Author's note:
My dear readers, here I am with a new update. First things first, let me thank all my new followers/favoriters/reviewers. Second of all, let me thank the great Valtieri and Elspeth for their amazing support. I'm glad you enjoyed the plot twist at the end of the previous chapter!
As for Valtieri's remarks, Adaeze definitely knows how to be overbearing. Yet, I'd like to point out that she is like that only when she's with Steinarius and that her behavior is connected with her plan to take revenge on the Imperial for everything he did to Agda. After all, my favourite Redguard is very good at holding grudges! As far as Delphine is concerned, she'll soon return to our story - and that will be a veeery interesting moment.
As for Elspeth's review, I really can't tell you how glad I am that you caught up with this story. Apropos, I've decided this fanfic will likely be updated once every one or two weeks, depending on the length of the chapters - unfortunately, work is a boring and dull thing that keeps me from writing. As for Hadvar and Adaeze's reunion, I felt I needed to resume their storyline - and that was the perfect moment to do it.
As far as today chapter goes, over the last few weeks we've seen what Steinarius has been up to ever since he left Dawnstar for the College. But what has our little Agda been doing in the meantime? Let's find out in this instalment.
Enjoy!
20th of Heartfire, 4E 202
As she looked at the ceiling of her room, Agda snorted in impatience: just a few more minutes, then she'd finally be ready to carry out her plan.
With a loud sigh, the Nord carefully turned on her side. She was downright worried: it'd been a week since she partially recovered her memory and it'd been a week since Steinarius left for Winterhold. After all that time, the young mage still had no idea of what was happening at the College. Since that lack of news was quite upsetting, Agda felt bound to abandon Dawnstar and take matters into her scarred and sore hands.
As predictable, Erandur and Frida weren't fond of the girl's plan to leave Nightcaller Temple: according to them, Agda was namely too weak to travel to Winterhold and needed at least another week of utter rest. Moreover, the healers believed that the young Nord still wasn't ready to return to the place where she'd almost met her end. Agda, however, had a completely different opinion.
Tossing and turning in her bed, the mage let out a soft whine. Despite her improvements she was still feverish, whereas her broken ribs made it impossible for her to walk fast without grimacing. Her left eye was still bluish and swollen and she couldn't sleep because of her nightmares. On top of that, the girl still hadn't remembered how she got to Dawnstar and was having trust issues because of the ugly scars that now marred her face. Nonetheless, even if she still hadn't recovered fully, Agda was determined to sneak out of Nightcaller Temple and reach Winterhold before dawn - and in order to escape Frida and Erandur' surveillance, the girl had come up with a very complicated plan.
After she'd regained her memory, for two days Agda had been completely unable to do anything but cry. Then, however, the young woman had pulled herself together. She'd begun by allowing Erandur in her room so that he could cure her - although he was a man and an Elf, the poor priest namely had no blame in what had happened to her. On the following day, Agda had asked for permission to use the alchemy lab inside the temple. Mindful of her accident with Vaermina's Torpor, Frida and Erandur never let the young Nord alone in that place; yet, despite their tight surveillance, over the previous days Agda had managed to brew all the potions she needed to escape Dawnstar and make it to Winterhold without problems. In compliance with the girl's plan, most of those draughts ended up in Frida' shop - some others, however, found their home in a little knapsack Agda had retrieved from the old cupboard inside her room. Thanks to the mage's efforts, that well-hidden bag was now full magicka and healing potions, of invisibility and calming draughts, of painkillers and paralysis vials. The knapsack also contained the blue mage robes Agda had found during a little stroll across the temple; the girl had enchanted them with very powerful spells and had later asked Frida to create a special mask that could hide her whole face apart from her eyes. Thanks to those clothes and to the potions she'd carefully hidden over the course of the previous week, Agda hoped she could leave Nightcaller Temple and make it to Winterhold on her own.
When Erandur's loud snores eventually reached her sensitive ears, the young Nord was snapped out of her thoughts. A moment later, Agda smiled to herself in the darkness: it was finally time she acted.
