MUSIC: Humans are Predators Too by Carter Burwell.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TTibck2kEc&feature=related
“Sinding, my friend, don’t freak,” I began. “But I’ve been told to kill you.”
“And I would deserve it, wouldn’t I?” he replied. “I can’t stop you if that’s what you want to do; Hircine is too powerful. But if you spare me, I can be a powerful ally to you. And I would promise to never return to civilized life. I know now that I can’t live among people.”
His voice was calm, quiet, a little sad, and most important, human. A powerful ally who wants to spend all his time in the wilderness? This day might just be salvageable, I thought. “Deal! I shall spare your life.”
“Thank the gods. Now let’s deal with these other hunters. We hunt together!”
Right! I thought. You hunt; I document your kills. Anyway, all the hunters were already dead. We should leave. I headed for the mouth of the grotto.
“No!” Sinding exclaimed as I walked out into sunshine. “I will have no peace until these hunters are dead.”
“But they’re all gone, friend,” I said as I lit up a butt. “You killed them. I helped a little.”
He slouched down the hill slope, in a mopey, dispirited manner. “Where you going, Sinding?”
“To turn myself in.”
“What? No wait, you can’t do that! Look, I’m heading back in now. We’ll search everywhere!” He ignored me. I shouted after him. “Look, I’ll check the whole grotto, and if there’s anyone left, I’ll take care of them. Just don’t go anywhere!”
I stomped back into the grotto, walked right past the bloody campsite, up the steps to the overlook where I had first seen Sinding. Checking around, I realized the canyon did go deeper. Peeking carefully over the edge, I confirmed that there was at least one more hunter. I ducked down and thought, my heart pounding anew. "This is such a bad idea! I should just walk away now." My werewolf ally was gone, and I was going to lose him permanently if I didn’t work fast.
“OK Pingham, keep it cool. All you need is the right combat algorithm and you can beat any problem. So Step 1: Send in Old Rusty.” Conjuring the spirit of my childhood pal was the first spell I ever learned at Old Imperium and shall always be my favorite. “Step 2: Keep out of sight. Step 3: Repeat steps 1 and 2 until enemy is dead. Step 4: Loot. Step 5: Proceed forward with care, repeating previous steps as necessary. Sound like a plan? Yep. OK, let’s do this.”
My algorithm worked like a charm on the first hunter. The next was a little too alert. I ran like hell while Rusty kept him busy and wore him down. When he was almost dead, I turned and struck him down with a mace. So running away got patched into my algorithm. Dead guy contributed a greatsword to my inventory. I could barely lift it.
Around the next corner, there were two of them. Only one followed me, but he was fast! My algorithm was further modified. I learned to conjure on the run, slowing my opponent until I could reach a high place. Then I turned and crushed him with a massive overhand swing of that great sword. “BWAHA!” I cried, shaking the bloody blade over my head. “I am Pingham the Barbarian! Tremble before my wrath!” Time for a smoke break.
The algorithm went out the window on the next hunter. She was after me so hard I had no time to conjure up Rusty. All I could do was heal myself and sprint out the mouth of the grotto. I thought I’d get a break there, but no! There were three guys waiting outside for me. “We’re here to teach you a lesson!” All three came at me at once. All I could do was run. Who sent these guys? Was it the alchemist? All this over some petty shoplifting? I led them around in a big circle and came back to the mouth of the grotto. I ducked back in. I actually caught a break, as the thugs would not follow me into the werewolf’s lair.
I picked up some steel plate armor and a shield from a dead hunter, and went forward with more protection, if less stealth. After several more hours of hit and run tactics, I finally killed the last of them. I went through three entire cigarettes that day, but I can’t tell you how satisfied I was with myself. Now, all I had to do was find Sinding and tell him.
Night had fallen by the time I tracked Sinding back to Falkreath. As good as his word, Sinding had turned himself in and I found him back in the cistern at the jail, this time with the well head mortared shut. Sinding crouched in the water with his wolfish head in his paws, and did not look up when I came to the bars.
The guard was suspicious of me. “I know you had something to do with Sinding’s escape.”
“What me? No, I’m just here to document him for the Imperial records. See?” I showed him my journal. “Fauna of Skyrim.”
That seemed to calm him down. “Steel plate. Smart!”
My face reddened. I was still wearing the armor because it was easier to wear it than to carry it. I didn’t tell him I would gladly sell the whole works for a pack of smokes. I waited until the guard paced back to the other end of the room. Sinding sat morosely in his waterlogged cell.
“Sinding!” I hissed. “I killed them—all of them. You can come out now.”
Sinding ignored me. “Sinding, don’t throw your life away. You can control yourself now. You don’t need to live this way. I need your help, damn it!”
I pulled a mace out of my pack and rapped it against the bars. “Sinding, you pathetic puppy, I know you can understand me. Talk to me!” The guard started looking at me funny again.
I conjured up a flame and shot a quick burst at him. That finally got his attention. He stood before me, arms open wide, and challenged, “Is that all you got?”
I stared at him, aghast. I had just spent a day and a half risking my life and pissing off a daedric prince to save this spineless, suicidal dog! I briefly considered killing him and skinning him the way Hircine had demanded. But he wasn’t worth it, and I couldn’t have skinned him anyway because there was no door to his cell. The guards had mortared it shut. His skin would have rotted on his corpse and contaminated the well water. It occurred to me that his living body couldn’t be doing the well water any good either. Note to self: only drink mead in Falkreath. Suddenly the entire day caught up to me. I turned away from him with a shake of my head, gently lifted the key off the oblivious guard, let myself into the empty jail cell, locked it behind me and passed out on the filthy bedding.
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