Hunting the Betrayer: Riften pt. 9

Northeast of Falkreath

A day later, below Pinewatch Cottage, a wiry, Nord man slowly roused himself from sleep, turning and sitting up on one of the many bunks set up in the living quarters deep in the Labyrinth of passages below the Cottage.

He considered getting out of bed, but then remembered there was no hurry. After all, not many travelers would be moving around in this Winter weather, and since the passes were already filled with snow, there were no caravans to pick off.

No matter, on his way in the day before, he recalled seeing quite a few stores of food and other goods, and Rochelle the Red herself had assured him and his friend, Jacoby, that her group had plenty of supplies to last the winter.

It was a good thing Rochelle was more practical than the Champion had been. Things had gone so well for them while they were secretly serving the Jarl. They had known exactly where and when travelers were coming and even what sort of goods they had.

Then, for reasons he didn't understand, the Champion had up and decided they would no longer work for the Jarl, nor would he listen to anything Jacoby or any of the others said about it. His will was set in stone.

And while he and the other bandits had vastly outnumbered the Champion, no one was willing to cross him.

It all really went wrong when Sinding showed up. That sot had no excuse to be there. He was barely a decent hunter, let alone fit to number himself among accomplished highwaymen like the others.

Again, it was the Champion that insisted he was useful, trying to use him as some sort of go between with Jarl Siddgeir. The men had relaxed their hostility since that seemed to mean it was more likely they'd get Siddgeir to agree to their own terms, and soon would be again working for the Jarl.

Joffvel scratched his head before stretching and standing up.

Shaking the cobwebs of sleep from his mind, the man was startled to find himself facing the stern but amused visage of Rigel Strong-Arm.

He couldn't say he knew her very well, only that she wielded a Battle Axe decently, and that most of the men surmised that despite the face paint and wild hair arrangements she was prone to, that she was actually a fine looking woman under all the heavy armor and furs.

"Seems awfully quiet. It can't be that late in the day, can it?" groggily asked the man, a little uncertain of his fellow bandit's intentions.

"We had a visitor while you were sleeping" she replied, eyeing him over more carefully before leaning off to one side against one of the bunks.

"What...sort of visitor?" he asked, growing uneasy with the scrutiny.

"Oh, you know him well. It was Sinding, the one who caused all the trouble at Knifepoint Ridge"

"Please tell me you skinned his sorry arse" spat the man with genuine venom while glancing around for his armor and weapons to suit up.

"We would have, if he hadn't run off first" she stated, watching more intently than normal as he put on his armor.

"Well?" wondered the puzzled man as he finished armoring up and wondering why Rigel was prodding him with bits and pieces of information.

"No need for you to run off after him. Rochelle already took most of the bunch out with her to chase him down" she replied as she continued to eye him over.

"So why do I get the feeling this has nothing to do with Sinding?" sneered the bandit, beginning to get a sense of what this was about.

"Let's just say...I've made some...arrangements of my own" Rigel replied, withdrawing an apple from somewhere before taking a large bite out of it.

"What sort of...arrangements?"

"Let's just say that I have a...friend or two in Falkreath that can ensure that Rochelle never returns from this foray" she smiled deviously before taking another bite of the apple.

"And you're...sure...that these friends of yours can deliver" queried the bandit cautiously.

"Oh yes, they do this sort of thing for a living" she replied as her grin grew wider "They can even make it look like an accident"

"And, of course, if she doesn't come back, it leaves all of us with no leader..." intimated the man as he leaned back and looked both ways suddenly, realizing their discussion could be dangerous to their health if the wrong ears heard it.

"I will be the new leader. Most of the men that have been here know my skill and cunning in a fight. They'll support me" she assured him tossing the apple up and down momentarily.

"If it were a foregone conclusion, why are we talking about this then?"

"You've been in all three of the bandit groups, The Champion, Feorus, and Rochelle's. We've taken in half a dozen men that used to belong to the other groups. They don't know much about me, but they all know you. You're more familiar with the terrain, trails, and roads than most here, and you've done this sort of work for longer than some of the other lads. Once Spring thaw hits, it will take some doing to avoid that rascal of a Jarl and his Imperial cronies, but with some good men and multiple camps to hide, we can milk this area for years" she retorted, fixing him with a confident smirk before tossing him the partly eaten apple "Whadda ya say?"

