No new companions in this chapter! Soon, though.
With the khajiit woman, Reema, now traveling with them, Soladat knew things would be just a little bit easier. She had proven her healing skills when she patched up the burn on Soladat's arm, and that was good enough for her. They were going to be fighting trolls on the way to High Hrothgar, and could use the healing help if any of them got injured. Though Soladat had said to Akavira that if she got hurt, not to blame her, she did care. Now that two nords, a redguard, and a khajiit were on her team, she had to take responsibility for them. It was so strange to her, though. The only time she had worked with other people was when she was in the Companions.
It was always nice knowing someone had your back. That someone was there to help, and she didn't have to fight alone. She had been going through her life as a lone mercenary since she left the Companions. Even before then, she rarely fought alongside others. Now that the Jarl of Whiterun was requesting her help, was telling her she was born to kill dragons, she could use the help.
After Reema healed her wound and left, promising to be back by sunrise, Soladat had decided to get some sleep. Her plan had been a little messed up since those mercenaries tried to kill her. Just one night didn't really matter, though. They would just have to alter the plan a little, and leave at dawn. From then, they would travel till nightfall. Hopefully, this plan will keep in place.
Her eyes fluttered open at the crack of dawn, the light of the rising sun that drifted through the single window in the rented room awakening her. She no longer felt any pain in her wound, showing that Reema's magic worked perfectly. The khajiit burst into Soladat's room only seconds after the blonde had redressed in her armor; the only reason a blade never meet Reema's throat a second time was that Soladat had heard her happily chatting to her other companions, informing them that she would go get Soladat.
"Reema is ready to leave, as are Madrick and Krios!" The khajiit cheered happily, grinning at Soladat, who looked less than pleased to see her. Reema's eyes were a much darker shade of red than they had been yesterday, and Soladat could tell that meant she had fed. It was going to be a pain having a vampire traveling with them, but she knew Reema wasn't going to hurt anyone. She seemed too focused on repaying a debt.
"Very well," Soladat spoke, grabbing her sword and latching it to her back as she walked out of the room, pushing Reema aside, "Let's head out."
When she walked out of her rented room, the redguard they had met last night was happily eating a sweet roll as he waited for her, Krios standing by him with crossed arms. Akavira had just bought some apples from the bar maiden, shoving them into her satchel for later, before walking towards Soladat and waiting to leave.
With everyone ready, they left the inn and started on their way to Ivarstead. Soladat wasn't the most social woman in all of Skyrim; some might inquire quite the opposite. Her companions seemed to sense this, so they didn't pester her with useless chatter. They would talk to each other, but never bothered their new leader, unless they had a question.
By the time they reached Ivarstead, the sun was at its highest peak. Soladat didn't want to waste any time, so they bought some fresh and cooked meat from the nearest inn, and ate as they continued on.
It seems some of her companions had forgotten about the two thousand steps up to High Hrothgar.
"Oh. That's quite a bit of walking." Akavira whispered, pausing at the base of the stairs as she stared up at the mountains, the peak of High Hrothgar barely visible through the fog. Soladat only grunted in response, and began to ascend the stairs. Her four followers walking shortly after her.
They walked up, getting higher and higher up the mountain with each step, ignoring the travelers that had settled at various points. Reema had taken to counting every step they took.
"Four hundred, thirty-two." She counted, "Four hundred, thirty-four. Four hundred, thirty-five. Four hundred, thirty-"
"Reema!" Soladat's harsh voice snapped her out of her counting, and she paused on the steps, looking up to her leader with wide eyes.
"Not out loud." The nord woman commanded, eyes narrowed into an icy glare that Reema didn't even falter at. The khajiit only nodded excitedly, and continued to count each step in her head. The others breathed a sigh of relief at her silence.
It was getting darker, not only from the falling sun, but the fog that covered a majority of the mountain. Soladat insisted they continue walking until it was pitch black, and despite the breathlessness they all retained and the soreness in their legs, they did so. When they could no longer see a foot in front of them, when Soladat almost fell on her face because she didn't see the next step, they finally made camp.
Camp insisted of a fire fueled by Reema's magic, some deer meat pushed onto sticks that Madrick was rotating over the fire, and the fur sleeping rolls. Luckily, Soladat didn't have to burst a vain because someone forgot their sleeping roll.
Back when she was working as a mercenary, she had a job where she was working with another mercenary her boss hired. They were traveling from Windhelm to Dawnguard, and the idiot forgot a sleeping roll. Soladat had spared him no mercy, refusing to share hers. Instead, she killed a bear and gave him the body, telling him to make it work.
That idiot was the reason she didn't much like company on her travels. She didn't like having to take care of people. She couldn't take care of her own family, let alone a complete stranger. The Companions were more professional, and she didn't have to take care of them. She simply had to have their backs as they had hers.
Though they had only fought wolves together, aside from the mercenaries back at Ivarstead, Soladat could tell her new followers would be a bit more like the Companions, so she wouldn't have to fret over them being incompetent. Which was good.
