It was midday; Septimus had just left Jorrvaskr and was headed back to the inn to grab the items he left behind.
‘Well, that was confusing.
Didn’t expect to get a mentorship?
opportunity from the companions; I’m not even the only one.
Vilkas told me there are three others on the possible future leadership band.’
The road was crowded, so Septimus chose to take the alleways back.
‘The thing I don’t understand is the difference in how Vilkas treated the dragonborn when he met him versus how he treated me.’
Entering the alleways, he noticed there were a substantial number of beggars hanging around.
‘It could be that he didn’t like the way the dragonborn was introduced; he does seem to dislike muscleheads, so being introduced by roid nord number one Farkas and wild woman extraordinaire Aela may not give the best impression.’
The alleyways led Septimus to the merchant district.
‘It’s good for me tho; I’m still worried about gold, but at least I have some food and a roof under my head.
Initially I was going to slum it in an abandoned house or something.’
Reaching the front of the tavern, he walked in.
The inside was clean, but a certain reek of humanity still lingered.
Septimus headed upstairs to his room and grabbed his bags.
Coming back down to return the room key, the counter was empty, so he went looking for the owner.
The only other person inside was a woman cleaning the tables.
Septimus didn’t recognize her, but since she was cleaning, he assumed she worked here.
“Excuse me, do you know where the owner is?
I need to return my room key.”
The woman turned to look at him; she was a redguard with short hair and an average face, mid-thirties.
“Oh, yes, you can give it to me; just tell me your name, and I’ll let her know.” Septimus narrowed his eyes.
‘Isn’t this the one chick the desert people are looking for?’
“Hello, is everything ok?” She asked after noticing him silently stare at her.
“Hmm, yes, of course.
Here you go, my name’s Septimus, I just joined the companions today.
Nice to meet you, miss?”
She seemed surprised to hear this.
“Oh my, the companions, congratulations.
My name is Saadia.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to work.”
Septimus smiled at her and handed over the key.
“Of course, have a nice day.” He then turned around and left, a smile still on his face.
‘Cha-ching, she has a bounty on her, something like 500 septims, but I bet I can negotiate a bit higher.
I feel bad for her, but I’m broke and can’t fight a group of armed killers.’
With the mentality that no time is better than the present, he headed to the gate to snoop around and see if he could see the scimitar-wielding bounty hunters.
‘Hmm, no luck.
They should be easy to spot; maybe they didn’t reach here yet.
I should ask a guard.’
Walking up to one of the idle guards, he instantly spotted Septimus.
“You need something?”
“I’m looking for someone.
I wonder if you’ve seen them around here.”
“It depends.
Septimus nodded.
“Alright, so, I’m looking for a group of redguards; their most striking feature is that they wield curved swords.”
The guard looked puzzled.
“Curved swords, doesn’t ring a bell.
Why are you looking for them?”
“Well, they are looking for someone, and I think I have a lead.
If you happen to see them, please keep it in mind; I will come by again.
Thanks.”
After the chat with the guard, Septimus turned around and headed back to Jorrvaskr.
‘That didn’t go as expected, with how conspicuous they are in the game id imagine it would be hard not to see them.
Maybe it’s too early, and they haven’t arrived yet.”
Entering Jorrvaskr, Septimus was greeted by a very rowdy crowd of eating nords; well, not all were nords; there was some variety, but the majority of them were large, Nord, and hairy.
Quickly heading downstairs, he went to the trainee barracks and stored his stuff under the bed that Vilkas said was his from now on.
With everything properly stored, he headed back upstairs to look for Vilkas.
He was sitting towards the end of the table with other companions, people Septimus recognized as part of the inner circle; all of them were werewolves.
“Hello again, Vilkas.
Here I am, as promised.” Septimus walked up to the table and greeted them without sitting down.
“Nice to meet you.
My name is Septimus.
I just joined the trainees today.”
Vilkas nodded and pointed at the bench, indicating that he should sit.