The man eyed the partly eaten apple for a moment before bringing it to his mouth and taking a luscious bite from the uneaten part as he returned her confident smirk.

"If...Rochelle's out of the picture and if I can get certain...perks, I guess I'm in" he replied, making sure to that he would get something in return for his prowess and experience.

"What sort of perks might those be?" Rigel's countenance seemed to fall for an instant, inconvenienced by the thought of having to give up something in exchange for his support.

Now it was the man's turn to smirk and take another bite of the apple as his mind turned over all the different things he might demand as a favor.

He was about to start naming the things he wanted when a loud noise from further up the passage made both of them freeze.

Immediately, both of them snatched up their weapons before holding still a moment and listening.

For a few seconds, it was deathly still.

Then they heard a blood curling scream from a man further up the passageways, then the scream was abruptly cut off.

"Could that be Sinding?" hissed Rigel.

They were both quiet for a moment as sounds of melee fighting broke out far ahead.

The sound of Melee fighting was something far more familiar to both of them, and they plucked up their weapons and quickly headed toward whatever fight had broken out when a loud and thunderous shouting noise silenced all the fighting.

"That's...not a werewolf making that noise..." muttered Joffvel, pulling up to a dead stop in the passage as they both listened intently.

"What else could it be?!" Rigel hissed.

They were both silent for a few moments as another scream echoed down the passage, followed by pleas for mercy that were abruptly cut short.

Rigel and Joffvel slowly found themselves retreating backward down the passage, an unknown feeling seeping into them as blade slices and more screams echoed down the passage.

Someone...or something was slaughtering anyone and everyone who hadn't gone out to hunt down Sinding.

After another roar silenced the sound of fighting much closer to them, they soon took off running further back into the passages.

"Is there a way out?!" hissed Joffvel as they ran.

"No, but there is Rochelle's private room. We can lock ourselves inside!" murmured Rigel in between breaths as they ran, her confident swagger from earlier completely gone.

Once they'd locked themselves inside Rochelle's quarters, Rigel led him over to one side and pulled a lever, opening a hidden wall, where another heavier locked door lay.

Whipping out Rochelle's keys, Rigel opened it and let them in just as they heard another series of screams from the passageways.

Closing it with a loud THUD, Rigel locked the heavy door with Rochelle's keys.

Normally, Joffvel would've had all sorts of questions about Rochelle's vault, the goods piled next to them, and how Rigel had obtained keys that only Rochelle was supposed to have, but instead, they were both riveted to the noises coming from the passageway, watching the door.

For what seemed like a long time, it was dead quiet, and they both wandered if whatever or whoever had been out there had gone, but then a loud roar pounded against the Heavy Door to the vault, making both of them jump.

Their habits took hold, and immediately both of them moved to ambushing positions to attack whoever came through the door.

After another Roar that shook the door again but failed to break it, it was silent for awhile before another pounding noise stunned them for a moment as the Heavy Iron door caved inward and was sent flying.

After all this, they were expecting to see a huge Troll, a Giant of an Orc, or maybe even a Werewolf, but instead, the black outline of a man in heavy armor appeared in the doorway, apparently just having punched the door in.

Joffvel was so stunned by this, he failed to attack when Rigel did, paralyzed in his ambush position by the wall.

Springing from her nearby position with a war cry, Rigel brought her war axe down on the intruder for what should have been at least a maiming, if not killing blow. Instead, the impossible man in mostly ebony armor simply seemed to vanish from in front of Rigel and immediately appear behind her, cleaving off her head with a flaming longsword with the same movement.

Watching his comrades cut down without any contest, Joffvel was stunned, his heart beating wildly in his chest as he tried to think of something to appease the monster that had appeared in front of him.

"WH-WH-WHO ARE YOU?!" he more screamed than asked as he stumbled backward, the dark clad figure slowly advancing on him.

