Sorry for the delay, this chapter took me longer to write than I expected. It is however a bit longer than the last one so hopefully that will make up for it ^^
Pretty sure there's at least one wacky sentence in there somewhere...
I also added a few short time skips, nothing major, just hate writing about characters traveling, like...nothing happens, they just sit there, talk a bit and then sit some more...for like a day.
Answer to the riddle is a candle.
Without further ado.
Chapter 6: The arch-mage
They crossed the border to Winterhold in record time. Carl had been left behind at the temple along with Belrand, the wounds had turned out to be much worse than Onmund had originally thought. Belrand had some form of magical burns all along his right arm along with several broken bones from when he had hit the obsidian stone. Not to mention the numerous cuts from shrapnel or the minor concussion from his landing. They hadn't really managed to get much from him as he had spent most of the time unconscious and the rest was like he was sleepwalking, barely able to keep focus for more than a few seconds. Carl had barely been able to form a coherent sentence but they trusted the man to take care of Belrand and promised to return as quickly as possible. Despite Carls less than brave nature he was one of the best restoration mages at the college who weren't above 60. The climb down the mountain along with the ride back had been done in a rush, the trip that had originally taken two solid days to traverse had been done in half the time on the way back. They pushed the horses to the breaking point and only took a short few hour break along the way to find shelter during a particularly bad snowstorm that had come out of nowhere.
They had gone through the events several times, even gone as far as writing it all down lest they forgot something.
After much discussion they had come to the conclusion that they must've entered through some form of a backdoor as they hadn't seen any major puzzles or other such obstacles that had prevented them passage. The main passage they figured had been the big hallway at the end of the main chamber that had been collapsed.
They had spent much time discussing the nature of the obsidian stone, that had seemingly brought two beings back from the dead, without turning them into walking husks that only existed to obey some necromancers bidding. They had all agreed that this was something more than that. Something none of them had ever seen or heard of before. Though they had little to no idea how. They had several vague ideas, at least to the types of magic involved, but how the whole thing worked... there were simply too little to go on. They couldn't even conduct any tests or observations as the stone had literally been reduced to a fine dust after the resurrection leaving nothing behind. All they had were a few symbols and shapes drawn from memory.
The fact that the dragon proved capable of speech had them all at a loss of words. They had not expected it through it made sense considering they had once ruled the land as Tolfdir had said earlier. That was another thing they had been pondering. The priest, they had a real living human being from the Merethic era somewhere in Skyrim at that very moment. And one from one of the highest ranks of society. Imagine the knowledge that priest had? Imagine the things he had been part off, the places he had seen. This was not the tomb of one of his ancestors or a book on ancient magic, this was a real living person from that time. It was extraordinary to say the least.
The trip back to Winterhold had been the toughest he had ever taken but none of them dared to delay.
As they arrived at the stable they had jumped off the horses, grabbed their notes and bags and then rushed towards the bridge that linked Winterhold and the college. They ran past a confused Faralda who was guarding the bridge before they crossed the courtyard and crashed through the gate to the hall of elements.
The first thing Onmund saw once he entered the familiar room was the arch-mage having a heated argument with a high elf. A Thalmor he realised, aristocratic looks, grey white hair and the sharp features that all high elves seemed to have, the thing that gave him away was the robes.
"That does not give you the right to interrogate the students, despite what you may think…Tolfdir?" Savos finished with a questioning look, only for the High elf to cut in "What is the meaning of this interruption?"
Savos sensing the urgency upon seeing the disheveled look and breathless state of the group turned to the high elf before adding in a serious tone "Perhaps Ancano, it's best if we continue this...discussion at some other time?" The high elf, Ancano looked like he was about to retort when Savos continued like he hadn't noticed "You do know how awfully busy this place can be" Savos finished with a glint in his eye. Ancano narrowed his eyes at being dismissed like that but then he cast a quick look at their group, several emotions passing on his face too almost too quick to notice before his face once again settled on a calm mask as he seemingly to come to some form a conclusion. "Perhaps that is best" he replied in a neutral tone before turning around and disappearing into one of the hallways ropes fluttering behind him.
