Chapter 17: Jorrvaskr

[24thof Last Seed 4E 201]

After a nice and relaxing sleep in my room at the Bannered Mare I decided that today I was finally going to seek out the Companions. On the day before my task with Andurs, the priest of Arkay, and some other issues had kept me from doing that, but today was going to be the day. Thus, once I had had breakfast in the inn, I eagerly made my way towards my target; I did not have to go far to see the imposing upturned boat ahead of me.

Outside, at the top of the steps leading up to the area, I stopped for a moment to admire what I saw. There was, of course, the building itself, which was impressive enough. Right above and around me, like guarding the entrance, there were two statues depicting, I didn't know what, maybe two dragon heads, and a wooden crossbar stretched from left to right above my head. Further to the left and right there were flower beds, and judged by the amount of blossoms I could see, from mountain flowers to lavender and some others; somebody was obviously tasked to take care of them. There were even a few butterflies dancing around the flowers, and I was quite happy to see that Jorrvaskr was not only about fighting and such. The flower beds were arranged in a way to partially block the path around the building from view from downstairs, but they provided a nice contrast to the stone and wood dominating the building and ground around. A lone Whiterun guard stood next to the door; we had met before, and he just nodded to me, smiling a little when he saw me admiring the flowers.

As soon as I entered through one of the doors, I barely missed to be hit by accident by two people fighting, and I chuckled when I recognized what I assumed to be Njada and Athis, being 'at it' with perfect timing. Once I had made sure that they were not going to collide with me, I raised my view and looked around. The interior took the entire boat's width and most of the length, except for the end sections, and the roof was at least five meters above my head, so that the interior looked like a big hall. The roof was supported by some massive wooden pillars, and many of the wooden beams were covered by cloth banners, most of them red and light brown. Large round shields and a few swords were placed in some locations, like above the doors to both sides and above some of the windows, and this felt just right without overdoing it. A long U-shaped table was arranged around a huge fireplace, and I estimated that it could easily sit more than a dozen people. At this time in the morning the fire was not lighted, but some light came in via a few tall windows and a number of covered roof openings, and three huge candelabra with large candles provided additional illumination from above. I wondered how they were able to replace the candles at that height; maybe they had some stepladder around. Part of the floor was covered by carpet, and considering the people walking around here in steel boots and such, they either were of superb quality and robustness or had to be replaced frequently, I assumed. Somehow the place radiated simplicity and wealth at the same time, although that sounded like a contradiction.

I must have lingered longer than I thought, as I suddenly noticed a smirking Nord standing next to me, and she asked:

"It's impressive, isn't it? I gather that you like our place, Khajiit?"

I recognized Aela, the huntress, right away, and I was not really surprised that she did not use my name. A lot of people seemed to be using the race names, and I had already wondered if that was done just out of habit and tradition or to cover that many people just did not remember names well, like I did. I had played Skyrim so many times that, fortunately, quite a few names got stuck, but I was sure that, at least in most other cities and towns, I would be mixing up names and faces a lot. So, for now, I just replied:

"I guess that I do, yes; it's quite impressive."

"As you have come to us, are you considering to join our ranks as I suggested?"

"Yes, I was thinking about that, indeed, Aela."

"So, why don't you get downstairs and talk to Kodlak. You can't miss him; he is the old white-haired Nord down there, at the end of the aisle."

With her last words she pointed towards the stairs, and I slowly went in that direction, taking my time to look around further. Downstairs all of the daylight was gone, but the place was lit by some candles and tusk shaped ceiling and wall lights. With all of the candles around, somebody must be busy to replace them when needed, and candle making – from beeswax? – was probably a thriving business. Automatically I turned right and followed the long and wide aisle, ignoring the openings to both sides for now. At the end there was a round table with two chairs, and an old white-haired man with a big white beard to go with it and a younger black-haired one, both Nords, were sitting there and engaged in some conversation. I did not want to look like I was eaves-dropping, so that I coughed when I got closer, and the white-haired man, quite obviously Kodlak Whitemane, raised his head and turned into my direction. After a few seconds of silent watching and maybe appraising, he prompted me for what I wanted down here, and I told him sternly but respectfully:

"My name is B'lushona, sir. Aela sent me down here, and I am thinking about joining the Companions, if you'll have me."