"OH...I...I KNOW! I KNOW! YOU...YOU WANT SINDING!" he sputtered, the armor finally sparking a light of recognition in his mind as he recalled that the appearance of this man was just like described by Sinding when they were sent out to see where he had fallen off the cliff at Knifepoint Ridge. He just...he couldn't remember the man's name...Darkborn...Dragonone...Drowborn...

"Where is Sinding?!" the man hissed, still advancing.

"I...I...I can tell you where...b-b-but you have to l-l-let me go!" Joffvel tried not to sound like the frightened rabbit that he felt like.

"You'll tell me now" hissed the man, closing on Joffvel and batting away what he thought was a skillful faint and parry with his longsword before seizing him by the neck and raising him off the ground.

"If you...kill...me,...you'll...never...find...him" gasped Joffvel, straining against the steel vice around his neck.

"No...today, you are all prey!" growled Arn before stabbing a mortal wound into the stunned Bandit's chest with Dawnbreaker.

Tossing the dying Bandit aside like he weighed nothing, Arn whirled and trudged out of the Bandit secret vault.

He did not stop to gaze on the stolen treasures. He did not stop to eat from the food stores.

All he cared about was the remaining bandits and if they had any captives.

Marching back through the passages that wove their way far below Pinewatch Cottage, he stepped over all the Bandits he'd killed on the way in. Emerging outside, he winced slightly at the windy snowfall that had begun.

Looking around for a few moments, he finally settled on the many sets of tracks headed south and east before assuming the Aspect of Dragon again and leaping off into the snow as he resumed his chase.

Half a day later, heavier snow began to fall as Arn was still tracking the Bandit group chasing Sinding.

Arn considered finding shelter somewhere, particularly since it wouldn't be too long before darkness fell, but then he looked up and was surprised to see the White Stag, same as before, looking at him from a distance through the falling snowflakes.

Just like before, it pawed the ground and seemed to huff at him intently before turning and bolting off into the woods.

Arn took off after the White Stag, their chase resuming the same pattern as it had been when he'd chased it before.

It went on like this for another couple of hours, with Arn taking a few breaks to rest, the White Stag seeming to do the same before they resumed the chase.

Next thing Arn knew, he was standing outside a massive wooden palisade of sorts with a thatched roof over it.

The entryway was littered with tracks of the men he was chasing, but it was also filled with other tracks...Giant tracks.

Creeping forward, it was easy to stealth his way in with the gusting winds easily covering any noise he made.

It wasn't far before he heard raised voices and saw a mass of huddled men cluttered around several bonfires.

He tried to get nearer to see what the dispute was about, and if there was any sign of Sinding, but he was careless and in his focus on the argument among the Bandit group with what appeared to be several Giants in front of them, he neglected to spot a lone Bandit spotter by one of the Palisade sides.

"Intruder!" came the call that surprised Arn for only a moment before he stood to his full height and let loose a Dragon Shout.

"FUS RO DAH!"

The Unrelenting wave of force plowed over half the Bandit group through the flames of one of the bonfires, crushing, maiming and burning the lot.

Arn exchanged sword blows with a nearby Bandit briefly before slowing down time to slice the throats of the three others that were taking positions to surround him.

He was about to dispatch the original attacker when time sped back up and a large shadow swung through air from a Giant that had approached faster than Arn had expected.

Hopping backward, Arn barely missed the swing of a massive club, it's near tree-like girth pulverizing his original attacker into the snow in a crunch of bone and flesh.

"Yugush Urzag!" bellowed the Giant angrily at Arn, raising his club and bringing it down again at him.

Arn wasn't sure how the Giants were involved in all this.

He had not wanted to get involved in a fight with them, but he had hoped that the two groups would end up squaring off against each other, and indeed, two other Giants seemed happily going after the remaining Bandits further up from Arn, but Arn couldn't understand their language and they apparently thought he was with the Bandits, or that he was equally to blame for any animosity.

"MUL QAH DIIV!"

