Chapter 5: The Wolf's Shadow

Yang's Perspective

Even though it was early in the morning, you could barely tell the difference because of the snowstorm. After only a few minutes of walking, Winterhold vanished from our sight, and we could only see the snow covered road in front of us, and outlines of the distant mountains. The wind whipped past us at blistering speeds, trying hinder to slow our already slow journey even more. After a few minutes, we saw a faint light in the distance, and we rushed towards it. To our dismay, it was only the light from a torch a guard was using to see through the storm. Ruby quickly checked our map, and we realized that the mine we were at wasn't that far from Winterhold, which dampened our spirits slightly. We kept walking, and after a while came across a fairly odd cave. Well, it would've been perfectly normal if it didn't have human hip bones on sticks outside of it.

"I-I d-don't even want to know w-what's in t-there." Ruby said, still shivering.

"Y-You and m-me both." I said.

The snowstorm began to fade, and we began walking uphill for a minute after that. Once we got on level ground though, we froze in place as we saw that fort from yesterday. "That's Fort Kastav, an old fort abandoned long ago. Well, I say abandoned, but it's currently home to a group of Necromancers." The description that Bjorlam gave us rang in my mind, and I am certain that the others remembered it. I scanned over what we could see of the fort, which was only a small section of the wall and a wooden sentry tower. My heart stopped when I focused on the sentry tower. A skeleton stood, bow in hand, scanning the area for intruders from the top of the tower. We quickly moved to the trees on the right for cover, as to try to prevent the skeleton from seeing us. I peeked my head out of our crouched position, and saw the skeleton take out an arrow and draw its bow, in our direction. But right before it shoot at us, it turned its back to us and fired. At that moment, cires such as "For Skyrim!" and "Victory, or Sovngarde!" filled the air. Not a moment later, we could hear steel clashing against steel, and what sounded like fire, lightning, and ice magic being thrown around. The once quiet fort had erupted into utter chaos, and the skeleton that was standing atop the tower was now a pile of bones scattered around the ground.

"Now's our chance!" Blake whisper shouted.

"Right, lets go." I said.

We tried our best to sneak past the battle, staying as far into the limited and small brush as possible. As we snuck by, I noticed that the men attacking the fort were in the same blue and leather armor as the guys from Riverwood. "I've heard rumors about the Stormcloaks wanting to capture the fort, but as far as I can tell, it hasn't happened just yet." I wonder if those two things are connected. After staying in the brush and hiding behind rocks for another few minutes, the fort was and battle were behind us, and we continued on our way.

As soon as we walked past the fort and down the hill, we noticed a river running underneath a mountain. I looked up at the mountain, while Ruby and Blake gawked at the river, and saw a fort of some kind perched near the pinnacle.

"Huh, pretty fort." I comment.

"What? Where?" Ruby asked, while she and Blake cursorily glanced near the river. I giggled as they looked everywhere.

"Not by the river! On the mountain!" I joke.

"I see it!" Ruby and Blake said at the same time. Ruby was looking at the one I saw, however Blake was looking further down the mountain chain. I looked where she was looking and saw a different one than I saw. The one I saw was more like three separate columns and the one she saw was a large building with multiple columns in it.

"There's two…" I say in disbelief.

"Two?" Ruby asked uncomprehendingly.

"Yeah, look over there!" I said, pointing to the one Blake found. Ruby's mouth dropped when she saw where I was pointing.

"What are those things?" She asked, still in disbelief.

"I don't know, but let's remember these so we can check them out later." I answer her.

"Anyways, we have somewhere to go to." I inform them.

We walked further down the path and stared at the river and the sunlight that sparkled on the top of the water like little balls of light. The water rushed along the path it dug with vigor, save the parts of the water that sat and froze. The water that splashed up around the rocks that lay in the river caught my attention. A splashing noise that didn't come from the river assaulted my ears.

"The water is so cold!" Ruby shouted from the edge of the river. She had stuck her feet in and the splashing was from when she had slipped.

"Ruby, what are you doing in the water?" I asked her, in a mock motherly tone.

"Well, I'm not alone." She told me, pointing to Blake gingerly sticking her hand, or rather pinky, in the water. I laughed.

"Blake, what's with the hesitation?" I laughingly asked her.

