Chapter Six: Claw and Fang
1st of Midyear, 3E 429
"Ulina Therayn, you have been true to our people, and the Skaal name you Blodskaal, a blood friend to our people," Wind-Eye said to me after I went to see him the next day. "You will be given a home here, Rigmor Halfhand's former residence, in which you may rest. Also, it has been decided that you will take part in the Ristaag, an important Skaal ceremony."
"What is the Ristaag, exactly?"
Knowing everything I knew about important Skaal ceremonies so far, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this.
"A ceremony of blessing and cleansing that we Skaal perform only very rarely," Wind-Eye explained. "These are frightening times, my friend. There have been ominous portents, and they concern me. Heart-Fang is missing, and I fear that the All-Maker does not breathe freely on the Skaal this day. The ceremony must be completed, but first I will need you to retrieve the Totem of Claw and Fang."
"And just what is that?"
"It is a powerful artifact, very sacred to the Skaal people," Wind-Eye explained. "It is used to call to us powerful beasts that are used in the Ristaag. It was stolen many years ago, and we of the Skaal were foolish enough to believe it would not again be needed."
"Do you know where it is?"
"I have learned that it may be found in the Tombs of Skaalara, to the east and a bit south of here. Please, Ulina, I need you to go there and return the Totem to us."
I headed in the direction of the tomb, as Wind-Eye instructed. It wasn't a long walk…that is, if you don't count all the creatures I had to fight on the way, lengthening the journey. Small blue goblins and wild boars were a nuisance alright. By the time I reached the tomb, the sun was setting. I pushed the heavy, stone door in and entered, walking slowly.
Maybe it was because of all the time I spent amongst the Dunmer of Morrowind, but I still hated the idea of entering tombs. I felt as if I was disturbing…something. And the response I received from Heart-Fang when I returned that skull to him when I first met him just made me think that the Skaal had similar beliefs. But you do what you have to do.
The tombs were dark, damp and smelled like mold. I had a feeling that there was probably something in here, waiting to attack me.
I wasn't expecting it to be werewolves, though.
Two of them, as a matter of fact. The both began to circle me, their bright yellow eyes piercing into mine, their claws sharp and ready to cause me unbearable injuries.
I unsheathed Trueflame.
"Well, hello there," I said.
All I got was a growl in response. Not that I was expecting anything different.
That was when one of the werewolves decided to try and hit me with their deadly claws. Luckily for me, I ducked and then stabbed one of them in the chest with Trueflame. The wolf dropped to the ground, blood spilling everywhere.
Then, in response, the other wolf growled and attempted to tear open my stomach. All I had was a few scratches, thanks to the armor I was wearing. I managed to take this one out as well, before proceeding onwards.
The totem was on a pedestal at the back of the tombs. It was a large piece of jewellery, pieced together with a claw, fang, feathers and a few beads. I picked it up and stuffed it into my rucksack, before leaving the tombs. Which I was glad to. Ugh.
I trudged back to Skaal Village, and by the time I did, it was dusk. Wind-Eye was waiting for me outside the Great Hall.
"Have you been successful in retrieving the Totem?" he asked me.
On cue, I opened my rucksack and pulled out the totem.
"I don't know, Korst," I said, while holding out the totem for him to see, "you tell me."
Wind-Eye looked momentarily shocked, before joy spread across his face.
"You've found it! This is good news!" he cried. "But the good news means we must get on with the task at hand; the Ristaag must now be performed."
"You never really explained to me what the Ristaag was."
"We perform the ceremony in order to please the All-Maker in times of desperate need," Wind-Eye explained. "It is done to please the All-Maker, to show him our gratitude for the gifts he has given us. You have been of great service to the Skaal, and it seems right that you take part in the ceremony."
Oh, wow. What an honor. No, seriously, I wasn't even being sarcastic. But Wind-Eye had been so vague as to what the Ristaag actually was, that I had no idea what I was supposed to even do.
"What is my role in this?"
"I cannot explain that to you now," Wind-Eye replied.
Great.