Assuming the Aspect of a Dragon, Arn sidestepped the thundering blow into the ground of the Giant's Club. Then, jumping onto it and using it a platform, he leaped high into the air and forward, stabbing the un-armored Giant in the rib cage with Dawnbreaker.

Giants, however, did not die near as easily as men did.

Arn found himself dangling some six feet off the ground as the Giant bellowed and swayed one way and then another as it tried to dislodge Arn and his blade.

Finally wrenching Dawnbreaker free, Arn plopped down on his feet amid the snow and bodies to find himself facing a badly wounded Giant and another approaching from behind it rapidly to aid.

Then a blur of movement went running by Arn.

As it jumped through the air, it materialized itself into a man.

He was tall and strong with thick, bulging muscles poking out anywhere that was not covered in ornately decorated Animal Skins.

As the newcomer leaped high in the air on his own, Arn saw he was wielding two spears, one in each hand, and he wore the headdress of a massive Elk.

Arn had no idea who the newcomer was or what his stake in the fight was, but whoever it was, certainly had no shortage of nerve or skill, landing both spears in a stab into the throat of the Giant rushing toward Arn before planting his feet on the Giant and flipping off and backward, scything the throat on the remaining Giant with both spears on his way down, coming to a perfect landing amid the carnage on the ground.

Arn had no chance to watch any more of it since he had to duck under another club swing from the wounded Giant, still growling angrily at him.

Sidestepping another Club pound into the ground, Arn got around the side of the wounded Giant and slash fiercely across its left calf, bringing it down for him to finish off.

He had just wrenched Dawnbreaker free from the killing blow when he got a moment to behold the unknown new arrival was easily finishing off the remaining Bandits like they were nothing.

Wielding both spears as if they weighed nothing, he spun this way and that, parrying blades away, running bandits through the midsection, slicing throats, and reaching out to brain any runaways through their helmets with long downward chops of the Spearheads.

Arn would've watched more, but at that moment, a blur of Brown and gray bolted from the back of the area past all the commotion and out toward the entrance.

Arn got just enough of a glimpse to see a brown haired Werewolf careen through the snow wildly in an attempt to escape.

"Sinding!" Arn bellowed, his desire for vengeance rekindled as his quarry bolted.

Arn knew Sinding would outpace him, even with the aspect of Dragon to even the speeds since Sinding would have much more stamina, and Arn was in no mood to continue chasing.

"FUS RO DAH!"

The wave of force plowed into the fleeing Werewolf, flinging him against the Palisade walls with a loud THUD that reverberated through the Wintery wilds.

Taking a long leap toward the opening, Arn intended to cut off the fleeing werewolf, now clambering to his feet.

Seeing Arn land in his path out of the Palisade opening, Sinding turned to leap up, but froze when he saw the newcomer perched atop the Palisade, standing proudly with a spear out to either side.

Arn wasn't sure how he had gotten up there, much less so quickly, but the sight of him immediately changed Sinding's behavior.

"Nooo!...NOOOOO!" Sinding howled, stumbling back from the Palisade at the sight of the stranger before turning and running back inside the unknown structure further in.

Arn was going to follow, but cast a quick glance up at the newcomer, intending to find out who he was and what his stake in this was.

"He is cornered now, and will be more dangerous than ever" the burly man declared, preempting Arn's question as he gestured Arn inside with a Spear in his right hand "The kill is yours".

Not really knowing who the man was and unsure if there was a way out or not that Sinding might be using even as they spoke, Arn opted to give chase instead of having a lengthy conversation outside.

There was...something...familiar about him that Arn couldn't place.

Rushing through the middle of the camp and into a cave in the back, Arn was surprised to find it opened out into an underground Grotto of sorts, filled with plants illuminated by softly flashing fireflies that had taken refuge there due to the hot springs that sent steam up into the air, warming the lengthy cavern to a balmy temperature.

Arn began sweating as he moved further in, not allowing himself to be mesmerized by the beautiful plants and softly flowing stream that the hot springs created before it flowed down somewhere into the rocks.

As he came toward the end of the cavern, he spied Sinding, crouched down by a hot spring, probably hoping to avoid being seen.

