Skyrim: Legend of the Dovahkiin
Apprehension 3
Aela nodded to one of the Whiterun guards as she made her way back to Jorrvaskr. She had just spent a good portion of the day taking care of a large group of wolves, two cave bears, and topped it off by dispatching a group of bandits who had been terrorizing travelers on the road. As she made her way into the Wind District, her mind began to wander back to the incident that occurred two days prior, when the Companions battled a group of bandits. Their leader, who's name had never been revealed, had come to Jorrvaskr seeking revenge for the deaths of his fallen comrades at the hands of their leader, the Harbinger.
The Harbinger had explained that while on his way back from Ivarstead he was lost deep in thought and, in his haze, he accidentally stumble upon a hidden camp within the wilderness. The bandits were apparently high on skooma and began to threaten the Harbinger with the promise of death if he did not hand over everything of value had. As he tried to explain that he had nothing but his weapons and armor, one of the men, who apparently had four full bottles of the drug, lunged at him screaming, "I'll tear your Heart out!" Obviously unwilling to die at the hands of a crazed skooma addict, the Harbinger drew his weapons and killed the man. The other bandits had attempted to best the young warrior, but found themselves outmatched, and paid for it with their lives.
Banishing the thought from her mind, the Huntress finally came upon the doors of Jorrvaskr and entered. Walking in, she noticed that Vilkas was the only one sitting in the mead hall.
"Vilkas." she said pulling up a chair beside him.
Vilkas gave a curt nod. "Aela."
The Huntress grabbed a plate and threw a fresh slice of roast down upon the platter followed quickly by a large tankard of mead. She took a long chug of the stuff and slammed it onto the table in typical Nord fashion before turning her attention to Vilkas.
"Is there a reason why the hall is as empty as a Nordic crypt?" she inquired
Vilkas nodded. "Work," he told her. "Torvar, Athis and Farkas are out taking care of a group of bandits at White River Watch. Ria and Njada are getting rid of some pesky wolves in Rorikstead. A large number of the beasts showed up in the dead of night and raided a mans house, got hurt while trying to fend them off."
Aela ripped a large chunk of meat from her roast and downed another tankard of mead. Vilkas sat in silence, staring in amazement at his shield sisters seeming-less endless feast. There were times in the mead hall where she would eat and drink in moderate amounts, befitting of any typical woman. Then there were times where her appetite was insatiable and she ate everything in sight. Vilkas often wondered if it was merely her own appetite that he witnessed, or that of the beast within them all. A moment passed before Aela finally said something.
"And what of Skjor and the Harbinger?"
"Well…" Vilkas started. "Skjor is currently searching for a criminal who managed to escape from Dragonsreach dungeon. He wasn't happy about it either. The Harbinger was summoned by the Jarl to take care of a group of bandits at Halted Stream Camp - wants him to clear them out so they can mine the iron there to-"
"Repair the damaged cells." the Huntress finished.
Vilkas nodded. "Exactly."
Aela finished off her third helping of mead and again slammed her cup upon the table before reclining back in her seat. "You said Skjor wasn't happy about the job he was given, by that you mean…?"
"I mean he wasn't happy about the fact that the Harbinger gave him the job."
Aela sighed heavily, Skjor was being childish again. It was no secret among the Companions that the man absolutely loathed their new Harbinger, after all, he had openly admitted his dislike on several occasions. Most of the time he simply avoided the Harbinger unless he was being given a job or having a private meeting with the members of the circle, a fact that the Harbinger himself was well aware of, but not at all concerned with. He tended to focus more on moving forward rather than petty rivalries within their ranks, though he did acknowledge that he would eventually need to confront Skjor about it. For the time being, the two Companions would sit and wait for their comrades to return home.
-Halted Stream Camp-
"W-w-wait! Please! I yield! I-" The bandits plea was cut short as the blade of a katana found its way inside the outlaw's throat, another body added to the ever increasing count. The corpses of three other bandits lay sprawled on the ground, their limbs bent to awkward and unnatural angles.
The Harbinger's clean up of the camp was going rather smoothly, in his mind at least. He then decided to turn his attention to the bandit who was trying and failing miserably at hiding.
"Who in Oblivion is this guy?" whispered another bandit who was hiding behind the workstation in the middle of the camp. After a few moments of silence the outlaw decided to take a peek around the corner to see if the assailant was still in the hold. To his relief, he was nowhere in sight.
"Did he… leave?" he took a quick survey of the area, making sure the man was nowhere in sight. "What in Oblivion was that about? Guy just showed up out of nowhere and started killing everybody. Well, at least he's gone."
The bandit let out a long, heavy sigh and leaned against the workstation frame, relieved that he still had his life.
