My hands lifted my chin as I sat in the cellar of the Frozen Hearth, instead of being taken to the college we were told to wait for a healer to come, or so I figured when Colette showed up at the Inn to treat the Bosmer's wounds, then for some reason or another one of the guards dragged me down here and essentially gave a gesture to wait, poking me in the ribs before pointing at the ground.

As I sat there I couldn't help but feel annoyed by this treatment, but I was a little more thankful than I probably should be, I could feel the warmth from the fire above seeping through the floor, providing me the most relief I've had since I woke up.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense, they already have to be careful enough with the locals, letting a complete foreigner near their school would've been a recipe for disaster if it was all just a my head, I had focused on something other than my urge to see the college in person, replacing it with the fact that the people seemed...Different, all the faces i've been seeing were cleaner, smoother...While they looked as though they had always been real, the people didn't look as rough as I would've thought.

I then remembered my mod loadout, I did have mods that improved the way people in Skyrim looked...I wanted to shake my head with disbelief, but I had no reason to turn a blind eye towards anything anymore upon accepting that this place was very real, *So this is a semi-realistic world of Skyrim, and it's almost definitely modded...* I thought to myself, not leaving out the possibility that they just looked better in person, *If so, what's it based on? Because if it's my loadout...*

I subconsciously shuttered at the thought of a Dwemer invasion, there were a few other scenarios that came to mind but most of the mods I had either added spells, armor, or weapons, so hopefully this focus would take away from some of the danger, assuming it was based on my loadout of course, otherwise all bets were off, I would be completely screwed.

I bit my lip, "I really hope i'm wrong about this..." I muttered to myself, not wanting to think about the possible challenges that may arise. The wait seemed to persist, but it gave me time to think about my situation, sure it wasn't perfect but I was in a decent place, *Assuming that I can learn the language the locals use, possibly learn magic, and plead my case...Winterhold's really one of the few places that might have what I need to get back home.* I thought to myself.

The fact was that I could only see magic sending me back, and Winterhold was the best place to be for that...There was one other option but I despised the idea, it was possible the knowledge i'd need may be in Apocrypha, but I loathed the idea of going there, not only for safety reasons, but for two major reasons, the first being that I honestly hated Hermaeus, the second being the fear of possibly selling my soul for a ticket home only to get trapped somewhere upon death.

Personally, I wasn't religious, as stated in the past, but I did believe in souls, and I didn't like the thought of being chained down by some lording figure, which is one of the reasons I hated being here on Tamriel...They had gods, and they had proof...

On Earth I could say 'Oh my God' or things of the such, but here they actually hear you, and they can remember what you say, they can have you killed without needing mindless fanatics to decide to do it for them.

I shivered at the thought, making a mental note not to anger a Daedric Lord while I was here, and to hopefully avoid their attention.

The more I thought about it, the worse things got, there were plenty of things to avoid while I was here...Like becoming a Vampire or Werewolf, making good friends...All in all, even learning magic may be a bad idea...What if I can't return home due to having elements of this world?

Before I could continue to strain my mind thinking of all of this, I heard a noise, footsteps. I blinked, looking towards the door, and eventually it opened to reveal two figures that had been talking on their way down. I recognized the two characters almost immediately having mainly played a mage in Skyrim, they were Tolfdir and Drevis, the instructors of Alteration and Illusion respectively, the ladder of which was reading through a dusty book with a symbol I hadn't recognized.

The two of them wore a friendly face, but I could see that they were still cautious, it was in their eyes, hidden, but there.

The two had approached the table I was waiting at, both taking a seat on the other side of the table, Drevis layed the old, worn book he was reading on the left side of the table he had occupied, Tolfdir fished through a satchel strapped to his side, he has asked something given his tone but since Drevis hadn't responded I could only assume it was directed to me, "Uh...What?" I asked in plain English.

Seemingly finding what he was looking for, Tolfdir pulled out a leather journal and opened it, laying it on the table to reveal empty pages, the two seemed to discuss something as Tolfdir's left hand was light by a green light, a few translucent, abstract cubes appearing in the air over his palm. Apparently amused by my reaction, which involved me leaning back and going 'Ooo', he chuckled, Drevis had said something in return and his right hand hovered over the alteration spell, causing it to change as streams of purple purple light danced around the now red set of cubes before running down his arm, circling the air around him before the light and the cubes were fed into the quill in his right hand.

