Upon entering the garrison the two Companions initially found themselves in a small entryway. The first thing that drew Aela’s attention were two werewolf heads impaled upon poles like they were trophies of earlier kills. Each one was positioned either side of the stairway almost as if to warn other werewolves of their fate should they be unfortunate enough to be captured. Aela pulled the heads off one at a time and rested them on the floor to the side while Vilkas looked on.
“Bastards!!! Why isn’t killing enough? And they call us animals”. She then spat on the ground as she vented her disgust.
Their progression through the complex was hindered by a portcullis which had been lowered down so it separated them both from the stairwell which laid just beyond the thick iron bars. Vilkas found the release chain and gave it a pull. A rumbling sounded out from counterweights shifting position as they lifted up the iron barricade thereby allowing them unrestricted access once more.
Vilkas secured the chain so the portcullis couldn’t lower a second time then scratched his head as curiosity swamped his mind.
“What’s the point of that then?” He wondered.
Aela just looked at it then shrugged her shoulders at him.
“I suppose it’s part of their lockdown. The cowards”
Without giving it any further thought they headed down the stairway into the depths.
Aela led the way as she slowly crept down each step. Her lungs strained to bursting point due to her hardly daring to draw breath. Although the air was stagnant, she could clearly smell the scent of her prey, Silverhands. As she neared the bottom of the stairs, it opened up into a living area. She smiled with a hint of satisfaction knowing her senses were as usual razor sharp like Red’s claws. Sitting at the table in the corner was a single Silverhand drinking from a flask. On the right was a fireplace where various pots hung over the fire. The utensils used to stir the pungent pork stew which was slowly bubbling away were resting on a stool alongside a large bowl of rice. “Steady here, there’s two”. Vilkas whispered his warning as he drew alongside his Shield Sister.
Aela loaded her bow and looked around the room carefully.
“Yep but I can’t see the other one”. She took aim and prepared to fire.
“Wait, Aela get behind me”. She un-notched the arrow then climbed a few steps so she could see over his shoulder then she readied her Dragonbone bow a second time. Taking careful aim, she fired and released hell. The arrow sliced through the air and embedded into the back of the Silverhand with a sickening thud. The man who was in full steel plate armour burst into flames on impact which momentarily lit up the far corner of the room as he slumped down at the table. The flask he was drinking from spun away from his hand as it spilled the contents across the floor.
“Wow that’s cool..” Vilkas remarked. Just as he spoke the second Silverhand ran around the corner and swung a double handed silver broadsword at Aela. He didn’t even realizing Vilkas was there as well. Vilkas instantly brought his weapon up to counter the blow as he cried out in surprise.
“Not cool, definitely not cool”.
Counter swinging his weapon in an upward arc, Vilkas threw the Silverhand off balance which allowed him to stamp down hard at the Silverhand’s knee. His heavy boot caught the side of the kneecap perfectly and shattered the joint sending his opponent crashing onto the floor in agony. Within seconds Vilkas silenced him. With both hands gripping the hilt tightly, he thrust the blade into the Silverhands chest, the force of the blow bypassed all the armors resistance.
The moment the second Silverhand died, both Vilkas and Aela froze as they always did while they listened out for any indication that their presence was detected. Once they were happy that they weren’t discovered, they started to search the room. Aela sniffed at the bubbling pot and screwed her face up. “Pork? Yuck, that smells awful!!!” She soon cheered up though when she found a chest on the bottom of an old bookcase and laid claim to it.
“My find, my loot”. She exclaimed.
Vilkas just laughed at her.
“Like you can cook any better, you can’t toast a sweet roll without burning it. You got no chance with that either girl, sorry but that’s mine. He then produced a lockpick and playfully pushed her out of the way.
“Damn it’s an expert lock… I always have trouble with these”. As he tried to pick it, Aela stood over him and deliberately blocked the light.
She started tutting at him and shaking her head every time he broke a lockpick. “Look it’s not like you can open them, your hopeless at locks. Give me some space”. She stood back and crossed her fingers hoping he would fail. After six more lockpicks he gave up and admitted defeat.
