They barely got clothed when a knock on the door echoed through the small room they've shared.
It must have been the mage that they were told to meet today.
Aeyrin opened the door expectantly only to be greeted by a familiar face.
"Good morning. Imperial Courier Service."
It was the same man that they'd met near Whiterun! How did he track them down here? They were in Winterhold only for a few days and no one in Windhelm or Darkwater Crossing knew where they were heading.
It was uncanny.
The man handed her three notes with a smile before he turned on his heel and left hastily.
"Anything from Raven?" Bishop asked before she even opened the first note. He seemed really eager to continue their potential coup of Mercer's stranglehold on the Guild. She could hardly blame him, but she was somewhat wary of the events of his last attempt repeating. She wasn't sure what exactly the fallout from that was, but it was very clear that it was bad.
She unfolded the first note tentatively:
.
I have enjoyed my visit to Riften and gotten everything I needed there. Now I will need to take some time to care for a friend who has been wounded during our journey, but after he regains his strength, he will wish to meet you. He has a lot of interesting stories.
I will be in touch.
A friend
.
"Well… she survived… surprisingly enough. I guess she's still got some moxie in those old bones," Bishop chuckled after he read the note. "Hopefully her 'lore-master' has some answers."
Aeyrin nodded. The news was better than she had expected, even if the lore-master was wounded. Delphine's note seemed to imply that he would eventually be fine. And it did sound like he had some answers.
She unfolded the second note:
.
My lady Aeyrin,
A word has reached me of some troubling events in Windhelm. I am certain that, whatever that foul despot accused you of, has been utterly undeserved. I wish I were able to travel to the east and help you set things right. Unfortunately, with the current situation and with the war being at a very precarious stage, the Empire's pull in the Stormcloak-controlled areas is practically non-existent. I hope you are doing well, despite the difficulties.
My contingent has returned in full numbers and they are all very excited to meet you. They were impressed with my recounting of your bravery against the dragon. I hope you will be making your way back to Solitude soon, I am very much looking forward to seeing you again.
May the Gods watch over your endeavors and may your faith be your everlasting guide.
Sincerely
Casavir
.
Bishop outstretched his hand expectantly, waiting for her to pass him the note. It was so sweet of Casavir to worry over what happened in Windhelm, but Bishop will definitely not be happy about this. She gave him an innocent smile and placed the note into his hand.
It was not like she was going to hide this from him…
His brows creased immediately after reading the first line. His hand began clutching the paper, slowly crumpling it, as it clenched into a fist. He was really overreacting about a simple sincere letter. There was an angry rumble forming deep in his throat but, surprisingly enough, he didn't say a word. He handed her the slightly crumpled letter back, hissing through gritted teeth: "Anything from Raven?"
It seemed like he was very eager for some more uplifting reading material now.
She unfolded the last letter with a gentle smile and a slight shake of her head. Such a reaction for a stupid letter.
.
Dear friends,
We have made our way to Solitude to see an old acquaintance. It seems like he will be in need of our assistance in the future. I would be grateful if you could make your way here, when your time permits. Hopefully my information is correct and he is in no immediate danger.
If you can make it, we are staying at our friend's place, but we often enjoy the days by the Solitude docks. I am sure we would be able to meet there.
We will be awaiting you.
K + R
.
She passed the note to Bishop. She thought that he'd be happy to see a message from Raven and Karliah, but his brows creased even further upon reading it. He let out an exasperated groan as he gave the note back to her.
"What? I thought you'll be glad!" she chuckled slightly.
"Yeah… it's just… Solitude… again…" he grumbled.
"What do you mean? Solitude's beautiful! And don't act like you don't have some… fun memories of the place," she blushed and nudged him with her elbow suggestively.
He smiled, despite himself. "Yeah… but we can make fun memories anywhere."
"You just don't want to see Casavir again," she snickered at him. It was so easy to see through that.
