Alright, I need to say this, just in case. In this story, Vilkas has a reason for hating magic so much. It doesn't really explain it in the game, not does he act as strongly about it but I'm taking some artist privileges here. I hope you all understand. The next few chapters will have some of Vincent's point of view. Vilkas will still be involved and I'll do my best to make it as easy to understand, transition wise, as possible. And, OMG yey, four people are watching this horrible story.
Temprince: My first reviewer, hello. No dear, I don't mind Grammar Nazis at all. I warned that my grammar was horrible and thank you for being able to put up with it. I've got plenty of ideas for this one so it shouldn't take me too long to bang out chapters. My own personal time and work pending.
Disclaimer. Right.I don't own elder scrolls or anything involved with it. I do own Vincent however… (As if that matters. XP)
Chapter 3- Give myself direction
As Vincent reached the top, he took in the sights of the sky forge. It was much larger and wide open that he would have imagined. He was taken aback by a sudden gush of heat on his face, that he almost backpedaled to escape the feeling. Calming when he realized it was just an open forge pit; he regained his footing and wandered a bit closer. He watched the embers rise up from the forge before turning to smoke and dissolving into the chill on the night. A distant thought crossed his mind while he gazed into the dangerous flames but it was fleeting. He pushed the errant memory aside, at least for now and approached an elderly man with powerful arms, bent over the forge. The man looked up as Vincent approached and the red-head almost stopped. This did seem a bit odd but this man was the only one up here. This must be the man to give the sword to.
"Yes?"
The sound of the old man's voice almost made Vincent jump. He wasn't sure why he was jittery tonight. He pulled out Vilkas' sword and held it out in a presenting tradition.
"Vilkas asked me to give this to you to sharpen." Eorlund looked at him funny for a moment, probably wondering who the red-head was. That and he wasn't taking the sword from him. Sensing his confusion, Vincent smiled kindly. "I'm Vincent Renalt. I hope to be a companion soon…if I'm not already. I'm not entirely sure how this even works."
"Vilkas sent you…? He sent you all the way up here to get his sword sharpened?"
"Yes sir."
"Don't call me sir and no one owns you, boy." Eorlund grey-mane spoke as he took Vilkas' sword from Vincent. "You're not some errand boy for the companions. No one rules anyone here."
Vincent bit his bottom lip and thought for a moment. He had assumed as much but it seemed impossible.
"How does a place like this function then? How do you keep everyone from killing one another over the silliest of things?"
The fist fight he had walked in on being reason for this line of questioning. He was told by Farkas, whom he had met before, that it was just training. It certainly didn't seem like just a training session by the way they were hitting each other. There was anger behind those strikes and any fool could see that.
"Boy, the companions haven't had a real leader since Ysgramor. Kodlak is sort of in charge and the circle members pretty much run the show. You've met most of them."
"Farkas, Aela, Skjor and Vilkas, right?"
"That's right."
"And you? Are you a companion?"
Eorlund shook his head. "Not me. I just run the forge. I produce the best steel in all Skyrim."
"I see. Skyforge Steel right?"
"Whatever gave you that idea? This IS only the sky forge."
Vincent rolled his eyes. "So you're a funny Nord."
Eorlund cracked a small smile. "And you're a Breton with an odd choice in pastel clothing."
Vincent couldn't help it and laughed good-naturedly. "I'm surprised you know what pastel colors are."
"I do have a wife, boy." he shook his head, the smile falling from his face. "Try not to get suckered into doing all the circles' dirty work, okay boy? You're going to be a warrior. Not an errand boy."
"Ah. Well, thank you for your time." Vincent turned to start walking back down the cold stone steps but Eorlund called out to him.
"Before you head back lad would you do me a favor?"
Vincent smiled and looked over his shoulder. "You just told me I don't have to run errands."
"It's a favor. Not an errand."
The red head laughed and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I was just giving you a hard time. Of course I'll do the favor. What is it?"
Eorlund walked over to the side of the forge and picked up a newly crafted shield. It was handsome in design and very well made at only a glance.
"Could you take this shield to Aela? I'd do it myself but I have some more work to do."Vincent almost commented on how this task was not unlike the one he just ran for that mean guy, Vilkas but he bit his tongue and just nodded.
"Good. Hop to it." He handed the shield over and Vincent hooked it to his arm so he couldn't drop it. It was heavier then it looked.
