Chapter IX
So close to the end, guys...! Happy Holidays!
Vilkas opened his eyes, completely disoriented. Where am I, and why is my head pounding…? With a grimace on his face, he turned his head, trying to get his eyes to adjust to their surroundings. It was twilight, and he was lying flat on his back in the snow, surrounded by woods. Looking down at himself, he was completely naked. Great.
It must have been another difficult transformation. Sighing, Vilkas closed his eyes again. He shouldn't have run from Jorrvaskr like that. But at the same time... He couldn't make himself get up. Where would he go? Back there, where Kodlak was dead and Sofja was too let down to even look at him? As the snow made his skin turn numb, he imagined what Kodlak would say to him.
It is not too late to return, he would say. You have let your fire and stubbornness guide you, but you must dig deeply, and listen to what your heart says. All is not lost.
Imagining his words were not enough. He was gone, and nothing could change that. Vilkas shuddered, allowing the cold to overtake him. After a few moments, Vilkas felt as if he was drifting off to sleep again. His breathing evened out, and where his body was numb, he began to feel warm.
"Go to her," Kodlak's voice said. "I will see the mists of Sovngarde, but before the end, you must go to her. She needs you, or she will join me in Hircine's hunting grounds."
Vilkas sat up quickly, blinking a few times as his heart suddenly raced. He'd never felt so alive. He swore he'd heard the old Harbinger's voice.
"Kodlak?!" He bellowed into the evening air, which was growing darker by the second. Vilkas was only met with the sound of the wilderness. He smiled weakly. He could feel Kodlak there with him. And Vilkas knew he could waste no more time. Standing up, he let the wolf rip through him once more, and ran back west—towards Jorrvaskr.
Within the hour, he'd arrived, and made sure to change back to his human form before entering Whiterun. It was nighttime, although that was no excuse for him to run naked through the streets. He didn't care—he needed to make things right. And if it truly was Kodlak speaking to him, then Sofja's life was in danger. There wasn't time.
Slamming through the doors, his muscles rippling, Vilkas looked around. "Where is Sofja, and the others?" He snarled.
The only one there was Njada, a newer recruit. Her eyes widened so much, Vilkas thought they might pop out of her head. "I… I…" She stammered. Vilkas shook his head, quickly running down to the living quarters. "Why are you in the nude?" She called after him, but he barely heard. He needed to find out where Sofja had gone, and he needed to get there as soon as possible.
Sofja, along with Farkas and Aela, arrived at the tomb that very night, well-rested and jittering with anticipation. The entrance was below ground, and the door looked as if it had not been opened in centuries. Farkas pushed hard against it and it seemed to give way easily, although Sofja just assumed it was his brawn giving that impression. They cautiously moved forward. Cobwebs swayed in the stale air of the cavity, which led downwards towards a room that was somehow lit with torches. But who had lit them?
Sofja opened her mouth to ask, but thought better of it and held her tongue. It was the great tomb of Ysgramor; much was possible. The three Companions closed in around what appeared to be a tall statue of Ysgramor himself. His arms were outstretched, one higher than the other, as if he was holding something. Sofja hoisted herself gingerly up onto the pedestal where the likeness of Ysgramor stood. Carefully, she pulled Wuuthrad from her back and wedged it slowly into the stone hands of the hero. She heard a gasp from behind—it was Aela.
"What in the name of—" she began, but Sofja ignored her. Wuuthrad slid easily into place, and when she could no longer move the giant weapon, the sound of stone could be heard moving about the room. So it was some sort of key. A stone passage revealed itself, and Sofja felt a wave of excitement, mixed with unadulterated fear. Somehow she knew what to do and where to go, as if she had been here before.
As she stepped down from the statue, she felt a grip on her shoulder; it was Aela. Sofja turned and caught her steady gaze. There was something unreadable in the way Aela was looking at her. It was unsettling, and she couldn't understand what she meant by it. Finally, she spoke.
"Sofja… You and I have had our differences, but it did not stop you from allowing me to come home. I will be forever grateful for that… So please be careful," she said in a low tone, her greenish eyes flashing with something Sofja had never seen before: shame.
Her tone of voice confused Sofja. "Are you not coming?" She whispered.