Taking advantage of the priest' heavy sleep, the girl slowly left her bed and got dressed. Every movement caused her a lot of pain, but Agda was so keen on reaching the College that she didn't even realize it. After putting on her clothes and her knapsack, the young mage drank an invisibility potion and left her den. When she saw that Frida was asleep in a chair right outside her room, Agda grinned: the sleeping potion she'd poured into the woman' stew was definitely proving to be effective.
Trying to be as quiet as possible, the girl bid Frida a silent goodbye and ventured into the long corridor to her left. When she finally reached the doors to the outside world, Agda turned towards the little Mara shrine inside the hall of the temple and murmured a short prayer. In that moment she felt nor pain, nor fear: in that moment, she only wished she could join her friends in Winterhold and finally have the upper hand in her fight against Ancano.
The night was cold and dark, but luckily for Agda it wasn't snowing. After covering her face with her special mask and putting on her blue hood, the girl immediately left for the College. While venturing into the North, the young mage felt very nervous: she drank a few healing potions to fight off the tiredness in her bones, then she started walking in a very slow and careful way. Luckily for her, that night the Divines were definitely on her side: after a few minutes in the wilds, Agda namely came across two very familiar figures.
The young mage perfectly remembered the twins she'd met in Dawnstar after her adventure in Fellglow Keep - and she was glad they remembered her too.
"Hey, I know you!", the taller of the brothers cried out when Agda came into his visual field. "Your Redguard friend gave me a wonderful time in Dawnstar!"
As she remembered that Adaeze and Farkas had spent a night of passion together, Agda couldn't help but smile awkwardly.
"Brother, you are embarrassing her", the other twin luckily intervened. "Your name is Agda, isn't it?"
As she looked at Vilkas' perfect features and mirrored herself in his perfect silver eyes, Agda nodded and shook the hand the man was stretching towards her. That warrior was probably the most handsome Nord she'd ever met; also, he was likely one of the deadliest fighters in the whole country.
"I'm sorry if my brother somehow offended you", Vilkas continued after a short break. "By the way, it is curious to meet a young mage from Winterhold at this time of the night".
Willing to come up with a decent lie, Agda told the twins that she'd got lost while looking for alchemy ingredients. When she said she was heading back to Winterhold, the men agreed to accompany her for a while. Hiding her grin behind her face mask, the girl silently thanked Mara: it looked as though her little prayer had not been in vain.
Unfortunately, Agda soon found out that being escorted through the wilds by two werewolves wasn't actually as good as it sounded. Farkas namely spent a lot of time mentioning the scent of the creatures that were moving nearby - and when he said 'dragon', Agda almost fainted. Vilkas, on the other hand, snarled every time a rabbit crossed their path. As his eyes got golden for the umpteenth time, Agda wondered how long the Nord had gone without a decent hunt in his beast form.
There were also other downsides to travelling with two men with overpowered senses - for example, they immediately realized that Agda wasn't fine.
"You smell like blood, little mage", Farkas suddenly told her without any preamble. "Also, your heart is worryingly fast. Are you sure you're not ill?"
Vilkas gave his brother an eloquent look that made Agda shiver in fear. The man was probably angry because Farkas had alluded to the way werewolves could hear other people's heartbeats.
"You must forgive him", the handsome warrior told Agda. "My brother thinks he can hear heartbeats, but such a thing is obviously impossible. Unfortunately, we've had a long and tiring day".
Farkas made to speak, but his twin cut him off with a snarl that bared his sharp teeth. Despite her time around Steinarius, Agda had never seen anyone behave in such a wolfish way.
The young mage had another proof of the brothers' animal insticts once they reached a dismissed lighthouse on the road to Winterhold. Both Farkas and Vilkas namely stopped dead in their tracks, then immediately began sniffing the air. When they exchanged a worried glance, Agda felt a cold shiver run down her spine.
"Is something wrong?"
There was a moment of silence, then Vilkas spoke.
"Wolves", he said through gritted teeth. "At least two of them, and very dangerous. They were here less than a week ago".
Agda was shocked by the twins' sharp sense of smell and was even more shocked by what happened when she got closer to the lighthouse.