Savos let out a tired sigh and gave a small shake of his head before motioning the group to follow him. They walked up the stairs and passed several rooms before he led them into his quarters closing the door behind them and muttering something incomprehensible followed by a slight bluish glow appeared on the door before it disappeared.
Onmund looked around in fascination at the contents of room. He had never been to arch-mage's quarters, from his knowledge very few had. He knew Tolfdir visited once in a while but he was the colleges master of alteration and Onmund had always presumed they were old friends.
The first thing he noticed in the room was the small garden in the middle. A small pale tree with a few candlelight spells floating around and several different plants he recognised from his potions class were all growing in the small circular area. Despite the fact that he knew they each had very different and specific requirements to soil and light they seemingly thrived in the small closed room. Another testament to the arch mages powers he thought. There were several shelves along the wall with everything from small boxes to potions ingredients. A bookshelf filled with old tomes, none of which he recognised. Soul crystals, an enchantment table, a cauldron and Talos only knew what else.
The arch mage wave his hand and three chairs flew over to them, each of them gladly obliged and dropped tiredly into the chairs.
The arch-mage gracefully flopped into a chair himself learning forward a bit making it clear that they had his undivided attention. "So" he started pulling a short notebook out of his robe before continuing. "I presume you found something very interesting considering your...looks and the short time you were gone?"
They all nodded though Tolfdir was the first to speak. "We found a real living dragon"
"And a priest" Onmund chipped in.
The dark elf had a look of intrigue pass over his face before it turned to confusion. "A dragon...and a priest? Wait, just, start from the beginning"
Tolfdir lightly shook his head. "Apologies, yes. As you know we found a reference to an old dragon temple some time back"
"It was indeed were the map said it would be, undiscovered and undisturbed, perhaps since the Merethic era." Tolfdir regained some of his well known enthusiasm as he kept talking. "It seemed like we had stumbled upon a back entrance of sorts as these places often tend to have. However as we found our way to the central chamber...The place was unlike anything I have ever seen." Tolfdir stopped only for Jana to continue "A battlefield...It was like a battlefield"
"We found the bones of a dragon in there and just as we were wondering if things could get any more interesting, young Onmund here discovered a dragon priest as well. It seemed like the greatest discovery of the century, perhaps only overdone by some of the Dwemer ruins they recently dug up in Marka-"
"Tolfdir, fokus" Savos interrupted him, clearly sensing the old man was starting to ramble and wanting to keep him on topic.
"Yes of course." Tolfdir said, taking a deep breath "Belrand discovered a large obsidian stone inscribed with a variety of mysterious runes" He said handing Savos some of the drawings and notes they had made, while Jana continued their story "Then something... happened and the stone exploded, at least partially. And-"
"And the dragon became alive again!" Tolfdir interrupted dramatically voice filled with wonder "Multicolored flames burning flesh and bones back into existence, the magic was unlike anything I've ever seen. And it spoke. Real words like you and I are sharing right now!"
Savos took a second to process it, a talking dragon. Well, this was just getting more and more fascinating by the second, unfortunately he found his knowledge about dragons to be lacking at best and nonexistent at worst. "What did it say?" he asked, curious as to what a creature like that would have to say after being brought back from the dead.
"Well it asked us what we did, it was quite confusing really" Replied Tolfdir brows furrowed.
Savos wrote a few notes in the book he had. Before once again returning his attention to the trio. "And the dragon priest?"
"He was revived as well, the dragon left with him though a hidden door in roof before any of us had time to do anything" Jana muttered. Onmund couldn't help but notice how Savos face had gone strangely blank.
Tolfdir and savos locked eyes. Both thinking the same thing. Imagine the knowledge that priests must have. A human from the Merethic era. Him being a priest could also give them a unique insight into the mysterious dragon cult. Assuming they could somehow get in contact with him, if he even wanted to talk that was, Savos thought. He had not looked particularly deeply into the Merethic era, it was what? nearly four thousand years ago? But the precious few scriptures regarding the dragon cult did not present them in a good light by any means. He made a mental note to ask Urag to check the library for anything that might have information on them. Thinking about it he needed any information from that time in general, who knew what kinds of things might have changed, cities and active factions who might be relevant not to mention language and customs. He brought a hand up silently rubbing his chin in thought.