"So, would you now? Well, we haven't had a Khajiit in our ranks for quite some time. I guess that you know that we expect and require a certain attitude and aptitude, both in body and mind? But let's see, let me have a look at you... Yes, perhaps... A certain strength of spirit, if I am not mistaken."

I smiled and was, of course, happy to hear that, but the younger man across from Kodlak was not convinced yet:

"Master, you're not truly considering accepting this Khajiit?"

"I am nobody's master, Vilkas, as you know quite well. And last I checked, we had some empty beds in Jorrvaskr for those with a fire burning in their hearts. We do not judge people by their race, their looks or their name, but by their mind, heart and strength. This young and tall Khajiit here may have it in him, actually."

"Apologies, Harbinger. But perhaps this isn't the time. He looks strong, yes, but I've never even heard of this outsider! Won't he just be one of those willing to join us to escape the boring traveling with a caravan, just for a change?"

"You should have heard of him, Vilkas; I actually have. Aela mentioned a tall Khajiit helping them fighting the giant, and this is the one who was there when the dragon was killed, too. Didn't your brother tell you about that? Besides, it makes no difference if he's an outsider or not; what matters is the heart and the soul."

"And his arm, Harbinger."

"Indeed, yes, Vilkas, it does" Kodlak nodded and turned back to me:

"How are you in a battle, boy?"

Normally I'd resent being addressed as 'boy', but when that word came from Kodlak, it was somehow all right, and I replied politely and honestly:

"I have to admit that I am more of a scholar than a fighter, and I have much to learn; this is one of the reasons why I am here."

"That's the spirit. Vilkas, here, will get started on that. Vilkas, take him out to the yard and see what he can do."

Vilkas was clearly not convinced, but he willingly lead me upstairs and out, to the building's backyard. The back side of the building had some kind of roofed patio with a few benches to sit on, and there was a large open space limited by a section of the city walls at the back. A few straw and wood targets were there, probably to be used for archery practice, and I also noticed a couple of sturdy looking wooden dummies with lots of notches and big scratches; maybe those were used for sword practice. Same as in the front, there were also some flower beds, but I did not get much time to admire the scenery, as Vilkas challenged me now, showing a smirk and lots of confidence on his face:

"The Harbinger said to have a look at you, so let's do this. Just have a few swings at me so I can see your form. Don't worry, I can take it."

I wore my leather armor and had my battle axe from the barrow, whereas the bulky Companion had heavy armor on him and pulled a sword. Well, fighting the Companion was entirely different from any fight I had encountered so far. He was focused and strong, and I knew right away that I would not win against him, specifically as he had insisted on no magic use prior to the test. When he pushed his shield against me, I was easily able to stop him and even push him backwards, but just a moment later I had to evade the sword coming down. I scored a couple of minor hits on his armor, but he had me disarmed and defeated in just a couple of minutes, despite my size and strength and despite all of my attempts to prevail.

"Now, that was quick. Your performance was quite poor, but I have to admit that you do show some tiny traces of potential; you have a lot of raw strength, but little to no fighting experience. With our training, you might just make it, if you try hard. Kodlak is usually right in judging people, so that we will try to get you there at least. But for now, you're still a whelp to us, new blood; so you do what we tell you. Here's my sword; go take it up to Eorlund to have it sharpened. And be careful, it's probably worth more than you are."

Some of the other Companions had watched the friendly fight, and one of them, Torvar I believed, judged by the strong smell of mead coming from his direction, told me: "Don't worry, whelp; I was not doing any better when I joined."