"Meet at nightfall with Rolf Long-Tooth, one of our Skaal hunters," he instructed. "You will find him by the western shores of Lake Fjalding. He will tell you more about the Ristaag and the part you will play in it."
It didn't take that long for nightfall to arrive, so I didn't get much rest before I headed towards Lake Fjalding. By the time I arrived, snow had begun to start falling and yet the fire still burned in the center of the lake, much to my horror. I could still see it in the distance. Rolf Long-Tooth wasn't that far away, and beside him stood two other warriors, Sattir the Bold and Grerid Axe-Wife, as I later learned their names were.
"Greetings, Blodskaal," Long-Tooth said as soon as he saw me. I'm surprised he even knew who I was, given I had never seen him before, even though it had been months since I started staying amongst the Skaal. "Korst Wind-Eye has told me much about you. You are to perform the Ristaag with us, pleasing the All-Maker."
"With all due respect, I still don't fully understand what the Ristaag is."
"Then allow me to explain," Long-Tooth replied. "You cannot take part in something you don't understand. In the Ristaag, we hunt the Spirit Bear that is conjured by the Totem of Claw and Fang, which you retrieved for us."
I nodded, indicating that Long-Tooth should continue.
"When it is slain, we will return its heart back to Wind-Eye, who will ask for the blessings of the All-Maker. If the Ristaag fails, or does not succeed by daybreak, the All-Maker will be displeased. But I am sure that will not happen. You are strong, Blodskaal. You will help ensure our success."
"So, what do I need to do?" I asked.
"You will act as my second," Long-Tooth said. "You are to stay with me at all times during the Ristaag, and to follow my instructions exactly. You have proven your value to the Skaal, but now you must allow me to guide you through this night."
I only nodded, which seemed to please Long-Tooth. He gave the other two hunters orders, and they both went in the complete opposite directions of each other. Long-Tooth and I meanwhile, went straight ahead. I kept my eyes out for anything that looked vaguely like a bear, but it was hard to see with all the snow that was falling. In fact, the amount of snow that falling made me think that I should expect a storm any time soon.
For a split second, I thought I heard a scream. And then, a distant howl. Long-Tooth turned to me, with a grim look of surprise on his face.
"Did you hear that?"
I nodded slowly, which caused Long-Tooth's face to turn a deadly pale. It's not like it wasn't pale enough already, given the current weather.
"It came from near Sattir the Bold's path," Long-Tooth told me.
Wow, he knew exactly where the sound was coming from? Impressive. I doubt that I would have been able to do that.
"Go to him, Ulina, and make sure he is well," he instructed. "Then, return to me as fast as you can so we may complete the hunt."
I had my doubts that Sattir was well, given the screams I had just heard. It didn't take long to find his mauled corpse behind the rock, only slightly covered in snow. Blood had begun to seep through the snow on the ground, making for an unpleasant sight.
His throat had been completely torn to shreds.
I had a gut feeling that werewolves were responsible for this, but of course I couldn't prove it. But by now, I knew exactly how they killed their victims. I had seen it enough.
I could only imagine how relaying the news of this to Long-Tooth was going to go.
It didn't end well.
"Sattir is dead?" Long-Tooth repeated after I had found him again and told him the news.
"I'm afraid so."
"This is a bad omen," Long-Tooth said darkly. "These creatures are dark spirits indeed, and they will try to disrupt the hunt. We will not allow this to happen. The loss of Sattir is great, but we must continue. It's what he would want, and it's what the Skaal need. Let us go."
We continued onwards, for what seemed like hours. There was still no sign of any bear, and the snowfall began to grow heavier…as unbelievable as that sounds. After a long enough time of searching, I heard a second scream, accompanied by another sound. A sound that made my stomach churn.
"What was that?" Long-Tooth let out, and then turned to me. Our eyes met for a brief second, and in that moment, I knew that we both knew damn well what those sounds meant.
The sound of howling wolves was unmistakable.
"Shit! These creatures are everywhere!" Long-Tooth looked around, before turning back to me. "Quick, find Grerid Axe-Wife! Do not allow the hunt to be disrupted!"
