Silver and blood

Niel Staal | Nord | 32 Silver Hand Leader

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Good Faith [Niel, Shad]

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“Well, I’ll be damned,” Shadrach murmured, looking over the Imperial, taking in his new sight and look. Of course, he had known Iven. He had been under the impression that Iven was killed in a  raid gone wrong.

“Aye, looks like we did,” he said, and offered the man a small smirk. “Good to see y’again, Iven.”

Niel watched the two men, happy that neither of them seemed displeased with the situation, and had no intentions of interrupting them.

“Aye, good to see you again, too, Shad, though I wish it was under different circumstances,” he chuckled and glanced over at Niel before he nodded in her direction. “I trust she has told you why we’re here?” the woman in question replied with a quiet nod before Iven turned back to Shadrach again.

“I was going to suggest splitting up, and now that you are here that’s probably the best course of action,” the Imperial began, “If we charge in head-on, and the ladies go around to get a more discreet angle of attack, I doubt that wolf will stand much of a chance.” 

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Good Faith [Niel, Shad]

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Shadrach had remained mostly quiet during the trip, mulling over the best ways to track and put down the Wolf - and the best ways to keep Niel and Yera from being caught in the middle. At the sudden call for his attention, the Nord was pulled from his thoughts.

His brows - and slight confusion - only seemed to deepen at her words. Who was she talking about? Turned? She had a friend that was a werebeast, that she seemed to work with still - and yet she had almost denied him his request?

Now wasn’t the time to worry about such things. Instead, he kept his expression curious and looked around as if expecting the man to materialize out of thin air.

“Who is it?”

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It was almost as if their combined thoughts conjured the man himself, for just after Shadrach had asked his question, Niel motioned to someone behind him with a slightly saddened expression. 

Iven had stepped out from the underbrush and approached the trio with a lopsided smile, the movement tugging on the various scars on his face. “Long time no see,” he said and offered Shad a bow of his head in greeting. “Looks like we both got what’s coming for us, huh,” he mumbled as he looked him over, before he moved over to Niel and gave her a hug and pressed a kiss to her cheek. 

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Good Faith [Niel, Shad]

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“I’ve been worse,” he offered with a small shrug. “How are y’doin’ y’self?” As Niel began walking ahead of them, Shad refocused on the task at hand. They were tracking a werebeast. A very dangerous werebeast. He hoped they found it today. Hoped they put it down before it could do any more damage.

“Do y’know what kind'a beast we’re lookin’ for, Niel?” 

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“I’ve been well,” Yera replied with a slight smile. “Been focusing on training the men in archery lately.”

At Shadrach’s question, Niel turned to look at him before she let out a short sigh. “Rumors say it’s a wolf, and it’s a big one,” she replied, frowning deeply, “The sooner we kill it, the better.”

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As they got closer to their destination, Niel was beginning to get slightly anxious. The night before, she had purposefully left out a vital part in her plan to take down this beast, and now that they were almost there she was beginning to worry about how Shad would handle the news.

“Shad,” she called to get his attention and cleared her throat. “I didn’t tell you last night, but we are going to meet up with an old friend of mine,” she began and glanced over at him. “You know who he is, but I doubt you have seen him since...” she paused and suddenly looked uncharacteristically sad, “Since he got turned,” she finished with another sigh.

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Good Faith [Niel, Shad]

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“Good, I’ll meet y’both just outside the camp in the mornin’,” he said, standing and heading back towards the door. “Wouldn’t want y’men to wonder ‘bout us, after all.”

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As he had said, the Nord was waiting for the two women just outside their camp. He hadn’t slept well - not that he usually did these days - and his dreams had been full of his Bear restlessly hunting a Wolf. Still, the dreams served to give a sort of hunger to his beast, and Shadrach was dying to start the hunt already.

“Mornin’!” Shad called once he spotted the two women heading his way. It had been some time since he had last seen Yera, and he offered her a nod and a small smile, assuming she wouldn’t want to speak with him after being told what he was. “Lead the way, Niel.”

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The two women had left early the following morning, both carrying a backpack with the necessary gear for hunting and camping on the way. 

