And here we give you all chapter 14. Another calm chapter with not much action happening, but going by reviews on SB, it's not boring. Enjoy!
"Good morning, Adrianne," Yang greeted cheerfully.
"Hail, Companion," the blacksmith replied before giggling to herself. "So, I was able to sell those swords you sold me, all but one. Seems that vampires are becoming a bit of a problem up northeast."
"Ran into one of those a month ago. Weiss killed it with a single stab to the heart," Yang stated. "Are they normally dangerous?"
"Older ones are. Something about how their powers age. Never cared too much to learn." She looked over an incomplete helm and took it to her worktable, where she started prepping the pieces to put it together.
"Eh, guess I'll ask Farengar or something. So, did they get the scales in yet?"
"Heard they're dragging them in right now. You really think we can make armor from dragon hide?" She pressed a bolt into the leather inset and then set it on her head to try it on. Satisfied, she began putting on the bolts to attach the visor.
"If we can make armor from deer and cow leather, we can make some from the giant, fire-breathing dragons that arrows tend to bounce off of more often than not." The women looked over and saw a man coming through the gate, hauling a cart laden with sections of green scales with yellow speckles.
"A lot of farmers are also heading to the dragon corpse," Adrianne explained. "They were talking about taking the meat and smoking it for winter."
Yang felt his stomach turn a bit at that. "You mean they're planning to eat it?"
"Well, it's meat."
"Yeah, but it talked! And thinks! Eating dragon meat is like… It wouldn't be all that different from eating an Argonian."
Adrianne grimaced at that. "Oh, I see what you mean. Still, it's not all that bad, right? Winter is coming, and folks are just trying to keep from starving. Besides, we are planning to make armor out of it."
"Yeah, because if a dragon comes down and snaps up a guy I think he'd rather be protected by dragon scales than steel, which I've seen them bite through," Yang argued, shaking her head. "Well, I'm not going to begrudge anybody doing it. Just don't expect me to sit down to a dragon steak."
"I don't think I would either, now." She looked over the completed helm and set it aside. "I hear you're planning on purchasing the house next door."
"Yeah, I think it's labelled as 'Breezehome'. Kinda weird to name a house, but I guess that's tradition here?"
"Some people name their houses, others don't. Last man to live there gave it that name because he always felt a breeze going in or out. Sadly, he disappeared a few years ago. Everyone assumes he finally ran afoul of the wrong bear."
"Ironic," Yang said under her breath. "Well, I'm gonna head up and see what I can do with those scales. You have a good day."
"You too, Yang." Nodding to the blacksmith, Yang walked away, the sounds of hammer hitting steel ringing behind her.
As Yang walked through town, she was stopped a few times, but it wasn't long until the blonde walked up to the Skyforge, where the man set the cart down and wiped his brow. Eorlund, always up and about, was already looking over the scales and testing a few with a steel knife. He ran the blade against one, yet nothing seemed to come off. He rubbed the scale and nodded before looking up at the newest Companion.
"What ya think?"
"I think you were right. These certainly will make a good, light armor. A little heavier than steel scales, but much lighter than ebony."
"Well then, I can't wait to get started."
"This might be a little beyond your skills, to be honest, but if you want to help I'll get some holes bored into them. You said something about speaking with Kodlak later, right?"
Yang nodded. "I did. Now that I think about it, I should get that done with. Lotta…stuff to talk about. See ya later," she called back as she waked into the longhouse and down the stairs, leaving behind a slightly confused Eorlund. Like she'd hoped, Kodlak was in his room, looking over something in a book while a notebook with a quill and inkwell sat on his table.
"Hello?" she called in while knocking on the wall. Kodlak turned to her and smiled.
"Ah, welcome Yang! You wanted to speak to me about something?"
"Yes sir. Mind if I close the door?" At his nod, she shut the door of the room as she walked in and sat across from where he was atop a chest. "It's about… Well, first off, all five of you guys in the Circle are werewolves, right?"
"We are," he answered simply.
"Well that answers that. I saw Farkas and how well he could control himself after turning. He didn't break any rules, did he? I swear he only did it to save-"
Kodlak held up a hand, stopping Yang before she could even start. "I assure you, Farkas is in no sort of trouble for what he did. Like you were saying, it was self-defense. And the Silver Hand already knew about us. They've known for a long time. As for you, we planned to let you know eventually. A few Companions are chosen to give the secret to, ones picked for a number of reasons, not the least of which is having an open mind when it comes to werebeasts themselves. Aela was especially touched by your stance on that matter with the werebear. Heh, it seems your progress to this state was accelerated twice by circumstances."
Yang nodded. "Okay, I see. And what about the Silver Hand? What's up with them?"
