U.O.T.W. Chapter 62 The Word Is Out

• Posted by Sotek July 25, 2015 - Filed in TSC: CB Story - 1,112 views

  

  Author's: Note: Adult Themes

  Within fifteen minutes from leaving the Harbingers study, Aela, Vilkas and Sotek were ready for the task ahead. As they headed out from Jorrvaskr towards the main gate, Vilkas gave Sotek a stern warning. “We know you’re the Dragonborn, that you’re a capable fighter and you want to impress your girlfriend but…”

  Sotek stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes seemed to burn into Vilkas. “Hssss. I don’t have a ‘girlfriend’. Aela’ss my mate… There’ss a difference”. He boldly walked past them both as he headed down the steps and stopped by Carlotta’s stall. He picked up two red apples then handed her a single gold coin but then he gave her daughter Mila a coin as well.

  “Sotek, you didn’t have to do that. What do you say Mila?” Carlotta sighed as she prompted her daughter.

  Mila looked up excitedly at the Argonian.

  “Thanks Sotek… We’ll have green apples tomorrow”.

  Sotek chuckled as he pulled out another three gold coins from his pouch. “Will you now… There’s three gold coins here if you deliver four green apples to Jorrvaskr tomorrow. We have a deal?”

  Mila nodded as she held her hand out.

  “Huh huh… Four green apples. I’ll take ‘em myself”

  With that Sotek cast Carlotta a wink then threw to Aela one of the red apples which she deftly caught and took a big bite from making a loud ‘crunch’ as she did so. As Aela and Vilkas came up behind him, she glanced at ‘her brother’ for a second before sprinting forwards slightly to be by Sotek’s side.

  Shortly after they passed the market, Sotek once again headed off in a seemingly random direction. Aela came to a stop as she watched him walk towards the town’s beggar Brenuin. Sotek handed over a single gold coin as Brenuin held his hand out. He looked up gratefully as he thanked Sotek for his generosity.

  “Blessings of the nine to you kind sir”. Sotek moved closer to him and gently pulled him aside. They talked for a few minutes while Aela and Vilkas watched on.

  Both Aela and Vilkas swapped curious glances with one another as Sotek re-joined them.

  “I wouldn’t bother with him. He only spends it on mead”. Vilkas said “How often do you give him gold?”.

  “Oh by now he’s had about ten maybe twelve gold from me”. Sotek stated as he watched the beggar head through the market to make his way towards the Bannered Mare.

  Vilkas laughed as he slapped Sotek on the back causing him to lurch forwards.

  “Ha, ha, ha... I bet he watches out for you every time he’s on the street. You might as well hand out free mead”.

  “I’m aware of that!!!” Sotek abruptly replied as he righted himself.

  “So why bother?” Aela asked as she straightened his pack on his shoulders. “If you know that, why bother?”

  Sotek chuckled to himself as he turned around to face her.

  “Beggars talk. They are the eyes and ears of the thieves guild but they also talk among themselves. I’ve only been to a few Cities in Skyrim but I bet I’m known to all the beggars in all of them”. He turned to Vilkas and prodded him in the chest as he spoke. “Better than you two. Words been sent out… In a few days with any luck, I’ll have an idea of where the shadow scales came from,  where they’ve been and who they work for. And I don’t even have to get off the chair”. With that he burst out laughing.

  Aela stopped dead in her tracks and tugged his arm pulling him around in the process so she could look at him right in the face.

  “You heard us that day, the Harbinger and me!!!”

  Sotek stopped as he nodded in agreement.

  “Yes, but only some of it, only some of it”. He reached out to hold the side of her face whereby he softly pulled her close to him. “You got to understand… When I came here I had no friends and no home. You three made it clear I was an intruder”. He stopped talking as he saw a single tear try to form in one of her eyes. “I don’t want to upset you, but I am”. He then kissed her on the lips gently for a few seconds. All the while she kissed him back as her eyes tightly closed. “There are so many enemies hiding in the shadows. When you find yourself like this you got to see all, hear all and react only when you have to”.

  “And when it’s time to react… Hold nothing back”. His voice trailed off then he gave out a loud sigh as he stared in the distance for a few seconds. His hand reached into his pocket and pulled out Aela’s old armour piece and rolled it around his clawed fingers. He played with it for a few seconds and watched with interest as the golden trimming glisten in the sunlight.

  “Typical… Now I’m upsetting myself”. He put it back in his pocket then gave Aela a reassuring hug. “The important thing is with some luck we’ll find out what we’re up against”.

  Aela reached up to his cheek with the back of her finger and wiped a tear from his face then tugged his arm pulling him towards the gate. 

  “It’ll be dark in a few hours. Let’s move”.