As they approached Shadrach, Niel offered him a smile in greeting, and so did Yera albeit a little weaker. Niel had filled her in on what had happened with Shadrach, and their new arrangement and their plans for the following days, and the younger sister merely eyed him over for a moment. “How are you doing?” she asked carefully, a look of concern covering her face. 

Meanwhile, Niel had put his words into action, and was now walking ahead of the other two with two big swords strapped to her back. 

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Good Faith [Niel, Shad]

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Was he comfortable working with men he knew would behead him faster than he could blink?

No.

But he didn’t want anyone else to suffer at the hands of a werebeast, so he nodded in response.

“Aye, I can work with ‘em, question is can they work with me? Is there gonna be a problem if I gotta turn to kill the beast?” Shad asked, keeping his focus on her expression. If she didn’t trust her men to play nice with him, than he certainly wasn’t going to offer himself up on a platter. He’d just track down the damn beast himself if he had too.

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“What sorta question is that? I'm not an idiot Shad,” Niel scoffed, ”You’ll be traveling with my sister and myself,” Niel told him and folded her arms across her chest. She purposefully left out the part with the man they were going to meet up with as she figured she could inform him of that later. 

“I was planning on leaving in the morning,” she began and turned towards him. “Do you want to spend the night here, sharing my quarters, or meet us on the way tomorrow?” she asked.

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Good Faith [Niel, Shad]

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As Niel explained the situation, Shadrach felt his blood boil. His Bear growled deeply in the back of his mind and he was surprised, but pleased, to realize that his beast felt the same about the situation that he did.

“How many farms have been hit?” he asked, clutching the tankard tightly in his hands to keep himself calm. “Any pattern’a travel? If y’got an idea’a what might be targeted next, take m’there. I can smell if a werebeast’s been there. I can follow it, lead y’to it. I can take it down m’self if I have to. That ain’t the work’a no feral werebeast an’ that’s why we gotta move fast. Ain’t no tellin’ how many are doin’ it until we track ‘em down.”

The Nord sat forward, releasing his hold on the tankard and staring intently at the Silver Hand in front of him.

“I know y’don’t like m’bein’ what I am - but I can help y’Niel. Y’need m’for this.”

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“Three farms so far,” she told him quietly, her voice lower than usual. “They’re moving towards Falkreath, and I assume a small farmstead just north of the mill is next. It’s owned by an elderly couple and run by their son and his wife and two daughters.” She downed a few gulps of mead, giving herself a moments pause before she continued. “I’ve spoken with them before, asked’em if anyone new had come through lately, or if they’d heard anything out of the ordinary, but they hadn’t seen or heard anything.” 

At the suggestion of bringing him there, her expression changed slightly and she looked at him from the corner of her eyes. “You’re right, I don’t like what you’ve become, and I really don’t like -” she cut herself off abruptly, sighing heavily and shook her head. Barking at him would do her no good, but the thought of working with him now that he was a werebeast himself really didn’t sit too well with her. 

"And you’re comfortable working with some on my men?” she asked and turned to face him directly.

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Good Faith [Niel, Shad]

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Her reaction to his hypothetical situation didn’t go unnoticed, but it was momentarily ignored as she continued and laid down her demands.

“’Course,” he replied, nodding along with her condition. “I’ve been keepin’ m’ears open. So far, no one’s had need to come out this way, but if they do, I plan on takin’ the job before anyone else gets it.”

His brows furrowed for a moment, and he seemed hesitant to tell her the names of those he cared for. After a moment, he cleared his throat.

“Arlow is the werebear. He’s a Nord like me. Black and silver hair, blue eyes. Tindra, Fenris, and Indes are the others. All werewolves. Tindra and Fenris are twin Nords - red hair and blue eyes. Indes is a Bosmer. Dark skin, brown hair, gold eyes.”

That out of the way, he cleared his throat and leaned forward, his brows furrowed and his eyes dark with concern.

“Now… tell me what had y’so pale just a moment before,” he said, his voice hushed. “And don’t try to lie or push it off - I could smell the fear on y’Niel.”

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As Shadrach described his friends, but she couldn't remember anyone matching their descriptions, which was a good thing considering the current situation. 