He groaned once more and rolled his eyes: "And a myriad of pompous tits just like him, looks like…"
She patted his cheek with another giggle. Maybe if he got to know some of the other paladins, he might even change his mind about them. After all, he didn't really like any priests and their like but he oddly never had a problem with her.
…
The old mage came to see them only a few moments later.
He was wearing bright green robes with golden embroidery. He had a bushy beard and messy hair covering most of his face, but it was clear that, in spite of it, he had a kind smile. He introduced himself as Master Tolfdir.
After brief introductions, the mage sat himself down on one of the chairs in their assigned room and they all started to discuss the terms of their visit to the College.
"I have no qualms about giving you access to the library. You will not be able to borrow any books away from the College, but you are free to peruse anything you wish while on the premises. Let it not be said that the mages of Winterhold do not do their part in the battle against these, quite frankly, fascinating creatures," he smiled rather wistfully and gave them a gentle nod. "Our enchanting services and our stores are generally open to the public, however, most of the orders are done by the courier. As you have noticed, we do not allow many outsiders on our campus. People often hold on to old grudges and that tends to create… problems. You are, of course, free to use our services however you wish."
This went even better than expected.
"Now… for your last request…" he sighed. "I am afraid that we cannot train you in magic use, dear. Our studies require dedication and time which your responsibilities and lifestyle sadly do not allow for. I would suggest seeking out someone from the temples who would be willing to assist you."
It was not like she hadn't tried that… but, obviously, any training wouldn't merely involve reading a spell book, if she couldn't actually understand it.
"However, if I understand Faralda's recounting correctly, there are some basic techniques you would likely be able to learn quickly with the restoration Master's assistance. I will ask her to help you with learning some basics of warding," Tolfdir smiled at her. "But first… I had an offer for the both of you."
Bishop and Aeyrin shared a curious look. Hopefully it didn't involve being part of some of their magical experiments…
"Today we have an expedition planned into the ruins of Saarthal. It is an ancient Nordic barrow. I assume you two are familiar with those…" Tolfdir smirked. The mages have already questioned Aeyrin extensively on how she learned her 'dragon spells'. "We have explored the first few chambers and made sure that they are safe to conduct research in. I will be taking my students there to study the remnants of the ancient culture, but I was thinking… with you two here and so accustomed to such endeavors, perhaps you would be interested in delving further into the ruins while we conduct our studies? It would make the place secure for further research. You would be compensated, of course. Perhaps I could even convince Sergius to waive the price of his enchanting services," he winked at them conspiratorially.
This was not only a good offer, but Aeyrin could even find another Word in there! It was perfect.
And, hopefully, Karliah's issues indeed weren't urgent.
…
The company in the ruins wasn't ideal.
While Brelyna and J'zargo were rather happy to see them there, Darren was decidedly not.
Brelyna informed them with unbridled malicious joy that Darren was forbidden to even talk during the excursion, due to his 'irritable temper'. Apparently, he held a grudge the previous night and had some rather public words with J'zargo in the courtyard, which ended up with Darren getting another scolding from Tolfdir. That man had a serious problem. The nose wound didn't seem to help as a reminder. Hopefully, the various restrictions placed on his life at the College would.
Darren kept throwing Aeyrin and Bishop nasty glares as they talked to Brelyna, but he didn't dare say anything. Maybe he did learn his lesson. Or at least was starting to.
They kept mostly out of the way while Tolfdir led the group of ten students through the first few chambers, talking about the wall carvings, the architecture or the purposes of the layout. It may have been somewhat interesting, but there was no denying that the two of them were much more eager to see what was hiding in the depths of the ruins.
Eventually, Tolfdir stopped in a large chamber. He tasked his students to search for some tiny enchanted rings which were supposed to have been hidden in the chamber, according to some of the murals. He suspected that they were prominently displayed but that they have scattered around the dusty rubble-filled ground during the passage of years.
"That's one way to make the mageys at least a little useful…" Bishop smirked as they walked through the chamber towards Tolfdir. Aeyrin suspected that he said that purposefully just as they passed Darren. She could feel his contemptful look at her back as they walked on, heading towards the Master wizard.
