Bethesda owns the Elder Scrolls series. –D
The next couple of weeks passed in a blur of ink-stains and writer's cramp. There were a few setbacks, one of which was caused by Baladas forgetting that Aldmeris had four tenses. Winterbell was starting to see Dwemmer and Aldmeris in her sleep. Baladas didn't seem to sleep at all, he was still working when Winterbell went to bed and was always awake before she got up.
Frostfall continued to reign unchallenged, although it did not snow again. Winterbell wondered idly how the Mage's Guild was getting on; she hadn't seen her friends since the Night of All Souls. She shook her head; she had better things to do than worry about Marayan's family troubles.
"I've got it!" Baladas leapt to his feet, "I think." He muttered, frowning, and sat down again. Winterbell sighed. Baladas wasn't the most scintillating company when he was working. Much as she was interested in the results of the research, she was getting bored. She found herself thinking wistfully of the tombs and bandit caves waiting unexplored in the wilderness. That cave Ajira had mentioned, the mysterious item; Winterbell's imagination fired at the thought. It would take a day or two walking along the pilgrim path to Kand, but how long would it take to find the cave? Winterbell's mind continued to wander.
There was a soft snore, and Baladas looked up from the sheets of parchment. He smiled faintly, and whispered,
"Levitate."
Winterbell awoke in an unfamiliar bed. She yawned, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Balada's bed. She sat bolt upright and looked about wildly.
"How did I get here?"
Baladas was cooking some kawana eggs over the fire. He looked back at her, "You feel asleep. I levitated you there."
"Ugh," Winterbell shivered as her feet hit the cold floor, "You should have put me back downstairs, or better yet, woken me up."
"You've been working hard, you deserve your rest."
"How long have we been working? What time is it? What day is it?"
"Spoken like a true scholar, Winterbell. Would you like an egg?"
"I'll have two, thanks. Where did you sleep?"
"I didn't. I find I need less sleep as the centuries pass. I only sleep every few days now."
Winterbell may have been well-rested, but she was still bored.
"Now I know how Telvanni live so long. Everyone else eventually dies of boredom."
"What?" Baladas looked up, "Did you say something?"
"No, nothing."
It came as quite a shock when Baladas announced that they were finished. He placed three piles of parchment in front of Winterbell proudly.
"I can't read this." Winterbell said.
"Of course you can't. It's in Aldmeris."
"Could you perhaps provide a translation?"
"Well, to be honest I'm not sure what they all mean. I think it will take a couple of centuries or so of study to work that out. But I can give you the gist as best I understand it."
"That will be fine." Winterbell waited, quill poised over paper.
"Well, from what I gather this is a recipe for creating a god through scorcery, although, as I said, I don't understand all of it. According to The Egg of Time it's not actually dangerous to link to a source of divine power. I must say their arguments are quite persuasive."
Winterbell stared, agast, "I think we can safely assume the book was wrong." She said faintly.
"Well, it seems that way." He said, with a vaguely disappointed air. "Is that enough detail for you?"
"I think I can write a report to satisfy Trebonius with this." Winterbell looked up at Baladas, "Thank you. You didn't have to do all of this."
"I know. But it was amusing, and interesting. I dare say I'll have some fun dangling this knowledge in front of Aryon's nose."
"You've seen his museum?"
"No. But I've heard of it. That man is an exhibitionist, not a scholar. I'm sure he has no idea of the true value of his artifacts."
"Well, I appreciate your hard work and the time you spent. And as soon as I have this report handed in I'll see about getting you that ring you wanted." Winterbell said brightly, her mind already running though all the things she'd need to take. She bowed politely and went downstairs to start packing.
"You're welcome." He said quietly.
Baladas glanced about his study. Books and papers were strewn everywhere. He could hear Winterbell swearing at Zergonipal on the floor below. With an irritable wave of his hand the room rearranged itself in a fizzing wave of magicka. He still wasn't happy.
"Oh, hang it all." He strode downstairs.
"Winterbell." Such was the suddenness of his arrival; Winterbell nearly dropped the potion she was holding. "I'll do it."
"Uhh…do what exactly?"
Baladas set his jaw, "I'll rejoin the council. I'll take you to the top."
"Oh." Winterbell felt a stab of worry, "You don't have to decide yet you know."
"No, I've made up my mind. I've been stuck out here too long; revenge is best served cold, not fossilized."
"Well then. I seem to have promoted myself to Mouth. What exactly happens now?"
"You talk to Aryon, and the next time the council is attended by a councillor you and whoever I choose as my Mouth will be inducted into the council. So, whenever Aryon thinks is convenient, basically."
"Someone in the Mage's Guild is bound to notice."
"Like who? It was sheer chance you were found out last time. Trebonius is a nutcase, Edwinna is wrapped up in her studies and we keep the Wolverine Hall lot under fairly close observation. There's Caldera, have you ever been to Caldera, Winterbell?"
"No."
"I don't think we need to worry about them. That leaves Balmora, which I gather is your powerbase anyway. Remember, Winterbell, when the time is right, you will want everyone to know."
"You're not still going on about this 'uniting the factions' thing, are you?"
"Archmagister is a very real possibility for you. It's up to you to say if you think that Archmage is as well."
Winterbell considered, "Trebonius is crazy. The only reason he's still there is that no one else suitable wants the job. I'm sure Ranis would love to get it, but no one will support her."
"Will they support you?"
"After this report, very probably. But I'm nowhere near high enough up to be considered for Archmage."