Kodlak groaned. "That…is not easy to answer. Well, sometime before the Great War, back when I was just a lad, the Silver Hand were a reputable organization of werebeast hunters. Skyrim had a large population of werewolves and werebears at the time. There were even a few wereboars near Markarth at one point. You were almost as likely to be attacked by a werebear as you were a sabercat if you traveled at night. The Silver Hand rose to the occasion, hunting them down and culling their numbers. For years they were considered heroes of the people. But, they faced a problem. They kept growing, while the lycanthrope population shrank drastically.
"Eventually, there were far too many Silver Hands, and not nearly as many werebeasts as there once were. Without jobs to be paid for, they ran out of money. Many of their members turned to mercenary work or banditry to fill their coffers and bellies.
"Then the Great War started. Many went to fight, but those who remained were in dire straits. The Silver Hand had become a shadow of its former self. They still declared themselves as werebeast hunters, but few could see them as little more than bandits with fancy weapons. Then, one day, they attacked several Companions, targeting their Circle members. No one outside knew why, but here in the Companions, we know we know now it's because they were werewolves. The Silver Hand had somehow found out, and considered them no different than any other werewolf. The whole of Skyrim just saw it as the Silver Hand lashing out, and now, no one trusts them."
"Then, why do they still have members?" Yang asked, leaning forward in interest.
"Bandits joining them, somewhat. Others are perhaps born into it from the old members. Then, there's always simple hatred. Hatred that they've put before common sense. They've let the hate they feel for werewolves drive them, and now they target those who have shown themselves as peaceful and ambivalent. Hate can be a powerful fuel at times, but like anything, too much of it is a poison. And it's so easy to hate far too much."
Yang nodded at that. She could understand feeling bitter about things. It was…hard not to once she started. Letting go of anger was not easy. She couldn't imagine what kind of grip actual hatred could have on her.
"And…being a werewolf," she started up again, "what's it like?"
"Well," He stroked his beard a moment in thought. "It's hard to get a good night's sleep at times. I rarely dream anymore. I still do, but the dreams are so far apart now. The Beastblood also has a gnawing hunger to it. It comes from Hircine, the Lord of the Hunt, and he wants us to hunt. Every once in a while, even an old wolf like me has go out get a kill or two. Sometimes I hear howling and think to answer, or better yet, to go out and join them. To be a werewolf is to have another side of you. A beastly side. Well, in truth there's a beast in us all, but to have the Beastblood is to give that beast form and power. It's only for the strongest of heart, but that, again, is a part of Hircine's wishes, I suppose."
Yang hummed and nodded once again, then thought back to the other night.
"You're offering to make me a werewolf?"
"I can understand if you don't want to, of course."
"No, no. It's just that…this is really sudden. I only just found out you guys are werewolves, or that werewolves could control themselves."
"It's all right, pup. Take a while to think it over. Our offer stands indefinitely. Just let us know if you want it."
"Do you think I could make a good werewolf?"
"You mean, do I think you're strong enough to handle it, brave enough to face it, and honorable enough to deserve it?"
Yang let out a little laugh. "Yeah, guess so."
Kodlak nodded. "In truth, I think you'd make an exemplary member of the Circle in time. A little more experience under your belt, and you could stand among the best of us. You're already a strong warrior, and brave enough to face off against a dragon. And the way you've carried yourself time and time again has shown that you are in no way lacking in honor. I believe you could be one of us. You could be a werewolf. The question is, do you want to be?"
Yang looked down towards the floor as she bit her lip. She made a quick scratch to her head and then shrugged.
"I still don't know," Yang admitted, looking forlorn, only to look up when she felt Kodlak's hand on her shoulder.
"You will know one day, my child. You will know, when the time is right."
Weiss found that life in the College was not all as exciting as she'd thought it'd be. She blamed her time at Beacon for warping her expectations. That wasn't to say her experience so far was unpleasant. On the contrary, she was actually enjoying herself. Her first official class of the day was in Conjuration, and today they'd be going over bound weapons. Master Phinis Gestor began by first conjuring up a ghostly wall and then having words appear on it as well as pictures.
"First thing to note about bound weapons, everyone, is that they are exactly that, bound. The weapon you summon from Oblivion is not actually a weapon, but a shape-shifted daedra in the form of one. Now, if all of you did your homework, you know how to summon a basic bound sword. The way the book describes how to form it makes it appear to be a daedric blade. Don't be fooled, as that doesn't mean it's nearly as sharp as an actual daedric weapon. It's simply that whoever wrote the most comprehensive guide on the basics of summoning a bound sword had a flare for dramatics and aesthetic appeal.
"We'll be going forward and branching out. Most of you were here for familiars. Apprentice Weiss Schnee, do you understand how to form a summoned familiar in different manifestations?"
