Torban was the one who first discovered the threat of the Silver Hand.
His hunting partner, Hjald, had seemed to vanish one night. Unlike the Nord to just up and leave without saying anything, Torban went looking for him. At the Nord’s hut was Hjald - beheaded in his wolf form - and two other corpses.
Though the others were mauled beyond recognition, the silver weaponry, a shredded book on lycanthropy, and Hjald’s wolf head on a pike were all the clues Torban needed to know who exactly had a hand in Hjald’s death.
Once he reached home, Torban immediately instructed Tommy to escort Ella to the Bone-Bash inn, where the two of them would stay until they were called upon again. If they did not hear from either their parents or brothers, they were allowed to mourn, but not to return home.