"They knew each other" Onmund said in a low voice after a short silence. Suddenly feeling self conscious as all eyes in the room turned to him.
"How do you know?" Tolfdir replied his voice a mix between curiosity and skepticism.
Onmund was silent for a few seconds thinking of the best way to explain it. "It was the way the dragon reacted, it whimpered when it found him dead, it practically jumped across the room when I pointed to the still somewhat intact rock- which it smashed to bring to priest back to life, not to mention that I took the priest with it."
Savos nodded with a thoughtful expression before adding a few extra notes.
The dragon was a whole other sort of problem. They were as far as he knew, supposed to be gone, hunted to extinction through the ages. A real living one could pose as many problems as opportunities. He didn't even know how intelligent they were, but according to the three people in front of him it had proved capable of speech as well as emotions far beyond the basic sleep, food and procreation that drove most creatures. From that alone it seems reasonable to assume they were just as if perhaps even more intelligent than humans. He let out a sigh, information that had seemed useless all his life and had been neglected for that very reason was suddenly the most important thing. Funny how things always seem to come back and bite him, he thought.
This somehow felt bigger than him, bigger than the college, but he had a feeling they needed to keep the cards close for the time being. Especially with the Thalmor 'adviser' currently roaming around the building, questioning students like he owned the place, another thing he would have to look into. However that one seemed like second priority, at least until they knew more about this dragon and the priest. Ever so slowly plan started to take form in his head.
He would have to visit Mirabelle, he knew she had a fair number of contacts around Skyrim, bookworms and collectors of various scriptures and magical artifacts. She would hopefully be able to pull a few strings and get them in touch with some experts, no matter the field there always seemed to be someone who chose to dedicate their entire lives to studying it, much like he had done and still was doing with magic.
"Tolfdir, would you mind taking me to the temple? I would very much like to have a look around"
Tolfdir nodded enthusiastically, himself wanting to have another look. They had rushed in the first time they were there, chances were they had missed important details in their rush to find the main chamber.
"And In the meantime, you two should take a trip to Windhelm perhaps even Whiterun, ask around, see if anyone might have a clue to their whereabouts of those two. But be discreet. If you find anything of use, return immediately, no heroics" Savos left no room for argument.
He threw a pouch at them, the sound of rustling coins could be heard as Onmund caught it. "For the trip, you leave first thing in the morning"
Normally Savos wouldn't have done anything, at least not this publicly. He firmly believed that what goes around comes around. If one were to look around things always seemed to work out in the end, even if said things sometimes needed a little push. However he would not soon forget the last time he had the unfortunate experience of meeting a dragon priest, he still woke up sometimes during the night, cold blue eyes burned into his skull and the rough guttural words it had spoken still echoing through his mind.
They had been three against one, when they faced him. They had thrown every spell they could think of at him, and yet they had stood no chance. Savos was in fact pretty sure it had been playing with them.
He remembered clearly how the priest had nearly burned them to a crisp with chain lighting and a staff that was unlike anything he had seen, bright turquoise light that simmered in the air and rendered whatever it hit little more than a pile of dust. When it became clear they could not beat him Savos had been desperate seal the priest away permanently.
He had bound his last two surviving group members to remain behind, magically enthralled their ghosts and forced them into servitude, pledging them to forever maintain an eternal barrier around the dragon priest. Not his proudest moment he thought with a pang of guilt and sadness for the friends he had lost. However the fear of having a dragon priest in the flesh running freely across Skyrim was too high to ignore. If this one was anything like the one he and his group had fought they would have to be careful, but doing nothing was out of the question.
After the two had left he talked a bit more with tolfdir before he too went to get some rest leaving the arch-mage to ponder the past and future.
He had a feeling that something big was going to happen soon, he just hoped they would be ready for it when the time came.
Windhelm was a nightmare.