Carefully moving toward him, Sinding sensed the game was up.

Rising slowly to his full height with a low growl, he would've cut a fearsome figure in the misting light of the Grotto, but Arn still remembered being flung off a cliff...still remembered Lydia being captured...still remembered the children huddled and starving in cold barren caves.

"Why?" Arn snapped with a growl of his own as he advanced on Sinding.

"The price is too much...I cannot stop!" came the barely intelligible words from Sinding's growling werewolf form, not making much sense to Arn.

Arn might have said more, but Sinding lunged and attacked with his claws.

"FUS RO DAH!"

The wave of force plastered Sinding back among some vegetation, with Arn dashing quickly in to take advantage.

Sinding recovered faster than Arn expected, and craftily rolled himself and spun around, launching an upper cut with his a large clawed hand.

Fortunately, Arn had dashed in with his shield at the ready, and Sinding's blow caught the bottom of his shield only, but Sinding carried through with a massive lunge, launching Arn upward in the air, spinning end over end.

Arn knew he was in trouble if he landed wrong, and Sinding would be all over him regardless of what state he landed.

"WULD NA KEST!"

Arn tried to time his burst of speed so that he would be perpendicular to the ground, and fortunately, he was close enough to slide to a stop on his knees through some vegetation some thirty feet away.

Rising to his feet, he turned to find Sinding bearing down on him, jaws bared.

"TIID KLO UL!"

Time slowed to a crawl as Arn sidestepped around the lunging werewolf and stabbed through the back into what he hoped was the heart.

Werewolves were not easy to kill, and much like Vampires, unless you had a potent battlemage at your disposal, or a good silver weapon, there was no way to stop them from regenerating any wound you inflicted on them. The only way to kill them with normal weapons was to behead them, or get a stab through the heart.

Beheading a Werewolf was much harder since their necks were rather large and well muscled. So a heart shot it would have to be.

Unfortunately, Arn must have missed the heart, or not gotten enough of it.

As time sped back up, Sinding howled in pain, spinning and unleashing a torrent of scything claw attacks, Arn barely able to keep his shield up under the barrage.

His shield and parts of his armor glinted with sparks from the claw marks left behind by Sinding's blows.

"TIID KLO UL!"

Arn slowed time down again, if only to give him a respite from Sinding's blows, moving around the Werewolf again and tried again to find the right spot for a stab at the heart.

This time, he got it right.

As soon as time sped back up, Sinding's howl of pain was cut short as his entire body seized up and he slumped to his knees before falling forward on the ground.

Arn wrenched Dawnbreaker free and watched with caution for a moment to ensure there was no trickery involved before he finally let a sigh out.

"A fitting end for a Betrayer"

Arn yanked his head up to see the Stranger from the Palisades fight standing atop a rocky outcropping not far away.

"How do you know he was a betrayer?" queried Arn, trying to place who the Stranger might be.

"The man betrayed everyone. He betrayed himself by making a pledge he could not keep. He betrayed his Lord by breaking his pledge. He betrayed the Beast blood in his veins when he would not hunt. He betrayed his wife and child when the Beast finally forced itself out. He betrayed his own brethren of the forest by taking you to them, and finally...he betrayed you...Dragonborn" declared the Stranger, growing in volume as he hopped lightly up some more stones until he was at a higher rocky perch.

"How do you know all this, and how did you know he would be here?" Arn quipped, beginning to put some of the pieces together about Sinding.

"I followed you, Dragonborn. You do take some prodding, but when you finally set your will to it, there is nothing that stops you" returned the Stranger, a small smile spreading on the Stranger's face that Arn could see was a bushy bearded one inside the regal Elk headdress he wore.

"Are you one of the local hunters?" Arn asked, somehow knowing that the Stranger definitely wasn't.

"Oh, I am much more than that. I am the Lord of the Hunt, and this Hunt has been most satisfying, watching you track your quarry across the land, not foiled by the elements, nor by other men, nor by Giants or even the Betrayer himself! Truly, a Child of Akatosh is a supreme Hunter!" marveled Hircine, for Arn could think of no one else who went by that title, and it explained all the question marks surrounding his knowledge of the matter and his appearance.

