The nords sat in silence, pondering on this while they watched Rakel trace a figure into the dirt with a stick. Majni got up and walked
toward the tent opening. Hjordis stirred from where she lay and her fur-cover haypile and looked concernedly at her brother.
"Majni, where in Hircine's name are you going?" She asked. Majni turned and looked at her as if she had metaphorically punched
him.
"Don't say you are going to follow that ridiculous prophecy." She said, laughing.
Majni smiled and her and, although unsure whether she would get mad over him leaving and, instead wanting him to forget all this
'propecy' nonsense or not, nodded.
"Sorry Hjordis, but I've got to. I need to see if anyone in the Skaal village can enlighten me about this Argonian and how he is
connected to this 'Unholy Union." He turned and looked out at the snow bathed in warm sunlight.
Hjordis watched anxiously as her brother transformed into his lupine form and headed northward toward Skaal village to find the
truth about the Argonian's connection to the prophecy.
Majni tore through the snow like a wol possessed. He halted just short of the etrance to skaal village and cast around for a safe spot
he could use to transform back into his Nord form as he knew the villagers would surely attack if they witnessed a seemingly viscious
wolf waltz into the village. He found a group of bushes close enough together that they would hide him from prying eyes. He
regained his bipedal form.
Majni glanced to his left just as he walked through the city gate and saw the village's blacksmith talking to the shaman of the Skaal
in a hushed voice. Majni crept closer, hiding behind the great hall which was situated conveniently north of where they villagers were
have their clandestine meeting.
The blacksmith stood facing the shaman. Majni crept to the log pile behind the blacksmithing station to listen in closer.
"Did you hear? A rumor has been spreading around the village about a servant of Hircine that went and married a daughter of
Coldharbor." Snedbrir said. He then added, "The allmaker alone knows who they are." with a shrug. The shaman, Korst Wind-Eye,
shared his look of incomprehension. The blacksmith gestured to a building that Majni couldn't see. "I heard an Argonian came here a
few months ago seeking knowledge, not about the 'union of wolves and bats' or whatever he called it, but about the disease he was
inflicted with when he came here from Fort Frostmoth."
The Nordic shaman turned back to the blacksmith who was shaping a piece of armor like a shaman would effortlessly commune with
the elements. The skaal blacksmith set down his hammer and eyed the shaman with comprehension.
"I thought you were going to go there and inquire about either the Argonian or the unholy union. Why do you stand on ceremony
then? Get to it. The sooner we can contact the sky spirits and futher explore the unusual story of this 'unholy union' and how this
pertains to the Argonian in question."
The shaman glanced from the fur cuirass on the midnight black anvil to the blacksmith.
"Erm, excuse me if I seem intrusive, but, how are we to do this? We can't just contact the sky spirits with a means of doing so.
Contact with a vessel with which to channel the supernatural energies would be disastrous."
Baldor Iron-shaper shot Korst a look so fierce it could've melted the snow-laden house behind the shaman.
"Are you a shaman or not?" Korst glanced at him nonplused. Baldor sighed and lent over his anvil, "Go in your hut and practice
voodoo or whatever gods forsaken art you practice and summon the spirit." He said, staring with white-hot fury into the shaman's
eyes.
Korst scurried across the snow to escape geeting scorched by the fire.
"I-it's doesn't work like that... as I've told you... communicating with a spirit without a conduit..."
The blacksmith made a sound like a wolf who had just got denied his meal. Korst gulped and reated to his hut to chop some wood to
make a connection between the mundane realm of Nirn and the magical realm of Aetherius.
Majni gauged the proper moment to exit out of his hiding place. He watched the shaman clad in a furry coat that he deemed was
customary garb of the Skaal and approached the blacksmith. Baldor jumped with fright almost dropping the armorer's hammer on
his foot.
"By the gods, were... were you spying on us? Eavesdropping on our coversation?" He angrily pointed the hammer at Majni. "Explain
yourself!"
Majni moved the hammer away for him with a long finger and lowered his head in shame.
"First of all, yes, I was eavesdropping... sorry about that, but I was only doing it to find out if you had any information about the
Argonian who passed by here many moons ago."
Baldor looked taken aback. He felt as though Majni, whom he'd knew met, dealt a fatal blow to his psyche.
