The group of werewolves got lucky reaching the coach just as the driver was giving the last call. They had to hurry to board. Aela, Skjor, and Kodlak sat on the left bench with Aela closest to the driver then Kodlak, and finally Skjor. Amaliea, Farkas, and Vilkas sat opposite them, once more the brothers had put her between them seemingly by some tactical agreement. The other people on the coach were an older couple with three children two boys and a girl.
Almost as soon as the coach was rolling one of the boys asked "Are you, soldiers?"
Farkas answered smiling "Nay we're companions."
The smaller boy then said "Really! Papa used to tell us stories about the companions. He said they were the greatest warriors ever and that only the most honorable warriors got to join."
The older woman looked to the boys saying "Hush don't bother the man." then she looked to Farkas "I'm sorry if my grandsons bothered you."
Farkas seemed startled at the idea that they were a bother and said "Uh their no bother all they were doing was asking questions."
Suddenly the girl leaned forward asking "Can a girl become a companion?"
"Only warriors can be companions and girls aren't warriors silly." the older of the two boys said
At that Vilkas leaned forward looking down the coach and said "Who told you that? Four among our number are women warriors two of which are in this coach."
The little girl looked at Amaliea and asked "Are you really a companion?"
"Yes I am so is Aela." She answered nodding towards Aela
The girl leaned further forward to look around Skjor and Kodlak to see Aela. the companions spent most of the ride talking to the three children until the children fell asleep at which point the couple thanked them for their patience. Kodlak informed them that no thanks were necessary and the coach fell into silence. Once the coach reached Winterhold they got off and headed for the tomb.
Once there opening the tomb was a simple matter of putting Wuutfrad in the hands of a statue of Ysgramor afterward things weren't so simple. Amaliea had always thought of ghosts as well pretty much harmless souls just kind of wandering around. The ghosts in the tomb on the other seemed to be trying to add the group's souls to their number. In all honesty as creepy as dragur are Amaliea preferred fighting them because at least they didn't talk. Kodlak said they were trying to make sure they were worthy to enter and that they had probably been expecting them.
But that wasn't very comforting when most of the ghosts charged at Amaliea screaming "Die elf!" and other such things along those lines, not very comforting at all in fact Amaliea found it kind of disturbing.
Amaliea's thoughts on the were 'come on there's six of us here stop ganging up on me.' Farkas and Vilkas kept having to lend her a hand and started teasing her about it. When they came to a doorway covered in cobwebs Farkas nearly turned around muttering something about hating frostbite spiders. Amaliea convinced him to just wait there and let her and Aela deal with the spiders with their bows. Once they were dead Farkas had no problem and he stopped laughing at Amaliea. By the time they reached the flame of the harbinger that Kodlak said they had been seeking she was just about battled out and had decided that she really didn't like ghosts.
As they encircled the flame Kodlak intoned "We will go one at a time to rid ourselves of our wolf spirits."
They all agreed they should go in the order of who had had it the longest, so Kodlak went first. the wolf spirit would have been beautiful had it not been for the fact it tried to kill them all. once it was dead all the tension seemed to drain out of Kodlak and he whispered "free at last."
Skjor went next his wolf spirit was even more fearsome than Kodak's and like Kodlak as soon as it was gone he relaxed but he simply grunted. Then it was Aela's turn as she threw the witches' head into the fire her wolf spirit emerged it seemed unable to decide who to attack first. Once it was gone she relaxed but said nothing. by now Amaliea was dreading her turn fearing she would not have the strength to face her wolf.
Farkas went next describing it as being like "Relaxing with a mug of warm spiced mead losing aches I didn't know I had."
Vilkas went next and as soon as his was gone he mused "It's strange I can't hear your hearts beating but my mind is no longer clouded with thoughts of the hunt either I feel a true nord once more."
As Amaliea took the head from the bag and approached the flames she dreaded what was to come. she tossed the head into the flames and as the head burned nothing happened. She could not understand it.
Then Kodlak called to her "Amaliea do you still wear the medallion I gave you?"
"Yes." she answered wondering what that had to do with anything.
"Take it off and toss it to me!" he called
she did as he asked and as soon as the medallion lost contact with her something knocked her back onto her back. When she looked up a wolf spirit was standing over her snarling. It was more solid than the others had been and so the fight began.
After it was over Amaliea asked Kodlak one question "what just happened?"
They were all staring at Kodlak waiting his answer then Skjor bent down and picked up the medallion from where it had landed and looked at it for a few moments, before looking to Kodlak commenting "I know this medallion you used to wear it before you went on that job and got your leg hurt. How did Amaliea get it?"
After looking at all their faces Kodlak finally spoke "Amaliea the only way I can explain all this is to tell the whole tale it is your choice who you want to know. Are there any here you do not wish to know?"
She looked around at the people in the tomb three she would trust with her life and two she was still unsure of. In truth, she did not wish any of them to know but fate had torn that option out of her hands. She looked at the floor in front of her boots trying to calm the fear and uncertainty that seemed to close in on her. Amaliea felt more than saw Farkas and Vilkas step to either side of her a gesture that helped calm the storm inside. with them near her she felt safe and a lot more confident. She couldn't help but think Farkas was so like her brothers but quiet like her Pa. Vilkas was also quiet like her pa but at the same time very different.
