12 Sun's Dawn, Turdas, 4E202
They attacked that night, after the majority of the Stormcloak garrison had gone to bed. The watchmen were taken out by arrows simultaneously before the Imperial Troops swarmed the main gate. Peryn had to give Captain Vanin credit; she'd known how to best use their limited numbers. He also understood why she'd requested additional help. Hadvar's men, Peryn, and Illia made up all of the archers and all but one of the mages in the camp.
Once they'd taken the courtyard, the rest of the Stormcloaks hadn't taken long to either fall in battle or surrender. Vanin had accepted all of them, though she had to temporarily lock them in the prison, since there weren't enough Legionnaires to make sure they didn't get up to anything funny while their backs were turned.
Peryn was the only mage with any healing ability whatsoever, so he was sent around to handle the wounds. They were lucky, only losing two of Vanin's men during the assualt, though Ullne and Mallus had both taken solid hits from the damned rebels.
"You know," Peryn said as he gave Kirstina the once over, "I'd like to hear a bit about how you managed to convince the Stormcloaks that they didn't need to reinforce this place. It's in a pretty important place, isn't it? Somewhere they'd probably want extra troops, just to be safe."
"That was all Hadvar," she said. "He ran ahead to get the orders to Rikke, then waltzed right into Dawnstar in a stolen uniform. They all thought he was just new to the route, since there isn't a whole lot that comes to Dawnstar over land."
"You're clear," Peryn said, pushing her away. "Just a little singed hair, but I suppose that's my fault."
"You and your damn atronachs," Kirstina agreed. "Am I good to find Vanin, then?" Peryn nodded before turning his attention to Ullne and Mallus, who were lying on makeshift beds of straw. He'd wanted to move them inside, but Vanin wouldn't hear of sending a perfectly good fighter away from where any fighting might occur.
"Right," he said, turning to Ullne. "Let's get you patched up."
Hadvar passed Kirstina on his way to make sure that Ullne and Mallus were doing alright. Vanin had sent somebody back to the camp to tell Rikke that they were ready for a full garrison of the fort, but she had said not to expect anything for a couple of days, so they would have to make do without a lot of support.
Peryn's makeshift infirmary was set up in a corner of the courtyard, underneath a small overhang that supported a torch. He also had a magic light following him around as he moved from place to place, looking quite at home.
"I'm going to need you to move so I can get to your shoulder," he told Mallus, who just groaned. "Fine, then," Peryn snapped. "Bleed out. See if I care." That got the Imperial to shift his body so that Peryn could reach his injury.
"You've got great bedside manner," Hadvar told him.
"It's not my fault that the wounded don't just do as they're told," Peryn said, rolling his eyes. "Something about pain and wanting to avoid more."
"Vanin says to get some sleep after you finish with them," he said. Peryn snorted.
"Where?" He asked. "On the ground? It's not like I can leave them here alone in the cold, but I sure as Oblivion couldn't sleep out here, and I don't trust moving them, especially not—gods, woman!" He rushed over to Ullne, who was trying to sit up. "I'm not that good, gods damn it. You'll only make your leg worse if you put weight on it now."
"You should probably listen to him," Hadvar said, giving her a small smile of sympathy. "He's as close to a healer as we've got right now."
"And Mara give me the strength to do it," Peryn said, turning back to Mallus. "Now, back to fixing you up. Hadvar, make yourself useful and hold his arm down. It can't move while I try to fix the muscle."
Hadvar did as he was told and watched as the magic flowed from Peryn's hands, knitting the muscle and skin in Mallus' shoulder back together.
"If you pick up something heavier than your boot it'll ruin that," Peryn told him. Mallus nodded numbly. "You'll both be fine, as long as you don't do anything for at least the rest of the night. If you think I'm grouchy now, wait until you see me after I have to wake up and do this all over again." He motioned for Hadvar to follow him away from the alcove.
"Do you think Vanin could spare someone to keep an eye on them and wake me up if anything changes?" Peryn asked.
Hadvar shook his head. Realistically, they didn't have the people here to put someone on patient-watching duty, and Vanin didn't seem like the kind of person who would take that kind of risk.
Peryn sighed. "Of course not. I guess I'll have to make do out here. There's probably enough straw for another bed. Can you see if there's a blanket inside that isn't being used? Actually," he glanced back at Mallus, "Probably a couple, at least."
Hadvar nodded and took off back into the fort itself. Fortunately, there were plenty of beds that hadn't been occupied by the resting Imperial soldiers. He gathered up as many blankets as he could comfortably carry and started toward the door.
"Hadvar!" He heard Vanin's voice. "What in Oblivion are you doing?"
"Peryn doesn't think it's safe to move the wounded inside," he said. "He wanted me to fetch some things so they could all sleep out there."
Vanin nodded. "Carry on, then. And then come back here and get some sleep yourself. I want you to go through the storerooms here and at that tavern tomorrow and see how many supplies we're going to need to find a way to get out here."
When he made it back to the courtyard, Peryn was sitting on the edge of his new bed, which was nothing more than some straw strewn on the ground. At least Ullne and Mallus were balanced on some crates, but Peryn had barely anything between himself and the frozen ground.
