Skyrim: Band of Thieves

Capper found that the mages were definitely interested in the fact that Mora was investigating the Eye of Magnus, after all of them came to understand that this form of hers was due to another Prince messing with her, which was common based on what he had learnt so far. This did come with some good information for them, as Tolfdir claimed that the writing on the Eye was of no language that they knew of, as it didn't match Daedric, Falmer, or even Aylied, where Mora told them that it was Aedric, the language of the Divines. It was easy to determine such a thing since this was an artifact of Magnus, the God of Magic himself, and he was said to have left a few items behind, such as his Staff, which was currently somewhere in this vast province, as Mora didn't feel like sharing everything right now. Despite that fact it was clear that she and Rarity had much to discuss on the matter, while at the same time Capper silently weaved his own magic on the area, mostly to sample the Eye's power while wondering if he should steal it now.

In the end he decided to leave the Eye where it rested and the mages told Rarity that they would contact her if they were able to discover anything new, but she did get a request from one of the other staff members, the one invested in studying the Dwemer, who wanted ten cogs from her.

"I guess if we're near a dwarven ruin the kobolds can gather as many as we need." Capper remarked, which was followed by both Rarity and Mah Oh nodding their heads, as they walked out into the open area of the courtyard of the College, as it was time for them to leave and see to Azure's next task, since he was sure this would make the Companions happy enough to move the Solar Guard up a rank.

With their visit to Winterhold done, and it didn't seem like anyone wanted anything else from them, Mora moved back into Capper's shadow and returned to the Opulent Lands, no doubt to go over the information she had obtained from simply observing the Eye. After that he and the others did the same thing, before stepping out in Windhelm a few moments later, as the area that Azure needed to go to was a small cave that was located on the eastern mountain, and thanks to the note that the Companions gave him they were able to pinpoint it's exact location. With that in mind they set out immediately, since it would be best to recover the item they were after before the client started to wonder if the Companions were ever going to get around to fetching it, though Azure and Tuk Ur were more interested in slaying bandits. La'nari continued to take her self appointed place as the one who moved the carriage down the road, at this point Capper had decided not to argue with her since she seemed to like it, especially since it let her keep an eye out for danger, and everyone got ready for whatever the next cave had to offer them.

About the only thing that were worth worrying about was the dragon that was flying around the lone mountain, harassing the giants that seemed to live in the area and chomping down on whatever wildlife it could get it's talons on, which caused Capper to pause them for a moment as he looked at the dragon.

"You know Sharva, since you're the Dragonborn I've been wondering who would get a dragon's soul... would it be you, due to your connection to the Divine, or would it be me?" Capper commented, as he had a pile of dragon bones in his Vault and was curious what might happen if he got his hands on the soul of an actual dragon, it could be the start of an elite guard for his realm, like how Sheogorath had his two forces guarding his realm, "Or would we split it? You get the knowledge of the soul while I get the soul itself? Might be worth investigating at some point."

"He's already thinking about new members for the realm... not surprising, really." Rarity remarked, which was due to the fact that Capper was constantly thinking about new additions that could be added to his realm, new buildings, new people, new races, and whatever else crossed his mind, and an elite guard was the next thing that was on his list, to help guard the place so Ithelia and Mora weren't constantly bothered.

"Honestly, I don't know and I honestly don't care." Sharva replied, though she was more interested in heading up to the top of the Throat of the World to meet the Greybeards, which she knew they would do once Capper restored the Guild to it's former glory, she just had to be patient a little while longer, even though this lifestyle was more interesting for her, since she was in control of her own fate at long last.

Capper shrugged as they continued moving once more, where La'nari brought them up the path leading back to Riften, one they had taken plenty of times so far, though this time they moved closer to where a Legion camp was located, since there was a small body of water and a cave near it. Once they located their target, however, Capper nodded as Azure and Tuk Ur stepped out of the carriage's magic space before entering the cave, where they found that their friend and a few kobolds followed them inside for the loot that might be in here. Azure found that there were three bandits near the entrance, as in they seemed to be patrolling between this point, a side passage leading to what was likely the main treasure area, and the end of the cave, which was likely a spring of sorts due to all the water that formed the small stream they were following at the moment. None of them were very strong, in fact Azure found that he was able to cut his foes down in a single swing as Tuk Ur had to stab his a few times to bring them down, though once those foes were done they moved forward as Capper's group collected the loot.

