All the next day, Onmund went looking for Enthir to talk to him again. He was going to try to negotiate his grandfather's amulet back somehow. But he didn't see Enthir until well after lunch, and he was busy with Mirabelle, who seemed to be having an intense private chat with him. Later, he learned that the two older elf mages who had harassed Danielle a few days before were expelled from the College. He never found out what they were expelled for, but being friends of Enthir's no doubt aroused suspicion about Enthir himself, and Onmund quickly learned that he never should have gotten involved with him in the first place. But it was too late now, and he had to somehow try to make things right between them and especially get his amulet back.

Despite his worries, the day did hit a positive note in the evening when Onmund sat down to study with Danielle again in the Arcaneum. She made such pleasant company that he almost forgot about his mission of the day. Almost. He was sure that his worries were visible upon his face when he met with her and it was confirmed when she asked him, "Is everything all right?"

"Oh, yeah," he responded as casually as he could muster. "Just overwhelmed with all of this studying we have to do."

She didn't pry any further and they went on with their discussions. They talked about their pasts again to each other and it was then that Onmund confessed to her how homesick he felt and how much he missed his family. However, he did not tell her about the amulet or his dealings with Enthir. Somehow, that was just too embarrassing. He imagined her reacting in the same manner as his grandfather did in his dream, staring at him in shock and disbelief, and then with a look of extreme disappointment and sadness as the swarm of bandits overtook him…

Onmund couldn't go to sleep right away that night. So he went ahead and let his candle burn a little longer and sat by his little table to read. Fortunately, as strict as the College was in all of its rules and regulations, there was no lights-out policy of any kind. One was just not allowed in the Arcaneum or training hall after a certain hour, but that was it. It was getting late, and Onmund was still lost in his book. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. He looked up and could make out the form of someone walking across the center of the room towards the staircase. It was Enthir.

There he is! Time to have a talk with him, he thought. He put his book down and got up. He hurried over to the staircase before Enthir disappeared up it. "Hey! Enthir!" he called out in a sharp whisper.

Enthir turned around and saw him. "What is it, Novice?" he asked impatiently.

"I want to talk to you about something," he whispered, so as not to wake the other students. "It's about our trade the other day."

"What about it?" Enthir questioned.

"I've changed my mind. I want my amulet back."

Enthir's eyes went wide and he whispered, "Are you serious? I told you that our agreement was final the minute you handed that thing over to me, Novice."

"I know. But you haven't forged anything yet, right?"

"Ha! And what if I did? Forget it, Onmund. A trade's a trade. You can't just change your mind like that."

"But you don't understand. That amulet's been in my family for generations!"

"Oh, isn't that a shame. Well, that's not my problem. You should think about that next time you decide to make binding deals with people. I'm not budging."

"That's not fair, Enthir!"

"Life's not fair. You'll do well to learn that early on. End of conversation."

As Enthir turned around to ascend the steps and left him standing there, Onmund's fists clenched and a growl escaped from his throat. But he didn't dare press the issue further. Enthir was an older student. He had a reputation for being a troublemaker and everyone knew to stay away from him. He didn't want to get deeply involved in a sticky situation with him. Frustrated and disappointed, Onmund turned around and retreated back to his room.

Onmund woke up the next day in a sour mood, but as the day wore on, he began to think less and less about Enthir and the amulet, especially when Danielle ran into him in the courtyard. "Hi, Onmund! Off to train again?" she asked him.

"Yes," he replied. "But not for another thirty minutes since they're currently having a lesson in there. What are you up to?"

"I just got back from eating lunch," she replied.

"Oh, alright. Well, wanna go for a little walk?"

"Sure."

They took a walk around the perimeter of the courtyard. The air was crisp and cold, and a light snow was falling. The ground was blanketed with white and the trees were covered in it, as well. The snowberry bushes were dotted with red, ripe berries. For the first time, Onmund saw that it was a beautiful day.

"So how are you liking the College so far?" Danielle asked him.

"I'm liking it," he answered. "I've certainly learned more here than I'd ever expected to. And you?"

"I like it," she replied. "I am learning a lot here, too. So, are you getting along with everyone?"

Immediately, his mind went back to Enthir. "Oh…most of them. A few are kinda difficult but it's nothing I can't handle."

"Who is difficult?"

"Well…Enthir is one of them. He and I, I guess, sort of got off on the wrong foot but unfortunately, there's nothing I can really change about that."

"Enthir…he's that Bosmer I saw you talking to, right?"

Onmund looked at her and felt as if he had been pierced. She had such a look of earnest knowingness on his face, he felt like he had been caught. She knew exactly who Enthir was. As he stood there, pondering what to say to her, she confessed to him, "Last night…I heard you and Enthir talking. It's not that I meant to eavesdrop. It's just that…the noise woke me up."

He sighed. He might as well tell her. He didn't think anyone else would listen to him, but he had to remember that Danielle was the only true friend he had in this place and he'd do well to fill her in on things that bothered him. "Yeah. It's kind of a long story."

"Well, I don't have anything scheduled right now."

As she looked at him attentively, he began. "A couple of days ago, I entered into an…agreement with him. He agreed to forge me a powerful Storm Atronach if I gave him something in return. He had me convinced that I should learn as many shock spells as possible, even those not involved in Destruction and I believed him." He looked Danielle in the face and said, "I know, I know. I was dumb and naïve. But anyway, I had given him something that I shouldn't have given him."

"What's that?"

