U.O.T.W. Chapter 137 Introductions

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    Kodlak led the members of the Inner Circle down the stairway to the Undercroft where they all gathered in his study. He sat in his favourite chair which happened to allow him to look down the corridor of the Undercroft while Farkas and Vilkas eagerly prodded Sotek.

    “Come on then!” Farkas stated as he tried to get Sotek to hurry up with his transformation.

    Aela stepped in and took charge. She grabbed the two brothers by the arms and spun them around on the spot so they were facing the Harbinger.

    “Nope! Farkas, Vilkas, you both stand about five feet apart. Don’t turn around, you have to keep facing Kodlak. Harbinger, let me know if either of these two devil’s try’s to sneak a peek. If you two do, then I’ll cut your eyes out. Sotek will change behind you”.

    Vilkas started turning around but Aela held his chin and moved his head back so he was facing his front once more.

    “Aela, get off. Why can’t we watch?”

    “Because he isn’t fully used to changing yet, that’s why. You know how much his changes hurt him. Now, shut up and wait will you?” Aela sounded sincere but she was grinning broadly and barely contained her excitement.

    The two brothers turned around and waited as they were instructed, while Aela took her position next to Sotek. The Harbinger’s eyes glistened with curiosity, fuelled by Aela’s strange behaviour. Sotek gave Aela a nod then prepared to change while she mimed a warning to Kodlak.

    Don’t… jump”.

    With everything in place and nothing further to do, Sotek started his transformation. His head lifted up as he silently howled out while black fur spread over his body, absorbing his armor and scales. His legs rapidly grew and stretched out while his tail shrank as fur sprouted from its tip. All remanence of Sotek was now lost yet he continued to grow until his weight had tripled in size. After a few seconds his transformation was complete. Where a seventeen stone six ft tall Argonian was once standing, now stood Scarface, a werewolf who by Aela’s estimation weighted around forty-five stone and was easily nine feet tall. Aela smirked to herself as Scarface stretched upwards, raising his head until he smacked it on the study’s ceiling rafters.

    The Harbinger jumped in fright, nearly tipping over his chair in the process. He slammed the palm of his hand on the table top which stopped him falling backwards onto the floor. Initially he was lost for words but his eyes said it all. They were wide open giving him the appearance of an old grey owl while his jaw dropped down until his chin came to rest on his chest. He stared blankly at the werewolf then across to Aela who had a beaming smile plastered across her face. It was only the fact that Aela affectionately stroked Scarface’s arm and the way the werewolf reacted to her touch which prevented Kodlak from yelling out; that and the fact that he was nigh incapable of talking.

    He picked up a decanter of brandy and tried to pour some of the expensive yet near burning liquid in a glass but his hands were shaking too much. He spilled some on his hand which distracted him for a few moments, fortunately giving him time to gather his wits. Kodlak placed the glass back on the table and drank from the bottle instead. He swallowed a mouthful of the brandy which caused him to cough and splutter.

    Once he replaced the decanter on the table top he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and glanced up once more at Scarface. Now, after a few seconds, he managed to say two basic words.

    “Oh my”.

    Upon seeing the Harbinger’s startled reaction, the two brothers couldn’t contain themselves. Farkas, who was on the verge of desperation, kept twitching his head as he fought off the temptation to turn around. He pleaded with Aela who he thought was trying to wind him up by refusing to let him see the form of ‘Omega II’; a name the two Companions agreed upon without Aela’s or Sotek’s knowledge.

    “Harbinger? Has he changed? He has hasn’t he? Can we look now? Oh come on Aela let us look”.

    Vilkas couldn’t wait either. He sided with his brother and begged for permission to catch just a glimpse of their new victim.

    “Yes come on Aela! Let us see him; he can’t be worse than the troll can he? We want to see Omega II”

    Aela’s eyes narrowed and the edge of her lip rose up showing her teeth. She had intended to let them turn around but Vilkas’s words cut into her like a knife.

    “Omega II? What the hell? You want to see Omega II?”

    She guided Scarface’s front paws up and rested them on her sibling’s shoulders as she nodded to him.

    Go on, show them”.

    Scarface flexed his paws and firmly took hold of the two Companions shoulders. The werewolf relaxed his arms, allowing his limbs to push down on the two brothers who buckled under the weight.

    While he held them where they stood, Scarface slowly and quietly stuck his head between them both and then gave a low heavy growl which seemed to echo down the corridor like thunder.

    The two Companions both jumped in fright. Vilkas was transfixed on the large paw that gripped his shoulder while Farkas turned around to be greeted by a massive set of fangs which dripped saliva.