"It's -meow- cold!" She meowed.

"Did you just meow?" I questioned her with severe confusion.

"Yes. Meow." She meowed again.

"I think you should get your hands out of the water." I joked.

"I'm going to." She told me. She sat up and upon standing, lost her balance and fell in the water.

"Meow!" She shouted when her head surfaced. "I don't know how to swim!" She told us.

"I got her!" Ruby told me, as I was preparing to dive in and get her. Ruby walked up to Blake and told her that the water there was shallow; the water only came up to Ruby's knees. Blake stood up with shame written on her face and inlaid in her eyes, the part where the water was shallow and she told us she couldn't swim left a major blow in her ego.

"Hopefully there's some way for you to dry off at Windhelm. But, we have to get there first." I told them, Blake mostly.

Ruby walked back to where she got in and put on her shoes, which were sitting on the shore. Ruby nodded to me, showing that she was ready to go. Blake tried to nod, sneezed, then nodded again. We walked only 10 feet before we saw something odd on the left side of the path. Six stone towers were lined up in a circular fashion around a ditch that seemed to be dug haphazardly.

"Any idea as to what this is for?" I asked Ruby and Blake.

"It might've held those," Ruby paused and tried to remember a word, "'Draugr' things."

"But how many Draugr?" Blake asked.

"I don't think a single Draugr could've made this." Ruby told Blake.

"Wait. Hold on." I said, causing Ruby and Blake to look at me.

"What's a Draugr?" I asked them.

"It's like a really old, wrinkly dude, but they are like alive. We found them when we were getting the Helm of Winterhold for the Jarl." Ruby told me.

"Well, the Draugr are more like a very old person that died, but never decayed so they have really old weapons and really old armor and they speak a really old language." Blake explained.

"They sound fun." I comment. "Let's keep going, we are almost there."

We walked down the down-slope that led to the bridge that went next to a very pretty waterfall. Within minutes of crossing the bridge we heard the whinny of horses and saw a man who sat on a carriage, much like Bjorlam did. As we walked towards the man sitting on the carriage, I realized that it wasn't Bjorlam.

"Looking for a ride? I'll take you to any of the hold capitals." The man said to us.

"I want to go to Riften, please." Blake told the man.

"Okay, that'll be-" The man was cut off by me.

"Are you sure you want to go to Riften, Blake?" I asked Blake.

She nodded. "Yes, I overheard at the inn that you can make easy money in Riften, and we're kind of short on that front." She told me, her sincere tone made me listen more.

"Keep in touch, then." I tell her, after a long pause.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but where do you want to go?" The man asked.

"My sister and I want to go to Whiterun." I inform him.

"I can drop you both off on the way to taking her," he pointed to Blake, "to Riften." He said.

"But you will both have to pay for a full journey." He said after a pause.

"How much?" Blake and I asked.

"50 septims for the two going to Whiterun and 20 septims for the lady going to Riften." He said to us.

"Alright." Blake said as we reached for our coin pouches. Ruby and I split our bill and Blake paid hers.

"Okay. Hop in the back and I'll take you three. By the way, I am Alfarinn, nice to meet you all." He said, smiling.

On the ride we passed many mountains, but one stood out above all the others, it loomed over the land with an ominous feeling about it. I asked Alfarinn what the mountain was called. "That there, is the Throat of the World. It is the tallest mountain in Skyrim, and probably in all of Tamriel." He told us front of the carriage. He later told us that the mountain housed the Greybeards. These men, according to Alfarinn, could tear a man apart just by speaking and that they rarely left their house, called "High Hrothgar". I wanted to meet said Greybeards, but Alfarinn said that only the "Dragonborn" could meet them.

It didn't feel like that long after we left that I saw the large building that was Dragonsreach. We thanked Alfarinn and gave a large hug to Blake before we headed into the large wooden doors of Whiterun.

Ruby and I walked down the main street and stopped in the market square.

"What should we do?" I asked Ruby.

"I don't know." She said, shrugging.

A guard walked by us saying, "You should join the Companions, if you are looking for some work."

"Where are the Companions?" Ruby asked the guard.

"Over in the mead hall of Jorrvaskr." He replied, pointing to an upside-down boat that was converted into a building.