"This is ridiculous," Hadvar said, setting the blankets down in front of Peryn.
"It's not like I have a choice," he said. "Don't worry about me, I can handle it for a night. Granted, it might be a minor miracle if I have all of my fingers in the morning."
"I wouldn't want to sleep out here if I didn't have to, and I barely feel cold," Hadvar said. "I don't like it."
"That's life," Peryn said with a shrug, adjusting the blankets around Mallus. He and Ullne looked to be sleeping about as soundly as they could be expected to. Finished with that, he moved back to his own bed, still followed by that small ball of light that had been hovering around his shoulders all night.
"Vanin told me to get some sleep, myself," Hadvar said.
"Goodnight," Peryn said, waving his hand and causing the light to wink out of existence. Hadvar sat down on the bed, grabbing the two remaining blankets he'd gotten from the inside of the fort.
"What are you doing?" Peryn asked.
"I'd like it if you had all your fingers in the morning," Hadvar said. "I can handle sleeping out here for a night."
Peryn laughed and lay down next to him. "I guess I can't complain about my own personal fire."
"What do you mean?" Hadvar asked.
Peryn glanced up at him and reached out to brush some hair off his face. "You've got bright red hair and keep away the cold. All you're missing is the fiery personality."
"I don't know if I can do that one," Hadvar admitted.
"Don't worry," Peryn said, burying his head into the space between Hadvar's shoulder and neck. "I think you're just about perfect the way you are."
15 Sun's Dawn, Sundas, 4E202
"Lydia knows," Farkas said.
"She does?" Whitemane said. "That's not terribly surprising, I suppose. She's always been a quick one."
"The Silver Hand were at Dustman's Cairn. The fragments were, too, but they knew we were coming."
"Indeed they did," Whitemane agreed. "That's not good news at all."
"What are we going to do?" Vilkas asked from where he had been resting against the table. "They're a danger to us and the rest of the Companions if they're setting ambushes like this."
"Right now, we wait," the Harbinger said. Vilkas opened his mouth to argue, didn't say anything. Farkas wished he would. Kodlak always said that while he might be the leader, they were all free to think he was wrong. If Vilkas thought he was wrong, then it was worth saying. Farkas knew he wasn't going to be the one making a bunch of arguments in front of the rest of the Circle.
He said that to Vilkas when they left the Harbingers Quarters, earning himself nothing more than a shake of the head. "What's the point of having a leader if everyone can ignore him whenever they want?" Vilkas asked.
"What's the point of a Circle if we don't give advice?" Farkas responded. "Everyone here knows that Kodlak wants you to be the next Harbinger, but you can't do that if you don't know what that means."
Vilkas sighed and massaged his eyes with his hand. "I know what it means to be the Harbinger. Why do you think I've been learning so much about our history?"
"So you can use that as a way to avoid thinking that maybe you don't actually know what it means to be Harbinger."
Farkas left feeling proud of that one.
20 Sun's Dawn, Fredas, 4E202
Mzinchaleft was huge, in a word. The Dwarven ruin, despite being hidden among the mountains, still managed to stand tall over its surroundings in a way that reminded Peryn of Windhelm.
"Serious question," Illia said, as they stood on the hill above the ruin. "Do you really think it's a good idea for the two of us to go dungeon delving in there alone?"
Peryn considered that for a moment. Yes, he'd wanted to come and retrieve Grimsever while he was in the area, but everything he'd heard about the Dwemer's ancient cities, despite all of the conflicting reports, agreed on one thing: they were very dangerous.
"No," he said. "Let's not. That seems like a good way to get us killed."
"That's what I thought," Illia said. "Though I suppose this says nothing but good things about your friend's skills as a warrior, if she went in there alone and came out only missing her sword."
"Mjoll is certainly a singular woman," Peryn agreed. "I think we should call in a couple of favors and come back here with a few more people."
"How much of that is just because you want to see what the inside looks like?" Illia asked.
"No comment."
25 Sun's Dawn, Middas, 4E202
Lydia was about to leave to join the Companions for dinner when there was a knock at the door. She frowned. The only people who'd ever bothered to come by Breezehome were the twins and her brother, but Farkas and Vilkas were going to be at Jorrvaskr, and Farengar never came by this late.
She opened the door to see an Imperial woman standing it mage's robes, looking hesitant. "Lydia?" She asked. Lydia nodded.
"Is there something I can do for you?" She asked.
"My name is Illia. I've been traveling with Peryn for the last month or so. He's looking for some people to help him get into a Dwemer ruin up in the Pale."
"Why does he want to do that?" Lydia asked.
"He said that a friend of his lost a sword in that ruin," Illia said. "Though I think part of it is just so he can have fun playing around in an ancient ruin."
"Both of those sound a lot like him," Lydia agreed. "But why couldn't he come and tell me this himself?"
"He had to report back to Tullius about the Legion. We took back a fort in the Pale. And he said he was going to find somebody else while he was up there."
Lydia leaned against a chair that was pushed into the table. "I suppose we should go then," she said. "I hope you'll forgive me for trying to bring someone else along. Kidnapping a Housecarl does sound like the kind of idiotic thing someone who didn't like Peryn would try to do."
