Studying Abroad, Part 4

• Posted by Genkami May 26, 2013 - 779 views

  Here's the 'season finale' of Studying Abroad. I'll be writing a lot more over the next few weeks, but if you don't have the time to read it, this is a good place to stop. Hope you enjoy it!

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  Studying Abroad, Part 4

  By: The Orange Mask

  “Now, I have been working on a few new enchantments…” Wuunferth was rummaging through a chest full of rather sharp objects including more than a few daggers. He seemed as eager to show his work as I had been to meet him, though, as he almost dove into the chest.

  “…Ah! Here they are!” Wuunferth layed a few assorted objects out on the bed, each glowing with numerous colors. Needless to say, I was intrigued.

  Maybe I could enchant my axe with one of these… I found myself thinking.

  “Well, then, let’s start with this one. Seems like a normal enchantment, right? Well, watch this!” Wuunferth waved a dagger over an amulet with what appeared to be a stamina enchantment on it. Suddenly, the glow disappeared. My eyes grew wide, astonished by what I saw.

  “Did it just-“

  “Yes!” Wuunferth said, “It absorbed the enchantment! I’ve been working on this one for years.” Wuunferth admired his brainchild for a few moments (as did I), then adopted a more serious expression.

  “Now, don’t go telling anyone else about this. Not even your colleagues at the college; or you will find several angry atronachs at your door. Understood?” I nodded in agreement, still flabbergasted at Wuunferth’s achievement. This could change the face of enchanting!

  “I have encountered one problem, though; the absorbed enchantment isn’t usable. It’s almost as if the enchantment has been sucked into Oblivion itself. I can’t draw it back out. Perhaps you have an idea?” Wuunferth looked quite eager to hear what I had to say, for the first time since I had walked into the room. I stood there for a minute, contemplating what could have happened to the enchantment.

  “Hmm… Perhaps you can’t use the enchantment because the absorption mechanic is considered an enchantment. We’d need to find a way to use the dagger as a sort of funnel, to draw the enchantment into another object.”

  “Yes, I’ve thought of that!” Wuunferth snapped. “Don’t take me for a total fool! The question is, what exactly could we draw it into? How could we draw the enchantment into it? How could we catch the enchantment before it gets sucked in?”

  “I don’t know, Wuunferth,” I said, somewhat distracted. “Maybe a walk would help. Shall we?”

  “What?” Wuunferth asked, obviously confused, and slightly upset by my apparent lack in interest.

  “I often find that the best solutions can be found in everyday life. So I’ll ask again; shall we go for a walk?”

  Wuunferth just stood there for a few seconds, either thinking it over or trying to wrap his head around the idea of a magician who learned from the mundane. “Oh, fine.”

  Within five minutes we were outside. It was just about noon as we stepped out of the door. Wuunferth squinted in the sunlight, and pulled his hood farther over his face.

  “What are we doing out here, again? I don’t see any solutions to our problem here.”

  “We’ve only been out here a minute! The answers don’t always come to you, Wuunferth. Sometimes you have to work for them.”

  “They are easier to work for when I’m inside, away from this damned blinding sunlight and the bickering people.”

  I simply ignored that last comment and kept on walking. “Let’s go to the blacksmith’s. I have an idea…” I trailed off, starting to walk more quickly. Wuunferth grunted disapprovingly (something I get the feeling he does a lot) and started to follow.

  Within a few minutes, we were at the blacksmith’s, watching him forge a few sword blanks.

  “I don’t see how this is helping us. I’m going back to try to figure this out in my study. You can watch this drivel as long as you want; don’t come back until you have an answer.” I began to question why I bothered trying to be nice to Wuunferth. He certainly doesn’t return the favor. I entertained the idea of being mean to him in my head for a bit, then went back to the task at hand.

  I watched how the blacksmith made the swords: first, he set the blanks in the fire to heat up. Next, he takes the blanks out and cools them in water. The water takes the heat from the blank, tempering the steel. But what if the water was in a metal tub? Wouldn’t the heat from the water make the tub hot? Hmm…

  That’s it! I immediately ran back to Wuunferth’s study and bursted through the door, provoking a battery of insults and general not-so-nice comments. Ignoring the onslaught, I just focused on regaining my breath.