  Leaving Whiterun behind, they headed east along the bricked path towards the Throat of the World. Once they started crossing the Stone bridge Aela gave Sotek a playful shove as she pointed to the river which ran underneath them.

  “Fancy a dip”.

  “Sure... After you!!!!”.

  He grabbed her arms and started pushing her towards the edge causing her to scream out. “Let me go!!! Vilkas!!! Get him off!!!”.

  Vilkas stopped and sat on the other side of the wall while Aela struggled helplessly against Sotek’s weight which pushed her ever closer to the edge.

  “Ok, twenty gold”.

  Aela nearly slipped from the surprise at Vilkas’s answer. Her rebuke towards him was louder than when she yelled at Sotek.

  “Vilkas... You arrogant pig!!!” Her eyes opened wide as she felt the edge of the stone wall against the back of her legs. The next moment her dagger was yanked from her belt and trust menacingly against Sotek’s groin. “I swear... If I go in then he goes in as well...”

  Sotek froze as he let her go. He backed off cautiously with his hands held upwards in a defensive position. All the while he could feel the tip of her dagger as it pressed against him. She swished the small blade in front of her as a means of prompting Sotek to take the lead whilst she stayed behind him.

  “Move...”

  Sotek cried out jestingly to a group of farmers who were tending to their crops on the other side of the river.

  “Help!!! Argonian slave being abused. Call the Guards...”

  Aela turned her head around to face the farmers as she started laughing. However the moment her eyes drifted off Sotek, he took advantage of the situation and shouted out as he ran up to her.

  “In the river!!!”

  Aela stumbled backwards in surprise and lost her footing. She cried out as she landed heavily on her backside.

  “Arggh my ass!!! Damn you... You lousy rock dwelling bastard”.

  As she scrambled up to her feet Sotek roared out laughing until he saw her draw her bow. He sprinted across the bridge and ran as fast as he could along the road towards Valtheim towers. Moments later an arrow thudded into the ground nearby as Aela hollered out at him.

  “Yes, that’s right run damn you. I know where you live!!!”

  Vilkas eased Aela’s bow down so she couldn’t fire off a second arrow which she was already preparing to draw.

  “I could be wrong but I expect he’ll be of more use if he’s alive”.

  Aela growled at him as she tugged her bow away from his hand.

  “Not to me... Well not all of him anyway”.

  Vilkas rolled his eyes at her then slapped her lightly on the back of her head.

  “Stop it. Sotek... Get over here!!! Vilkas, take the two kids out to play... Next time Kodlak’s supervising you two”. He then started chuckling to himself as Sotek drew alongside Aela. She gave him a light punch in the arm before heading off along the mountain road.

  A short while after they crossed the bridge, they turned off the main path and followed a small path which Vilkas pointed out. From there they continued along it as it snaked up the mountainside but by the time they go to their destination it was dusk.

  When they closed in upon the cave, the signs of a disturbance were extreme to say the least, however neither Vilkas nor Aela found what they had expected to see. Lying dead on the ground was the remains of a bear. It was torn apart as if creatures fought over the body. Blood and matted fur scattered around the entrance. Traces of small animals like foxes, and hawks had picked at the remains, but still the claw marks were clearly evident.

  “What the hell happened here? It’s like something went absolutely berserk”. Vilkas exclaimed.

  Aela shook her head in bewilderment.

  “I expected the bears to be the problem... Not end up the victims.  What in Oblivion could have caused this?”

  Sotek thought back to the troll cave as he studied Aela. She was staring at the corpse trying to take in what had happened and to rationalize what her eyes told her.

  Due to the failing light, Aela pulled a torch out from her pack and was just about to light it when Sotek cast his Candlelight spell. The whole area lit up as a bright white orb materialized just above Sotek’s head where it settled hovering just above him.

  Aela stopped what she was doing and starred at it for a few seconds until she snapped out of her trance. She grabbed Sotek by the arm as realization dawned on her that she had unfortunately temporarily blinded herself.

  “You bloody fool” she snapped at him.

  Feeling somewhat startled, Sotek turned around to see her rubbing her eyes furiously as she tried her best to clear them.

  “What?”

  “Come on moron...” She grabbed his arm and yanked him forwards as if he was her personal guide. As they approached the entrance of the cave, Aela kept blinking heavily whilst she tried to see properly. Throughout all that time, Sotek was ignorant to what temporary damage his spell had done to Aela’s eyesight and judging from the blank expression and the innocent shrugging of his shoulders, Vilkas was also completely unaware to her situation.

  The moment they crossed the threshold Aela had other things on her mind. The stench of decaying flesh was terrible. Aela couldn’t help but choke on it. Even Vilkas and Sotek had a hard time breathing. Inside it was no better for the main cave section had at least six carcases which were equally torn and ripped to shreds well beyond what was needed to kill them.