Over the previous week, the young mage had started suffering once again from her usual nightmares regarding the familiar floating globe of darkness and its many black tentacles. As she took in the sight of the lighthouse, Agda saw the weird creature that troubled her sleep in front of her eyes; a moment later, she was overrun by fragments of memories. A dark starless sky, the cold water of the ocean closing in on her, the trolls around Nightcaller Temple, the flavor of a disgusting potion in her mouth... all those memories flooded through Agda's mind and were ended by the sight of the usual globe of darkness. Come to me and you will discover the truth, the weird creature said with its familiar and seductive voice.
That terrifying vision was over in less than a minute, but by then Agda had already fallen to the ground. When she opened her eyes, she was met by two very worried wolf twins. The brothers exchanged a look, then they got closer to her. At that point Farkas gathered Agda in his arms and started walking towards Winterhold.
"There's no point in hiding your illness", he simply stated when confronted with the girl's faint protests. "My brother and I need to head towards Whiterun, but we'll carry you until we get to the ruins of Saarthal. From what I heard, your fellows from the College are doing some weird things there".
Still too shocked by the flow of memories that had suddenly overrun her mind, Agda didn't reply. Right then she could only think of one thing: that dismissed lighthouse was somehow connected to her mysterious arrival in Dawnstar.
Just like they'd announced, Vilkas and Farkas carried Agda until they reached the ruins of Saarthal. Once there, the twins bid the girl goodbye and headed south. Agda, instead, was left to the cures of a Winterhold guard. The young mage was very surprised: why were the sentries from the city patrolling that place?
When she voiced that question, the guard spat on the ground.
"The Jarl thinks that those skeevers from the College are threatening its city, therefore he decided to send us here to protect the ruins from those psychos".
Agda frowned. She was actually glad that his fellow mages couldn't venture into the ruins of Saarthal anymore; nonetheless, the guard's words sent a cold shiver down her spine. What could have possible happened for the Jarl to take such a drastic measure against her colleagues?
"Korir found out that the Archmage had been talking to a former Imperial Captain", the sentry explained as soon as Agda asked him that question. "Since the College had promised not to take sides in the Civil War, the Jarl got quite angry at that - as a consequence, he announced he would close the ruins and bring the mages' studies to an end. Korir even asked the Stormcloaks for help in case the wizards should get angry at him - and surprisingly enough, Ulfric agreed to help him. It seems that his men will start controlling the area before the end of next week".
When she heard that, Agda's frown got even deeper. Until then the Civil War had never disturbed her quiet life; now, instead, it seemed that Ulfric Stormcloak was about to station many of his men right outside the city gates of Winterhold. That awareness made her somewhat nervous; at the same time, however, Agda realized two things.
First, the former Imperial Captain Savos Aren had talked to was probably Steinarius.
Second, she needed to get to Winterhold as soon as possible and clean the mess she'd made by sending the Dragonborn to the College.
As soon as that latter thought appeared in her mind, Agda heard a loud sound that resembled an explosion caused by a fire rune. A second later, the ground under her feet began to shake. After exchanging a terrified look with the nearby guard, Agda was quick to forget her injuries and start running towards Winterhold.
Something in her mind suggested her that the city was dangerously close to its end.
As she made her way towards the seat of the College, Agda realized that she was doing worse than she'd thought. Despite her sufferance and her weakness, however, the girl had a mission to fulfill; as a consequence, she drank a lot of healing potions to fight off the pain and continue running.
As a healer, Agda perfectly knew that too many curing vials could cause people to collapse, just like she knew that too many magical efforts could cause wizards to pass out from exhaustion. Yet, at that moment the girl couldn't care less: just a few minutes, then she'd finally reach Winterhold - and once there, all her questions about Steinarius and Ancano would be answered. Moreover, Agda couldn't wait to discover the source of the loud explosion she'd heard less than ten minutes earlier. When she did, however, the young mage was paralyzed by shock.
Upon getting closer to the city, Agda realized that there were many shrill shouts coming from the main road of Winterhold - and a moment later, when she finally reached the entrance to the settlement, the Nord noticed that the whole town had been turned into a battleground.