Drip
Drip
Drip
Drip
"What in Oblivion is that?" He had barley spoken the words when he felt a warm liquid fall across his forehead. Wiping his head, the man looked at his hand, and his eyes widened in terror. Looking up, the bandit saw him, the leader of the Companions kneeling atop the workstation, swords covered in the blood of his now deceased Comrades.
"Found you."
The bandit barley had a chance to scream as the young warrior leaped off the roof and sliced the mans head off his shoulders. Rising to his feet, the young Nord made his way inside the mine, intent on finishing the job the Jarl had tasked him with.
-Jorrvaskr
Aela released another arrow, hitting the target dead center. She notched another arrow and took aim, this time zoning in on the target dummy's head, the arrow flew true and slammed into her target. She repeated the practice five more times before finally stopping to take a well deserved break. The Huntress sat down and took a long draft of cold mead, savoring the taste of the sweet nectar. She was about halfway done with her bottle when Skjor walked through the open area doors.
"Welcome back." she said, still facing forward. The balding warrior muttered something as he pulled up the chair from the opposite of where the Huntress sat, grabbing a bottle of mead in the process. The two allies sat in silence, neither looking at the other. Skjor quickly gulped down the contents of his bottle, letting out a loud burp as he finished, then he turned to Aela.
"Anyone else made it back?" he rumbled.
The Huntress shook her head "Farkas, Torvar and Athis are in their quarters resting, those bandits gave them more trouble than they thought, but they got the job done. Ria and Njada are most likely on their way back from Rorikstead."
"And the whelp?" Aela knew he was talking about the Harbinger.
"The Harbinger…" the Huntress began, making sure to put extra emphasis on their leader's title, "Is currently taking care of a bandit problem at Halted Stream Camp, a problem the Jarl asked him to take care of."
"Humph, playing errand boy is he?"
Aela shot the man a cold glare, which he matched with an equally cold look of his own. They stared each other down for a good three minutes before the Huntress finally broke the silence.
"What is your problem with him Skjor? Why do you hate the Harbinger so much that you wouldn't even help with the fight against the bandits that came two nights ago?"
The war veteran eyes flashed with anger. "I don't want some young upstart walking around here with his nose in the air like some High Elf noble telling me how to do business. He may well be skilled with a sword, but he needs to be reminded of his place."
Aela almost let her jaw drop, Skjor had said some pretty bold things about the Harbinger before, but this… this was something bordering on outright mutiny. She had seen Skjor angry and upset before, seen him hurt and in pain, she had even seen him saddened to the verge of tears, but never had she seen something like this. She could see it in his eyes and his body language, feel it radiating off his very being… he had nothing but hatred and contempt for their leader. Hatred that could eventually spill over into a fight to the death between the two men.
"You know that is not true, none of it is," Aela's tone was now harsh and dangerous, "The Harbinger is not the sort of man who lets leadership go to his head or define who he is, and he certainly doesn't believe himself to be superior to anyone. He is an honorable warrior who looks out for each and every person in this hall and would willingly give his life to protect us. I have seen him risk his own life for the sake of others… yourself included."
Aela of course was referring to the incident with the Silver Hand at Gallows Rock, one that Skjor wished had never happened. Tired of all the talk about the Harbinger, Skjor rose from his seat and headed for the doors. He stopped and glanced over at his ally. "You place a lot of trust in that boy, Aela." he pointed out, "I only hope that it isn't misplaced, old friend."
With that, the man left, leaving Aela deep in thought. She knew her trust in the Harbinger wasn't being misplaced, and that her devotion to him was not blind loyalty. She and the other members of the Companions had made it very clear to the young warrior that if he ever did anything to taint or dishonor the Companions, they would be sure to put him down. Despite the warning, Vilkas and the rest of the Companions knew that the new Harbinger was an honorable and just person and would do Kodlak and the Companions proud, but she still couldn't shake what Skjor had said. Sooner or later, his hate for the young warrior would spill over, and Skjor would be screaming for blood.
-Halted Stream Camp: Interior-
The Orcish bandit chief Gortwog sat counting and splitting the shares of gold for each member of his gang of outlaws. They had just recently pulled off a big skooma smuggling operation and had been very well compensated for their part in making the guards "vanish." Gortwog smiled gleefully as he finished counting their earnings. He stood up and held his arms out.
"Hahahaha! We made a killing guys! Raked in a lot of coin!" he babbled excitedly. His three cohorts all triumphantly shouted.
"How much did we bring in?" one of the men asked.
"Thirty-five hundred, Each!" the Orc exclaimed, another round of triumphant cheers rang out.
