A changeling's visit to Skyrim

The day passed by pretty quickly, yet little progress was made towards any of our heroes' goals.

The soul gem idea Surgius had didn't work quite as planned, and after a solid hour of poking Luna with several different types and yelling "Why. Isn't. It. Woooorrrrkkiiiinnnngg!" the mages had gone back to the drawing board as Sergius himself had gone off to cry in the fetal position.

While they tried to get to the root of the problem, Fenora decided to head to the archives and search for anything on dragons. What she found was a massive collection of books and their unusual librarian, an orc by the name of Urag gro-Shub. Fenora was never a heavy reader, but since "Too long; didn't read" would possibly spell death for the whole world, she had no choice but to grab some coffee and dig through the text.

As for Stross, he mostly sat out of the magic lessons being taught, it was pretty basic stuff anyway (stuff he himself didn't know, but relatively simple spells all the same). Instead he watched the others preform their spells; trying and failing, only to try again and succeed. It brought some enjoyment to him, seeing others learn and improve, that was likely what Tolfdir was talking about.

And so the day passed without further incident. But as the sun set, everyone quickly learned that if there was anything colder than the days in Winterhold, it was the nights in Winterhold. The night air alone would chill you to the nuts and put your future children in cryo sleep. Luckily, the Hall of Attainment was well equipped to handle the frigid weather and deathly cold. After a long day of rigorous studying, failed experiments, and a lot of exploded vegetables within the halls of the college, everyone was good and ready to tuck in for the night.

“Dibs on the center room!” Onmund yelled.

“No way! J’zargo had his eye on that chamber several seconds before you!” J’zargo shoved the nord out of the way.

“Boys, please.” Trixie sidestepped her way around the arguing pair “Need the Great and Powerful Trixie remind you that it is only fair to let the ladies decide on their choice of rooms first?”

“We know-ith not what this transgression be-ith about, but we wish to partake!”

“What’s going on?” Stross finally asked.

“Over here my friend.” Onmund pulled him over and pointed his head in the right direction “Look… at that beauty.”

The room itself was pretty ordinary; a single bed, a few tables, cramped with bookshelves on either side, pretty normal. However, mounted on a plaque above the bed was an expensive-looking dagger, its blade almost long enough to be considered a shortsword. It was golden in color with a red sheen around the edge of the blade, and from the soft glow it emitted, it was likely enchanted.

“So… you’re all fighting over a knife?” Stross questioned them.

“Not just a knife! A fancy glowing knife.” Fenora corrected him.

“That’s right, and since I saw it first, I should get it.” Onmund reasoned “I assure you all I’d put it to good use.”

“On the contrary, J’zargo would benefit far more from having such an obviously powerful artifact in his possession. J’zargo shall take it.”

“Hah, as if that would happen. The Great and powerful Trixie wants it more than both of you combined, so there.”

“You are the most selfish and arrogant person I’ve ever met!” Onmund yelled.

“Yes… and that should be J’zargo’s job! J’zargo has practiced his character traits for years until they reached perfection!” the Khajiit hissed.

“Then Trixie challenges the two of you to an arcane melee, winner takes the enchanted blade!” Trixie adjusted her oversized cap and glared them down, to which J’zargo and Onmund readily awaited her first move.

“Guys please, calm down.” Stross intervened. “Glowing or not, that dagger’s still just a thing. Is it really that important to you?”

The stares he received told him that yes, it was that important to them.

“So that piece of magic metal is important enough to cause you to fight your friends over?”

The continued glares from the apprentices told him not only that yes, that piece of enchanted metal really was that important, but also that their supposed friendship with each other was strenuous and situational at best.

Letting out a sigh, Stross walked over to a barrel where a multitude of empty mead bottles had been discarded. “Alright, this is how we’ll settle this.” He took out an armful of the bottles “There will be one bottle for each of us, I’ll put a pebble in one of them and then we choose. Whoever gets the pebble wins.” He explained the rules as he set the tinted containers on a table “Brelyna, are you in?”