"Aha! So you admit it. You WERE eavesdropping. As for the Argonian, we, my village's shaman and I were talking about a possible
sighting of the Argonian near the village's library. It is situated to the left of the town hall. Majni nodded and asked what the other bit
they were talking about was. Baldor took a deep breath. "The other part of our conversation was about trying to find a way to
contact the sky gods to see if we can glean any more meaning behind this mysterious 'Unholy Union,' and how that and our
mysterious scaly reptile are connected."
Majni nodded and turned toward the library which Baldor had told him about.
"Thank you very much foir the information." He glanced past the library toward the village, "I think I see the village shaman
returning. I wishing I could stay and witness this so called 'sky spirit contact' but I've an Argonian to find out about. Thank you
again." He said, bowing. He turned and made his way to the library leavy the blacksmith utterly bewildered.
Majni walked up to a two story wooden building with a thacthed roof and pushed the door laden with intricate iron symbols open. He
stepped into a room with sunlight pouring in from many arched windows set in intervals around the wooden structure. He glanced
skyward and saw a magnificent domed glass ceiling set in a wooden ceiling decked out in scenes of Nordic battle.
Majni saw a large wooden desk in a corner with a male Nord seated behind it. He strode up to it, grinning widely.
"Hello, I was wondering if you happen to know if any Argonians passed by here recenty." The man ignored him and continued
stamping books. Majni frowned, "Okay, do you know of any that may've passed through here in the past few months then?"
The librarian, a Nord that went by the name of Hyunding. looked curiously at the inquiring Nord.
"Argonians? We didn't have one in here but two gentlemen came in a few years months back looking for a certain book." Majni
stared hungrily at the Nord. Hyunding shook his head, "I'm sorry but I cannot divulge the book's title. Confidentiality, you
understand."
Majni looked at him, slightly enraged by this news.
"Confidentiality? That rule applies to all manner of men, mer and beatfolk of Tamriel, not books. You're talking crazy. Now can you, if
as you say the Argonian didn't come in here, tell or point me in the direction where the Argonian's last known location was?"
Hyunding nodded and gestured towards a hut direclty across from the library. Majni thanked him, exited the library and went to the
hut in question.
He knocked on the hut door which was answered by a male Nord dressed in the usual Skaal attire with the exception of animal bones
swen into the Skaal coat, greaves and boots. He smiled at Majni.
"Hello brother. How can I help you?" He asked, brow furrowed in wonder
Majni took a deep breath to calm his nerves and explained why he'd come to the village. He explained the reason for his search for
the Argonian. Thorston grinned.
"Sure. I've seen him. As a matter of fact, two Nords came by here a few months ago looking for a cure for the poor creature. They
said he was attacked by a werewolf. I couldn't let them freeze in the cold." Majni looked at Thorsten like her ate sour hist tree sap.
Surely, he knew that Nord were impervious to the cold. Argonians were another beast altogether. He had no idea if they felt the cold
or not. "Yes, I know the notion of Nord's getting cold is ridiculous." Thorsten said chuckling. "I took them into my home. "My wife,
Risi and I tended to the Argonian. His wounds were peculiar. They resisted every attempt we made to heal them. His raw scales in
the vicinity of the wound healed completely... with no scabbing to be seen."
Thorsten frowned,
"You aren't here for the rambling of an old Nord, are you? No, I thought not."
Majni looked at him and asked him if he knew anything about something called the Unholy Union.
Thorsten shook his head; making his short grey hair sway as if in a breeze.
"No, I haven't heard about such a thing. I do have a book about it though." He walked from where Majni stood and rummaged in a
bookcase that stood to their left. He extracted a book with a black cover outlined in silver with a yellow wolf head superimposed on a
pair of silver bat wings. He handed it to Majni, who thanked him and proceeded to exit the hut.
Thorsten placed a hand on Majni's shoulder. The nord turned around and asked if there was something else he could do.
"I don't need anything from you, no." The male Nord said. "I was just thinking... do you want to stay here tonight. the wind is bound
to pick up and it is supposed to be really bad if you plan to return to wherever you came from so I thought you could weather the
storm here as it were." Majni tried to politely decline the offer but Thorsten shook his head, "I won't take no for an answer. I
instructedRisi already made up a bed for you in the back near the fire. In the morning, you can set off for wherever the wind guides
you."
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