In the back of Bjorlam's carriage, Aela and Thaegoth bounced towards Solitude. The sky was clear, but Thaegoth wondered how long such a journey could take them. All the way to Skyrim's capital and back? They could be gone for days, as far as he knew. He slumped lower on the wooden seat and tried to focus on their job.

What would they do if they couldn't find Brenuin? Back to stabbing in the dark, Aela had said. But surely there was some way to narrow down the list of suspects.

"Who could afford Brenuin's loyalty?" he asked Aela, who was sitting across from him. "And the bandits, too."

Aela's arms were up on the side of the carriage and she did not take her eyes off the road as she answered. "Almost anyone up at Dragonsreach," she said. "Battle-Borns or Gray-Manes. Priests are out though, shopkeepers too. Guards unless they've been saving up their bribes. Else the gold's stolen, but that big a theft'd be the talk of the town."

"Still too many people," said Thaegoth.

He picked at his hands as the silence between them drew on, listening to the sounds of the horse hooves against the road, the wheels rolling over the stones and dirt. He wasn't sure, but he thought the noise of the trip prevented Bjorlam from listening in.

"Are you keeping Sonja and I from working together?" he asked.

Aela brought her eyes back to focus on him. "Yes," she said.

"Why?"

She planted her elbows on her knees and leaned forward. She let out a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan.

"You've heard about the Dragonborn being in the Companions," she said.

No need to phrase it as a question, for the Dragonborn had more stories devoted to her than anybody else in Skyrim—though she'd been Breton by birth, that was a fact often ignored by the Nords. Thaegoth nodded.

"Only that she was, then she left," he said. If she'd been caught up in the massacre that had taken out the rest of the Companions, he'd have heard that story, he thought. And going by what else he had heard about her, the Dragonborn could have made short work of that Burned Woman who'd been responsible for the murders.

"The stories are already leaving out her name," said Aela. "Gylhain. She joined up with us back in two hundred and one. Farkas and Ria and me were fighting a giant, down at Pelagia Farm. She comes out of nowhere, takes over the whole fight. Gets the killing blow. Farkas tried to get her to sign up right then, but she said she had something to do first. Turns out that something was killing a dragon out at the Western Watchtower."

"Our test of arms seems kinda pointless after that," said Thaegoth.

Aela almost smiled then. "She insisted on it," she said. "Sonja and her got that in common, anyway."

"All of this was before she killed Alduin?" asked Thaegoth.

Aela nodded. "She was with us for . . . only a few months. Seemed like we'd all been fighting alongside her forever. Then Kodlak, the old Harbinger, was killed. Gylhain led the revenge mission, helped us reforge Wuuthrad."

"Wuuthrad?" asked Thaegoth. The name was obviously Nordic, but that was all he could guess. Another piece of Companions history he was ignorant of.

"An axe," said Aela. "Belonged to whoever first led us." She shook her head. "I'm not . . . Vilkas was always the one who knew the history."

She was silent for a long while as the carriage bumped them along. A village came and went. Rorikstead, Aela said in a disinterested tone. Thaegoth waited for the quiet to play itself out.

"Turned out," said Aela, "Kodlak had wanted Gylhain to be Harbinger after him. Which she was. But she'd disappear for months at a time, come back saying she'd joined the Legion. Or travelled to Sovngarde. I led the Companions, but it was years before she gave me the title."

Thaegoth endured the next silence for a shorter span before asking, "What does this have to do with Sonja and I?"

"Gylhain and me were . . . involved. For a time." Aela finally met Thaegoth's eyes. "It ruined us as fighters. Caring about someone more than anyone else doesn't work in a fight. We were distracted. Self-obsessed. Jorrvaskr was unbearable for the others."

"What happened?" asked Thaegoth. Getting caught up in the past was a handy way for him to avoid the lesson he knew was coming.

"She left," said Aela. "Adventuring around with someone else. Heard she got married. Haven't seen her since Helgen."

"Helgen?" said Thaegoth. The town's name was legendary even down in Cyrodiil. "But isn't that where she first appeared? Where the dragons returned?"

"No," said Aela. "I mean, yeah, it was. But there was another fight there, later. You're sidetracking me. You want to know about that fight, ask someone else." She frowned at the bottom of the carriage. "Irileth was there."

"She doesn't seem one for telling tales," said Thaegoth.

Aela flashed a grin, gone as soon as it appeared. "You know what I'm saying," she said.

"So, not getting involved is your one rule?" asked Thaegoth.

"One rule of many," said Aela.

Thaegoth stretched his arms, forming his counterarguments. "I understand," he said. "But isn't anything that strengthens the bond between the Companions a positive thing?"

"So you are interested in her," said Aela.

"That's not . . . I mean, wouldn't continual friction and non-action be worse for us? The Companions, I mean."

Aela shrugged. "Might be Harbinger," she said, "but I can't tell you where to put your cock." Thaegoth emitted a shocked laugh. "You think you can do it without it getting in the way of the job, go ahead."

There was another silence, more comfortable this time, and Thaegoth found himself smiling. Then, as it so often did, his past returned to his mind. He didn't think he'd heard Aela ever talk so much—and with such honesty. It made shame rise up through his chest at his own omissions.

"There's something I haven't told you," he said. "About the reason I came to Skyrim."

"You don't have to tell me," said Aela.

But Thaegoth's insistence that he did was cut off by a cry from Bjorlam, and the sudden drawing of the carriage to a halt. Aela stood up to scan the road, leaning closer to the driver.