She finally gathered herself enough to think clearly and looked to Kodlak answering "If it were up to me that tale would never have seen the light of day, but it has and now it has to be told."
Kodlak nodded and gestured for them to sit as they did Vilkas shifted his arm so that it encircled Amalieas shoulders. On her left, Farkas sat close so that she was ensconced between them. Farkas put his hand on her arm and Kodlak began.
Kodlak's tale
"I guess I should begin at the beginning just over nine years ago the companions received a letter from a village in Falkreath hold called Woodvalley. A group of necromancers had taken up residence in a cave not far from the village and livestock was going missing. They were requesting help, the letter said that if we would accept send whoever we sent to the inn in Falkreath to meet a man named Garson Lyaera he would guide them to the village as it could be hard to find. In the end, I decided to go myself I hadn't been on a job in a while and was curious. Garson Lyaera turned out to be the biggest bosmer I had ever seen. He led me to a cave a few hours from Falkreath then we went through it and emerged on a cliffside trail looking out over a valley. Most of the valley was covered in woodland but near the cliff was a village a good bit bigger than Riverwood, and a river that wound its way through livestock fields before disappearing into the woods. The village seemed very busy and a frown was furrowing Garson's brow.
As we walked down the path a young bosmer man ran up to meet us saying "Garson sir thank the gods your back."
"What's going on Simiean?" Garson had asked
Now that we were closer I could hear that a lot of people were calling something but we were still too far away to hear what.
The man Simiean had caught his breath and said "Sir it's Amaliea she's missing no one's seen her since yesterday evening."
Garson's face went white then he took off running down the path to the village where he was meet by a blond woman. He clutched her to himself she seemed to be crying.
Simiean turned to me asking "Are you the one the Companions sent?" at my nod he added, "follow me you'll want to hear this."
I followed Simiean down the path when we got to the village Garson was coming out of what was obviously the blacksmith's house carrying a large Warhammer. He was followed by a pair of dark-haired twin boys who looked about sixteen carrying swords and a blond girl who looked about fourteen. They were quickly joined by the blond woman with all of them together it was obvious they were a family. A gray-haired woman went up to Garson and seemed to be trying to convince him of something.
After a moment he yelled "Stop trying to patronize me Eirkir those blasted necromancers took my little girl! I'm not going to stand here arguing I'm going to get my daughter back!"
He started to walk away from her with the boys following on his heels and she called "Please Garson at least give us time to explain it to the Companion you brought maybe he'll go with you."
Garson looked over at me his eyes were filled with rage but behind the rage, I could see desperation and fear. He walked over to me with the boys still following him and the others soon joining us.
Eirkir spoke "Companion I know the letter we sent was for simply getting rid of a band of necromancers but things have become worse. This morning it was discovered that one of the village children has gone missing a young girl named Amaliea, she's Garson's and Mareia's youngest please can you go with Garson and his sons to find her. We fear the necromancers may have taken her."
Suddenly the blond woman who I was assuming was Mareia pleaded "Please go with my husband please find my baby."
She then turned to her husband crying, the girl was openly crying and the twins were clutching their swords ready for a fight. I told them I would go with Garson and we left. Not far from the village near the edge of the woods we found signs of a struggle and something that chilled me to the bone werewolf tracks. From the scents and the tracks, I could tell what had happened a young girl had been running towards the village the werewolf chasing her it had caught her there and dragged her away. We followed the tracks to a cave in the cliffside with part of a camp in front of it. Neither Garson nor his sons had said a word the entire time just clutched their weapons. I told the boys to stay inside the tree line as lookouts then me and Garson walked towards the cave as we approached several people rose from around a campfire all dressed in black robes.
I called out to them "Hello travelers we're from the village one of the children there has gone missing a young girl have you happened to see her?"
The necromancers looked alarmed then one of them yelled "get them!" and they all charged.
They weren't that hard to fight none were very skilled and Garson with his hammer was a fearsome figure. Afterward, we entered the cave even inside we had no problem, it wasn't long before the necromancers were taken care of but we couldn't find the girl. There were a lot of side passages so we split up I think we both feared the same thing that when we found the girl she wouldn't be alive. I was beginning to give up hope when I heard a faint cry down another side passage. As I raced down it the cries became louder until they were pain-filled screams and roars. When I reached the end of the passage I came into a small chamber and saw a terrible sight the only fixture in the room was a cage shoved against the wall and huddled in it as far back as she could get was a small red-haired girl. Her right arm was bleeding heavily and she was using a weak flame spell to try to fight off a large coal-black werewolf that was intent on killing her. I rushed forward to distract the wolf then fought and killed it but I was wounded in the process the creature's claws had sliced through my leg. I dragged myself over to the cage where the girl was still huddled. She was crying and shaking sitting in a pool of her own blood she looked at me but didn't seem to see me. I didn't have any healing potions with me and I had no idea how to treat a wound that bad so I did the only thing I could think of I started talking to her. I asked her if she was Amaliea.