“This is our newest member; he’s a good seedling, so don’t scare him off.”
The first to react was Farkas, Vilkas’s brother.
“Well, well, brother, another one of your protégés.
I hope this one lasts.” Turning to look at Septimus, he introduced himself.
“Welcome, new blood.
My name is Farkas.
I am this guy’s brother, as you can tell.
I am the brawn while he is the brain, hehe.”
Septimus was fairly tall, but even sitting down, Farkas looked almost two heads taller, a true roid giant.
The next one to introduce himself was an older man, bald and with a very scared face; he obviously had quite a few stories to tell.
“It seems we’ve got a new whelp; my name’s Skjor, know I’ll keep an eye on you.” He pointed at his one good eye.
Vilkas looked like he wanted to face palm.
The last one to introduce herself was Aela; she was sitting next to Skjor.
“Is this your newest pet project, Vilkas?
Looks a bit young this one, hasn’t even grown a proper Nord beard.” She shrugged.
“My name is Aela, I’m not like these other blockheads.
If you want to train with the bow, look for me.”
‘Damn it, she’s hot.
She looks like she hasn’t bathed in a month, but she’s still freaking hot, tall, redheaded, and shapely.
Hard to tell her age, maybe 30 or so.
Also, what do you mean I don’t have a proper Nord beard?
I’m working on it, damn it!’
Vilkas retook hold of the conversation.
“With the introduction done, let’s get down to business.
I will tell you what we can offer and what we expect from you in return.” Septimus nodded and straightened his back.
“First, let’s start with what we can offer you.
In exchange, you must dedicate yourself to training, respect your superiors, and complete missions assigned to you.
Does that sound fair?”
Septimus licked his lips; they dried out from getting stared at by four furry killing machines.
“Just a few questions, about the missions: how often will they be, and can I refuse?
About the training, can I choose the focus of the training, and lastly, when will I become an official member of the companions?”
Aela scoffed and rolled her eyes.
“Look at this pup, aiming high from the start.
You’ll only be joining when we, all of us here, agree to it, so work hard, pup.”
Vilkas nodded.
“It is as she says.
Don’t be in a hurry; joining the companions is a great honour.
As for your other questions, you will get sent on as many missions as needed, and you can refuse to take part in them, but it will not reflect well on you.
As for training, it depends.
What did you have in mind?”
“Well, about that.” He sneaked a peek at Aela.
“The only weapon I have ever used is a bow, so I hoped to continue with that if possible, and I have no experience with combat whatsoever, so I would like some personal guidance to figure things out.”
Vilkas seemed to ponder for a moment.
“I see.
Actually, the second part of your request was going to happen anyway.
We always test the trainees to check on what suits them best.
In your case, I will do it myself.
As for your first request, ask her.”
Septimus turned to Aela.
“So, what do you say, Aela?
Could you show me how to use a bow?”
“No, pup, I can teach you how to hunt, but first, tell me, have you ever killed before?” She was staring at Septimus the same way Vilkas did earlier.
‘She’s doing the thing too!
Can werewolves tell if you lie, because that’s bullshit if true!’
Septimus quickly answered, keeping his voice even, “I have.
On my way to Whiterun, I killed one wolf, a couple of rabbits, and a bunch of mudcrabs.”
She didn’t look impressed.
“Not that pup; what I’m asking is, have you ever killed a man before?” Septimus slowly nodded, maintaining eye contact.
“How?
Tell me in detail.” She continued.
“Well, I ambushed him from behind, hit him with an arrow in the back, he turned to charge at me, and I hit him again under the arm, then he died.”
Aela narrowed her eyes.
“There’s something you’re not telling me, pup, but you’re not lying.
Alright, join me for one hunt, and if I like you, we can talk about training.
With that said.” She stood up.
“Go get tested, pup.
Icebrain, guide him to the back and show him around!”
Farkas replied in a very unenthusiastic voice.
“Ok, follow me, young blood.”
And Septimus followed, ending thus his introduction to the inner circle of the companions.