-General POV-
SLASH
GURGLE
An armoured female nord fell to her knees, clutching her neck as bright blood splashed out in an unstoppable flow
FLICK
A young man with piercing azure eyes and blond hair braided nord-style flicked his sword, letting blood fall off the pristine blade
By the time he turned around, facing away from the dying woman she already let out the last gasp of air and plopped down on the cold hard ground, joining the other numerous and mutilated bodies surrounding her
"Strong-Will, once again you show excellent sword skills for a young man your age" a man dressed in merchant robes spoke amicably to the youth
"I have the best instructors" the young man answered humbly but didn't entertain the merchant any longer and was about to join the other caravan guards when he heard shuffling behind him
Upon turning around he found some merchants scraping away the fallen bandits' armour and weapons
With a heavy frown he walked towards the greedy bastards
CLINK
SWOOSH
A merchant who was undressing the fallen nord woman had his hands chopped off in a second
"AAAAAAAAAAARGH" the fat man started screaming his lungs out as he watched blood pour out of his now stubs for hands
THUD
The young man punched the man in the face, dislocating his jaw and stopping the loud screaming
""WHA-"" as the other merchants scrambled to their feet in fear and rage they were about shout at the young man, but were interrupted
"Take their weapons, but don't touch their armour and fallen bodies" the youth commanded, an eerie glint passing through his eyes as he stared at the scared shitless merchants, flicking the blood off his sword once again
"Volfir…" a burly man who ran up a few seconds ago patted the youth's shoulder, grabbing his attention
"No need to say anything Farkas, I warned them at the start of the journey" the young man concluded and nobody dared to raise any more issues
Farkas threw a regeneration potion to the merchants' feet, "feed this to him, he ain't getting his hands back, but at least he won't die from blood loss"
"You should have killed him brat" a new voice joined in on the scene
"Don't say that Arnbjorn…" Farkas frowned and rebutted the older nord, while Volfir ignored him completely as he started walking towards the remaining stationed guards
It was nothing new, ever since the first day they met, Arnbjorn and Volfir had an altercation and the white haired nord also had an extremely violent outlook on life, which grated on the younger man's nerves
A couple of years ago, Volfir who finally reached sufficient enough proficiency started challenging the inner circle companions. Unexpectedly for the young man, it turns out that Arnbjorn could have broken each bone in his body back when they first met before Skjor and Kodlak would even be able to stop him
That realisation became a turning point for Volfir and his aspirations of personal strength which eventually lead to him being named by the masses
"Strong-Will" a couple of companions nodded to him when he reached them
"Njada, don't kill that merchant, even if we both want to, he is paying one of those who's paying for the job
"Tsk, don't lecture me whelp" she answered but those in the know understood that she has backed down
"Sure, let's move everybody" Volfir nodded to Njada, fully aware of her personality and spoke to the guard group
""Aye"" a sound of affirmation resounded un unison
"Haven't been in Riften in a while" spoke Farkas who joined his companions along with Arnbjorn
"Heard there's a notice for Dawnguard recruitment" said Volfir
"From those old stories?" asked Farkas with surprise, recognising the name
"Aye" the youth affirmed
"Apparently the blood sucking monsters are out and about" said Arnbjorn with mirth
"Thought they were just a legend" joined in Njada
"Me too" added Volfir
""Fought with them, good hunts"" Farkas and Arnbjorn spoke in unison
"Do they look like the bat monsters from the stories?" Volfir asked with evident curiosity
"No, just like normal mortals with sharp teeth and nails, their blood magic is very dangerous though" Farkas answered with a shake of his head, while Arnbjorn chose not to comment
"I see" Volfir said
Sounds of moving filled the surroundings, as the caravan started going down the road once again and the leading merchant could be seen moving towards Volfir, his forehead sweating in fearful anticipation
"Strong-Will" the man slightly bowed his head, "The m- merchant whose hands you took is the Black-Briar contact to whom we are delivering the mead to…"
…
"Very well, I shall speak to the Black-Briar matriarch about what happened, it was my own actions anyway, the Companions will bear no consequences
"O- okay" the timid breton fell back towards the other merchants, all of whom were avoiding looking towards the Companions
"Hehe, you are in trouble now whelp" chuckled Arnbjorn
"Nothing he can't handle" Farkas patted Volfir's shoulder in encouragement
