Quaranir stopped walking as he became aware of something. Pulling out a small crystal from his pocket Quaranir frowned as he found the crystal burning bright red. Why was it doing that? It should only burn red when in the presence of an oblivion gate. And yet the moment he'd set foot into winterhold the crystal had burned.

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CHAPTER 5

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Slowly Okan opened his eyes. the room was almost pitch black. The only light came from the moon which hung in the sky outside. For a moment he wasn't sure why he had woken up. But his curiosity vanished when he felt a small set of claws tug at his tail which was hanging off the bed. Shifting his head slightly Okan found that the same scamp as before was now tugging at his tail. Flicking his tail Okan watched as the scamp turned towards him. "mafta says time to go." Okan nodded and watched as again the scamp tugged at his tail. "Lizard man have funny tail." Okan smiled and watched as the scamp seemed to disolve into a puff of smoke. Yawning slightly Okan moved slowly so as not to was Asum who had his back against Okan's chest.

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Sitting on the edge of the bed Okan reached down and began pulling on his underwear. But froze as he heard Asum let out a low moan and begin to shift. Okan felt a shiver run up his spine as he felt Asum grab his tail and begin sucking on the tips of it. Turning slightly Okan smiled, before gently pulling his tail free of Asum's grip, Okan turned back and continued pulling on his clothes. Moving silently Okan stood up, scribbled a quick note for Asum, made his way over to the door, pulled it open and stepped out of the room; being careful to close it silently behind him. turning around Okan felt his heart jump. He was not alone in the corridor. Okan felt anger well up inside him as the familiar form of J'zargo came into view.

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Okan felt his hands clench into fists as the khajiit drew closer. "J'zargo thought he saw you at the gates today. J'zargo is happy he was right." Okan growled and curled his lips back showing the rows of sharp teeth that normally remained hidden. "you stay away from me." J'zargo stopped, and cocked his head to one side; an arrogant smirk covering his face. "and why would J'zargo do that? J'zargo remembers the fun we used to have together." Okan growled again. "yeah I remember that to. Right up until you said I seduced you every time we were caught together. I also seem to remember walking in on you when you were up to your balls in that emissary from the nearby orc stronghold." J'zargo shrugged. "J'zargo has always had a weakness for men with muscles. And no one has more muscles that an orc. and J'zargo doesn't ever remember agreeing not to sleep with other guys."

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Okan ground his teeth together. It was taking a lot of self-restraint to not grab the khajiit and throw him out a window. As it was he could feel his hand slipping towards the elven dagger he kept in case of an emergency. "get out of my way J'zargo. I won't say it again." J'zargo grinned and closed the distance between them. before he could even blink Okan found himself pushed against the stonewall, while J'zargo's hand worked its ways under his armor and into his underwear. Struggling slightly Okan grabbed the khajiit by the shoulders and shoved him away roughly. J'zargo stumbled backwards tripped and fell on his butt. As he sat there on the ground Okan spoke. "you listen to me you sex crazed khajiit. It's over between us. Come near me again and I'll cut your balls off, and feed them to a troll. You stay away from me, and you stay away from Asum. Got it!"

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Okan didn't even give J'zargo a chance to respond. Instead Okan took off down the corridor; leaving J'zargo sitting on the floor. Pulling open the doors to the living quarters Okan shivered as the cold air rushed over him. closing the door behind him, Okan paused only long enough t cast a clairvoyance spell. Following the glowing trail with his eyes Okan shrugged off the momentary weakness that came with depleting his magical reserves. Trudging through the snow Okan shivered again. Seeing J'zargo again had brought up old memories. Memories that should have remained buried. Leaving the village Okan soon found himself out in the forest. Off in the distance a wolf howled. But Okan continued onward, every now and then casting clairvoyance so he could be sure he was going in the right direction.

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Walking along the snowy path Okan squinted as a faint glow began to appear in the distance. Speeding up slightly Okan soon found that he was not alone on the path anymore. Up in front of him twin torches burned signaling other travelers were o the same path. Breaking into a run Okan shouted so the travelers could hear him over the whistling winds. "HEY. WAIT UP!" the torches stopped moving, and turned. Okan smiled as 2 more familiar forms emerged from the snow. One figure that of a nord women and the other of a khajiit female. Both forms wore matching sets of ancient nordic armor. "Alea? Nisha?" moving into the sphere of light Okan felt his scales react with the warmth being given off by the two torches. A moment later Nisha handed him his own torch and ignited it with a small flame spell. "So nice of you to join us Okan."

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Okan smiled, at Nisha. They had joined the companions at about the same time. And while Nisha had quickly risen through the ranks Okan had been perfectly happy to remain a low level member. "are there any other companion members joining us?" Nisha shook her head. "no. only you, me, and Alea here. To be honest we didn't even know you were still at the college. We thought you were already at the site." Okan shook his head. "no. I only got here yesterday." Nisha nodded. Unlike most khajiits Nisha's face was not dirt and rust colored but instead her fur was white, with black marking that made her look as though she was wearing a crown. "and what of your traveling companion? Will he not be joining us?" Okan shook his head. "no. Asum is too young and to under trained for this. I'll not put him in harm's way."