"Yes, Master Gestor. I have made my familiar a fox, wolf, bear,-"
"That'll suffice, apprentice," he cut her off. "Here to learn, not to boast. Now, we're doing something similar here. But the big difference to keep in mind is that familiars come from you, but these weapons will come from Oblivion. There's no telling what the deadra in question that becomes your weapon will be. You could bring forth a scamp, a clanfear, a hunger, a Dremora, a Winged Twilight, a Mazken, or any other denizen of Oblivion. Hopefully you'll never know as failing to bind them into a weapon could also result in failing to bind them under your control, and that can end up messy. Often with you as the mess. Now, this is a safe environment where the magic I've meshed over the place will keep any 'free' daedra from running amok, so here is where you can practice summoning new bound weapons. Go ahead and begin practicing it. The basis is the same; simply change the energy of the spell where you make it a sword and form it into something else."
Looking around, Weiss saw the other students begin forming the spell in their hands, most summoning the default sword first to get a feel for it before they began. Weiss did so as well, thinking of how she formed it into a sword and going over it in her head. She dismissed the sword, but before she could start again, a yelp sounded out and everyone turned to see Onmund stumbling back and barely keeping himself from tripping backwards, a small, scraggly creature that looked like the unlovable spawn of a monkey and a naked mole rat sitting there snarling at him.
"It's all right everyone," Phinis announced as he formed an ice spike over his hand. "It's just a small scamp." The spike shot forward and impaled the creature, and it disappeared back into Oblivion. "This does help me bring up the point of how badly these things can go. That could have just as easily been a Dremora Lord or a Daedroth."
Shaking her head, Weiss heard a spell near her and looked to see J'zargo holding what appeared to be a grip claw. He was admiring his work while Brelyna seemed to be still trying to figure hers out, with a few other students forming simple weapons, like axes and hammers. Thinking for a moment, Weiss looked to hers and once again formed a bound weapon, this one long and thin, feeling natural in her hand.
"Ah, you made a copy of your blade," J'zargo pointed out. "A shape you know well. Rather elegant in its design."
"Why thank you. What did you make?"
"A claw weapon popular in Elsweyr for when claws alone are not sharp enough."
"Interesting." Weiss dismissed the Myrtenaster clone and then tried to summon up a similar claw weapon to what J'zargo had. It mostly worked, but her version was straighter, rather than following the animal claw pattern J'zargo's did. Almost as if in response, J'zargo dismissed his and then summoned a rapier with a basket guard and jagged ricasso. Weiss smirked at his bound weapon and wondered what to form next.
Brelyna saw them as she looked up from helping Onmund form a mace and sighed. "Oh great."
After several days of travel, and some mild exploration, Ruby and Lydia trudged up past the stables near Whiterun's gate. The caravan had long since moved on, nary a trace of their presence besides some ash piles left from their camp fires. Approaching the gate, the guards saluted her as she walked in to see the hustle and bustle of the city once more.
"Ya'know, Lydia, I really like Whiterun," Ruby began, watching the people go about their daily routine. "I think it's starting to grow on me. Every time I come here it just feels right."
"Glad my home feels that way to you." Lydia smiled, with Ruby returning the smile in kind.
"Come on. I bet Yang is up at Jorrvaskr. Or at least they can point us to her."
Their destination set, the two headed up the stairs leading to the Wind district, where their eyes lingered for a moment on the sapling growing in place of the Gildergreen. Wondering what happened, but not curious enough to break from their trail, they headed into Jorrvaskr to see the dark elf Athis caught in a fist fight with Njada.
"Oh boy. Again?" the young girl asked.
"Come on! Duck and up!" a familiar voice called out.
Suddenly Athis ducked under a hook from Njada and then came back up, smacking her chin with his head. Both stumbled back, but the Nord woman was the worse off. Once she turned back, Athis put his weight behind a punch and knocked her flat onto her back.
"Take that, you…blockheaded… All right, I need to sit." The Dunmer Companion fumbled over to a chair and flopped into it. The Hall laughed as he held his dizzying head and Njada slowly picked herself up. Yang herself came up clapping and patted his shoulder before seeing Ruby. When her eyes beheld her sister, her smile changed from jovial to joyous as she ran over and scooped Ruby into a hug.
"Ruby! I missed you so much!"
"Missed you…too, Yang," Ruby got out despite her compressed ribs. She got back at her sister by squeezing her just as tightly. After a minute, they finally released each other from their embraces and looked one another over.
"So you hadn't got the wolf armor yet?" Ruby smirked, her hand placed on her hip.
"I'm gonna." Yang smiled back, her arms crossed over her chest. "So how have you been? Learn more about…your Voice stuff?"
"Yeah, and other stuff. I think I'll be okay next time I… I have to kill a dragon."