"I will join you" said Njada
"No need, I will resolve the matter myself" rebuked Volfir stubbornly
The talks quieted down and only sounds of walking, steel clanking and wood trembling continued for the remaining duration of the journey
-Scene Break-
"Volfir Strong-Will, for the past… two years you have made a solid name for yourself" a mature woman's voice filled the small room where two figures were seated at a small table
"No name rivals that of Black-Briars in Skyrim" Volfir answered truthfully and directly
TAP TAP
The mature lady tapped her finger against her table methodically, her wise eyes piercing through the young man's own tempered ones
"And yet you crossed me" she finally spoke
"I didn't" the boy rebutted, making the woman narrow her eyes and furrow her eyebrows, but she didn't speak, awaiting the usual excuses and ass licking
…
The silence that followed was quite deafening
"You chopped off the hands of my servant" Maven felt her anger rising
"He tried to defile a fallen woman warrior" Volfir didn't care
"He is unable to work for me as a useless handicapped tool" her tone became dangerous with an aim of pressuring the young man
"That was his fault, there were plenty of warning from myself and my companions before the act" Volfir's tone was final, greatly infuriating the matriarch
"So what's the purpose of you coming here?" Maven smiled, but behind the smile lay barely controllable rage
"For the loss of your servant I shall complete three assignments for you, not spanning greater than a year" Volfir answered, unperturbed
"The man was to work for me till the end of his life and you dare to stake three assignments?" Maven asked, still retaining her smile, but her mind was already working on how she can milk this opportunity the most
"We have different specialities" Volfir explained as if talking to a kid
…
"You are brave" Maven said as she got up and walked towards the young man
"I am confident" answered Volfir, looking up and straight through the woman's calculating eyes
She smiled once again, but her eyes expressed pity and glee at the same time
"Any three tasks that I assign to you will be completed, otherwise the Companions will suffer from lack of work and you…" she bent down to match the seated man's height, "If you fail, you can forget about living"
'Oops, a lapse of judgement… she will assign me dirty tasks isn't she…?' Volfir had a bad premonition
"Sure, I truly hope you understand a warriors integrity though, otherwise don't be surprised to see me kill as many as I can before getting killed myself" the young man's voice full of confidence and backed up by an innocent smile made Maven slightly shiver
"Of course, I am a business woman, not a lawless bandit" she returned the amicable smile and straightened out to walk back to her seat
"You are free to go" she continued, aiming to establish superiority
"How am I to receive word from you?" the young man saw through the hidden meaning behind the words
"A man named Maul will contact you" she answered
"I will remain in Riften for two weeks, after that you will have to send couriers to see if I'll be free to do the tasks" Volfir stated as he got up from his seat, "Good meeting you, Black-Briar Matriarch" and he left
THUD
The door closed at the same time as the older woman slammed her fist on the table
"Interesting…" Maven Black-Briar said aloud, as she watched the closed door, her mind brimming with thoughts and political calculations
-Scene Break-
"I will remain for two weeks in Riften, during which the Black-Briars will issue me up to three tasks spanning no longer than a year"
In a spacious inn room, the talented and known Companions were seated around the fire and listening to Volfir
"I am quite sure the tasks will be hard, but not politically dirty and the sort" the young man concluded
"Eh… well, if you are sure, then that's okay, not like we understand these types of things…" spoke Farkas while rubbing the back of his head
"Hmph, speak for yourself you dimwit" quipped back Njada
"Where's the old man?" Volfir interrupted the budding quarrel
"Arnbjorn disappeared somewhere, but he will return to the inn at night for sure" answered Njada
"We will have a sleep, then move out with the merchants back to Windhelm in the morning" said Farkas
"Alright, good luck… I will probably sleep in then, so you won't see me in the morning" spoke Volfir
"Sure, see you in Whiterun once you are done with the nice looking lady" said Farkas
"Only you would call the ruthless Black-Briar matriarch nice looking…" Njada slapped her forehead in exasperation
"Have a good night and journey" Volfir reached his hand out for a warrior shake and after the greetings retired to his rented room
'What could go wrong I said in the beginning of the commission… me and my big mouth…' Voflir lay in his bed, thinking of what's to come from this ordeal
Nothing peaceful that's for certain…