“Damn it all”.
“Can I try?” She asked as a big grin smothered her face.
Vilkas looked at her then laughed as he climbed up to his feet.
“Ok this will be good for a giggle”.
Her face turned all serious as she walked over to the chest.
“You think I can’t pick it?”
“Aela I know you can’t. You always struggle with the basic ones. You’re too emotional with them”. He stated fully confident that she would get wound up then admit that she couldn’t do it.
“Ok the contents of the box and say 10 gold?” She stood there with her hands behind her back and her fingers crossed as she hoped he would agree.
Vilkas’s eyes narrowed as he examined her demeanor.
“Hang on, how many lockpicks?” He knew Sotek was rubbing off on her, they were as thick as thieves at times.
“She studied the lock for several seconds before nodding to herself.
“I’ll do it in three”. She sat cross legged in front of the box and smugly looked up at him.
“Three? Ha!!! Ok your on”. He went to hand over three lockpicks but was stopped dead in his tracks by Aela’s next few words.
“No thanks, I got my own”. She stated coldly with a hint of smugness.
Instantly Vilkas was worried as his hand shoved the lockpicks back in his pouch.
“When did you start carrying lockpicks around?” He demanded. A deep raw feeling of trickery started filling his gut.
Aela quietly talked as she started to pick the lock.
“Oh since Sotek…” Then the first lockpick broke. However Vilkas was really worried, she didn’t curse like she used to. “Now I got it” She smiled. “Since… Sotek spend a day with me teaching me how to pick…‘CLICK’… locks. Hooray”. She cheered as the chest opened.
He just stood there in total disbelief. She opened the chest and found a Flawless emerald along with a scroll. There was also a fair few gold coins laying loosely in the bottom of the chest.
“Oh look, and it’s all mine!!!” She beamed as she scooped up the gold septims.
Vilkas grumbled with disgust as he started heading towards the far stairwell.
“Hang on you… Where you going?” She called out. He turned around to see her standing there with her hand out while she waited for her gold. Reluctantly he threw a small pouch and hit her in the chest with it. She put it in her pack as she sniggered at him.
“You ought to control your emotions you know”.
Vilkas took point and headed up a large circular stairway. When they approached the top, Aela grabbed his arm and tugged a few times to silently draw his attention.
“Watch the foot plate!!!” Vilkas nodded as he stopped and looked where she was pointing. Just at the top of the stairwell, smothered in dust was the pressure plate which Aela had alerted him to. Beyond the stairwell there was a long wide corridor with various cells situated on the left side. At the far end they could make out the shadowy shape of a Silverhand who was patrolling the area. Just in front of them was another Silverhand sitting at a table.
Aela crept forwards and poked her head up over the top of the steps just enough to see her target. She dismissed the furthest Silverhand as her priority target and focused on the man sitting down instead. A slight swoosh whistled out as the arrow struck the Silverhand forcibly in his back. He was engulfed in fire and ice due to the enchants on Aela’s bow. However despite the horrific forces let lose upon him, he stayed sitting up due to the arrow which pinned him in place to the chair.
The second Silverhand came running along the length of the room towards him. Aela stuck her head up so she was in plain sight and let lose a second arrow. This time however the missile hit the pressure plate. A massive metal grill covered in spikes swung round, pulled by the sudden release of a counterweight. It slammed into the Silverhand and crushed him into the wall as a dozen thick iron spikes tore into him.
The air was thick with the almost sickly smell of blood which actually seemed to heighten all of Aela’s senses. She led the way and stealthily approached the first of the cells. Most of them were in fact empty, however a few had feral werewolves who were growling as she approached. One werewolf threw himself at the bars and swiped at the air as he desperately tried to reach Aela. Vilkas struck it’s arm with the flat of his sword forcing the starved creature to back away.
“Watch yourself here. They can smell Red’s scent. It’s not just food they’re after”.