It didn't take long to find Axe-Wife's body, mutilated in much the same way Sattir's was. Seeing all this death was actually starting to make me feel ill.
It turned out that Long-Tooth wasn't that far from me as I went to find him, making me believe that perhaps he followed me to see for himself.
"She was a good warrior, and a good friend," he said. "We must not let this stop us, though."
He smiled weakly.
"It is up to us to complete the Ristaag, my friend," Long-Tooth remarked. "We must not let our Skaal brothers and sisters down."
We continued to trek through the snow, and it didn't seem like the snowfall would grow much heavier, much to my relief. After about an hour of silence, I heard another piercing howl. It sounded as if it was much closer to us than before. Long-Tooth quickly snapped his head in my direction, raising an eyebrow.
"Did you hear that?" He asked, his tone suddenly sharp.
"Of course," I replied.
I turned around, as did Long-Tooth. Three werewolves appeared before us, their yellow eyes and sharp claws already threatening us with death at their…um…hands. Long-Tooth quickly unsheathed his sword, and I cast a firespell, knocking one of the wolves backwards. As a result, I could smell the undeniable stench of burnt fur in the air.
Long-Tooth was left with two wolves attempting to tear him apart. I unsheathed Trueflame, and attempted to help but even then, I felt I hadn't done much. The wolf's claws were sharp enough to tear Long-Tooth's stomach and throat, and I had the feeling he was probably wearing damaged armor, probably under the belief he wouldn't have had to have fought such powerful beasts tonight. By the time the wolves were defeated, Long-Tooth was already dying. But he still had enough strength to speak to me a final time.
He lay on the snowy ground, on the brink of death. I kneeled, mostly so I was able to hear him. Otherwise, his voice would have been inaudible.
"We have…defeated those creatures and honored our fallen comrades…" Long-Tooth's voice grew coarse, as if he was struggling to breathe. Which I knew he was. "Now, though, Ulina…you must find the Spirit Bear and return its heart to Wind-Eye to…complete the Ristaag…"
There were a few moments of silence, but eventually, Long-Tooth was able to break it to speak his last words.
"You have proven yourself a valiant warrior, Ulina. You shall…lead the way for the rest of the Ris...Ris…taag…"
Long-Tooth began to cough violently, then completely collapsed in the snow. I pulled myself to my feet, taking in the sight around me.
It really was up to me to complete the Ristaag now.
I found myself searching for the bear for another hour or so, but eventually I found it.
The bear was fighting a riekling, but after the riekling fell, it laid it's eyes on me. I decided to take this challenge on from afar, by unleashing the most powerful fire spell. To my surprise, it knocked the bear out instantly, and there wasn't much more to be done.
Except retrieve the heart. I didn't really like that idea. I mean, would you?
I went towards the corpse of the bear, and using Trueflame, cut open the bear's pelt, leaving a disgusting amount of entrails in the snow. I had to bite back my own bile while I was doing this; it truly was disgusting. Eventually, I managed to grab the heart, and at that, I ripped a piece of cloth off my own robes to wrap around it.
My hands were covered in blood and slime now.
Wonderful.
But at least I could say the job was done, right?
It was almost daybreak when I finally managed to get back to Skaal Village, and the first thing I did was enter the Great Hall, where Wind-Eye was. At least the Great Hall was warm, with an open fire roaring in the background. Because you know something? I was tired of being out in the cold for hours on end. I just wasn't built for it like the Skaal were.
I grabbed the wrapped-up heart out of my rucksack, and handed it directly to Wind-Eye without a word. I hope he forgives me for this, considering I just didn't have the energy for words at the current moment.
"You have the heart!" Wind-Eye exclaimed. He unwrapped and then examined the disgusting thing. I was more than happy for it to be out of my hands. Ugh.
As soon as Wind-Eye was done with that, he turned to me and smiled.
"You have done well, Ulina, as the Skaal have come to expect of you. Your efforts are appreciated. But now, I fear we must speak more of the ominous signs that have appeared on the island."
Ominous signs?
