Chapter 89

The men stared as their newest arrival abandoned the bedside to help Faendal. She lay her hand on his shoulder, his body lighting with a golden glow. After a moment, he stood. His features went from pale to his standard tone. He looked at her, making a gesture of thanks. Seeing Gaeolin sitting up, he rushed to embrace him like his life depended on it.

“Thank you… So much for healing him.” He turned to face her, falling to his knees. “What is your name? How can I repay you?”

She sent him a look of confusion. “There is no need for that. I was merely fulfilling my end of the contract you entered into with my master. If you wish, you may call me Teldiga.”

Faendal stood. “You… weren’t what I was expecting. I thought the servant was going to be a daedra.”

She smiled. “I’m sorry to disappoint. My master felt that, giving consideration to who it was you sought me for, I was the best suited to seal your contract with. A kynreeve or dremora would not have been so useful in this context.”

Auroth hardly blinked. He knew he had seen her before. Where? Who was this woman? Inigo approached her, flashing his winning grin. “Well, I for one can appreciate the benefit of having you around instead of some violent demon. I am Inigo. It is good to meet you Teldiga. I too, thank you for helping save the life of my friend.”

“Good to meet you as well.” She gave a half curtsy. “And I know of you, Gaeolin of Woodhearth. I am honored to finally meet you in person. I’ve read a lot about you. And before you ask,” she shot him a devilish smirk, “no, I can’t tell you anything.”

“Information usually flows one way when Mora is involved.” Auroth looked at her from head to toe. “My name is Elmond Lirician. I have to confess, that was a rather splendid display of restoration. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that particular ritual before.”

“It is old magic. I can’t recommend anyone using it without many years of practice. Normally, it is cast as a group spell. It’s been a long time, Elmond. You were much younger the last time we met. The years have changed you. The scars are quite dashing, though. You should consider it an improvement. I’m sure you don’t remember me.”

For the first time, Gaeolin could see that his friend was at a loss for words. He continued to look uncomfortable as his eyes betrayed the focus he was using to try and recall the encounter. “You seem to have me at a disadvantage, miss. Forgive me, but I can’t remember having met you before.”

Teldiga looked slightly wounded by the words. “I suppose it isn’t too surprising. It was over a hundred years ago. I couldn’t have forgotten that day. It was spring in Evermore at the time. Such a beautiful Middas afternoon…” She closed her eyes as if she could still see it. “You left quite an impression on me, Elmond. Your words were so sweet, I thought for sure that the colour would never leave my cheeks.”

The Altmer’s eyes went wide as he remembered. “You were that student! What do you mean? I can’t imagine how anything I said could have been so important that you would remember it for 175 years?”

“You were so flattering! You went on and on about how inspiring you thought it was that a woman as young as me was so convicted and dedicated to her craft. You said I had a glow about me while I was studying. Things like that stay with women.” She looked away, sadness taking over her features. “But then you just left… You didn’t even say goodbye.”

Inigo, who had been listening to her story with rapt attention, turned to his friend with tears in his eyes. “How could you break the heart of a maiden like that? I always knew you could be cold, but I never thought you were that cruel…”

Auroth spun, his face flushed as he shouted. “She was ‘twelve’! What was I supposed to do?!” He turned back to Teldiga. ” I was simply pointing out that you had an enthusiasm for study that I found admirable in someone so young. I’m sorry I didn’t clarify that.”

Gaeolin thought this was a pretty harsh way to let the girl down. Even if Auroth were just trying to be honest, it was a pretty firm rebuttal for feelings that had been festering for nearly two centuries. He could tell that she was unhappy with the encounter. Her skin almost seemed to lose its luster as she turned back to Faendal. “No matter. Do you have any other task for me at this time, master?”

Faendal shook his head. “No, you have done more than enough for us for now, Thank you again, Teldiga.”

She smiled, pulling something out of her bag. “Here, take this. The next time you need my help, just ring this bell. It will let me know that my services are required. It will preclude the need for you to perform such a difficult summoning spell again. Although, you did fairly well for someone with so little magical experience. I look forward to our next meeting.”

With that, she brought her hand to face the stairs. A large portal of green light formed. They could see the realm of Hermaous Mora waiting for her just beyond the light. Bowing to each of them, and looking to Auroth with the sense of sorrow, she vanished into the plane of Oblivion.

There was silence for a moment. Gaeolin grinned, leering at Auroth with no shortage of jest. “She seems nice.”

“You be quiet.” 

