that but once Hasir opened his eyes wider, he could see twelve people sitting around the outside edge of the
table in twelve wooden chairs. Hasir got up as far as his broken leg would allow and saw that they each were sitting by those that
they had something in common with; some were huddled around an aged nord who sat at the far left end of the table. Some,
obviously lower rank than those clad in what the Argonian guessed to be steel armor sat at the far left of the table. Two people,
nords by the looks of them were either wearing farm clothes with boots or a long dress of some kind.
He saw, sitting by a fiery-headed female Nord he had aready met was an imperial whelp Hasir did not know. Hasir saw a tankard fall
to the ground soaking the floor around Aela's feet with mead.
Aela got up, rounding on the imperial whelp and smacked her.
"Ria, you clumsy fool, watch what you're doing!"
The imperial whimpered out a response between blows,
"S-sorry, I'll watch my aim next time."
Aela grabbed the nord by the hair, forced her to look at her and snarled,
"You'd better, else I'll bloody you even more, you got me?" Aela nodded
The imperial whelp cringed at the female Nord's tone and broke down in tears. Hasir hobbled over to where the imperial lay in tears.
He lent down and placed his arm around her while glaring at Aela,
"Don't be so hard on yourself. Aela is mean to anyone who is not a Nord."
He helped the imperial to her feet. She smiled at him and wiped her eyes.
"It is rare to see nice people in a land that is as cold as it's people are. I'm Ria."
Hasir smiled as his tail flopped around like a joyful snake,
"Nice to meet you Ria, I'm Hasir. I'm the new whelp around here."
She screwed her face up in confusion and then realization dawned on her.
"Aela was talking about you earlier; before you came here that is. She said it was dishonorable that you didn't help her and her
'brothers' with that giant."
She hung her head as Hasir growled; fearing she may've said the wrong thing.
"Erm... s-sorry if I offended you, it's just, I was the newest whelp around here before you came along."
Hasir tried to stand up as he made to go back to his chair but winced in pain and sank back down. The imperial girl helped him get
settled in his chair; fluffing his pillows. The old lady to his right, smiled and inquired about his cast.
"By the nines, how did you end up like this? You poor thing."
She patted the 'poor thing' on his shoulder. She got up and went to get some blankets for him as she surmised he must be freezing.
She did not know about Argonians. She did not know that they were naturally cold blooded, and as such, did not feel the cold. she
did not get out and explore much as she only had ever seen the walls of Jorrvaskr and the city outside.
Hasir called out to her and told her not to bother with the blankets. She turned and asked him if he would at least like extra cushions
for his leg and his back. Again, he politely turned her down.
Dejected, she sat back down on her chai,r looking sullen. Hasir looked around to see everyone eating their meat with great zeal
except the nords around the old man who were tearing chunks off of theirs with their teeth. When everyone was fed and drank
their fill, they departed the main hall, some headed for the undercroft while others headed for the wooden doors opposite of the
ones Hasir and Aela had entered.
The maid and the nord on Hasir's right turned to him and smiled weakly.
"We've met before, haven't we?" Hasir nodded.
She smiled and thought it was time to offer a proper introduction,
"I thought as much, I am Tilma, the maid of this mead hall."
She gestured to the nord man, who grinned and gave a cheery wave of his hand.
"May I introduce my partner in crime, Brill. Brill, this is the Argonian I met earlier."
She tore her gaze away from Brill and fixed upon the laid up Argonian again.
"May I ask what your name is dear?" She asked sweetly
Hasir told her his name. She beamed broadly at him and Brill smiled as well; They were always glad to see new faces.
"Great." She said, clapping her hands together, "Now that we know each other, Allow me to introduce you to the other members of
Jorrvaskr."
She helped Hasir get up while she told Brill to get the Argonian's crutches; Brill did so, scurrying away to retrieve them. With an
uneasy grin, Brill handed the crutches to Hasir who placed them under each arm and followed Tilma outside to the mead hall's
porch. Hasir did not expect the mead hall to have a training ground, but he knew it was a warrior's guild.
Tilma gestured to the empty training ground and told the Argonian, who had eased himself into a chair on the left side of the door
that this was where they, the companions, trained for upcoming battles or just for fun. Turning to him, she smiled and told him that
every morning after breakfast, the members of the circle would come out here to practice their swordplay and footwork.