"I enjoyed it so much, that I decided to partake in it myself for a bit" Hircine continued, his gaze pointed off at nothing as if recalling a fond memory.

"Is this the part where you ask me to become one of your worshipers?" Arn asked, the knowledge that he was speaking to a Daedric Prince giving him an uneasy feeling.

"Of course not. I do not hunt for followers. Followers hunt for me" quipped Hircine with a wide sweep of his arms, which still had a spear in each hand.

Arn relaxed a little bit, worried for a moment he would be butting heads with another Daedric Prince.

"Still...a word of caution, Child of Akatosh" Hircine declared, reigniting Arn's unease.

"There are only two types of creatures in the plane of Nirn...those who are Hunters, and those who are Hunted" he continued, leaning against one of his spears that had the other end implanted somehow in the rock.

"You've seen how well I hunt" retorted Arn.

"But you are sometimes loath to do so. A creature what will not hunt will eventually become the hunted" Hircine warned, his tone no longer merry or proud.

"Those who've hunted me have regretted it" Arn sneered, more than a little annoyed.

"Indeed, but will you always prove such a fearsome prey?" Hircine challenged, a small smirk returning to his face.

"We'll just have to wait and see" Arn replied, his confidence refusing to budge.

"Then on that day, I will enjoy watching as well" Hircine replied, watching him closely for a second before his countenance brightened again at the prospect of something impressive to look forward to before he continued "However, the World Eater is not a Hunter to be ignored, and many have become his Prey. Today has been a good Hunt, and for that I am grateful to you"

As he finished, Hircine stood and launched one of his spears in the direction of Sinding's body.

Thudding into the ground, Arn noticed the quick glow of magicka around the spear as something magically appeared on the pole end of it.

Casting his glance back up at Hircine, Arn saw that the man's face was gone, and now the headdress he wore had now turned into his head and shoulders as he grinned at him.

"My gift to you for such a fine Hunt. If you want to become a true Hunter, you will need it" Hircine replied through the Stag-like head he had now assumed before Arn turned and walked over to the Spear to see what had appeared on the end of it.

A fur cuirass of some sort was hanging on it, glowing with a faint golden aura.

Carefully picking it up, Arn was surprised to see a small golden ring also sitting on the top of the Spear handle.

Inspecting it, he noted the small symbol in the shape of a wolf head and nothing else on it.

Connecting the puzzle pieces, Arn walked over and glanced at Sinding's body.

Sure enough, there was the distinct wearing and impression of a ring on one of his clawed fingers.

Worried about its effects, Arn avoided touching it, and instead stowed it in a small pouch inside his pack with Hircine's Cuirass.

While Arn was curious about the armor and worried about the ring, he was excited about the Spear itself.

On closer inspection, it was quite well made.

It had a full metal core that extended from the spear head that went the entire length of the spear, but it was encased in a magically imbued sheath of hardwood that allowed his hand to slide up and down the handle easily.

He wasn't sure what metal the Spearhead was made of, but it certainly seemed imbued with magical properties and glowed a dull green as Arn carried it out of the Grotto with him.

Arn was just beginning to marvel about his encounter with yet another Daedric Prince as he walked out when a sudden cry arrested him in his place.

"I-is anyone there? C-can anyone hear me?" came a timid sounding woman's voice from off to one side of the Grotto entrance.

Apparently, Arn's surprises weren't over.

Author's Notes:

1. IMPORTANT! THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER FOR THIS FIC I AM POSTING HERE. FROM HERE ON OUT, EVERYTHING WILL BE ON AO3 (ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN). THE FIC IS THE SAME NAME, AND MY AUTHOR NAME IS THE SAME OVER THERE.

2. Sorry for the long delay, I have to take my time with any Daedric Prince that shows up to make sure they don't come across like just any other character. Also, my creativity has been running a lot more towards Star Wars of late than Elder Scrolls, but don't worry, I won't abandon my fics.

3. Next chapter is a game changer. So don't miss it!