We're making progress in the Mages Guild storyline, the Main Quest should be starting up 2 or 3 chapters from now.

I was originally going to post these weekly, but now I'm thinking I should just post them whenever they're done. I don't know, what do you guys think?

Onmund:

The hooded Dunmer looked up at Onmund as he entered the office. "Ah. One of the new apprentices I assume? I don't believe we have had the pleasure of speaking."

Onmund shook his head. "No, sir." Better to be polite with authority figures. Especially authority figures with powerful magic.

The Archmage chuckled a bit. "Sir? How quaint." He stood and turned to face the window. Well, I am Savos Aren, Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold. I am quite content to see any aspect of magic explored here." He turned back to Onmund, giving him a stern look. "But I do not and will not approve of any research that will cause purposeful harm to other members of the College. Are we clear?"

Onmund nodded vigorously. "Crystal, sir."

Archmage Aren cracked a smile. "Good. Now, how can I help you?"

Onmund cleared his throat. "I, um...came to speak with you about Saarthal."

Archmage Aren sighed. "Please don't tell me another apprentice has been incinerated. I have enough to deal with right now."

Onmund shivered a bit. Was this a common occurrence? "No sir. We found some kind of orb...thing? Tolfdir thought it was important and said I should come tell you about it."

Archmage Aren nodded. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It seems I will have to see this discovery for myself. Perhaps you and your fellow apprentices can search for more information on the subject. Speak to Urag in the Arcaneum. See if he has any information." He made to leave, then stopped and picked up a staff leaning on the wall. "And...good work." He handed the staff to Onmund. "Perhaps this will help the next time you find yourself exploring Nordic ruins."

He opened the door to leave. "Sir?" Onmund asked. "One more question, if I may?"

"Of course."

"Have you ever met the Psijic Order?"

The Archmage thought, then shook his head. "Not personally. A member of their order used to advise the Archmage back when I was an Apprentice here. But that was a long time ago. All their members were called back to the Isle of Artaeum, and it disappeared entirely."

"A long time ago?"

The Archmage winked at Onmund. "Let's just say what you learn here will last a lifetime. Or several, if you're lucky." With that, he closed the door and Onmund was left alone.

Taking the Archmage's advice, Onmund walked across the hall to the Arcaneum. Onmund wasn't sure why they didn't just call it a library, since that's basically what it was. Oh well.

However, Onmund didn't make much progress towards the librarian (Arcanearian?) before someone in a longcoat stepped in front of him. Onmund looked up to see a very stern and disapproving elf face looking down at him. "You there! I have some questions for you."

Startled, Onmund backed up a few steps. "Y...yes?" He realized that he'd instinctively summoned a ball of lightning in his hand. Hoping that Arcano hadn't noticed, he quickly snuffed it out.

"You were in Saarthal, yes? It has come to my attention that something was found there."

Onmund looked away to avoid the elf's stare. "Maybe...why does it matter to you?"

Ancano crossed his arms. "Whatever was discovered, it was significant enough that Tolfdir sent a new apprentice, alone, to deliver word to the Archmage. That sounds like the sort of thing that should matter to anyone. Especially me."

"Ancano!" came a shout. Both males turned to see Faralda, Brelyna, and J'zargo. Faralda was glaring at the Altmer. "I don't know what sort of duties you have as advisor to the archmage, but I am quite sure that accosting apprentices are not among them."

Suddenly the Thalmor was calm. "I assure you, Faralda, I was merely inquiring about the new discovery within Saarthal."

"Then you can ask the Archmage about it when he gets back. These apprentices have work to do and they don't need your interference!" Saying that, she shooed him out of the room.

Brelyna looked after them. "So that's Ancano. He's about as slimy as I imagined."

Onmund let out a sigh of relief. "What's a Thalmor doing at the college, anyways?"

J'zargo shrugged. "J'zargo heard he was supposed to be some sort of advisor. Nobody trusts that one, it seems."

Brelyna shook her head. "He's a Thalmor, of course he can't be trusted.. I don't know why they let him in here at all." She turned back to Onmund. "Where's Minerva, by the way? Wasn't she with you?"

Onmund shook his head. "She was pretty wiped out by the time we got back. I don't think she's used to the cold up here, and with the battle we had before...well..." he shrugged. "Mirabelle shooed her off to bed after I couldn't convince her to rest." That's when he saw the book in J'zargo's hands. "What's that?"

J'zargo smiled. "J'zargo was curious about the note that he found on Jyrik, so he decided to do a bit of research."

Minerva:

"Yes...yes she has found a Word Wall, my lord..."

Minerva was standing in the middle of a white circular room. The furnishings were sparse, save for statues lining the walls, and a chair sitting on a dias at the very opposite of the room. The chair was ornate, almost like a throne.

"No, I don't believe she suspects...I mean it's not common knowledge..."

Minerva had been in the room before, when she was sleeping. Never in real life though. She'd been visiting this room more and more as of late. Minerva vaguely wondered if that meant anything.

"Oh, it seems like she's arrived!" A man suddenly appeared in front of the dias. He had brown hair and a roundish face, and wore plain grey priestly robes. This man would occasionally show up whenever Minerva was in the room. Sometimes he'd ask questions. Sometimes he'd just observe her. As for who he was...

"So you're back," said Minerva, crossing her arms. "Planning on being any less cryptic this time?"

The man smiled. "So you found something in Saarthal, right?"

Minerva took that as a no. She sighed. "If you're referring to that orb, I don't think anyone has any idea what it is."

"That orb is interesting. And powerful to say the least."

"Mind telling me what it does, then?"

"I was actually referring to the Word Wall you and that boy found."

Minerva sighed. "Oh, that. So Onmund was right about what it was."

"Mind telling me what happened when you saw it?"