Aela shook her head. "It wouldn't be right… This is the resting place of Ysgramor and his most trusted generals. Only the finest warriors rest here, and as one who embraces the beast blood so openly, well… I feel ashamed to enter inside among them, whether they took the blood willingly or not. I cannot do it. You and Farkas will have to continue on alone." Her gaze fell to the ground. "Please understand."
"This is a brave thing you are doing, Aela," she said softly, a smile tugging at her lips. Aela scoffed, rolling his eyes as she crossed her arms.
"Oh yes, so brave to stay behind, to—" She began sarcastically. Sofja cut her off.
"To admit weakness. Anyone can forge battle. Any self-righteous, overconfident oaf can take an axe in hand and charge on the enemy. And he would fail. But it takes a true warrior to know when he must say no, to know the moment when he must stop pushing himself so hard. Kodlak would have been proud of you."
Aela's eyes softened. "Maybe he would be… You sound like him, you know." They both paused, feeling awkward; they'd never gotten along so well before. Aela cleared her throat. "All right, so why don't you shut up already and get going?" Sofja smiled.
"It's time, Farkas" Sofja called out. "Still have the sack?"
Farkas smiled at her. "Yup. Just like old times, eh Sofja?"
Farkas and Sofja stuck close together, as they did at Dustman's Cairn, when Sofja first came to the Companions. Both she and Farkas were tested as the ghosts of Harbinger's past challenged them at almost every turn. Although they took a few hits, Sofja and Farkas held their own against them, even with Farkas carrying the sack of Glenmoril witch heads. She wasn't sure how they could use them, but she knew that she wasn't going to take a chance on leaving them behind at Jorrvaskr.
Heading down a long corridor, Sofja came upon two large, wooden doors. "Who knows what we'll find behind them. Are you ready?" She asked Farkas.
"Born that way," he said with a sly smile, his dark eyes glittering.
Flinging open the doors, Sofja's eyes widened—the entire room was covered in webs. She shot a look back at Farkas and saw the disgust on his face. He nodded to signal that they should continue on, and Sofja took a deep breath, pushing the stray red hairs out of her face, before slowly walking into the large, cobwebbed hall. Corpses and other objects littered the floor, seemingly wrapped up in webs.
Out of nowhere, three massive frostbite spiders dropped from the ceiling. Sofja grabbed her sword and began hacking away at one, assuming Farkas was doing the same. But all of the sudden she heard him cry out, and turning around swiftly, she saw Farkas lying on the ground, with a spider hovering over him.
"Farkas! Get up!" She bellowed, still trying to hold off the other two, but he didn't move. Sofja nearly gagged as the spider moved over him, beginning to wrap his legs up in webs. She had to do something. Sofja took a final slash at the two spiders in front of her before turning on her heel, running and leaping onto the spider's back that hovered over her shield-brother. It thrashed, leaving Farkas alone for a moment. As Sofja sunk her blade into its head, she felt a sharp, searing pain in her back. Without warning, she was lifted up into the air, and looking down at her chest, she could see the bottom of a spider's leg poking out just below her shoulder. It stabbed her clean through the chest with extreme precision—exactly between her cuirass and her shoulder guard. The sight made her woozy, and she was flung to the ground, blood gushing from her chest.
As the two spiders approached Sofja, she knew what she had to do. Thinking of the few shouts she had learned, she screamed at the spider on the left, sending him flying against the wall with a "Fus Roh Dah!" The spider was crushed instantly. One was taken care of, although she was too exhausted to shout again... Thinking quickly on her feet, she knew what option was left. Closing her eyes, suddenly a warmth come over her. In a minute, her limbs began popping and shifting, and she gritted her teeth as her body took on the change, for once willingly. Within a few moments, her armor had fallen away from her to reveal her new form—a lean, sand-colored wolf. Sofja had never allowed the change to overtake her fully before, but now, she never felt stronger. After being injured so seriously in her human form, it seemed to be her last chance. Standing on her hind legs, she howled charging at her foe. In ten minutes time, she'd ripped it to shreds, reveling in the bloodshed.
