I stood on top of the Skyforge, my bow ready as the men began to pile in. The Imperials had built several barriers throughout the city, blocking each entrance to the different districts of Whiterun. As the blue cuirasses began to invade the sea of red below me, and the bloodshed ensued, I could do nothing but watch and wait.
I looked left, down at Farkas and Lissa, who also stood with their weapons drawn. I hoped that the Stormcloaks had be briefed on the notion of not storming Jorrvaskr, because I really didn't want to have to kill a bunch of dumb Nords before lunch time.
The fight began outside of War Maiden's as smoke began to billow up from around the city's walls. The battle cries of men could be heard over the ball of fire that were flying toward the shops. Belethor's General Goods quickly went up in flames, the hay surrounding the shop only further igniting the roasting.
It was difficult to see what was happening, as most of the fighting had happened outside of the gates and on the Plains District. However, slowly and surely, the sounds of men approaching held my attention. The Imperial soldiers and Whiterun guards that cluttered both the Wind and the steps to the Cloud District looked nervous, but they had built barriers. Surely, that would buy them some time.
FUS RO DAH
Ah, and apparently the barriers were out of the question as Cassius shouted, blowing both wooden stakes and men out of his path. He emerged not moments later, Vilkas and Lydia right behind him. The Imperials charged, and that's when the real fight began.
I watched, my bow drawn and an arrow knocked, as Lydia swung with impressive speed at two Whiterun guards. She struck one first, then raised her leg to kick the other away from her. As he staggered back, another guard approached her from behind. Sensing the attacker, Lydia quickly spun on her heel, her sword grazing the soft flesh of the guard's neck, then drove the blade through his chest. It stuck, though, and as the man she kicked returned, she ducked and avoided his blade.
On the ground, Lydia yanked her sword from the fallen guard's chest, and drove it upwards toward the relentless attacker, who devoured her blade with his belly. Lydia stood, jerking her head to the side to push her hair away from her face as she looked for her next target.
Vilkas was handling his own share of Imperial soldiers closer to the steps of Jorrvaskr. Nothing he couldn't handle, of course. He raised his greatsword, bringing it down to separate one whole man into two halves. As the crimson flew from his blow, another soldier ran at him, screaming a heinous battle cry. Vilkas used the handle of his sword to strike the man in the face, and as he staggered back, Vilkas drove the blade of his sword through the man's chest.
Up ahead of them, Cassius was fending off multiple guards and soldiers who were patrolling the steps. With a simple YOL, a stream of fire ejected from between his lips, igniting the men that ran at him. He pulled the broadsword from his hip, swinging at the men approaching him from behind.
Five guards came at him like bullets after that, and Cassius whipped toward them. His lips parted again, and his words formed IIZ. With a blast of ice, the five guards were frozen solid, and Cass took the opportunity to stomp in their frozen heads.
One Imperial went unnoticed by him though, and I quickly aimed my bow toward the man. As I released, the arrow flew and made contact with his eye just before he could strike Cassius. Realizing he'd been helped, Cass turned to me, extending his hand and pointing to me with a wink and a grin.
As the rest of the Stormcloaks approached to help finish off the guards, Cassius and Vilkas began tearing at the barriers, as Cassius seemed to have exhausted his shouting for the moment. Lydia wasn't far behind, her blade at her side, but ready to be lifted once again. They made it past the barriers and up the steps to Dragonsreach. When they were out of sight, I heard the booming FUS RO DAH again as the doors of Dragonsreach were forced open.
We watched as the Stormcloaks struggled to finish off the Imperials. Lissa and I fired arrows and took down several guards, while Farkas descended the steps and actually took a few swings. All in all, though, there wasn't much left for us to do. Realizing they had won the battle, the Stormcloaks celebrated and retreated slowly to the gates.
I heard Lissa groan below as she looked out at the fire her brother had caused. As it steadily climbed the beamed surrounding the Gildergleam, a wooden beam finally succumbed to the roast and collapsed onto Heimskr's house. Lissa gasped.
"Oh, thank gods he's inside of Jorrvaskr." She shouted to me. "We're going to have to house him."
I laughed. "He can have Farkas' room!" I hollered back. I listened to them laugh, and then they picked up a conversation low enough and far enough away that I couldn't quite make it out.
I turned back to Dragonsreach, watching and waiting for the trio to emerge again. I was honestly wishing I'd followed, just to see the look on Balgruuf's face when the Dragonborn he felt responsible for took his seat from him. No doubt Vignar was inside Jorrvaskr with Brill coming up with interior design elements for their new home, now that Balgruuf was removed.
A muffled grunt pulled my attention away from the Cloud District. I cocked my head to the side, waiting to hear it again. It came along with the sound of a scuffle. I heard Farkas' grumbled protest, and I jerked my head toward Jorrvaskr. Below, Lissa was paralyzed on the ground, and I had looked just in time to see Farkas go down too. I felt my jaw drop, but I readied my bow, aiming for the men in blue robes and Imperial armor surrounding them.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" I shouted, firing an arrow at one of the men. He fell, but the others began to work quickly. I raced as quickly as I could down the hill of the Skyforge, but as I reached the bottom, I tripped. I heaved myself off of the ground, chasing after the men hauling them away, but I was too late. They'd hoisted them over the wall, and they were gone by the time I reached the spot they were just standing in.
My mind was racing, and my skin was crawling. I scratched at my arms, trying to think of what to do. Athis and Torvar came running from the courtyard.