"There you are! Yes, now would be the part where you continue further on without us. Do be careful, children. I know that you are used to these explorations, but caution is your best friend in any such place," Tolfdir smiled kindly and he ushered them towards the familiar pillars with animal carvings.
They've seen a lot of these before, but these ones seemed to be purposefully untouched, as if none of the mages attempted to move them to the right combination of images. Tolfdir likely didn't even try to explore further, wary of the dangers ahead. Or he did, but he retreated and misaligned the pillars purposefully to prevent his students from going further in. Although, the layer of dust on them suggested otherwise.
The old mage eventually walked towards the pillars and moved them, with certainty, to the correct position before he pulled on the lever beside them. The grate leading further in opened invitingly only a second later.
"I will leave this open, but please, keep our safety in mind. I assure you that if I hear anything... menacing coming from the passage, I will close this exit instantly," Tolfdir's brows creased.
With a nod of acknowledgement they moved to explore the rest of the ruins.
…
It was a comfortable routine by now.
After the ordeal in the Dwemer ruins, the Nordic ones were almost refreshingly predictable. They knew exactly what to expect.
They continued through the passages and cleared out several further chambers.
They have left most of their previously collected loot at the College to sell it later – they needed more room in their packs for the things they would gather here. Sadly, the valuable items weren't many in Saarthal, especially since, on Aeyrin's insistence, they left behind anything that could have been of some scholarly merit to the mages. Bishop insisted they could sell it to them later anyway, but that just seemed wrong to her. After all, they'd never even had the opportunity to explore the place if it weren't for Tolfdir. Apparently, the mages kept the entire complex locked and secured since they cleared the chambers out. It was no wonder. Some bandits could have swooped in at any time after all.
This way, only the undead remained in their path.
Bishop withdrew his shortsword from one of the draugr with a content sigh: "This is the right stuff, princess. So much more satisfying than those fucking blind creeps or those machines."
She smiled at him. It was rather nice to go back to the familiar undead killing. The draugr weren't nearly as creepy as the Falmer and they didn't make her question the morality of her dungeon delving.
"There was way more loot though," Bishop sighed at the meager pickings that they've acquired so far.
"True… but you know that the best stuff is always at the end," she winked at him and ushered him forward into the ruins.
It didn't take long for them to make their way through several other chambers.
There were even some more unorthodox ones – such as a circular chamber guarded by a large number of draugr. All gradually awoke from their slumber and began attacking them incessantly. Their constant onslaught forced them into the center of the room, only protected by a large grate above a bottomless-looking pit. They were so certain that, at any moment, some sort of mechanism would spring and send them tumbling down into its depths. Of course, the trap has eventually sprung, but, by then, they fortunately managed to change their position, sending several draugr tumbling down into the pit instead.
After another hour or two spent exploring, they finally reached a point which signaled the final chamber.
For Aeyrin, at least.
"I hear it! There's another Wall!"
"Alright, ladyship. Let's get to it," Bishop nodded at her reassuringly.
She ran forth, determined to locate the Wall quickly, but as she entered the room, she was stopped in her tracks by the sight in front of her.
There was… something.
It was a giant orb – pale-blue and littered with glowing teal runic scripts. It was turning, swirling and levitating above the ground. There was so much strange energy in the air. Faint magical tingling seemed to cover every inch of their skin.
Aeyrin didn't recognize the runes. It wasn't dragon language and it wasn't Daedric. It didn't even bear any resemblance to any Dwemer carvings or engravings.
It was getting kind of blurry… and loud. There was some loud noise at her back as she kept staring at the orb. She was starting to feel woozy. Something was incessantly drumming in her head.
Wait, the Wall! She was supposed to find the Wall!
Before she could react, she felt herself be lifted and slumped into the familiar arms. The weight of her in her armor made them quiver and buckle slightly, but Bishop held onto her as securely as he could. She felt that she was carried but she couldn't hear or see anything anymore.