The people of Winterhold were fighting together with the mages from the College and the local guards. The soldiers had sharp blades in their hands, whereas the wizards were casting a spell after another. The civilians instead were using common tools like shovels and hammers in order to kill the weird magic creatures that were infesting their city. Agda had never seen anything like that: it looked as though shiny fragments of pure magical energy had come to life and started tormenting everyone who dared oppose them. When a guard fell to the ground with a pained growl, the mage eventually looked towards the College - and as she did, Agda couldn't believe her eyes: the whole building was embraced by a threatening storm that kept everyone and everything far from it.
Confronted with that sight, Agda felt small and powerless and in danger - and when Ranmir entered her visual field, she felt even worse. The local drunkard was namely covered in blood from head to toe.
"Ranmir, what is going on?", Agda asked when the man finally got closer. "What are those things? And what happened to you?"
When the Nord turned to look at her, Agda let out a terrified scream: much to her shock, she was staring into the lifeless eyes of a thrall.
As Agda let go of Ranmir's elbow and took a few steps backwards, she unexpectedly bumped into one of the last people she'd expected to see at that moment.
Haran, the owner of the local inn, had just taken a break from fighting against her enemies with her faithful broomstick. When the elder woman turned her head and recognised Agda's brown eyes, she couldn't help but let out a surprised squeak.
"Oh Agda, I'm so glad you're here! We all thought you were dead!"
Willing to keep the woman safe, Agda took her by the arm and crouched behind a nearby building. She promised Haran she would soon answer all of her questions, then she asked when those weird magical creatures had first appeared in Winterhold. Spurred by Agda's questions, the innkeeper explained that everything had begun fifteen minutes earlier, when a loud explosion had caused the ground of the city to shake and those weird magical anomalies to appear right outside the College. When Haran mentioned that Ancano had returned to Winterhold that very same morning, Agda immediately realized who was to blame for the cataclysm that was threatening to destroy her adoptive city.
Willing to save the settlement and take her revenge, Agda told Haran to find a safer shelter; a moment later, the young mage made her way towards the heart of the battle - after all, if she wanted to destroy Ancano, she first needed to kill the monstrous creatures that were wreaking havoc on his behalf.
As she bid Haran goodbye, Agda felt as though she was about to enter a battlefield. A determined look in her eyes, the girl confidently strode towards the main road of Winterhold, two ice spikes ready in her hands and a fierce cloak of fire around her shoulders. A moment later, the mage attacked her first enemy with a fast series of Destruction spells.
The battle against those weird magic anomalies caused Agda to move through the whole city of Winterhold. While fighting, the girl caught a glimpse of many people she knew: Brelyna for example was crouching beside Onmund behind a tall tree - and, from the look of it, it seemed that the poor Nord had just been knocked unconscious by his opponents. J'zhargo instead was casting flames at his enemies, whereas a rather battered Colette was using a magical barrier to defend the inhabitants of Winterhold from every possible threat. Faralda and Nirya were doing their best, while Drevis and Phinnis were using their skills in Necromancy in order to fight off their enemies. When they realized that the girl in the blue robes was no one but Agda, all of the mages let out surprised cries and immediately tried to aid her.
"What happened to you?", Faralda asked when Agda hid behind a tree together with her. "You were gone for weeks! And why is your left eye so swollen?"
"I'll explain you everything later", the girl hissed between gritted teeth. After saying that, the young mage threw herself once again against her enemies.
Unfortunately for Agda and for the other inhabitants of Winterhold, the magical anomalies Ancano had created were much stronger than all the other enemies they'd ever encountered. The young girl miraculously managed to kill three of them, but that deed cost her all of her energy. That battle was different from everything else Agda had ever experienced: in that weird situation she couldn't just set up traps for her enemies and wait for them to run into them, just like she couldn't find a safe shelter and wait for her Atronachs to destroy her opponents. Moreover, Agda had to be careful not to hurt others with her spells, all while keeping an eye on her own back. To make matters even worse, during the battle the girl realized that many of her scars were slowly creaking open - and with every drop of blood that left her body, Agda felt weaker and paler and wearier.
Although she was well aware of the risks, during the fight the young Nord drank as many magicka potions as she could in order to keep on casting spells at her enemies. Nonetheless, all her efforts were useless: when her last Fire Atronach was killed and her last fire rune was activated by a clumsy soldier, the girl realized that she'd run out of draughts that could help her retrieve her magicka. Ignoring the fear that struck her at that discovery, Agda grabbed the sword of an injured guard and got into a fighting stance.