Yang nodded slowly at that. "I get ya. By the way, me and Farkas killed one a while ago. It, uh, didn't burn up. Got a lot scales off of it, and me and Eorlund have been trying to figure out how to make armor from them."
"Oh cool! How's that going?"
Yang smacked the armor piece with an iron mace a few times. The scales were undamaged, but the steel rings holding the whole thing together bent and broke after a few hits.
"Oh come on!" she decried.
"I guess steel won't cut it," Eorlund observed. "Maybe if I made rings from… No, too heavy. Well… Ah! It'll take me a few days, but I'll see if I can't make some rings from ebony. Seen a few people wear ebony mail before, so I know it can be done. Should hold up with the dragon scales, at least."
"Could be better. Still a work in progress." Yang admitted. She herself couldn't work ebony yet, so at this point she was mainly observing Eorlund work. Not that she minded; he was a master at his craft after all.
"Well, I can't wait to see what you guys put together. How's everyone doing here?"
"Pretty good. Farkas has his old sword mounted on the wall now that he's killed a dragon with it," Yang thumbed to the wall, where sure enough a steel greatsword hung proudly for all to see. "I'm a full member of the Companions now, and Aela even talked about… Well, I'll tell you more later. What about you? Anything interesting happen on the trek up?"
"Not much, really. But, before me and Lydia left, we explored that Shroud Hearth Barrow in Ivarstead. Some crazy elf guy pretended to be a ghost to scare people away from the barrow while he searched for a way inside."
"Oh, like the Mystery Bunch?"
"What's the Mystery Bunch?" Lydia asked, clearly confused.
"It was an entertainment series back home about four teenagers and their dog solving supernatural mysteries. The monster always turned out to be a guy in costume, though. Usually in some real estate scheme." At Yang's explanation, Lydia nodded her head in understanding, while Ruby herself became forlorn.
"Yeah, only...he actually came to believe he really was a ghost after spending such a long time there. Really convincingly, too. I didn't find out until I shot him..." Ruby went silent and shuddered slightly. "Anyway, turns out that the 'treasure' was just one of those Word Wall thingies. It talked about some Nord who could tame beasts, and now I can, too." Before Yang could inquire further, a loud rumbling sounded from Ruby's gut, and as Ruby turned as red as her cloak, Yang smirked.
"Oh, hungry are you? Come on, let's grab some grub. Food's still hot." Yang put an arm around Ruby's shoulder and led her over to the table, where breakfast was still laid out. "Speaking of Word Walls, I took a pic of another one in Dustman's Cairn." Yang pulled out her scroll and flipped over to the picture in her gallery, gasping a little when she realized she still had all of the pictures from "the Night". Figuring she had better go through those and delete some of them later, she passed the scroll over to Ruby, who zoomed in and read over the words.
"Hn, Qethsegol vahrukiv kiir jun Jafnhar wo los ag nahlaas naal yol do lot dovah Lodunost." Yang could almost swear she saw her sister's eyes glow slightly as she read. When she finished, she sighed in disgust. "Geez!"
"What's it say?"
"It was made to commemorate a 'child king' who was burned alive by a dragon named Lodunost. What a jerk! Yang, if we ever run into that dragon, make sure we remind him of this."
"Uh, sure. So was that supposed to be his grave or…?"
"No idea." Ruby looked at the words again and pictured each one in her head, remembering what Argneir told her about reading Dragonscript.
'Stone. King. Alive. Burned. Fire'
Fire. Yol. Change given form.
Ruby felt herself beginning to Understand, and focused within herself.
Power at its most primal.
She heard her sister calling for her, but she didn't listen. Her lungs felt ablaze, but did not hurt her with their burning. Her blood felt like it was boiling, but it only filled her with excitement, not pain.
My voice burns and spares at my discretion! My Fire changes with its power!
She breathed in with a smile.
I burn!
"Yol!" Fire rushed from Ruby's mouth and straight forward, where luckily nothing was at the moment.
"Ysmir's beard!"
"Breathe of Arkay!"
"Holy shit!"
"Ruby! Whoa!" Yang yelled. The young Dragonborn covered her mouth and looked around in slight embarrassment as all the present Companions stared at her.
"Sorry!"
"Let's...move this downstairs. Away from everyone else," Yang suggested.
"...okay."
"So, reading the Word Walls can help you learn more dragon words?"
"Yeah. Basically, if I hear or read them I learn faster. I can just meditate and figure it out from my soul, but that takes a while, and I'll kinda…ya'know, get all stiff and stuff." At Yang's raised eyebrow, Ruby shrugged. "I need exercise."
"Don't forget that hearing isn't all there is," Lydia reminded her. "If just anyone says it, she's not guaranteed to learn it from them. It's has to be completely correct. And dragon names are completely different."
