Day 161 - Dustman's Cairn

Doesn't he look thrilled?

Farkas and I met up early this morning at the Dustman's Cairn, just a hop skip and a jump from town.  As you can see, he didn't look too thrilled about escorting a female "welp" to get the fragment but I don't think he had much of a choice.

The Cairn...

It wasn't long before we discovered that the Cairn was literally crawling with draugr.  They crawled out of their crypts and attacked us at every turn.  At first, Farkas was running ahead, acting as though he had to protect me, but once he saw that I knew how to handle the undead, he relaxed a bit.

My old friends...

And then the gate room happened and everything changed between us.  See, I walked into an alcove and accidentally triggered a gate that locked me in.  Thankfully, was still outside of the gate.  After chewing me out for doing something that stupid, he told me to be patient, that he'd find a way to get me out.

Suddenly, four intruders appear and surround Farkas, threatening to kill him.  I got a little worried at the sight of those men.  I'd seen Farkas take on two people at once during training but never four.  I feared what they would do to them.

And then all broke loose.  One moment Farkas looked like his normal self…

…. And the next, he looked like this!

Holy shit, Farkas is a werewolf!

While my brain was trying to grasp this concept, Farkas wipe out the strangers and found a way to open the gate.  I stumbled back at the sound of the gate opening, fearing that I would be next….but when Farkas appeared, he was back to his old human self again.

"What in the hell was that?" I asked, trying to keep the fear and surprise out of my voice but failing horribly.

Farkas scratched his head and looked sheepishly at the ground, "Well, now you know our little secret but that wasn't quite the way I wanted you to find out."

"Are all of the Companions werewolves?"

"Not everyone," he replied, "but all the members of the Circle are. It's a secret to everybody." He unsheathed his weapon, "Are you ready?  We must continue on."

I stared at him, not sure what to think.  Was it safe to continue on with this…monster?

"Don't worry," he said, giving me a wolf-like grin, "If I suddenly get the urge to gnaw on something, I'll just grab a draugr legbone."

His joke made me smile. "Fine.  Let's continue on."

We followed the cave system until we reached the inner crypt, fighting back an array of living and undead.  As we walked, he told me about who the men where that attacked him.  They were known as the "Silver Hand" and completely devoted to hunting down and exterminating werewolves.  As such, they were the sworn enemies of the Circle.

When we entered the crypt, I was surprised to find it empty of any draugr.  I walked up to the center pedestal and found the fragment just sitting, surrounded by various potions.  I picked up the fragment and studied it for a moment, surprised that something so small and dusty-looking could be so important to the Companions.

I was tucking in and the potions into my bag when Falkas gave a cry.  I looked up in time to see four crypts located along the wall burst open and draugr pop out.  I ran towards one group while Falkas ran towards the other.  We barely had them down before another set opened up, spewing forth more undead evilness.

This continued on for quite a while – as one waved died, another one came to be.  When it finally ended, we found ourselves surrounded by a bones of the undead draugr, swords drawn, both panting for air.

While Falkas looted the bodies, I broke the lock on a nearby chest and took everything I Found.  Then we headed out, both covered in dust and tired of fighting undead draugr.  As we walked back to talk, we discussed who would get to have the bathtub first.

Vilkas was waiting for us as we approached Jorrvaskr.

"Were you successful?"

I nodded and pulled the fragment out of my pocket.  Vilkas' eyes lit up at the sight of the old piece of weaponry.  He took it from my hands and cradled it as though it was a fragile baby.

"Excellent.  Excellent," he said, caressing the stone, "Come with me.  Someone wants to speak with you."

"Actually, I was hoping to get cleaned up before-"

Vikkas turned and shot me a look that silenced me.  I glanced at Farkas and noticed that he was grinning from ear to ear.  He nodded for me to follow the man.  I shrugged and followed, as requested.

We walked through the meadhouse and into the yard where a group of Companions were gathered.  I was surprised to see so many gathered in one place.  What was going on?

As I approached, Kodlak began to speak, "Brothers and sisters of the Circle, today we welcome a new soul into our mortal fold…."

And with that, I edged up to being a full member of the Companions, with all rights and privileges (and work) that is associated with it.  YES!

After the ceremony, everyone gathered in the mead hall and drank themselves into Oblivion, or at least tried to, and recounted stories of great fights that each had been through.  I snuck away after a couple glasses of ale, electing to take a good soak in the tub while everyone else was preoccupied.

Now that all of that is over with, I'm exhausted.  I lay here in my bed in the basement but can't seem to fall asleep.  I'm not sure if my sleeplessness is because of the excitement of being a full Companion or the sounds of the party above.  Either way, I have a feeling I will be sleeping in tomorrow morning….