good intentions
"Volkihar, someone is here to see you."
That melodic voice wakes her. She was just roaming her forgotten home in her sleep. Trying to memorize the hallways and painting she had. She was certain one of the most famous ones that went missing in Cyrodiil centuries prior was there. With a glimpse of it, she had felt a searing rage. Her father was responsible for the destruction of her home. No one else.
"Hm?" She turns, finding herself still weighted down by sleep. Serana's tangled hair falls over her face. "What time is it?"
"A little past five thirty in the morning." Vorstag comes to the edge of the bed and brushes some of that hair from her face. "The man is adamant he sees you."
Well, if that's the case… Serana stands and pulls on her armor, so she looks somewhat presentable. She wanders to the door and finds the man is knocking once again. "Who is it?" She pulls it open slowly.
And promptly slams it shut.
"What is it?" Vorstag is behind her. He lays a hand on her shoulder, she knows his other is reaching for a weapon.
"Ancano." She says. "I don't want to talk to him…he's…somethings off about him."
"I've noticed." Vorstag tightens his grip.
The Altmer on the other side clears his throat. "If you don't mind, I would just like to speak to you for a moment." He says in a strained voice.
No way in Oblivion was she going to open that door again. She puts her hands on it, just so he doesn't push it.
"There's a back exit. We can climb to the roof and leap off the other side." Vorstag whispers in her ear.
She almost took that offer. She'd rather just walk around with Vorstag until they had to see Mirabelle anyways. But the next words she hears give her pause.
"I have some information on Mannimarco. I know you were quite keen on the subject. I took some liberty into digging into his past some."
She bets he did. "What kind of research?" She asks.
"Open the door and I will tell you. I have to show you, so we'll have to walk a bit." He tells her.
She glances over her shoulder to see Vorstag watching her with hesitation. "If you wish. But I'm going with you."
"As long as my friend can come along." She calls through the door.
A scuffling of feet and a flustered heart. "Fine. Fine. Bring him. Just, hurry. I'd like to show you all I can then we can go our separate ways for the lectures today."
"He's antsy." Vorstag breathes into her ear.
"I know." She says it just as lowly. "But if he has information I would like to know."
She relaxes, just steadies her quick breathing and pulls open the door. She's thankful she took that time, Ancano has a completely fake and almost grotesque smile plastered to his face. "Ah, good. There you are. I want to assure you, I have nothing but the best of intentions."
"Let's go then." She waves a hand in front of her.
The man turns on his heel, signaling them to follow. It was odd, it was as if he were as anxious to be around them as she was with him. She watches his back for a moment and finds that weird feeling never coming about. There isn't an image of another man on him.
She doesn't dare let her guard down though.
The walk wasn't far, just to the edge of the courtyard, near the Hall of Elements. They were actually nearing the corner when Ancano stopped in front of the brick wall. "You're showing us the edge of the building?" Vorstag asks.
She wishes to jab him with her elbow but she has the good grace to keep her composure.
"No. It's not there. Here." He waves a glowing hand on the wall to remove the glamour. Showing a shimmering purple field of light in its place. "Come with me."
"I don't want to go in there." Serana eyes that portal.
He gives her a bored look. "It's a hallway. I'm going to show you pictures of Mannimarco's overtaking of necromancy, then it will spit us out on the other side just in time for you to find the Master Wizard."
"I'll be here." Vorstag grabs good hold of her hand.
She smiles back at him. "Alright. If anything weird happens…"
"I will be expelled from the College. Do you really, really think I'd chance that?" Ancano glares at her. "No? Good. Now follow me."
It was a weird feeling. This hallway didn't exist in reality, that's as much as Vorstag knew. It was some sort of grand illusion, but it was good. Wall after wall of cobblestone held a picture of the necromancer himself. Each one left a bad taste in Vorstag's mouth.
They started modest, showing Mannimarco in his early years, learning to wield magic, much like Serana was now. Then, they moved forwards, each conquest proving to be grimmer than the last. Mannimarco becoming a Lich. Fighting his friend. Eventually, they come across a peculiar piece of artwork.
"This was Mannimarco's apotheosis, when he turned to godhood." Ancano recites.
