Six:

Book hunting

She almost ran past a new word wall in her haste; she'd run across several of them in her weeks of running errands and killing bandits for coin. She had a number or new words, but had been fortunate—or unfortunate—enough to avoid being attacked by dragons, so had acquired no new Thu'ums. She wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or pleased by this prospect, and after getting the new word, hightailed it out and back to the College.

The Arch-Mage's quarters were through the door on the left inside the Hall of Elements, and there were more than a few flights of stairs to be climbed. She had to stop at the top, briefly, to catch her breath before she looked around.

The room was high-ceilinged and well lit, with what looked to be an arboretum in the middle, and a curved wall the likely hid his sleeping area. On her left was an alchemy set up she would have cheerfully maimed to own, and to the right was an enchanter's table, complete with over a dozen soul gems of varying sizes.

She made a slight sound of envy, and made a mental note to send most of her recently acquired gems and gold back to Riverwood with a courier so that Gerdur and her lot would be able to continue building the house.

Savos Aren, when she saw him, was not what she'd expected. Admittedly, she'd half-thought she might actually see a Nord in that position, but Savos was a Dunmer, wearing thick, fur-lined robes that tingled with strong enchantments. She was impressed, and admittedly a little jealous. He looked far warmer than she felt.

"Excuse me sir?"

He looked up, and frowned at her thoughtfully, then marked his place in his book and gave her his full attention.

"You are relatively new here, are you not?" he asked. "I have noticed you, but we have not managed to speak as of yet."

"Ah... no. No we haven't."

"Then allow me to introduce myself."

Auriel stepped back slightly as he stood, and bit her tongue lightly to keep from protesting. This seemed to be some form of his and maybe if she let him finish, she could give him Tolfdir's message.

"I am Savos Aren, Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold. I am quite content to see any aspect of magic explored or investigate here. But I do not and will not approve of anything that may purposefully cause harm to your fellow members of the College. Are we clear?"

Auriel looked at him. He was about three inches shorter than her, though he exuded an aura of power. One corner of her mouth twitched into a very slight smirk.

"If you're attempting to intimidate me into compliance, you're going to have to try harder," she said equably. "For the moment, I need to speak to you about Saarthal."

"Please don't tell me that another one of the apprentices has been incinerated," he sighed in exasperation. "I have enough to deal with right now."

She shook her head a little, stifling the giggle that threatened. Clearly Saarthal was a world of trouble. A pity she couldn't have convinced Tolfdir that this was a bad idea.

"No, nothing like that it's..." She nibbled a little on her lower lip, trying to decide how to explain the orb to him. "Well, we found something in Saarthal that Tolfdir thinks you should come take a look at."

"Very well," he nodded slightly. "I trust it's important if Tolfdir sent you. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Since Tolfdir is occupied, and I will need to see this discovery for myself, I think you should begin researching the subject."

"...this is for my backtalk, isn't it?"

"Perhaps," and the Dunmer cracked a slight smile at her rueful sigh. "Speak with Urag in the Arcanaeum. See if he has anything that matches this discovery of yours. And... good work. Perhaps the next time you explore Nordic ruins, this will come in handy."

He plucked a staff from the wall where it was leaning and handed it to her. She nodded, hefted it carefully, and quickly moved off downstairs. She didn't head to the library first however; she was physically and emotionally worn down; acting around so many people was draining, and the upkeep of the Illusion spell on her features was a small, steady drain on her power. Plus it was late, and more than time for some rest. She would get a fresh start in the morning.

One of the rugs from the wall made an excellent cover for the opening into her particular room, and after changing into something more suitable for sleeping, she quickly fell onto the bed, curling up into a small ball under the blankets. She didn't expect Ancano would bother himself with apprentices, so she let the Illusion spell fade, and braided her hair up over her shoulder. It might have been warmer loose, but long hair was not the easiest thing to sleep with, and she much preferred it out of the way, as opposed to smothering her. Once done, she was quick to subside into sleep.

It was an uneasy sleep, with dreams of dragon words chasing themselves around in her head. The catalyst was killing dragons, that much was clear, but the words themselves almost seemed to have a life of their own. They wanted to be used. Auriel woke with the rather unhappy thought that if she didn't find dragons, they would undoubtedly find her. She pushed the idea away, grabbed some food from the second-story small kitchen, recast her Illusion spell, and went to start her research.

The Arcanaeum—otherwise known as the most impressive library in Skyrim—was everything she could have ever dreamed it would be. Where there weren't bookshelves, there were small tables, window ledges, and cushions, with books set neatly near, on, or around them. At the far end was the desk of the librarian. To her surprise, it was an Orc. An old Orc at that. Orsimer generally felt much akin to Nords when it came to magic; it was weak, cowardly, and not something a true warrior ever used.

She buried the shock and approached him cautiously. He looked up and frowned at her.