  “It’s like something attacked and just didn’t stop”. Aela just couldn’t believe the amount of damage wrought. “They have defiantly eaten here. Look!!! You can see where they tore into the ribs”.

  “They? Why did you say they?” Sotek asked as he tried to examine the chest cavity of a carcase while he covered the end of his nose with a piece of linen wrap.

  Vilkas glanced over to him as he answered on Aela’s behalf.

  “Simple... No werewolf on his own would attack six bears. Yes we’re tough but six bears? And the amount eaten!!! It had to be more than one”.

  Sotek studied the various carcases and noticed that each one had the ribs ripped open. This allowed whatever creatures that had killed them unhindered access to feed off the soft flesh inside.

  “How many you think did this?”

  Aela answered him although she was struggling to talk.

  “Two minimum, it’ll take two of us for six basic bears but numbers can overwhelm. However it’s the amount they’ve eaten that bothers me. Every one of the bears has been fed upon. You’ve seen Red eat, two deer’s if she’s being greedy but one bear would feed her for two days. Werewolves don’t gorge themselves. It leaves them sluggish and bloated. Which in turn makes them weak and defenceless. I’d say at least three werewolves fed here”.

  Sotek gulped as the whole scale of the scene fixed in his mind.

  “Well, let’s hope they’ve had their fill”.

  Vilkas chuckled quietly as he called out to Sotek.

  “Why’s that then?”

  Aela turned to him scornfully as she bought her finger to her lips. “Keep it down you moron. For the simple fact that if they haven’t then they would still be here”.

  Silently they headed deeper inside. Once they entered a second tunnel the air got less heavy and putrid. The passageway they found themselves in opened into  a smaller cave. Vilkas took point and worked his way round the left. While Aela headed to the right.

  They were searching the cave when suddenly and without any warning, Soteks candlelight spell went out instantly shrouding them in darkness. Unfortunately for Aela, she was in mid process of stepping forwards. Before Sotek could recast his spell, there was a repulsive crunch of bones under her foot. She froze instantly as a sickening sensation filled her stomach aided by the release of a pungent smell.

  “Oh Hircine its slippery... What the hell have I stepped on? Moron get that bloody light up”. Just at that second the mage light reappeared. Sotek glanced at her for an instant and cringed as her foot had broken through a ribcage of a torn up carcase.

  “Aela keep your eyes shut, I’m coming to get you” Sotek spoke calmly in an attempt to control the situation. “Just keep your eyes shut”.

  Aela automatically looked down and saw the shattered ribcage with her foot in the middle of it amidst a chest full of splintered bones and guts. She pulled her foot out and screwed her face up as a sickening squelchy sound echoed around her as she released the pressure from under her boot. The sound, aided with the putrid stench of the decomposing flesh was too much. She stepped backwards then threw up uncontrollably. Sotek put his arm around her as he gently rubbed her back whilst he supported her.

  “Why did you look?”

  “Because you told me not to, you bloody moron”. She yelled as she hit him in the chest.

  The previous occupants of this section fared no better than the ones the three Companions saw before. The remains of two bears were scattered around in a bizarre bloody circle almost as if something rained down blow after blow upon them even well after their deaths.

  “Maybe it was about leadership... Who could do the most damage?” Sotek didn’t think it was likely but he put his suggestion forwards to the others anyway.

  Aela shook her head at him while she caught her breath.

  “Feral werewolves maybe... They’ve definitely eaten”.

  Sotek glanced over to Vilkas and asked him of his opinion.

  “What’s your theory”

  “The same. Feral werewolves”.

  Sotek inquisitively turned towards Aela who however her back to them both as she rested her hand on the cave wall whilst she tried to control her stomach.

  “And I presume that’s bad? Giving the close proximity to White run... But what the hell are feral werewolves?”.

  Aela rolled her eyes as she grumbled at him.

  “Feral werewolves are people that lose themselves. They become totally werewolf and can’t change back. They are wild and attack anything or anyone. They lose themselves to the hunt. They are nothing more than beasts... And nothing less”.

  Sotek went up to Aela then pulled her close to him tightly as he described them.

  “Let me guess... They stand about 6 feet tall, they’re covered in fur, a bit like you are when you change. Red sorry, except their fur is matted and covered in old dry blood?”

  Aela grinned as she turned towards Vilkas.

  “See!!! He does get the werewolf thing”. Then however she turned to see where Sotek was looking. “Aww balls…” Three scruffy black werewolves with matted dirty fur and stained teeth stood there in the passageway, sniffing the air as they watched the three Companions while they waited to see who would the first move. Aela slowly reached for her bow as Vilkas carefully drew his sword.