She responded by nodding and saying "yes." In a whisper
So I told her that her pa was looking for her.
Then she really looked at me for the first time and said "Papa's looking for me?"
Her face seemed to light up at that thought. I told her that we'd have to help him find us by calling for him after a few minutes the girl lost consciousness and it wasn't long before my vision got blurry. I don't know how long I sat there calling for Garson just before everything went black I saw him run into the cave and rush over to his little girl.
When I came too I was lying in a bed in a room I had never seen before and one of Garson's twins was sitting in a chair by the door. As soon as he realized I was awake he ran out of the room calling for his ma it turned out the blond woman Mareia was the village healer. I spent three months with Amaliea's family, in that time I realized that Amaliea had the wolf blood in her.
End of Kodlak's Tale
At this point he stopped to gather his thoughts, leaving Amaliea's mind was reeling and Farkas pointed out "But Amaliea said she never turned."
"I never did until what happened with Aela and Skjor. What are you talking about I had the blood in me?" she asked completely confused
Vilkas asked, "If Amaliea had wolf blood before why couldn't we sense it?"
Kodlak continued "The answer to all your questions lies with the medallion. Before I left Woodvalley I gave that medallion to Amaliea because it's enchanted. It suppresses the Wolfblood so that when I gave it to Amaliea her blood never grew strong enough to cause her to turn and it also prevented any werewolf from sensing the blood in her."
Amaliea didn't know what to think she was hearing what he was saying but couldn't understand it. she wondered why didn't he tell her so she asked "why didn't you tell me?"
"I gave you the medallion in hopes you could live a normal life. I planned to tell you after you joined the Companions but the time never seemed right and then the business with Aela and Skjor happened and I wasn't sure how you'd take it." Kodlak said not meeting her eyes
Amaliea stood up and headed for the exit "Amaliea?" Kodlak inquired
"I need some air, I need to think." She said running out of the tomb as she left she heard footsteps following her. She rushed outside and left the tomb only to slide on a patch of ice and land face first in a snowbank.
Next thing She knew someone had grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet joking "You know your brothers weren't kidding you can be a bit of a klutz."
It was Vilkas he led her around a bunch of rocks to a sheltered spot out of the wind before asking "Are you alright?"
And with that simple comment and the concern in his eyes Amaliea was undone, she slid to the ground crying "I don't know. I don't know what to think, what to feel."
She couldn't stop crying now that she'd started Vilkas sat down next to her and reached out encircling her in his arms. Amaliea didn't even stop to think she buried her head against his armored chest circling his waist with her arms clinging to the one normal thing in all of this mess. Her thoughts too jumbled to even be coherent to herself the only clear thought was 'Kodlak never told me. All this time he never told me, I spent all this time wondering why I never turned and he never told me.' She felt Vilkas pull his thick woolen cloak so that the ends overlapped the sides of her cloak, then he just held her.
Amaliea was not sure how long they sat there like that before Vilkas whispered "look up."
She looked up at him and he nodded his head at something behind her. She sat up turned to look seeing a beautiful sight. Arches of light and color weaving across the sky, she had seen them before but never that bright. Noticing she was shivering Vilkas pulled her back to sit beside him tucking one side of his cloak behind her pulling her close and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He then used his other hand to pull the cloak across her so that they were wrapped in a shared cocoon of warmth in that frigid land.
Then he spoke again "I read once that hope shines brightest in our darkest hour, but it's up to you to take that hope and believe in it. I imagine you feel kind of like how I felt when I found out that those with the blood can't go to Sovngarde."
She looked at him waiting for him to continue he met her eyes before going on "I felt betrayed, lost, and confused. I felt like I had been lied to and had been living that lie for years. "
"Sounds about right. Does it ever stop?" Her voice cracked
"After a while aye. You've just got to get there." Vilkas answered
They sat together watching the lights until they faded away. Then they stood and rearranged their cloaks before walking back to the entrance to the tomb. Where they found that all the packs were gone and in their place was a note written in charcoal on a piece of paper. Amaliea picked it up and read it to Vilkas.
We went on back to Winterhold, took your packs with us we weren't sure you'd come back we'll wait in Winterhold and catch the next coach back – Farkas
Vilkas took the note and folded it tucking it into a pocket inside his cloak, they then walked back to Winterhold and rejoined the others just in time to catch a coach. Only this time instead of Amaliea, Vilkas, and Farkas sitting across from the others. They all sat along one side with Aela closest to the driver then Skjor, Kodlak, Farkas, Amaliea, and finally Vilkas. The other passengers filling the opposite side of the coach were mainly a group of young mages, who judging by their chatter were on break from the College and a really stuck up high elf. Who when he looked at Amaliea wrinkled his nose and got this 'I'm so much better than you' look on his face. He was wearing Thalmor robes and she had to fight the urge to punch him in his sneering face. Needless to say, Amaliea spent the trip back talking with Farkas and Vilkas about just about anything they could think of from weapons to weather. It was a very long ride especially when Skjor decided to add his two gold to their conversation, which usually came in the form of some barb aimed at Amaliea. She was sure he was trying to get back at her for her remark back at the Skyforge.
