U.O.T.W. Chapter 169 Watching from on High

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    Aela smiled as she thought back to what happened inside the mine; what Sotek said he had seen. Now it all made sense; at least to her. Determined to put it to the test, she made sure there was an opportunity when they headed back to Whiterun.

     

    Half way into their journey, Aela pulled Sotek aside and led him off by the hand. She ignored the wolf whistling from her ‘brothers’ and carried on walking in silence until they were a thousand yards away from the group.

     

    Sotek was curious as to what Aela wanted but he gave her the chance to explain when she was ready to. Expecting her to tell him what it was about, he raised an eyebrow when she spoke.

    “Stand still and close your eyes then tell me what you can smell”.

     

    Having no reason not to trust her, he obeyed and closed his eyes as he was instructed. He sniffed at the air, trying to piece together the different smells.

    “Grass... you and ermm?”

     

    Aela slapped the back of his head, taking care not to hit a bone spike lest she hurt herself. He flinched from the impact but he still kept his eyes closed as Aela told him off.

    “Try harder! Stop trying to think of an answer and tell me what you can smell”.

     

    He held his eyes tightly shut then tried again.

    “This is silly, ermm”.

    As he relaxed his mind he suddenly smelt something on the wind. The more he locked on to it the more prominent the scent became.

    “Deer! I can smell deer; two of them and a stag, over there!” He turned and pointed up wind towards some deer while at the same time he kept his eyes shut”.

     

    Aela threw her arms around him and planted a big kiss on his lips making him jump with fright. Excitedly she divulged her own theory as to what had happened to Scarface in the mine.

    “Yes, you did it! Oh wow, he’s watching! He’s actually watching us”.

     

    Sotek moved his head back away from Aela as if she was crazy. Feeling more than a little bemused, he asked her about the ‘he’ she had mentioned.

    “Huh? Who is? Who exactly is ‘he’ anyhow?”

     

    Aela playfully huffed and slapped him in the chest with the back of her hand.

    “Hircine is you idiot! That’s why your head... Scarface’s head went dizzy. Don’t you see? Oh Hircine you’re thick at times. He became more in focus with the beast blood so your sense of smells improved. Oh thank Hircine the light’s come on; now you understand. Bet you... When we hunt next you’ll notice a massive difference in your senses. You remember I said that the more Scarface eats the more in tune he becomes?”

     

    Sotek chuckled as he watched the stag in the distance. It lifted its head and turned towards him as if it knew that one day they were likely to clash. Switching his attention back to Aela, Sotek asked about her own personal experiences in receiving boons.

    “Do the stages affect you like that?”

     

    “No, but then I’m not a typical werewolf. For a start I wasn’t turned. I’ve always been a werewolf and I’m female so it affects me completely differently. The strange thing is though, I have known male werewolf’s to become more in tune and even they didn’t suffer the effect that it did on you. Thinking back, your turning wasn’t normal either was it?”

     

    Sotek ignored her last question. Instead, he acted surprised.

    “You what? You’re a female? You’re kidding me?” Sotek grabbed the hem of Aela’s armor and tugged on it, vainly trying to lift it up so he could check what sex Aela was.

     

    She retaliated by kicking out with her leg in an attempt to break away from him but he dodged out of the way. While she was laughing, she shouted at him.

    “You’re a bloody idiot”.

     

    “That’s not fair; I was only trying to check”. Sotek stated in an upset voice. He joined in laughing while he thought about what she had said. “So... That was Scarface becoming more used to being a werewolf? Well as long as it doesn’t happen during a fight else I’ll have problems”.

     

    The she-wolf sighed then lightly bashed her shoulder into him, telling him to hold her.

    “It won’t. That only happens when we feed. Don’t expect it all the time though; it can take ages for the next stage”.

     

    Sotek was surprised at this news. He found himself struggling to take everything in.

    “The next stage? How many stages are there for howling out loud?”

     

    Smirking at his comment, Aela hurriedly explained before dragging him back to the awaiting pack.

    “Oh there aren’t a set amount of boons; it’s just the werewolf becoming more in tune with itself. Some go through more stages than others. Move yourself! We’re falling behind”.

     

    As they made their way back, Sotek asked one final question before they became too close to the Whelps to talk.

    “Is it always going to affect Scarface like that?”

     

    “Probably. I suppose it all depends on what boon you get. There’s no hand book on ‘How to live as a werewolf’ you know. You just have to ride it out. I’ll be there with you. We’ll be ok. Come on slow coach”.

    Then she started sprinting to catch the others up. Sotek ran behind her, as he ran she slightly slowed down allowing him to fall in alongside.

     

    By late afternoon they arrived back at Whiterun where Sotek and Aela took the Whelps round to the different shops selling their loot to the traders and the blacksmiths. After an hour or so they had practically finished selling everything except for a few scrolls which Aela looted from the chest.