"You are now in the Arcanaeum, of which I am in charge," he said shortly. "It might as well be my own little plane of Oblivion. Disrupt my Arcanaeum, and I will have to torn apart by angry Antranochs."

She blinked a little, then nodded lightly. It was hard to fight back the amused smile, but it was nice to see that he took this job very seriously.

"Now, do you require assistance?"

"Ah... yes, actually. There's... something we found in Saarthal that the Arch-Mage wants me to investigate."

"I know what you want," he frowned. "Word travels fast around here. Some big mystery, hmm? Well, you don't even need to ask. No, I don't have anything for you. Not anymore, at least."

"Not anymore?" Auriel's eyebrows raised. "Why not?"

"Orthorn stole a whole bunch of books when he ran off to Fellglow keep to join those Summoners," the Orsimer snorted. "Some kind of peace offering, I expect. I think one of the books may have had relevant information, but you'll have to talk to Orthorn for them."

"But... doesn't anyone care that he stole books from the College?" she asked, confused.

"Not enough to bother with it. Arch-Mage Aren's approach to these things is to just let them sort themselves out. Of course, now it looks like you'll be doing the sorting. Good luck with that. Here, if you have a map, I can show you where the Keep is at."

She nodded, and pulled out her map. The Keep was in Whiterun Hold, which meant it would be a long trip on foot. She sighed, nodded her thanks, and turned to leave the library. She was lost in thought enough that she nearly collided with Ancano. Impatiently he grabbed her arm as she muttered an apology and tried to go around.

"I have questions for you," he said shortly. "You were in Saarthal, yes? It has come to my attention that something was found there..."

Auriel throttled down her initial response of panic, and ducked her head a little, trying to affect shyness instead of a complete refusal to look at him. Her features might have been disguised, but she wasn't about to take the chance of him seeing through her illusions.

"...Maybe..."

"I know full well that you have. Please do not insult my intelligence."Tolfdir is still there even now, isn't he? I shall expect a full report when he returns."

She frowned a little; the idea of Ancano or any other Thalmor getting their hands on that orb... no, she didn't like that idea at all. Hells, she didn't even like the idea of the mages here getting their hands on it. It was simply too much power for these people.

"How... how do you know anything about this?" she asked.

"It is my job to know these things," he said silkily. "My role as adviser to the Arch-Mage is aided by knowing everything that transpires here. Thank you for you... help. You may go now."

Auriel breathed a mental sigh of relief, and went.

It took longer to get to Whiterun Hold on foot, and it wasn't a pleasant journey. She regretted leaving her horse for Gerdur to use to haul things; slogging through the snow wasn't fun, even if the path was decent most of the time. The view was nice, when the nights were clear and the skyfire's bright, but it was cold, and she found that she was actually somewhat lonely.

She made a stop in Whiterun, mostly to replace some of her worn gear, and sell a few things that were more specialty items than useful. She saw the silver-eyed Nord again, near the dead Gildergreen, and paused briefly. Then shrugged a little and approached; with no Ancano to worry about, she had let her Illusion spell lapse, and it felt comfortable to be in her own skin and colors again.

He glanced up, and she paused briefly.

"I wanted to... apologize for our last meeting," she said carefully. "I have been under an undue amount of stress, and I was not inclined towards being terribly... polite."

"Ah, that's all right," he smiled a little, and she was surprised to see that it was more shy than proud. "But you do look like you'd be a strong fighter for the Companions, magic or not. Kodlak's always saying that it doesn't hurt to be prepared for anything."

"Kodlak?"

"He's the Harbinger."

"So, he's your leader?" she asked, curious enough to sit on the bench. Not close enough to touch, but close enough to talk.

"No. We don't have a leader. I don't really get how it is, but we all do our thing, and bring in honor and glory for the Companions."

"Hmmmm," Auriel cocked her head a little. "What's your name?"

"Huh?" he blinked, and she smiled just slightly. "Ah.. Farkas."

"Farkas..." she nodded a little as she stood. "I'm Auriel. My apologies, but I must be going. Perhaps I'll... see you again."

He looked disappointed to see her leaving, but nodded. She could feel his gaze following her as she walked away, and tipped her head slightly as she thought. He didn't seem terribly wary of her, and she was willing to bet that had she posed more questions, he would have answered them to the best of his abilities. She still had to consider the notion, but if she needed physical muscle, actual guards... perhaps the Companions would be a worthwhile cultivation.

She encountered her first dragon on her way to Fellglow Keep, and it was more luck than anything else that kept her from dying. Luck and exceedingly good aim, along with a powerful bow she'd ordered from Adrianne, and well-made arrows. The dragon, like the first, disintegrated into nothing more than power, but this time she was ready for it, and it didn't knock her down. She felt it circling the words, but when she made no active choice the power seemed to settle, folding up until she was ready to use it. She approved, slightly, and moved on towards the Keep.