When both spiders were vanquished, Sofja laid on the ground, her wolf body spattered with the blood of those she'd just killed. She twitched in pain, howling softly as her body rearranged itself, leaving her heaving naked on the ground. Her breasts, arms and stomach were stained with blood, and there was still a gaping hole from where she'd been stabbed by the spider.
But she knew she couldn't quit. After a few minutes of rest, Sofja forced herself to her feet and slowly put her armor back on. Then, she ran towards Farkas.
"Hey, hey…wake up…" She whispered, leaning next to him. The pain in her chest was searing. Farkas was out cold. Sofja began to feel panicked, quickly looking up towards the ceiling to see if there were any more spiders or nests. From what she could see, there were none. She stood up, grabbing Farkas by this ankles, and slowly dragged him towards the door they entered through. Sofja fought back tears, her shoulder feeling as if it was going to fall apart. All she knew was that she ha to get him out of there.
Once Farkas was safely shoved into the corner, Sofja took a moment to breathe. She somehow had to continue fighting, while lugging the sack of heads with her, while there was a hole in her chest. She still could not give up. "Guide me, Kodlak…" She whispered, grabbing the sack and dragging it behind her. The end was near—either of the journey, or of her life.
Thankfully, there wasn't much left for Sofja to face alone. By the looks of it, the next chamber was the burial chamber of Ysgramor's tomb. She struggled inside, dropping the sack behind her. Looking around, she could hardly believe she'd made it. Falling to her knees, Sofja suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"My child, what business do you have here?" Looking up in shock, she met eyes with Kodlak. Only it wasn't Kodlak—it was an apparition. His skin was icy blue, and his eyes were almost transparent.
"Kodlak..." Sofja whispered, barely managing to rise to her feet. She was extremely pale, especially in comparison to her fiery red hair. "I've come to free you."
He smiled, his old eyes still kind, even in death. "Have you now?" He motioned around him. "The other Harbingers and I welcome you." Sofja frowned...who was he referring to? She only saw him... But perhaps there was more to the tomb than met the eye. "Have you brought the witch heads?" He asked softly. Sofja nodded quickly, her head feeling woozy.
"Throw one into the fire. It will release me...but take warning, you will have to face the wolf within me. And the other Companions are still slave to the wolves within them as well. The process will have to be repeated if any of them wish to save their souls from the grounds of Hircine."
She nodded, her vision starting to become blurry. So this is what he discovered from the College of Winterhold. The curse was finally solved.
"My child...you are unwell—" Kodlak began, but before he could finish, Sofja reached into the sack and lobbed a head into the flaming cistern. "For your soul, Kodlak!" She screamed. She wouldn't wait any longer...she was close to bleeding out as it was.
Suddenly, the entire tomb began vibrating. The ghost of Kodlak disappeared, and in its place, a massive wolf stood, glowing red. It was frothing at the mouth, and three times the size of a normal wolf, or werewolf, for that matter.
Sofja planted her feet firmly on the ground. All I have to do is defeat this wolf. If I die, so be it. As long as Kodlak's free, and Vilkas has a chance at a life without the blood. The wolf was snarling, but it hadn't moved yet. Sofja wanted to say a quick prayer to the Nine...but her thoughts kept drifting back to Vilkas—so she prayed to him instead.
Please be safe, Vilkas. Feel no guilt. I'm doing this so you don't have to. Kodlak will see Sovngarde, and I hope I will see you there too, if you give me the chance, as I'm giving Kodlak. I love you.
Suddenly, the wolf leapt through the air, and Sofja charged at it. She managed to slice through its left leg, but it seemed to do very little. In the meantime, Sofja had been knocked onto her back. As the wolf charged at her again, she rolled to the left, quickly jutting her sword into its back. She missed by an inch, and the wolf again turned towards her, planning its next move.
Sofja tried to stand—but her legs gave out. A streak of panic shot through her. Everything was going gray. The wound in her chest had been bleeding nonstop, and it was finally catching up with her. She fell onto her back once again, and the wolf approached her slowly, smelling the death that was overtaking her. Perhaps death wouldn't be so bad, she thought. Perhaps I will find a little bit of peace, even if I am a slave to Hircine.
Closing her eyes, she felt the wolf hovering over her. And suddenly, everything went dark.
