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Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 7th March 2017]
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Companionship
It was very early this morning – yesterday having been the day we fought a whole roomful of draugr – when Farkas and I emerged from the underground bandit hideout to the most beautiful sky I've ever seen. I was reminded of photographs of the Northern Lights, but it was so much better. The difference between a still photograph and the real, moving thing, I suppose. I'd never realised how overwhelmingly glorious the Northern Lights are. I was surrounded by walls of rippling colour, purple and blue dancing joyfully together. Above and behind them, the stars shone, and a moon – larger, or closer, than the moon I'm used to – loomed magnificently behind a castle perched on the tallest mountain I could see. My soul sang in delight at the wonder of it, and at the wonder and ecstasy of still being alive to see it. We stood and watched, awed, until the tongues and flames of purple faded in the light of daybreak, and then Farkas set off towards the road, and towards Whiterun.
As I followed him, lost in my own thoughts about the aurora we'd just seen, I heard a sound from ahead of me. Thinking Farkas was talking to me, I jogged to catch up with him, and discovered that in fact, he was singing. I suppose he was feeling as uplifted as I was by the aurora. It sounded like a folk song, haunting and lyrical, and I was surprised to discover that Farkas has a singing voice to match it.
When the song finished, I didn't want to break the silence. Anything I said would have been an anticlimax after the aurora and Farkas's singing. We walked on through the growing daylight, companionable but unspeaking.
Closer to Whiterun, we began passing other people on the road, and then farms, and the stables, and then we were through the great gates and into the bustling streets of Whiterun itself, and the beauties of the morning seemed to fade somehow into the background as we navigated around the people cheerfully haggling in the market and drawing water from the well, while the smells of fresh bread and cooking meat drifted from the inn door and reminded me I hadn't had breakfast.
And then Jorrvaskr was ahead, looking down on us from the top of its steps as we climbed, and I realised I still had no idea what I was supposed to do with all the things I'd brought back from the bandit lair. Just as Farkas pushed the door open, I finally broke the silence between us.
“Farkas? Who am I supposed to give all the stuff we collected to?”
He looked at me blankly. “Whoever you want.”
“Oh. Right.” I was kicking myself. I should have worked out for myself that I could hand the confiscated items to any of the Circle. If the Companions don't have a leader, then any of the senior staff would be able to deal with it. Obviously. “Do you think you'll be able to track down many of the original owners?”
This time, he stopped and stared at me.
“Why would we do that?”
I gaped at him. Why wouldn't they do that? All the stuff we'd picked up had almost certainly belonged to victims of the bandits. What else would you do except try to return it?
Suddenly, Farkas face brightened. “Oh… You think we were hired to find the stolen goods. No.” He shook his head, just slightly. “This time we're working for ourselves. So what you brought back is your pay.”
I was still gaping. I was supposed to just keep the things we'd collected? Even if they really belonged to someone else?
Farkas clapped me cheerfully on the shoulder and headed purposefully towards the great barrel the Companions were filling their mugs and tankards from, greeting the people who were already there as he went. There seemed to be fewer people than I'd expected, but perhaps the other bandits had set up camp further from Whiterun than ours, and the other groups were still on their way home.
“Not drinking?” An authoritative voice behind me made me jump. When I turned, I saw Vilkas, holding a half-full tankard in one hand and a large cake – they call them 'sweetrolls' – in the other.
“Not yet.” Vilkas didn't walk away. I started to feel that I should be having some kind of conversation with him, but I had no idea what to say. In the end, I blurted some question about whether Farkas had been right to say I should keep everything – and regretted it almost immediately.
“You think my brother doesn't know his job?”
“I… No… I… just wasn't sure I'd understood right…” My voice trailed away in the ferocity of Vilkas's stare.
“Well.” I really, really wanted to shuffle backwards, to be just ever so slightly further away from Vilkas if this was about to turn violent, but I was sure moving would get me into trouble. I just about managed to hold my ground. Eventually, Vilkas let his breath out in an explosive sigh.
“Yeah. My brother isn't always good at explanations. His brains are – not his strong suit.” A smile twitched momentarily at the corners of Vilkas's mouth. No doubt he was contemplating the fighting that undeniably is his brother's 'strong suit'. I couldn't help wondering if Vilkas knows how well Farkas sings. “But this time, he's right, and you understood right. If someone employs us to retrieve stolen goods, that's what we do. But sometimes, like this job, we take on the bandits without being hired, because they're too big a threat to ignore. Those times, whatever we find during the job is our pay. Now, I was sent to find you. Come with me.”