The company was also nice because she didn't have to worry about being attacked while she was sleeping. Between the five of them, the shifts were divided quite evenly. Maverick would take the first shift for the first hour, switch with Reema for two hours, then Soladat, Krios, and Akavira would take their own one hour shift. They all managed to get a decent night's rest, and after an apple for breakfast, they were back on their way.
Though traveling in such a large group did have its advantages, it also had a few disadvantages. Their teamwork was horrible. At first, Soladat didn't think it would matter too much. Working together wasn't her thing; she would pick an enemy, then go after it and expect her companion to do the same to another enemy.
It wasn't quite like that with this group. Swords would clash against one another, a spell would misfire and set someone's armor on fire, an arrow would whiz much too close to someone's ear for their liking, and blood would get in someone's eye. It was horrible, really. Soladat didn't know how to deal with this. She wasn't a team person. She went solo.
So on Talos' breath, why did she agree to bring these mongrels along for the trip?
As of yet, only Reema had truly been of any assistance. Her healing powers were quite helpful. But her offensive magic was a site to run from… if you were on her side, that is. She really only managed to hit the other followers with her flames and lightning. She had set Madrick's boots on fire, and refused to apologize until Soladat yelled at her.
Madrick himself had been of decent help, until his blade crashed into Krios' own sword. Krios was quick to return to fighting the pack of wolves that had attacked them, but Madrick got angry. He growled at Krios and knocked him to the ground with all his force, before dashing at the wolves that the nord had been attacking previous. Krios would have gotten his face eaten if it weren't for Akavira stepping in and slitting the wolf's throat right before it lunged.
Akavira had done a complete turnaround through her personality since Soladat first met her the morning previous. Then, she had been a soft-spoken, sprightly young woman. Now, she was cold as ice. The older woman had no problems with this, and much preferred it to the way she had been acting upon their first meeting. Though she seemed relatively adept with daggers, some of her arrows had gone haywire, often threatening to shoot one of their ears off. Luckily, it hadn't come to that.
Krios wasn't able to unleash his full potential that Soladat had seen when they fought the dragon. That was mostly due to someone getting in his way. Usually Reema, who, if she didn't know any better, seemed to purposefully set his armor on fire.
When they fought, it was a bit like dealing with children. They all wanted to do their own thing, and no one wanted to cooperate. The blonde didn't know how to handle this. She wasn't exactly an expert on this stuff. So she didn't. They just continued on and tried to survive.
"How much longer do you think it will take till we reach the top?" Madrick questioned once they packed their bags and continued back up the steps. The snow was falling hard, whitening their vision. Reema had no trouble seeing through the frozen wasteland, and had taken to leading their group for the moment, Soladat shortly behind her with the others following.
"I don't know." Soladat grunted, short and sweet. The conversation ended there, and no one tried to pick it back up.
Madrick got the answer to his question when they finally spotted High Hrothgar. It had been a little over two hours. Long enough for his fingers to begin to freeze. The others had no problems with the cold; what with two being nords, and Reema having a heavy set of brown fur and heavy mage robes.
They made haste into the building, the warmth of the fires surrounding them as they walked in, door closing behind them with a loud clank. It was almost dead silent; the only sound coming from the quiet cackling of the fires burning through wood. It smelled of dust and decay and smoke, something Soladat was quite used to smelling from the many dungeons she had cleared out.
After walking through the big doors, Soladat took the lead once more and found her way to the main room, where several elders sat before stones, meditating. She looked back at her companions with her good eye, and motioned with a nod of her head for them to leave the area. They understood, and wandered off. In different directions.
One of the old men noticed her arrival, and stood to greet her. The others continued to meditate in silence.
Soladat gave the man no time to talk, for she had little time to waste. Right as the elder opened his mouth, she held up her right hand in a motion to silence him. The old man's mouth shut upon the rude gesture, and Soladat spoke up.
"The Jarl of Whiterun appears to believe you have called me. He believes I have the power of 'The Voice'. I am not so easily swayed, but upon his request, I have ventured here." She explained roughly, wanting to get this over with.
"You would be wise to respect your elders, child." The Greybeard scolded, before turning around and walking to the middle of the room. Soladat followed shortly behind with a grunt.
While she spoke with the Greybeards, her companions wandered around the large building by themselves, each going their own way.
Madrick found himself in the library, looking over the hundreds of thousands of books on the shelves. Some looked so old he feared that should he touch them, they would crumble beneath his large hands. So he stayed clear of the older books, instead examining ones on a shelf in the middle of the room. They were covered in the least amount of dust.
He looked over the books titles, searching for something to read until something stands out to him. When he finally settled down on the fur-covered chair in the corner, it was with a book on alchemy; a skill he was relatively talented with, and could stand to learn more about.