"Did you see that?" Torvar yelled.
"Of course I saw it, you idiot! Why didn't you stop them?" I shouted back.
"They were too fast, Aela." Athis said. "They were gone before we could catch them."
I pressed my palms to my temple, willing my brain to think straight. It came to me then, and I raced toward Dragonsreach, knowing I needed Vilkas' help. I stumbled up the steps and made it to the bridge just as Vilkas and Cassius were exiting, smiles on their faces as they looked up at me.
Their faces fell when they saw me frantically sprinting at them though. When I was close enough, I grabbed Vilkas' chest.
"They've taken them, Vilkas. They took Karalissa and Farkas." I gasped.
"What? What the hell are you talking about?" he said, putting his hands on my shoulders.
"They're gone, Vilkas. I tried to get to them, but I couldn't."
Cassius, stepped into my line of sight. "Aela, what the hell are you trying to say?"
I took a breath. "A group of men, Imperials, they paralyzed Lissa and Farkas, and they took them. We have to go after them." I held Vilkas' face between my hands. "We have to track them, Vilkas."
He looked at me long and hard, processing what I'd told him. "Aye. We have to track them." He pulled my hands away from his face. "Show me."
We ran through the woods, the trees blurring around us. Cassius was close behind us, stumbling along as we frantically inhaled the air, following Lissa and Farkas' scent. Cassius was incredibly confused as we began to speak.
"I can follow this, but not very accurately." Vilkas said, his eyes darting back and forth as he searched to pick up the scent again. "It would be easier if I transformed."
I shook my head. "I still have a decent hold. It's this way." I said, pointing toward the lake in the distance.
As we bolted forward, Cassius managed to talk through heavy breaths. "What the hell are you talking about? You can't just sniff someone out!"
We ignored him as we neared the river's edge. I waited for my eyes to focus, the ground glowing in red patches where there had been footsteps recently. I counted the feet. "One, two, three…it looks like eight, Vilkas. They would have needed that many to carry Farkas." I crouched down, my eyes connecting the dots between the footsteps and locating a path. "Fifty-four paces Southwest, then at least twenty due south of pace fifty-four."
Vilkas was shaking violently, but he could respond. "Fifty-four, got it. Let's move."
We ran forward, following the red patches only I could see on the ground. Once we reached the last pace, we turned south, running toward the scent we could manage to locate.
Vilkas grumbled again, his tremors transitioning into twitching and snapping. "I can't fight it, Aela." He said through his teeth, a low growl building in the back of his throat.
"Damnit Vilkas, I need you right now." I said to him, crouching down for more tracks. "Get a grip." Vilkas took a few breaths, and his shaking eased considerably. "Good. Now, it looks like sixty-one paces southwest again."
Cassius huffed and puffed beside us, growing angrier the more we excluded him. "Someone talk to me. How the hell are you doing this?"
As we moved, I yelled to Vilkas. "Either you have to explain or I'll snap his neck! I can't focus with the chatter." It felt harsh as I said it, but I could only think of Farkas. I couldn't lose him. Not like this. Not again.
As I slowed to a stop, stooping down to locate more tracks, Vilkas put his hand on Cassius' shoulder. "Don't panic." he said.
"That makes me want to panic, Vil."
Vilkas shook his head. "We have abilities, Cassius. Abilities that frighten people, that kill people, but abilities that are the only thing that can find Kara and Farkas. Now, we have to be quiet so Aela can track."
"Twenty-six south." I said, and they followed after me as I began running again.
"This doesn't make any sense!" Cassius yelled. "Abilities? What are you getting at?"
Vilkas stopped running and looked at Cass. "We're wolves, Cassius. Werewolves."
Cassius stared at us, his eyes darting back and forth between us. "Please tell me you're joking." We just stared back until he spoke again. "Gods, I'm begging you. Say you're joking."
I rolled my eyes, crouching down again to collect tracks. "Seventy-two southwest." Vilkas and I took off again, Cassius stumbling behind.
"Are you trying to tell me that you two turn into giant wolves?" he yelled after us.
"Yes!" Vilkas yelled back.
As we ran, I saw a river approaching. "No, no, no." I chanted, praying that's not where the tracks were leading me.
They were, unforturnately, and I dropped to my knees at the edge, scowering the ground for any trace of heat. There was none, though. No color, no heat, no trail.
I felt myself begin to cry, overwhelmed by all of the sudden desperation I felt. All I could think about was Farkas tied up somewhere, being tortured. Through my tears, I remembered a story Skjor told me once, about a man who'd been held prisoner in the Great War.
Wait, Skjor. Skjor, of course! I thought back to our days in the fields, our nights spent training and hunting. Once, we had tracked an elk several miles, only to have lost the tracks in the water.
"You're smart, Aela. You can figure it out. If you can't track the heat…"
"Track the moisture." I said. "Track the moisture!" I focused on the ground, my eyes adjusting from locating heat to locating different ground substance. Slowly, wet purple footprints began to appear on the ground, giving me a general direction in which to head.
I nodded to Vilkas, who seemed relieved that I had something. I grabbed his hand. "It's going to take a long time, longer than I'd like it to, but I think I can switch tracking methods and follow them."
"Just get us there, Aela. That's all that matters." Vilkas said, following me as I walked forward.
The three of us pressed on, further into the woods around us as I continued chasing after ghostly footprints, nothing but hope and desperation driving us forward.