    The moment he saw Scarface he staggered forwards, breaking Scarface’s hold. Farkas’s mouth fell agape and his eyes were wide with fear as he recognised the creature that stood before him.

    “What the bloody hell?” He stepped away in shock and became transfixed as he looked up to see Scarface’s bright emerald green eyes peering down intently gazing upon him. “Bloody hell, it’s him!!”

    As he garbled out the words, Scarface opened his maw, displaying his deadly fangs. Farkas backed away, inadvertently knocking over a chair. It crashed to the floor causing Scarface to tilt his head to the side as he watched Farkas tumble over the piece of furniture. His foot become entangled with it as he tried to step over the chair which hindered his retreat. A desperate cry drew everyone to see Farkas tumble backwards to the floor. He tried to grab a bookcase in an attempt to prevent himself from falling over but instead of recovering his trip all he managed to do was to pull the bookcase down on top of himself.

    Vilkas, who was now as white as a piece of linen, was too busy staring at Scarface. His own sense of preservation was lost to him and all he could do was yell.

    “By the gods!!”

    Scarface returned his shout with a loud growl, causing Vilkas to back away. He never looked where he was going and bashed into the Harbinger’s table, knocking it over along with the decanter of brandy.

    Kodlak’s hand shot out but instead of trying to grab Vilkas so he wouldn’t fall on the floor, the Harbinger snatched the bottle of expensive brandy from the air, saving it from a death plunge.

    “No you don’t, thank you”. He stayed sitting in his chair nursing his bottle while Vilkas hid behind the upturned table.

    Aela burst out laughing at the pair of them; she laughed so much she fell on her knees holding her side while the Harbinger sat there dumbfounded. His face, full of surprise quickly changed to one of anguish as he surveyed his study which now lay trashed by Farkas’s and Vilkas’s efforts to move out of Scarface’s way. Books now littered the floor along with all his paper work which was in a neat pile on his table. He picked up a few sheets of parchment and shook off the brandy which had spilled on them causing the ink to run across the page.

    “Vilkas, you blithering idiot! I spent ages drafting these!” His mind turned to the ‘jackal’ who was still on her knees giggling to herself. “Aela, control yourself. Look what you did to my study”.

    Aela picked herself up from the floor and gave Scarface a big smile before she dealt with the state of the room, causing her to laugh even louder. She shook her head at him and waved her hand around in refusal of any responsibility.

    “You can’t blame me for this. It’s not my fault they are cowards. But where are my manners. Harbinger, everyone, this is Scarface. He’s ermm Sotek’s werewolf form. Hey, Scarface! Will you please smile; you’re making them nervous”.

    Scarface whined at Aela as he didn’t understand what she was asking from him. She tutted under her breath then exaggerated a smile as she pointed towards the Harbinger.

    Scarface turned towards Kodlak and snarled at him, showing all his fangs. Aela quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back, fearful that he misunderstood what she wanted him to do.

    “No! Don’t do that, we like the Harbinger!” She glanced at Kodlak and shrugged her shoulders. “He was saying hello. At least I hope that was hello. He’s in training”.

    Kodlak’s eyes fixed on the massive canine white teeth, and the overly large clawed paws. The thought of Red tearing up the Undercroft along with such a beast as Scarface filled him with dread and apprehension.

    “Can’t someone else train him? Does it have to be you?”

    The she-wolf huffed dejectedly at his remark and dismissed his request out of hand.

    “No they can’t, stop being silly!” Kodlak rolled his eyes at her but she chose to ignore him and focused her attention on Farkas who was still sitting amongst the books which littered the floor. Her foot started taping as she recalled the name ‘Omega II’, something she found to be contemptible and disrespectful.

    Aela tapped Scarface on the arm and pointed towards the hapless Companion.

    “Pick him up. You know? Lift?” She went through the motions of picking someone up by their sides and pointed a second time at Farkas who held his hands up to stop her game but she wasn’t listening; she was having too much fun.

    Scarface stepped forwards with a loud thud as his paw crashed on the ground, causing various bottles and flasks to tip over on the shelves they were sitting on, spilling their contents on the bookcase. A few vials rolled over the edge of the shelf and fell to the floor spraying out glass and puddles of colored liquid which were added to by the slow dripping of goo trickling off the shelving.

    Dust fell from the ceiling as the shockwave spread through the Undercroft forcing Aela to act. She slapped Scarface in the chest with the back of her hand and yelled at him.

    “Go careful you great lump. You’ll bring the roof down on us. Tread softly.”

