Chapter Three: Winterhold (Tirdas/Middas, the Ninth/Tenth of Evening Star)
After meeting with Paarthurnax, Aerenwen and Aela had returned down the mountain, stopping at High Hrothgar before continuing onto Ivarstead.
Arngeir seemed saddened, and the Dragonborn was certain it was because she was clearly using her abilities for more than just worshipping the gods. Saving the world from Alduin wasn't exactly the way of peace, but it wasn't necessarily the way of war either. Sometimes wars had to be fought in order to achieve peace, and she truly felt this was one of those battles.
The old man had been pleased she had been received well by Paarthurnax, and since the master of his order had agreed to help, he was left with no choice but to do so as well. When asked about the Elder Scrolls, he claimed to know little about them but suggested visiting the College of Winterhold since the mages there seemed to deal in such things.
Which was how the two women found themselves strolling the main street of the small, snow-covered town in the fading light of early evening several days later. The trip had taken longer than they would have liked, though they had come directly from Ivarstead. A blizzard had waylaid them in Windhelm for a night, and visibility on the road north of that had been horrible.
Winter had come to Skyrim, it seemed, meaning the weather in those parts of Skyrim where the cold never left was even worse than usual.
As Aerenwen approached the bridge leading to the College of Winterhold, she hoped that the business with the Eye of Magnus had been concluded since her sister's return from Labyrinthian. They hadn't been in contact since parting ways, but she couldn't imagine her arrival would be very welcomed by any of the other mages if the College was still in a crisis situation. Not to mention, it was difficult for them to offer to help someone else prevent the end of the world, no matter who she happened to be, when they were dealing with their own apocalyptic events.
They were stopped at the end of the bridge by a guard, just as had happened all those weeks ago when the Companions had been in Winterhold after visiting Ysgramor's Tomb.
"Entrance to the College is restricted to staff and students," he stated.
"I'm looking for Mariwen," she replied. "Could you please tell her that her sister, Aerenwen, is here?"
He nodded and disappeared up the bridge. He returned but not with Mari. Instead, a different Altmer woman followed.
"Good evening," she stated with a polite smile toward the two women. "I am Faralda, a senior member of the College and one of the trainers of Destruction Magicka. I was told you are here to see our Arch-Mage?"
Aerenwen's eyes widened in surprise. "Um . . Mariwen," she stuttered out, "though if she is the Arch-Mage now, clearly some things have occured in the last week since we parted ways after leaving Labyrinthian."
It was Faralda's turn to be surprised. "You're one of the ones who helped retrieve the Staff of Magnus?" she asked. At Aerenwen's answering nod, she continued. "Then our College is certainly in your debt as well. Thank you for assisting us."
"Of course," Aerenwen simply replied.
"Your sister is not on the College grounds at the moment," Faralda replied. "She left word that she could be found at the inn when she left earlier this afternoon. I would invite you in to wait for her, but I'm afraid, family or not, access is restricted to members of our College."
Aerenwen sighed. That put a damper on things. "I'm here to see Mariwen, yes, and I'll seek her out at the inn, but I am hoping to gain access to your library. I am seeking information on the Elder Scrolls."
Faralda studied her for a moment. "I'm afraid we can't let just anyone into the College. The Arch-Mage could approve your visit, but since you are her sister, I fear the others will see that as nepotism."
"Would it help if I told you I am the Dragonborn?" Aerenwen asked.
Faralda's face broke into a grin. "Of course it would," she replied. "I had no idea that Mariwen's sister was the Dragonborn. Such a talented family you have. The College will do whatever it can to help you in your quest to stop the dragons. Our library is at your disposal. I'm afraid your companion, however, will need to remain in Winterhold."
Aerenwen started to argue, but Aela stopped her, reaching over and touching her on the shoulder. "It's fine, love. I'm not much for books anyway," she added with a smile. "I'll stay behind at the inn and wait for you there."
"Very well then," Faralda stated. "I hope to see more of you during your stay here, Dragonborn." With that, she turned and disappeared over the bridge, and the two women headed back down the road toward the inn.
They were surprised to see a familiar face they hadn't expected when they entered the warm building. Elain sat at one of the tables and looked up with a grin as they made their way over to her.
"What are you doing here?" Aerenwen asked, greeting her sister with a hug. She sat down, and Aela joined her on the bench opposite Elain after hugging the other woman as well.
"Vex sent for me," she replied. "Nesta was hurt in a ruin near here. Her damn Guild Master tried to kill her. The three of us have been holed up here with a Dunmer, Karliah, healing her. Mari has helped as well. Vex left a few days ago to let Brynjolf know that Nes is okay."
"Is she okay?" Aerenwen asked, extremely worried.
Elain nodded. "It was a poisoned blade, and she lost a lot of blood on top of that before Vex and Karliah could get her out of the ruin, but after lots of spells and potions, she's just about back to her old self. She's been chomping at the bit wanting out of this place to see Brynjolf, but she and Karliah need some answers before she can go back to Riften."
"What do you mean?" Aela asked.