Although her situation seemed hopeless, the young Nord had no intention of giving in.
Agda wasn't the only one who knew how tragic the situation for Winterhold was. Many city guards namely laid dead on the ground, whereas some mages and civilians were severely injured. Agda and her colleagues had killed a few magic anomalies, but there was still a dozen of them floating around - and without her faithful magicka, the girl didn't know how to dispatch them. Luckily enough, right when the inhabitants of Winterhold were about to lose all hope and seek safety in the wilds, a mysterious rider appeared on the main street of their city.
From her shelter behind a half-destroyed building, Agda could only catch a glimpse of that unknown fighter. From that she realized that the stranger was wearing an old dark armor and was riding a grey horse that stopped to a halt with a neigh. The man didn't seem baffled by the strange situation Winterhold was in: without even flinching, he immediately unsheated his sword and started making his way towards the College. Agda had never seen anything like that: the man wielded his mercury weapon effortlessly, as though that heavy piece of metal didn't weigh more than a feather. He moved at a very high speed, so that the girl had troubles following the way his arms were attacking their enemies. His legs never stayed still, as they were constantly aiding their owner in what looked like a complicated dance with possibly deadly consequences. Agda had never seen anyone fight in such a captivating way.
Thanks to his swift movements and to his sheer strength, the stranger was quick to dispatch two enemies in less than a heartbeat. Fueled by that success, many exhausted wizards rose to their feet and resumed fighting against the magical anomalies. Agda was too tired to stand up from her place on the ground, but she nonetheless managed to summon a weak Fire Atronach and force it to fight against her enemies.
After a few minutes, the situation started looking much better for the defenders of Winterhold - and when the mysterious stranger spat fire at one of his enemies, everyone in the city realized who their helper was.
The Dragonborn of olds had joined the fight just on time.
After Steinarius' arrival, the people of Winterhold resumed fighting with renewed energy and hope; as a consequence, they eventually succeeded in the difficult task of killing all the enemies that were threatening their hometown.
As soon as the last magical anomaly was dispatched, the Dragonborn headed for the College, whereas the inhabitants of Winterhold were left to contemplate the destruction that now reigned over their city.
By the time the last of her supernatural enemies crumbled into pieces, Agda had finally managed to rise to her feet. Her scars were bleeding again, whereas her mind was overrun by tiredness and dizziness; yet, the girl had no intention of giving up her plans for revenge. Before the young mage could follow Steinarius inside the College, however, she was stopped by a very worried Colette. The two healers exchanged a long look during which the teacher understood everything her pupil had gone through - and at the end of that seemingly endless moment, the Breton couldn't help but throw her arms around Agda.
Despite the many questions from Colette, the young mage didn't say anything about Ancano - if she'd done it, her teacher would have surely madea scene. Yet, Agda had no way to hide her black eye and her sore body from her colleagues and friends.
"Oh God, what happened to your arm?", Nirya asked when a gust of wind caused Agda' sleeve to uncover her wrist and reveal a bandage that was completely soaked in blood. The girl was quick to put her robes back into place, but she couldn't undo what the Altmer and some other people had seen.
"I'll explain everything soon", she said with a rather harsh tone.
Without waiting for a reply, the young Nord immediately headed for the College. Agda was namely keen on taking Ancano's life as soon as possible - actually, she was feeling downright worried at the thought that Steinarius could have preceded her, thus depriving her of her well-deserved revenge. When she reached the courtyard of the College, however, the mage realized that Ancano was still pretty much alive; also, she understood that killing that monster was likely the last of her problems.
At first Agda didn't understand why so many people were forming a circle in the courtyard of her school. When she caught a glimpse of Savos Aren's lifeless body, however, the truth dawned on her.
"The Archmage is dead", Tolfdir sighed to no one in particular. The old man looked like a ghost of his usual chatty self and had been too grief-stricken to take part in the battle of Winterhold. "We are all doomed, hopelessly and fatally doomed!"
Agda was shocked by the news: if Ancano had managed to kill Savos Aren, he was even more dangerous than she'd thought. Nonetheless, that awareness couldn't do anything to change her plans.
