18 - Victoria - The Road to the Arcane University:

I had no further business to attend to in Leyawiin, bar the sale of the miscellanies goods I had acquired, and with this in mind I headed for the 'Best Goods and Guarantees' – a shop run by the Bosner Gundalas. Although I doubted I would receive all that much coin for what I was selling, I nevertheless charmed him with my spell of beguiling touch, allowing me to achieve better prices. I sometimes wonder why people don't just use charm all the time, it certainly seems swift and effective, although the former is likely the reason it isn't so widely used – a couple of minutes is the longest you can expect the spell to last. The only items I wished to dispose of were a silver dagger, and a number of potions which I had found (as opposed to created – it seemed my riding had left me with far fewer reagents, as I had feared), and the sale of these increased my gold reserves from just under nine hundred to slightly over one thousand – better than nothing I suppose, but that staff at Rindir's will clearly have to wait. With this task out of the way I departed the town gate, mounted Shadow, and rode north. The weather was clear initially, although pleasantly cool – in part due to the moderating influence of a number of deep lakes in the vicinity.

I had departed Leyawiin at slightly before three in the afternoon, but within moments the sky had darkened – and the hills rumbled ominously. Obviously despite the prior promise of a clear day, my ride was likely to be a dark affair – and the rain began to fall heavily. The weather was the least of my concerns however, as I have said before I don't particularly mind storms – they can be rather exhilarating, rather my mind was focussed upon riding carefully, for the road was teeming with unfriendly creatures and bandits. Within but a few minutes I passed wolves, rats, bandits and deer – I was, fortunately, faster than them all, although it took a time for the chasing wolves to finally fall behind. In all these instances I avoided combat, wishing instead to make good time to Bruma, and attain my final guild reference – further, with the quantity of foes upon the road there was a chance I might be overwhelmed.

As the evening began to set in I encountered a group of goblins upon the road, in addition to a large black bear, which I again avoided. It seems I shall have to train myself to deal with these new and greater threats, although it is possible that this road is simply more dangerous than those I had travelled earlier. By this point I was on a similar latitude to the Imperial City, and it rose into view on my west as I rode – it seemed unlikely that I would reach Bruma before the night had fallen, but I had no intention of stopping at an inn or to rest.

The road remained dangerous even to the north of Lake Rumare, however here it was at least patrolled by mounted Imperial guards, and I encountered them fighting wolves and bears in two separate instances – and in both cases I waited the fight out, before taking the furs for myself - as I planned to sell them. Now above Lake Rumare, I joined the silver road leading north, the air now positively chilled, in part doubtless due to the onset of the night, however having been to Cloud Top I was well aware that the north of Cyrodiil seemed of a colder climate than the south. It was upon this road that I again passed a bandit, however judging from the purple glow emanating from the Khajiit's mace, it was enchanted, and I decided to dismount and claim it for myself – as it would likely sell for a high price. Unfortunately upon dismounting a trio of wolves ran from the woods onto the road, assaulting myself and Shadow. It was at this point that I discovered Shadow's previously unknown combat abilities, as he killed the wolves while I dealt with the highwayman. It seems he can take care for himself, which is pleasing – as to lose a horse that cost me five thousand gold would be a tad depressing.

The mace was indeed enchanted, and I judged its true worth to stand at slightly under half a thousand gold, although I doubted I would meet a shopkeeper willing to pay such. Nevertheless the stop had been instructive, if not particularly lucrative, and I again mounted Shadow, and rode north. The air was definitely getting colder, and as I finally caught sight of Bruma it began to snow, my robes fortunately protecting me from the chill.

I didn't investigate the town extensively, for not only was the snow yet falling, but the long ride had left me weary. I therefore made a bee line for the local mages guild, a building constructed of wood – although it looked a great deal better than Bravil's exemplar. Entering, I ascended some stairs to find a room – however it appeared to be the residence of the ranking guild head, and I therefore departed, choosing instead to sleep in the living quarters in the lower levels. It was by now just before eleven in the evening, and I stayed a bed till just after nine, enjoying a dreamless sleep.

The room I had occupied also played host to a number of alchemical ingredients, and I took these for myself – perhaps it would make up a little for the items I had passed as I rode. Being a member of the guild I don't think its exactly illegal for me to take them, but as no one was in sight it hardly mattered – it wasn't like I was planning to sell them in their current form. Leaving the room, I soon encountered the guild head – a Breton lady by the name of Jeanne Frasoric – and she told me my task – to find a missing individual; one J'skar. Judging from the name my target was a Khajiit, but with no further leads I determined to ask around the guild hall for information.

