A/N: And here's the next chapter! I dicided to make the first change a visible one, though not all of these changes will be physically noticeable.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Elder Scrolls series, only my original ideas.
Chapter 20: The Silver Hand
Shouts-at-Sun's POV
I began to wake up. I didn't immediately recognize my surroundings. I was in a small campsite somewhere in the mountains, and in right in front of me was Aela. I also realized that my armor was missing!
"Ah good, you're awake," Aela said, "Are you feeling alright? Your transformation was not an easy one".
"I think I'm okay," I said, "but I have a couple of questions: First, where are my clothes?"
"I have them right here," said Aela, "Here, take them".
With that, she handed me my armor, weapons, and other equipment.
"Thank you," I said, "next question: did anything… particularly strange occur during my… transformation?"
"You did appear to be having a strange reaction to the blood," said Aela, "your scent became quite strange, you began to whisper in a language I am unfamiliar with, and for a moment, it almost looked like you were sprouting wings! Do you have any explanation for this?"
"Maybe… how well do you know the legend of the Dragonborn?" I asked.
"I am familiar with it, of course," said Aela, "A warrior who is mortal in body but who has the soul of a dragon. Why, what about it?"
"I am one," I said, "It is possible that I was having a reaction due to the dragon part of myself clashing with the blood you shared with me".
"You're Dragonborn?" said Aela, "interesting, I wonder if that explains what happened to your tail"
"What do you mean?" I said, "What happened?"
"Check for yourself," said Aela, "I'm surprised you didn't already notice".
I glanced back to examine my tail… to say I was surprised would be an understatement: My tail had become longer, more flexible. And on its end… was a sharp tail-blade… just like that of a Dovah, a dragon! I also checked quickly and saw that I didn't have wings… for now at least.
"Divines… so that's what it all meant," I muttered.
My tail-blade was diamond-shaped, and looked quite solid. I swung it against a long within this small campsite. I felt the impact, and saw the notch I had carved into the wood.
"Well, then," I said, "This will certainly come in handy…"
"Um… so, should we get going?" asked Aela.
"Ah, Krosis, of course," I said, "where are we, anyway".
"We've near Gallows Rock, and base for the Silver Hand," said Aela, "You've… had experience with them before, correct?"
"Yes, in Dustman's Cairn with Farkas," I said, "Also, more recently I came by this exact location on my way back from my last assignment, near Riften. The people guarding this place attacked on sight".
"Guess that explains why there's no one guarding the exterior," said Aela, "Come, we must be going, Skjor went on ahead… alone".
"He went in alone, without a Shield-sibling?" I said, "That seems unwise… we better go catch up to him".
With that we headed over and entered Gallows Rock. Just inside, we found our path blocked by a portcullis. However, there was a pull chain right next to the portcullis to open it, so this wasn't really much of an obstacle. From there, we descended down a staircase, reaching a combination mess hall and sleeping quarters. There were some Silver Hand stationed here, some on watch, with others sleeping. Aela drew her bow, and started the battle with a precision headshot to the closest enemy, downing him instantly. I then rushed in, tossing spells and swinging my sword. One of the Silver Hand swung his silver sword at me at neck level. I quickly ducked under this attack, and almost instinctually swiped my foe with my tail-blade. This caught my foe off guard, and he was too stunned to react. As a result, he took the full brunt of my attack square in the chest, caving in his armor and likely breaking something. In any case, he fell to the ground, dead.
I looked around for more targets, and found that the area was clear.
"Good work," said Aela, "let's keep going".
I nodded, and we continued into the next chamber, ignoring the door that was barred from the opposite side. We passed through a narrow hallway, disposing of a Skeever along the way. Around this point, I noticed a foul odor prevalent in this place… it smelled like caged animals and decay. We climbed up some stairs, and came upon a small prison. There were more Silver Hand on the far end of the room, but they hadn't noticed us yet. In the prison cells, there were several dead werewolves, and one living one. Aela had spotted this as well. I took a closer look at the still living werewolf, and noticed that I didn't recognize this particular one, and neither did Aela.