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Next to him Alea nodded for a moment before speaking. "a few days ago we got a request from the local inn keeper. Seems that there were several strange noises coming from around the inn. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you Okan?" Okan felt his scales, burn slightly. Rubbing his chin, Okan looked sideways at Alea. "don't know. Maybe it was those two wolf spirits some traveling pilgrims saw dry humping each other a few weeks back." The words had barely left Okan's mouth before Nisha was speaking. "Alea! You said they didn't see us!" Alea shrugged. "I said I thought; that they couldn't see us. I was wr-" but Nisha cut her off. "Torches off!" instantly Okan plunged his torch into the snow, extinguishing it. On either side of him Alea, and Nisha did the same. Kneeling down in the snow Okan felt his senses go on overdrive trying to figure out the source of Nisha's concern.

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A moment later he got his answer. The ground shook under their feet and Okan was forced to cover his ears as a dragon suddenly loomed out of the snow and soared across the sky directly over them. Okan watched as the dragon flew lazily through the sky. As it did so it let out a loud roar that was still strong enough to shake the ground. Still kneeling on the ground Okan's hand slipped towards his sword hilt. If the dragon saw them they would be in for a tough fight. However if the dragon knew they were there it showed little interest. Instead the dragon continued to roar for a moment longer before flying away and vanishing into the blue and white sky. They stayed kneeling for a few more seconds before straightening up. Offering Nisha their torches okan and Alea watched as nish relit their torches before relighting her own.

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As they continued onward Alea spoke. "I thought the dragonborn defeated Alduin." Nisha nodded. "he did. But from what I've heard someone else is controlling the dragons now." Okan looked at her. "who?" Nisha shook her head. "no one knows. As far as anyone can tell the dragonborn hasn't left high hrothgar since alduin was killed." Okan nodded. "seems he has decided to take up the hood of a greybeard. And meditate at the top of the throat of the world." Nisha nodded. "it's a shame really. He would have been more than welcome if he wished to join the compainions." Everyone chuckled at that.

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ASUM'S POV

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Morning sunlight filtered through the window; casting long rays of light onto Asum's face. Yawning Asum sat up and looked around. Okan was gone, but had left a note for him. gazing at the note Asum sighed. Okan would be gone for 2 days possibly 3. What would he do in the mean time? Yawning again Asum stood up and had been about to pull on his robes when he found they were gone. Instead replaced by a pair of folded robes with a note pinned to the top.

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your old robes won't keep you very warm. These will.

-Savos Aren

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Setting the note down Asum picked up the robes and let them unfold so he could look at them. just by touching the fabric he could tell these robes were meant for a mage to wear. The fabric was strangely cool, yet silky, despite the fabric being a rough cut cloth. Beginning to put the robes on Asum felt a shiver run up his spine as the cloth touched his bare skin. He could feel the magical cloth's effect take hold of him. a kind of ease worked into his muscles. As though the stress and strain of his tired muscles was being removed very slowly, until it was completely gone.

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As Asum tied the sash around his waist, someone knocked at the door. Opening the door, Asum was forced to look up as he found himself looking at a very tall, very disgruntled looking high elf, wearing full form thalmor robes. "who are you?" Asum could feel the coldness in the elf's voice. "I'm Asum." The elf stared at him for another moment before speaking. "you arrived with another argonian. Where is he?" Asum shrugged. "he left in the night. He'll be back later though." The elf glared at him. "a less race like your kind should not be involved in such a manner." And before Asum could respond the elf turned and began to walk away. as the elf turned the corner of the corridor Asum shouted at him. "IF WE'RE LESSER HOW COME WE'RE THE ONLY RACE THAT CAN BREATH UNDERWATER WITHOUT MAGIC!" if the elf heard him he didn't respond.

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Huffing in anger Asum felt his fist clench. It was true argonians along with khajiits were considered more primitive than the other races. Even the barbaric orcs seemed to get more respect than they did. But Asum let the anger go. There was no point to hold on to it. He had just left the corridor and emerged into the central chamber when a voice spoke. "Asum…" turning Asum found himself watching as a brenton women walked briskly towards him. as she came to a stop she spoke again. "hello. My name is Mirabelle. The arch mage instructed me to show you around the college and see if you wished to attend any of the ongoing lectures." Asum smiled and nodded, falling in line behind mirabelle as she led him through the school.

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OKAN'S POV

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Okan looked down over the excavation site. Barriers made out of sharpened tree trunks had been erected, and Okan could see a dozen or so archers patrolling the parameter. Next to him Okan heard Nisha speak. "hmmm. They seem to be taking this a lot more serious than we had thought." Okan nodded and watched as a nord clad in full steel plate armor left the ruins and marched towards them. "you must be the members of the companions they sent." Okan nodded; but it was Alea who spoke. "we are." The nord nodded and began to lead them into the ruin. "I have strict orders from the arch mage. No one is to take this artifact from us. Even if they claim to be doing so on the orders of the emperor himself, we are not to let them take this from us." Okan nodded. "with us here. No one will take this from us."

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AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 5 IS DONE. SORRY ABOUT THE LONG WAIT.

WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK?