It was still well before dawn when I woke to find the blizzard had passed, knowing both Masser and Scunda would be full and up til past dawn, I fixed breakfast. I woke Marcurio, we ate then left the barrow. The land was lit up by the moon's and an Aurora, putting on a beautiful display. We walked quickly to warm up our bodies, but not so fast that we would start to sweat, something that could be deadly in this weather.
Reaching Winterhold in the early afternoon we walked strait up to the College, where we ran into a hiccup in our otherwise smooth day. One of the members was guarding the way in and seemed to want me to perform some kind of test to prove I belonged at the college. Just as I was about to unleash a levitation spell on the her, Marcurio walked around me. She smiled at him with a slight blush, the little hussy. "Oh, I didn't see you. You two go right in, I didn't know she was with you". I almost caste the spell on her anyway.
"Have you flirted with every female in Skyrim, Marcurio?"
" Now, why do you think I am here instead of The Imperial City?" he said with a roll of his eyes
I snorted and kept walking. Finding my way to the Library was no problem, I had been their countless times before. I asked Marcurio to distract the Librarian, so I kept my hood up and my head down. When Marcurio caught his attention and he started in a spiel that must of been decades old.
"Old Man, I'll take your Atronach's and raise you two Dremora Lords". I said slyly as I pulled my hood down. Then started laughing as his jaw dropped and he snapped his mouth shut. Orc's really have to be careful about that, he just about bit his lip.
He moved around the desk and caught me in a bear hug that threatened to crack my rib's. "Zane, girl, you don't look a day older and it's been.... at least 25 yrs. Where have you been?"
"Chasing vampires," I shrugged one shoulder, "That's what I am doing here. I'm searching for an Elder Scroll or a rumor of where one might be. I don't suppose you have one?"
"No, not a single Elder Scroll in my library, it could use one though. I do however have a couple book's that might point you in the right direction". He walked over to a locked book case and brought out two book's laying them on the counter.
" You remember Septimus Signus, I think he had just gotten here before you left". I looked at both book's and chose the one not Signus, after leafing though that one quickly, I picked up the book by Signus. Read through it twice and grimaced, as I put it back down.
"I don't think I recall him, but from reading his book, he sounds a few eggs short of a dozen."
Urag, shook his head and then said he probably was. He had disappeared, somewhere up in the Ice flows and hadn't been heard from in a couple year's.
" Do you know if I still have my room here or did they give it to someone?" I didn't hold out much hope, but it never hurts to ask.
" They gave your room away about 10, maybe 15 years ago, you really should come by more often". I Just nodded at him and said thank's, gave him a kiss on his cheek and walked out.
"He's a Librarian Marcurio, he'd rather my story in writing, than spoken. If that is your wondering." We left the college and walked to the Inn, where I ordered dinner and two room's. " I suppose I should write a journal and then send them to him, that he would be interested in."
" Actually, I was wondering if you planned on taking us out to the ice flows and wander around". He said as the bar maid brought us our food. I saw him slip a gold piece in her rather low bodice, well she was showing off her asset's.
" No, not wander, I did some Ice fishing and Horker hunting with a couple of families that used to live up here. There are a good many island's with cave's and such, but their are a few that I think might interest a crazy scholar, we'll start with those". I could tell he wasn't really listening, but that was ok, if I was a young man, I wouldn't be listening to me either. She really was pretty and well built.
After dinner I left Marcurio to his own graces and went outside to talk to the guards. They are always a good source of information. One of the guard's remembered the family that fished the waters, but said they had moved closer to Solitude. After a couple more questions he did tell me that he had overheard one of them tell the other they would miss the extra coin from the mage. He didn't know anymore, but called over an older guard that told me the family had taken supplies out to a mage, that was hold up in a cave. He gave directions as best he could and also told me where a boat could be found, the owner having disappeared. I thanked both men and asked if they got off duty soon, both said yes, so I told them I would buy them some ale and dinner.
I pulled an old book out of my pocket, sometime in the past it had gotten wet and the ink was smeared or just plain gone, I used it to write lists and other things I wanted to remember down, with a piece of charcoal. Just as I finished up my lists of supplies we would need, the two guards came through the door or the Inn, with a third. I motioned them over and the Inn Keeper brought all of us a round of ale and asked the guards what they wanted to eat.
"All of us got off duty at the same time, but Raic will pay for his own meal". the eldest guard said. I told them not to worry, I would enjoy their company. One of the guards asked about my armor, having noticed that My and Marcurio's armor were similar. I told them we were part of the newly formed Dawnguard and on the look out for anyone that wanted to join in our fight against vampires. I listened to them talking for awhile and joined in with stories of my own.
"Let me tell you about the Barmaid at the Inn right outside the Imperial City and how she...volunteered to join the mages guild. She was a pretty little thing, dark of hair, blue eyes and a curvey figure that belied her small stature. It seem's that guards and traveler's to the Inn alike kept coming up with coin missing, but none could figure out exactly how. Coin purses tied on the inside of clothing and sealed shut would come up empty just as quickly as mugs of ale. After a couple months of complaints and the guard not figuring it out, they asked the Mages guild to send someone around. A Little old man of a mage walked through the door, in clothing that looked strait off a merchants caravan. He spread a little coin around and rented a room for a couple days. He watched everyone for a few days, while reading various book's he pulled out of his bag's. When some coin and a precious stone disappeared from his pocket, he noticed the change in weight. He concentrated but neither saw nor felt a body around him, which would happen if one was using an Invisibility spell or potion. He whispered the tiniest spell and felt the answer, magic but not what he had thought. He got up and walked out the door and walked a little bit up the road. When he ran into one of the city guard, he gave the man a note, which he said to deliver to the watch Captain. He then strolled back down the road, taking his time getting back to the Inn.
He sat back down and pulled out his book's. About three quarters of an hour later the watch Captain and two guards walked through the door and over to where he sat. With a couple word's to the little mage, the Captain called everyone in the room together, as they stood their in a line the little old mage stood up.
"Captain, the reason I asked you to bring battlemages with you, is that your thief stole a precious stone, but it's not just any stone. This stone has a spell on it, this spell is peculiar in that it can only be removed from one person to another by magic and the holder can't remove it at all. It is in the pocket of one of the people in this room. Just have them turn their pockets inside out." as he finished his sentence the barmaid disappeared for a brief second and then reappeared. " Oh did I forget to mention, that it also won't get more than 100 paces from the caster of the spell?"
The Battlemages walked over to the barmaid and watched her closely as the little mage called his rune stone back to him. " If the Lady is willing, she may become a pupil of the mages guild, in Bruma. Otherwise the Lady can sit in a prison cell until she changes her mind".
As it happened gentlemen, she choose to go to Bruma with the old mage. In the course of time, she became a very highly respected mage in the guild. I know because I was one of the Imperial Battlemages that escorted her to Bruma. The old mage had her cast a rune spell on another stone and kept hold of it, so that she wouldn't run away. And with that Gentlemen have a good night".
I then got up and made my way to my bed and a good nights sleep.
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