The dark elf just waved him off and gave a barely audible whisper of “I’m okay, thanks.”

“Wait a minute, if you’re the one putting the pebble in, won’t you know which one to pick?” Fenora observed.

“It won’t matter.” Stross told her simply “Because I won’t be playing.”

This took a few of the others by surprise, but they continued to wait until Stross had set up all the bottles in a row. Once he had, he stepped to the side to let them choose. “Remember,” he said “no cheating; once you touch one, you have to take it.”

The changeling stood there and watched as one by one, the apprentices came and chose a bottle, only to give a grimace of sour disappointment when their bottle came up empty. Though it pained him a bit, he watched as even Fenora’s bottle of choice did not contain a victory.

“Well Princess, I guess you’ve got this one.” Fenora said to Luna, however Luna was not as convinced.

“I am not.” She said with an amused smirk “For even this bottle contained no pebble. None of them ever did. Isn’t that right Stross?”

The changeling smiled back and gave a nod. “Correct. Each of you would have let your want for something material overwhelm your loyalty to each other, and ignore the bonds you share as friends and colleges. From that… there can be no winner.”

“Heh, well played Stross, well played.” Fenora chuckled as she idly tossed her empty bottle in the air a few times.

“That… was the dumbest thing J’zargo has ever heard.”

“Trixie agrees!” Trixie shouted from atop the bed as she reached for the prized dagger and grabbed it by the handle. She victoriously brandished it above her head “And now this enchanted blade belongs to the Great and Pow- OW! Ooh ow ow ouch ouch ouch!”

“Hah! What happened Miss Great and Powerful; did you cut yourself?” Onmund mocked Trixie’s supposed clumsiness.

“Trixie did no such thing!” she snapped back “It was that stupid dagger, it stung me!”

J’zargo raised a curious brow and walked over to where the dagger had clattered to the stone floor while Trixie continued to nurse her injured hand.

“Well don’t pick it up!” Stross shouted before J’zargo could get his furry mitts on the knife. “Hold on a sec, just… excuse me here, coming through. Got an idea.” And Stross did have an idea, channeling magic through his horn, he safely picked up the dagger using telekinesis, quickly and tightly wrapping it in a nearby sheet and hoping it would be enough to stop anyone else from getting hurt with it.

“Alright, that should work for now. Do you need any help Trixie?” he asked the wounded mage.

“Trixie doesn’t need your help, changeling.” she responded gruffly before shoving her way past him, still gripping her bleeding hand.

“Okay then... I’m going to see if any of the teachers are still awake. They’ll probably know what to do with this thing. The rest of you should probably get some sleep; Tolfdir said there was something he was going to show us tomorrow, some kind of field trip.” Stross told them before leaving via the main exit doors.

Onmund and J’zargo gave an agreement of sorts and headed off to sleep. Fenora found an unoccupied bed, threw herself face first into the pillow and went into a deep sleep within moments, leaving only Luna and Brelyna awake in the Hall.

“Ssoooo…” Brelyna said as curiosity overcame her usual shyness and she scooted her chair closer to Luna “You’re a Princess from this other world we’ve heard about?”

“Indeed.” Luna responded slowly, meanwhile eyeing the dunmer up and down, searching for any tell-tale signs of her being a potential stalker or molester, as were apparently so common in Skyrim.

“Tell me everything!” Brelyna pulled out a notepad.

“Oh…” thought Luna “You must be this world’s Twilight Sparkle.” She then thought on it a little longer “Interesting.”

Considering how he was in the possession of a clearly dangerous magical weapon, by all common sense Stross would have gone straight to Mirabelle, or for that matter, any other teacher he could find. But at this moment as he stood wandering out into the frigid night air, there was something much more powerful tugging at his attention.

