Once inside the cellar, we're greeted by a substantial albeit worn brewing room with a couple of guards which we start to chase but before we can tear into them, one sounds the alarm.
Though, luckily for us, in their terror, they triggered a spike wall trap skewering themselves and disabling the trap for us.
Now, much more carefully in case more traps litter these ruins, we advance further. Forced to travel one by one in a confining icy tunnel.
We hear low mournful and enraged growls further ahead.
Hurrying us along and into some form of confinement area for werewolves in this icy cavern.
Though, in the cage, instead of a werewolf, a stocky muscle-packed werebear struggles against the bars of his cage that barely contain his power. Scars and wounds scattered across his thick brown, coarse pelt like a patchwork of hardship.
Though, each time they slam against the bars, instead of breaking free. Their fur singes and sizzles as if the bars are coated in silver.
Two Silver Hands seem to be expecting us as they are readied with their weapons drawn.
Their teamwork is fairly good as they are able to hold off both Aela and Farkas' attacks with their proficient bladework and dodging, but the second both me and Skjor joined the fray they were finished, as no one could withstand the combined assault of four werewolves.
Once they were dealt with we turn our attention to the imprisoned werebear who just growls defensively at us.
"Leave them." Skjor growls as he starts to head deeper into the complex though for the first time his sway over me seems to weaken and I just stand there staring at the captured werebear.
I rip a heart from one of the Silver Hands and toss it into the cage.
The werebear tentatively sniffs the heart before scarfing it down. And he seems to calm down ever so slightly, though still on guard.
I bring my claws down on the cage's lock, which stings slightly as the silver brushes against me as I tear open the cage door.
The werebear hesitantly steps out of his cage sniffing around me before giving a slight bow and charging further into the ruins with a monstrous roar.
We follow them into a room to see them mauling a lone Silver Hand who was cutting into the body of a transformed werebear.
After devouring the Silver Hand's heart the werebear turns to the dead werebear and gives a long and mournful roar before turning to me.
Kneeling down he brings his head to the ground, kowtowing to me in deference as he goes on all fours, exposing his unguarded neck to me.
"What is it doing?" I growl to Skjor in confusion.
"Strange. Place your head on theirs." Skjor motions and I follow suit.
I lower my head down onto his.
I feel a surprised and confused light growl vibrate from their throat and into their head.
As he then looks up at me, I notice that instead of amber eyes, like other werewolves, this werebear has small eyes, dark like little lumps of coal.
And I feel a bond form between us, whereas, before trying to understand him was like trying to understand sign language, now I can read him like any other member of the pack.
"Thank you. Cagebreaker." I pick up from his low roar.
"It's fine. Let's hunt." I reply with a light growl before turning to Skjor who stares on in interest.
Though he says nothing as he turns to lead us out of the icy torture chamber and into another crumbling section of the ruined fortress.
We make our way through the destroyed and decrepit room until another door leads us into a small room with a door bringing us back into the refugee proper.
We're met by a barred door blocking our path, which I tear through with ease.
With the obstacle gone, we all charge in to find several members of the Silver Hand performing some kind of ritual as what's left of the branch here brandish their swords and silver-tipped arrows guarding those performing the ritual.
"Fire!" A man in the center of the ritual orders.
Causing the archers to let loose their arrows into my pack as the swordsmen charge at us with reckless abandon.
The attack wounds Farkas, Aela, and the werebear slightly, though most arrows miss Skjor and me, allowing us to charge forward and begin to start reaping the lives of the swordsmen.
The werebear recovers his footing and plows into the archers' ranks, decimating them as he cuts through their bows with ease and using his raw power to knock them away, sending them flying into the stone walls of the fortress.
And then Aela and Farkas tear into the spell casters, it takes several moments to rip them to shreds, but no matter how many of their brothers fall, the spell casters never stop their chanting until their heads are ripped from their shoulders forcefully ending their trance.
And just as I'm about to drive my claws into the man in the circle he smirks at me in apparent relief as a silver light explodes from his body launching me backward and racking my body in a burning pain as I writhe around on the floor.
It takes several minutes of howling in pain before the searing stops.
As I regain my senses I notice that I am no longer in my werewolf form and am being comforted by the werebear who is currently wrapped around me and providing a much softer-than-expected pillow.
And this time I can remember everything that happened while in my wolf form, though before I can think too much about my encounter with my inner wolf, Skjor gets my attention.
"Come now, New Blood. We've been waiting here too long as it is. You can get your beauty sleep another night. We discovered something unexpected here and need to get it back to Eurland." Skjor says, kicking my foot before offering me a hand up.
"Ha, ha, ha. Very fun, next time you get hit by the freaky magic and see how you like it." I say sarcastically as I take his hand to stand up only to have my legs give out from under me.