Leaning back against the chair with the book in his hands, he got comfortable and began to read. He figured it would be a while before Soladat was finished with the Greybeards. He wasn't quite sure why they were here. Krios had explained to him that Jarl Balgruuf thought the blonde was something called Dragonborn. He didn't know what that meant, but he did know that the dragons were returning.
"FUS ROH DA!" The thundering shout startled him out of his daze a little over an hour after he began reading. The floor shook with the words of a voice he barely recognized at the blonde nord's, the shelves shaking and the dust upon them drifting through the air.
He took a deep a breath, coughing out after inhaling the dust, and closed the book. He hadn't finished, but his mind was too preoccupied to read again.
The dragons were definitely returning- he had seen one himself. It had been wounded severely, by whom he didn't know, and was unable to fly. He killed it himself. So with the flying lizards return and the Jarl of Whiterun claiming the leader of their newly formed merry band of misfits a Dragonborn… something was clearly going on. The return of the dragons themselves set Skyrim in danger. With a Dragonborn returning too? Something bad was going to happen. He could feel it.
Akavira found her entertainment in the basement of High Hrothgar, hovering over the alchemy table, mixing some blue mountain flowers that were stored in a basket beside the table with some wheat she found in an old chest. She could hear Soladat's shouting, but it did not distract her from her task. Through the rumbles and vibrations of the powerful voice, she continued to mix up the health potion.
Krios had been unable to find one single thing to keep his interest. He continued to wander throughout the building, making sure to stay clear of the Greybeards and Soladat during her 'Dragonborn training', as the Greybeards had taken to calling it. He examined the carvings in the wall, but found no interest in them, and continued to walk about silently.
Reema was a different case entirely. Though she had first tried to give Soladat and the Greybeards room, the excitement and curiosity overcame her. Her mother always told her curiosity killed the khajiit, and it was nearly true in this case. When it had gotten the best of her, she used a weak invisibility potion and spied on the blonde nord. She made the mistake of moving to the wrong place at the wrong time, and one of her shouts blasted into Reema, disabling her invisibility and knocking her into the wall.
Soladat was furious with her, and began to yell at the vampire, who cowered in her presence. Reema apologized profusely, but Soladat blew them all off and sent the khajiit an icy glare. Reema apologized again, and promised to never interrupt again, before scurrying off. It wasn't long after when Soladat walked up to her and told her that she may observe from afar. It made the khajiit's day, and she stood just behind the other Greybeards and watched the nord shout like a dragon with great excitement.
Only Reema noticed when the training was over; she was there when Arngeir informed Soladat that they had no more to teach her. She left to retrieve the other companions while Soladat gave her final words to the old men. When she returned with the three others, Soladat had finished her conversation and looked quite pissed off.
"What has you in a sour mood?" Madrick asked curiously, following her blindly as she led them down one of the halls.
"I must retrieve a horn from a dead man's grave. The Greybeards are allowing us to stay here. Tomorrow, I must leave for Ustengrav." She grunted out, walking into one of the rooms and resting her blade against the wall. She turned to face the redguard as she began to shed her gauntlets, raising an eyebrow and wondering why he was still standing there.
"What about the rest of us? You plan to leave on your own?" He asked, casting a glance over his shoulder towards the others, who were finding their own rooms to settle in for the night.
"That's my plan, yes." She muttered, tossing the gauntlets on to the bedside table, before sitting on the bed and working on taking her boots off. "The Greybeards are allowing you to stay here until my return. I suggest you train together while I'm gone. The trip up here was… horrible. If you plan to continue traveling with me, you will all need to fight better." She continued, pulling the boots off and setting them beside the table before standing back up. She walked towards him, somehow still managing to look intimidating enough for him to straighten up, despite her bareness from the calves down (something that would, without a doubt, lessen the intimidating powers of a normal man), and stood before him, one hand on the door, ready to shut it.
"I will not stand for any of you getting in my way." She added, before slamming the door on his face.
"It could be dangerous, going on your own." Madrick retaliated. He was unfazed by the door shutting before him, and continued to stand outside her door, leaning against it so she could hear what he had to say. She didn't respond, but he didn't give up.
"Allow me to accompany you. The others may stay here and train. I believe it will be in your best interest. Two blades are better than one. You will also be able to sleep, with me keeping watch." He requested, before listing his reason as to why he should go with her. Silence fell and he began to think she wouldn't give him an answer.
"Will you shut up and let me sleep if I say yes?" She asked after a long moment. Her voice was muffled through the door, as he imagined his was on her side.
"Yes." He responded, never hesitating.
"Then you may accompany me. Now go away. We leave at sunrise." She muttered. He did as she said, and left without another word. He saw that three of the other rooms were occupied, and took the very last room at the end of the hall. For some reason, Reema had been dead set on staying the room right beside the one Soladat temporarily claimed. Krios took the next one, then Akavira. They had shut themselves in their rooms, understandably so. It had been a long day for all of them, not just Soladat.
So, if you want to help me, just let me know what your characters would think of the introduced ones so far! Thanks!