Chapter Text
The town of Riften was a sorry excuse for a human settlement. The fact that it was the ‘capital’ for the entire Hold of the Rift, and was to be the first true taste of civilization for wanderers from Cyrodill after trekking through the wilderness made it even sadder. And one couldn’t forget that the Thieves Guild made their lair in the sewers like skeevers.
Solistar curled his lip in disgust but refrained from making a noise to go along with it. A good thing too as he watched from the side of the road as a duo of guards marched past. The Invisibility spell, cast by a mage of high calibre, may be able to hide the wearer from trackers but it couldn’t muffle sounds.
He had managed to give the border patrol the slip a day ago but considering the rumours of corruption throughout the Hold, he shouldn’t go around pushing his luck. They had made it clear when he had spied on them that they would take their rightfully earned gold from him, it being off his corpse all the better from them.
At least he wouldn’t have to stop there as he turned away from the crossing, instead taking the less travelled path which was to lead him to an even more miserable human hovel called ‘Ivarstead’. But Solistar couldn’t help but admit, with fair reluctance of course, that there was a beauty in the harsh wild that surrounded him. Not at all like the clipped and perfected beauty of the Summerset Isles nor even like the poor attempts of order in the Imperial City.
But the land also reminded him of how far he was from home, as well as how isolated he was from his fellow scholars and scientists. He only would have what small resources he could find and gather as well as his wits and skills. If he was to die out here, no one would find his corpse; one of dozens of young and rising Altmer ‘lost to things outside the Thalmor’s control’.
Solistar pressed his lips into a fine line and both of his fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into the meat of his palms. Well, that would be what others would want to happen to him. Well, it wasn’t going to happen. He would succeed where others have failed and when he would make his triumph return, he would make all of those who scorn and mock him eat their own rank medallions along with their robes and boots.
“You’re here earlier than expected,” was his greeting. Solistar didn’t bother answering with a retort, only scowling at the Dunmer before him. At least she had the sense to step aside and allow him to enter her humble abode.
The inside of the house was what he had expected from looking at the outside but it was neat and clean; there was a clear level of organization in what he could see and it did him a little good to see he was with a like-minded individual. A large pot was in the fireplace and whatever was cooking smelled good, despite the clear hint of heavy spice.
“I strive to exceed expectations,” Solistar said, taking off his backpack to place it on the floor and cracking his back with a sigh; the pack had been heavy, despite his best attempts to travel light. At least he had learned the spell Deep Storage, otherwise, the pack would have been twice its weight and he would have ended up a cribble by the end of his expedition.
“It's either that or you gave those at the border the slip,” came the dry reply. “It's well noted that any elves, half or full, are held at the borders longer than human crossers. Altmers are held back even longer.”
“Well, considering that they took some of my bartering materials for themselves, I think that was probably why I was let in so easily,” Solistar said with a dignified air. Of course, what the border guards had taken for themselves were fakes; tampered metal and coloured glass to look like expensive bits and baubles.
Avrusa Sarethi regarded him with a sharp look, and Solistar felt a small bit of glee as he glimpsed strong emotion in those dark red eyes; uneasiness, mixed with flickering rage and some fear. Good; she knew that he wasn’t one to be trifled with and unless she wanted to mix in with his business by association, their interactions were to be quick and honest.
A sigh, one that was drawn out, left her lips. “Of course. Of course, you would have pulled something like that. Only you would have the arrogance to pull off such an act.”
“Arrogance or confidence?” questioned Solistar, as he watched her walk over to the fire pit.
“Either or will get you killed in these lands unless you have the skills to survive,” came the bark. But when Avrusa continued as she stirred the pot, her words were softer. “And even then there is a chance you would die. This land is harsh enough for elves, but with what happened in the Great War….”
She trailed off, her sentence left hanging but Solistar, who had kin among the ranks of the Thalmor, understood. The statistics of hate crimes against elves, not just the Altmer, had risen exponentially in the short years after the war. Skyrim was currently embroiled in strong internal conflicts for numerous reasons, the banning of Talos chief among them. It was only a matter of time before a civil war broke out.
“Hence why I came to you,” Solistar said, as he watched Avrusa finish off her dinner and move around the space. “If there is anyone that can help me in the most efficient way possible, it's you.”
“That remains to be seen,” Avrusa said with a sigh. “But since you’re here and dinner is ready, you can join us for dinner and we might as well chat afterwards.”
Solistar nodded and sat down at the table that was quickly set for two and an unexpected plus one. Dinner had just been doled out, a heavy tomato soup with loaves of grained bread with mead to drink, when another Dunmer came down from the 2nd floor; the similarities in face structure said enough.