"Oh yeah. Either a dragon has to tell you their name, or you figure it out and know the pieces. Remember Aakdremsot?"
"Uh, was that the dragon that was crying about Mulminnir?"
"Mirmulnir, and he was mourning. I don't think dragons can cry." Ruby shoved her pack to the side and sat on the bed. "Anyways, I know his name, but I don't know the pieces themselves very well, and he hasn't given me his name either, so I can't Shout it. On the other hand, if Paalduzaam was still alive, I could Shout it after I took some time to think it over, because he told us his name. Basically, when dragons do that, it's pretty much them setting up a deathmatch, or a dominance battle, depending."
"Wait, so any time a dragon tells you his name, he's going all out to kill you?"
"Especially if they call me Dovahkiin, first. Not many dragons would give up either. So there's that. But, now I'm ready to learn more and hopefully get stronger so I can take down Alduin. According to the Greybeards, Alduin is the Nordic god of destruction, so…it's going to be tough, but I know I can do it! First test is that I have to retrieve the Horn of Yergal."
"Jurgen," Lydia corrected.
"Right. While I'm doing that I'll drop by Solitude and see about that Argonian guy, then I'll give Meridia her beacon, and head back."
"Okay. What's this Horn thing supposed to do?"
"I don't think it does anything. It's just up in an old testing ground for Shouting. They didn't say, but I imagine that Greybeards go there to be tested as well. Kinda like getting a relic for initiation at Beacon Academy."
"Okay. I can see that," Yang nodded in thought. "Oh hey, Lydia, mind going by Carlotta and picking up some tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and stuff? I'm planning on beef stew. Ooh, and some beef." She pulled out a few malks and septims and handed them over to the housecarl, who nodded before heading out.
"I'll be back in a little while then," Lydia announced, closing the door behind her.
Ruby looked to where her housecarl left their room and then at Yang with suspicion. "Okay, what'd you want to talk about that's so secret?"
"Yeah, I wasn't being subtle there. Listen, do you know what werebeasts are?"
"Lydia talked about them a bit. Why?"
"I got in a fight with a werebear." Seeing her sister's eyes widen in shock, Yang raised her arms in a placating manner. "Don't worry. It got some hits in but hadn't broken through my Aura. Got pretty damn close, though. But that's not all. On my last Proving mission, Farkas went to observe me and we got ambushed by some werewolf hunters called the Silver Hand. I was stuck in what was basically a cage, and they were nearly about to kill him." Ruby gasped at that and Yang nodded. "But then he turned into a werewolf."
"Wait, Farkas is a werewolf?!"
"Keep it down," Yang warned. "But yes. And so is the rest of the Circle."
"So Farkas, Vilkas, Aela, Skjor… Even Kodlak?"
"Yep, even Kodlak. But it's okay. They control when they change, and they have control over themselves when they do. Farkas could even talk, though his speech was broken up."
"Wow! That's pretty cool!"
"There's…something else though. Aela…offered to make me…'part of the Circle'."
"Oh. Did you do it?" Ruby asked nervously.
"No, but…the offer stands. I mean, I saw the difference between a normal guy and a werewolf. One second he's barely standing, and then the next, he's throwing them around the room like toys. I was a bit scared at first, but Farkas never made so much as a snarl at me and even held back from killing every one of our enemies. True, it wasn't many, but those Silver Hand guys were worse than some White Fang tend to be."
"So you think you being a werewolf will make you stronger?" Ruby leaned back in her chair, beginning to see where this conversation was going.
"It will, but… I don't know about the whole thing. I mean, I'll be compelled to hunt every once in a while. I'll have a sort of bloodlust thing going on I'll have to reel in. Apparently sleeping gets harder."
"Yang, are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Ruby asked sincerely. The elder sister stopped at that and sighed.
"I was hoping you could help me decide. This is…a big deal."
"Well, Weiss is already a vampire. And what you've told me is that a werewolf just needs to go hunt every once in a while?"
"Yeah. Not sure how often it is, but…"
"And you really want to do this?"
"I… I don't…"
"Yang, why do you want to be a werewolf?"
Yang went still and looked at her little sister for a long moment, then looked down at her hands before clenching them.
"You guys…are just kinda…leaving me behind."
"Yang, we're not going…"
"Not like that, but… You're a messianic figure with the power to bend reality by yelling at the world. Not even ten minutes ago I saw you breathe fire. Weiss and Blake have gone up to learn how to do magic. Actual magic. No tricks or Dust or smoke and mirrors. Blake was able to go almost invisible just from what she learned from a notebook. And the Ice Queen's already firing lightning from her fingers and enchanting weapons that turn people to ice when they cut them. So far I've…made some fire. It might not be the best thing, but if I do it, I'll be so much stronger."