  “…now that you’ve managed to make me lose my train of thought, have you figured out our little problem?” Wuunferth seemed to have run out of insults (a major feat). I took the opportunity to explain myself.

  “Yes, actually. May I see the dagger?” Wuunferth paused for a minute, then handed over the dagger.

  “Just be careful! Soul gems aren’t cheap, you know!” I grunted and continued to explain.

  “Okay, just bear with me here. Imagine enchantments as fire and heat. The dagger is a bucket of water, taking away heat from other objects. But what if we could capture that heat by putting, say, a metal sheet on top of the water?”

  “Just get to the point, boy! I never enjoyed poetry, or metaphors for that matter.”

  I continued, slightly perturbed. “What I’m getting at is, what if we put another enchantment on the dagger? One that could take the absorbed enchantment?”

  “How would we do that? You can’t just change enchantments willy-nilly on an item. Once you enchant it, those enchantments are set for eternity.”

  “Then why don’t we put just formless magicka in the object? The magicka could morph as the enchantment of the item changes.”

  “Oh, that-         …might just work. The only problem is, the enchantment I made requires both hands to use.”

  “Well, we’ve got four, don’t we? Come on; we’ve got a lot of enchanting to do.” Wuunferth asked the local blacksmith to make us as many daggers as he could, and handed him a big bag of gold in exchange. One hour later, ten daggers arrived at Wuunferth’s door. We immediately got started, hunched over the enchanting table.

  The thing about enchanting is that, while an item can be enchanted with more than on enchantment, the enchanting can only take place at one moment. Anything done to the item after that moment won’t do anything to the enchantment. A single enchantment requires at least one hand to use; more complicated ones require two, such as the one Wuunferth devised. I could supply the extra hands, but our timing must be perfect; so much as a split-second off and we’d end up with a waste of magicka.

  I had hoped we could get it right the first time, but that wasn’t the case. A few dozen daggers and more than 12 hours later, Wuunferth and I were exhausted both magically and physically.

  “This is hopeless! How can we synchronize our spells exactly?” Wuunferth was almost done; the bags under his eyes had sagged even further. I wasn’t doing so well, myself.

  “I have an idea. What if we used some kind of timing, like a drum, or a flashing magelight?” When I received no response, I shot a pulsing light over the enchanting table. Groaning, Wuunferth approached the table.

  “If this doesn’t work, I’m giving up,” Wuunferth said groggily. I thought I’d never hear an stalwart old man like him say that, especially not about his life’s work. Although I didn’t want to admit it, I was just about readly to give up as well. I just shrugged it off and started counting down from ten.

  “Five… Four… Three… Two… One…!” I shot what had to be some of the last magicka reserves in my body into the dagger as Wuunferth did the same. I then proceeded to pass out from exhaustion. Just before I did, however, I saw Wuunferth do the same out of the corner of my eye. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Wuunferth saw how similar we were.

  The next morning, I awoke to a splitting headache and aching arms, yet I’d never been as happy in my life. I rose from the floor to see Wuunferth holding the dagger, which was glowing an almost unnatural shade of blue. He waved it over a pair of gauntlets glowing a vibrant shade of pink, and lo and behold, the glow disappeared from the gauntlets and, after a moment’s pause, reappeared on the dagger.

  “It works! It really works!” I had only known Wuunferth for a day, and yet I’d already seen him smile twice. I considered myself a lucky man. I smiled as Wuunferth tested out the effect a few more times.

  “What time is it?” I said with a chuckle. “We’ve probably been asleep since-“

  “Just around 9:00,” Wuunferth said, almost dismissively. “Do you realize what this could mean for the magical community? I could be famous!”

  “We could be famous, Wuunferth.” I said. He’s either greedy or just astounded by the discovery.

  “Yes, well… oh, all right! Out, then! I’ve much to do, and you do too, no doubt. While you’re here, though, might I ask how long you’ll be staying?” He seemed eager to hear my answer.

  “Oh, I suppose I could stay a few more days as long as the Jarl doesn’t mind.” I chuckled as I walked out of the room, knowing the next few days were going to be interesting, indeed. I’d best go get my notebook; don’t want to miss anything.

  To be continued…