"Then you might want to work on that. Timing will be important. Talk to Aryon when you are ready, there's no point in rushing things."
When Winterbell stepped from the Guild Guide platform in Balmora there was a spontaneous wave of applause. Winterbell rolled her eyes and grinned in acknowledgement. Much the same thing had happened in Vivec, when she had proudly placed her report in Trebonius's hands. To her disappointment he didn't have a reward for her; in fact he seemed to have forgotten sending Winterbell on the quest in the first place. She had given a copy of the report to Sirilonwe as well, in case Trebonius lost his copy. It also didn't hurt to have as many people as possible aware of her academic triumph.
"Well done." Ajira clapped her on the back.
"So that's where you've been." Ranis didn't look terribly impressed. Winterbell supposed she'd have to do a few more duties for the cranky mage to get back in her good books. Marayan was looking tired, but he grinned widely when he saw Winterbell. To her surprise, he pulled her into a one-armed embrace,
"Brilliant work. You'll make history, Winterbell." His words were a cheerful and innocent echo of Baladas's. Winterbell frowned, Am I betraying these people? It was with the Balmora Mage's Guild chattering gleefully around her that Winterbell resolved that she would never place Telvanni interests over those of the Guild. It was a vow she truly intended to keep.
The content of Winterbell's report caused quite a bit of comment as well. To her disappointment Edwinna dismissed the work as having no bearing on learning how to construct Dwemmer Centurions. She also didn't believe that the translation was very accurate. Winterbell bristled, but said nothing.
With the eyes of the Guild on her, Winterbell became for a time the very model of a Mage's Guild member. She did quests for Ranis and Skink, delivered documents, found ingredients and generally made herself known and helpful.
Despite all of this, there were vague rumours of a Telvanni spy circulating. Winterbell paid close attention to the rumours but said nothing. Most people did not seem concerned about the prospect, as Ajira said,
"They've got more to hide than we have."
"Maybe they're trying to understand Trebonius?" Estirdalin said.
"If they can, then they deserve to put their mushroom towers on Vivec's Palace itself."
"Don't joke like that, Ajira. We know they would if they could."
"Somehow I can't see all the Telvanni combined being a threat to the Living God."
Winterbell told Ajira that she was going to find those necromancers. Everyone wished her luck as she took the Stilt Strider to Molag Mar. Winterbell felt vaguely guilty about deceiving them, but wanted nothing to connect her to the promotion of the new Telvanni Mouths.
Winterbell took several boats to Vos, where Aryon received her courteously. He had received a message from Baladas, and commended Winterbell on her persuasive skills. Winterbell was quite sure Aryon had the wrong idea about her relationship with Baladas, but didn't bother to try and explain.
Winterbell travelled with Aryon to Sadrith Mora. Although he could have used magic, he told her it was sometimes useful to travel more slowly, so as to give those at your destination a chance to prepare.
Although Nelos would have been obliged to house them at his tower, Aryon vehemently decided that they would stay at the Gateway Inn. There had been rumours of a haunting, but by the time Aryon and his entourage arrived it had apparently been taken care of by someone from the Fighter's Guild.
Winterbell thought the Gateway much pleasanter than Nelos's tower, and decided to stay there in future. With bandit caves yielding so much loot, money was no object for the mage.
That night Winterbell sat in her room, her best robe laid out for the next day. Right then she wished she was somewhere, anywhere, else. She wished Baladas would show up. House Telvanni, she decided, was a lonely place.
There was a knock at the door. To Winterbell's surprise, it was Aryon. He smiled kindly at her,
"Nervous?"
"Just a bit."
He folded his long frame into a chair, while Winterbell perched on the bed, "Tell me," He said, "What's the Mage's Guild like?"
"Rowdy. I suppose it's like…Telvanni is the Council Club and the Mage's Guild is like a Cornerclub."
"Full of thieves?"
"Well, there are one or two," said Winterbell, thinking of Galbedir and Edwinna. "But I mean that it's brighter and cheaper and smaller; friendly."
"I see," he looked down, "so you prefer it there?"
"I don't know. I have friends there, but their petty rivalries and continuous in-jokes get stifling after a while. I don't know where I fit in."
"Hmm. Well, I have an offer for you, Winterbell. If you somehow manage to remain in the Mage's Guild, after we get rid of Gotheren I'm willing to denounce you as a Guild spy, with your co-operation, and you can go back to the Guild."
"That's…that's very generous of you."
"To be honest I don't know what will happen after Gotheren is gone. He might manage to unite the councillors against him, but after that? Who knows? What I'm trying to say is certain factions in the House might not want you around after this is all over."
"And that's an easy way out."
"If you want to stay on as Archmagister then I will continue to support you, I merely offer this as an alternative. Although I highly doubt you will still be in the Mage's Guild by the time Gotheren goes. Maybe they will let you back."
"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."
"You're a mystery to me, Winterbell. What is it you want out of all of this?"
"I've been thinking about that for a while. I want out. Out in the best, most advantageous way possible. Out so I don't have half of Vvardenfell after my scalp. Out so I clear my debts."
"I…see. Well, actually I don't."
"Don't worry; you'll get what you want. I'll do my best to get rid of Gotheren."
"And that is all I ask."
"It's all you'll get." Winterbell said flatly, "I understand all of this is to the advantage of your own political ends."
"Then you understand Telvanni." He stood and bowed before heading out, "Good night Winterbell. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Good night, sir."
During that conversation something had clicked in Winterbell's mind. The details were hazy, but she was beginning to see a solution to this mess. She smiled to herself,
"The only way out is up."