3rd of Hearthfire
As the hours passed the Nordic woman worked solitary in her room, nose deep in the books, but it was a different story for the other mage in the castle. Wuunferth stood at his alchemy table, mixing his herbs and ingredients carefully to create the perfect potion when he heard a person clearing their throat in his doorway. Carefully setting down his mortar and pestle he turned to see the Jarl.
"Ah Ulfric, I was wondering when you were going to show." The mage chuckled. "Came to find out how your acquisition is doing."
"Your apprentice," Ulfric corrected the mage as he entered the room "Was the Breton correct?"
"We'll see but it does seem promising. She has shown to be more than adept, for a Nord."
"You never answered my question."
"From what little I've seen, yes, I believe she is correct."
"Good. Keep me updated, old friend." The Jarl turned, leaving Wuunferth alone once again.
I closed the last book, moving it to a pile on my left and leaning back in the hard wooden chair. I rubbed furiously at my tired eyes and stared at the finished pile, cursing every bound volume as my head throbbed and a shiver ran up my spine. I rubbed at my arms, using the friction to try to get some heat.
I moved to put some more kindling on the embers that worked hard to take the bite out of the room, and anyone from Windhelm would find it cozy; to me, it was still too cold. The grey sky and small, white flakes drifted slowly by my window as I grabbed a shawl and headed out to find my teacher to see what else he wanted me to do.
A lone guard was in the halls. With the way their helmets were designed I had no idea if he was looking at me or not but I stayed close to the wall as he clanked by and I skipped down the stairs. As my headache slowly subsided the new ideas swirled around my mind, distracting me from the world around me until I collided quite hard against another human.
A significantly stronger person than I as I fell to the stone floor hard, the person I collided with hardly even moving.
"I'm so sorry, I-" I started before stopping instantaneously as I stared into the cold eyes of the Jarl himself; Ulfric Stormcloak.
I froze like a rabbit caught in the sights of a sabre cat; my muscles tensing as my flight instincts ran full force but, I couldn't move. The power radiating from his stare made my feet feel as though they were fusing with the stone below them and his dominant stature made me feel as if I was shrinking into the walls.
The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped me from my state as my muscles finally released and I bolted from the war room, again hearing the sounds of a deep laugh as I slammed the door to upstairs behind me.
'Again you've made a fool of yourself!'I sighed and took some deep breaths before making my way to my teachers' room. Rapping lightly on the door frame Wuunferth turned to look at me.
"Ah so, you've finished with the books I gave you eh? Well, show me."
"Show- show you?"
"Yes girl! Show me what you learned!" Wuunferth barked, throwing his hands up in frustration. I nodded and tried to get my composure. I needed to concentrate. I needed to forget the icy eyes that were burned into my mind every time I closed my eyes. The stern expression that radiated dominance.
'Stop it. Think, Marith, think! Concentrate!'I chastised myself. Taking a deep breath in, releasing it out I washed the image from my mind as much as I could and felt as the magic coursed through my limbs. The warmth spread into my hands and stopped just at my fingertips.
Tracing the delicate design I'd learned in the first book; feeling as the power glided through my fingers onto the tabletop, briefly burning a bright red before cooling to a deep maroon that camouflaged itself in the wood.
Smiling at my handiwork I looked up at Wuunferth who just stood there staring at me. Taking this as a silent push to keep going I continued on with the spell I learned from the second book, fusing this time a bright blue design on the table, a hand width away from the last that faded to a deep navy that also camouflaged itself into the table.
Still no word from the older man I continued on with the third and fourth designs, weaving them intricately with the other two and the final, laying a fifth wreathed around the previous.
"Good, but let's see if it works." Wuunferth finally spoke as he took a small scrap of paper and dropped it from a small distance onto the designs. The first design flared up, a small spark and popping as the smell of charcoal filled the room, clearing quickly though as the second design started sparking and a small controlled explosion as the third and fourth were set off. Finally the fifth started, effectively smothering the four blueprints and healing the table that was previously marred with spell-work.
"Well, well." Wuunferth mumbled but said no more. I had no idea if he was pleased or if I was far behind what he expected and waited anxiously as he just stared at the table.
"So?" I asked meekly.
"It's acceptable. Of course, this is a much smaller scale than needed but it's a start. Here," Wuunferth turned to his bookcase and handed me more books. "Read these and come back tomorrow evening. I expect that you are probably hungry. Go find Jorleif, I have work to do." He pushed me through the entryway, slamming the large wooden door in my face as I stood there confused but slightly proud of my handiwork as I went to find the steward.
Wuunferth closed the doorway and sat down on his favourite chair. Ulfrics' plan was blooming much quicker than he expected if she continued as quickly as she had. Wuunferth had been expecting the woman to stumble her way through the books he had given her earlier; maybe making mediocre progress on the first rune, much less mastering all five in a few hours without a sound of practice coming from her quarters. He had not foreseen how quickly she would make her way through the material.