Serana leans in, closer to this painting to study it. It was a far away shot, showing the necromancer flying high above the Iliac Bay and leaving a beautiful tower behind. "He flew there?"
"It's the only way to complete the apotheosis. It's a complex process where one melds with the power of the gods. Or so I am told, there isn't much research on the subject since it is a very rare occurrence. Some are even skeptical that one is ascending to such heights." Ancano sneers at the painting.
It was odd. Again. Ancano seemed to be enjoying this tour as much as he would enjoy plucking out his own toenails. "Do you have family ties to him?" Vorstag asks, curiously.
"What? No. No of course not." Ancano seems to sweat. His eyes dart around here and there.
"No worries." Vorstag holds up his hands. "I just didn't know how you acquired all this knowledge."
"Years of minimal research on my own. It was a minor curiosity I had in my youth and after hearing Serana's interest in it, I decided I wished to tell her more." He glances down at the vampire who was a good foot shorter than him. "Why are you interested in learning all of this?"
She freezes but lies easily. Smart girl, Vorstag didn't even trust this man. "I just wanted to know more about him. I'm practicing Conjuration and soul gems were a part of it. I didn't know if he had anything to do with them."
"I see…" Ancano has those shifty eyes again. "It appears our time is over. We need to enter the Hall of Elements and continue on with our day. I wish you two a good afternoon and evening." He turns quickly without looking them in the eye and begins to open the portal.
Around that time, Vorstag saw it. An amulet of sorts had fallen from his pocket. It had a bright green and blue tint and was tied together with a black string. He was ready to pick it up for the man, but Serana stops him.
She tugs on his hand and gives him a knowing look. Clever girl. She bends down and snatches up the amulet before the Altmer can guess what happened.
"Here we are, good day you two." Ancano gives a slight nod and walks away with clipped steps.
"Weird." Serana watches him leave.
"Very odd. Did you get any new information from all that lecturing?" Vorstag asks.
She shakes her head, "Just the bare minimum. Maybe this will help." She holds up the amulet she swiped. The center of it was a glowing green skull. "Have you seen anything like this before?"
Vorstag studies it closley. "I have not, it has something to do with necromancy, maybe we can ask Phinis. Speaking of, are we seeing him today?"
"After we talk to Mirabelle and Tolfdir. I wanted to get more headway on creating another portal to the Soul Cairn. I know Tolfdir might be able to help."
"If he's not still obsessed with the orb." Vorstag jests.
"He might be." Serana pulls him along into the classroom. "Or he's…by the gods…" she trails off.
In the center of the room hovered that large orb. It's green and blue outer coating reflected light into the room, leaving everything in its unearthly glow.
"Ah good to see the both of you! If I didn't have your help, I would not have been able to bring this here." Tofdir exclaims from the other side. He greets them with a cheery smile.
"Good to see you're back in one piece." Vorstag takes the lead, the other man laughs.
"That I am! Have you two found anything useful?"
"Urag told me one of the books I found was a good place to start. Something about the 'Night of Tears'," Vorstag begins.
"Is that the one about something buried beneath Sarrthal? Something that men and mer fought over?" Tolfdir puzzles, "I'll have to make a point of re-reading it. I don't recall the details." He looks back to the orb. "I just can't seem to tear myself away. Whatever this is, its beauty is like nothing I've ever seen before. If you'd allow me to indulge myself for a moment, I thought I might make a few observations…" The professor begins to pace around the giant centerpiece and rattles off information.
Vorstag glances at Serana, he knows she's just itching to ask Tolfdir about the Soul Cairn but is biting her tongue due to his rambling. It would feel rude to interrupt…
"There you two are, I'm afraid I must intrude. It's urgent that I speak with your associates immediately, Tolfdir." Ancano moves through the shadows of the far room to address them.
Vorstag watches him. He doesn't even look at him or Serana, and he seems far less distressed than he was before.
"This is most inappropriate! We are involved in serious research here!" The professor brazenly exclaims.
"Yes," The Altmer drawls, "I've no doubt of its gravity. This, however, is a matter than cannot wait." Ancano stands right before Tolfdir and stares the man down.
"I've never been interrupted like this before…"
"Tolfdir, can I talk with you real quick?" Serana butts in on the conversation. She glances at Ancano. "I'll be with you in a moment." She says as sweetly as she can.