    Scarface looked down where Aela had struck him then snorted at her before he resumed his task, picking Farkas up. He pinned Farkas’s arms to his sides and lifted him off the floor with ease while Farkas screamed out and kicked with his legs. He stopped struggling in case he upset the werewolf who towered over them all in case he aggravated him. Instead, he pleaded with the beasts ‘mistress’.

    “Aela, tell him to put me down! Put me down, help!”

    Aela held her hand up, stopping Scarface from making any movement although she made it clear he wasn’t to release his prey. She slinked around the werewolf and stood in front of him, facing a near petrified Farkas.

    “Farkas, you don’t mind if I ask a simple question do you? You see I’ve a slight problem concerning this ‘inn’ situation. Sotek is saying one thing and yet you two are saying another. Now, Sotek says milk is hard to separate from water. It’s one hell of a problem but then so is my answer. My solution is simple; I use Scarface to get to the truth. Start blabbering before I set loose my attack dog. Was it Sotek or you two?”

    Farkas yelled out his confession, admitting the blame as well as entrapping Vilkas in the web.

    “It was us! We were just messing; put me down. Come on sis put me down”.

    Scarface, who seemed to understand the admittance of guilt, bellowed out his howl at Farkas. All the Companion could do was to close his eyes as his face went white with fear while his ‘associate’, Vilkas crawled from the table for better cover.

    Aela spotted his head peek around the edge of the table he was hiding behind and she quickly pointed him out.

    “Put him down. Let’s say hi to Vilkas”.

    Vilkas, much to Kodlak’s amusement, gave out a scream and crawled faster towards the Harbinger for protection. Kodlak stood up and held his hand up to Aela, stopping her game of revenge in its tracks.

    “No, that’s enough. You’ve had your fun and demolished my room. Look at the mess damn it”. He tried to sound somewhat angry but he knew the smirk on his face was a dead giveaway. He couldn’t help but grin at the thought of Vilkas running away on his hands and knees.

    Confidence dripped off Aela like sweat from a Nord in the desert. Leaving Scarface by the doorway, she casually strolled over to the upturned table and reset it. Without bothering to lift the chair up, she dragged it away from where Farkas knocked it over and stood it on its legs by the table. She then boldly sat on the chair and rested her boots on the edge of the table and held her hands behind her head as she leaned back on the seat.

    With a smug smile, she flashed her eyes at the Harbinger and gestured her head towards Scarface.

    “So, what do you think?”

    Kodlak tutted at Aela’s overzealous attitude especially the fact that she rested her feet on his table and the blatant regard to the mess in his study. He knew she set the two brothers up for a fall but when he considered the jibing she and Sotek had put up with he couldn’t exactly blame her. He just wished the idiot who suggested his study in the first place had shut their mouth. Knowing full well it was his own suggestion; he vowed to ensure the next occasion would be in Aela’s room. Such thoughts were put aside as he stood up to examine Scarface more closely.

    “So this is the Scarface I’ve been hearing so much of. Are you telling me Scarface was Sotek all along?”

    Aela’s bravado collapsed like a sandcastle caught in the path of a hurricane. She sat up in the chair and leaned forwards so she could fix her eyes on a crack in the floor. She much preferred looking at that rather than being caught in the Harbinger’s gaze which she found to be intimidating.

    “Yes he was. He doesn’t remember anything while he was Scarface though. Everything before the Hunt; it’s all a blank to him”.

    Scarface shook his head side to side and growled as he changed back to his Argonian form. After a few seconds, Sotek rolled his head around his shoulders then stretched out where he stood. He couldn’t help but smile as he said.

    “Pain free transformation. I can get used to that”.

    His face changed from ecstatic to one of wonder and confusion when he noticed the state of the room. He pointed at Vilkas who was still sitting on the floor, staring angrily back at him.

    “Ermm Vilkas? Farkas? Why are you both on the floor?” he turned his back on them and singled out the third member of the Inner Circle; Aela.

    “Never mind them, we need a word. Scarface isn’t your attack dog you know”.

    Aela burst out laughing and doubled up in the chair.

    Tears of joy fell down her cheeks as she looked up at Sotek’s face. His tail lifted up and slammed on the floor which only added to her amusement. She wiped her face then raised herself up and approached him.

    “Oh I know you big lug. I was just playing with these two. Hell can you blame me? All the ridicule they gave us? Farkas, you look as white as snow. Whatever is the matter?” As Aela watched Farkas pull himself up she started chuckling again.

    Vilkas slowly got to his feet and dusted himself off. He looked around the room and groaned.

    “Bloody hell Sotek! Look at this mess. Damn it Aela, you scared the bloody crap out of us”.

    Aela’s initial reply was to blow a raspberry at Vilkas. Before he could react to it, she laid in to him, defending her actions as an act of revenge for his taunts.

