Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter XLIX - Necessary Risks

Their evening at the stronghold was surprising, to say the least.

Darren had spent the entire time talking to the Chief in a shockingly amicable mood. Bishop and Aeyrin didn't dare to disrupt them or even approach them. Darren had a tendency to turn morose by their presence alone and they were kind of glad for the respite from him.

Instead, they spent their time with the other Orcs, drinking, eating and talking about adventures.

Since they turned in for the night rather early, they were able to head out back towards the College right at the break of dawn. Most of the Orcs weren't even awake yet after their merry night. Ordinarily it would have been hard to fall asleep in the longhouse with all of them still laughing and talking, but the three of them were already exhausted enough after the adventure in the ruins, so the merriment in the other room didn't pose an issue.

When they set out for the journey, Darren's mood gradually worsened again. Bishop and Aeyrin weren't sure whether it was their presence or whether he dreaded the tasks ahead. In either case, talking to him was usually moot and it only tended to aggravate him further, so their journey was yet again passed mostly in silence.

The College looked almost peaceful from afar.

The people in town didn't scurry around nervously either anymore. Maybe the lack of disasters for the past three days calmed them down at last.

That didn't mean that disaster wouldn't come, however. They needed to find a way to retrieve Aren's necklace and get to Labyrinthian as fast as they could.

There was no one waiting for them on the bridge to the College but, luckily, Darren could open the gate himself.

...

"You're back! Do you have the Staff?" Tolfdir let out a sigh of relief when he spotted them entering the Hall of Elements.

The situation there didn't improve in the slightest. It looked even worse than before.

Several mages were sitting on the ground with magical burns on their singed robes and any exposed parts of their bodies while Colette ran around, trying to heal all of them systematically. Two more mages were snoring loudly in the provisional bedrolls and there were remains of half-finished food everywhere. Four mages were standing by the barrier, holding it up with their magic to prevent the field from spreading.

One of those mages was a familiar sight. Brelyna gave them a brief look when they entered and she waved her hand somewhat tiredly at them.

"Brelyna!" Tolfdir chastised her instantly. A strange ripple appeared in the barrier where her hand used to be until Brelyna placed her hand back and lit it up with magic again.

"Sorry, Master," she huffed out the words with effort. Only then they noticed J'zargo standing nearby as he approached Brelyna tentatively and squeezed her shoulder in support.

It seemed like the mages had to resort to the apprentices for help too. Everyone seemed so exhausted.

"No. We don't have it," Aeyrin sighed in defeat.

It was instantly obvious on everyone present how much hope their arrival had filled them with. All of the mages deflated instantly.

"What happened? We... we are getting to the end of our rope here. The anomalies are more frequent and numerous now too," Tolfdir's brows creased in concern.

"The Staff is in Labyrinthian, but the Psijic monk said that it is sealed. We need... a key," Aeyrin explained. She approached the barrier tentatively and peered inside. The scene was exactly the same as last time. She could faintly see blurry shapes on the ground – likely the bodies of Aren and the other mage, and the black smudge that could only be Ancano was still right by the glowing pulsating Eye.