We turned to thank him, but he was already far down the street, wait, just why exactly did he tell us this in the first place?

"Let's go there, then." I told Ruby.

"Yeah, let's." She replied.

I pushed open the doors and saw a large table weighed down by the mountains of food and mead that sat on them.

"Take that!" Some girl yelled after hitting and gray-skinned man.

"Are they at it again?" A man asked as he walked past the fight.

"Is that your best?" The gray-skinned man taunted the girl. She responded by pounding his head in with a massive blow.

"Take him out!" Ruby shouted, waving her fist in the air in support.

After only a few more hits, the gray-skinned man fell to his knees shouting: "I yield! I yield!"

"Great job!" Ruby shouted to the girl who beat the man.

One of the men came up to us and asked "And what are you two fine ladies doing here?"

"We want to join the Companions." Ruby told him excitedly.

"It's not my place to decide whether or not you get in, but" He paused to check me out "I'd let you in if I was the leader." He said.

"And who is the leader?" I asked hotly.

"I'll tell you if you do me a favo-" He was cut off by another man that came up and started screaming at him.

"Farkas! What in the name of Talos are you doing?!" He screamed, drawing the attention of everyone in the main room.

"I was just-" he hiccupped "checking out the ladies." He said to the man.

"I think you've had one too many meads. Skjor! Take him to his room, please. I'll talk to these two women." He ordered and walked up to us. He waited for the man who first talked to us to get dragged to his room before speaking with us.

"I am so very sorry for my younger brother's actions. Is there anything I can help you with?" He asked us politely.

"We just wanted to join the Companions." I told him, being as straightforward as I could.

"Ah, I wish I could help you directly, but I can't decide who gets in. Follow me, I will show you to Kodlak." He told us, motioning for us to follow. We walked across the floor and over to a stairwell that led to the quarters. We heard the man who first talked to us telling the man who dragged him here that he wasn't drunk, but the second man had none of it. "Just shut up, and go to sleep, Farkas." He said angrily.

"Don't worry about my kid-brother Farkas, he'll be nicer after he is no longer drunk." The man told us.

"Here is Kodlak's room." The man announced, showing us a door. "I'll go in first and let him know that you are here, then I'll tell you when you can come in." He told us, as he entered. He talked with the man named Kodlak for a minute or two, then motioned for us to come in.

"Ah, so these are the two ladies that Farkas...had some trouble with. It's a pleasure to meet you. oh, and sorry." Kodlak said.

"Don't worry about it, I dealt with that all the time in my school." I told him and Ruby nodded.

"Come to think of it, would you two happen to be the outworlders that we've been hearing so much about?" The other man asked.

"Vilkas! Where are your manners? Can your questions not wait until after I'm done?" Kodlak said.

"My apologies." Vilkas said.

"We are, in fact those 'outworlders' that you have heard about." Ruby told him.

"Well then, the Companions are honored to have you two in Jorrvaskr. Now then, what exactly are you here for?" Kodlak asked.

"We want to join the Companions." I told him, relaxed by his manners and way of speaking.

"Really now, here, let me have a look at the two of you." He said, staring intently.

I instinctively covered my breasts, and Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose.

"Oh please! No need to be alarmed, I'm no Farkas after all." Kodlak said.

"To better explain, he's not looking at you, he's looking inside you. He does this to judge your spirit and character." Vilkas said.

"Oh, alright then." I said, once again relaxing.

Kodlak then continued to stare at us, moving back and forth, analyzing seemingly every detail about us. Something about his gaze seemed a bit, off though, as if he was looking through me, and not at me. Kind of like what Vilkas said.

"Ah, yes. The two of you are easily warriors by nature." He paused before looking at me. "Tell me, miss, how are you in battle?"

"However hard you knock me, I'll hit you back harder." I told him.

"Ha! I like your spirit. Now then, I see that you've already met Vilkas." He paused and gestured to the chair across from his. "He will determine whether or not you can back those words up."

"I'm ready when you are." I jokingly threatened Vilkas.

"What about me?" Ruby asked Kodlak.

"Ah yes, if Vilkas can still hold a sword after he's finished with…" Kodlak trailed off, not knowing how to address me.

"Yang." I said.

