By: The Orange Mask
The Jarl’s palace was a rather large wood and stone fort, furnished very nicely on the inside. My headache subsided a bit as I walked in. Perhaps Claudia was right; maybe sunlight did make a hangover worse. Claudia seemed to relax a bit, as well. I couldn’t help but glance at her as she sighed with relief. I shook my head and began to walk toward the Jarl’s court.
“Damn, we forgot to eat before we left.” I whispered to Claudia as we walked up a small flight of stairs. I saw that the jarl’s tables were filled with guards and court members enjoying a nice breakfast. Suddenly my stomach growled as the aromas of delicious, home-made food reached me. Claudia laughed a bit.
“You’re right. Oh, well, I guess we can get something later.”
“Yeah. All right, just let me do the talking.” I said. Claudia gave a grunt of response as we approached the Jarl’s throne, only to be stopped by a dark elf with her hand on her sword’s hilt.
“Who dares approach the Jarl’s throne unannounced?” she said, sounding stern and somewhat intimidating.
“I am a mage from the College of Winterhold, here to discuss the dragon attack at the Western Watchtower a few years back. You replied that you would see me, yes?”
“You didn’t mention another person in your letters.”
“A late addition.”
“No one approaches the Jarl without my say. It is my duty as housecarl-“
“Irileth! Let them pass.” The Jarl himself spoke up, and Irileth groaned, obviously unhappy with her judgement being overridden. Still, she stepped aside and let us pass.
“I’m watching you two.” She said, and backed up to stand beside the Jarl.
“Welcome, scholar. It’s not often you see someone of your kind around here. I am Balgruuf, the Jarl of Whiterun.” He had a very Nordic accent in his voice, something hard to mimic or describe.
“It is an honor, Jarl Balgruuf. I sent a letter a few months back, requesting an audience with you.”
“I remember. And who is your friend here?”
“Ah, this is-“
“Claudia Tulli, at your service.” I was startled and somewhat angry at being interrupted, but that anger dissipated as I turned to look at her. I suddenly realized that I hadn’t even asked about her last name. I dismissed the thought, smiled, and looked back at the Jarl.
“A lovely name for a lovely woman. Welcome, both of you, to Whiterun! While I know that you are probably eager to ask me and my court about the dragons, perhaps you’d like to enjoy a nice meal first?” My stomach growled just then. There was silence for a second, and I was somewhat afraid of the Jarl’s reaction. Then he broke out in laughter. “I’ll take that as a yes, then!
And so, Claudia, Irileth, Jarl Balgruuf and I joined the rest of the Jarl’s court at the table and began to eat. Although it had only been about three days since I had had a hot meal, it felt like much longer. I ate only two of the courses, though, before I was full. Claudia didn’t eat hardly anything, however. When I asked her about it, she said she felt sick. It must’ve been the hangover, because a few minutes later, I wasn’t feeling so well, either. We waited for the jarl and his court to finish eating before continuing the interview.
“So, then, you want to know about dragons?” Jarl Balgruuf said after I’d re-explained myself. “Well, I myself can’t say much, but my housecarl Irileth can. She fought the one that attacked the Western Watchtower.”
“That’s right, I did. It was one of the hairiest fights I’d ever been in.” Irileth said, obviously not wanting to talk to me. Getting any uselful information out of her would probably be difficult.
“How big was the dragon? Did it have any magical weaknesses? Could you puncture its scales with a sword? Did it breathe ice or fire?” I figured if I gave some specific questions I might be able to get a straight answer.
“Now hold on, there. I’ll tell you what I know. The dragon was massive; its wingspan was probably as wide as the watchtower was tall. I wasn’t stupid enough to run up to the dragon with a sword, but one of the guards did. It seemed to cut through, but the sword was pretty bent up after we got it out of the dragon’s stomach. Lightning didn’t seem to do much, but its fire attacks were definitely magic-based.”
“Is that it? Can you remember anything else?” I tried to frantically write down the information in my notebook while I asked questions.
“Er, why don’t you go ask Farengar, my court wizard?” Jarl Balgruuf asked, trying to break the conversation up. “He’s been interested in dragons for a few years now.”
“Oh, fine.” I said as I got up, realizing I wasn’t going to get any more information from Irileth. Claudia quickly joined me as I walked into Farengar’s study. She began to move close to me (a little closer than I’d have liked), but I said nothing. Farengar was poring over some scrolls as we approached him. I cleared my throat to get Farengar’s attention. Farengar seemed rather annoyed by my interruption.
“Yes, what is it? I’m very busy.”
“What, no time to spend discussing dragons with a fellow mage?” I said. This immediately got his attention. His eyes snapped up, and his head followed.
“Ah, another mage! That’s a rather rare sight around here. So you’re that mage from the college?”
“Yes, and I’d like to talk with you about your dragon research.”
“Well, then, I guess I’ll start with my latest discovery. I found a scroll, dating back to before the first era which described a method of gaining a dragon’s attributes. The process itself is rather complicated, involving a dragon’s scales…” I was intrigued by this discovery, but Claudia obviously wasn’t. She kept yawning and sighing while I was trying to listen.
“This is boring. Why don’t we just go out and try it instead of listening to him explain it?” Claudia whispered. “Unless you’d like to do something else…” Claudia grabbed my inner thigh, causing me to jump. Farengar continued on, oblivious. It’s a shame most mages have this tendency to keep talking once they get started on something.
“I’m trying to listen to Farengar! This could be one of the most important discoveries in magic!” Of course, I hadn’t caught a word of what he had said for a while, but I remained stalwart in my decision to listen.
“Oh, fine.” Claudia pouted, still obviously trying to get my attention. I did my best to ignore her, but it was damned hard when she’s standing right in front of me.
“…but I’m not entirely sure the process is reversible. The scroll doesn’t mention anything to reverse the effects of the ritual. I wouldn’t try it on yourself if I were you.” Farengar finally seemed to snap out of his ‘speech mode’ and began to pay attention to the real world again. “Did you get all of that?”
“Hmm? Oh, sorry, I didn’t. You said that dragon scales are involved? What attributes does the ritual give the caster?”
“Ugh, the ritual gives you superhuman strength, the ability to speak in dragon tongue, and allows you to see like a dragon does. Weren’t you listening? I thought you said you were interested. The attributes I have are only a rough translation from an old Nordic language, so I’m not exactly sure what the spell would do. Here, would you like to look at the scroll?”
“Yes, please.” I said, feeling horrible for ignoring Farengar. He handed me the scroll, and I copied it the best I could into my notes, then put the scroll back down on the table. “Thank you, Farengar.”
“Not a problem, but next time could you pay more attention? Young mages these days… Why don’t I show you something rather interesting I’ve found out about dragons?” Claudia groaned again, obviously wanting to be somewhere else.
“By all means.” I said, moving a bit closer to Farengar to see whatever he had to show me.
This went on for a few more hours, much to the anguish of Claudia, who wasn’t able to decipher the magical jargon that Farengar and I were using. When we finally finished, Farengar and I said goodbye, and I thanked the Jarl and his court for their time. Claudia and I walked out around 3:00 p.m., and her headache seemed to get worse again as she walked outside, as she began to groan again. We spoke little on the way back to the Bannered Mare. When we got there, I sat down on a stool at the bar, paid for the room for another day, then paid for some food for me and Claudia. I put my things in the room, then joined Claudia at the bar, where she had kindly saved me a seat. Her headache must’ve been gone; she was smiling and didn’t seem in pain anymore. I smiled in turn and sat next to her. Perhaps how would be the right time to figure out the enigma of Claudia Tulli…
To be continued…
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