Sotek disdainfully watched Aela as she headed off towards Whiterun. He forlornly hoped she was just teasing but inside he knew she meant it. Every step she took led her further away and with it Sotek’s hopes. He began to wish he insisted on hiring horses but he didn’t think about such things.
He cursed to himself about the whole scenario and of his own lack of judgement.
“Idiot! More time focusing on the job at hand rather than drooling over the tail you’re travelling with; as mother used to say. Now, wolf... how to shift an overgrown wolf? Ah, stretcher!”
He began solving the problem by retrieving his axes which were still strewn on the ground then he set about his task of finding three suitable young trees. Once he ‘felled’ them, he hacked off the branches, effectively creating three poles. His next objective was to strip several of the branches then he weaved them between the poles creating a woven bed and bound them all together using leather strips from his pack.
After a few hours of weaving and cursing, along with a few cuts and sores, he stepped back and admired his handy work. The stretcher he had crated had two long poles for him to drag while the bed itself was secure enough to have someone lay on while he dragged them behind. In this case the ‘someone’ was the ice wolf.
He laid the stretcher alongside the wolf, making sure the head was at the end which he was going to lift so the hind section of the wolf was at the lowest point then he knelt down by the wolfs shoulder and started rolling it using his own body weight to assist him.
After a few false starts, the wolf rolled over to finally rest in the middle of the stretcher. Sotek cursed once more in relief then he gave himself a few minutes before he would begin the slow exhausting journey back to Whiterun. Gradually he made his way along the mountain pass, dragging the wolf behind him.
As he approached the valley, he saw Farkas and Vilkas who were riding two horses with a third spare horse being led behind them. He dropped the stretcher, letting the wolf fall heavily to the floor before casting a single flame straight up as a signal flare.
The two brothers sped up their mounts and headed straight towards him while he sat by the wolf and waited. His arms ached and his shoulders hurt as he slowly rolled them in an attempt to remove the stiffness. By now the horses slowed to a trot whereby Farkas dismounted and greeted Sotek while at the same time he examined Aela’s handy work.
“Aela said you would need some help. Oh wow, he’s a big bastard”.
Sotek kicked the stretcher, knowing full well if Aela found out he hit the wolf then he would probably get kicked as well.
“Yes he bloody is. Aela doesn’t do things by half does she”.
Vilkas looked at the size of the wolf and laughed.
“At least it’s a white one. We all knew she would get an ice wolf”.
Sotek rose up off the ground and headed straight for Vilkas’s horse. All he needed to do was point for Vilkas to know what he wanted. The Nord detached his flask and lightly tossed it towards Sotek who snatched it from the air. He swallowed a few mouthfuls then passed it back to its owner.
Now his thirst had been dealt with, he answered Vilkas with a scowl.
“Yess, I guessed it would be an ice wolf too but this bastard, damn. He’s a heavy git”.
Farkas noticed the two lines that were etched into the ground from where Sotek had dragged the stretcher along the trail. His mind boggled with curiosity to Sotek’s lack of patience.
“You dragged the wolf by yourself? By the nines Sotek, why? Why didn’t you just wait for Aela to send for us?"
Sotek just sighed with defeat. He looked across the plains to Whiterun and pointed accusingly at the city, marking out one person in particular.
“Becausse Aela didn’t tell me that she was ssending help! The bloody bitch just went off telling me to sshift the bloody thing. Hsss”.
Vilkas creased up as he listened to Sotek’s rant. He roared with laughter at the luckless Argonian.
“You’re supposed to grab Aela by the tail, instead little sis has got you by the balls”.
The memory of Aela holding him tightly, literally forcing him to obey, plagued Sotek’s mind. Something in his eyes caused Vilkas to laugh even louder.
“Bloody hell Farkas, look at him. She did grab him by the balls. Hey, Argonian! We want to know, tender caress or crippling pain?”
Sotek turned around so his back was to Vilkas. The Argonian’s tail slammed down, thudding into the ground.
“What you want to know for?”
Farkas laughed alongside his brother. They both shared a casual glance and nodded together as one. In a single voice they both cried out much to Sotek’s embarrassment which was clearly evident as his tail disappeared between his legs and coiled round forming a circle.
“Crippling pain!”
Farkas couldn’t help himself; he slapped Sotek on the shoulder, shoving him forwards by a few feet.
“You do know the maids in the Inn only charge a few septims don’t you? Some have asked about you, did you know that? Why torture yourself?”
Sotek just blurted out his reply without thinking. He was too busy rubbing his shoulder where Farkas had ‘Orc smacked’ him in the back.
“A few gold? And just how much is ‘a few gold’ hsss”
Farkas held up both hands, spreading his fingers out as if Sotek needed to count them all.
“Ten gold for the whole evening. Now that’s a good time to be had for ten gold”.
Sotek groaned in frustration. All he wanted to do was get back to Jorrvaskr but instead he was stuck with the two brothers who were having a great time hassling him. He tried to direct the conversation to the job at hand without any luck.
“Yes, but shouldn’t we be getting...
Vilkas grinned straight at him. They had been goading him and their persistence finally paid off.
“He said yes!! Let’s fix him up with the blonde! She’s a cracker and she’s always asking about him”.
Sotek looked up at them in horror. He tried to back down and put a stop to it but it was too late as neither brother was listening.
“What!! No, that’s not what I said”.
Farkas slapped him on the back a second time. He stumbled forwards and just managed to steady himself before he fell to the floor.
“Oh but you did! Don’t worry, it’s our secret”.
All Sotek could think about was Aela going mental at him, just with the thought of the conversation they were having.
“Don’t you two want to find that one person you want to be with? The one who makes you complete?”