    “That was the idea; you stupid pair of bastards. All day we put up with your antics and you were trying to cause an argument between us. Yes, I remember what Farkas said; it was all down to you two. You got what you deserved, anyway, enough about you. There you go, Sotek’s werewolf form. Big bastard isn’t he?”

    The Harbinger fell silent while he mentally measured Scarface’s size to Sotek’s own height. He pictured Red where Scarface had stood and scratched his head in bewilderment.

    “Red has to lower her head to enter the study but at least she can fit through the door. I’ve never seen such a beast stand so tall let alone be so perfectly proportionate. Being that high I expected him to be somewhat skinnier”.

    Aela nodded as she looked at the doorway.

    “And he’s fast! Red can’t catch him”.

    Kodlak’s face turned sour as Aela’s words sank in.

    “You what? Don’t you dare tell me that thing has been running around the plains!”

    Sotek was quick with his repartee and answered Kodlak’s concerns.

    “Hell no. I changed in Bloated Man’s Grotto yes, but that was it. Except the other times of course but you can’t blame me for those as I had no say in them anyway”. Sotek glanced at his left shoulder and rolled it around, testing the joint for movement. He shrugged to himself then tapped the shoulder with his clawed finger. “Oh, yes, Scarface? He also regenerates his wounds without the need to feed. It would seem his healing ability affects me as well. It wasn’t Arcadia’s potions which healed my shoulder, it was him. During the hunt Scarface was wounded across the chest but during the following fight the wound healed”.

    The Harbinger slowly shook his head with concern. Once he took in all the information, he gave his study a quick once over then pointed down the corridor.

    “Farkas, Vilkas, as you two are the biggest cowards in the Companions, you two can clear this mess up. Mop and bucket, go fetch!” He then turned to Aela and dismissed her from his presence. “I’m too old for this sort of shock. Go upstairs and tell Tilma these two need some supervising”.

    Aela ran in front of the two brothers and playfully slapped Vilkas on the back of the head as she shot past him.

    Farkas and Vilkas trudged along the passageway behind Aela and grumbled to each other. Farkas mumbled quietly so Aela couldn’t hear him.

    “You do realise now we can’t touch her don’t you? No more windups”.

    Vilkas swore revenge on her. He gave a sneaky look over his shoulder at Sotek and nodded to himself.

    “Oh don’t worry; we just have to get him on our side”.

    Kodlak watched Aela as she disappeared through the doorway to the main hall before he chose to speak to Sotek privately.

    “Please tell me you have more control over Scarface than Aela does”.

    Sotek shrugged his shoulders at the thought. He wished he could lay the Harbinger’s fears to rest but he didn’t know himself.

    “All I can tell you is Aela has more control over him than Hircine does”.

    Kodlak’s face disappeared beneath his hand as he groaned despairingly.

    “I fear Hircine may have created a monster”. As he spoke he slowly shook his head while he glanced down the now empty corridor.

    Sotek looked to where he was facing and pondered on his words.

    “You’re not referring to Scarface are you?”

    Instead of replying, Kodlak patted him on the shoulder then walked along the corridor, leaving him alone in the study.

     

     

Comments

16 Comments   |   Hasir and 1 other like this.
  • Hasir
    Hasir   ·  January 19, 2020
    I liked this chapter Sotek. one question, how did you get your screenshots? Did you use the ‘prtscrn’ key to screenshot Skyrim or did you created these screenshots yourself? You do strike me as a graphics arts major.
  • Aela The Huntress
    Aela The Huntress   ·  May 29, 2016
    This chapter was hilarious. I waited so long for this but it was well worth the wait.
  • Exuro
    Exuro   ·  May 29, 2016
    My heart skipped a beat; I thought the brandy was going to break! Aela reminded me of John Connor in Terminated 2 when he's ordering Arnold to mess with those thugs in the beginning.
    @NoOne: I saw your meme before reading this, so when I got to Kodl...  more
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  May 26, 2016
    HAHAHA
    I like it.
  • NoOneIsHear
    NoOneIsHear   ·  May 26, 2016
    Sorry it was Kodlak's reaction, I just had to do it  
  • NoOneIsHear
    NoOneIsHear   ·  May 26, 2016
  • Ebonslayer
    Ebonslayer   ·  May 25, 2016
    That's a very big werewolf.
  • The Long-Chapper
    The Long-Chapper   ·  May 25, 2016
    Yay Peechur!
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  May 25, 2016
    Added the picture and the link bars to the chapter.
  • Ebonslayer
    Ebonslayer   ·  May 24, 2016
    Yes, that's paragraph 55 unless my counting is wrong.