The group of outlaws grabbed a few bottles of mead and started sing victory songs together, happy in their new fortune. "Hahahahahaha! If we keep doin' jobs like this we'll be swimming in coin!" Gortwog bellowed happily, waving his bottle of mead around rather erratically.
The group of criminals were so busy celebrating that none of them noticed the lonely figure standing above on the top of the mines ramp-way. Taking advantage of the outlaws distracted minds, the Harbinger made his move. Leaping down, he drove his katana through the skull of the bandit closest to himself, the outlaw instantly went limp and fell to the ground. Withdrawing his blade, the Harbinger delivered a brutal slash to the Dunmer bandit standing in front of him, she howled and clutched her face in agony before she felt cold steel pierce her heart.
"Y-you bastard!" The Argonian outlaw shouted as he rushed forward to avenge his comrades.
The young warrior quickly sidestepped, slashing the lizards kneecaps as he evaded, the reptile screamed bloody murder and fell to the ground. "Damn you… damn you to Obli-" The Argonian's words were cut short as the Harbinger drove his blade through the mans mouth, killing him instantly. He turned and glared at the leader, the only remaining obstacle.
"Who are you! And what in the name of Malacath do you want!?" Gortwog screamed, his tone bordering on anger and terror as the Harbinger began walking towards him.
"My identity is of no concern, seeing as how you wont be alive long enough to care," the warrior deadpanned, the statement sent chills down the Orcs spine. "Why I am here is a different matter altogether. You see, there was a breakout recently at Dragonsreach over in Whiterun. The criminal managed to escape due to a weakness in the cell doors metal, which makes sense if you think about how old the dungeon is. Not wanting to have a repeat of the incident, the Jarl tasked me with clearing out Halted Stream Camp of the criminals that inhabit the place-that would be you-so his miners can dig up and use the ore to make newer cells."
Gortwog threw his hands out, as if to say 'please, wait'. "W-wait, just wait. I've got gold, lots of it. If you let me go… it's yours!" The Harbinger took a step forward, causing the Orc to take a cautious step back.
"Are you trying to bribe me?" the young Nord asked.
Gortwog shook his head. "No, not a bribe. It's more like… a deal."
There was a deathly silence in the cave as the two men stood as still as a stone. A minute passed before the Nord said anything."Fine, I accept."
The Orc blinked twice before replying."You accept? Really?"
"Sure, I'll take your coin, and in return, you get to walk out of here with your head still attached to your shoulders."
Gortwog swallowed, then turned to lead the Nord to his coin. "Right this way…" The two men walked towards the small table up the ramp. The Orc carefully glanced over his shoulder, the boy was staring right at him. Although he had told him he would give him coin in exchange for his life, he didn't have any intention of following through with the deal. The Orc planned to split the boy's head in half the second he got close enough to his weapon near his chair.
"There, it's right there." the Orc pointed over to the gold piled table.
The Harbinger glared at the Orc briefly before walking past the bandit over to the table and collecting his loot. Thinking he was in the clear, the Orc scooped up his axe and made a mad dash at the Nord screaming, "You're a bigger fool than i thought!"
A smile spread across the Harbingers lips, he had expected the man to go for his weapon the second he had the chance. Spinning out of the path of the blow, the Harbinger brought his blade down and cut the mans arm off, the Orcs limb flew off into the distance in a bloody spinning motion. Gortwog howled in agony, clutching the bloody stump that used to be his arm before falling to his knees.
"Did you really think I would be foolish enough to trust a bandit?" the young warrior scoffed. "It's you who is the fool, Orc. But don't worry, I am a man of my word, I will not take your life. But it doesn't matter, you will bleed out and die within minutes of my departure. I thank you for the gold bandit, it will serve the Companions well when we put it to use." sheathing his blades, the leader of the Companions gathered the gold, turned on his heels and departed, leaving the Orc to bleed to death in the cave.
"Wait, please! Don't leave me like this, please!" The bandits words were ignored as the Harbinger left the man to die.
-Skyrim Field-
A rather large rumble erupted within the young Harbingers stomach, he looked down at his belly and smirked. He hadn't eaten since early that morning and was dying for some of Tilma's famous beef stew, the very thought of the delicious meal made him salivate. His smirk grew even wider as he listened to the jingle of the gold he had just acquired, with the money he was going to get from the Jarl on top of what he had already, he was looking at sweet pay-day. The Harbinger gave a light chuckle, happy that for once, something was going his way.
A/N: Whew! Finally done with apprehension number three, and lemme tell you… its was not a walk in the park. Now, I have a question to ask everyone actually reading this, should I finish off the Apprehension arc and write chapter four, or should I just get in to the Acceptance arc where we finally learn the main characters name? I'm not sure, I could go either way with it. Anyway, comments are welcome.
Till the next chapter!
Zero out.