Kvaasik - The Field Work

1 - The Rise of Thras
2 - The Cold Front
3 - Change in Wardrobe
4 - The Unsinkable City
5 - An Unlikely Patron
6 - The Purring Liar
7 - The Dismantling Dilemma
8 - The Shade in Sunlight
9 - Varen's Folly
10 - The Soul Siphon
11 - The Astral Escapade
12 - His Master's Student
13 - The Graveyard in the Closet
14 - The Blue Ambush
15 - The Red Redemption
16 - The Liar's End

17 - The Field Work
18 - The Trouble With Taproot

I stared at the deceased Nord in front of me, studying its paling skin and the red organs it contained within. It was much like the other Nords I had dissected in the past few months: high muscle mass, enlarged cardiac chambers, thicker bones. I carefully noted the details, the color of its blood, the clothes it was wearing, any traces of magical phenomena.

The Temple of Meridia had become my sanctuary soon after I escaped Solitude. I had been apprehensive of hiding in the shrine of a necromancy-hating deity, but the halls have been empty of her presence thus far, reassuring me to the point where I can perform my experiments without fear of interruption.

This Nord was the strongest specimen I had encountered thus far. In other circumstances, I would not hesitate to take his form, but Rajhin had hidden the Tars Mogrif from me in a manner that even I cannot penetrate, perhaps just to spite me from his imprisonment. He was sustaining the image of Jarl Elisif using an artifact he had enchanted himself, a ring infused with Elisif’s blood, as if he anticipated my defeating him. Of course, this ring is still a functional disguise, but its power is waning as a result of Rajhin’s imprisonment. I have had to resort to only using the ring when I venture out of this temple.

I noticed something on the Nord’s clothes that I had seen before: a note, folded in half and tucked into his fur pockets. Carefully, I unfolded the parchment and read the ink-insect letters on it (the landwalkers seem to be terrible at penmanship).

“Boss,

The shipment of nirnroot and impstool was delivered without a problem. I think you should know that as I was returning to you, I walked by a pond the locals called Evergreen Grove. It was a deep pool of water with several stalks of nirnroot sprouting from it. I sensed that it was not like normal nirnroot; there was a funny feeling I got from it, like it was watching me. I would have collected it for you, but I also spied some spriggans nearby, and I thought it would be best to leave them be. I expect a bonus on my wages for this information.

- Vjorn"

I chewed over this information. While it may not seem like it would be of much importance, when something seems like it is ‘watching’ you, it is often because it is ‘watching’ you, in a sense. The body can sometimes detect dangers as changes in magical resonance and alert you to it as ‘funny feelings’, like the one this note describes. Such changes in magical resonance can often occur in something that should be inanimate becoming animate. The nirnroot in this ‘Evergreen Grove’ must have been subject to this phenomenon for some reason.

It isn’t much, but anything that could help the Sload Conquest must be discovered and studied. The note included a (poorly-drawn) map, with a big ‘X’ over an area near Lake Ilinalta. I slipped on Rajhin’s ring and clothes I had recovered from one of the Nords I had dissected. It looks like I will be doing some field work.

To anyone new here, this is the continuation of a series I started not long ago that was interrupted. The first part is here, if your are looking to catch up on stories. I hope you enjoyed, and please give me any comments or critiques as you have them!