"Thank you. If he can still hold a sword after he's done with Yang, he'll test you as well. Now then, out to the yard with you three." Kodlak said.

"Aye, let's not waste any time." Vilkas said, already leaving the room.

We followed Vilkas back through the quarters and back up the stairs to the main area. It was more subdued the second time around. 'Course there was a lack of drunken brawls and a drunk Farkas. Vilkas went through a door that we didn't go through before. We found ourselves standing in a training area, with tables that were also ladened down with food. I noticed targets that were for archery at numerous places around the training area. As I looked at the targets, I noticed a large hill that was lit up very brightly at the top.

"Hey, Vilkas." I said to Vilkas.

"What is it?" He asked casually.

"What's up there?" I asked him.

"Ah. That's the Skyforge. Best forge in Skyrim, in most people's opinions." He said, pride poking through his voice. "Eorlund Gray-Mane, the man who runs the Skyforge, gives weapons to the Companions as well." He informed us. "It's good having the best of the best giving you weapons." He said in an offhand manner.

"Enough chit-chat. Let's get down to business." He said, pulling out his sword.

I opened up gauntlets up, even though I wasn't going to use the dust aspect of it, and prepped them for battle. "Let's see what you've got." Vilkas called out to me. He held his sword high and swung it towards me. I sidestepped the swing, seeing as he was using a heavy greatsword and was slower than if he was using just a normal single-handed sword. After side-stepping, I punched him on his left shoulder, staggering him. I then punched him in the chest, knocking him flat on the ground.

"Ok. That's enough." Vilkas said to me. I offered him a hand up and pulled him to his feet.

"That was damn good fighting there." He praised me. "Only two punches to knock me down? Not many people can say that."

"Anyways, are you ready to fight, miss?" Vilkas asked Ruby before I could thank him for his praise.

Ruby opened up Crescent Rose and slammed it on the ground. "Of course I'm ready to fight." She said, like it was obvious. Vilkas was visibly shaken by the fact that this little girl could wield such a large weapon, but he shook it off. He took out his sword and geared up for a fight.

"Let's see what you've got." He said, uneasiness present in his voice.

Ruby smirked and swung Crescent Rose with the non-blade side going first. Vilkas held his sword up to block, but was knocked over. He quickly hopped up. "Not yet!" He said in defiance. He charged Ruby, putting her in a bad position because it was close-quarters combat and Ruby's scythe is mid-range. Ruby didn't hesitate when Vilkas prepped a sword swing. She moved Crescent Rose behind Vilkas' legs and knocked him to the ground again. Vilkas tried to jump up again, but Ruby poked him with the front of Crescent Rose, knocking him back down.

"That's enough." Vilkas said, out of breath. "That… that was some good fighting. I can't imagine what would happen if I was hit by the blade…" He said, eyeing the large blade on Crescent Rose.

"It'd hurt a lot." Ruby said plainly, stroking the shaft of Crescent Rose.

"Remember that when you're out in the wilds." Vilkas paused to get himself up. "Now then, I believe you two will make fine additions to the Companions."

"Thank you!" Ruby and I said in unison.

"However, just because you're outworlders, doesn't mean that you'll be getting any special attention or treatment. You're both New Bloods, and you will do as we say." Vilkas said, sternly.

"I never wanted any special attention or treatment because I am an 'outworlder'." Ruby told him seriously.

"Good. Now then, I want you two to take my sword up to Eorlund Gray-Mane up at the Skyforge to have it sharpened. It's getting late, so you should hurry up there if you want to catch him before he heads home for the night." Vilkas said, holding out an iron sword.

"Got it." I said, taking the sword from his hands. "Let's go, Ruby." I said to Ruby.

"Okay, Yang." She replied.

I jogged over to the stairs that led to the Skyforge and walked up them with Ruby. We went up and around for less than a minute before arriving. Instantly, I saw the set up for a blacksmith, but on top of a lava pit. I saw an old man sharpening a sword. This must be Eorlund Gray-Mane. "He puts the Gray in Gray-Mane." Ruby whispered to me. I laughed so loud that he looked up with confusion and asked who we were.

"I'm Yang, I am here to have Vilkas' sword sharpened." I told him.