The three ate in silence and when the bowls had been taken away and more mead served to drown out any lingering remnants – and for Solistar to drown his burning tastebuds – did the conversation start up once again.
“You mentioned in your letters you wish to know more about Master Sindarion,” Avrusa said, swirling the mead in its bottle with one hand, her gaze fixated on him.
“It's more than that.” Solistar met her gaze with one of his own. “I need to find him and you are currently the last person who saw him last.”
Avrusa let out a sigh and took a heavy swing from her bottle. “That I am, and you are not the first person to ask about him. But what I have told them I will tell you. The last time I saw him was years ago, and while he had stayed for some time, he didn’t leave me with much in ways of contacting him.”
“But there was something,” Solistar prompted.
“Which I wrote in my correspondence with you,” was the answer. “There is nothing more or new that I can tell you.”
“And yet what you have told me is little and not enough to go on,” Solistar pressed, doing his best to keep his temper in check. “At this point, I will end up going on a wild goose chase!”
“Isn't that why you, out of all the bright minds from Summerset University, were sent to look for a long-gone elder that is of no use to the Thalmor agenda?” Avrusa asked, raising an eyebrow, her face neutral but her eyes burned.
Solistar let out a snarl and his mana flared. The fire in the pit along with all of the candles in the space burned all the brighter and the heat rose till it felt like it was midday in summer. But Avrusa didn’t even so much as flinch at the fires around her crackled with sinful delight.
Solistar wrangled back control, and the room became cooler and darker as the fires returned to normal. And yet, Avrusa still regarded him with that plain look and bright eyes, not all at bothered that her home had almost burned to the ground.
“My point exactly,” she said. Solistar glared at her but made sure his mana was repressed; the next time it flared, there would be serious property damage. “But….if you are still insisting on looking for him, I would go to the College of Winterhold.”
“And before you start,” she raised a hand to cut off his torrent. “The College may be isolated and a far cry from what it once was, but it still is an authorized and accredited place for learning. If there is a place that would have more information about Blackreach, it would be there.”
Solistar gritted his teeth behind thinly pressed lips but nodded in agreement. Knowing after that little display he was no longer welcomed here and the last thing he needed was some of the nearby guards to investigate, he made his way to leave.
“If I were you….” Avrusa started, making Solistar pause. “I would make a stop along the way.”
“And where would that be?” Solistar hissed, narrowing his eyes at her.
“Riften. Specifically, I would go and hire the services of Skylar Fire-Bringer if he is available.”
“Oh, I know him!” chirped Aduri with a smile; the first sentence she had said all night. “I heard he is really handsome. If half of the rumours are true, then how I wish I could draw him, especially without his armour on.”
Solistar felt his face contort even when the younger Dunmer let out a wistful sigh as she looked up to the ceiling. He then turned to regard Avrusa who continued.
“Blackreach is rumoured to have some connection to the Dwemer,” Arvusa went on. “And there are few sell-swords that have the experience needed to survive such treks and the ones that do charge fees that are frankly exploitative. Skylar Fire-Bringer is one of the few who is fair with his prices and also is known to have helped Calcelmo with his research.
“Plus, I believe he is also a member of the College of Winterhold, adept in all four schools of magic if I recall correctly. And despite his magical talents, he has good standing in all of the Old Holds which were notorious before the Great War for having the strongest anti-elf sentiments.”
Solistar regarded the Dunmer before him, the anger from before still rolling deep within his gut. But he knew an olive branch when he saw one. Despite him being in the wrong, even making her and her sister an accomplice to some of the crimes he had committed while entering Skyrim, she was still willing to try and aid him.
“I…will consider your advice,” he said cooly. “How does this ‘Skylar Fire-Bringer’ look?”
“He’s tall, over 6 feet. He wears full body armour and mostly uses two-handed weaponry,” Aduri said quickly, her cheeks looking a little rosy; no doubt having gotten lost in her imagination regarding the man and the drawings she would do. “The armour set he is supposed to be wearing currently is the Steel Plate set, you’ll be able to tell it apart from what everyone else wears.”
Solistar waited for her to add on which didn’t come. “And?”
“That’s it,” Aduri said with a shrug. “No one has ever seen him without his armour on. He even wears his helmet indoors and eats alone so no one knows what he looks like. He’s only confirmed to be Man because he was confirmed human kin in one of the northern Holds.”
Solistar scowled but already a mental image was forming in his mind, he didn’t sound too promising but the list of connections this Fire-Bringer had would make things easier for him if half were true. And having a human shield would at least take some suspicions off him, at least in the regard of being a Thalmor spy.
“Thank you for all of your help,” Solistar growled, before leaving out the door and slamming it behind him.