On the way back to Winterhold, I stop off in Windhelm to sell my loot. Of course, being so early, I have to hang around in the cold for a few hours waiting for the shops to open, so I use the time to get a bit of smithing practice in, making a load of iron daggers and hide bracers to add to my pile of excess.
The road to Winterhold is, as is now usual, quiet; the only encounter I have is with a Dawnguard supply runner fighting off a hungry bear. With my help we both are able to safely continue on our separate ways; she to a supply drop and I past the idiots at Fort Kastav and speedily past a trio of cultists. Thanks to the Shout taught to me by the Greybeards, I am gone before they even knew I was there.
Reaching the College, I discover quite the commotion, with mages scurrying to and fro across the courtyard. Entering the Hall of Elements, I find out why.
Savos and Mirabelle are standing together, staring at the shimmering blue barrier preventing their entrance into the hall proper. Beyond, I see Ancano, casting intently at the Eye.
"I don't know." Mirabelle is saying. "It's like a ward, but who's casting it? Ancano? How?"
"I don't care what it is, I want it down now!" Savos replies. "I want to know what he's doing in there!" Mirabelle begins casting a continuous spell at the barrier while I speak with the Arch-Mage.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"Ancano. He's in there, doing… something. We don't know what. We're trying to get in now. I will have his head for this, I assure you. Help take this down, will you? We're throwing everything we can at it."
He and I emulate Mirabelle, and the barrier is soon overcome. We charge in, surrounding Ancano, who continues his assault on the Eye.
"What's going on?!" The petite Breton demands.
"Ancano! Stop this at once! I command you!" The Arch-mage is also ignored. Savos attempts to approach the treacherous Thalmor.
"Don't go near him!" Mirabelle shrieks, as a huge pulse of energy blasts from the Eye, sending us all flying, colliding heavily with the stone columns behind us.
As my head clears, and it becomes more obvious that some time has passed since the pulse, I see Mirabelle slumped nearby, gazing worriedly at me. How long was I out?
"Are you alright?" She asks. "Can you walk? I need you on your feet. We're in trouble here."
"I think I'm ok…" I stumble to my feet, leaning on the stone for support.
"Ancano is doing something with that thing… the Eye. We can't stop him! I haven't seen Savos since the explosion. He must have been blown clear, and he may be injured. I need you to find the Arch-Mage, and I need you to do it quickly. Get moving!"
"What happened?" I notice how she holds her side, keeping her breathing shallow. Not good.
"I'll be fine. I just need a minute to catch my breath. Find Savos…"
I don't want to cause any further discomfort, so leaving her I head back out into the courtyard, where the other college members stand surrounding a grey mass lying several feet from the open doors. Oh no…
"What happened?" One of them asks. "He's not..?"
Tolfdir looks up at my appearance, and hurries over. "Are you alright? What happened in there?"
"It's Ancano." I explain. "He's done something with the Eye."
"By the Nine!" My mentor curses. "Is he responsible for this? The Arch-Mage, dead? There's more. Something's happened to Winterhold. It must be whatever Ancano did. You need to get out there and make sure it's safe. Quickly now, quickly! I'll find Mirabelle and see if we can't put a stop to this!"
I rush towards the bridge, where Faralda waits with another mage, both staring down at the town.
"What's going on?" The tall elf asks as I pass." What happened in there?"
"Something went wrong. Winterhold may be in danger. Can you help?" I pause my descent from the bridge.
"It 'may' be in danger?" Faralda snarks back. "Take a look; I don't think there's much question. Let's get down there. We have to do something. Come on, Arniel, let's go."
"Do we have to?" He complains as we navigate the icy slope of the bridge. "They'd never lift a finger to help us." Faralda glares at the balding man, and he quiets down.