She told Hasir the companions were inside the underforge. Before she could coax the Argonian to stand up, however, the rock below
the rampleading to the Skyforge slid back to reveal the members of the circle.
Hasir begrudgingly got to his feet as Tilma beckoned him to follow her; he retrieved his crutches and followed her down the steps to
the training area where the companions were talking animatedly. Tilma cleared her throat so she could introduce the Argonian to the
circle members, but they kept jabbering away without any sign of having heard her.
Tilma brandished her broom at them.
"Aela, Farkas, Vilkas can you stop flapping your gums for one measely minute? I have someone to introduce."
At once, they all quieted down and gave her their undivided attention.
"That's better, now, may I introduce the newest member of the mead hall, Hasir," She said. As she said this, Hasir's tail slipped
between his legs and wore a bashful expression on his face. Tilma prodded him in the back with her broom handle, ushering the shy
Argonian forward so he could have a proper meet and greet.
Farkas and Vilkas looked at each other and laughed.
"This reptile is the newest addition to our guild? He looks like he barely can hold a sword let alone fight with one." He said, laughing,
"He looks like he is better suited for being a slave to some rich dunmer."
Hasir cast Tilma a worried look. Tilma was upon the brothers like wolves on a deer, pelting them with the business end of her
broom.
"Farkas and Vilkas, where are your manners? You might've hurt Hasir's feelings, saying things like that... shame on you."
She turned to see Hasir, tail tucked tightly between his legs now and turned toward the far wall of the training ground with tears in
his eyes.
"By the way, I seem to remember you were no different than Hasir; you were once whelps yourselves so why make his first time a
jaunt through Oblivion? Maybe you should think before you speak next time, hmm?"
Both male Nords apologized and extended their hands so the Argonian who wiped his eye free of tears, walked over to them and
shook their hand, one by one. Hasir could feel a massive wieght lift off his shoulders as he, as Valjhira said, shed his fear like an
unwanted second skin and dove in head first to the sea of uncertainty.
Aela was next to be introduced as Tilma did the same thing as she had done with the two brothers.
"Aela, this is the newest whelp in training, Hasir."
Aela did not smile but instead looked at Hasir with a look of pity and scorn.
"Tilma, why do you keep sending these rats to infest our hall? Warriors who cannot fight and who lack even the proper equipment
have no place in Jorrvaskr." She said, scoffing as she turned away from Hasir.
Tilma looked outraged and was about to sat something when Hasir cut across her.
"Weren't you the one I saw battling that giant not too far out of town?" Aela made no notice of this but remained facing the
underforge door frowning, "It is you. I sensed it in my scales. My name is Hasir, pleased to meet-" He started but convulsions tore
through his body and he was unable to finish.
Several painful minutes later, two wolves; one black, one white, stood on either side of the cross-looking nord female. She turned
around and roared with laughter,
"What is this, even your werewolf form is pathetic, I mean, two wolves? How in Oblivion did he obtain lycanthropy? I thought only
the circle had the beastblood?" She walked around the two wolves standing feet from the training dummies, "Sounds like someone
has been stealing companion secrets and selling them to outsiders, but who I wonder and at what price?"
Tilma scowled at her, whacking her over the head with her broom.
"No one has been stealing secrets you idiot. There are other ways to become infected with lycantropy; as such, the secret is not
confined only to Jorrvaskr. We are not the sole owners of the beastblood."
Frost and Bloodfang did not hear this retort as they were too busy snarling at the impertinent nord for her sheer obliviousness. She
had been raised here all her life so who can blame her for being a little pig-headed and not knowing of the different ways one can
contract Lycanthropy?
The clouds obscured the two moons, Massar and Secunda, and Hasir was in his reptilian form again. He, once again, extended his
hand to the female nord who made to smack the reptile's hand away from her, but upon seeing Tilma's creased forehead, she
conceded.
"Nice to meet you." She said, half-heartedlly and shook Hasir's hand as if it were a dead fish she wanted to rid herself of as fast as
poosible. "What Tilma said is true. You did see me along with my two bone-headed brothers battling the giant;, shame you didn't
help." She said, laughing
Hasir gestured to his broken leg.