When she noticed that Steinarius was nowhere to be seen, Agda was quick to ask Tolfdir about his whereabouts. With a sigh, the old mage revealed that the Dragonborn was about to embark on yet another quest.
"Mirabelle wanted to give him something", the elder wizard said without raising his eyes from Savos' broken body. "He will leave as soon as possible".
Agda frowned at that revelation. A moment later, she took a very hazardous decision: despite her troubles and her pain and her fever, she announced she would accompany the Dragonborn on his next adventure.
Agda was shocked by the way her colleagues and the people of Winterhold reacted to her words. First they all tried to make her change her mind - after all, it was evident that the girl wasn't doing fine. Then, however, they did their best to help her.
In less than ten minutes Agda received everything she needed to face a dangerous adventure: food and beverages from Haran and Birna, health and magicka potions from Colette, many different spell tomes from her teachers, an enchanted hood from Sergius. Faralda gave her a new set of Destruction robes, whereas Nirya surprised everyone by trusting the young Nord with a beautiful magic amulet. At least, even J'zhargo approached the young mage and gave her a lot of scrolls. The Khajit's tail had been almost charred to ash during his battle against the magic anomalies, so that he couldn't accompany Agda on her adventure.
"This one wishes you good luck", the young apprentice said with a very solemn tone. "Also, this one will keep an eye on Ancano for you".
Agda was moved by J'zhargo's promise, and she was even more moved when a very exhausted Onmund limped towards her with Brelyna. The two of them gave her a couple of magic rings and were followed by a rather crossed Enthir.
"I don't like you, Nord", the Bosmer snorted. "Yet, I need someone to risk their life so that I can have my calm and my business back. As a consequence, you may receive this gift".
When Enthir showed her a beautiful sword made entirely of ebony, Agda couldn't believe her eyes.
With that weapon in her hands, she felt as though nothing could ever defeat her.
Despite the gratitude for all those gifts, Agda should have been quite puzzled by the way her colleagues were willing to let a visibly sick girl face a possibly dangerous threat on their behalf. Yet, right then the girl could only think of getting her revenge over Ancano. Also, after witnessing the way Steinarius had dispatched their enemies, Agda was confindent that accompanying him wasn't going to be very difficult. Unfortunately for her, the Dragonborn had a completely different opinion.
Agda was rather surprised when she saw Steinarius appear in the courtyard with Mirabelle by his side, as the man looked much more tired and battered than usual. Yet, the girl's shock was nothing if compared to the Imperial's.
"Agda?!", he asked while stopping dead in his tracks.
The girl nodded, then took a step towards Steinarius. She'd noticed the way his eyes had just got golden and she perfectly knew what it meant - just like she'd predicted, her former lover wasn't happy to see her.
"I don't care what you think, just like I don't care where you're going", Agda said before the Dragonborn could even recover from his surprise. "It doesn't matter: Winterhold is in danger, so I'm coming with you to help you save my people".
There was a long moment of confused silence, then Steinarius chuckled in disbelief.
"No way", he said while shaking his head.
"But..."
"I said no way", Steinarius promptly repeated. "You can't come with me, Agda".
The girl pulled an offended expression. As usual, that stubborn Imperial didn't think her capable of helping him.
"Steinarius, I don't care what you think. These people..."
"These people are ready to stand back and watch you die rather than risk their lives and help you. They're not your people, Agda, and they're not your friends either. They only care about staying safe and letting others do the hard work!"
Some mages murmured in disapproval, whereas others simply blushed in embarrassement. As for Agda, Steinarius' words didn't affect her in the slightest. She knew that he was probably right, just like she knew that people like Enthir or Korir had no morality at all; yet, the braveness of her fellow mages and the traditional selfishness of wizards wasn't the point of her current argument with the Imperial.
"I don't care if others want to stay safe", the girl simply stated. "I just want to come with you and help you".
"Agda, I don't have the time to look after you while venturing into a dangerous ruin", Steinarius harshly replied. "I'm going to a Nordic burial site, not to some holiday camp in Anvil. Also, you're too weak to help me. You'll only be a nuisance if you come with me".
By then Agda was slowly losing her patience.
