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Region: The Empire of Tamriel

The Empire of Tamriel: Caught In The Ice 21st Sun's Dusk, 4E 204

Over a month a go the party of adventurers and their ship docked in the cold northern waters of Winterhold. Situated in the extreme north of Tamriel, the Great Northern Sea has frozen over early. Using the time of a month the crew met with the College of Winterhold and secured permission to stay. The vampires, especially Madai whom is presumed to be dead in Skyrim, have opted to remain with the ship and hunted some horkers out on the ice in the month the rest of the crew stayed in Winterhold.

The College had managed to somehow find the legendary Eye of Magnus a few years a go in the time of the Dovakhin, and while this has boosted their reputation among mages and the The Empire of Tamriel, it also has had an ill effect too. Now and then troublesome creatures of basic form called Magical Anomalies emerge and attack the town. These creatures are formless and so their attacks are not actually very powerful, but the difficulty in killing them due to their strong magical shell makes life difficult if their numbers are not kept in check. To pay for their stay the remainder of the crew agrees to help provide magical pest control for the town.

Tizona and Cassandra both being members of the Mage's Guild all ready use this time to learn some new spells and practice. Though wary of magic, Felicity agreed to allow Tizona to teach her a basic fireball spell in Solstheim. During the stay the Dunmer chieftainess also allows the guild mages to teach her a few other basic destruction magic spells and to practice them to raise her skill level enough to be proficient with basic spells.

When not helping Zep Po and Trollz and the mages cull the magical anomaly creatures, Sir Mazog pours over the famous library of the Arcaneum Along with another orc whom is the head librarian, Urag gro-Shub, the Elder Councilor searches for lore about the Elder Scrolls. The old orc librarian tells Sir Mazog about how the Dovakhin had found the last known Elder Scroll nearby in a cave shrine to the daedra Hermaeus Mora, but that this scroll was taken by the Dragonborn to fulfill his famous quest. The librarian suggests that perhaps the Elder Scroll could be anywhere in Skyrim, or even Solstheim for that matter if it had remained with the Dragonborn. Otherwise it could be lost entirely and like many of the powerful and divine artifacts of the world may have manifested itself elsewhere by now.

Studying the histories for weeks on end Sir Mazog also finds books which recall the finding of an entirely different Elder Scroll in the third era. This Elder Scroll had been stolen by the Gray Fox, the leader of the thieves guild, from the very secret and guarded vaults of the Elder Council itself. Though it is unclear what happened to this Gray Fox, it is thought that the town of Anvil where the Count Umbranox suddenly returned around the same time the Scroll was stolen might be a promising lead if the Scroll of Skyrim cannot be found. Zep Po the Khajit confirms this account being a thieves guild member himself. He notes that it was thought within the internal lore of the Thieves Guild that Count Umbranox had been the previous Gray Fox, but that he used an Elder Scroll to undo the curse of that office which prevented people from recognizing a person before handing over the Gray Cowl to the next Gray Fox.

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Almost two months elapse from when the crew arrived in Winterhold and stayed there. After buying up what little supplies are afforded for sale in the small northern city, and training and researching, they return to the ship, still stuck in the frozen seas to discuss which Elder Scroll to try to hunt down. Having found no sign of Maerwyn and Medea either, Madai supported by the two vampiresses consider searching Skyrim the best choice since there is a chance they may find his daughter Medea too. Sir Mazog, Felicity and Zep Po insist that going on the long voyage around Tamriel to Anvil, where the lore is more certain to lead them to the Elder Scroll, or at least a significant clue to finding one is more prudent. Tizona walks up deck hearing the argument.

"What use is it anyways to wait to sail to Anvil? The boat is fast frozen in the sea, we cannot sail among icebergs lest the boat be dashed to pieces. Let us just travel through Skyrim on foot until I find my daughter, then we can go whichever way you please if you wish to still spare my life." Madai argues with Sir Mazog and the others against sailing to Anvil.

"Ha we will have a way to figure that out!" Tizona shouts and turns her hand unleashing a massive torrent of flames near the front of the ship melting some of the ice. "Sisters, show them what you have learned." The high elf calls out and Cassandra and Felicity throw their own fire magic into the spray of the flames melting off the ice around them which begin to rapidly steam.

"Gahhhh! FIRE!!!" Trollz shrieks at the sight of such a show of fire magic and runs madly down below deck. The three mages stop and laugh and Cassandra goes below to calm Trollz down and bring him back up the deck.

"Do you have any idea how far Anvil is?! We'd still have to sail across the entire cold north, High Rock and Hammerfell to get there. You can't melt it fast enough." Bella turns her nose up at Tizona.

"Lazy harlot I am not confined to a box in the daylight like you." Tizona snarls back and a spark crackles between her hand and her enchanted lightning sword Colada.

"We will be too close to Aldmeri Dominion waters......or perhaps that's just what this arrogant high elf bich wants!" Bella snarls back baring her long vampiric fangs and her arm also makes its way slowly down to where her knives are.

"Now now ladies hold on!" Sir Mazog ever the diplomat intervenes between the two. "It's true we cannot really sail all the way to Anvil until the winter is over, and that's not for many more months. And the Aldmeri Dominion must not find out about our quest." Sir Mazog nods at Bella and then turns to Tizona. "However with your help we could get to Solitude at least more quickly." Sir Mazog then turns to Madai whom he originally began the dispute with. Madai silently stone-faced considers the orc's suggestion. "Solitude has a better harbor and after investigating the the town we could decide then which route to pursue. Perhaps also Maerwyn and Medea have gone there, but if not it is the biggest city in Skyrim, we are sure to learn something."

"Aye and we will be able to resupply also for the city is very rich! It be a good waypoint whether we travel by sail or the sole of our paws." Zep Po the Khajit nods approvingly to Sir Mazog's plan.

The group agrees to this plan and the mages; Tizona, Cassandra, and Felicity disembark from the ship and go on ahead of the ship to magically melt the ice and cut a path for the ship out of the harbor and towards Solitude. Trollz, Sir Mazog, and Madai take turns throughout the day and night to guard the three mages on the ground from pesky horkers and mudcrabs and the occasional lone ice wolf which wander the frozen icebergs. Tjolfdir and the Mage's Guild see their efforts from afar and help them greatly make it out to sea for about three days journey and then return to the College of Winterhold. It is slow going trapped in the ice and having the thaw their way out, but the crew creeps along the frozen sea determinedly forward.

Queen Alessia, Argonia and black marsh, Alofstead, Ashspawnia, and 1 otherCanulusia

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