"There's blood on the road, there is," said Bjorlam. "Now I'm not a squeamish man, but—"

"We'll take a look," said Aela. She signalled to Thaegoth and they hopped down from the carriage out the back, taking opposite sides around to the front. The scenery was not exactly the Skyrim Thaegoth had expected. An unkempt road, with scraggy grass and low scrub on both sides. To the south, spiny rocks rose from the dirt. The sky was still clear, but ahead of them on the road was indeed a large bloodstain.

Aela crouched by the red mark. Even Thaegoth could tell that it was a dangerous amount—maybe too much to lose and live. A trail of blood led off the road to the north. Aela signalled Bjorlam to wait, then put an arrow to her bow and Thaegoth did the same, following her close as she trod through the grass.

A roar came from ahead of them and suddenly there was a great cat in view, sandy-haired and with immense canines, tearing at the body of a Redguard man.

Aela snarled and loosed her arrow into the cat's side. Thaegoth's impacted into the beast's neck, where it was soon joined by another from Aela. The cat gave a more gurgling roar, dropped the man, took a few halting steps towards them, then collapsed.

"Better," said Aela, looking at Thaegoth. In truth, he couldn't be more surprised that his arrow had landed where he'd intended. Something in his practice appeared to be sticking.

Aela approached the body and let out a low hiss as she examined him. "Not dead," she said.

"Brenuin?" asked Thaegoth, drawing closer, gingerly stepping around the great cat's body.

Aela nodded. "Not the type to live through this, but . . ."

Her eyes suddenly flicked back towards the road. The carriage was just out of sight thanks to some scrub and the roll of a hill. She tossed Thaegoth a clinking pouch that he fumbled with his bow to catch.

"Tell Bjorlam to go back," she said. "Say we found a body and are staying to give it proper burial. We'll head to Solitude on our own."

Thaegoth trotted back to the carriage and passed on the message. Bjorlam's frown cleared right up when he opened the pouch of gold. He started to turn the carriage around and Thaegoth watched him get going before hurrying back to Aela.

The Harbinger had bandaged up the worse of Brenuin's wounds, but the man was still unconscious, bleeding, close to death. Aela swore and glanced up, scanning their surrounds.

"There's a hut near here," she said.

"For what?" asked Thaegoth without thinking.

"Whoever wants it," said Aela. "Which, last time I was there, was a bunch of skeevers. Grab his legs."

Thaegoth started, but joined Aela in heaving up Brenuin, heedless of the blood that was getting on their armour. Their movements elicited a groan from their burden, as they hurried him across the road and up a narrow path that Thaegoth wouldn't have noticed if Aela hadn't directed them. Soon, a tiny wooden hut appeared, clearly ancient but not full of holes as Thaegoth had expected.

Clearly Aela had expected the same, for she gestured Thaegoth to lower Brenuin to the ground and stay with him. She silently approached the door, pressed her ear to the wood for a moment, then drew back and knocked. Thaegoth kept his hand on his swordhilt and his eyes on the door. Another groan came from Brenuin.

The door opened to reveal a huge Nord with a ragged mass of blonde hair and a beard of the same. On his right cheek, extending down to his neck, was a swirling dark tattoo. Most of his body was covered by a large iron and wood shield. His eyes took all three of his guests in at a glance.

"Damn," said Aela. "Argis the Bulwark."

"Huntress," said Argis, his voice low and even. "This gonna bring me trouble?"

"Can't promise it won't," said Aela.

Argis grunted and looked again at Brenuin. "Come inside," he said.

He held the door open wide as Aela and Thaegoth carried Brenuin inside. Argis directed them to deposit the wounded man on the single bed. Having done so, Thaegoth looked at the place they'd found themselves in. The hut was a single room, with a stone fireplace that flickered with still-living coals. It was a simple home, but everything on the shelves was ordered and the place showed no hint of dirt or dust.

"You do this?" asked Argis, leaning over Brenuin.

"No," insisted Thaegoth. "It was a . . . a big cat."

Argis gave him a long stare. "Sabrecats learning archery, that's a new one," he said.

"What?" said Thaegoth.

Argis gestured and both Aela and Thaegoth gathered to see an arrowhead buried beneath Brenuin's collarbone. In that case, realised Thaegoth, the sabrecat must have merely been finishing the ex-beggar off, or had interrupted another killing. The killer had fled, most likely, else they would have found another body.

"He going to live?" asked Aela. Argis just shrugged. "I'll pay you to keep him here. Get him well. If he dies, he dies."

"I'll do it for nothing," said Argis.

Aela held out a fistful of gold regardless. "Get yourself some new blankets," she said. "These ones are only going to get bloodier."

Argis hesitated, then took the gold. "You gonna tell me what this is about?" he asked.

Aela looked at Thaegoth, who swallowed, then said, "Someone tried to kill Jarl Balgruuf's brother. Maybe they've got other plans too."

"And Brenuin here," said Aela, "ran messages for whoever it was. So we want to talk to him."

"That'll do," said Argis. "There gonna be people looking to finish the job?"

"Maybe," said Aela. "But they won't hear about you from us."

"Best I can ask for," said Argis. "Sword's still sharp, in case."

"Good to hear it," said Aela. "And thanks."

Argis nodded. "Now give me some room here," he said.

Aela nudged Thaegoth towards the door. When he was half-out, she turned back and said, "Someone comes who ain't with one of us, he ain't here."

"Course," said Argis.

Aela closed the door of the hut behind them. It wasn't until they were back on the main road that Thaegoth noticed just how much blood had gotten on them.

"You knew him?" he asked.

"The Bulwark," said Aela. "Markarth man. Helped Gylhain take out the Forsworn, years ago. Made a lot of enemies out that way. Disappeared. Always thought one of them got to him."

"Pretty lucky running into him," said Thaegoth.

"This's Skyrim," said Aela. "Spend enough years here, sooner or later you run into everyone who's worth knowing, and everyone who ain't."