He put his tankard down on a nearby table, and led me out to the back yard, collecting Farkas and Skjor from the group of drinkers as we went. Farkas seemed confused by the summons, asking, “Now? Shouldn't that be this evening?” but Vilkas said something about needing to get it (whatever 'it' was) done in a hurry, and Farkas shrugged and came along.
The backyard is where the Companions do most of their training. It's a big empty space edged by part of Whiterun's defensive wall, and containing archery targets and dummies you can practice your sword-swings against. It's overlooked by a kind of roofed patio – maybe what the Americans would call a verandah, although I'm never sure whether those have to go all the way round a house – where there are tables, and generally people sit and watch the training, or drink, or talk, if it's a nice day. There was no-one there now, but Aela and Kodlak were standing outside, in the training area. As the rest of us arrived, Kodlak began to speak:
“Brothers and Sisters of the Circle, today we welcome a new soul into our mortal hold. This man has endured, has challenged and has showed his valour. Who will speak for him?”
To my surprise, Farkas answered:
“I stand witness to the courage of the soul before us.”
“Would you raise your shield in his defence?”
Gradually, as Kodlak and Farkas exchanged what were obviously ritual questions and responses, I realised this was some kind of initiation ceremony. Which was bad. I didn't want to be initiated. I just wanted to learn to fight well enough to survive the journey to Winterhold.
“I would stand at his back, that the world might never overtake us.”
Despite myself – despite not wanting to be some kind of official Companion, and despite the fact that the words had no doubt been used for every initiation for the past hundred years – I felt oddly touched. These people were prepared to consider me part of their group. Maybe they weren't quite friends of mine, but they were prepared to be my colleagues.
“Would you raise your sword for his honour?”
“It stands ready to meet the blood of his foes.”
“Would you raise a mug in his name?”
I suppressed a smile. I didn't think there was much doubt about the answer to that one.
“I would lead the song in triumph as our mead hall revelled in his stories.”
“Then the judgement of this Circle is complete. His heart beats with the fury and the courage that have united the Companions since the days of the distant green summers. Let it beat with ours, so the mountains may echo and our enemies may tremble at the sound.”
As soon as Kodlak had stopped speaking, the others moved briskly away, nodding amiably at me if they caught my eye, and checking their weapons as they went. I heard several comments about 'the plan'. I'd have asked one of them what was going on, but Skjor came over to me. Skjor is one of the most senior of the (all theoretically equal) members of the Circle. He always makes me a bit nervous, so I didn't dare ask about 'the plan'.
“We need you to go to Shimmermist Cave.” He pulled out a hand-drawn map, spread it on one of the outdoor tables, and described the route to the cave. Once he was satisfied I could find my way there, he told me why he was sending me.
“Rinna Black-Blade. She's been kidnapped. There are rumours that her mother inherited a fortune from an aunt last year, and the kidnappers are demanding a share of the wealth. Siri Black-Blade says she inherited nothing but an old cooking-pot, so she can't pay the ransom. Whether or not that's true, she's paying us to rescue Rinna. We think there's only a small group behind it, so you should be fine on your own.”
“On my own? Wouldn't it be better to send a couple of us?” I was panicking a bit. How big was this 'small group'? On my own, I'd have had no chance against even three of the bandits Farkas and I had fought yesterday.
Skjor looked at me darkly. “One of the groups of bandits is causing us some trouble. The rest of us are all needed there.”
I couldn't hold in my astonishment. “All of you?” If it needed the whole of the Circle, it must be pretty serious.
Skjor was grim. “All of us. They have vampires with them. Among other things.” I saw his jaw clench, and wondered just how bad things were. “Kodlak will be here, so you can report to him once you've taken the girl home.” He paused, and glanced down at my belt contemptuously. “Get yourself a decent weapon from Eorlund at the Skyforge before you go, instead of that… thing.” And he, like the others, set off round the side of Jorrvaskr at a jog.
I shook my head, thinking that I really need to get home soon. I'm starting to just accept things like vampires as if that's normal. Honestly, though, vampires?! If they turn out to be all twinkly and engaged in a feud with some werewolves, I'll know I'm hallucinating!
Last edited by Caillagh de Bodemloze; April 24, 2018 at 10:05 AM.
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Originally Posted by Tigellinus
and they are just not enough to express my reaction to such overwhelming praise. Thank you. 
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Okay maybe a bit too much but seriously, there is not much else to say... Again a chapter I enjoyed and the thoughts of Yannick when the Companions spoke about him were nice!
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Skyrim has several places that still reliably do that to me, sadly. (I'm a bit incompetent, especially when I keep stopping to take screenshots. 