Minerva looked at him. "Will you tell me what it means if I do?" No answer. "...ugh, fine." Minerva thought back. "Well, one second it just looked like chicken-scratch, but then...part of it started glowing...I think? And then I suddenly understood the word, clear as day."

The man leaned forward. He looked strangely proud. "Which word?"

Minerva closed her eyes and tried to remember. "...Iiz. That was the word."

The man hummed. "Iiz, hm? That's a fine one to start off with. Helpful in a fight."

Minerva blinked. "Huh? What's that mean?"

The man went silent. He looked behind himself at the throne. After a few moments of staring at it, he nodded and turned back to Minerva.

"That boy...Onmund, you said his name was? Did he mention how many Word Walls there were?"

Minerva thought. Onmund had said a Word Wall, not the Word Wall. "I think he did mention there was more than one."

The man nodded. "I'd suggest tracking more of them down. After all, understanding those words will be helpful."

"But why? And why can I understand them?"

No answer to that. Just another glance back at the throne. Then a raised eyebrow, and a stifled laugh.

Minerva crossed her arms. "Hey! Who are you talking to?"

The man turned back to Minerva and grinned. "About that Onmund boy...how do you feel about him?"

Minerva's jaw dropped. "What in Oblivion does that even-"

Then she was back in her bed. "Well that was even more surreal than usual," she muttered, getting up.

As she exited her room, Minerva saw an Altmer (Faralda, she remembered) sitting on the edge of the magicka pool with a sour look on her face. "Something wrong?" Minerva asked.

Farada looked up. "Oh, Minerva! You're awake, good. Nothing's wrong, I just had to deal with Ancano again."

Minerva remembered the elf she'd seen Mirabelle talking to when she'd first arrived and bristled. "The Thalmor? What'd he do?"

"He was harassing Onmund about what was found in Saarthal. Luckily I managed to chase him off."

"Where is he now?"

"Onmund? I think he's still in the Arcaneum."

That wasn't who Minerva was asking about, but she'd take it. "Thanks. I'll go make sure that ass doesn't bother him again."

With that, she left the student hall and walked across to the Hall of Attainment. It didn't take her long to find Onmund and the others, since they were right inside the Arcaneum. As she entered, she heard J'zargo talking to the others. "J'zargo found a very interesting story about this Jyrik."

Jyrik. That's right, that was the name of the being they'd fought. "What's the story?" she asked.

Onmund and J'zargo both nearly jumped out of their chairs. Barely a just looked up and smiled. "Have a nice nap?" she asked kindly.

Minerva shrugged and took a seat. "Kinda. I had a pretty weird dream though. I blame the orb thing." She looked at the others. "Did you find out anything else about it?"

Brelyna shook her head. "It's powerful. Really powerful. And that's about all we know for now."

J'zargo grinned. "J'zargo did, however, find information about the undead that vexed us so." He gestured to a book on the table, with the title"Lost Legends" on the cover. "To summarize, this Jyrik fellow was one of three brothers who rose up and murdered their father, an Archmage. Or perhaps the king of that time killed him and framed the brothers. Either way, the brothers were chased into the night and defeated, and the king ordered all records struck from history."

Minerva nodded. "That would explain the 'may your name and deeds be forgotten forever' bit." J'zargo grinned. "The note also mentioned the amulet or 'charm' that J'zargo found on him. J'zargo wonders if the other brothers have charms as well. Especially since this one seems to be...incomplete."
"Hate to interrupt your excitement, but you're probably gonna have to wait on that," said a gruff voice. The group turned to see an orc, wearing college robes with white hair in a topknot.

"Mr. Gro-Shub," said Onmund respectfully. "Were you able to find any books on Saarthal? Or that orb?"

The orc pinched the bridge of his nose. "Please, no more of this 'Mr.' business. It's Urag. Or Gro-Shub. Not 'Mr.'" He sighed. "And to answer your question: no, I don't have anything for you. Not anymore anyway."

Brelyna frowned. "Not anymore. Was something taken?"

Urag nodded. "Orthorn, a former apprentice here, stole a number of books when he ran off to Fellglow Keep to join those Summoners. Some kind of peace offering, I would guess. I think one of those volumes might have something you need. If you want them, you'll have to find Orthorn."

Minerva shook her head. "Why hasn't someone been sent by now? Doesn't anyone care that he stole shit?"

Urag shrugged. "Not enough to bother with it. Archmage Aren's approach to these things is to let them sort themselves out. Though, I guess you'll be doing the sorting yourself."

"Who are these Summoners?" J'zargo inquired, his tail twitching.

Urag groaned and rolled his eyes. "They were a group of mages who left over a...well, let's call it a difference of opinion. They were interested in research that goes outside the bounds of what the college allows. So they were...persuaded to leave."

Minerva heard Onmund sigh. "I guess those experiments involved some pretty nasty things. That would explain the speech that Archmage Aren gave me."

"What did he say, exactly?" asked Brelyna.

"Basically, you're free to do what you want as long as you're not trying to hurt anyone. I...kind of feel like that shouldn't need to be stated, but..."

Brelyan shook her head. "You'd be surprised." She turned back to Urag. "So, Fellglow Keep you said?"

Urag nodded. "It's pretty far south of here, in the north of Whiterun Hold I think. You should probably prepare yourselves before leaving. Attend a few more classes, get more food, that kind of thing."

Minerva jumped up at the mention of food. "Is it time for dinner yet?"

Urag sighed. "Yes, it's time for dinner." Minerva ran off, her stomach grumbling. "No food in the Arcaneum!" Urag yelled after her.

"Come, we should hurry before Minerva eats everything," chuckled J'zargo. "Including the table."

"I heard that!" Minerva yelled back.

Next chapter they head to Fellglow, and then things really start to pick up.