"I'm guessing that you two are the newcomers then?" Eorlund said, taking Vilkas' sword.

"Yes. We just got told we were part of the Companions a second ago." Ruby told him, excitement at being with the Companions evident in her voice.

"Ah, and two of the four outworlders at that. The Companions really know how to recruit newcomers, even if they are a bit hard on them at first." Eorlund said, putting Vilkas' sword of to the side.

"How'd you know we were the outworlders?" Ruby asked before I could.

"Aside from your looks, weapons, and clothing? Things like this tend to travel fast in Skyrim. Also, if I recall, this isn't your first visit to Whiterun, correct?" Eorlund said.

"I guess that's true." I said to him, laughing a little.

"Dragons returning, a Dragonborn being revealed, four outworlders arrive, all in the matter of a day. It's quite astonishing to think that all of this is happening so fast…" Eorlund said, more to himself than us.

We nodded in response as we watched him sharpen the sword with relative ease.

"Just quickly, before you go, I have a favor to ask." Eorlund said, whilst working.

"What is it?" I asked him, suddenly curious.

"I've been working on a shield for Aela. My wife is in mourning and I need to get back to her soon. I'd be much obliged if you could take this to Aela for me." Eorlund said.

"Of course I can." Ruby said, holding her hands out to receive the shield.

"Based on the time, she should be in her room in Jorrvaskr, so hurry on back now." Eorlund said.

"Alright, thank you for sharpening the sword." Ruby said to him.

"No problem, I'll deliver this to Vilkas tomorrow, so you should be on your way." Eorlund said.

"Ok." I told him, walking back down the stairs, but not before Ruby and I waved goodbye.

We walked back into Jorrvaskr and went to the quarters like we were told to. We asked the lady who cleaned the place where Aela's room was and she pointed us towards it. While walking to where her room was, we noticed tables on either side of the wall covered in food. Do they just crap out food here or what? The door for Aela's room was in sight so Ruby prepared to give her the shield. We opened the door and walked in on a conversation.

"Now Skjor, when Farkas wakes up I want you to… Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you two walked in." She said, focusing on us.

"We just came to give you your shield back from Eorlund." Ruby told her, holding out the shield.

"Ah, good. I've been waiting for this." She said while taking the shield.

"You know these two? I saw them training in the yard with Vilkas." Skjor said.

"Ah yes, I heard you took him down with two punches! We're never going to let him live that one down." Aela said, looking at me.

"Don't let Vilkas catch you saying that." Skjor said.

"Tell me, do you two think you could take him in a real fight?" Aela asked.

"However hard he hits me, I'll hit him back harder. Yeah, I can take him in a fight." I said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"And how about you, little one?" Aela asked, pointing to Ruby.

"Maybe. It'd be hard, but I think I could hold him off." Ruby said humbly.

"Good, I like the fire in both of you. You'll both make fierce Companions, let us hunt together sometime." Aela said.

"Sounds like fun!" Ruby said, smiling. I just held a thumbs-up.

"Now normally Farkas would show you to where you'll be staying. But since he's...done in for the night, Skjor here will show you two to where the New Bloods stay." Aela said, gesturing to Skjor.

"Alright." I said, showing that I, and Ruby, had no problem with that.

"Skjor, if you will?" Aela asked.

"Yeah, yeah I know. Follow me you two." Skjor said, exiting the room.

"Ok." Ruby said, following him, with me right behind her.

After a moment's walk, he showed us to a large room with eight beds, then pointed out the two beds that we would sleep on.

"Here you are, probably not what you're used to, but it's the best the New Bloods get. If you have any questions or if you're looking for work, don't hesitate to ask." Skjor said.

"Ok. Thank you." I said and Ruby parroted.

"Now it's getting late, so get some rest." Skjor said, exiting the room.

"Goodnight." Ruby and I said, laying in the beds, falling asleep right as our heads hit the pillows.

/AN: Sup Guys! It's been a while, hasn't it? Now then, this chapter wasn't supposed to be released until after the chapter my friends and I are currently working on is finished, but considering how long it's taking to complete (we're putting in a lot of detail), I decided to upload this chapter early to sate your guys' appetite. Now then, chapter 6 will go live once the current chapter is complete, so hold on until then. In the meantime, please enjoy!