Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, I just got the vaccine and it took me out for the whole weekend.

CorporateColonel - Thank you so much! I'm glad you're looking forward to this!

J'zargo

"Look, all I'm saying is that you haven't checked the entirety of the Blue Palace yet!" Sir Neloren was arguing with the court mage again. J'zargo shook his head. This had been going off and on for days. Sure, it had given him time to sneak away and get the second piece of the amulet, currently united with the first around his neck. But now it was just getting annoying.

"And I'm once again reminding you that the Pelagius Wing is closed to everyone for a reason!" the court mage replied, crossing her arms. "You're trying my patience, Neloren!"

They had been back and forth at this for hours. J'zargo thought if he rolled his eyes again they might give up and fall out of his skull.

And yet, all the same... this wasn't the only place that J'zargo had heard of the Pelagius Wing.

Yesterday, J'zargo had been out for a walk to get some fresh air when a man had run up to him. He'd been babbling about how his "master" was missing and was probably in the Pelagius Wing, how his master's realm was falling into disrepair, "we are all lost and forever grey"...he was really quite the drama queen. But whoever his "master" was did sound important, and the man had promised a reward if J'zargo managed to bring him back.

By the time he realized the man had shoved a human pelvis into his hands and ran off, it was too late to reconsider. No matter how much J'zargo tried to get rid of the bone (throwing it down a well, leaving it in his room, tossing it out a window...) it was always back in his bag after a few seconds. Something about the bone was enchanted, obviously, and it was really taking up space and being annoying.

Perhaps the Pelagius Wing had even more important things besides that book that Sir Neloren was looking for. While the two other mages argued, J'zargo slipped out of the room. Might as well check out the wing, since everyone was making such a fuss over it.

Onmund

Onmund wasn't sure he wanted to know how so many skeletons got under the Midden, much less how they'd been reanimated. It was probably just excess magic from all the spells being cast in the college above...right?

The Daedric gauntlet and the charred bodies he'd found in one of the rooms had made his stomach squeeze as well. What happened to not endangering other students and staff? Was this before the rule was implemented? Onmund hoped so. He took the journal that was near the bodies. Better that other people not try this for now, probably.

After all that, Onmund stood before a locked door. Taking a deep breath, he reached out to knock. But before he could, a raspy voice came from the other side. "I must warn you. Your perseverance will only lead you to disappointment."

Onmund took a few steps back. "H...hello? Are you the Augur, sir?" No response. "I...I'm sorry to disturb you, but it really is urgant. It's about-"

"The Eye of Magnus, I know," the voice came again.

Well, of course he did, Onmund thought. He was an Augur after all. Onmund had found the definition after looking through the Arcanium a bit. "The Psijic Order told me that it's going to cause a disaster...somehow. They said you might know what to do to help stop it." There was silence. "I..." Onmund swallowed. "Please, I just don't want anyone to get hurt. Not if I can prevent it."

There was a quiet sigh. "Very well. Enter." Onmund heard the click of the door unlocking. He took a deep breath and pushed it open.

Whatever Onmund had expected, it wasn't what he saw before him. Inside the room was a glowing ball of light, but not like a Magelight. More like a star that had fallen to Nirn, shimmering and twinkling. Onmund looked around the room. There was nothing in there except for the light.

"You have an honest heart, young Nord. But your efforts are in vain," the voice came again. Onmund yelped as he realized the voice was coming from the light itself. "Ack! S...sorry. So, you're the Augur, sir?" Then he realized what the light had said and his heart sank. "Wait...in vain?"

"I am he, yes. And it has already begun. Those who have sent you have not told you what they seek. What you seek."

Onmund nodded. "They said that your vision might be...more clear...or something like that? What am I seeking?"

"That which all who wield magic seek. Knowledge."

Well, he wasn't wrong. "I mean, I want the knowledge to protect-"

"Know this, young Nord. Knowledge corrupts. Destroys. Consumes. If you seek shelter in knowledge, you shall not find it. The Thalmor sought the same thing. I have seen that it will lead to his end. As it has for so, so many others."

The Thalmor? "Shor's balls!" Onmund cursed. "Ancano was down here, too?"

"Indeed, though he asked very different questions. Your path differs from most. You did not come see me on your own, for your own sake. You let yourself be guided, be pushed. You cede to others so that you might save your college."

There was more silence. "It is...a good path. An admirable one. Many mages would rather die, let others die, then cede to others. I will tell you what you need to know."

Onmund let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, sir."

J'zargo

J'zargo was starting to regret his life decisions. After entering the Pelagius wing, a thick mist had enveloped J'zargo's entire vision, causing him to lose his way. When it cleared, J'zargo was standing in a sparse, greyish clearing. His mage robes were gone, replaced by fancy, hard to move in clothes. Complete with a hat that covered J'zargo's ears. He took it off immediately, annoyed.

It was all the fault of the Skooma Cat. Of course. Apparently he had been visiting with the spirit of Pelagius the Mad. More like feasting and talking nonsense with the spirit of the mad king. Which apparently counted as helping, according to the Skooma Cat.

And he wasn't leaving until Pelagius was good and helped. And neither was J'zargo. So J'zargo had to help.

So now J'zargo was stuck on a seemingly impossible puzzle. He was standing overlooking an arena as two atronachs battled ceaselessly. Directly across from him was Pelagius, or a version of him at least.

This was the skooma cat, of course, so the solution couldn't be obvious, right? But how was he supposed to solve it? There had to be a way to solve it, right? The first puzzle he'd gone to had an easy solution so...

But wouldn't that be just like the Skooma Cat? To have only one puzzle have a solution, to drive people insane looking for solutions to the other puzzles? Was J'zargo doomed to fail?

No, no that couldn't be right. J'zargo shook his head. He was overthinking this. There had to be a way to win. There always was.

J'zargo shifted his attention to Pelagius. The man had two bodyguards standing on either side, glaring at the proceedings. The Skooma Cat had called this "the path of Paranoia." What did that mean?

Paranoia meant never letting your guard down. Never letting your guard... J'zargo studied the two bodyguards. It might actually be that simple. He took aim with the staff and fired a quick two bursts at the bodyguards. He would have preferred to be sneakier about it, but there seemed to be no way to directly get to where they were.

J'zargo's aim was true after experimenting with magic for so long, and two magical bursts slammed into the bodyguards' chests. Suddenly, in their place stood two fearsome, rabid-looking wolves. They immediately set upon Pelagius, and J'zargo winced as he heard bones crushing and Pelagius screaming from clear across the arena.

The Skooma Cat's voice echoed around him, with that annoying laugh. "Hoho! I thought you'd never figure it out. Now that the threat is gone, Pelagius is under the delusion that he is completely safe! That'll be a big help...sort of. Anyway, one more path to go. We're that much closer to home!"

J'zargo wondered what that meant. Well, what good was paranoia after you were dead? Perhaps that was the point. J'zargo shook his head. Strange was the mind of the skooma cat indeed...

Minerva

Minerva approached the altar, panting hard. "Okay...I'm here. Now where's that horn?"

There wasn't a horn on the altar. Just a piece of paper. Minerva picked it up.

Dragonborn,

I need to speak to you. Urgently.

Rent the attic room at the Sleeping Giant in Riverwood, and I'll meet you.

A friend

Minerva crumpled the paper in her hand. She took a deep breath. "WHAT THE FU-"

Next chapter: Minerva finds out who left the note, and Brelyna starts on her own quest