There were only a few other bandits in the cave, one mining in the falls that fed the stream, one watching the main path, and one standing by the main treasure chest, where Azure and Tuk Ur wasted no time in bringing them all down, allowing Azure to collect the amulet they had been sent to collect, before he noticed something.

"Another Stone... you're finding them more frequently now." Azure said, referring to the red stone that was resting on the short bench nearby, one that Capper collected before turning his attention to the large chest, which seemed to have some decent loot, as in gold, jewels, and even a musical instrument, which Capper was sure was a collector's item, "I guess that's it to this place."

"Sure seems like it." Capper replied, though he pocketed the last of the new golden soul gems and followed Azure and Tuk Ur back outside, where the rest of the kobolds followed after them with the armor and loot from the slain bandits, which he was fine with since he knew the lizards liked tinkering with the armor that wasn't needed.

With that in mind the collectors returned to the Opulent Lands once they rejoined the others at the carriage, where the trio returned to their positions as La'nari got them moving back in the direction of Windhelm, so they could use the gate to get back to Capper's realm and then hop over to Whiterun. Everyone else just chattered while the carriage moved, mostly with ideas on what to do once they were done with their various guilds, even though everyone came to the same conclusion, that helping Sharva would be the next step once Capper finished his business with the Thieves Guild. Due to the path being clear on the way to the cave they discovered that the way was also clear on their way back, though there was the giant at the large campfire that stared at them as they went by, likely watching to be sure they didn't harass it's mammoth. Since they didn't care about the mammoth La'nari moved the carriage towards Windhelm and, sure enough, they found that the guards still didn't like them, but they were willing to do business now that the Guild had their power back.

Capper did find that the elf he had talked to previously was now a fence, which was good for the Guild, and after that he and the others used the hidden gate to return to the Opulent Lands, only to cross back over to Whiterun, allowing Rarity and the others to rest up, since it appeared to be the afternoon as the trio approached Jorrvaskr.

"You two have done well." Vilkas said, as he had been waiting near the doors of the mead hall and was pleased to see that Azure and Tuk Ur had returned with the item that they had been sent to collect, while at the same time he noticed how their khajiit companion was looking at the mead hall, "There is more work to be done, but Skjor told us to tell you that he wanted a word with the two of you... and only you two. No offense, khajiit."

"None taken. It's Guild business, and better kept in house." Capper replied, gesturing to himself for a moment, since it was easy for him to tell what was going on and this allowed him to show the Companions that he understood why Skjor wanted the two warriors who had joined this Guild, "I am not a Companion, therefore I am not included in such things. Don't worry, Azure and Tuk Ur won't reveal anything to me or the others, so all secrets are safe."

That wasn't counting the fact that Farkas had revealed that the Circle were all werewolves, so Capper assumed this was the point where they welcomed both Azure and Tuk Ur into the highest position a member of the Companions could reach, so he would likely find them turning into werewolves in the near future. With that in mind he stepped back and allowed the pair to go find Skjor, though at the same time Capper decided to take one more look around Whiterun, starting with following Rarity, as she was heading into Dragonsreach, towards the bit of daedric energy he had sensed previously. He also had a bit of business in that building as well, there was a Stone of Barenziah inside the Jarl's quarters, he had spotted it when he went for the letter for Olfrid's job, and Mora's map confirmed that there was another inside the Halls of the Dead. Capper's plan was to claim those two Stones before they did anything else, though he was patiently waiting to claim the one that was deep in Jorrvaskr, since he didn't want to interfere with Azure and Tuk Ur's new Guild.

"So, is the daedric energy drawing you to it as well?" Capper commented, where he walked beside Rarity as she entered the structure, allowing them to see that the guards didn't seem annoyed with their presence, rather they seemed distracted by something else that was going on right now.

"I suspect that it is an artifact, and we can either use it or store it in your realm." Rarity replied, referring to the fact that her friend already had a few powerful artifacts in an area that she was calling the 'Daedric Hall', as Capper had Jyggalag's sword, Mehrune's razor, Molag's mace, and Vile's masque, plus Umbra, so there was a chance that whatever relic was drawing her to it might end up in the hall of artifacts.

