Aela explained that our raid on the Silver Hand had revealed some new information - the group had apparently gotten their hands on another shard of Wuuthrad, and they are planning to lay another trap for the Companions. Since they're not ready yet, and did not know that their secret is revealed, this is the time to bring the fight to them (I'm seeing a trend here...) so that we can end this Silver Hand cell and retrieve the piece of Wuuthrad.
I agreed to undertake this task. The Silver Hand’s influence is wider than we’d imagine - and Skjor’s death drove home the fact that at least some of their number are competent enough to be a threat to the Companions. We can't have them obstructing the Companions at every turn. The group in possession of the piece of Wuuthrad is holed up in an old keep called Treva's Watch, in Riften. The journey is far - so I hopped on a caravan and travelled east.
Scouting Treva's Watch, I chanced upon a group sulking nearby - their leader introduced himself as Stalleo, the rightful owner of Treva's Watch. Stalleo explained that he and his followers were driven away by the force that now holds the keep, and that he had sent for mercenaries in an attempt to retake the keep, but none had shown up - until he saw me. I guess I'm just the one man army he needed - Stalleo showed me a back entrance to the keep so that I can have the element of surprise on my side. He and his men will wait for me to lift the main gate (away from most of the killing - conveniently).
As expected, the keep is well guarded and hostile; but I eventually found the commander and took the piece of Wuuthrad from his corpse. The keep now cleared of any occupiers, I handed it back to Stalleo before heading back to Whiterun.
Kodlak was waiting for me when I returned with the piece of Wuuthrad. The Harbinger summoned me to his quarters, where he revealed that he was aware of our run-ins with the Silver Hand. In his elder years, Kodlak had concluded that the werewolf blood is indeed a curse - an opinion he shares with others like Farkas and Vilkas. Betting into conflict with the Silver Hand is also an inevitable part of the curse. The Companions do not shun violence, but they should not seek it unnecessarily as well...
Kodlak will not force the Circle to change, for we had all made the choice to partake the wolf’s blood ourselves, after all. Yet the Harbinger seeks a way to cleanse himself of the curse - for that is his choice to make, too. He had pored over the old records and concluded that this connection with Hircine was first made when one of the Harbingers sought the help of the hargravens in Glenmoril. It is a recent thing - no more than a few hundred years compared to the traditions of the Companions. Kodlak thinks that if the Companions were intended to have the power of the werewolves, they would have had it for longer. He also thinks that if the harpies are be slayed, there is a chance the curse can be reversed.
Curious of a cure myself, I decided to help Kodlak hunt the harpies and test his theory. He instructed that the witches must be beheaded to ensure that their power is truly broken. After the Silver Hand gauntlets, the hargravens barely put up a fight.
But as I returned to Jorrvaskr with their heads in tow, I saw that a commotion outside the Companions’ hall... Something is clearly not right.
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