FAMILIAR FACES

The Harbinger

For what I expected from Eve, it certainly wasn't a nice cottage home with a cozy fireplace. I thought the worst, that she had holed herself up in the sewers and was rotting there like so many drug addicts and beggars did. I am happy to say that is not the case.

We all crowd the room, Vilkas and Aerin behind me in our bulky wolf armor. It was quite impressive and far sturdier than my old armor. There weren't enough chairs to go around so the three of us stand. Eve and Brynjolf, the Thieves Guild leader and former sewer skeever, stand on the other side of the room. The small kitchen table holds a carriage driver named Gabriel, a housecarl named Iona, and a butler named Penny. Two dogs also fill the room.

"Want some cake?" Eve tries to break the tension. I can tell these people are suspicious and they have every right to be. "We are fine." I say.

"Actually, can I have some? I'm starving like I haven't eaten in weeks." Aerin peeks around me. Eve gives him a vacant look before settling on a smile. When she goes to the kitchen counter Aerin bounds after her.

I clear my throat, "We are sorry to intrude, but we hear you need aid for the fight with the Night Mother."

"And who sent you?" Brynjolf crosses his arms. I see the sneer on his face, apparently word got around that I was trying to dismantle the Thieves Guild. So, I think it's time we settle it.

"Hircine." I say, "Prince of the hunt. And Brynjolf, just to get it out of the way, I am sorry for any insult on you or your family. Rest assured that my sights are set on a far different and more benevolent goal now."

Shock registers on his face before he composes himself, "As we are with you." I see behind him there are two other members of the Thieves Guild. A man and a woman. Interesting. Brynjolf was the only member I've seen.

Eve comes back with Aerin in tow, he is absolutely stuffing his face with this white cake. I suppose we should have given him more meat. A new werewolf is always starving. "This is delicious! You guys have to try some! Where'd you get this again?"

"Up in Solitude." Eve mentions before her gaze focuses behind me. I turn but find nothing there.

"Did you hear that Eve? I am sorry about how I treated you before, I didn't know it was the Night Mother controlling you. We are all here to help you in whatever way we can." I say. Admittedly, it is hard not to cross the room and bring her into a large bear hug. That ballad Vorstag sang for me and Vilkas that one night…I had no idea of her plights. But I figure a polite and reserved attitude is most suitable in this situation. Her unfocused gaze turns to me, and she smiles.

"No problem. I was going through a lot back then."

I let out a small sigh of relief, on our last leg of the journey here in the Rift, I was worried she would turn us away. "Thank you. Now, how can we help? Hircine said to find you but he said nothing else."

"Oh, he's talking now alright." She murmurs. I follow her gaze to the vacant spot behind me. I guess this is what he meant about her being an oracle. "Hircine is here?"

"Yep, haven't seen him before. He's definitely not as scary as Molag or Dagon though. Cool mask by the way." She speaks to the space behind me.

I look around the room and find some of the others are just as uncomfortable with the silence and the one-sided conversation. The only ones who don't care appear to be Gabriel, Penny, and Aerin who is still wolfing down that cake and going for seconds.

"Ah, you're werewolves, that makes more sense." Eve says out of the blue.

Immediately, Gabriel, who I assume is drunk based on his poor coordination, stands sending his chair goes flying. He is trembling and now holding one of his many amulets. I hold out a hand. "You have nothing to fear from us, we are from the Companions."

"Sorry, he had a rough day." Eve goes to him. At first, I think to console him, but she just pours at least two teaspoons of sugar into this drink. "Here." She hands it to him again, but he just watches us with such fear in his eyes.

"Companions? In Jorrvaskr?" Brynjolf asks.

"Yes, that has been our home for a very long time." Vilkas supplies, I feel the tension rising before the crest with these two.

"Maybe we should go out on the porch? Get more air there? If I knew how cramped this place would be, I would've built my own house." Eve grumbles.

It would be nice to get fresh air, the fear in the room was suffocating, so the members of the Thieves Guild and my companions exit to the porch. The rest stay inside, aside from one of the dogs.

"Sounds like you all are on edge." I mention. I stand next to Eve who is leaning back on one of the railings.

"Yep. Daedric Princes have us on a wild gooschase." She looks at the vacant spot on the other side of the porch, "I know. Let me guess, you're sending me after something too?"

The rest of us sit in silence. Brynjolf stands with his people at the table and mine stay next to me. "I'm getting more cake, are you sure you don't want any?" Aerin, good as ever, addresses all of us. Everyone but me and the white-haired woman raise their hands. He runs in murmuring under his breath that he needs more arms to carry it all.

