The Dragon's Legacy: Return

Chapter Twenty-One: Discerning the Transmundane

After hours of re-reading and discussing the contents of the books, the trio began to feel their sides ache from hunger while their necks cramped from stooping over the pages. Aurelion led them through the college to the Hall of Attainment, which was a group of rooms for the apprentices within the student body. As they circled around a central brazier filled with blue fire that was cool to the touch, a heavily accented Kahjiit voice purred, "Who comes along your tail, Aurelion?" 

The elf chuckled as he turned toward a figure sitting crossed-legged on the floor with a scroll laid out on the stone in front of him. "This is my friend Eerika, and her companion. Eerika, this is my partner, J'Zargo."

The Kahjiit clicked his claws against the floor as he stood, pushing back the mages hood upon his brow. His long, dark ears were perked in interest as his whiskers twitched. "Can this be the woman you spoke of to J'Zargo not long ago? My friend, she is much more beautiful than you described." He smiled at her and took her hand, placing his velvety lips upon her skin.

"Well, I'm not the best storyteller." His golden eyes flashed over to Eerika, but he looked away quickly.

"And you are?" J'Zargo looked to the woman standing beside Eerika.

"Lydia, Housecarl of Whiterun." She stuck her nose ever so slightly in the air.

Another long purr radiated in his throat. "A pleasure. You must know of Onmund, he comes from the city you speak of."

Lydia swallowed looking around. "I'm not entirely sure-"

"Nonsense, let me take him to you." The Kahjiit then took her by the hand and drug her out of the room and up to a set of stairs. 

Eerika giggled at the thought of Lydia being flung into a man's arms as her bouts of protest faded as she traveled down the hall.

"Come, follow me." She heard Aurelion say as he walked past her to a small arch-way.

The doorway led into a large room, but the floor and the walls were cluttered with books, alchemical ingredients, and collections of strange items. Beneath a mess of letters and papers, you could see the outline of a bed and a desk. 

"Where did you find the time to collect all of this? " Eerika asked, stepping over to the bookshelf to observe a small blue butterfly enclosed in a jar, slowly opening and closing its delicate wings. "It's only been a couple of weeks since I last saw you in Solitude."

"Here and there," He sighed, shifting a tower of books off a chair. "I had nothing after I left the embassy, so I started a hobby of collecting things."

Eerika chuckled as she lifted up the small skull of a rat that rested between two jars of blue liquid. "It looks more like hoarding to me."

"Mind you, it's collecting." He smiled, plucking the small mammal skull out of her hand. "Here, let me show you." Aurelion then rummaged behind a row of books and took out a small lockbox that fit in the palm of his hand. He handed it to Eerika, saying, "Open it."

Giving him a curious look, she took of ahold of the small box and lifted the latch. Inside was a vast array of gems, rubies the color of blood, white diamonds appearing as if they were made from starlight. She felt a breath of awe escape her lips as a rainbow of color shone out over the room. "Where..." She managed to whisper.

"We've been excavating an old Nordic settlement, Sarthal. Inside, there were gems and rings of all shapes and sizes. I've only managed to grab a handful of them before my masters caught me. I wanted to study them, but they're just plain jewels." He smiled softly.

 Eerika felt his gaze upon her, but she swallowed and tried to ignore the warmth of her cheeks. "These are anything but plain. They're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."