22nd of Heartfire, 4E201


It was freezing when we got to Winterhold, and still dark out, so I assumed that it was some time before sunrise. We hurried up to the College to thaw out. Marcurio seemed a bit impressed that I was a member of the College, and said that he'd always wanted to visit. I headed for the Hall of the Elements to go and see if the Arch Mage was still awake. When we got inside though, all hell was breaking loose. Inside, Mirabelle and the Arch Mage were standing in front of a ward someone had cast in the doorway to the main room. Someone being Ancano. They asked me to help them destroy the ward, and we all cast spells at it. The Arch Mage didn't know what Ancano was doing in there, but he assured me that he'd have his head for it.  We ran inside after the ward broke, and Ancano was doing something to the Eye of Magnus. Suddenly, a blinding light came from it, and we were all knocked backwards by something. When I woke up, a wounded Mirabelle was shaking me, and asking me if I was alright. She said that she needed me on my feet, and we were in trouble. I was dizzy, but ok. Ancano had cast another ward around the Eye, and the Arch Mage wasn't anywhere nearby. She asked me to hurry and look for him to see if he was alright. He wasn't anywhere inside of the Hall, but he'd been blown clear into the courtyard outside. He was dead, and the other mages at the College were around him. Tolfdir ran up to us and told us that something was happening in the town, and when I told him what had happened with Ancano, he suspected that it must have been whatever was done to the Eye. He went to check on Mirabelle, and Marcurio and I went into town with the rest of the mages to protect the townspeople. The creatures we found in the town were like ice wraiths, mixed with those creatures that the wisp mother had sent after Jenassa and I. We managed to defeat all ten of them, and Faralda and Arniel from the College offered to stay behind while we reported back to Mirabelle. After this, I'm sure Winterhold was going to hate the College even more than it already did. Mirabelle said that I needed to go and get the Staff. I told her that I'd be headed to Labyrinthian then, and she was shocked that I had learned that the Staff was there. I asked why, and she explained that coincidentally, before the attack, the Arch Mage had talked with her about Labyrinthian, and had given her an amulet and some sort of necklace. He told her that she'd know what to do with them when the time came. She handed them over to me, saying that they must have been meant for me. She then asked us to hurry and get the Staff before Ancano brought the College down around everyone. Looked like we weren't going to get any sleep tonight. According to my map, Labyrinthian is a ways to the west of Winterhold, past Whiterun.
When I got into town, there were more of the things there, attacking the mages and guards. After they killed a few, a courier who had been hiding ran up to me to deliver a letter to me. I asked him who it was from after he handed it over, and he said that it was a creepy fellow in a black robe. He didn't know who it was, and he couldn't see his face, but he was paid quite a bit of money to get that note to me. As he bid me good day and walked away, I carefully unsealed the wax on the note. A black handprint was in the center of the paper, with the words "We know" scrawled under it. I had no idea what it meant, so I just stuck it in the middle of one of my books to keep it from getting messed up. I gave Marcurio a stamina potion, and I had one myself, so that we could stay awake. We had a long journey ahead of us.

By jogging and walking fast, we managed to make it to Whiterun early that afternoon. Near the city, we ran into two farmers who had lost everything to a dragon. I shared some of my gold and food with them, and they thanked me and wished me a safe journey. We stopped in Whiterun to get something to eat, and I wanted to sleep so badly. I knew that we couldn't though, since the College, and perhaps all of Skyrim, was in danger thanks to Ancano. Marcurio had an idea though. Since Labyrinthian was close to Morthal according to my map, we could take a carriage there, and nap on the way. I thought it was a wonderful idea, and we hurried to rent a carriage ride.

It was after dark when we got to Morthal. Outside off the Jarl's longhouse, there was a man arguing with some of the townpeople about a wizard being in their midst. I asked the man who they'd been yelling at what was wrong, and he explained that the people were upset about recent events, and were looking to the Jarl for guidance. I asked what had been going on, and he explained that a wizard had moved into town, strange noises were being heard in the marshes at night, and that there had recently been a tragic house fire. He then bid me goodnight and went into the longhouse.

We went to the inn for dinner, and Marcurio asked the innkeeper if she knew anything about the events in town. She told us about the house fire, since it was all that everyone in town was talking about. A fire had started, and a man named Hroggar lost his wife and daughter in the blaze. He claimed that it was an accidental hearth fire, but the innkeeper said that the rumor around town was that he'd started the fire himself. Apparently, he'd started living with another woman only a day later. She also added that the Jarl would like to know the truth, and would probably be willing to pay anyone that could discover it. At the mention of a reward, Marcurio became much more interested, and suggested that we go and speak to the Jarl. I reminded him that it was almost the middle of the night, and he sighed.

 I didn't like the idea of wandering through the marshes or the wilderness in the dark trying to find Labyrinthian, so I decided that we should get a room and get some actual sleep. The only room available just had one double bed, so I told Marcurio that he could avoid sleeping on the floor as long as he behaved himself. He promised that he would, and added that he was too tired to misbehave anyways. I set most of my gear against the wall, and got into bed in some basic robes with my black dagger strapped to my belt, just in case Marcurio decided to break his promise. A little discomfort was a small price to pay for feeling safer and getting to sleep in a bed.