Eve breaks out into laugher, "Yes, it is that good! You can have some too if you want. It is that big! But fine. When do we have to do this by?"

Another lengthy pause, Vilkas shifts his weight then looks to Brynjolf. "Lots of fish to be caught out there?"

Brynjolf starts to warm. "Yes, lots actually, me and the lass here had a day where all we did was catch fish. Since she's a vampire she was able to get the ones deep in the depths. I stuck with a fishing pole." He laughs. The tensions lessens a little more.

"Okay, Hircine says he has something to give you." Eve looks to me, "A ring, he says it can give you unlimited changes throughout the day."

Interesting. "Go on."

She pauses, "There are other perks but he says that's not important right now. Just that we have to go retrieve this. It will help." She adds.

"Why doesn't he bring it to us now?" I glance the way she was talking.

Eve smirks, "As if. You know how much time we've wasted going here and there, then everywhere? They never make it that easy. You gotta work for it."

"I suppose," I say thinking back to just the other day, when my best friend was dead and all I could do was watch him. Then I sent the feather to the wind that saved him. I believe now Hircine was acting indirectly through Esmerelda, he brought us all together.

Eve nods, as if hearing my thoughts. She turns to me, "Sounds like you've had a rough few weeks also."

I break out into laughter. The tension was so much, it's as if we were all enemies. But how that statement breaks it! She puts a hesitant hand on my armored shoulder. "Hircine says you were chosen for this. Kind of like this is your destiny."

She is not joking. I take in her words and remember how Kodlak said my kind is a rarity. White Wolves are given to the world by Hircine himself. "I guess so," I say.

Before Eve can get another word in the door to the cottage slams open. Poor Aerin is standing there with four plates of cake balanced on his arms…and a fifth one smeared all over his face, as if he fell into it.

We can't help it, everyone breaks out into laughter, poor Aerin begins to pass the plates out. I hand two to the Thieves and one to Vilkas who declines. "Sounds like he needs it." He jerks his head to Aerin.

"Not to worry, there's about three and a half pounds more of this thing in there. I'll go get my own! You sure you don't want any, Mjoll?" I take in his face and laugh, "Yes, on second thought Aerin, bring me one. But first, what happened to your face?"

He pauses, "Uh, I was getting the first slice and a giant bear walked in. I panicked, the cake went flying into my face, but Penny just said he's a friend. Scared me half to death!"

A bear? "Sorry about that." Eve says meekly, "He is a friend, I raised him from the dead. My first thrall."

Aerin laughs at that then heads back in, almost as oblivious as Eve. But me and Vilkas share a glance. We forgot how powerful Eve was. She was no mere vampire, she was granted higher power, we thought it was from Nocturnal but now it seems more Daedric Princes are coming into the fray.

Vilkas grabs my hand and squeezes. The stories are true. He whispers to my mind, thanks to my mind reading abilities in the pack, I can hear his thoughts whenever I want to.

So it seems. Is there anything that seems amiss? If I were the Night Mother, I would target them first.

Nothing more than the oddity of the group. They don't seem like seasoned fighters aside from Brynjolf and Eve.

I was thinking the same thing. That's why we are here. And from the sound of it, she has her own army behind her straight from Oblivion.

He smiles disarmingly. I still have to catch my breath sometimes. It's a beautiful and very distracting one. That is true. What of this ring? You want to pursue it?

This great and powerful weapon? Who wouldn't? We don't have much choice, anything to aid our fight is a worthy endeavor.

Aerin opens the door again, this time with two cakes. He passes me my own. I take the elaborately carved expensive fork and dig in. Eve is right, the creamy vanilla frosting is something out of this world. I close my eyes to savor in the taste when I hear soft gasps among the group.

I open my eyes to see a human sized Hircine, Prince of the Hunt taking some cake from Eve's plate. His antlers are as large as I remember and his muscular build towers over her a good few inches. I can't see the smile, but I know it's there.

"Hope you don't mind me dropping in, I kept hearing all about this cake and had to try it." He takes another scoop to bring up to his mouth behind the mask, "So, when are you going to find this ring, White Wolf?"

Cicero's Journal Entry

25th of Mid Year, 4E 202

Poor Mother, she is so frustrated! She can't find all the word walls and can barely get a word in with the monks in High Hrothgar. So, we are going there! Just Mother and I! I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when we show up…how terrified they will be…