"We need to leave as soon as possible." Ancano calls after her, then he turns to Vorstag.
"Let her be." He tells the Altmer.
Ancano watches where Tolfdir and Serana stand. She's so excited, she 's moving her hands in exaggerated motions. Vorstag can hear just fine, he knows she is asking about the Soul Cairn but decides not to take in the details. "What do you need from us?" He quietly broaches the topic with Ancano.
"I'll show you, now." He says darkly when Serana comes back. "Follow me, you two. Someone from the Psiijic Order is here and wishes to talk with you, urgently."
"What's it matter to you?" Vorstag pushes.
"If it's a problem, then I will need to report it to the Aldmeri Dominion." He lies easily. Vorstag can feel it.
They have no choice but to climb the nearby steps and follow the Altmer into the Arch-Mage's room. All to find a man decked out in the most extravagant of robes. He watches them even though he already had a large crowd of College members before him. It was like a blink of the eye, one moment, the man was staring at Vorstag, the next, he was looking at the ceiling. Whatever happened?
"I understand." Serana tells him. Vorstag shoots her a glance, but she just looks at him. Just one look and he knows it would be better to ask her later.
She was frozen in time. Just like under Saarthal. "The situation here at your College is of dire importance and attempts to contact you as we have previously have failed." The man begins. "I believe it is due to the very source of our concern. This object…The Eye of Magnus as your people have taken to calling it. The energy coming from it has prevented us from reaching you with the visions you have already seen. The longer it remains here, the more dangerous the situation becomes. And so I have come here personally to tell you it must be dealt with."
Serana blinks at him. "I don't understand, what does this have to do with me? Does it have to do with Mannimarco?"
"That name…" The man's eyes seem to glow under his hood. "Do not. Speak that name."
Ice fills her core. "He's hunting me." She tells him.
"It is not my concern. The man is an outcast and should remain that way. You have to understand, you set this chain of events in motion in Saarthal. The Psijic Order does not typically…intervene directly in events. My presence will be seen as an affront to some within the Order. As soon as we have finished, I will be leaving your College." He pauses, "I'm all too aware that my arrival has aroused suspicion, especially in Ancano, your Thalmor associate."
He could say that again. Serana was still reeling from his immediate shut down of the topic of Mannimarco. Too many things were happening at once and there was no way they were all coincidental.
"My Order will not intervene directly. It is up to you." He prods.
"I…I still don't understand the problem." She tells him.
"As you have learned, this object…the Eye is immensely powerful. The world is not ready for it. If it remains here, it will be misused. Indeed, many in the Order believe it has already…Rather something will happen soon. Something that cannot be avoided."
Her head was spinning. "So what do I do?"
"Unfortunately, the future is as obscured to us as it is to you. The overwhelming power of the Eye makes it difficult for us to see. I fear I have already overstepped the bounds of my Order. But I will over this: seek out the Augur of Dunlain here in your College. His perception may be more coherent than ours."
"Alright." She nods. "Where is he?"
"I am unsure." The man says, honestly. "He is somewhere within the College. Surely one of your colleagues must know his location. I am sorry I cannot provide you with further help, but this conversation requires a great deal of effort on my part. I'm afraid I must leave you. We will continue to watch over you and guide you as best we can. It is within you to succeed, never forget that."
The world snapped back to normal. Serana almost fell forwards with the abruptness of it. Ancano was already questioning the man from the Psijic Order relentlessly. Serana just looked to Vorstag and nodded to the door. Thankfully, after all this time together, he understood.
"He just…shut you down when you asked about Mannimarco?" Vorstag asked incredulously. Serana kept her head down and hood up against the cold. It was getting frostier the further they descended into the Midden. It took a little while to find it but after running into a flustered Tolfdir, he directed them to look under the College for Augur of Dunlain. Poor guy must be freezing.
"He did. I tried to ask him again but he wouldn't let me get a word in. He just shoved all this information at me and let me go."
"Hm, it's almost like this artifact from Saarthal is a distraction." Vorstag muses.
"You know, I think you're right." She stops on the bridge they were walking on.
"I don't mean we should leave. I mean we will talk to this Augur Dunlain but keep an eye on things." He reminds her.