It happened so fast. Was she really looking at the orb for so long?
Finally there was light in the distance. She wanted to escape from his arms and run to it, but she wasn't sure if she could.
He was so slow… she needed to see it already!
IIZ
Her vision slowly started to return and the first thing that she could focus on was Bishop's concerned face looking down on her.
"Oh… Gods… I… don't know what happened… I'm so sorry…" she shook her head while he gently let her stand back down on the ground. He shook his hands briskly after she was safely on her feet, as if they were getting numb under the weight.
"It's fine, princess. I got a little… caught up too. There's something fucking weird about that thing…" he looked over his shoulder warily, but then he quickly averted his gaze away from the orb again.
Before they could ponder further, a distinct sound echoed through the chamber – the opening of a sarcophagus.
An already familiar creature screeched from the front of the room, right below the double staircase from above which they entered. It was another one of those draugr mages, but this one… glowed. An aura surrounded it in the same teal color as the giant orb. Was it affecting it somehow?
There was not much time to question it though. They needed to act.
"KRII!"
This was an already familiar routine. The Shout always undid them.
Bishop's arrow flew at the creature right after, but… it didn't even hit it. It fell away right in front of its metal mast, as if the teal aura stopped it completely.
"What the fuck?" Bishop swore, but he still notched another arrow to try again.
Aeyrin rushed forward to slam her mace into the creature. But… was it even glowing with the red aura of her Shout? It was so hard to tell with the teal light all over it. She smashed her weapon against the draugr's head with force. But instead of the anticipated impact, a strange energy coursed through her and pain shot across her arm as it was forcefully stopped right before it hit the creature.
What in the Void was going on?!
"Try the new one!" Bishop called out to her. Instead of trying pointlessly to shoot the undead, he aimed at the orb. Maybe if he destroyed it, the creature's protection would wane.
The draugr mage began to weave its hands as lightning started to form and crackle between them.
Aeyrin needed to stop it. Trying the new Shout was risky, but they were running out of ideas.
"IIZ!"
Her throat tingled slightly with cold. It was the same with every Shout – there was always a… hint of something, but she usually couldn't identify it. She could feel some cold energy coming from around her, aiming at the creature.
But nothing happened.
Bishop's arrows were met with the same effect when facing the orb. The teal aura made everything harmless.
The creature finished weaving its spell and Aeyrin only barely managed to jump across an old stone altar to hide behind it from the powerful lightning. There were some items on the altar and they flew into the air instantly, scattering around her as an uncomfortable electric energy surrounded her. But, luckily, the spell didn't hit her.
Then she noticed something. One of the items fallen from the table was a staff.
It was ordinary – they found a lot of their likes in the ancient Nordic ruins, but it gave her an idea.
The orb was clearly magic and powerful one at that. Words spoken yesterday suddenly echoed in her mind: 'Nothing can douse a magical flame but more magic.' She didn't understand it. Any magical flame she's seen before could be doused by water. But then they continued their experiments as the Argonian in white robes brought some odd substance and a brazier. They poured the substance into it and lit it with a fire spell to demonstrate for her. They brought water, poured it onto it, but the flames raged on. They only died out after Faralda conjured a block of ice above it, practically making the flames create their own doom as they melted it upon themselves. Then Aeyrin lit the brazier again with her fire Shout and Faralda was able to douse it once more with her magic, making all of the present mages discuss the implications excitedly.
It gave her an idea. If the orb was magic, perhaps the only thing it would react to was more magic.
She grabbed the staff and straightened herself back up on her feet.
"How does this work? Anyone can use these, ri- Ah!" she yelped as she unintentionally swung the staff around a bit more forcefully than necessary. A bolt of lightning shot from it instantly, straight at the giant orb.
Well… it was the biggest target in the chamber.
The orb still glowed, but the aura around the mage wavered slightly.
"Fuck! That's it! Do it again! I'll kill the bastard!" Bishop yelled at her while he notched another arrow. The creature looked over the room in what looked like panic.
