What's it like turning into a werewolf? The first time feels like you're being torn apart while being delirious, like you're really drunk or something. After that, well it still hurts, but it's also exhilarating at the same time, it's the best you've ever felt and the best most will ever feel again.

Chapter 8 – Hunting the Hunters

Stealing plans. That's what Aela had Ugdulub doing. The directions she gave him sent the poor Orc hiking across Skyrim to some small cave near Ivarstead. From far away, the cave was little more than a crack in the side of the mountain, the only thing that gave it away was the fact that two Silverhand stood watch outside it. Taking them out was easy, Ugdulub hardly even broke a sweat. When he entered the cave, he found a stream flowing through it and decided to follow it, but he was soon blocked off by two more guards. They sat around a fire swapping tales of the animals they killed. From the sounds of it, they had several caged up deeper inside. Ugdulub quickly dispatched them and moved on to find that the stream emptied into a massive cavern, at the bottom of which, the water pooled into a small lake.

An island, more a pillar really, sat in the middle of the lake connected to the rest of the cave by two naturally formed bridges. Roaming on the island were two more Silverhand, but Ugdulub could smell two more. He couldn't quite pinpoint them, not yet, but he guessed that they watched from a higher place. He noticed scaffolding above the bridge that was further from him. He guessed that there would be archers there. He sprinted across the bridge like an arrow, axe drawn and rammed one of the Silverhand, who fell off of the island and missed the water. He turned in time to block the other one's attack while the archers stumbled to ready themselves.

Ugdulub pulled the fight to where the archers couldn't see them and decapitated his assailant. He picked up the head and pressed himself against the wall, guessing at where the archers were. When he was satisfied with his impression, he threw the severed head in that direction. Hearing a satisfying yelp and two thuds, Ugdulub peered around to see that the archers had descended from their scaffold. Ugdulub ran towards the archers, arrows whizzed past him, and he embedded his axe into one of the archer's skulls. As that archer fell, Ugdulub turned to the other one and began to punch him, hard. Ugdulub could feel the bones breaking under his fists. After the battered body fell and slid off into the water, Ugdulub pulled his axe out of the other's skull and moved on.

Two more Silverhand seemed to have heard the fight and approached Ugdulub from across the bridge. He charged them, but they were ready for the fight, one stood in front, shield held high. Ugdulub swung low, crippling the man in front. The woman behind him paused in shock before jumping over her fallen comrade and swinging a mace at Ugdulub. Ugdulub caught the mace with his axe and held it down while he elbowed the Silverhand in the face. She stumbled backwards as Ugdulub approached, but the fallen Silverhand held him back. Ugdulub sighed and dropped the blade of his axe into the man's face, killing him. The woman righted herself as Ugdulub pulled his axe up. She charged him, but he backhanded her so hard that he broke her neck. She fell looking up at him. Ugdulub climbed a slope that lead to a passage deeper into the Silverhand hideout.

"Ugh, she drunk again," one of the Silverhand said. Ugdulub found himself in some kind of ruin. An old fort built into the side of the mountain maybe, must have been covered in stone ages ago.

"Really? What is it about this time?" Ugdulub could smell mead, it wafted heavily though the ruin. The two conversing Silverhand sat at what could have been a makeshift bar.

"She just found out that Krev was cheating on her or something."

"She was married?"

"I don't think Krev even knew who she was. Anyway, now she wants to fight everyone, all the men at least, calling men animals."

"I hate it when she gets drunk," the Silverhand said before turning to see that his friend was not there. Looking around he found his companion on the floor, an arrow in his neck. He spun to be met with another arrow lodging itself in his neck.

Ugdulub swiveled, trying to find the archer. He jumped when someone tapped him on the shoulder. "You smell like dog, green one," a scruffy black Khajit said, "Tar'zuk does not like dogs."

"Wha?" Ugdulub started. The Khajit was not dressed like a Silverhand, but instead had grey, sleeveless armor. He wore no shoes and his gauntlets were cut to expose his hands. A black bow was slung across his back.

Tar'zuk crossed his arms as he glared at the orc, "You ruined Tar'zuk's job. He was trying to get the Moon Amulet without being noticed, but you had to come in, sounding of metal and smelling of dog, and kill half the people. Now they will blame Tar'zuk for this slip up. You even forced Tar'zuk to kill two of them himself. Tar'zuk hopes you are proud of yourself. At least he already has gotten the Amulet."

"What? Listen pussy cat, I'm just here for the plans the Silverhand were storing here."

Tar'zuk's ears perked up at this. "Do you mean this?" he pulled out a leather book and showed Ugdulub the contents. "Tar'zuk was planning on trying to sell important documents back to bandits, but if the loud dog wants them . . . " When Ugdulub grabbed for the book, Tar'zuk pulled it away from his hand. "Tar'zuk will need payment."

Ugdulub sighed. "What do you want?"

"Tar'zuk hears tell of the Companions leader, yes Tar'zuk knows you're a Companion, has a special gem. Get him into the Companions home and he will give you the book."

"Alright." Ugdulub wasn't even sure that the doors in Jorvaskr had locks.


Tar'zuk handed Ugdulub the book as he slipped out of sight and Ugdulub approached Aela. "Ah, good you have it," she paused, "Why in oblivion do you smell like a cat?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Ugdulub replied, trying to push the previous day out of his memory.