     

    Knowing Farengar would be interested in them, Sotek made his way to Dragonsreach where Farengar, the court mage resided. Sotek had hardly spoken to him when the Argonian asked Aela, who was poking around Farengar’s alchemy desk to head back into the main hall and wait for him.

     

    Ten minutes later Sotek reappeared but he seemed sullen and he kept his thoughts to himself. In his hand he held his leather map. He folded it up and hastily shoved it into his shirt. Without any explanation, or even acknowledging Aela was even there, he headed to Jorrvaskr.

     

    As they climbed the steps of Jorrvaskr, Aela held Sotek back by taking hold of his arm. She pulled him to the side and enquired on the sudden change of his behaviour.

    “What’s wrong?”

     

    She could see he was troubled and his words completely failed to restore any confidence.

    “Oh nothing; nothing for you to worry about”. Changing the subject, he handed her all the gold from the sales and began playfully shoving her towards the door. “Divide it up amongst everyone but don’t forget the Harbinger’s share”. Then without another word he entered Jorrvaskr leaving her standing there. She turned around and followed him inside.

     

    Aela was taken aback to find Sotek standing near the door instead of typically sitting on his step. He was watching the Whelps tell of their day to Kodlak. The old Nord looked up at the two Companions and gave a smile which Aela returned but Sotek never lost the intense glaring stare.

     

    She held his arm once more and tugged on it as she desperately tried to get his attention.

    “What’s up?”

     

    “Huh? Oh sorry ermm it’s nothing you can help with. Not just yet anyway. Look I ermm I... You know what? I can’t do this”. He then turned back to Kodlak and called out to him. Everyone heard the gruff serious tone in his voice. “Harbinger? Can I have a word?”

     

    Kodlak looked over to him, he could see Sotek was troubled so he readily agreed whilst he tried to add a bit of humor in an attempt to down play the heavy atmosphere Sotek had unwittingly created.

    “Yes, but you’re the Harbinger”.

     

    Sotek looked sternly at him and shook his head.

    “You might not be so fast or keen to make that statement once you’ve heard what I’ve got to say”.

     

    Before Aela could ask him what he meant he spoke to her.

    “Go get some food and drink. We all did well today; go celebrate with the others”. Then once he was happy that Kodlak was approaching he turned around and headed outside where he waited for Kodlak.

     

    Aela went to follow him but Kodlak called out to her, drawing her away from the doors.

    “Aela, what happened?”

     

    Feeling utterly clueless, she shook her head and offered no explanation.

    ”I don’t know. Earlier he..... Can we talk in the Infirmary?”

     

    Feeling like a small dingy in a storm, Kodlak groaned then escorted Aela into the Infirmary so she could talk openly with him. He had already guessed Scarface and Red were involved else Aela wouldn’t need the private discussion.

    “Red and Scarface; let’s hear it”

     

    Aela gulped then sat down on a chair and spilled her guts. Telling Kodlak everything.

    “We cleared out a bandit camp. Don’t have a go at him; he really needed it, badly. Red and Scarface cleared out the inside of an old mine while Farkas and Vilkas kept the Whelps outside. Inside, after we ate; Scarface went a bit odd... dizzy and unbalanced. However it now seems that he was granted a boon, his senses have improved. Don’t have a go at him; he really needed to do it”.

     

    Kodlak rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it firmly. She knew he wasn’t happy but he could tell there was something else as well.

    “Ok, you both disobeyed me... That doesn’t fit the way Sotek is acting... does it? He’s troubled, I can feel it and so can you. Do you think they are related?”

     

    Aela shook her head and huffed as she folded her arms across her chest.

    “No, this is something else”.

     

    Kodlak left her there and entered the yard to find Sotek sitting on the lowest step. He had been rolling a stone around in the dust, creating a swirling pattern.

     

    When Sotek realized Kodlak was there, he jumped up to his feet and started walking around Jorrvaskr.

    “Can we talk at the Skyforge? I want Eorlund to hear what I got to say as well”.

     

    Kodlak nodded then followed behind as Sotek led the way up the ramp to the Skyforge. Once there, Sotek motioned for both Eorlund and Kodlak to sit by the edge of the forge. Only then did he offer any sort of account for the way he was acting.

    “I need to speak to the Harbinger and the other Companions but before I do, I would rather speak to two trusted friends so it is to those that I speak to now. Kodlak, Eorlund..... To put things as simply as possible; I want to take all the Whelps with me and slay a dragon!”

     

     

Comments

3 Comments   |   The Sunflower Manual and 6 others like this.
  • Ebonslayer
    Ebonslayer   ·  December 1, 2016
    Well, someone's gonna die.
  • The Long-Chapper
    The Long-Chapper   ·  November 1, 2016
    Yeah, lol, I'm wondering the same thing, Harrow.
  • The Sunflower Manual
    The Sunflower Manual   ·  October 28, 2016
    ...that ought to go well.