Aurelia, Ria, Athis and Torvar left for Falkreath on Morndas morning and arrived that Morndas evening. They decided to start at Knifepoint Ridge and work their way back up to Whiterun, hitting Secunda's Kiss along the way. All in all, the journey was uneventful. They amused themselves in idle chatter, occasional wolf attacks and Aurelia would insist on stopping to search for ingredients every now and then. To her surprise, they didn't seem to mind. Although it was probably because it gave them a chance to get off their horses and stretch their legs. Still, she was grateful for it.

The foursome spent the night at Dead Man's Drink and set off for Knifepoint Ridge the next morning. After a few hours of hiking, Aurelia stopped them just before a large rocky hill.

"According to my map, Knifepoint Ridge should be just up that hill. Hm, this is going to be hard to scout." Aurelia said.

"Then let's not scout, let's just charge in there." Torvar said.

"I'm sure I can find some way to…"

"Just relax, Rey, there's four of us."

"And we don't know how many of them there are."

"You said so yourself that it would be hard to scout, so let's just go in there and see what happens."

Aurelia hesitated. "Fine, we'll do it your way this time, but when we go to Secunda's Kiss, I insist you let me scout and plan first."

Torvar rolled his eyes but readied his sword and shield and started ascending the hill. The rest of the party followed suit (except Aurelia had a ward spell instead of a shield). Though she walked cautiously, her apprehension hurried her steps and brought her to the head of the line. Her attention snapped forward when she heard a crash further uphill.

"What was that?"

Aurelia was the first the see the boulders cascading down the hill.

"Take cover!" Aurelia sprinted out of the path of the tumbling rocks.

Torvar, being the second to see them, dashed to the other side, before charging further up the hill. Aurelia readied a healing spell in her left hand and watched Ria and Athis as the boulders went straight for them. Ria managed to dodge the rocks before joining Torvar, but Athis lost his footing and the falling rocks pummeled him downhill.

"Go on ahead!" Aurelia shouted to Ria and Torvar.

Aurelia dashed down the hill to Athis. When the boulders passed him and crashed at the bottom of the hill, Athis lay in a battered heap. She cast a healing spell on him as she wrenched him back up.

"We need to move now!"

"I owe you one." Athis said as he regathered himself and followed Aurelia back up the hill.

Torvar was locked in combat with a sword and shield wielder and Ria was going toe to toe with a dual-wielder. Athis took out his bow and fired at the bandit coming after Torvar from behind. That meant the last one who was unarmed was for her. Wait, unarmed? That could only mean…

A firebolt erupted from the hand of the unarmed bandit and struck Ria in the back. Aurelia promptly switched her healing spell to a lightning bolt and struck the mage. Odd, not many bandit mages. She dared a quick glance at how her shield-siblings faring. Her companions were clearly more skilled than the bandits, which wasn't surprising, but still a relief to see. Torvar had just successfully slain his foe and was preparing to back up Ria after her injury. She turned her attention back to the mage as he turned his attention to her as well. Anticipating this, Aurelia brought up a ward just in time to catch the firebolt he flung at her. She lunged the last few steps and slammed her sword in his neck. She turned to see that her Companions had finished off their foes as well. Aurelia reached into her bag and pulled out a healing potion and tossed it to Ria.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, thanks." Ria said just before downing it.

"Athis? Torvar? Do you need any potions?"

"I'll take a stamina potion, if you have one." Torvar said.

She tossed one to him. "There's bound to be more, let's not delay, it's best if we find them before they find us."

With drawn weapons and darting eyes, the foursome moved further into the camp. As the hill they were ascending plateaued, an arrow came flying at them. Ria brought up her shield to block it. Torvar and Athis noticed another bandit on this hilltop and decided to assail her while Aurelia drew her bow and ducked behind Ria.

"Keep your shield up!"

Aurelia was unable to see what the archer was doing, but that was fine. When she heard the ping of the arrow bouncing off the shield, she emerged from her cover and fired her bow at the archer while he was still reloading.

"Finish him!" Aurelia gave Ria a nudge forward and she charged forward and stuck her sword into him while he was still recovering from his wound from Aurelia. Athis and Torvar had proven successful as well.

"Is that all of them?" Torvar said.

The others looked around, weapons still ready.

"Over there, there's an entrance to a mine. I'm sure there's more in there." Athis said.

"I think you're right." Ria said.