"Yang, you're already strong," Ruby comforted her as she grabbed her hand. "But if you really want to go through with this, you have my support, okay. Weiss has an actual curse on her and she's doing fine. From what you've told me, being a werewolf has way more positives and less than half the negatives."
"Thanks Rubes," Yang said quietly before sniffing. "Well, guess we better get out of here. First off, I really am planning to make some beef stew. And maybe I'll see if Hulda will let us use her oven to try and bake some cookies."
"Oh god, you're the best sister ever!"
Weiss looked over the armor piece she had enchanted to resist fire once again before letting Master Sergius Turrianis look it over.
"Well done. That's your assigned work for today then. Feel free to use the rest of the period as you see fit, but remember what is and isn't yours."
"Yes, Master Turrianis. Thank you." As he took the armor piece, Weiss took out a plain, iron dagger and a Petty Soul Gem. The idea of taking a creature's soul was still a little unnerving for her, and the act of actually doing it to that rabbit had felt really bad, but that might have just been killing the defenseless creature in general. Still, this was how she would be doing at least a tenth of her research most likely. She'd need to get used to Enchanting, and then excel at it.
"Well, if it isn't the famous Snow Angel," someone said as they came from the side. Weiss looked over to see a young Breton woman with apprentice robes on. Brelyna saw her coming over to her neighbor and came to Weiss's side, an action that rose Weiss' guard towards the newcomer.
"Hello. So, you know me?"
"Yes. Onmund mentioned you. Weiss Schnee. You're every bit as lovely as he said."
Weiss felt her cheeks go a bit red at that, and was slightly thankful that blushing was a lot harder as a vampire.
"Brelyna, you haven't introduced us yet?" the Breton asked as she turned toward the Dunmer, a smirk on her face.
"Yes. Sorry. Weiss, this is Talia Hourl. She's the one who gave those pastries to Onmund to give to you."
"Oh, those were from you. They were quite good." Weiss bowed her head a little. "Thank you for the gift."
"No problem at all." Weiss felt the girl's eyes go over her. And again, and again. Increasingly becoming more and more uncomfortable with each passing second, Weiss felt like she was being undressed by Talia's eyes. She wasn't sure if there was a spell that actually could let people see through cloth, and that thought suddenly made Weiss much more conscious of her leering.
"Well, I'll see you later, Snow Angel. Can't stay much longer, unfortunately. Need to write a letter to my father and all. Bye-bye," she called sultrily as she left.
Weiss shivered and wrapped her arms around her chest.
"Gods, I felt like she was planning to eat me!"
"Might be," her Dunmer co-student remarked.
"Oh, seriously?! What?"
"She has no compunctions with…well… You're her type, is what I mean to say."
"What type is that?" Weiss, red all over, asked.
"Fresh and new," Brelyna explained. "Don't bother with her if you're looking for an actual relationship. She plays around and then leaves you. Learned that a little too late…"
Weiss nodded, feeling a bit of sympathy for her neighbor. "Thank you. And thanks for coming up. That would have felt way more uncomfortable without you there."
"Actually, I dispelled the illusion she puts over her eyes when she does that. You wouldn't have noticed at all if I hadn't."
"Well, now I'll never feel safe." Weiss darkly joked as she turned back to her project, which Brelyna looked over her shoulder at.
"Are you trying to figure something out?"
"Well, remember how some people have been mentioning my 'unique' magic?"
"The one where you create those platforms that can be either solid or repulse and/or attract things?"
"There's a lot more I can do with my glyphs, but those are two of the basics, yes. Well, I had…one too many one night and somehow enchanted a scythe with the repulse effect."
"Really? So, you're trying to figure out how you did that?"
"Essentially. If I can recreate what I did that night, then I can make weapons for my friends that they can use to escape hairy situations. And if it extends to my other glyph abilities, there's a near limitless number of things I can enchant on top of the enchantments people already know."
"Well, you did make a brand new enchantment that's never been seen before. While drunk, at that. I'm actually a bit excited here." Weiss looked up to see the dark elf grinning while she bit her thumb.
"I suppose it is a little revolutionary," Weiss replied before spying Talia leering at her from across the room as she left. Her mind turned in on itself and she groaned. "Say, can you do me a favor?"
"Hm? Sure, I suppose."
"You know Talia, so please explain to her that I'm straight."
"That you're…what?"
"I like men, not women."
"Oh, well, she'll be a little disappointed, that's for sure." Then she mumbled where she thought Weiss couldn't hear, "I kinda am too."
The vampire went wide-eyed at that. 'Seriously?!'
Denor struggled against the minotaur chief, but then turned, and used his weight against him to bring him low before grabbing his horns and pushing him down to the ground. The massive bullman struggled, and his tribe bellowed as they watched the woman hold him in place, her muscles straining against the massive being.