When he continued talking, Niel merely looked at him for a moment before her gaze fell to the floor and she crossed her arms. “There’s trouble in Falkreath, big trouble, and it’s spreading towards Riften,” she began, her voice flat and dry. 

“Someone is attacking homesteads, small farms, mills,” she shifted slightly and looked him dead in the eye, “They’re turning people, whole families, into werebeasts. Keeps them locked inside until their transformations are done, then they let them out on their first hunt.” 

Niel reached for her bottle, her throat suddenly unbelievably dry, and she chugged the rest of her mead. “The first attack happened on a farm close to the border of Whiterun, then they just kept moving further south-east. So far we’ve hunted and put down sixteen people, mostly men and women...” she stopped and frowned deeply, “The... the children were already dead when we got there, either eaten or they died during the transformation.”

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Good Faith [Niel, Shad]

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"I…" Shad began, but he hesitated. What was the right way to word it? Was there a right way? He didn’t know if he should go into all the reasons for asking the favor in the first place. Should he even ask for the favor? 

Then again, he had come all this way. He couldn’t just give up now.

“Not all the werewolves we caught deserved… what they got,” he started, looking away from her so she wouldn’t catch the shame in his eyes. “The Companions, least the ones I been ‘round - they’re real good ‘bout who they choose ‘n they keep an eye on ‘em ‘n everythin’. I mean, they’ve kept their secret for a long fuckin’ time, y’know? Y’don’t do that by killin’ ‘n turnin’ everyone y’come across. Plus, they’re doin’ some good for Whiterun…”

The Nord forced himself to pause, rambling on and on about a group of werewolves Niel didn’t know or care about probably wasn’t going to help him.

“M’just… askin’ that… if y’come across a werewolf that don’t seem feral, that ain’t eatin’ someone, that can turn back to a person… ask their name. Ask ‘em if they’re in the Companions, ‘n if they are - send for m’so I can come get ‘em,” he said, and finally managed to meet her eyes again. 

“I’d like to ask y’to see where y’gettin’ y’weres, though - I mean, how they came to be, all of ‘em - to see if y’could find a pattern, maybe some feral or fuckin’ crazy bastard’s turnin’ people left ‘n right just cause they can. But I ain’t gonna do that. Hard to get straight answers from anyone when they’re fightin’ for their lives let alone a pissed off werebeast that just wants to leave.”

He finally took a drink of the spiced mead she had given him, having almost forgotten it completely as he searched for the words to say and now seemingly needing it as his throat seemed to close.

“M’just… close to some’a the people in the Companions,” he emphasized, giving the chief a look. “Another thin’ - if y’catch a werebear… let m’know immediately. If it ain’t killin’ anyone, try to keep it locked down as well as y’can til I get here. I’ve only met two other werebears like m’n one of ‘ems dead. The other… he’s helped m’a lot more than I thought anyone would be able too. I owe him.”

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Niel paused drinking, and was about to protest before Shad continued but she cut herself off. Instead of interrupting him, she set her bottle aside, crossed her arms and listened intently. If anyone else had made this request of her, she would have flogged them alive, fed them to the hounds, or something else both rash and painful. 

At the mention of a possible pattern, Niel swallowed almost audibly and the deep furrow on her brows said more than her mute tongue. She found it almost amusing that he would mention a pattern, now of all days.

She let him finish talking before she cleared her throat and shifted her weight, but kept her arms crossed. “Because it’s you asking, and since you came to me now rather than later,” she began, drawing out her sentence with a slow sigh, “I’ll do what I can - on one condition.” The chief held up her index finger for emphasis and gave Shad a stern look as if to say her terms weren’t negotiable. “I don’t want the Companions sniffing around my fort,” she told him. “I know it’s not your call, but if you can I want you to go with them as a medium. It might save a lot of lives, on both sides.”

She paused, whetting her lips while trying to figure out the best way to ask him. “What are the names of your friends?” she asked him after a moments thought. “I will at least do my best to keep them out of here, I can promise nothing more.”

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Good Faith [Niel, Shad]

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Go inside.

If this had been any other sort of visit, he wouldn’t have hesitated. But Shadrach knew from experience what happened to werebeasts that entered that fort.

They didn’t leave with their limbs attached.