Onmund and Jana had barely even arrived at the bridge to the great city before they were stopped and rigorously questioned by guards who wanted to know everything. Literally everything, were they came from, what business they had in the city, how long were they planning to stay. Onmund had briefly wondered if they were going to question what side of the bed he planned sleeping on but thankfully they hadn't gone that far. Jana had rightfully pointed out that the rise in tensions between the Stormcloaks and the Imperials were at an all time high if they questioned everyone like that for fear of spies.
They had originally planned to stay for a while as well, but as they wandered the frozen streets of the great city looking for small talk with the locals they had found suspicious eyes to be following them everywhere. The few people they did manage to talk to had not seen a dragon, not that they asekd outright, that would only serve to make them look stupid as well as suspicious. They only poked people a few times, asking vague questions about the last few days and some general small talk to not get people more worked up than they already were.
The dark elves and argonians had been friendly and quite helpful after some talking, and while they didn't know anything about a dragon they had other worrying stories to tell. Dark elves and argonians, well pretty much anyone one who weren't a nord were being targeted by groups of stormcloaks and other locals who had decided they were imperial spies. Jana and Onmund more than once during their short time in the city found themselves speechless at the treatment they suffered at the hand of those who should've been there to help them. Not that all the nords had been bad, they had met a handful of cherry fellas, one of whom even felt the need to apologise on behalf of his neighbors.
During the evening of their first day they had both flopped into bed tiredly. The trip to Windhelm had been mostly calm, but they had spent most of the day walking the streets and talking to people and hadn't really gotten any useful information that could be interpreted as 'i saw a massive dragon flying by a few days ago' and with the state of the city neither of them had felt particularly inclined to stay any longer than necessary. So when eating a much needed dinner they had decided to leave first thing in the morning. After some much needed sleep they had left the 'Candlehearth hall' inn, a pretty cozy place early in the morning while it was still somewhat dark outside. The plan was to take a carriage to Whiterun, a trip that would take 2-3 days depending on the weather. They would have to make a few stops along the way of course, but there were plenty of inns spread along the long roads that connected the cities. With a bit of luck their trip would be quick and uneventful.
However, that hope was shattered shortly after they got out the front door.
A group of 7 people, some looked like drunks who spent half their time on the streets while the other half looked like they were a bit better off.
The one leading the group, a brute, 5 foot 10 with a stocky build, short hair and a big unkempt beard. He had a wooden club in his hand, one he seemed all too eager to use as he used it as a pointer at an argonian as he spoke.
"Ey lads, I wonder what an argonian are doing out here at this hour" the 'leader' drooled out, clearly drunk.
"Probably sneaking around" Said a second man, older guy, ragged clothes and dirty face but somehow still managing to sound smug.
"I'm not looking for trouble" the argonian forced out through gritted teeth, clearly wanting nothing more than to smack the guy silly. Onmund was pretty sure he could do it as well, the argonian was practically a mountain compared to the leader, he was well fit and easily a head taller with pale read scales. He was wearing a thick cloth shirt and pants that were clearly made with the cold temperatures in mind, decent if a bit worn. A gruff voice pulled him back to the present.
"Oh yes you are argonian, you and the rest of your kind is nothing but trouble" spat a third. A somewhat thin bald man with a knife in his hand.
They were closing in on the argonian, pushing him back towards a wall. Onmund frantically looked around and then silently cursed, why were there no guards nearby? He could've sworn he saw two when they left the inn a few seconds ago. How convenient he thought. The guards suddenly disappear when the idiots decide to gang up on one of the 'outsiders'. This city really was something else.
"Hey!" Onmund shouted at the group, who then promptly turned around and started looking at him like he was their next target.
Quickly realising his mistake he added "Just...calm down okay?" while holding his hands up in an effort to show he didn't mean any harm.
The 'leader' looked at him and Jana, eyes narrowing in suspicion, before his face suddenly changed back into an aggressive snarl again.
"You! I've seen you two, asking questions and snooping around were you don't belong!"
The 'leader said, swinging the bat wildly around.
"I saw them at the grey quarters last night, they are probably working with the rest of those filthy imperials!" all but declared the second guy, finger pointing aggressively in their general direction.