The first person I encountered was a cheerful Altmer named Volanaro, who I charmed before approaching. Such seems to be a habit for me, but I suspect he would have been pleasant enough even without its influence. He implied that he knew where I could find J'skar, but asked that I first retrieve, that is - steal, a manual of spellcraft from Jeanne. I knew where her room was (having wandered in the previous night), and although Volanaro offered to provide me with a spell of unlocking, it was far weaker than those I possessed, and I politely declined. Her room was unoccupied, and I found the book easily enough, although it seemed surprisingly basic in content, certainly when you consider it was owned by an 'Arch-Magister'. Volanaro had mentioned that he enjoyed practical jokes, and I suspected now that J'skar's disappearance may simply be another prank at Jeanne's expense. In that case the task should be simple enough to complete, as considering her lack lustre abilities at spell casting it was quite possible that the cat is simply wandering the halls invisible.

Returning to Volanaro, he thanked me for the stolen manual, and said he would meet me in the living quarters at ten in the evening, to show me J'skar. It was now late morning, but I had no particular desire to explore the town for now – particularly in the cold, and therefore I determined to practise my spellcraft in the living quarters while waiting for Volanaro. I also wished to see if I were correct in my suspicions regarding J'skar, and so upon entering the living quarters I cast a spell of detect life. It was here that I noticed the spell highlighting an otherwise empty space – obviously an invisible occupant was present. However I did not approach, preferring rather to appear ignorant and hold the card up my sleeve – as I have said before, I prefer others to underestimate me.

I spent until ten in the evening practising my basic summon spells, while occasionally resting to recover my strength and take a break, for training is a draining process. At last however I felt myself to be an expert in the field of conjuration – and spells which had previously been of great cost to my magical reserves were now significantly less costly. I now looked forward to the cantrips I would create and use for training that I could acquire in the Arcane University – as I have said before, my intention now is to become expert in all magical fields, while attaining a permanent residence befitting me.

My thoughts were disrupted by the entry of Volanaro, and the invisible individual – as again revealed by my detect life spell. Nevertheless I affected surprise when a dispel spell from Volanaro revealed J'skar – who was indeed a Khajiit; I suppose the cat races native stealth skills kept him unheard during this prank. He didn't mind me informing Jeanne, which was handy, as I would have told her anyway. She seemed a little distracted – likely by the loss of her book, but provided the guild reference as she had said she would. At last the road to the Arcane University stood open.

Once again I spent the night at the guild, this time considering the guild halls. They seemed extremely unprofessional to me, and while I had been told that the power of the guild rested at the Arcane University, I hoped this was not merely comparative power – for the vast majority of reference quests had amounted to petty games and vendettas. I wondered now if it had always been this way, or indeed if many applicants simply gave up on attaining entry to the guild – or had been killed from stupid demands, such as to collect a ring of burden from a well. My sleep was disturbed this night however, for in my dreams a bright light shone upon me, and I felt myself begin to lose substance. The light was bright, harsh, and above all cold – and it seemed familiar, yet I was woken by the rise of the residents of the mages guild before it became clear, and I was merely left with a sense of unease. This was not sufficient to slow my plans, and I immediately departed the guild hall, exited the main gate, mounted Shadow (who had been cared for by the local stables) and rode south.

The weather was clear but chill, until I at last approached the upper edge of Lake Rumare, where the sun at last warmed me. I avoided all hostile encounters, instead making all haste to the Imperial City, meaning at times I was being chased by a number of foes. So it was that as I reached the Wawnet Inn, which marked the bridge into the Imperial City, I noted a wolf was on my tail. Realising that there would be guards stationed outside the main gate I simply rode across the bridge, the wolf in pursuit, until at last I reached the main gate, where the sentry obliged in swift order, adding an additional pelt to my collection.

After weeks of travel and petty task, I have at last attained access to the Arcane University, where I can at last begin to progress through the ranks. However as I have said before, I intend to join all guilds before making particular progress in one, and therefore following the sale of my items, and entry into the University, I must at last consider how I can find the Grey Fox – surely the head of the Thieves Guild, if it does indeed exist, in addition to considering an individual to murder – and so gain me a visit from the Dark Brotherhood. Before this however I shall gain my staff, and further train my arcane skills, and finally – acquire a residence. I feel I have put that off long enough.