She looks up to him. "It could be. I asked Tolfdir about the Soul Cairn. He said it would be…difficult. But with enough time and effort we should be able to open it up. Come to think of it…"
"What?" He questions.
"Maybe this guy will know more about it." She pulls her hood down tighter and begins walking again with a sense of purpose.
"Your perseverance will only lead to disappointment." The voice behind the door warns. Vorstag grits his teeth. He'll break open the door if he has to, but he wishes this guy would be more cooperative.
"Let us in! I'm Serana Volkihar of Castle Volkihar. My father was…" Serana trails off as if thinking on her words. "My father was Lord Harkon."
"Still you persist?" The voice seems astonished. "Very well, you may enter."
She seems to sigh in relief, but Vorstag kept a good hand on his blade when the door opened. On the other side was something incredible.
A blue floating orb. Like a soul, hovered before them.
"I am which you have been seeking." The voice booms. "Your efforts are in vain. It has already begun."
"What has?" Serana pleads.
"Those who have sent you have not told you what they seek. What you seek." The voice continues.
"They are being the vaguest they can." Vorstag chimes in. "What is the matter and why are we here?"
"Like others before you, you blindly follow a path to your own destruction. The Thalmor cam seeking answers as well, unaware they will be his undoing. Your path now follows his, though you will arrive too late."
"What person?" Serana asks.
It's like he doesn't even hear her. "Your path differs from most. You are being guided, pushed towards something. It is a good path, one untraveled by many. It is a path that can save your College. I will tell you what you need to know to follow it further. You and those aiding you, wish to know more about the Eye of Magnus. You wish to avoid the disaster of which you are not yet aware. To see through Magnus' Eye without being blinded, you require his staff. Take this knowledge to the Arch-Mage."
The light begins to dim, but stubborn woman she is, Serana asks it. "What about Mannimarco? Is he a part of this?"
That might have been the wrong question to ask. The light, slowly dimming, suddenly blares with a fireball in the center that seems it might explode. Vorstag begins to pull Serana behind him, but she keeps her feet planted.
"What about him? Do you know him?" She yells into the inferno.
"You are cursed by him. Hunted. I wish to have no contact with him. Know your paths will collide. However you handle it is not up to me." The light flares further when Vorstag hears Serana yelling even more. The howling wind in the room snatches her words away, leaving Vorstag without knowledge of what she said.
All he remembers is waking up face down on the ground. The room was cold and dark now, damp. "You okay?" Serana pants. She lays a hand on his back.
"I…gods what was that?" He raises a hand to his head and slowly rises to his feet.
"I don't know. No one will tell me." Her voice breaks with frustration.
He looks down into her sweet face. He can see those bloody tears brimming. "Hey." He runs a finger to catch one of the tears. "We'll figure it out."
"I don't know if we can. It's all riddles and no substance! Not even the books are helping." She cries.
He knows she's about to break into sobs and he'll do anything to stop it. "It's okay, it's okay. Just know I'm here and I won't let anything happen to you." He promises.
"Why? Why? I'm not your family." She cries. He can see her begin to tremble.
"I want to help you. I wouldn't let anyone else be taken by him."
"No one else?" She pauses and he wishes he could pull his hair out. She might take it the wrong way.
"No. I mean. I would help anyone in this situation but you're more than anyone. You're special." His tongue wasn't forming the words he wanted, and she looked so confused. For once, the normally charismatic bard couldn't form a sentence.
She starts to pull away, the shock evident on her face but he couldn't leave her with that. By Oblivion, he was so foolish, but he had no other option. No other way to tell her how much he cared for her. Without another thought he leans down and kisses her.
Kisses her with such abandon. Gods, he wanted this from the very start. After he got to knew her a bit more. After she joked with him. He secretly wanted this but never really thought he could have it.
It was awkward enough, it was almost a clashing of teeth but she stopped him. Her lips meld to his and she pushes towards him. He almost sank into the embrace, and the tentative relief that she returns his affections, but instead he quickly pulls away.