"Apparently a decade or so ago, their old Guild Master, a man called Gallus, was murdered in the ruin of Snow Veil Sanctum, just south of here along the coast," Elain explained. "Gallus, Karliah, and Mercer, the current Guild Master, went into that ruin together, but only Mercer returned to the Guild. He claimed that Karliah had murdered Gallus and that he'd barely escaped with his own life.
"In the last few weeks, Nesta has been investigating someone who was interfering with Guild business," she continued. "As she got deeper into the investigation, she determined the grudge was against Mercer himself rather than the Guild, and she figured out that it was Karliah behind it. Immediately, she and the others in charge were suspicious. I guess some of them had never completely believed Mercer's story because Karliah and Gallus had been completely enamored with each other, and they couldn't imagine her killing him. When Mercer found out it was Karliah behind everything, he insisted on tracking her down based upon some cryptic statement she'd made about where the end began and ordered our sister to accompany him to Snow Veil Sanctum.
"Vex followed not only because she wanted to hear the truth of what happened all those years ago herself but also to protect Nesta because it was no secret that Mercer didn't like her. When they found Karliah, and she realized he wasn't alone, she used an invisibility potion to disappear, and Mercer turned around and stabbed Nes with a poisoned dagger. Apparently it was Mercer that killed Gallus, and he tried to kill Karliah as well. They've been trying to decode Gallus' journal, so they will have undeniable evidence against Mercer rather than it continuing to be a he said, she said sort of situation. But they aren't having any luck. It's written in Falmer. I think we're striking off for Markarth tomorrow to see if that old scholar Glenys has been working with can help them."
"Gods," Aerenwen muttered. "I had no idea. Where are they?"
Elain motioned toward a room on the far side of the inn, and the two women excused themselves, crossing the room and knocking on the door. An unfamiliar voice called for them to enter, and they stepped inside to see Nesta sitting up in bed with Mari and a Dunmer woman, Karliah assumedly, at her side. A Bosmer man dressed in mage robes stood near the foot of the bed.
"Aerenwen!" Nesta exclaimed happily. "It's good to see you."
"You as well," she replied, bending down to hug her. "Elain just told me what has been going on. Are you feeling better?"
The blonde Altmer nodded. "I feel fine. Not even sore anymore. Just angry and eager to get moving."
The Dunmer woman chuckled. "Elain already said she'd leave for Markarth with you tomorrow."
Nesta nodded. "I know, I know," she grumbled. "What are you doing here? They didn't send for you, too, did they?"
"Honestly, I haven't been at home, so even if they had, I wouldn't have received it," Aerenwen replied. "We're in Winterhold on Dragonborn business, actually." She turned toward Mari. "It seems I'm need of an Elder Scroll, and I was hoping your College's library may have some information on where to find one."
"It just may," Mari replied with a smile.
"I've already been granted entrance to the College based upon my Dragonborn status," she continued, "but it was made clear that Aela was to remain at the inn."
Mari chuckled. "Let me guess, Faralda?"
Aerenwen nodded.
"I'm surprised she didn't make you shout to prove it," Mari added with a grin. "I'm sorry I can't grant you entrance, Aela. My position is still new, and I don't want anyone to think I'm playing favorites or revealing the College's secrets."
Aela smiled in return. "It's no problem. I didn't mind, anyway, but at least now I know I'll be in good company," she added with a wink toward Nesta.
"Yes, what is this I hear about you being Arch-Mage?" Aerenwen asked. "When did that happen? And what took place with the staff and the eye?"
Mari stood and placed a kiss atop Nesta's head. "I'll explain it all on the way, and you can update Aela later. I should really be getting back, and I'm sure you're eager to get your answers. We delayed you in your journey long enough with the trip to Labyrinthian." She turned back toward Nesta. "I won't see you before you leave, so be careful and give Glenys a kiss for me."
Nesta promised she would do both things.
Mari said goodbye to the other two elves in the room, and Aerenwen and Aela followed her out. The two warriors parted ways with a kiss, Aela rejoining Elain at the table in the tavern, and Aerenwen following her sister out into the cold.
"So there's no more Thalmor presence at the College?" Aerenwen asked as they finally reached the end of the precariously narrow bridge that led to the College.
"Nope," Mari replied with a grin. "I killed Ancano myself, and you handled his associate. I gather he didn't share the discovery with anyone else. He wanted the power of the Eye for himself and didn't want to have to hand it over to his superiors."
"And how did you end up being Arch-Mage in all of this?" Aerenwen wondered.
Mari shrugged. "With Savos Aren dead, it left two obvious choices for Arch-Mage, but neither were ideal. Mirabelle Ervine is our Master Wizard, I actually think she may have been sleeping with Aren," she added in a whisper, glancing around to make sure no one was in ear shot. "Anyway, she had no interest in the position. She runs the College's day to day affairs and still gets to work with students. In the past, the Arch-Mage hasn't had the time to do that, something I hope to change, and she didn't want the position.