Njada snorted at him: "You are still not doing much better now, you know."

I almost laughed, but I doubted her statement. Kodlak would probably not tolerate somebody in here unless they had at least some skills, right? I had not had a lot of time to look around prior to the trial fight, and before I headed up to the Skyforge I took a minute or two to take in the environment. As I had noticed earlier, there was a roof covering a few tables and benches right outside the back door, there were a few flower beds lining the walls of Jorrvaskr on this side, and there were also two shelves with training gear, like shields, wooden sword, arrows and such. Finally, there was also a smaller shelf with food and drinks, for those who had the time to enjoy a snack out here. All together, the back yard was looking somewhat more 'homey' than it looked in the game, but maybe even battle hardened Companions needed some feeling of home from time to time. Eventually I headed for the narrow set of stairs, and I made my way up to the Skyforge, looking forward to meet Eorlund. I found him at his workplace right away, busy at the forge and not seeing me instantly. I patiently waited, and while I did that, I found that the place radiated something like magic. I was not sure if I had a sense for that, but my whiskers tingled in an odd, but good way, and I felt a slight shiver run down my back. When he looked up, I told him:

"That's quite a forge you've got here, sir."

"The Skyforge? Aye, my clan-fathers have worked it since the first Gray-Manes came to Whiterun. Skyforge Steel is all the Companions will use, for good reason."

"Yes, I have heard about it. So, how is Skyforge Steel different from normal steel?"

"Skyforge Steel is the finest steel in Skyrim, and the power of the Skyforge operated by a blacksmith trained to use it can make it deal more damage, like Elven weapons, but weigh barely as much as normal steel. But tell me, what brings you up here?"

"I just asked about joining the Companions, and Vilkas sent me with his sword to get it sharpened; here you go. You are Eorlund, sir, right?"

"Indeed, son, my name is Eorlund Gray-Mane, and I work the Skyforge. But nobody calls me 'sir', although it honors me that you do. So, you are the new whelp?"

I chuckled and responded: "I guess so, yes, my name is B'lushona."

"Don't worry; Vilkas makes all new whelps work as kind of an errand boy first. But before you go down again, I have a favor to ask."

"And what would that be, Eorlund?"

"I've been working on a shield for Aela. My wife is in mourning and I need to get back to her soon. I'd be much obliged if you could take this to Aela for me."

"I'm happy to do this for you."

"That's a good man; well done."

Slowly, taking my time while also enjoying the view, I went down the stairs again. I could have asked Eorlund why his wife was mourning, but I vaguely recalled that this was related to a side quest I might not be ready for at this time; thus, I proceeded to search for the huntress. She was neither in the yard nor in the hall, so that I looked for her downstairs, where I found her talking to a big older warrior with an eye patch. Wait, an eye patch, really? It looked good on him, actually. Aela was happy to see me:

"Ah, the Khajiit, good. I've been waiting for the shield. And I do remember you. So the old man thinks you've got some heart, I guess."

The warrior with the eye patch asked her:

"You know the Khajiit? I saw him training with Vilkas in the yard, and he was down after barely two minutes."

"Ah, yes. I heard that he gave you quite a thrashing, Khajiit."

"Yes, that he did" I freely admitted. "This is one of the reasons I am here for – to learn how to fight and how to defend myself."

Aela now turned around and said:

"At least you are honest enough to admit that. Many came to our hall boasting about their fighting skills, and most of them turned out to be just braggers. Here, let's have Farkas show you where you'll be resting your head."

The one eyed warrior called "Farkas!" with a loud voice, and the tall and bulky Nord I had seen before when fighting the giant came rushing in:

"Did you call me, Skjor?"

"Of course we did, icebrain." This was Aela. "Show this new blood where the rest of the whelps sleep."

"New blood? Oh, wait, I remember you. Come on, follow me."