Her large eyes stare up at him in shock. She just standing there, frozen. "Forget about it." Vorstag says immediately and turns on his heel. His heart was pounding out of his chest. He wondered how stupid he truly was. That was the worst thing he could do and now he had to lead her out. He couldn't run away from the awkwardness, not yet. By the gods, she didn't even really return it. She did a bit, he thought, but she just stood there.
Deep down, he was hurt she didn't call after him. Didn't lay a hand on his back to stop his quick ascent out of the Midden. Instead, he was left to his own thoughts.
Her lips buzzed. Serana was still so shocked she hasn't said a word yet. Based on Vorstag's rigid posture, he wasn't feeling too great about what he did. But what could she say?
She was surprised but secretly wanted more? She wasn't expecting that, but it might have been just what she needed? She wanted to broach the topic, but the current situation kept her attention.
They needed to find the Staff of Magnus, open the Soul Cairn and escape the clutches of Mannimarco before he came looking for her. The weight of the pressure felt heavy on her shoulders but she pushes forwards. She figures she will be forgiven for not talking to Vorstag that instant. Surely, he would understand…
She remained in that daze until they were standing right in front of Savos Aren. "We have information for you." Vorstag talks for her. She blinks up at him. Remembering his lips on hers.
"Really? And what might that be?" Savos asks them.
"Well, we need to find something called the Staff of Magnus."
The Arch-Mage pauses, "Well…I'd certainly love to have such a powerful staff, but I'm not really sure that any of us need it."
"We believe it's connected to the orb we found." Vorstag pushes.
"And how do you know this?"
Vorstag sighs, "We spoke with Augur of Dunlain."
"And he specifically mentioned the Staff of Magnus?" Savos Aren asks. "I'm impressed with your initiative. Of course, someone will need to follow up on this. Something as specific and ancient as the Staff of Magnus…I'm not sure we'd ever find something like that. I seem to recall Mirabelle mentioning the staff somewhat recently. See if she can tell you something about it."
He dismisses them and they're left to the silence.
"She's probably downstairs in the classroom." Vorstag says.
Serana grabs his arm. "Wait. I…" She wasn't sure what to say. "Thank you for everything back in the Midden. Comforting me. I needed it. It just feels like this weight holding me down." She says, earnestly.
He seems to hesitate under her touch but soon, he looks on her as he usually does. With humor and excitement. "Come now, Volkihar, you thought I'd be leaving you in the dust here? When all this excitement is going on?"
She laughs. She appreciates the easing of tension. But she's not sure if he's putting another wall up.
"Let's go. Mirabelle has to be waiting for us." He tells her and turns. Her heart flutters at the thought, but she pushes through that fear and leaps forwards. Vorstag bristles, as if surprised, but she just smiles up at him as she folds her hand in his. As it should be.
Mirabelle wasn't as helpful as Savos Aren made her out to be. She only told them how powerful the Staff of Magnus was, how important but how mythical it seemed, and where she thought it might lay. In the ruins of Mzulft. Out in the valleys near Windhelm.
Vorstag hadn't been there in so long. Possibly when he was a teenager. He watches Serana's expression. She became pensive, yet again. He told himself he wouldn't leave her, not after when he went to Fellglow Keep and found her nearly dead in the frozen fields. But here…if she stayed with Tolfdir and Phinis, worked with them on opening the Soul Cairn, he could deal with the brunt of the danger in Mzulft. She wouldn't have to step foot there.
"I'll go to Mzulft. I've been there before." He quickly adds. She turns to him with widening eyes.
"Why? I want to go with you, you shouldn't go alone."
He knew she'd say that, and he knew just what to say back. "There's too much to do. As you said, Mannimarco and the Soul Cairn come first. I can help the College in these matters while you further our goals."
She couldn't argue with that. She only pulled her hood up when they went out in the bright afternoon light. "I want to send Dawn with you." She tells him.
He doesn't dare tell her the Flame Atronach might be more of a distraction than a help. "That's fine."
"And if you don't come back in three days…I'll come looking for you." She warns him sternly.
He only laughs. "Ah, Volkihar. It takes a day to get there and one to get back. You might want to expand your timeline."
"Five days." She amends.
"Deal." He watches her. He sees the sadness beneath the surface. "Hey," He lifts her chin. "Perk up. You get to get ahead in your studies, and you get the bed all to yourself for a few days."