"The other obvious choice was Tolfdir because he's our most senior member," she continued, "but he's very content with his research and teaching. Not to mention, he's unbelievably absent-minded. I couldn't really imagine him serving in the position well. Anyway, Mirabelle approached me because, according to her, if it wasn't for me, the College probably would have been destroyed or taken over by Ancano, and she suspected my training was much higher than I had let on anyway. I accepted. I'm a bit overwhelmed, but so far, no one has complained about me getting promoted, so to speak. I think they're all grateful for all I did to stop Ancano."
"What happened to the Eye?" Aerenwen asked. They were crossing a large, circular outdoor plaza, a path shoveled through the snow down the middle toward a large statue of a mage and a tall, towered building with stained glass windows.
"The Psijiics came and took it," Mari answered.
They stepped inside the building, and Aerenwen glanced around curiously at the architecture. She wondered how long ago the College of Winterhold had been built. It seemed ancient.
Mari led her sister through a doorway and up some steps, emerging in a massive room lined with bookshelves. Some were open for easy browsing, others appeared to be locked up tight. A reading and research area was set up in the center of the room which was circular and recessed into the floor, and an old Orc sat behind a desk. Aerenwen wasn't certain she'd ever seen an elderly Orc before. From what she knew of the race, the only death they considered honorable was death in battle, so if they started to get old, they went out looking for a good fight to end their days. But clearly, if this Orc was at the College and in charge of the library no less, he hadn't chosen the warrior's path.
"Urag, allow me to introduce you to my sister, Aerenwen," Mari stated as she leaned against the counter with a smile. "Ren, meet Urag gro-Shub, he is in charge of our library, known to us as the Arcanaeum."
"Pleased to meet you," Aerenwen stated.
The orc gruffed out a response.
"Aerenwen is looking for some information on the Elder Scrolls," Mari explained. She turned toward her sister. "I am going to go check in with Mirabelle and see if anything of importance happened while I was away. If I'm not back before you're finished, you can probably find me in my quarters. Urag can point you in the right direction."
When they were alone, the Orc stood. "So you're looking for an Elder Scroll?" he asked, leaning on the counter with his large, greenish hands.
Aerenwen nodded.
"And just what do you plan to do with it? Do you even know what you're asking about, or are you just someone's errand girl?" he asked. "Arch-Mage may be your sister, but that doesn't mean I let just anybody dig through my books."
"Of course I do," Aerenwen replied. "I'm the Dragonborn and locating an Elder Scroll is the next step on my quest to stop the dragons' return."
The Orc seemed surprised at that but simply nodded. "Well, we don't have one here, and I don't know where to find one. Sadly, we don't have much information on them either. I'll pull out what we've got, but most of the research on the Scrolls is done by those moth priests in their temples down in Cyrodiil." He turned and walked around the room, unlocking a few bookshelves to retrieve what he was looking for, before returning and laying two books down on the counter in front of Aerenwen.
"That's it?" she asked, unable to hide her disappointment.
"I'm afraid so," he answered. "We may be the largest library in Skyrim, but we still ain't the largest library in Tamriel. I'd give anything to see the library in the Imperial City." He sat back down in his chair. "Help yourself. Try not to spill anything on them."
Aerenwen chuckled, deciding she wasn't entirely turned off by the old orc's surly disposition. She imagined her sister had probably made a hobby of trying to get a rise out of him in hopes of earning a rare smile. She took the books and wandered over to one of the chairs in the reading area.
Neither of the books was terribly informative, at least not in reference to determining the location of one of the Scrolls. In truth, Aerenwen knew very little about the Elder Scrolls. She knew there were several. She knew that no one was certain where they had come from or just who had written them, and she knew that they held prophecies within their writings. The Moth Priests of Cyrodiil devoted their lives to studying them, and she wondered if she'd end up having to travel south to the Imperial Province in order to get her hands on one, though she doubted those old priests would be willing to share any they had found. It was also rumored that many Moth Priests eventually went blind, the ordeal of reading the Elder Scrolls being just too much for their mortal brains to handle.
One of the books, Ruminations on the Elder Scrolls, was difficult to read, just line after line of lunacy. She seriously doubted the sanity of whomever had written it.
Aerenwen returned the books to Urag after reading them, lying them down on the counter. "Thank you," she stated.
"Any help?" he asked.
"Not much," she replied honestly. "This one was nearly impossible to read," she added, pointing to Ruminations. "It's incomprehensible."
He chuckled. "That's Septimus Signus' book."
She glanced down and read that this was indeed the author's name and and raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"He's the world's master of the nature of Elder Scrolls," Urag explained. "He was actually here at the College. I never knew why his research brought him here, but it did. He's been gone for a long while. Too long."
"Where did he go?" she wondered.
"Somewhere up north in the ice fields," Urag replied. "Seems he found some old Dwemer artifact he was going to check out and was supposed to return after, but that was years ago. Haven't heard from him since."
Aerenwen thanked the Orc for the information and struck off to find her sister after he had given her directions to the Arch-Mage's quarters.