"It was an amulet that had belonged to my grandfather," he said. "He had given it to me when I was a child, saying that it would protect me in battle. He had it given to him by his father- my great-grandfather when he was young. So basically, it was a symbol for the life that I knew that I'd never live- the life of a warrior. I had kept the amulet up until recently, and when Enthir wanted something valuable in return for the forged atronach, I didn't think twice before parting with it, since it served no purpose to me. But just recently…I don't know…even though I couldn't use the amulet, it's still a family heirloom, you know? I may not be that close to my family anymore, but…I do find myself missing them. The amulet was my only reminder of them. And now it's gone…"

Danielle looked at him thoughtfully. "I'm sorry, Onmund. Have you…have you told him that? Told him how much it means to you?"

"Nah. He doesn't care, anyway. It's just an expensive piece of jewelry to him."

"I hope you will get it back, somehow."

Despite himself, he smiled. He then shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I've just learned my lesson, that's all. I don't want to raise a big stink over it, anyway. I guess I should have known better than to get involved with Enthir. Did you know that those two friends of his were expelled from the College?"

She shook her head in disbelief and rolled her eyes. "Yes." She then looked at him with a sympathetic expression. "Don't feel bad, Onmund. You didn't know who you were dealing with at the time."

For some reason, these words made Onmund feel ten times better. He then replied, "No. I didn't." He looked at her and smiled, thinking, I wish I could stay here and talk to her all day. She has such an uncanny way of putting me at total ease. But...I can't get away with that. "Well, I'd better get going to my training session. Thanks for listening to my story."

"Anytime," she said softly. "And…I want to thank you again for what you did in the Arcaneum a while back. That was very brave of you."

"Oh, no problem."

"I just wish…there was some way I could repay you."

He smiled at her. "Your friendship is all I need as repayment."

She smiled back, but didn't say anything. Her mind seemed to be somewhere else, now, but at this point, Onmund had no time to ask about it. They exchanged some brief parting words and then he went into the Hall of Elements by himself.

Once inside the training hall, he encountered Tolfdir, Ancano, and Savos Aren, who appeared to be engaged in a heated discussion.

"Ah, Onmund! Come in, come in," Tolfdir urged, gesturing towards him. As Onmund approached them, he turned to the other two and said, "This is Onmund, one of my students. He along with the other apprentices in my class discovered the orb down in Saarthal during our excavation there. Onmund, we were just about to head out to Saarthal again to dig it out. We hope to bring it back here to examine it more closely."

Onmund didn't know what to say. He found it pretty incredulous that the elder mages were going back down into Saarthal to unearth this thing and bring it back to the College. All he could manage to ask was, "Did you…find out what it is?"

"No," Savos Aren answered. "This is why we will need to bring it back here. It is an interesting artifact of arcane origins indeed. Urag is searching for any books that he can find that might mention this artifact."

"I think I'll come back later then," he said uncertainly. Now didn't appear like a good time to train.

"The training hall will be closed for the rest of the day, I'm afraid," Tolfdir said. "Phinis, Arniel, and Sergius will be going with us to Saarthal and we plan on working throughout the night. But tomorrow, it will be open again. Use this time to study up on your incantations!"

Right, studying… He glanced at Ancano, who glared at him through his narrow, yellow eyes and thought, I don't know why, but this guy gives me the heebie-jeebies every time I see him. He left the three elders and went back to his room to get his books. He then went into the Arcaneum and sat at his and Danielle's usual table, except that it was too early before his study time with her so she wasn't there yet.

When he and Danielle finally got together for their usual study time, he told her about the events that had transpired in the training hall earlier that day. She was shocked.

"They're bringing that orb back here?" she gasped.

Onmund nodded. "They want to study it more closely, I guess."

"I guess this is the sort of research that goes on around here," she said. "But…I don't know…I have a bad feeling about it."

"You do?"

She nodded, and then she looked at him with a grave expression on her face, and he began growing concerned. "Onmund, can you keep a secret?"

He couldn't help but be astonished. He reacted by opening his eyes wide, but then he replied, "Yes. You can tell me."

She started hesitantly, "That day…when we were down in Saarthal, and I was doing that assignment with Tolfdir…I was told to gather items that had been enchanted. So there was this amulet that I had found in one of the rooms, and when I picked it up, Tolfdir and I became trapped in the room. We were trying to find a way out and he told me to try putting the amulet on, so that's what I did. And when I put it on, a door opened to a completely different part of the crypt. So we went down further that way and that was when the strangest thing happened."

"What?" Onmund asked.

"A man dressed in strange robes appeared to me. He claimed to be a monk from the Psijic Order."

"The Psijic Order!" Onmund exclaimed. "I've read about them! Didn't they mysteriously vanish a long time ago?"

"That's what Tolfdir had said," Danielle explained.

"Why did a Psijic monk appear to you?" he asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "But he said something to me that…was worrisome. He said that I had 'set in motion a chain of events that couldn't be stopped.'"

"Really? What sort of chain of events?"

"I have no idea. But just…be on your guard. I also need to tell you that I'm going to be gone from the College for a day or two."

"Gone?! Where are you going?"

"I have some…personal business to take care of out of town. I'll only be gone a short while."

"Okay…" Onmund wasn't sure if he should ask her what kind of personal business it was.

"I'll tell you all about it when I get back."

"All right. I understand." He didn't try to pry any further and she didn't offer anymore information. He was very curious, of course, but he knew that she would tell him in due time.