“Where did she go?” Stross muttered to himself as he scanned the courtyard, focusing his senses and straining his ears against the wind.

Then, Stross picked something with his life-sense. It was definitely Trixie’s life-force; no one else’s had that particular kind of… unpleasant flavor. It was hard to pick out among the magical energies surrounding the very foundation of the college, not to mention the other living beings present in the area, but it was definitely there.

The changeling quickly tried to find it. After going through a few doors and getting turned around by the staircases he finally found her. Trixie was sitting huddled in a corner behind the stairs, pouring a healing potion onto her hand to no effect. It was clear she’d been trying to heal herself for a while, as evidenced by the four other empty flasks littering the floor near her.

It wasn’t until Stross was only a few feet away that she took notice of him. “What do you want, changeling?” she said with a disdainful glare.

“You’re hurt.” Stross answered “I wanted to help you.”

“And I already told you, I don’t need your help.” Trixie said and vigorously rubbed the pain induced tears off with her sleeve “Now go away! You don’t belong here!”

Stross took a step forward and knelt down to eye level with her. “Why do you hate me?”

This only made Trixie’s frown intensify. “Why shouldn’t I? I know what you are, you monster. I know what your kind do, and about how you attacked Canterlot!”

“Wait… she’s…”

“You’re from Equestria too.”

Trixie ripped the hat from her head, revealing a light blue horn protruding from her forehead. “Yes, Trixie is from Equestria as well. Trixie came here by accident, and it was the best thing to happen to her! Nopony knew of Trixie or her humiliating failures. What’s more, their magic is so simple and barbaric; Trixie could dazzle them with even the simplest of performances. I finally had a chance to be great and powerful!”

“That is…” Trixie paused and clenched her fist, staining it with blood that continued to seep from the gash on her palm. “That is until my magic stopped working. One day it just stopped, and I couldn’t get it to work anymore! I came here seeking answers… and then I run into you.”

Her tone suddenly became much more accusing as she stood up and towered over Stross. “Why are you here anyway? And why is Princess Luna of all ponies with you? Is she even real? Are you some sort of spy!?” Trixie paused as a realization hit her. She immediately grabbed the cowering changeling and put his neck in a kung-fu death-grip “Are you the reason my magic is gone?” she said in a frighteningly even tone.

“No! No that’s not- I don’t do that anymore!” Stross choked out as he struggled against Trixie’s grasp “I came here on accident too! Dragons are coming back to destroy the world and I’m trying to help Fen stop them. Luna came because she thought I was evil, but now we’re friends and she’s helping us too! But her magic is failing like yours and we came here to find way to cure her just like you’re trying to do.”

“Please stop strangling me.” he added.

Trixie did relax her grip a bit, but only because her mind had to process the story she had been told. “And why should Trixie believe you?” she asked, her gaze as hard as ever.

Stross closed his eyes and moved his hand up to hers, gently and cautiously removing it from his neck. “Because…” he began as he brought his other hand over the bleeding gash on her palm. A soft golden light flowed forth, filling the wound and quickly mending the flesh until it seemed it was never there. “I’m not evil... and I’m tired of people hating and fearing me. I just want to help.”

Technically, Trixie’s other hand had been relaxed for quite some time now, but Stross still felt better when she took it off his neck. She felt the area where her hand was once hurt beyond the help of common potions, a look of wonder on her face.

“Thanks.” She said in barely a whisper to the changeling sitting on the floor. However she then shook her head and quickly put on a scowl. “But this still doesn’t mean Trixie trusts you.” she told him coldly as she stomped off.

“Well… that’s better than wanting me dead at least.” Stross thought as he pulled himself off the cold stone.

However, being a changeling and all, Stross managed to catch a glimpse of Trixie’s aura before she slammed the door to the outside, and he was pleased to see it was slightly warmer than before; it was still cold mind you, but not quite as… bitter.

“You know, there may just be hope for anyone.”