But he was trusting Niel, as he had done so many times before, and so he nodded and followed her inside.

"Ain’t no reason for y’to be sorry, Niel," he said once they had walked inside and made it to her quarters. "Y’ain’t the one that did this to m’n I prolly had it comin’ for a lon’ while now. Ain’t like I made the best choices in m’life. Only right Nirn tried to balance out all the shit I did, aye?"

He cleared his throat, shaking his head and staring at the ground.

"I… wanted y’to know," he said finally, looking back up at her. "An’ I wanted to ask… a favor."

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Once they were in her quarters, Niel walked over to her desk and leaned against it, crossing her arms as she listened to Shad talk. "A favor?" she repeated with furrowed brows and tilted her head. "What kind of favor?"

She pushed herself away from the desk to retrieve two bottles of spiced mead from a shelf just a few paces away. The Nord uncorked one and handed it to Shad before she did the same with her own, and while she waited for his response she took a few large gulps of the golden liquid. 

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Good Faith [Niel, Shad]

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"Aye, the uh… the head’a the Companions knows most’a what I did," he admitted, frowning, the guilt clear on his face. As if joining the Companions was bad enough, Shadrach braced him for an attack as he continued.

"…got turned," he said flatly. Looking away from Niel. He was prepared for a fight, even if he didn’t want one. At the very least, he was certain he could flee without having to kill any of the camp members.

"Feral werebear attacked m’sister ‘n I," he continued, swallowing thickly. "Took m’n held m’in a cage. It… fed m’it’s blood til I turned." He clenched his jaw, brows furrowed in anger at the memory.

"I killed it. But it didn’t change m’back."

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Niel's face went dark when he told her what had happened to him, and it took her a long moment to process this new information. Out of all the people she knew, Shad was one of the last people she wanted this to happen to. "I'm sorry, Shad, I really am," she mumbled and placed a hand on his shoulder. By then some of her men had started paying attention to them, and Niel knew it wouldn't take long before they started gravitating towards the two. 

"I don't wanna cause a scene about this, so I suggest we go inside," she said and jerked her head towards the large front gate of the fort. 

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Good Faith [Niel, Shad]

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There it was. The question Shadrach didn’t want to answer. They were entering potentially - almost certainly - dangerous territory now. He cleared his throat awkwardly, and glanced around to see if anyone might be listening. Fortunately, her fellow bandits seemed more interested in what they had going on than the chief and her friend. That, and none were close enough to hear anyway.

Shad let out a slow sigh, studying the tops of his boots before finally he took a deep breath. No time like the present. Either she understood and trusted he was the same person she had known before - or she didn’t.

"Been workin’ with… the Companions,” he said, finally, his voice hushed. He looked up to meet her eyes, to gauge her reaction, to decide on whether or not he might have to fight his way out of here.

"Somethin’… somethin’ happened to m’Niel,” he said, his voice still quiet and his tone uncertain. “I… ain’t what I used to be.”

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Niel stood rooted in place, but furrowed her brows in suspicion when she noticed the change in his behavior. She tilted her head slightly, and when he glanced around Niel did as well before her attention returned to him. She was about to tell him to spit it out, but before she could open her mouth and say it Shadrach had started talking again.

Had he really said the Companions? Her eyebrows shot up in surprise and she blinked at him once their eyes met. “The Companions?” she echoed in disbelief and furrowed her brows again. “They let you join, even after everythin’ y’done?” she asked with quirked eyebrows, but she didn’t get to ask him any more questions before he continued talking again.

She shook her head weakly, not quite sure what to make of the sudden turn in their conversation. “What happened to you, then? And if you aint what you used to be, what are you?”

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Good Faith [Niel, Shad]

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It had been far longer than Shad remembered. Then again, majority of his time after leaving Darrow’s camp had been a blur, which had only blurred more after the werebear incident.

"Things’ve been… different," he admitted with a weak smile and a shake of his head. "Got a sister ‘n a son now. Ain’t stayin’ with the camp. Darrow ‘n I… had a… fight."

It wasn’t a lie, the last time the men had seen one another, past saying a few words here and there, Shad had beaten Darrow black and blue. They hadn’t spoken much since, despite accepting apologies from one another.