The outside of the Keep was only lightly guarded. Two mages and a Flame Antranoch were easy targets with her archery skill, and the cleanness—and safety—of the resulting deaths eased her somewhat. She would never like killing, but this lot had no such compunctions and she was not inclined to give her life for a few books that might be of some use. The main door was locked and blocked, but she found a secondary entrance, in through the dungeons. She grimaced and went in.

A combination of stealth, magic, and archery got her through the dungeons in mostly one piece, and she was, admittedly, less than pleased to discover why these particular mages had left. She held no love for vampires, but experimentation on living subjects—even evil ones—was just wrong. It had always been a belief of hers, and had likely been part of the reason the Thalmor had employed her to spy instead of be an overt agent. Even she had limits on how far she would shed her morality. Setting the vampires loose on the mages only seemed fair... and it cleared a few of them out for her, too.

Two wrongs did, occasionally, make a right. Or at least an easier path.

And in the bottom of the dungeon she found Orthorn, locked in a cell. She snorted a little at his pleas for release, but obliged; perhaps he'd learned his lesson about being too trusting.

"Oh you saved me!" he gushed, reaching out to grab her hands. She grimaced and pulled away. "Thank you so much! Who knows what they would have done to me! I promise, I'll help you get out of here!"

He tried to take her hands again, and she stepped back.

"Orthorn, I'm here for the books, not you," she said shortly, halting him in his tracks. "Where are the books?"

"Oh I... I thought you'd come for me... But.. yes, the books. The Caller will have them! She seemed very interested in one of the volumes! Although, not interested enough to keep me from being locked up."

Auriel rolled her eyes slightly, and made a faintly impatient sound.

"I can... I can show you the way," he offered.

"No. You should get yourself to safety."

"But..." Orthorn gave her a confused look. "Don't you need my help?"

"No. Get yourself back to the College. I will be fine. That direction is clear."

"I'll... I suppose I'll just be on my way then. Thank you for the help, and please, do be careful."

She stepped aside as he once more reached for her hands, and thwarted, he headed down the hall she'd come from. Auriel muttered irritably at his back, shook her head, and continued on. As if she needed help from someone like that. No, she would do just fine on her own.

It was not that easy, of course, but she managed to get through mostly unscathed. A mistimed dodge at one point let to her twisting her ankle, a thing she grumbled a few choice curses about, as it limited further movement, but on the whole, mostly unscathed.

She wrapped it irritably, tested it, and kept going. The limp, with the wrapping as a brace, was minimal, and she would just have to get someone else to look at it back in Whiterun. Perhaps she could convince Farengar to do so...

The stairs all lead up now, and she went with greater care. Summons and Antranochs were more overt in their appearance, and while she was good, she didn't relish the idea of taking out such things without the proper care. Given that Flame Antranochs had this tendency to explode as they died, it was a good precaution to take.

The Caller, when Auriel finally reached the top of the Keep, was an irritated woman in blue robes that hid most of her face and features. Auriel thought she might be an Altmer like herself, but it was hard to be certain, and somewhat pointless to try and guess. She was, actually, somewhat proud of herself; it took skill and ability to make it through a keep full of mages with only minor injuries.

"So, you're the one who barged into my home and laid waste to my projects," the Caller said acidly. "How nice to meet you."

Auriel shrugged lightly, and leaned casually against the wall.

"If I'd knocked on the door and said 'pretty please' would you have given me what I want?" she replied mildly. "I hardly think so. The books from the college, now, if you don't mind."

"So you're just one of Aren's lackeys. That's disappointing. You show real promise."

"Do not patronize me," Auriel replied coolly. "I have at least a century's worth of skill. If you give me the books, I will leave you to it."

"You come here, kill my assistants, disrupt my work... No, you've annoyed me, so I don't think I'll be giving you anything."

"...we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. I will not leave without those books."

"Are you threatening me? After I've been so hospitable?" The Caller feigned shock. "Well, in that case, you won't be leaving here at all."

Auriel smiled gently, and cast the Invisibility spell. The Caller never knew what hit her. Auriel left the iron dagger in her back, not wishing to get more blood on her things, and went to collect the three books. Curiosity had her flipping through all of them, but two of the three were useless. The Last King of the Ayleids was mostly historical with a bit of conjecture that seemed somewhat useless. On Artaeum was mostly about the Psijic order and their island.

The third book, however, was different. The Night of Tears spoke of the sacking of Saarthal by the early elves, and lay a path of conjecture and supposition that suggested the sacking was less about territory and more about power. She shuddered a little, recalling the power that floating orb had given off, and hoped that the Arch-Mage had decided to leave it buried. There was something wrong about that orb. Whatever it was, it was simply too powerful to be held safely on this plane of existence.

With the three missing books now in her possession, Auriel made her way out of Fellglow and back to Whiterun. From Whiterun, injuries tended and unnecessary items sold, she made her way north again to Winterhold and the College.