I followed the big Nord to the sleeping quarters, and he showed me to a large room with two sections. The whelp quarters were actually larger than I had expected. In the game, I think that there were like a total of eight beds in here and not much else, but now the room was larger and fit twelve beds, divided into two sections; presumably one for males and one for females. Each bed had a chest and a small wardrobe next to it, and in a large niche in the main aisle there was even a small bar and a few stools.

Farkas assigned one of the unoccupied beds to me, and he said:

"Skjor and Aela like to tease me, but they are good people. They challenge us to be our best. Come to me or Aela if you're looking for work. By the way, I liked the way you fought the giant; not many can handle a battle axe in just one hand like you do. I am am glad that you decided to come here."

He also took the time to show me some of the other rooms. Heading off from the quarters for whelps and, as Farkas said, 'normal' members, he next pointed at two doors, side by side, at the southern end. Behind them, he said with a grin, there two small bedrooms for those Companions who wanted to bring a bed-mate for a night.

"After all", he said with a smirk, "some of us are somewhat noisy when they bring a lady with them, and we can't have that in the common bedroom, can we?"

"They could rent a room at an inn for a night?"

"Sure, but they have thin wooden walls, whereas we have very thick walls down here; get the point?"

That made sense, and we moved on down the aisle towards the area with the rooms for the Circle members, six rather than of them, and the big Nord also showed me his own room. Like in the game there was a bed, a chest, a wardrobe, a nightstand, and a big bar, plus a shelve for trophies and such. The room was slightly larger than the rooms I remembered from the game, but lacked coziness; that fit Farkas, though.

So, I was a whelp with the Companions now. Farkas and Aela did not have much time to show me around more, but Ria found me when I got back up to the hall again:

"Hey, you are the Khajiit from the giant fight, the one who saved my life, right?"

"Indeed I am, and my name is B'lushona. My friends are allowed to call me 'Balu', though."

"That sounds cool, Balu" she smiled at me, quickly taking the hint to see me as friend.

I had had a reason when I had selected that name of mine – B'lushona – earlier. I imagined the first part to be pronounced 'Balu', like the big and cuddly bear in the 'Jungle Book' story and movie, kind of my favorite character there. It did not really fit my Khajiit body, of course, but nobody expect me would be able to understand the background anyway. I liked Ria՚s smile, and she added:

"Having you around now implies that I am no longer the most junior whelp!"

"So, you also came here recently?"

"Yes, not even two weeks ago; I was the newest Companion until you came along. I guess that's okay, as it just means I can show you the ropes. So, let me show you around and make sure that you get comfortable."

First she took me into the kitchen and introduced me to Tilma, the elderly lady who took care of cooking and cleaning. I did not even recall where the kitchen was located in the game, but here it was on the main floor, in the most southern section. Where the game had only the stairs down there, here we had another door to the kitchen, and it occupied the end section of the upturned boat on this side. It made sense, in my opinion; having it here enabled kitchen staff to get fresh food into the main hall quickly. Ria told me about Tilma:

"She sees everything, hears everything and knows everything that happens around Jorrvaskr" Ria told me, "but she is good at keeping secrets if needed, too."

"I've been tending to the warriors of Jorrvaskr for as long as I can remember, and I have heard many stories and learned many secrets over the years and decades. I wouldn't have it any other way; the Companions are my family. Sometimes they drink too much and make a mess, but that's the way it is, I guess."

We went downstairs again, and Ria showed me where the Circle members had their rooms, although Farkas had already pointed out those rooms before. Once we were done, she looked at me more closely and asked:

"Say, what would you think about a hot bath?"

"Are you kidding me, Ria? You have got a bath here?"

"Aye, that we have; come on, I will show you."

The young Imperial opened a door I had not known to be there, not far from the whelps' bedroom on the other side of the aisle. A few steps lead down, and I could already smell some warm air coming up. Once we had passed another door, a larger area opened up in front of us, and there were smaller steamy basins on both sides and a larger one in the center.