I watched curiously as Tolfdir started writing something, I couldn't make out what it read, I was more concerned about what they were doing with that spell, I hadn't seen anything like that in the game or a mod.

When it was done the two had stopped whatever spell they were using and the journal was turned towards me before it was pushed a little closer, my left eyebrow rose as I leaned towards it and read, but as expected, I had no idea what was there...At first, I practically leapt backwards as the odd language before me started to glow as the letters I couldn't understand took shape into the English alphabet, the longer text on the other side of the page explaining it.

My jaw dropped, I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it, but Tolfdir and Drevis seemed to be excited about something, likely the spell's success.

I watched as the Alteration instructor turned the journal back towards himself and his fellow mage, the two openly conversed as they looked over the alien language before them, then looking to the old book, my best guess was that this book contained a form of translation spell that hadn't needed to be used for some time...But this made me question the extent of this considering this would've made a certain mission for the Thieves Guild MUCH easier...Unless it was in the Arcanaeum, in which case they'd have to go through a grumpy Orc and an army of Atronach.

They ran through the pages, I could tell that Tolfdir was a little frustrated about something, but eventually they seemed to find what the were looking for and seemed to both cast a spell on the journal while closing the pages, upon re-opening, the blank pages on the opposite side had what seemed to be an index for translating Whatever their language was to English.

Seemingly accomplishing what they had come for, the two had got up, seemingly still giddy about their success, and were about to take their leave, Tolfdir had said something but I think the both of them were offering a friendly goodbye, leaving with a look that seemed a little less tense than their arrival. Soon the two of them were back up the stairs, both books in hand, leaving me with a blank expression as I contemplated what the hell just happened and how it worked.

So I stared at some magic letters and they knew the change form so I could understand them? What kind of magic was this?...Oh wait, Alteration and Illusion, that's what.

Sliding backwards, I stared ahead, not really sure what to make of the situation...Was I supposed to wait here while they learn English or something?

I sighed, slapping my palm to my face, "And I don't even have the internet to keep me busy while I wait for whatever i'm waiting for..." I grimaced, "Suddenly Skyrim's not very fun anymore..."

It was a new day and I was spending it in a cellar, staring down at a book that had apparently been sent to me, with a note that was...Decently written in English, but since it's sender had only started to study the language the other day I suppose I couldn't blame him.

"Young Man, if you're able to read this then the spell was successful and we've managed to find a way a way to communicate with you." I read, ignoring parts that were misspelled or simply mis-said, "If you're wondering why you weren't charged for sleeping at the Inn, your rent was payed for by your friend, who is on his way to recovery, we have sent you a copy of the journal we were able to translate to help you learn our language, I hope to hear from you soon."

The note had been sent by Tolfdir, I was amazed they managed to crank out a dictionary from a journal, but I suppose that it was called 'magic' for a reason.

I couldn't help but feel a little thankful for that Hunter as well, I have no clue where i'd have to sleep if it wasn't for him...Assuming of course the college didn't decide to pay for rent or let me stay over there.

Blinking before turning a few pages of the dictionary-sized 'journal', I frowned as i started reading the letter translations, "Oh lovely...So this is what learning a new language is like..." I groaned, remembering how poorly I remembered languages learned in school, "Well, unlike then I HAVE to learn now, so that's gonna make this so much more fun..." I stated, flipping through some of the pages, "With no pictures for reference either..."

I could feel my brain start to cry as I forced myself to start from the beginning.

Sorry for the short chapter, I had more planned but the thing is...Not being able to communicate is becoming a pain, i'm obviously not going to perfectly learn the new language, but i'd rather be able to have a basic conversation with someone over skipping their dialogue entirely.

I also wanted to state what kind of person I am so you'll know what to expect when the action finally kicks up. For lack of better words: I'm a snake, i'm opportunistic, if I don't think I can do it or there's no way to manipulate the situation then I would probably avoid it entirely, and given my endurance in real life this means I would be running, a lot, or sneaking. I also don't think I would be able to approach the idea of killing anyone or anything I see as a 'person' meaning almost any man or mer, so killing Bandits isn't exactly something you should expect until later on unless it's life or death, because let's face it, almost everyone likes to live and those people tend not to go down without a struggle.

I hope you could enjoy this despite it's shortness, I hope at least some aspect of this chapter was interesting, and I hope you all have a wonderful day. :3