Faendal chuckled. “Well, while I think I would have handled that a little differently, I admire your attempt to clarify the situation with her. I’m still hung on a detail.” He raised an eyebrow. “How is she still that young if she is over a hundred years old?”

Auroth considered the question. “Time behaves differently in Oblivion. It is quite possible her apparent longevity is simply a side effect of her spending so much time there. Or she could be kept young as part of her deal with Herma-mora itself.” He sighed. “It’s a shame that such a promising student would make a pact like that with a Daedra.”

Inigo shrugged. “I don’t know. If it helps her attain her goals, and she isn’t hurting anyone in the process, what is the problem?”

Auroth’s voice adopted a growl. “The problem is, that everything has its time. To take more than is yours rarely ends well.”

“Some might consider that an arrogant statement from one of the longest lived races of Nirn.” Inigo interjected. “No matter, she seemed kind enough. She helped us get Gaeolin back. I count that as a mark in her favor, if nothing else.”

The altmer crossed his arms, sitting on the side of the bed. “Look, I didn’t expect to ever see her again. It took me a while to even remember her. I didn’t mean to upset the girl. When I get the chance, I will apologize. Forgive me. It is not a time in my life I like to remember.”

He left them, going down the stairs and outside with his pipe between his lips. Gaeolin watched him go, understanding in part what the last statement had meant. That part of his life was most likely during his training in the Thalmor. Given the Aldmeri attitude toward Bretons, it was probably not a pleasant chapter, even by their standards. He was forced to argue with himself on that. Not all High Elves looked down on Bretons. The Thalmor most definitely would, though. Altmer mutts, bred with men? There was no way they could consider that less that abhorrent. He put the thoughts out of his mind to talk to Inigo and Faendal. “You went to Apocrypha to find her?”

Inigo was quick to indicate that the idea had been Faendal’s. “While I didn’t enjoy the experience, I am forced to admit that we would not have been able to help you had we tried to find an alternative. I am just glad that we were successful.”

“How are you feeling?” Faendal still looked very tired. He still held the hand bell, not entirely sure what he should do with it. “We should probably take a few days to recover. It would be a good opportunity for us to go over our plans. I’m still not sure what it is that we need to be doing. We are looking for more words of power, correct?”

Gaeolin nodded. “The only way I can learn the final word is to get the Skaal to offer their knowledge to Mora. I haven’t had the heart to approach Storn about it. I don’t know how he will take the request. It seems selfish to do so after how much they have done for us. For me.”

Inigo pulled a chair closer to the bed to sit. “These are worries that can wait until tomorrow, my friends. Let us take the time to appreciate that we are still together to worry at all.” He pulled a cloth package out of his bag, revealing three sweet rolls as he unwrapped it. “I think these will do both of you some good. I’ll return shortly. I need to take one to Auroth.”

Gaeolin frowned. There were only three. “What about you, Inigo? If you give the last to Auroth, you’ll have to go without.”

“There are some things that are more important than self indulgence. I was perhaps not as kind to him as he deserved a moment ago. I do not want to leave the situation as it is.” He gave the pair a nod, making his way outside.

There was a light snow falling on the village. Though only mid-afternoon, the darkness that was beginning to set in made it necessary to stay close to the torches and fires. Inigo could see Auroth’s boot prints leading around the hall’s southern side. He followed the tracks, sweet roll on display in his palms as he went. He found the altmer with his back against the building. A strand of smoke rose from his pipe, winding around his head as if to mirror the thoughts in nis mind. From the looks of it, he was spending more time chewing on the pipe stem than drawing smoke through it. Inigo approached slowly. “Auroth? May I join you?”

The man twitched in surprise. Seeing it was a friend, he relaxed, giving a nod. “You are always welcome, Inigo. Got tired of the love birds in there?”

Inigo chuckled. “Not at all. They are behaving themselves. Or they were, when last I saw them. I came out here to give you this.” He held out the treat, putting an ear back. “I wanted to apologize. You were in an awkward position and I was not being thoughtful about how it was affecting you. It was not fair.”

Auroth turned to face him, taking the pipe from his mouth. He stared at the roll, then looked up to his companion. “Do you have one for yourself?”

Inigo shook his head. “Consider it a form of atonement. Please, I value our friendship, and want you to understand that though I can sometimes misspeak, or judge a situation without having all the facts, I will never harm you by choice.”

The high elf smiled. “I already know that, my friend. I’ll tell you what.” He knocked the spent herbs from his pipe, slipping it into the loop on his belt. “Split it with me. I’d like to talk with you for a while anyway.”