"Listen to me!" she shouted above the cattle-like cries of the minotaurs. "Listen! There are enemies, foes to all that live, attacking that city, that piece of the Empire right now!"
The chief tried to thrash away, but Denor pulled him up and slammed his chin to the ground before pointing his face towards the city of Chorrol.
"You're supposed to be the descendants of Morihaus and the First Empress! You defended the Empire for gods know how long! I will be the first to say you were wronged, that men betrayed your people! But that's not what's important right now! What's important is that the Empire needs you! I've seen you defend the ancient ruins! I've seen how you look at the old castles with gloom! You want to defend the Empire, but after being beaten and turned away for so long you're scared of mankind, and we're scared of you! But we must put it aside! We need you this time!"
The chief only struggled a moment longer as the woman's words hit his ears. As a gentle breeze passed through and by his snout, he looked at the city as though seeing it for the first time. His throat felt croaked, and tears began to drip from his eyes. Chief Ironcall let out a low, sad bellow, and his tribe followed his gaze and saw it as well. The breeze passed them slowly, and they all remembered what they had forgotten millennia ago. Tears were shed by every minotaur man and woman as a single feather gently fell from the heavens. Finally, Denor let the chief's horns go and stepped off from his back. The strongest Minotaur picked himself up from the ground slowly, then outstretched his hand and caught the feather. He held it gingerly as he looked back to the red-haired woman who had held him down almost effortlessly. Snorting, he placed the feather behind his ear.
"We fight for Empire!" he declared as he lifted his hammer.
Blake heard the stomping of hooves on dirt turn into clopping on stone. She looked to see that she was on the titular Dragon Bridge and closed her book before putting it away.
'If that was any bit accurate, it sounds like Denor got some Divine Intervention.' It was rather tragic what led up to the Guardian's path to that point, but the fact that she hadn't let it get to her and instead became an advocate of equality for all beings really resonated with Blake. The Nordic woman was the opposite of how a lot of them acted when it came to other races. She even was trying to help goblins and ogres of all things after her experience with 'The Tragedy' as that chapter was named. Blake shook her head. She nearly cried reading the end of that one. She wasn't sure if that part of the tale was true or just made up for dramatic purposes -much like giving fill-in names to the five main heroes- but it cut deep.
As she neared the Penitus Occulatus outpost, Blake unhorsed and stumbled for only a moment as she regained her walking legs. Mercurio saw her and went in immediately before coming right back out.
"The commander's ready to receive you," he reported as he took the horse's reins. "Did it… Did everything go well?"
"Perfectly," she replied as she straightened up and walked into the outpost. Commander Maro was there, waiting expectantly.
"Good news, I hope!" he said as Blake took the letter from her satchel and handed it over.
"Every one of them's dead," she remarked as he opened it and began looking over the contents. "I think I know how they got me as fast as they did. A wizard said something about a 'portkey'. I asked, and it's apparently an enchanted object used to open set portals or-"
"Or to allow teleportation where it's normally warded against," Maro finished for her as he let the letter down from his face. "Like a sanctuary for assassins. Trapped inside of their own defenses, hah! Well, I can't thank you enough Miss Belladonna. But, the Empire can thank you a lot. Between Astrid, and the sixteen assassins this letter reports you having personally slain, including a Master Wizard and a werewolf, the total reward for all of those bounties come up to…right at fourteen thousand septims."
Blake nearly balked at the amount he'd just uttered. "F- fourteen thousand!?"
"Yes, it may seem a hefty sum, but do realize what you've done for the Empire with this. I can't tell you how many officials, councilmen, and nobles have fallen to their blades. A few were corrupt, I'll admit, but the Dark Brotherhood would work for the corrupt as soon as they'd kill them. Just as many, if not even more, good, innocent folk have been slain by them. They've even killed a few emperors, and we have reason to suspect someone was looking to hire them to do the same with Emperor Titus Mede II. With this, that will no longer be something to worry over, outside of searching for the would-be client." Maro quickly rose to his feet, a stunned Blake still rooted to the ground.
"Well, I'd love to hand you a sack of ebons after all that you've done, but I'm afraid I wasn't issued such a thing. I'll have a notice sent, and we can either give you your reward at Castle Dour in Solitude, or have it sent to a bank account if you have one."
"Oh, I, uh, do, actually." Blake's mind was still reeling at what she'd been told.
'Fourteen thousand septims?! If two septims buy a bushel of apples… No, I don't know where to go with that math. I think a suit of armor costs six hundred. This is like twenty full suits of steel armor!'
"Miss?"
"Oh sorry, just thinking."
"It's fine. What's the name on your account?"
"Oh, it's 'Ice Flower'. Two words, spelled exactly like you'd expect."