"Well then, let's not waste any time." Aurelia said

Aurelia inadvertently took the lead as Ria and Athis fell behind her. Although they had yet to say so, they both had been completely won over by her cunning and courage. While this went mostly unnoticed by her as she was more focused on clearing out the mine, it did not go unnoticed by Torvar.

The rest of the mission went off without a hitch and they were back at Dead Man's Drink by evening. After a good meal and a cold drink, they retired to their rooms, Aurelia and Ria to one, and Torvar and Athis to another. As much as Torvar's exhaustion pushed him towards sleep, his thoughts pulled him back.

"Do you think they'll make Rey a member of the Circle?"

"How should I know?" Athis grumbled from his bed.

"I mean, I thought she had no chance, being a mage and all, but now, I don't know."

"Why do you care if she does or not?"

"Wouldn't you be embarrassed if she was made a member of the Circle before you, even though she started later?"

"If the Circle believes she will be a good addition to their ranks, I will trust their judgement."

Torvar rolled his eyes and muttered "Kiss-ass."

"Whatever, just go to sleep, you jealous oaf."

/

Aurelia was insistent that they let her scout out the camp this time. She returned to her Companions who were waiting a safe distance away about fifteen minutes later.

"Ok, I got a good look at what we're dealing with, and I have a plan."

"Who made you the leader?" Torvar said.

Aurelia frowned at him "Do you have a plan?"

"We don't need a plan. We didn't have one yesterday and we did okay." Torvar said.

"I nearly got crushed to death by rocks yesterday!" Athis said.

"Athis is right, what did you have in mind, Rey?"

Aurelia motioned for them to follow her. Torvar grunted in displeasure, but complied. Fortunately, it wasn't hard for even the unschooled in stealth to hide from giants.

"Ok, there are two giants in this camp." Aurelia spoke in a hushed tone "I'm going to cast a fire rune right over there. See that rocky outcrop over there? Torvar, I want you to go over there. Athis, Ria, you stay down here with me. I'm going to put a 'weakness to fire' poison on my arrow and shoot at the one lurking around the camp. Once it spots me, it will charge us and set off the fire rune. Torvar, this arrow also has a 'weakness to fire' poison on it, and as soon as you see the fire rune activate, I want you to fire this arrow at the giant in the distance. After it hits, take out your shield and blade and run back down here. By then, Ria will likely be taking on the giant, I want you to back her up. Now Athis, while all this is happening, you and I will be taking down the giant in the distance. I will go up to the outcrop and hurl firebolts at it while you run after it and then cut it to pieces. It should be too preoccupied with my firebolts to even notice you, but if it does, well, you're very quick and nimble, so I trust you can avoid getting hit. I think that should cover everything. Any questions?" Aurelia said.

They shook their heads.

"Ok, then let's get into position."

Torvar snuck behind the outcrop and peaked over the edge. Aurelia cast her fire rune and then crept forward with her bow knocked and watched the camp. Patience was a virtue that she had finely cultivated, and she did not mind waiting until the giants were in ideal positions. Torvar's patience, however, was as thin as paper and got increasingly thinner as minutes went by. Should have known better than to trust her. When five minutes had gone by and she still hadn't fired her arrow, he decided he was now in charge of the operation and let his arrow fly.

The cry of pain from the giant in the distance alerted the one near the camp of their presence and spotted Aurelia almost instantly and came barreling towards her. By the time she had her bow ready, the giant was already one step from the rune. She released her arrow, but it was too late. She dashed out of the way and towards the outcrop as the fire rune exploded. The damage was not nearly as substantial as she would have hoped without the poison, but what was done was done. She would just have to trust that Ria and Torvar could handle it, although she had very little trust for the latter at the moment. At least he was listening to the second part of her instructions, for he went down to join Ria.

Aurelia positioned herself on the top of the outcrop and started hurling firebolts at the giant in the distance. The giant lumbered aggressively towards her. As she predicted, it was so enraged that it failed to notice the Dunmer racing up to it. Perhaps this would turn out well after all.

Her stomach clenched when she heard a scream, Ria's scream. She looked over just in time to see Ria crash into the ground several feet away from the giant. Torvar looked distraught, but he kept fighting.

"Keep going, Athis!" Aurelia bellowed as she remarked his hesitance. She was running low on magicka and she needed to make sure the threats were gone before Ria could be properly attended to. With some speedy and well-placed jabs from Athis, and some enraged and powerful strikes from Torvar, the two giants were slain. But none of them had time to celebrate as they all ran over to Ria's crumpled body. Her breathing was labored, but at least she was breathing.