  Sotek didn’t have time to blink when Vilkas suddenly yelled out as he charged forwards. The keen edge of his blade swung upwards slicing into the nearest target cutting a bloody gash from its crotch up through its chest. He followed through and swung around then thrust his two handed sword into the creatures torso impaling it up to the hilt. The next moment his boot lifted up and kicked out knocking the now dead beastly creature to the ground. The next second he thrust his blade into it a second time finishing off any life which was left in the unfortunate fiend.

  Without stopping he shouted out at the second werewolf. “Yaaarr!!!” His target jumped at him as it threatening to sink its teeth into his shoulder but his blade tore into its stomach ripping into the chest from the guts. Its jaws relaxed as its strength faded as an arrow flew past him knocking the last werewolf into the cave wall. Before Vilkas could get a second hit in, another arrow shot across his path and embedded itself in Aela’s target.

  The third werewolf collapsed on the cave floor as it burst into flames, marking the end of the fight.

  “More training for you Sotek, your way too slow”. Vilkas sniggered.

  After huffing at him, Sotek examined the three bodies.

  “I take it these are feral?” 

  “Yes their feral all right… Hircine knows where from”. Aela stated as she searched around for any clue as to the feral werewolves origins. “It’s dark. Let’s get back and report this, the Harbinger will want to know about them”.

  Bt the time they eventually left the cave, it was approaching dawn. The moment Aela felt fresh air blow against her face, she stopped to bend over. She rested the palms of her hands on her knees as she filled her lungs with crisp clean air. She then felt Soteks hand on her waist as he held her to give her extra support. A flask of water appeared in front of her which she easily recognized as belonging to Sotek which she used to wash out her mouth out.

  “I love the taste of vomit in the morning”. She then stood up and passed him the flask back. “Thanks”. She then has a little chuckle as she eyed him mischievously. “Kiss me!!!”

  Sotek look at her with a blank expression then shook his head.

  “Ermm no”.

  As  he carried on down the path, just to hear Aela call out to him.

  “Coward”.

  Once they got back to Jorrvaskr, the three companions reported to the Harbinger on what they found. All the while he sat there as he listened to Aela’s report without saying a single word. When she finished he simply dismissed them. However when they went to leave he called Sotek back.

  “Can I have a word please”.

  Both Sotek and Aela stopped dead in their tracks as they exchanged glances with one another.

  “In private… If you don’t mind. Aela, your welcome to wait at the end of the hall… The far end”. Aela briefly looked at the Harbinger then headed outside his chamber and softly closed the door.

  Kodlak got up from his chair and opened the door as if to check that Aela had indeed dispersed from outside his study. She was currently heading to the far end table where she sat down and waited for Sotek. Grunting to himself, Kodlak shut the door before turning his attention to Sotek.

  “Have you seen this before? What you found in the cave?”

  Sotek studied his entire demeanor as he weighed things up in his mind. After he nodded slightly he moved to a chair by the small table where he, Tilma and the Harbinger would sometimes play cards late at night and sat down.

  “Ok, let’s talk openly, with all the cards on the table. Yes I have but this I expect you already know… What is it you really want to ask?”

  The Harbinger smiled at him slyly.

  “When you went to Winterhold, the troll cave… Aela spoke to me about how she was with you. About her needs at the time. Do you remember the three trolls? Aela killed them, they didn’t turn on one another. That’s where you saw this, for the first time”.

  Sotek eyed him cautiously then chose his words carefully.

  “Yes, but this is different. She killed three trolls... Yes it was over kill, yes she tore them to pieces… But you got to realize something. She was hiding the fact of who she was. All that desire, Red’s needs, she buried it for weeks”.

  Sotek sat there while he gathered his thoughts for a few seconds.

  “Now though, I know about it so she doesn’t have to hide it. The she wolf inside her, ‘Red’ does get out. She gets to run and kill. Harbinger, you’re actually asking do I believe that Aela did this! Look for yourself, you need to. Six bears in single combat? There is no way she did this. I’ve seen her werewolf form fight, I’ve fought alongside her. The three werewolves, the ‘Feral’ ones? Aela and Vilkas believe they did it. Go have a look”. Then Sotek simply got up then dismissed himself and headed for the hall.

  Kodlak called out to Sotek as he reached out for the door.

  “Is that what you believe? The Feral ones did it?”

  Sotek didn’t bother to turn and face him but just stood there resting his hand on the door handle.

  “Before I came to Jorrvaskr I went hungry. I lived off the land. Some days there was no food at all. To be honest I was bloody starving”. At that point he turned around and stared right into Kodlak’s eyes. “When you feel hunger like that you recognize it. They didn’t eat the bears, they were starving. They simply followed the scent of the blood. The poor bastards were unlucky, they ran into us”. He then left the study and joined Aela at the far table in the Undercroft leaving the Harbinger alone to think upon on what they all said about the cave.