"And what do you get?" She watches him with those keen eyes of hers.
He shrugs. "Time away from all the astute scholars, some fighting here and there and most importantly, no snoring from my partner."
She smacks him in the shoulder. "I don't snore!"
"Yes you do, Volkihar." He laughs. "I think you're going to miss my bedtime stories and wake up calls."
"I won't." She growls and stomps off, but he can feel the amusement toiling beneath the surface.
Serana knew why he prodded her. It was to lessen the blow of his absence. Well, he'd have to do better than that. In truth, she would have fought more to go with him if she weren't so exhausted. Instead, she watches him wave before his departure with Dawn right behind him. Serana waves back.
"Worried about their journey? I can send more thralls with them." Phinis tells her.
She shakes her head, "I don't think that's necessary. I don't know if it would help."
"I suppose. They could turn…" He looks down at her with those dark eyes of his. "Speaking of, how are your studies?"
"Fine. I haven't practiced much since the other day." She tries not to think on it.
"I could have Faralda help us. As the professor of Destruction, she might be the most useful if the thralls turn on us."
She considers, "Actually, I was hoping we could work on the Soul Cairn. I want to open that portal as soon as we can."
Phinis nods. "Why not both? I have all day free and I'm sure I can drag Tolfdir away from his fascination with that orb, even just for a few hours."
"That works. There's some ingredients and herbs I'll need…"
"Try Savos Aren's garden. He wouldn't mind if you looked there." Phinis tells her.
Her brow furrows. "Really?"
"Sure. Whatever you need, we are at your disposal."
Phinis's words should have calmed her, but as she moved through the elaborate garden in the Arch-Mage's quarters Serana couldn't help but think she was missing something important. The amulet she swiped from Ancano burned in her pocket. Meanwhile, she was waiting for another word from Mannimarco. Now that he's spoken to her, she wonders why he hasn't spoken again. Unless he physically can't.
It was like another soul was in the room. She couldn't smell anyone as she picked some deathbells, but she could feel them. She glanced around. Half-expecting Mannimarco's shade to be there. Instead, something caws above her.
Her head snaps up and she jumps back just in time to see the raven drop its letter. It should have just flown off, thinking on it, she's not sure how it got in this room in the first place. But the bird swallows itself up in a purple orb.
There's no way this wasn't from mother. It was just like her to do something like this. Her heart is still racing but she scrambles across the way to pluck the note from a tangle of thorns. Serana's hands tremble as she opens the carefully creased paper. She has to keep from gasping at the contents.
He knows where you are, and he will be there soon.
A few days later, Vorstag finally was in Mzulft. It was somewhat difficult getting entrance, but he was actually happy Dawn was here with him. She sniped all the enemies she could from afar while he used his bow and arrows. Right in the ruins, he found exhaustion creeping in, so they slept there for the night. Well, he did. He wasn't really sure if the thrall could sleep, and he didn't ask.
Sometimes he talked to her, but mostly he stayed silent. She never said anything back, so it was like he was talking to himself. The next day, they set out to search the belly of Mzulft and find all it had to offer.
He ducks as another firebolt flies above him. It sails right into a Falmer that was trying to rearrange it's bow to kill Vorstag. Good for him. He leaps over the fray and tears into a Falmer with his dagger and throws it into the one with electricity. There was always a mage Falmer in the group. Contrary to popular belief, these creatures did have a sort of hierarchy. He thought he might look that up next time he was in the College library. It would be better than sleeping on the table.
Fangs latch onto his throat. He hadn't felt that in so long. He pulls the Falmer from him and with his newfound strength and flings the creature against the wall. It falls down with more than a few broken bones.
He stands panting. Dawn circles the room and kills off any stragglers she can. Vorstag searches the bodies around him but soon climbs the steps to one of those gilded doors. "Come now, Dawn, we don't have much further to go." He calls, "I can feel it."
He throws open the door only to find another. Instead, this time, when he pushes on the door there's a voice on the other side. "Gavros? Is that you? I'd almost given up hope." The voice sounds relieved. "Let me get the door…"
Vorstag doesn't have time to find cover, the door swings open and on the other side stands a mage with hands filling with flames. "Who are you? Where's Gavros?"