"Are you alright, can you move?" Aurelia said as she rummaged for a healing potion.

"I think I've broken a few ribs. And my arm." Ria groaned.

Aurelia gingerly took off her helmet and lifted her head up so she could give her the potion. "Here, take this for the pain. But you still need proper medical attention, and I'm not really the best healer. Torvar!"

Aurelia was about to let loose on him, but the expression on his face told her she didn't have to. He looked sick with guilt, and he looked like he was ready to receive whatever wrath Aurelia had prepared for him.

"Torvar," she said again, but more gently this time "Go get the horses and bring them up here. I'll keep tending to her as best I can."

Torvar left without another word. Aurelia and Athis tended to Ria as best they could until Torvar arrived with the horses. The trip back to Whiterun was uncomfortably long.

"I'm sorry." Torvar said after the silence became too grating.

"Why did you do it?" Aurelia said coldly.

"I…I got impatient. I didn't think this would happen, I've never needed a plan before. I thought I would be strong enough to handle it."

"What good is strength if I can't trust you?" the words that Farkas had used on her a month ago cut deeply coming out of her own mouth.

For a moment, the only sound that could be heard was Ria's pained groaning.

"Yeah." Torvar said quietly.

"Let's go." Aurelia said just as quietly.

The continued silence left Aurelia to stew in her thoughts. Maybe this was partly her fault. Maybe she should have done things differently.

When they finally returned to Whiterun, they took Ria to the temple of Kynareth so she could get some proper medical treatment and the rest returned to Jorrvaskr to report on their success. Aurelia was just about to head to Breezehome when Torvar approached her.

"Hey, Rey, I know I said I'd accompany you to Ustengrav, but I think I should stay and make sure Ria is okay." Torvar said.

"That sounds like a good idea." Aurelia said "Hey, Torvar? I've been doing some thinking and I'm sorry."

Torvar blinked "What?"

"I didn't ask if you were okay with the plan. I just expected you to go along with it. I should know this better than anyone, I hate being bossed around myself. But I honestly wasn't trying to boss anyone around, I was just trying to strategize because, well, I know I'm good at it."

"You are good at it. If I had listened to you, Ria would probably not be at the temple right now."

Aurelia shrugged "What's done is done. She'll be fine, she's a tough woman. I guess we'll both have to do better next time."

Torvar quirked a smile "Yeah. Good luck on your journey, my friend."

/

After a good rest in her home (Lydia spent most of her reward money on furnishing the house, Divines bless that woman) she and Athis left for Ustengrav. As she expected, Ustengrav was another draugr-infested tomb. She felt well accustomed to fighting draugr by now, but she was still happy that Athis decided to come with her. Come to think of it, she couldn't think of a better partner. With his resistance to fire and the draugr's weakness to it, the flames flew freely from Aurelia's hands and they encountered little trouble. That is, until they reached the final chamber where they found a note instead of the object they were looking for.

"What do you think they want with you? Athis said as he read the note over her shoulder.

Her mind immediately went to the cultists who had tried to kill her earlier. But on the other hand, the cultists knew her name, this note was addressed her by title. And it was signed "A Friend" and those cultists made it clear they weren't her friend.

"I don't even know where to begin to guess. I suppose the only way to find out is to go to Riverwood and see what happens."

/

When Aurelia and Athis returned to Whiterun, they went straight to the temple to check on Ria. Her arm and torso were wrapped, but she was sitting up and smiled brightly at them when they walked in.

"Oh, hey guys! How did the mission go?" Ria said, sounding chipper as ever.

"Um, well things turned out to be more complicated than was originally anticipated, but we're both alive and well. Anyway, you're looking like you're healing nicely!" Aurelia said.

"You know, I've never been interested in magic much myself, but I gotta say, it works wonders in medicine. They say I should be able to swing a blade again in less than a week!"

"Ria, I'm so sorry about this." Aurelia said.

"Don't be! When you live this kind of life, these things are bound to happen. I hope you didn't go too hard on Torvar. I mean, yeah I wanted to wring his neck, but he's been helping the priests look after me. Although since I'm recovering so well, they don't really need him that much. He's probably training back at Jorrvaskr now. That, or drinking."

Athis and Aurelia both chuckled.

"We've made amends." Aurelia said.

"That's good. So what happened at Ustengrav?"

"The horn was already taken, and whoever took it wants me to meet them in Riverwood. I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Be careful. I'd offer to come with you, just in case it was a trap or something, but…"

"I've already offered." Athis said.