"Listen, we don't want any problems, we were just about to leave" Jana calmly said pointing at the gates while giving a discreet nod to the argonian to leave while the group's attention was on something else.
"You better!" The 'leader' spat pointing the bat at them in a clear threat.
Onmund and Jana slowly grabbed their satchels before backing off, one small step at a time in an attempt to not get the group even more worked up. One they had their feet outside of the main gate they ran.
Just then, they heard a confused voice behind them.
"Wait...what happened to the lizard?"
They found the argonian halfway down the bridge, arms crossed in the shadows of a doorway.
They took a quick look back towards the gates to make sure the group hadn't followed and upon finding it hadn't they joined him inside the small corridor. The walls sheltered them from the worst of the wind, though the temperature was still freezing.
"You're not from around here" The argonian said matter of factually. Eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Were from Winterhold" Onmund said with a half smile, trying to loosen the tension a bit.
The argonian looked them over for another few seconds, taking note of their clothes, bags and lack of weapons before seemingly reaching the conclusion that they weren't there to kill him.
"The name is Thorak. I suppose I owe you one for helping me get away bag there"
Though clearly weary of them he seemed grateful for their help
"Why are they like that?" Asked Jana. They were used to getting a cold shoulder from most of the people in Winterhold, mostly because they didn't trust the magic that they worked with at the college. And while Jana understood how people could fear the unknown she didn't understand why they were so damn dedicated to not knowing anything about it. It was like they had reached the conclusion that magic was evil and wasn't interested in listening to anyone else's opinion about it. To her it was common knowledge that you would never broaden the mind if you feared the unknown. But like the group of people they just met it seemed that not everyone shared her point of view.
"Their minds are clouded by fear" He said disdainful. Reptilian eyes glaring at the now closed gates "It's been like that since Ulfrik took the throne"
Onmund and Jana looked at each other, neither had known anything about. They had of course heard that Ulfrick had killed Torygg, presumably in a trial by combat, but nothing beyond that. They really needed to get out more often, Winterhold was isolated as it is, but the college was even more so, no one seemed to really care all that much about what happened in the outside world.
"We're taking a carriage to Whiterun…" She said a bit unsure "If you need a lift"
He looked back at the gates before letting out a sigh while slightly shaking his head.
"Yeah… Why not, I'm sure they can make do without me at the docks for a while"
"Hey Onmund, heard anything from you family?"
Onmund looked up from the book he was reading, one on theory on fire magic, firebolts in particular. The carriage bumped lightly after hitting a rock, their driver whistled an unknown tune in the background, while the birds chipped somewhere above in the trees.
"Yeah, I received a letter from my mother a few weeks back, she essentially just told me about all the things I was missing out on at home and how they still think moving to the college was a bad idea"
Thorak raised a scaly eyebrow but said nothing.
"I know she is trying to say she misses you and all that but she sure has a strange way of doing it" Jana said with a slight scowl before looking at Thorak
"What about you? Got any family in Windhelm?"
"My mother left when I was young, never knew her" Thorak said in an indifferent tone.
"What about your father?" Jana asked cautiously, suddenly feeling like she was intruding but still curious to know.
"He fell, a few years back"
"I'm sorry" Now feeling even more badly about asking.
Thorak huffed dismissively before adding in a somber tone "Sooner or later everyone does"
Jana wasn't sure how to respond so she just remained silent, deciding to observe the landscape instead.
It was at this point Onmund realised he'd never actually seen an argonian before. There were none in the area were he used to live with his family and he never met one at the college either. Not that he had anything against them, like the cajits they were a bit different from humans but close enough that it didn't really bother him. Thinking about it, the only cajit he'd ever met was J'zargo and he didn't exactly set the bar that high. Like he was decent enough and hard working but his social skills were somewhere between 'passive aggressive' and 'I am better than you'. Onmund couldn't help but smile at the whole thing.
He really needed to get out more often...
Things are going to be picking up a bit with the next few chapters, so fun times ahead.
You will find him in the mountains, and you'll find him in the creek. He has no mouth - Yet he speaks in every tongue.
He has no ears - And yet will answer every cry. Always having the final word. You heard me before, you hear me again, then I die, 'Til you call me again.