"Been… gettin’ on well, though," he said finally, offering her a shrug. Better than they had been at least.

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"I'm sorry to hear that," she said with a slight bow of her head before she shifted her weight and looked him over one more time. Unless she just imagined it, he seemed... cleaner, more well-groomed, than last time she had seen him.

"So," she began and smiled weakly. "What've ya been up to, since y'not with Darrow?" Niel asked and placed a hand on her hip.

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Good Faith [Niel, Shad]

It had been a long time since Shadrach had last seen Niel. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t want to cross paths with her again. It was too late to turn back now, and he offered the woman a smile as he approached her.

Being in the middle of her camp made his skin crawl and his Bear growl and roar with anger. How many times had he willingly helped her and her camp haul in a werewolf? How many of those times had that werewolf been a Companion?

The thought made a nasty ball of guilt coil in his stomach, and he had to swallow thickly to keep himself under control. Once he was within speaking distance, he cleared his throat.

"Long time, Niel. Thin’s been good for ya?"

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Niel had only glanced over at the person approaching in the distance, not giving them much thought. If they were here for her, she'd find out soon enough. When she heard the familiar voice however, she turned around with a surprised look on her face. 

"Look what the cat dragged in," she chuckled as she approached Shad and gave his shoulder a firm pat. "Aye, as well as things can be," Niel told him with a casual shrug. "Man, last I heard ya were still with y'brother so I might ask ya the same thing," she continued and a smile spread across her face. 

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Netch had never seen so many people gathered in one camp. Still, he walked through the camp, smiling cheerfully at anyone who glanced his way. Once he found the woman he had been sent for, he offered her a friendly wave. "Greetings, sera," he said and smiled. "Some grey-robed folks sent me to find you. Said I needed to give you a hug. Hope you don't mind." That said, he wrapped her in a warm, friendly hug, and then released her. "Have a lovely day, friend."

"Oy, Niel!" One of her men called for her when they spotted the misplaced elf just walking right in, and she merely shook her head.

She decided to hear what he had to say, and simply laughed when he was done. “So you want a hug, huh?” she asked, almost teasing. “Well, I’ll give ya a hug,” Niel added as she walked towards him, arms spread open and when she was close enough she pulled him in for a way too tight hug. She easily picked him up, squeezing him a bit more and laughed as he let go of him. “Aye, have a lovely day, friend." she mocked.

Oh, these city folks never learned, did they?

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Bade entered the camp with a purpose. He ignored anyone who spoke to him, and didn't stop walking until he was near the woman he had been sent for. "This isn't exactly what it might seem," he began, before pulling her into a kiss. He placed a hand near the back of her head, his fingers entangling in her hair, as he slid his tongue next to hers. He held the kiss for as long as the magic required before he released her. "Then again, that wasn't so bad... was it?" he asked with a small smile.

"What’s all this?" Niel barked and stepped down from the dining are outside at the sound of what seemed to be a brewing disagreement. Though, the sight that met her was slightly different from what she had expected. For there stood a stranger, a man she had never seen before.

She cocked an eyebrow at him as she continued to descend the stairs, and he started talking. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she soon found herself in his embrace. She placed her hands on his chest as if to push him away, but she seemed to forget that when his tongue slid in next to her own.

Instead of pushing him away, she moved her hands to rest behind and on the side of his neck as she returned the kiss almost eagerly. Seeming almost disappointed that he pulled away, she looked at him and her normally harsh expression had cracked up into a weak smirk. “Not bad at all,” she confirmed and lightly shook her head.

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Mina approached the camp quietly and took a good look around. It would seem she might have things in common with those here. She spotted a Nord woman and the grey magic told her that was Yera. Still, once she got close enough, she asked, "You're Yera, yes?" Once she got a positive reply, she took the young woman's face in her hands and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Sorry, grey mages."

Yera glanced over at the approaching stranger, but didn’t pay more attention to her before she heard the woman talk. “Aye, I’m Yera,” she confirmed and nodded briefly.

The young Nord simply blinked at what happened next and looked at Mina as he weak smile spread across her lips. “Don’t worry about it,” she chuckled and shrugged.