Vilkas just stared at him disbelievingly. As he defended their way of life and the outlook he and his brother shared, he pointed to the dead ice wolf.
“What, like you? When you spent days in the temple with your arm half ripped off? Or when she stabbed you? Deliberately I might add, in the leg with a dagger? You feel we should find that special one that leaves us dragging a bloody great ice wolf across the plains? No thank you lover boy. You stick to the homicidal dating and we’ll keep to out ten gold an evening girls”.
Farkas quickly added to Vilkas’s statement with one of his own.
“We get enough problems and sleepless nights from your girl let alone bringing another one into Jorrvaskr. Grief, the Harbingers hair would go white with the thought of two Aela’s in the Undercroft”.
Vilkas laughed as he pictured the Harbinger with his snow white hair and light grey braided beard.
“His hair is white”.
Farkas smiled at Sotek and pointed straight at him.
“See! And that’s just Aela; let alone another one there as well”.
Sotek flapped his arm at them then briskly walked towards the stretcher. He started trying to pull it towards the horse which was several feet away.
“This is really not helping. Let’s get this bloody thing back”.
Sotek glanced over to the horses then examined the wolf one more time. Although he had already become acquainted with the dead beast, he allowed the development of new factors to influence his plans. The new factors being two great apes and the aid of three horses.
“We’ll never walk this thing back but now we don’t have to. Anyone got any rope?”
Vilkas pulled off a coil of rope from his saddle and threw it at Sotek’s feet. The Argonian smiled, thankful that they had thought about things before simply heading off to meet him. With the rope in hand, he set about systematically tying the wolfs front legs together then bound the hind legs in a similar fashion. Once he was finished with the wolf, he put his mind to the larger undertaking; getting the wolf on the horse. He pointed to the third steed and explained his idea.
“We’ll drape the wolf over the back of the horse then I can ride it back. We’ll be in Whiterun in no time”.
Farkas chuckled and held the reins to the horse while he waved the go ahead to Sotek.
“Ok, you throw it up and I’ll steady the beast. Get a move on Whelp!”
Sotek nearly fainted when Farkas’s words sunk in. He turned to Vilkas in desperation causing the Nord to openly laugh at him. Still revelling in Sotek’s ‘misery’, Vilkas gestured him out of the way then called Farkas to his side.
“Come, brother. This is a job for your strength. The poor Whelps suffered enough with Aela; let’s not prolong his agony”.
While Sotek steadied the horse, patting the side of its head to reassure the beast of burden, Vilkas and Farkas lifted the wolf up on the back of the horse then secured it with the remaining lengths of rope.
Without wasting any more time, Sotek mounted up then trotted off down the valley towards Whiterun with the two Brothers either side of him.
It was well into the afternoon by the time they arrived at the stables. Whiterun’s gate was a welcome sight for Sotek as his weariness began taking its toll. He was tired and hungry yet he knew they still had to get the wolf through the town to the yard where he could finally rest.
As the three Companions dismounted, the stable boy approached them. Vilkas ‘coughed’ gaining Farkas’s attention. For no apparent reason they fell back several paces, leaving Sotek at the forefront. They needn’t have bothered as the stable lad seemed to single out Sotek anyway.
“Oh she got it then. Wow he’s nearly as big as a horse! Well a small horse. How you gonna get that through the gates? You going to carry it between you?”
Sotek looked around at the nearby farm then broadly grinned. He didn’t relish having to move the great bulky wolf through the streets and up the stairways and thanks to the local farmers he wouldn’t have to. He quickly acquired a wooden cart then wheeled it back to the stables where they placed the wolf upon it.
Farkas grabbed hold of the handles and insisted in pushing it while Vilkas aided him by acting as a guide leaving Sotek with nothing to do, or at least that was what he thought.
As they started walking along the pathway, the stable lad called out to Sotek.
“Hang on! What about my money? That will be a hundred and fifty septims please”. As he spoke he abruptly held out his hand for payment.
Sotek looked at him blankly then turned to the others who had carried on walking. Sotek noticed their pace had since sped up. Realism dawned on him that yet again he was left with the bill.
“Oi you bastards, why am I paying for the horses?”
The stable boy answered on their behalf which was a good job as they completely blanked him. The two Companions just kept on walking while they talked amongst themselves.
“She said you would pay when you get back”.
Sotek slumped his shoulders, then after giving off a loud sigh he turned to the stable lad. He knew the answer before he even asked the question and he certainly didn’t need a second guess.
“And she is? Don’t ask me why I’m asking and don’t bother with the answer, I know”.
The stable lad cheekily grinned as he replied.
“Aela. She said you would guess”.
Sotek knew it was her and he wasn’t the least bit surprised. Feeling his sanity drain away, he hit his head against the stable door, three times in succession.
Farkas, who seemed unfazed by Sotek’s actions, called out to him.
“You know it’s only ten gold for the evening? It’s hassle free as well”.
The Companion’s comment proved too much. The final straw threw Sotek off the edge. He yelled out to the heavens for all he was worth.
“Shut up!! Just shut up!! You and your blasted maids!”
He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself before he slowly trod along the pathway towards the gate.
Comments
With regards to Sotek, no. It's not his new werewolf form which is affecting him. There's something else going on. (Made... more
Aela played him hard at his own game, hahaha. A lot of great development and funny moments in the last few chapters. Is adjusting to his new wolf form making him that discoordinated?
I agree with you Ebonslayer, the brothers are. But, saying that lets not forget Sotek thrown them in a river at least three times and he trampled over them when he was trapped in the form of a wol... more
Oh lord was that one of your funniest chapters, Sotek. Â Poor devil is a man who loves his woman.Â
The twins are pricks.