The man he saw in the begging. "Unfortunately, Gavros is dead." Vorstag begins, worried about what this man might think.
"It was the Falmer, wasn't it? Curse them! They've ruined everything!" He complains. "If Gabros is gone, there is no hope. He was supposed to return with the crystal…without that, all our efforts are wasted. And you. If you're here for treasure, or wisdom, or anything. I'm afraid you've wasted your time." The man continues to ramble. Talking about a crystal and the way they traveled here. But Vorstag only focuses on that small key piece of information. A crystal. He saw something like that on the way in.
"I seem to have found some focusing crystals, could that be what you were looking for?" He interrupts the man.
"You found…how in the world…that's it! That's it! I don't know who you are, but you may have just saved this little project… speaking of, who are you?" He asks.
Vorstag thinks on that question. "I'm from the College of Winterhold."
The man's face seems to fall, from what Vorstag can see in this dim lighting. "You are, are you? Savos wouldn't even grant us an audience when we came to you. But now you came here expecting something from me? I don't like this much, but I'll tell you. You saved my skin, so maybe I could overlook the past for now. Come on, I'll explain on the way."
Vorstag follows diligently, with one last look at Dawn. He finds she follows along closely. The man doesn't even notice her, he just prattles on about what they were working on and how the crystals work within this labyrinth like room.
Vorstag gapes at it. The soaring ceiling isn't really a ceiling. He was in some sort of contraption. The Dwemer were very, very intelligent people. It was a shame they were eradicated. These historical findings were the best glimpses into the Dwemer the modern world had.
He was directed to help refocus the crystals in the center, which would then move the light just so. Vorstag found himself sorely disappointed when the man who was named Paratus had nothing for him but a map of Tamirel on the wall and a spouting of riddles.
Vorstag almost, almost, wanted to rip his throat out for his arrogant demeanor and the waste of time. Instead, he turned and walked right out of Mzulft with Dawn on his heels. All while the man continued to talk.
"Sorry Dawn, it looks like our time adventuring is not done yet. We need to find this Labyrinthian as soon as we can. But first, let's not keep our lady Serana waiting." He sighs, sheathes his blade, and begins the long trek back to Winterhold.
"Why is he here?" Ancano sneers.
The shadows move in the mist before him. A dark laugh meets him. "Why, Ancano, don't let old emotions get the best of you. Quaranir here is quite adept at what I need." Mannimarco says from his throne.
Ancano glances at the man in robes. This was the very monk he took Serana and Vorstag to see, Quaranir wouldn't tell him a thing of why he was there in the Arch-Mage's quarters. But now? Now, he has the audacity to be here and in the presence of Mannimarco?
"I brought him here." The necromancer reminds him.
Ancano snaps out of his haze. "For what?"
The sorcerer hasn't even moved, hasn't turned his head to acknowledge Ancano, not once. Mannimarco leans forwards in his throne, "That is not your concern, Ancano. I am making a deal. That is for me to know." His smile was…oh, it was evil.
Chills run up Ancano's spine. "What shall I do now?"
"Now? Now, you do what you were planning before I came and 'muddled your plans' I think you know what that is." Mannimarco goads him. Ancano glances at the sorcerer again. If he knew what he had planned for the College.
Mannimarco flicks a hand at him in dismissal. "Go. I have no need for your presence."
"But. What of the amulet?" Ancano asks.
Mannimarco watches him. "Good job with that. Now that she has it in her pocket I will know where she is at all times. She doesn't know you know it's gone?"
"No, sir. I won't say a word. I'll be too busy for it."
Mannimarco gives him a tight smile. "I'm sure you will be. Go. Walk back into the mist and you will awake. I have business to attend with Quaranir."
Ancano gives them both one last look. One heated one at the sorcerer and a more…respectful one to Mannimarco. Maybe he did get more out of this bargain than he thought. He laughs softly to himself. Quaranir here might not be as lucky. Hopefully, not. Ancano walks through back into the mist and feels the coolness seep into him.
When he wakes, he feels refreshed and renewed instead of fearful and stressed. He watches the light play on the ceiling, just basks in the glory of the day. Today was ripe for the taking. Everything he laid out so meticulously was about to come to fruition. As long as no one got in his way.