He wobbled back down the stairs and away from the sky forge. His balance was slightly off by the heavy shield on his arm and he was unused to carrying one. He knew how to attack someone with a shield…not really how to utilize one himself. He began to wonder if joining these companions was a good idea. It seemed like a safe place to rest his head…something he was unused to. He would have to watch his step around these people, less he be expelled back out into the world. He needed to be here…at least for now.
He felt like he should possibly apologize to Vilkas. Vilkas may have given him an attitude but Vincent was just as guilty by giving it back. Best not piss off a member of the circle before he has made friends with all the other ones. Friends and a low profile were needed, at least for now. At least until he could come up with a better plan because this safety wouldn't last forever. It was an unfortunate truth.
Vincent shoulder checked the door to Jorrvaskr open, while using both hands to keep the shield from dragging on the ground or scuffing the door as he made his way inside. Hot air instantly hit him in the face and made his cheeks tingle from the temperature change. It was getting late so not many people were in the dining hall. Vincent sighed, he was lucky he'd already eaten today. He slung the shield over his shoulder and made for the living quarters.
He could hear the sounds of snoring coming from the room directly in front of him and he half smiled. He liked the sounds of others snoring while they slept. It made a room feel not so empty in the dead of night. He'd be able to sleep just fine.
A sudden rough jab to his shoulder from behind made him stumble and drop the shield to the ground with a loud clang. The snoring stopped for a brief moment before returning to its normal tempo.
"Watch it, wealp!" A nord woman strolled past him growl. Vincent recognized her as winner or the brawl/training session he had walked in on.
"Watch it?" He frowned. "You're the one who slammed into me. You watch it."
There was a moment of silence between the two of them and he could see her fists, clenching and unclenching at her sides."You have quite the mouth on you for a milk drinker." She sneered, moving a threatening step closer to him.
He stood his ground, determined not to flinch or back down from this. Somewhere in the back of his head, it did cross his mind that this was probably a very bad idea. They were almost nose to nose now, starring angrily at each other…waiting for the other to throw the first punch.
"If you kids are going to make out, do it somewhere else! I have to clean!"
The Nord recoiled as if the statement burned. Vincent turned to see an elderly woman with a broom starring at the two of them, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Him and me? Yuck!" She growled and started to retreat. "I only fuck men."
Ouch.
Vincent ignored the comment and scrambled to pick up the discarded shield so she could resume cleaning. "I'm sorry, madam."
She snorted. "I just got madam'ed? That's a new one. Who are you, boy?"
"My name is Vincent."
"Well Vincent, let me tell you that you should be careful when dealing with Njada stonearm. She doesn't have many friends here and she likes it that way. She's more likely to punch first and ask questions later so unless you want to end up bruised and bloody, best avoid conflict with her."
Vincent struggled to situate the shield on his arm again and nodded.
"Thank you ma- …What should I call you?"
"You can call me Tilma, Vincent. It is good to meet you."
"I'll move along now so you can resume cleaning Madam Tilma."A small smile actually came to the old woman's face.
"It warms my heart to hear such a polite young man. Never loose that heart to a violent place like this."
Her words confused him slightly but he nodded. If he hadn't lost heart yet, he didn't thin he was ever going to. He resumed his task, turning right down the long hallways and toward where he first met Vilkas and Kodlak. He stopped at a crossway or going left, right in forward. He stopped and listened for a moment. He could hear a woman's voice to his left so he tried that way first. Sure enough there was Aela the huntress, speaking with Skjor."Excuse me?" He spoke to get their attention. They both looked over instantly and he almost jumped at the suddenness of it.
"Ah, it's the new initiate." Aela smiled. "What brings you?"
"Sir Eorlund asked me to give this shield to you."
Skjor snickered and muttered a 'sir' under his breath but Aela hushed him.
"Thank you. I've been waiting for this." She took the sheild from him and Vincent felt his arms sag slightly. Thank the gods, that thing was heavy… "So, we saw you training with Vilkas. How do you think you would handle him in a real fight?"
Vincent thought for a moment. Vilkas seemed talented but slightly more awkward with a sheild. A sword and sheild style probably wasn't his first choice. By the way he carried himself; Vincent had assumed he was a two-handed weapon fighter. Vincent may have a chance if he used his magic… He glanced up at their curious expressions and decided not to bring that little number up. Although Aela had known…she was there when he cast it.