"Steinarius, I guarantee I won't get in your way. I'm a rather decent mage and..."
"Agda, there's no way you're coming with me", the Dragonborn repeated for the umpteenth time. "Decent mage or not, you're still feverish and suffering. I can't take you with me, as I can't focus on fighting if I know that you're not safe".
Agda narrowed her eyes. A part of her knew that Steinarius' words made perfect sense, but another part of her was deaf to them. It was time the Dragonborn stopped treating her like a child.
"If you want me to stay here, you'll have to tie me to a stone and throw me into the ocean", the young Nord announced with a snarl. Those words were all it took Steinarius to finally lose his temper.
"You don't get it, do you?", the Dragonborn shouted, his eyes golden with rage and irritation and despair. The force of his voice caused the ground to shake and many inhabitants of Winterhold to let out scared yells. "Life isn't a fairy tale: the good ones don't always live, just like the bad ones don't always die. Take a look at my cuirass, Agda! Take a good look at it and then tell me what you see!"
As he spoke, Steinarius took a couple of steps towards the girl. Slightly frightened by his angry expression, many mages readied themselves to escape the courtyard. Agda instead remained perfectly still.
"I see dried blood", she said after taking a look at Steinarius' armor. The Nord couldn't understand the reason behind that weird request. "The blood of your enemies, I suppose. After all, you're always covered in blood. I guess it fits your role as the savior of the world".
Much to Agda's dismay, Steinarius reacted to her words by giving her a long look of disgust.
"You're so concentrated on your little revenge run that you don't even realize what is going on around you", he hissed. "The blood on my cuirass belongs to a person you love dearly and that might be dead as we're speaking. If you really cared about her, you would have surely noticed her absence".
Those words finally broke through Agda's calm façade. Upon listening to them, the girl namely noticed that Adaeze was nowhere to be seen. That realization caused a sharp bolt of fear to run through her body.
"Adaeze..."
When Steinarius nodded, Agda felt as though she'd just been struck by a lightning. She felt sorry for noticing Adaeze's absence only then and she was terrified to find out what had happened to her.
"As I was telling you, life is not a fairy tale", the Dragonborn said after Agda covered her mouth with her hands and let out a pained cry. "Adaeze is a much better fighter than you, but she was stabbed while we were on a mission together. When I left her yesterday night, the healers didn't believe she would survive her injuries".
As soon as she heard those words, Agda felt a few tears gather in her eyes: had she not accepted Delphine's job, had she not ventured into Saarthal, had she not fallen into Ancano's trap, then Adaeze wouldn't have been hurt. That realization caused the girl to understand something important about herself: hatred and bloodlust had nothing to do with her plans to stop Ancano - quite on the contrary, Agda simply wanted to solve the problems she herself had created by unveiling the Eye of Magnus.
Unaware of the thoughts that were running through Agda's mind, Steinarius took another step towards her. The shocked expression on her face managed to calm him down.
"Agda, you can't imagine how I felt when I realized that Adaeze had been hurt", he said in a whisper. The man was talking so low that no one but Agda could hear him. Also, his grey eyes were now completely full of sufferance. "I can't go through that once again - and I surely can't go through that with you. If you want to help me, just stay here and keep these people safe. It's all I'm asking you, Agda".
The young mage was silent for a long moment. She was moved by the pleading tone Steinarius was using and she knew that the raw pain in his eyes was real. Yet, the girl had already made up her mind about what to do. She couldn't just sit there and wait for others to clean her mess.
"You are right, Steinarius: life is not a fairy tale", Agda eventually said after a long break. She was well aware that most of Winterhold was now looking at her, just like she was aware of the Dragonborn's worried eyes fixed on her face. "But I'm not a child either, Stein. I'm a grown woman and I'm more than capable of making decisions on my own. I'm coming with you and there's nothing you can do to make me change my mind about it".
At that point, despite the Dragonborn's protests, Agda turned her back to him and asked a nearby guard to fetch her a horse. Agda didn't care about Steinarius' outraged cries, just like she didn't care about the way Mirabelle was trying to talk her out of her plan: right then, the young Nord was determined to leave Winterhold and finally put an end to all the troubles she'd caused by discovering the Eye of Magnus in the first place.