We step down onto the frozen cobbles to find the tiny town assaulted by glowing, bright blue wisp-like things. I draw my blade and set to, casting with one hand and taking swings at others passing with the other. They don't seem to be that dangerous, really, but I can see how they could be concerning. Each one dies with a small explosion, falling into little dusty heaps. Soon, the town is covered with the heaps, and Faralda and Arniel stand panting, accompanied by a recently-slaughtered chicken that Arniel had raised. As if a deceased flightless bird would have been any help against things that flew a good two feet above its head!
I return to the College and find Mirabelle standing in the entryway of the Hall of Elements, an empty phial in hand.
"Well, is everything out there alright?" she demands.
"Winterhold is safe, for now."
"Wish I could say the same for us. Tolfdir and I can try and keep this contained. You need to get your hands on the Staff of Magnus, now."
"Then I'm off to Labyrinthian." I turn to leave again, but am interrupted by Mirabelle's surprised exclamation.
"What? Are you sure? The Staff is there? That can't be a coincidence."
"I don't understand. What coincidence?"
"Savos. Before… before he died, he… he gave me something just a little while ago. He told me it was from Labyrinthian, and that I would know what to do with it when the time came." She wipes away a tear, then begins rummaging in her hip pouch. "I think… I think he meant this for you, then. I'm not sure why, but there was something very personal about it for him. Also, I think you should take this amulet. It belonged to Savos, but I think it would do you the most good now. Take it, and get out of here. Bring back that Staff before Ancano brings the whole College down around us."
I take the amulet and what seems to be a torc of some sort and start a careful jog back down into the town before I summon Arvak once more and we dash for the fabled ruins, dodging everything in our way.
I've read stories of this place, of how it was one of the hiding places for a piece of the Staff of Chaos, and the location's role in the story of the Eternal Champion, who saved Uriel Septim VII from his evil chancellor Jagar Tharn. I was always thankful for Cousin's letters, and how he'd almost alternate between recounts of his own numerous adventures and stories and legends he'd heard over the years and throughout his travels that he thought I'd enjoy. We we're all quite concerned when his letters suddenly stopped, especially since the last one had been a confusing ramble about poetry, order and something called the Greymarch…
We finally reach the fabled ruins, and as Arvak fades behind me I discover the place to be infested with frost trolls. Ugh.
I fight my way to the centre of the complex, to find a small room dominated by a strange sculpture with a skeleton lying at the foot, grasping a wooden copy of a dragon priest's mask. An Orcish dagger rests between two of its ribs, and a tattered note rests beside it.
From a quick scan of the scrawled letters, I gather that these are the remains of a scholar of some sort who had neglected to fill his mercenary bodyguards of the nature of the mask, and said mercs had gotten fed up with his constant vanishing. I tuck the mask into my bag, and head towards a tall, wide staircase leading to an equally massive door. Which is missing its handle. As I head for the door, I am surprised by a small troupe of spectres that appear around me.
"Come on, we're finally here!" Cries one that looks a lot like a young Savos Aren. It even sounds like him… "Let's not waste any more time!"
"Are we truly sure this is a good idea?" The Argonian ghost responds.
"We'll be back at the College before anyone even knows we're gone." One of the others answers.
"You would care about that, since you're the Arch-Mage's favourite!"
'Don't forget, this whole idea was Atmah's to begin with." I'm pretty sure it is Savos I see, currently gesturing towards the confident Redguard girl.
"Let's just get inside, see what's in there." The last one says as the group fades back into the Aether.
So, from that exchange I gather that Savos Aren was part of an expedition into Labyrinthian. This is the first I've heard of this, and I've never seen an Argonian at the College, so it can't have gone well.
I complete my approach to the door and examine it. Hang on… that torc! It's not strange, old-Nord jewellery, it's a door handle!
I finally get it to snap into place as the last of the sun's light vanishes over the horizon and I slip inside.
I'm greeted with a huge, empty room. Well, empty but for the skeletons that carpet the floor. I figure I'd be safe enough in here, so trusting to by body's ability to self-awaken at the same time every morning, I bed down as best I can in front of the doors.