Mutants Misplaced
Chapter 9
The Court Wizard and the Innkeeper
Farengar sat at his work desk, searching book after book after something regarding the necklace that had brought the seven Saurians to Skyrim, he had been doing so for an hour or so, but not having many details made it a lot harder.
"Farengar." a guard said as he entered the study "The Saurians called Tyroth and Michelangelo are here to see you."
"Ah, good." the wizard said, rising from his seat. "Let them in."
A few minutes later, Tyroth arrived with Mikey in tow, the orange-masked turtle seemingly not sure what he was doing there.
"Welcome back." Farengar greeted the two.
"Thank you. How goes the search?" said Tyroth.
"Hard to say, since I have very little to go after. I was hoping that you might have additional information that would narrow it down."
"Unfortunately, we never had time to study the necklace in any detail before it activated. I only caught a glimpse of it myself, but Mikey here saw it up close, so I was hoping that he might help."
"I thought his name was Michelangelo."
"It's a nickname, my brothers also have those, since our names are so long." said Mikey.
"I see. Well, let's focus on the task at hand. How did the necklace look? What happened when it activated? How did it activate?"
"Whoa, slow down."
Mikey proceeded with explaining everything that he could answer from his memory, much to his own amazement. Despite that however, he couldn't remember all the details of the necklace, something that he told them early on, but it was still enough to make Farengar ponder deeply.
"Hmm... I have no memory of ever reading about such an artifact, anything with such power must be known by someone though. I'll go through my books again, now that I have a better understanding of what to look for, it should go faster. But, I'll be honest with you, I doubt that I'll find anything."
"Does that mean that we are stuck here?" asked Mikey.
"Not necessarily, my young friend. I may not have the information you seek, but I do know who might. The college of Winterhold, they have the largest collection of books on the arcane. If your necklace is mentioned in any book that has been discovered, they most likely have a copy of said book."
"Sounds promising, but why do I have a feeling that it might be difficult to get that information?" said Tyroth.
"The college isn't exactly known for being open for those that seek knowledge. Unless you have contacts within the college, the only way to acquire it is to sign up as a student."
"It's still worth investigating, where is Winterhold?" said Tyroth.
"It' s one of the north most cities in Skyrim, or what's left of it. Most of the city fell into the Sea of Ghosts a few hundred years ago and it never truly recovered. I believe that I have a map or two around here... ah here they are." Farengar rolled out the map on his desk and showed where they were and where Winterhold was.
"From here, you can take the passage between the mountainchains to the north, that will lead you to the city of Dawnstar and from there you simply follow the coast to the east. Beware though, the weather there is harsh and cold and a good part of the terrain hides deep ice crevices."
Tyroth studied the map for a while, trying to find what kind of scale it was made in and how long the journey to Winterhold would take. Not having been at any of the landmarks on the map, he couldn't be sure but he guessed that the trip would take at least three or four days if not more, and most o that time would be spent in a nearly arctic climate. This would be a very hazardous journey.
"If we have to travel there, we'll have to prepare ourselves, get supplies and equipment to manage the weather and terrain." said Tyroth.
"I should be done with the research within a day or so. I'll send word of the results." said Farengar as he started going through another book.
"We'll most likely be staying at the inn until we're ready to leave. Mind if I take the map with us?"
"Not at all. You will need it more than I if you're going to Winterhold."
"Thanks." Tyroth rolled up the map and left together with Mikey, walking back to the inn.
A while later, the group was back together at the inn. Going over what they had learned, not all were happy with the recent developments.
"They cost how much?!" Leo asked when Mona told him about the backpacks.
"Over three hundred gold each." said Mona "I honestly can't believe that things are so expensive."
"Luckily, Mona was able to negotiate a better price, but it still cost us all we had." said Raph.
"You didn't happen to see any blankets? Considering the colder climate here, I'd say that we will need that while on the road." said Sephie.
"Now that you mention it, I think I saw some, but I was so focused on getting a better price that I forgot about them." said Mona.
"Wonder if we can afford some. How's our economy overall?" said Tyroth.
"Let's see here." Donnie started "They used... and we used... we had... A hundred and sixty, unless there is some expense that I missed."
"And that's gonna get us blankets and food?" said Leo, rubbing his chin as he thought about it. "We definitely need some way to make more money, or we'll never be prepared to leave."
"Great, we need to get jobs. This sucks." groaned Mikey.
"Actually, I might be able to help you." said Hulda, joining the conversation out of the blue. "Sorry, but I couldn't avoid hearing what you were talking about, and like I said, I think that I can help you."
"Really? That would be great." said Sephie.
"I have several spare blankets down in the sleeping hall in the cellar, I could spare a few of them." said Hulda.
"And you're just giving them to us from the bottom of your heart? Sorry, but I don't buy that." said Raph.
"You're right, unfortunately. I do need some help, and in return I'm willing to give you those blankets." said Hulda.
"What kind of help?" Leo asked.
"I'm expecting a large group of guests later this evening that I would like some help attending to, serving drinks and food. Also, Saadia, my cook, seems to have gone off somewhere and I can't find her."
"So a serving staff and a cook, huh? Sounds easy enough." said Tyroth. "I can handle the cooking."
"And I can serve the customers, I've worked part-time as a serving girl one summer." said Sephie.
"What kind of customers are you expecting?" asked Mona.
"A group of mercenaries from Solitude, the Skull Splitters."
"That sounds ominous. Why are they coming here?"
"The Jarl has contracted them to deal with a couple of giants that have been stealing and eating livestock from the surrounding farms. They are very experienced in fighting such foes."
"Giants, huh? Will these guys cause any trouble?" asked Raph.
"They can get a bi unruly after drinking their fill, but they are usually well-behaved, or as much as most would be after several jugs of mead."
"What about if they start taking liberties, like trying to grope us or something?" asked Mona concerned.
"I've given them clear instructions to leave my staff alone, if they still try anything, you are free to do what you find is necessary, as long as you don't kill them or hurt them too much."
"Well then, it looks like we got our work cut out for us." said Leo "Show us what needs to be done and we'll get right to it."
The team now know where to go and all they need are those supplies. How many of you are willing to bet that something's going to go wrong when they try working at the inn? See you next time.