"Anyway, I have another job for you. Some Silverhand have been acting up and we need you to put down their leader."

"Okay . . . where is it?"


Ugdulub was really beginning to hate Aela's jobs. He crouched outside a cave, but that wasn't what was angering him. The cave in question was located on the other side of a giant camp, at least there weren't any mammoths around to help them. When Ugdulub tried to sneak past the massive creatures, they attacked. He had to transform just to hold them off, and even then it was difficult. He tried eating one of their hearts, but it just didn't give the same burst of energy that human hearts did. Now he crouched, an orc again and exhausted, steeling himself for the fight ahead. When he finally did make his way inside he was . . . unprepared for what he saw to say the least.

It seemed that everyone had gathered in the first room of the cave. Most of them stood in a large circle, a few outside it, and one in the middle of the whole thing. The Silverhand outside the circle played on instruments, a lute, a flute, a drum, and something that looked like several flutes stuck inside a stomach. As the ensemble played, the circle swayed. The woman in the center raised her hand, she was a large orcish woman and wore dwarven armor, the band stopped and the circle's attention was all on her.

"We are here today to morn for our losses. The damnable wolves have gotten cocky of late and killed many more of us in a shorter time than ever before. They even took . . . the Skinner from us. He was one of our greatest warriors. But he took one of theirs with him, he sent word of the craven Skjor falling to his blade, and even though we could not find his body we know that Skjor no longer appears in Jorvaskr. So we will carry on in the Skinner's name," the woman shouted. The Silverhand in the circle began to chant Krev's name. "Krev, my love," she whispered in the din, "you shall rest in peace and I shall find the wolf that did this and wear his pelt."

Ugdulub gulped as he decided on what to do. Be awesome like the Companions of old and kill them all? Or be smart and wait for them to disperse? Ugdulub sighed, he had the perfect thing to say in this situation. "Sorry ma'am," he shouted. All eyes turned to the Orc in the mouth of the cave. "I don't plan on losing my pelt so easily." He could hear thuds from outside and guessed that some giants had returned from taking their mammoths on a walk. The Silverhand warriors charged towards him as he backed out of the cave. Outside they met with three giants, enraged at the deaths of their comrades, and a herd of mammoths. Ugdulub waved at them from the other side of the group, the giants figured the bandits killed their friends. They had no clue what kind of beast actually did.

The Silverhand leader met Ugdulub near the burnt out cinders of the giant's bonfire. "Ooh, Krev must have had quite the taste in women," Ugdulub said. "I know the other races find us . . . unbecoming, but even Malacath would cringe if he saw you." The Silverhand leader shouted unintelligibly as she charged Ugdulub without a weapon. "Really?" When she got close to him, she twisted his arm and flipped Ugdulub onto the ground. She punched Ugdulub in the stomach hard enough to dent the Wolf Armor. Ugdulub could feel his lunch coming up and punched the woman in her unarmored face, knocking her off.

The Silverhand leader spat out blood. "You killed Krev? Don't make me laugh. You can barely pass for an orc."

"Hey, that is a very sensitive subject for me," Ugdulub started as she began to lunge at him. This time he sidestepped, watching for her powerful grip. "And besides, I crushed that skeever's head flat." The woman screamed in rage and swung for Ugdulub, who returned with a jab of his own. Her punch missed, but his hit its mark, leaving a large crater in her armor. He tried to pull his had away only to find that she had caught his hand. The Silverhand leader grinned as she twisted Ugdulub onto the ground again, this time on his stomach.

"Even if you didn't do it, I'm going to skin you in Krev's name," she said, pulling out a knife and holding it to Ugdulub's throat. "But, you're going to be alive when I do it."

Ugdulub scowled, she had him pinned. She was already heavier than he was and this position did not help him in any way. He had to do something, he searched inside himself for any sort of left over power, anything that could help. The he felt it. The change was happening again. His body grew, straining the armor that it was contained in and putting the woman on top of him off balance. He cried out as the armor began to give, but the cry came out as a bestial growl. The armor burst open and the Silverhand leader was thrown off of Ugdulub. But, when he stood he was no longer Ugdulub.

The Silverhand backed away in fear. Ugdulub figured that this was her first sight of a werewolf. He was wrong, the Silverhand had to single handedly kill a werewolf to make it her rank. This was the first time she saw what Ugdulub was. She couldn't bring herself to call it a werewolf. The beast with dark-green, almost black, fur glared at her with emerald eyes. Saliva dripped off of the tusks that stabbed out of its mouth. The horns on its head were now visible along with several other bone protrusions on its back, chest, and arms. This monster was like no werewolf anyone had seen.

It roared and she screamed, causing the giants to look over from their massacre. What they thought when they saw this creature, no one could truly say, but they herded their mammoths away from the gruesome thing that tore apart the little green and yellow thing.


Meanwhile in Jorvaskr. "Aela," Kodlak shouted, "I would have words with you".


I hope I described Ugdulub's new werewolf form well enough, now that he has fully matured into it. Anyway, got it done, fighting laziness one letter at a time.

I wanted to give some fore warning to the thing that happens later. Those that did the quest, which I assume you all did, know what it is. Those that did not, go do it. Like now. Why are you still reading this? If you don't have Skyrim, go get it, why are you even here?