"I think it would be a good challenge. I'm not sure who would win."
"Fair enough." She nodded. "Farkas! Come here for a moment!"
Sure enough, in came Farkas. He stood behind Vincent and spoke to Aela as if the red head wasn't even there.
"Yeah?"
"Care to take the new member to where he'll be staying?"
"Yeah, sure." He looked directly at Vincent then. "You can come with me."
Vincent nodded, bowed to Aela and Skjor before hurrying after Farkas.
"It's always good to see new blood." Farkas broke the silence as he led Vincent back the way he came. "I'm glad you decided to join up with us. You didn't need to help us with that giant but I'm glad you came along when you did."Vincent's cheeks flushed red from the praise.
"It was nothing. I-I'm surprised you welcomed me so warmly. I…didn't use traditional means to help you after all…"
"You mean magic." Farkas smiled and pat him on the back, nearly taking the wind out of poor Vincent's lungs. "Don't worry about that. You use it well."
"That's…a very different reaction that I got from…" He stopped talking. He probably shouldn't talk bad about the man's twin.
"From Vilkas?" Farkas finished for him so Vincent nodded, miserably. "Don't worry about my brother. He doesn't like magic but he won't complain when it's helping us."
"If you don't mind me asking, Farkas…why does he hate magic so much…?"
Farkas stopped walking and took a deep sigh. "That's a long story, Vincent and I'm not sure I should be the one to tell you."
"But-"
"Don't worry so much about how Vilkas will react to something. My brother is strict but he has a good heart. He's passionate about what he does and he's damn good at it. He'll die to protect you or anyone of us. THAT is all that should matter."
"You're right. I'm sorry, Farkas. I just…don't want to burn any bridges while I'm here."Farkas chuckled and pat him on the back again. Vincent flinched at the force behind the blow but was pretty sure Farkas just didn't know his own strength. They resumed walking.
"Well, just remember…Aela, Skjor and I like you well enough. Three out of four anit half bad."
"I guess not…but should I apologize to him?"
"To Vilkas? For what?"
"I…gave him a bit of an attitude earlier."
"Well, I'm sure my brother was doing something to deserve it…but do so if it makes you feel better. Not sure it will change a thing, though."
"Okay…thanks."
"Well… here we are."They stopped outside the door that the snoring was emitting from. Vincent chuckled slightly from the noise."Hope snoring doesn't bother you Vincent."
"No it doesn't."
"Do you have any possessions?"
"I brought a knapsack with me. It's still up in the hall."
"Well, go get that and set yourself up in an empty bed. I look forward to working with you Vincent…I don't see too many Bretons in Skyrim."
Vincent smiled, kindly enough. "Thank you, Farkas. You've been really kind to me ever since we've met. I appreciate that."
"No problem, Vincent. Welcome to the companions."
Vincent watched as Farkas turned and walked away. He is a nice man…Vincent mused as he jogged back up the stairs to get his knapsack. He snatched it off the floor where he left it and found its contents undisturbed. Throwing it over his shoulder, he took it back downstairs and into the living quarters where he'd be staying. He choose a bed near the back, mostly confined to itself and without many people around. He made sure it was the bed farthest from that Nord woman he'd bumped into earlier. He set the knapsack down and took off his pastel colored coat. He hung it on a wall peg near by before sitting down on the bed and slipping his boots off. He pulled his knapsack a bit closer and started digging around in it. He pulled out his potion and set it on the bedside table before looking into his alchemy pouch. He had enough ingredients for three more doses of that. Soon he'd have to go looking for some."Maybe I'll get some new plants when I go out on missions for the companions." He muttered to himself to feel less alone. It was something he'd grown accustomed to.
He took his potion off the table and with a quick grimace drank it in one gulp. He almost wretched up from the taste of it. He could feel it working though and he almost let out a sigh of relief. He corked the bottle and put it back in his knapsack before closing it up and setting it aside.
He swung his feet over so he was flaying on the bed now and pulled the furs over his body. It was pretty comfortable…much better then what he'd been used to these past five years. He sighed and shut his eyes. The sun would be coming up soon and she should at least try to sleep. He mostly stayed awake, however…his mind occupied with thoughts of Vilkas and how to make it up to him.