Aela’s lip lifted slightly as she stood her ground and growled back at the werewolf.
“They can try!!!” When she neared the cell and looked at the feral werewolf and the condition it was kept in, it automatically bought back memories for her when she was held captive. Her heart sank when she stared at the small pile of straw which was strewn about to scantly cover the stone floor. “Look at the poor bastards. We can’t leave them here for those murderous scum torture”.
“We can’t do anything about them now. When we’re finished here, we’ll sort them out. It’ll be quick”. Vilkas egged her on through the cells, aware that she was upset. As they made their way to the end of the corridor there was a single stairway leading down but before they moved any further Vilkas stepped back in alarm due to the frenzied shouting from below. “Damn it… Their coming up”.
They both ran and hid in an empty cell. Aela quickly yanked the key out of its lock before she pulled it closed so they couldn’t be trapped in its confines. They both moved back into the shadows just as the leader and two other Silverhands came rushing past their cell. The Silverhand who appeared to be in charge threw open another door on the other side of the large room as he franticly shouted out orders to the others. Within seconds they ran up a stairwell to the floor above.
Aela slowly pushed open the cell door as she listened out for any movement.
“You think it’s a trick?”
Vilkas slowly shook his head as his eyes seemed to scan everywhere for some vital clue as to what was happening.
“Nope that was panic… And it wasn’t caused by us”. He took point and headed down the stairway. “Let’s see what’s going on”. All they could hear was shouting and screaming along with a strange deep terrifying howl.
Aela didn’t agree.
“We’re skeevers trapped in a cage, let’s get the hell outta here. There may be another way out down there. they usually have two routes out”.
When they reached the bottom of the stairway, the two Companions found themselves in a huge circular room. Furs lined the walls while several racks securely held the bodies of werewolves who had died during the skinning process which the Silverhands undoubtedly seemed to enjoy. Chunks of fur and flesh were cast adrift in pools of blood while blades and crude knifes of all descriptions along with a multitude of calipers littered the floor. At the far end was another door so Aela cautiously approached it. The handle turned easily and as she opened it she found herself looking at a stairway leading upwards. Once again Vilkas took point. He drew his sword as he slowly ascended the steps.
The stairway lead to a plain corridor with a door on the far side. Vilkas wasn’t as alert as he should have been and Aela was too slow. As they walked along the passageway, she spotted a trap plate.
“Stop!!!” She shouted out as quickly as she could but she was too late. Vilkas set off the trap with his heavy boots. Within seconds a portcullis dropped down behind him, instantly separating the two Companions. “No, no. No!!!. This isn’t happening… You bloody moron”. Aela stared at him through the thick bars in utter disbelief as she was now trapped within the confines of the tunnel. Desperately they tried to lift it but it was fixed solid in place. Vilkas scurried along the passageway like a skeever to try to find a lever but there wasn’t one. Having no other choice, he dejectedly headed back towards Aela and the torrent of verbal abuse which spilled from her viper like tongue.
“Aela, I’ll head around to you… Damn it go careful, Sotek will kill me if you get hurt”. The reality was such that there wasn’t anything else he could do. Aela’s only route was to head back, towards the screaming.
“I’ll bloody kill you, you knucklehead!!! Sotek can have what’s left”. She turned around then carefully made her way back as she tried to control her anger, at the situation she now found herself in.
The last thing she heard Vilkas call out made her growl spitefully.
“Now who needs to control their emotions!!!”
Comments
Hmmm, it certainly would add to the atmosphere to the chapter if the feral werewolves’ were more prominent.
I've fixed the two errors but I am leaving the feral situation 'as is' for the moment. In a few hours I will go over the whole chapt... more
Paragraph 40 from the top, you wrote "...68 gold coins", basically the same thing as with "...50 Dragonbone arrows". I'd say change it to something like "...quite some gold coins" or so.
... more
A small thing: In paragraph 18, the Feral Werewolfs were mentioned, but later on they aren't really present although they can hear the Silve... more