Narrating
''Narrating in speech''
Although Ronan wasn't exactly done with experiments using the star, he was first planning on making his faithful warrior stronger. Grabbing different kinds of weapons to train with, he chose to bring the star with him this time. Indeed, he had several new ideas involving the possible uses of the new spell, and planned on coming back to his mansion after dealing with the spider. Making sure he had enough provisions, the two started walking towards Falkreath. Enthusiastic, Ronan found Gunjar in the Dead Man's Drink Inn. Gunjar seemed a bit surprised at their sight.
"-Ready to go already, Arch-mage? I thought you wanted to rest a bit more today.
-Night brings good counsel, and I feel divine today, Gunjar. And you? Are you okay? You were here during the attack, too.
-I know you're the Arch-mage, Ronan. Even in the midst of a bandit attack, I know I am safe, with you around. Don't worry about me.
-Thank you Gunjar. Well then, we're ready to go to Markarth.
-A short trip for once. Give me half an hour and I'll be ready.
-Thank you again. See you later."
Ronan was thinking about all the things he wanted Kharara to excel at. Alteration magic, blocking, restoration magic… Smithing and enchanting would be very useful too. But before thinking about how to help him improve, he wanted to try something with the star, which would hopefully make things easier for him. He entered the Gray Pine Goods shop to sell the equipment he found on the bandits.
"-Already back, Ronan?
-I really like this place. Coming here almost killed me, though.
-You were attacked?
-Yeah, but seeing bandits chased by two angry Dremora Warriors is always amusing. They had some stuff on them.
Ronan didn't really like having his pouch always full of things to sell, so he only got a few pieces of armor and weapons.
-A helmet? Was the rest in pieces?
-Steel Plate armor isn't exactly light, and the helmet was the only enchanted piece the guy had. I also found an enchanted shield in one of their chests.
-You should sell a bit more to the blacksmith, you know.
-I prefer selling to you when it's enchanted, since Lod can't really do anything with enchanted parts.
-Was that all you needed?
-Some more food for the trip would be nice, too."
Some minutes later, Ronan and Kharara were ready to go. They joined Gunjar, who was almost done preparing the cart. When all was set, they departed towards Markarth.
The trip was much quicker, about three or four hours. To pass the time, Ronan helped Kharara with his alteration skills a bit. The Khajiit knew the spells, but still had some trouble controlling his magicka. As the Dremora said, practice is what makes good warriors, not theories. When Markarth's imposing gates started to appear, Rona lost no time. Telling Gunjar that they would be leaving in less than two hours, he entered the city.
Markarth brought back many memories to Ronan, and not exactly good ones. Being sent to jail and betrayed by the law had not pleased him very well. Fortunately, being a Master Conjurer ended up being exceptionally useful when tracking down all the Forsworns and corrupt guards of the city. Ronan gladly paid for his crimes with gold afterwards, and was not able to roam in the city freely. When the law is wrong, make the law, he thought. Ronan entered the keep, and found Calcelmo not far from the entrance, bent over an Alchemy Lab.
"-Excuse me, sir?
-Argh, what do you want, interrupting me in the middle of my experiment? I told you I do not want any more guards for my Museum!
-This is the Arch-mage, sir.
The wizard instantly turned to face Ronan.
-My apologies, my work is stressful, and people seem to like disturbing me around here. Have you responded to my letter?
-Yes. Are you having a spider problem?
-I do, but I certainly didn't expect the Arch-mage to come all the way here. There indeed is a giant spider, called Nimhe, blocking the entrance to the dig site. I already sent several mercenaries and legion soldiers, but none of them seemed to have made it back. If you could take care of the creature, I will allow you to visit my Dwemer Museum.
-Don't worry, this'll be easy.
-I have no doubt. Here's a key to the entrance. I will wait for you here.
Ronan and Kharara entered the excavation site. However, Ronan's goal here was first to test Kharara's skills on the battlefield.
-Kharara?
-Yes, Ronan?
-I want you to lead the way, and deal with all the enemies we'll encounter. I will be behind you, healing you and ready to react if I need to. Use the weapons you have as efficiently as possible. Are you ready?
-Yes, Ronan."
Kharara readied his bow and arrows, and started walking. Ronan noticed that he was indeed using his equipment wisely. When he had a clear view on the spider, he used his bow, and when in close combat he used his sword and shield. He knew that these spiders throw poison when engaging in battle, and he either dodged or blocked all of them. They progressed very easily, as Ronan did not even have to heal Kharara, and soon found a dead end. As he saw Nimhe descending from the ceiling, Ronan summoned two Dremora Warriors. He told Kharara to join them using his Greatsword, and within seconds, the giant spider was cut to flaming pieces. Satisfied, Ronan was ready to leave when he saw the bloodied body of a legion soldier. Next to it was a journal about mages studying Dwemer artifacts in the ruin. Might as well clear the rest of the ruins, Ronan thought, so he and Kharara cut their way through Nchuand-Zel.
As for the spiders, Kharara showed good battle skills with the Falmers and other Dwarven machines. When the defenses were activated, Ronan could see that Kharara was already a ferocious opponent, and that the both of them were already undefeatable. When the final centurion woke up, Ronan had summoned two Dremora Warriors and told Kharara to help him using the bow. The Khajiit was already using it as well as Ronan did, and his shots were probably already a little more powerful. Positively surprised with Kharara's progression, Ronan took some time to search the place for valuables and returned to Calcelmo.
"-I am back, Calcelmo.
-Mmh? Oh, Arch-mage! You were taking some time down there. I thought something bad had happened…
-Actually, everything went really well, so I took the time to clear the entire ruins and reactivate its defenses. I also found all of the previous research group's notes.
-Well, that's impressive! If what you are saying is true, my research is going to go a lot faster than I expected. Here's the key to my museum. Come visit it whenever you want, although mind touching the artifacts. Some are very fragile.
-Thank you. I am looking forward to it."
However, Ronan had something else than a museum in his mind. He had something to try with the star, and for that he needed to first go back home. He joined Gunjar, and departed for Falkreath. It was dark when they arrived, so Ronan had to be efficient during the time he was spending here, before returning to the College.
"-Thank you again, Gunjar. I might spend two or more days here. I have some things to do around Falkreath that I'd like to take care of before going to the College.
-No problem, Ronan. I will be in the Dead Man's Drink if you need me.
-Yeah, see you later.
The two companions entered the mansion as the cart's torch faded away.
-Go to sleep Kharara, I'll wake you up to test something.
-Okay Ronan."
Grabbing a chair, Ronan sat in front of Kharara's bed and starting writing down his next ideas involving the star in his notebook. Hopefully he could try them all out before leaving the mansion. Half an hour passed, and Ronan looked up to see if Kharara was asleep. The Khajiit was breathing softly, turned away from the feeble light cast by the room's candle, and wasn't moving at all. Ronan quietly put the notebook down and cast the star's soul capturing spell. Kharara didn't make a sound, and the star started glowing softly. Pleasantly surprised, Ronan quickly entered the star. Inside was Kharara lying down on the cold floor, looking confused.
"-Ronan?
-Yes, sorry for not warning you, but I wanted to check if that worked on sleeping targets. Did you feel anything? Did you resist or not?
-Well, I was in a dream and a… blue light arrived and engulfed me before I could even react.
-Great! Thank you again. And sorry for disturbing you.
Ronan left the star and returned Kharara's soul to its body.
-See you tomorrow Kharara.
-Good night, Ronan"
This discovery was great news to Ronan. He could test all of his new ideas easily, now. Tomorrow is going to be eventful, he thought.