"I couldn't. I got injured, I couldn't go over to the giant and whack him with my crutch." He said, laughing to himself as he imagined
the giant with a crutch mark on his ugly face.
Aela was about to say something but Tilma spoke for her,
"I must apologize for her rather harsh exterior. Aela is skeptical of anyone who isn't a nord who she thinks is 'joining the
Companions' because, in her mind, the Companions are a nord only faction." Tilma shot a dirty look in her direction, "she knows that
anyone can join the Companions, isn't that right Aela?" She asked her
At that moment, the mead hall doors swung open to reveal an old nord wearing wolf armor. Hasir guessed him to be the old nord he
had seen sitting at the table earlier. The nord descended the steps and stood beside Aela.
"Yes, that is correct, anyone can join if they wish, the Companions takes all races and all types of people, not just warriors. We will
however, require them to have at least held a sword before they decide to join, if that is what they wish."
He turned to Aela who stood tall despite how small she felt inside.
"Young lady, I never want you to go flaunting your views of outsiders and nord purity around here anymore, do you understand me?"
He asked her. Aela nodded glumly
Kodlak ushered Aela and Tilma inside; he asked Aela to set a place for Hasir to sleep as it was getting late He told Tilma that she
had some duties to see to in the hall. Almost to the door, she turned and asked him What he's going to do.
He smiled and told the maid that he needed to speak with Hasir about something.
"Tilma, don't worry about me, I will be in shortly, I just need some time alone with Hasir."
With that, she left them alone and disappeared inside the hall after Aela.
With them gone, he turned to Hasir and rested his hand on the Argonian's shoulder.
"So, I hear you obtained beastblood through other means?" Hasir eyed him and nodded
Kodlak asked him how he got infected. The Argonian recounted the events before, during and after his infection with the disease.
"Scratched by a wolf? That must've hurt like Oblivion." He mused
Hasir nodded and said it did and then he went into telling how his wolf forms split in half. Kodlak looked thoughtful at this. Haisr and
the harbinger went up to the small table of the porch; the old Nord sat down and tented his fingers, eyeing the Argonian opposite
him with great interest.
"So is that why you don't have a single wolf form like the rest of us?" Hasir nodded, "Interesting." Kodlak thought, scratching his
grey beard.
Hasir lent back in his chair as he eyed the harbinger's lined face.
"So, do you know who or what stole our true bipedal werewolf forms from us?" He asked him
Kodlak looked at the Argonian with wide eyes. He did not know how the Argonian knew about his shameful secret.
"Hasir, who told you?" He asked, shocked.
Hasir eyed him, a bit out of the loop. He had no idea what he was talking about. Kodlak shook his head as if he was ridding himself
of a rather troublesome thought. He looked at him like a wolf who was considering a piece of meat.
"I don't think we have been properly introduced, I am Kodlak, harbinger of Jorrvaskr." He said, smiling toothily at the Argonian.
Hasir leaned on his elbows which were propped on the table and asked Kodlak why he sounded shocked a bit earlier.; Kodlak told him
not to worry about it. Hasir insisted. The harbinger sighed and told his of his shameful secret he had hoped would remain hidden.
"Everyone in the circle of Jorrvaskr is infected with lycanthropy and even relish it; some, Aela especially thinks of it as a blessing. I,
however, wanting to purify my soul for Sovngarde and I feel this lycanthropy is holding me back."
Hasir cocked his head in both wonder and confusion.
"Why do you want to cure your lycanthropy? It is a blessing, not a curse as you might suggest."
Kodlak raised his hands in frustration. He had sensed Hasir wore his lycanthropy proudly like a king would wear a crown; he
somehow knew this upon first meeting him. What Hasir did not understand was why Kodlak wanted to cure his lycanthropy. Kodlak
told him that werewolves hunt for all enternity in Hircine's hunting grounds when they die. Kodlak frowned and told him that he
wanted a better afterlife, one in Songarde.
Kodlak got up and told Hasir that they had better go back into the mead hall. Hasir crossed the threshold and saw Rakel sleeping in a
chair behind the chair he had just vacated. He moved slowly and quietly into the mead hall and eased into the chair with the pillow
for his back and propped his leg on the adjoined chair. He felt exhausted after meeting the majority of Jorrvaskr, he struggled to
stay awake but sleep finally overtook him.
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