"If whoever you want to bring with you brings his own food, I couldn't care less," Illia said, shrugging. "The more dangerous friends I have, the better."
Lydia decided to give the Imperial an invitation up to Jorrvaskr, since there wasn't much point in sending her off to the inn instead of getting to know her. Vilkas asked who her friend was when they sat down, but other than him, nobody seemed to care much that there was someone else at the huge table of the Companions.
After dinner, Lydia helped the twins and Tilma clean up, like she usually did. Farkas took the opportunity to ask about the Imperial who'd come with her.
"Apparently Peryn sent her to find me," Lydia said. "I wanted to ask you, actually. She seems nice enough, but I don't think following a strange woman out into the wilderness alone just because she says she knows my Thane is a good idea."
"Probably not," Farkas agreed. "But what would she do?"
"Oh, maybe kidnap me and hold me for ransom, either the Jarl's or Peryn's. Or even yours, now that everybody knows I associate with Companions." Lydia said. "People who spend time with the rich and famous are always targets."
"I think you overestimate all of us," Farkas said. "We're dangerous, not swimming in money."
Lydia shrugged. "That's something that we know, but the people idiotic enough to try to kidnap a Housecarl might not. Anyway, the point is, I want you to come with me, if you can."
"Why?"
"Even if she's telling the truth, Peryn wants to go exploring a Dwarven ruin," Lydia said. "Or, to put it another way, he wants to do something dangerous enough he's actually preparing for it instead of just poking his head inside every cave he passes, like he usually does."
"I don't know if I can just up and leave," Farkas said, frowning. "I might not be the brains of this operation, but I still have training for the whelps and other things I have to take care of."
"And those are important," Vilkas said, returning from outside. He turned to Lydia. "But you know that," he said, "So I'm a little curious as to why you want my brother to ignore his duties."
"An Imperial came to see me today and said that my Thane, who is your Shield-Brother," she reminded them, "Wants to investigate a Dwemer ruin. He seems to understand how dangerous that is, but there is also the possibility that she's lying and this is a trap, since I've never met her before in my life. I'd rather not go into a trap alone, if I can help it."
Vilkas nodded. "You're getting paranoid," he noted, "Not that I think that's a bad thing. Talk to Whitemane, if you really want Farkas to go with you. He'll probably say yes, Talos damn him."
"You should come, too," Farkas said. Vilkas gave him a look.
"You know perfectly well I can't do that," he said. "I've got too much to do here."
"You haven't gotten out in weeks," Farkas said. "I think Kodlak would understand if you wanted to actually do something. Besides," he added, "I'm still not sure what Skojr and Aela do around here, exactly. I think putting them in charge of the whelps for a while might do them some good."
"Fine," Vilkas sighed, "But only because I know you won't let it drop if I say no. If the Harbinger thinks it's a good idea, I'll go with you."
The Harbinger thought it was an excellent idea. Vilkas looked incredibly put out by this, but he didn't seem all that surprised. Lydia got the feeling that Whitemane was getting more and more eager to get Vilkas to learn the things he'd been trying for years to teach him. Maybe a bit of time away from the structure of the Circle would do him some good.
Lydia noticed that Illia seemed very happy with the addition of the twins to the group. When she asked why, the Imperial shrugged. "Peryn's good people," she said. "I'm glad he's got friends, people who will help him when he needs it."
3 First Seed, Tirdas, 4E202
Peryn was about to leave to collect water when he heard people approaching the makeshift camp he and Kharjo had set up on their return to Mzinchaleft. He grabbed his bow from his back and checked the number of arrows in his quiver before starting toward the sound. Whoever it was wasn't trying to be quiet at all, so either he had nothing to worry about or he was about to be completely outmatched in a fight.
He recognized the Wolf Armor first and relaxed, drawing himself out of the rocky outcropping. With Farkas and Vilkas were Illia and Lydia, who noticed him first and pointed him out to her companions.
"Good morning!" He called down to them, getting waves from Lydia and Farkas. Peryn leaned against the outcropping and waited for them to reach him.
"We've camped just over this hill," he said, after drawing Lydia and the twins in for hugs. "Kharjo and I have done a little scouting since we got here yesterday. It looks like there's some bandits using the ruins as a base."
Lydia smirked. "So we get to do our public duty and explore an ancient ruin? You spoil me."
Peryn laughed and threw an arm around her. "I try," he said. "Nothing but the best for the woman who helps me kill dragons."
"I feel like we should get on a list somewhere," Vilkas said. "Maybe then we'll get to join in the dragon killing one day."
"It's mostly following him around and hoping one shows up. Or doesn't, since they're very dangerous and have very large teeth," Lydia said.
"Not that I'm complaining," Peryn said, glancing up at Farkas. "But why are the two of you here? I only asked Illia to find Lydia."
"Lydia asked us," Farkas said. "She thought this might be a trap."
"You're getting paranoid," Peryn said, giving Lydia a small smile. "I'm proud of you. It's very useful sometimes."
She laughed and ducked her head. "Come on," she said. "Let's go have some fun."