"I don't know this one," said Aela, "but with what we've seen of this place so far, it's likely that it has gone feral. It would be best to let it be".
"Maybe," I replied, "but if we let it out, it might go after the Silver Hand first, since they were the ones who were torturing it…"
I stepped up to the cell door, looked the werewolf behind it straight in the eyes, and unlocked the cell. The werewolf responded by rushing out of the cell and towards the Silver Hand. It quickly slaughtered them, and then ran back towards me. As it got close, it paused, backed up, and then turned and ran around me, giving me a wide berth. The werewolf then ran right past Aela and towards the entrance.
"Well, that was odd," I said.
"Indeed," replied Aela, "It must have seen something about you that quelled its desire to attack".
We continued deeper inside, and headed down the southern stairs, and entered the Great Hall. Here, we encountered more Silver Hand. Aela decided to use her beast form, and ran forwards, ripping into our enemies. I considered doing the same, but decided against it for now. Instead, I kept watch on Aela's back to prevent her from getting surrounded. After we cleared the room, Aela, who hadn't shifted back yet turned towards me… and then paused with a shocked look on her face.
She then changed back to her normal self.
"Shield-Brother, I know why that feral lycanthrope fled from you," said Aela, "When I looked at you just now, while I was transformed, you looked much more menacing".
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"It looked like you had a ghostly image of a dragon surrounding you," said Aela, "I think that would be sufficient to deter most predators".
"Well, if nothing else, this means I won't have to deal with being attacked as frequently while travelling," I said.
"Interesting way of thinking," said Aela, "But let's keep going, there shouldn't be too many chambers to explore, so Skjor should be near. We should also be cautious of the leader of this camp, there's a reason he's called Krev the Skinner".
I nodded in reply, and we continued further into Gallows Rock. We passed through the main sleeping quarters, and into the final chamber.
Directly in front of us was one final batch of Silver Hand. All around the chamber were tanning racks and pelts… many of them not belonging to any normal animal. And on a stone table in the back of the room… was Skjor's body. We were too late to save him.
Aela and I rushed towards our foes, and worked to divide their focus. After a short time, only Krev the Skinner was left standing. I rushed towards him, blasting him with lightning, followed by a flurry of slashes with my sword, and finishing up with a powerful stab with my tail-blade. After he fell, Aela and I stepped over to examine Skjor corpse.
"Damn!" said Aela, "Skjor should have known better… he shouldn't have come here without a Shield-sibling!"
"Aela… will you be alright?" I asked.
"Skjor's death will not go unavenged," said Aela, "I know the location of another Silver Hand camp. I have heard of a group of them hiding out at Orotheim, in Hijaalmarch Hold. I want you to go there and kill their leader. I'll stay here for now… Skjor deserves a proper funeral. Once you find what they have planned, come find me in Jorrvaskr. Now, get going".
"I shall complete this task Shield-Sister," I said.
I continued down the shortcut at the back of the area, which lead me back to the mess hall back near the entrance. I then exited Gallows Rock, heading off towards my next destination. As I stepped outside, I decided to update Lokhunnonvul on my progress.
"Lokhunnonvul," I thought, "I have been inducted into the inner circle of the Companions".
"That's excellent news!" replied Lokhunnonvul, "so I am guessing that means they granted you their special ability to you?"
"Yes, and that's not the only thing that's happened," I thought, and then proceeded to describe to him everything that I'd seen in my dreams, and the new traits I'd gained.
"That's… incredible, Dovahkiin!" replied Lokhunnonvul, "What are you planning to do next?"
"I'm heading to Hijaalmarch Hold, to track down a group of werewolf hunters known as the Silver Hand," I thought, "after that I was going to head back to Whiterun".
"In that case I do not have much in the way of advice for you right now," replied Lokhunnonvul, "Other than the standard warning to use caution".
With that, the connection closed for now, and I continued down the road towards Hijaalmarch Hold.
A/N: And there we go! next time we start down the road towards Orotheim... See you then!