By: The Orange Mask
She didn’t have the prettiest face I’d ever seen; brown hair, somewhat sunken-in eyes, some tangled hair, but it’s not like I would’ve cared; I don’t like the bossy, in-your-face types anyway.
“That… was impressive.” She managed to stammer out in disbelief.
“Thank you. Now how about that drink? I’m sure a nice woman like you would rather be at a bar than in a dank place such as this.”
That last quip provoked a rather hard slap across the face.
“That wasn’t necessary, you know. Now if you could just take off these cuffs I’d-“
“Not yet, mage. You said you know nothing about this war?”
Damn it. I was looking forward to getting a chance to study with Wuunferth this evening. I’ll have to settle with some target practice.
“Good. You’re going to be my little spy for the day.”
“Oh, joy. Now, if you would just please unchackle me-“
“Oh, no you don’t ! You’re not going to pull any fancy magic tricks on me!”
I rolled my eyes. Just then, the bag of coins on the table beside me lifted into the air. The woman just stood there, dumbfounded.
“You- you were just toying with me?”
“Yes, I thought I’d already explained that with the coins. Now, if you’d please…?” I jangled the chain against the seat of the chair for emphasis.
She grudgingly walked behind me and unshackled me. She then walked back to the front of the room, blocking the door.
“Now then, where am I going and what am I doing?”
“Ugh, fine. You’re to look for anything incriminating the dark elves in Windhelm of helping crime or the Imperials. Report anything you see to me, NOT the Jarl. Got it?”
“Yes, yes… may I go now?”
With a grunt, the aggravated woman unlocked the door and opened it. Within a few minutes we were out in the street; a dark, cruddy slum with no guards patrolling and no Nords in sight. I grabbed her arm, only to have her recoil in disgust.
“What was that for?” she blurted out.
“You said you’d let me take you out for a drink, remember? I think I know just the place…” I said, turning to look at a small door, crooked and half-broken.
“Why there?” she asked. I hated explaining myself. It took too long and was quite boring. So I simply grabbed a firm hold of her arm and dragged her along with me, to much protest.
We entered the rather small, run-down pub quietly. Many of the patrons still in the bar had been here since perhaps midnight, maybe earlier. The room itself smelled like brew, sickness and other unmentionables. However, smells aren’t everything. I approached the barkeep and asked him for a two drinks. Then I felt something in my left hand. Oh, the woman, right. I sat her down on a stool.
“Just stay quiet and let me do the-“
“All of you gray skins, listen up! Where are you hiding the imperials?” I almost punched her in the face for that comment. However, I like to think of myself as better than that. Still, this girl was obviously a lost cause when it comes to subtlety. Instead, I merely left the stupid woman in the pub, stood up, and walked out.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re-“ I heard someone grunt and a loud smacking sound. I let the door slam behind me, not looking back. I meandered through the streets of Windhelm, trying to get my bearings. Eventually I made my way back to the Jarl’s hall, to a not-so-warm welcome and some questioning by a few guards. Undeterred, however, I asked the guards where Wuunferth was.
“He’s in his quarters, just down the hall from your own room.” The guard replied, quite happily. “Sorry for the rough handling, sir.” I grunted a reply, straining to concentrate on the calm spell I had cast over the many guards in the room. I gave a sigh of relief as I left the room, making my way to Wuunferth’s chamber. I stood outside of Wuunferth’s chamber for a few moments, just savoring this little victory.
“Finally,” I said, opening the door to Wuunferth’s chamber. “Wuunferth? Are you in here?”
“What!? Who is it?” the obviously peeved old man blurted out.
“Your friend from the college. I believe you replied to my letter asking about your research?” Wuunferth grunted, obviously still unhappy with this interruption.
“Could you please just keep quiet? I’m attempting to create a rather difficult enchantment…” I would have questioned him further, but I advised myself against it; perhaps with a lesser mage, but Wuunferth was known for his skill with the destruction school, and I’m not sure if I could’ve stopped him in time.
This period of silence went on for several minutes, with the only sound being a soft humming sound emanating from the enchanting table. The humming eventually stopped, but I was wary about speaking. He was most likely inspecting the enchantment, another process that required silence, as the magic emanating from most enchantments is very difficult to detect.
“Well, what is it? Why do you feel the need to interrupt my experiments?” Wuunferth finally turned around, showing his wrinkled face. He looked to be 60, but I wasn’t stupid enough to actually believe that; a good wizard will often live for 150 years. He was probably closer to 90.
“Wuunferth, you read my letters. I wish to know of your research, and in turn, I’ll teach you of what I know.” I was, frankly, quite annoyed with him at this point. He was proving to be quite stubborn. Of course, I suppose that’s to be expected of a Nord.
“Hah! I doubt you could teach me much about magic, boy! You look like you could teach me more about blades. However, it has been a while since I’ve shared information with the college… oh, very well! Where do you want to start?” Did I see a smile, or was that just the torchlight? Either way, Wuunferth didn’t seem like the type to smile often, so I took it as a good omen. Here we go, I suppose.
To be continued…
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