Capper nodded his head as they found their way to the side passage he had used to get the items from the Jarl's quarters, only to make their way over to an ancient and burned looking door, where he slipped the Skeleton Key into it and opened the door, revealing a small chamber with a long katana-like sword on a small table.

"According to the tome Mora let me read, this should be the 'Ebony Blade', one of Mephala's artifacts." Capper said, though at the same time Rarity picked the blade up and he watched as it shrunk before their eyes, the length of the blade matching the length of a normal sword now, making it look like an actual katana now, plus it came with a sheath that Rarity slipped the blade into, before attaching the scabbard to her belt, "Looks like the Prince associated with this artifact is busy, so we don't have to converse with her until she comes looking for her artifact."

"Seems like a blood based weapon... might be why I was drawn to it." Rarity stated, blaming her vampire nature, though she was fine with this discovery, because most of the group had some sort of unique weapon or power and this made her even stronger, and even if she was wrong on what sort of weapon it was she knew leaving it behind would have been a very poor decision for all of them.

Capper had nothing to say to that, he wasn't about to question the relics of the other Daedric Princes, though as Rarity made her way back to the others, those that were in the market area, he headed up into the Jarl's quarters once more, where he found that none of the guards seemed to be on duty in here. It was another disappointment in Capper's eyes, though he just walked up to where he knew the Jarl's bed was located, acting like he belonged here in case someone showed up during his time in this place, and located the Stone he was after, right beside the Jarl's bed. A few seconds later he was walking out in the main hall of Dragonsreach with the item in his pocket and a smile on his face, though he walked down to where the dead tree was located, passed by the temple that was next to it, and entered the Hall of the Dead. From what he could see there was a single priest working right now, he had no idea where the others might be, but he slipped into the tomb area without the figure even noticing that he was there and discovered three walking skeletons that had ancient weapons.

He barely acknowledged the skeletons as he slashed through them and collected the golden soul gems that were dropped, where he found the alcove that held the Stone of Barenziah that was down here and collected that Stone as well, followed by him heading back out into the city to join the rest of the group.

Evening gave way to night as they waited for Azure and Tuk Ur to return from Jorrvaskr, where Capper took up a post that allowed him to view the area in question, while at the same time not drawing attention to himself since none of the guards even noticed him on top of the Temple of Kynareth's building. Eventually he found the pair following Skjor towards an area that was under the forge that was outside the mead hall, the same area Aela had been in previously, and they used the same secret opening that she had used, where he understood what was going on. A few moments later he heard the sound of two werewolves as one as tall as Azure stepped out of the secret area, only he had golden blond fur and bright golden eyes that reflected the presence of the moon, and he was joined by a smaller kobold sized werewolf whose fur almost looked like an altered version of scales. Of course since they were more like feral beasts the pair prowled inside the city for a moment, a fact that freaked out the guards since none of them knew where the pair had come from, but Capper found that both simply abstained from attacking the people of the city and fled from Whiterun.

With that in mind he regrouped with the others and had La'nari follow them, where Capper kept track of the pair with part of his own magic, only to find that they headed out into the wilderness and collapsed a few hours later outside a fort that had the banners of the Silver Hand.

"Just like vampires and the Vigilants are drawn to conflict, so too are werewolves and the Silver Hand." Capper commented, speaking to himself as a female werewolf dropped down into an area and moved behind one of the thick trees, where Aela came out a few moments later, only to drop two bundles in front of the pair as they reverted back to their base forms, and as that happened a male werewolf rushed into the fort, "So, murdering the Silver Hand, eh?"

"Yes, actually. A reward, of sorts, for these two... the Silver Hand has been attacking innocent people lately, so they should be fine with exterminating them." Aela replied, as if she knew that the pair would be openly okay with this information, while at the same time she seemed fine with an outsider knowing this secret, meaning Farkas must have mentioned that he had seen the transformation back during Azure and Tuk Ur's trial, so he was in the clear, "Skjor is securing the area, and when these two wake up we're going to massacre the Silver Hand."

Capper said nothing to that as he backed off for a time, allowing him to make sure the carriage and the others were waiting in a safe area, where Rarity and the others assumed that this was something the others would be doing, just like how she and the others had their own quests to do on their own, causing him to return to Azure and Tuk Ur.