Aeyrin thrusted the staff forward and aimed at the orb again. Another powerful lightning shot from it and Bishop let his arrow loose right after, this time hitting the creature.
Unfortunately, it didn't seem fazed.
"Ladyship, the Shout!" he yelled again. It didn't look like it had worked before. Or it dissipated already.
She took a deep breath. The waver of the aura didn't last long. She had to react quickly for everything to work.
ZAP
"KRII!"
SWISH
Finally, Bishop's arrow shot right through the mage's mask just as its aura was reigniting again. The mask shattered and the creature lit up in flames, crumbling to the ground before it slowly burned to the familiar dust pile.
They both took deep breaths of relief, but neither of them could help but still occasionally throw wary glances at the orb. It looked exactly the same as when they saw it first. The magic didn't seem to damage it at all.
"Fuck, that was weird. How did you know to do that?" Bishop approached her and peered at the staff in her hand.
"I just thought… you remember that thing with the brazier yesterday? So I thought… use magic against magic…" she shrugged. She felt much more lucky than actually clever.
"Impressive. Never would've thought of that," he gave her an appreciative smirk before he started looking around the rest of the room slowly. "Wanna try your Shout again?" he asked after he walked over to the altar and studied the things that scattered there for some potential loot.
"Not here… I feel weird with this… thing here. We should just take what we can and let the mages figure out the rest…" she sighed, glancing at the orb again warily.
They scoured the room for some time, but there wasn't much of interest. The draugr mage left behind some sort of an amulet, but Aeyrin insisted that they gave it to Tolfdir first, in case it was connected to the orb.
After a while, they were ready to head back up the stairs, when a familiar grating voice interrupted them.
"I thought you'd be dead already. I hardly thought either of you capable of anything but low blows and cheap tricks," Darren walked down the stairs towards them, but his eyes occasionally darted towards the orb with palpable curiosity.
"I thought you weren't supposed to talk, magey," Bishop smirked at him meanly.
"You're the one who should keep his yap shut, dog!" Darren barked at him with narrowed eyes, but, again, his attention got diverted by the orb. He couldn't stop glancing at it.
"Darren, you should go back. It isn't safe here… I think…" Aeyrin sighed in exasperation. This was the last person she was in the mood to deal with.
"Oh stop acting like you're concerned already, bitch! I should just teach you both a lesson on how to treat your betters!" his face turned red with anger again gradually, then he looked at the orb again. His body still told them he was caught up in his rage – his fists were clenched and teeth gritted, but his eyes were full of wonder as he stared at the glowing spectacle. "Won't be so hard to believe some incompetent fools like you died here anyway…" he kept making his threats, but his eyes were now steadfast on the orb, almost as if he couldn't help himself.
Was that what happened to them before?
Suddenly Darren took a step closer to it and his hand outstretched, as if he was mesmerized.
"I've made such a discovery… the whole College will fall at my feet…" he mumbled quietly as his arm slowly reached towards the oddity levitating in the middle of the chamber.
"DARREN, DON'T TOUCH IT!" Aeyrin yelled out, but it was too late.
His fingers connected only barely with the teal aura and there was a deafeningly loud sound – a magical burst, ringing and echoing everywhere. Darren looked like he was hit with a powerful shock, thrown back across the chamber. His body collided heavily with the stone wall.
Aeyrin rushed over to him instantly to see to his state.
He looked alive, but he was definitely out of it, likely in shock. His body was however… smoking, as if he was hit with powerful electricity. She started to undo his robes frantically without even thinking, until she uncovered the pulpy wound after a magical burn all across his chest.
Her hand lit with magic, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to heal him properly.
"Bish, please go get Master Tolfdir," she turned to him for a while, but she concentrated back on Darren quickly. As hopeless as it was, she still attempted to heal him.
Bishop looked like he would protest for a second. The fool made his own bed after all. But in the end he just nodded and rushed from the room to locate the old wizard.
He only hoped it wasn't too late for Aeyrin's sake.
He couldn't care less about that asshole.