"The left side is for the men and the right one for the women who want to stay for themselves; the larger one in the center is for those who do not mind to mingle, which normally applies to most of us." Ria explained.

I asked her:

"Are there any rules or hours to observe?"

"No, not really, just behave yourself, and don't make a mess."

"That I can do; thank you, Ria."

"You are welcome, Balu!"

There was a large supply of clean towels on a shelf, and I decided to take advantage of the location. I went over to the men's section – I had no desire to 'mingle' for now, although the large center pool was empty, stripped down to my loincloth in a corner and slowly stepped down into the water basin. Wow – that was really nice, and I reveled in it. I imagined that the hot water might be provided by the same power which provided heat to the Skyforge, and maybe up to Dragonsreach, too, but I could not tell if this was just normal geothermal energy or ancient magic, or maybe a combination of both.

After I had relaxed in the warm water for some time a Dunmer joined me and introduced himself as Athis. I had seen him briefly when I had entered Jorrvaskr for the first time, with him engaged in a friendly but wild brawl with Njada. We talked about this and that for a while, and eventually he elaborated a little on his view of the Companions:

"Being a Companion means signing on for the Nord ideas of how to live your life. Honor, battle, glory, and all that. But that's all right; 'even an elf can be born with the heart of a Nord' Skjor said when I joined. I think he actually meant it as a compliment, you know. Seeing you, I hope that this also works for you, my friend."

"I am certainly eager to learn about the Nord way of life, too, but for now I will be happy to learn from you all. Despite my size, I am more of a scholar than a fighter, and I have much to learn."

"That's the spirit, indeed!"

After bathing Athis showed me a nearby storeroom with spare clothes, and he assured me that I could take some if I wanted to. At this time, I only had my armor with undergarments, but no normal clothes, and after some searching I found a simple set of pants and shirt in about my size, plus a fitting robe. I was grateful for that and changed into those, and when I was done, the elf told me that it was about lunch time; together we joined some other Companions sitting at the long table and getting served by Tilma. Lunch was a smaller meal here at Jorrvaskr; most were out during the day for training, bandit hunting or some other quest, having the main meal in the evening was more important, but we still did not have to leave hungry. Vilkas and Farkas were both out and so was Aela, but Torvar, Skjor and Ria sat with us. Kodlak, as I learned, usually preferred to get his meal served in his own quarters. And there was Vignar, too. Vignar Gray-Mane looked as old as Kodlak, and when I got a chance, I asked him about his person; he seemed to be in a talkative mood and told me:

"Whelp, we've got an old saying – the Gray-Manes have lived in Whiterun since the first snows fell in Skyrim. Well, maybe that's not entirely true, but our clan's got a long an' proud history in this hold. We respect the old ways, the Nord ways, an' a Gray-Mane has worked the Skyforge since before the time of my grandfather's father. I am proud to have Eorlund as my brother."

When I was done with eating, Aela requested that I join her in the backyard. She pushed a bow into my hands and told me to do my best with it. Naturally, I fumbled around with it quite badly, and even after the huntress demonstrated how to hold and use it properly, I did not get anywhere. After about one hour she gave up and shouted:

"I don't know what to do with you. Clearly you are not made for using a bow."

"I fully agree with you, Aela. Maybe I should better practice with other weapons?"

Skjor picked this moment to come out, and he interrupted our discussion:

"Aela, I am going to borrow our new whelp for a few hours."

"Where are we going?"

"You will see – follow me."

[Author's Notes: The name 'Balu' is the name of the bear 'Baloo' of the Jungle Book story and movie in the German dubbing, and the pronunciation is about the same. I love his easygoing behavior and the song 'The Bear Necessities' (although I think it's really 'The Bare Necessities').

My description of the Jorrvaskr main hall is partially based on the mod 'JK's Jorrvaskr' by 'jkrojmal'. In addition, I also thought that a place like Jorrvaskr should have a proper bath. Not everything in here is just like in the game!]