"Ugh, man that stung." Tuk Ur remarked, which was understandable since the transformation had turned both of them into powerful looking werewolves, and yet Capper could see that both of their eyes still reflected the power of the moon, both of their tails ended in tips that matched their werewolf forms, and it looked like their muscles were definitely stronger, likely a side effect of the transformation.

"Yes, but it is our responsibility to use this power wisely." Azure said, where he found the two packs sitting nearby and gave one to his kobold companion, causing the two of them to change back into their attire and arm themselves once more, so the moment they were done they focused on Aela for a time.

Aela, of course, repeated what she told Capper when she noticed he was here, allowing them to understand that they were going to deal with the Silver Hand and that Skjor had gone ahead of them, though based on what Capper could see it sure looked like the elder werewolf had screwed up, no one was dead. With that in mind Azure and Tuk Ur lead the way into the fort, Gallows Rock as Aela called it, where the former swung his greatsword and crushed the bandit-like Silver Hand into the ground, while at the same time Tuk Ur rushed up to the other two and slashed them to pieces. Capper could see that there was a difference in their base powers, just like how Rarity was a vampire and her base powers had changed after her own transformation, so it would take some time for the pair to get used to their new forms and powers. Of course Aela followed the pair as they entered the fort, allowing Capper and a trio of collectors to obtain the goods from the outside area, and the moment he headed inside he found that there were more Silver Hand to be slain.

The disappointing thing was that he had seen Skjor rush into this place earlier and it really didn't seem like the figure had done anything, there were no dead bodies in the areas that Azure's group explored, no signs of a struggle, and nothing that suggested another werewolf had come through here. The only thing Capper saw were the recently slain werewolves and the ones that had been captured, those who couldn't separate themselves from their beast forms, and Aela confirmed that she had no idea who any of them are. They did discover something interesting when Capper freed one of the captives, it just bowed to him and rushed at the Silver Hand, which turned the fort into a true war zone as the werewolves tore into the rest of the werewolf hunters, and with the amount of cages Capper had ten more werewolves that wanted a piece of the Silver Hand. Their anger was more than what Aela, Azure, or even Tuk Ur were feeling, which was fair since the ten werewolves had been here for a long time, no doubt being starved so they could be tortured and skinned, but Capper stood back with his collectors as the empowered group literally tore their way through the fort.

It wasn't even a battle when they reached the final chamber, where the 'Skinner' was resting, as she and her group were just mauled and torn to death by everyone that wanted a piece of them, though once they had their fun Capper found that the ten werewolves backed off to allow them to study the area, only for him to find that Skjor was dead, his body halfway to his own transformed state.

"Damn, he was one of the strongest that we had... even with these numbers they shouldn't have been able to kill Skjor, not like this." Aela remarked, her anger as clear as day, though since she didn't care about the loot Capper had the collectors do their thing, loot the main treasure chest while he silently pocketed a golden soul gem that had been resting near Skjor's body, causing her to growl as she glanced at Azure and Tuk Ur, "I... I need some time to mourn and get Skjor back to Kodlak and the others... you two and I will avenge him, and make the Silver Hand pay for this deed."

Sure enough Capper found that Aela picked up Skjor's body, which was returning to his human form, before leaving the fort, confirming that she wanted to bury him first before she worried about the Silver Hand, before Capper turned his attention to the ten werewolves, who seemed chill in his presence. He glanced at them for a moment before switching the golden soul gem for one of the bandit ones he had collected previously, where he used his power and turned the soul into a kobold, as he wanted to see what sort of reaction the werewolves had, and sure enough they seemed interested. The werewolves then turned to Azure and Tuk Ur, allowing the pair to kill them so Capper could acquire their golden soul gems, and when he used one he found that the soul of the werewolf took the form it had been in previously, only now they looked more in control of themself and less like a feral beast. In addition to that Capper discovered that the reborn werewolves had a new coloration to their fur, as it was like silver now but looked like fur still, making them look like they were part of the Opulent Lands, and the ten reborn werewolves bowed their heads, overjoyed by the chance at a new life.

Capper smiled as he and the others escorted the reborn werewolves back to the Opulent Lands, so they could be given new places to live while he checked in with Ithelia and Mora, though he had a feeling that things were going to get even more interesting in the coming days and was looking forward to whatever the world would throw at them next.