"Yeah, but the way whoever it was is going about it, they probably want me to come alone. Thanks though, both of you."

"Hey, what are shield-siblings for?" Ria said.

"It really does mean a lot. Well, I'm going to head back to Jorrvaskr for a bit. Glad to see you're doing well, Ria." And Aurelia turned away before either of them could see how pink her cheeks were getting.

She decided she'd like to see Farkas and catch him up before returning home. But she didn't find him anywhere within the walls, maybe he was in the training yard? It was late afternoon, plenty of time for training. But she only found Vilkas there practicing against the training dummies.

"Um, hi Vilkas, is Farkas around?"

"No, he's somewhere in Haafingar on a job with Njada." He said between swings.

"Oh, ok. I'll be on my way then." She turned, took a few steps and then stopped. She didn't know if her next words would mean anything to him, but she wanted to say them anyway. When he had taken a momentary break from his swings, she spoke quickly "Vilkas, I'm sorry about our fight. I shouldn't have called you a piece of shit, and I shouldn't have hit you."

He turned to her and searched her face. He found no traces of sarcasm. Apprehension and self-consciousness were there, maybe, but sincerity as well. "I suppose I could have been nicer to you as well."

This was probably the closest she'd ever get to an apology from him. "Ok, well, if Farkas isn't here, I'll be going then. I have to be in Riverwood tomorrow."

"Aurelia wait." Vilkas sheathed his sword and then turned to her "Before you disappear again, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about."

"Yes?"

Vilkas made his way to the outdoor tables and sat down, Aurelia followed him.

"It's about Kodlak. Are you aware of how the Circle came to be werewolves?"

She shook her head.

"Long ago, one of our harbingers entered into an agreement with some hagraven witches. They promised us power, which we did receive as werewolves, but at a price. What they didn't tell us was that in doing so, our souls would be bound to Hircine and we would end up in his Hunting Grounds upon death. Kodlak doesn't want this, he wants to go to Sovngarde. So, what I'm asking of you is…"

"You! You're Aurelia Ventus, the false Dragonborn?"

Aurelia had been so enraptured by Vilkas's story that she failed to notice the three cultists approaching them.

"Oh gods damn it, not you guys again!"

"Again? You know them?" Vilkas said.

The cultist readied a flame spell "Do not dismiss us so easily! We will wipe your lies from the face of Nirn!"

Aurelia attacked with a lighning bolt before grabbing a steak knife and ducking under the table. A sharp cry of pain indicated to Vilkas that she had successfully stabbed him.

Vilkas got up and unsheathed his sword. He swung at them while Aurelia shot spells at them from under the table. He was feeling very grateful that he decided to train with his armor on. When they were slain, he was a little singed, but otherwise fine.

"Miraak really needs to send smarter cultists. What were they thinking? Attacking me out in public like this. It didn't work last time either." Aurelia said as she crawled out from under the table.

"Last time? Who is Miraak?" Vilkas said.

"No idea, but apparently he wants me killed."

"Do you have any leads?"

"I know he's in Solsteim."

Vilkas's eyebrow twitched "Then why haven't you gone?"

"I really didn't think he'd be this persistent."

"Really? You didn't think that someone who wants you dead would be persistent?"

"When you say it like that, it sounds stupid."

"It is stupid! Do you realize that you're not just putting yourself in danger, but everyone close to you?" Vilkas promised himself he would try to be nicer to her, but by the Nine, she wasn't making it easy.

Guilt flickered across her face "Look, as soon as I finish my business in Riverwood, I'll go to Solsteim and see what this is all about."

Vilkas's features softened "Would you like someone to accompany you?"

Aurelia shrugged "I wouldn't ask it of anyone. This is my problem, and I have no idea what we'd facing."

"You probably wouldn't even have to ask. You do realize this is what we do as Companions? Ria, Athis and Torvar have become very fond of you as of late. And I don't think I have to remind you how much my brother cares for you."

Heat surged to Aurelia's cheeks. This was probably the nicest thing Vilkas has ever said to her.

"We'll see. Speaking of Farkas, if he returns before I do, you can tell him what's going on. I don't want him to think I was keeping this from him. Which I wasn't. I honestly thought they wouldn't come after me again."

Vilkas rolled his eyes "Yes, fine."

"Ok, um, thanks. I'll be going home then."

As Aurelia went home, it occurred to Vilkas that he didn't get a chance to ask for her help finding a cure.