"Ice Flower? All right." He dipped a quill into some ink and began writing out the letter he would be sending. As he did so, Blake suddenly coughed, catching his attention
"Actually, what do you have? I'm kind of…broke at the moment."
Blake left Dragon Bridge with five hundred septims, mostly in denars and some malks, as she hitched a ride onto a passing carriage. The three passengers didn't like the idea of being delayed on their way to Dawnstar, so Blake compromised with them and promised to get off when they passed the Hall of the Vigilants to head down to Whiterun on foot.
"Already have to share the ride with a lizard," a man complained as he scooted away from Blake as far as he could. "Now we've got a half-cat added to the bunch."
"Shut up, you ignorant horker spawn," the brown and yellow scaled Argonian with a mohawk of feathers and spiny frills on the sides of his head practically hissed at him. "If you had any sort of academic knowledge in that skull of yours, you'd know that Khajiit don't interbreed with other races, and that the ones that more resemble Man and Mer are just different moon forms."
"Oh, what? You a scholar now, swamp breath?"
"Compared to you, seeing as I can read words."
"Stop it or I'm tossing ya both off," the carriage driver told them. "Guild policy says I only need to warn you once b'fore I do."
The two begrudgingly kept quiet but glared at each other. Blake sighed and pulled out Journey of the Heroes to continue where she left off.
Chief Ironcall charged forwards with the Guardian beside him. Lerian, the fearless monk, reached over and let a shock of magic hit Denor, and her Atronach Birthsign absorbed it thoroughly, letting her cast her own spells of increased strength and pain tolerance upon herself. The Dremora saw her coming and quivered. Daedra saw the army of bullmen charging towards their Gate and screamed in fear. Denor laughed madly as she leapt up and brought Thundersmash down upon the head of the nearest enemy.
The evening after Ruby returned, the sisters decided that some shopping for supplies was necessary, well-deserved, and would be relaxing for them. To start with they went to Whiterun's Branch of the Tamrielic Bank in order to draw the needed funds.
"I've gotten a good bit with my jobs from the Companions. You could make a living doing this stuff just every once in a while, but it's best to take jobs when you can, from what I hear. Never know when suddenly there might not be any jobs."
"Sounds like that plant work I always heard one of my friend's dads always complaining about. I think it was something to do with shutdowns."
"Sounds about right, only you don't punch shutdowns to death." Yang tapped the crystal ball in front of the slightly confused teller and entered the account name and PIN number, glad that Weiss made it simple enough to remember, but complex enough not to be guessed. As Yang entered the numbers 7929, RWBY spelled out via numpad back home, the numbers disappeared into the orb and were replaced by another set.
"You have eighteen thousand five hundred and sixty two septims and twent-four cents available in your account," the Bosmer teller read as the numbers showed themselves to the two Huntresses, whose jaws had just seemed to come loose as they saw what they had. "Would like to make a withdrawal or a deposit?"
"Uh, withdrawal," Yang barely got out. The wood elf nodded and then tapped the ball on her side before a number pad appeared again.
"How much did you say you got?" Ruby asked quietly.
"Like a couple hundred."
"Then where'd all of that come from?"
"Thank you for walking with me today, Brelyna," Weiss said as she gave her letter over to the Courier Manager along with the fee. "I promise we'll be back at the College once I've gotten this done."
"Fifty-three cents is your change," the Manager told her as he handed back the copper pieces. "Thank you. We'll get this to Whiterun in no time at all."
"Thank you."
"Don't be in a rush, Weiss. I needed to get some things too."
"Yes, but you're just topping off. I'm practically unprepared for the rest of the week's lessons. And I still have to go out later and hunt some poor creatures for my Soul Gems. At least J'zargo offered to show me some good hunting spots."
"I'm sure he did," Brelyna commented with a smirk. Weiss didn't notice her expression as she said that and continued on to the bank across the street.
"It's interesting how the international banking system works. I bet with a few modifications these crystal balls could be used for long-distance instant communication."
"Maybe," the Dunmer shrugged. "It would be difficult. And someone would have to actually figure out how to make them do that. It took the inventor of these spells his whole, eight century long life to figure it out. It's also expensive."
"Someday, I'm certain we'll figure it out," Weiss explained confidently as she accessed her account, not worried about anyone seeing her PIN thanks to the muddling enchantment that kept anyone from seeing what she was tapping except for her. Bank security was probably better in Tamriel than it was in Remnant with features like that.
When her account balance popped up, though, all thoughts went away as she nearly choked. The Breton woman behind the desk lowered her spectacles and hummed in appreciation of the sum.
"Will you be withdrawing or depositing, milady?" Weiss, rather than responding, fell to her knees and began to cry.
"Weiss, are you all right?" Brelyna asked in worry as the vampire wiped away tears.
"I'm fine," she sniffed. "I'm just so happy to be rich again!"