A Nascent Kaleidoscope.

I happily bit into the apple as I put the books away. Urag or is it Urag Gro-Shub, is it all one name? Well, I'm just going to keep calling him Urag in my head.

Urag just gave me a grunt when he walked by. From my interactions with the man so far, that is the highest of praises this he can give.

I did read, err skim a book on the Races found in this world. An Orc or Orismer, how interesting. They were made out to be berserks, not in the insulting sense, but the warrior-type. I guess it's rare for an Orc to pursue the path of a Mage, especially to find one running a library. Well, one thing was for sure, I don't think anyone would have any idea about messing around with his books.

Cleaning everything up, all that was left was my notes on Runes that I was going to hand over to the Archmage. It was already gone when I took my eyes off it, but I expected that.

You won't get one over on me again.

Well, my debt has been paid….what should I do now? I did have a schedule for lectures but nothing interesting was coming up in the next few days. Though, next week the Enchanting Master was going to do a live demonstration, I was looking forward to that.

Well, to the job board it is.

It was a lovely night. Even if I hadn't slept in over a day, I still felt really refreshed. I think devils can operate on less sleep, so that is a boon to me as well.

Also, does my minor shapeshifting counteract things like poor hygiene? I knew some small spells to deal with such issues in a pinch, but even after a couple days….I didn't feel particularly icky.

Still though….I felt like a bath would be welcome.

I fiddled with my new storage ring, it was truly a good piece, just seeing this up close, I knew that the enchanting practices of this world would be a benefit to me. The terminology wasn't a one-to-one transfer from what I knew, but the Mystic Code crafters back home did similar things. And these materials were very interesting as well, I didn't recognize any of them, no doubt they were all native to this dimension.

I would have to grab a book on metallurgy when I have the chance.

"Oh, Tolfdir." I called out, seeing the older mage walking down the path.

"Hello, Wilhelm, I see you've managed to escape from the confines of the library." He gave a small laugh.

"Ah, yes." I said awkwardly. "I seemed to have lost track of time."

"It is no problem, my boy." He pat me on the shoulder. "I wish more students had the same 'issue'. It's hard enough to get them to study through the tomes when I assign specific work. All the young ones these days just want to get straight to throwing fireballs."

Well, to be fair, I remember doing that as well when I was young, I think we all did. "The Archmage was kind enough to point me towards some specific fields of study. I was actually just going over to the job board so I could get some things done while I gather materials outside."

"Well, I don't think anyone would say no to another hand with those, we have a few that are starting to get impatient." He scratched his chin in thought. "I don't think I need to question your ability either; I believe Ancano will vouch for your magical prowess in combat." His lips curled up slightly.

Jeese, Ancano must really be hated. Tolfdir comes off as someone who doesn't dislike anyone and always happy to help, yet even he is willing to take a jab at Ancano.

"I have a few moments before I need to head to my next lecture, why don't I show you where everything is?"

"I would appreciate it." I thanked the old mage; he was a really kind man.

I actually didn't really know where the 'common room' was, I was guessing it was connected to the living quarters. He led me towards the rotunda, in the corner, there was a door that led to the tower on the left side. It was large, going both up and down many levels.

"Here we are." He gestured.

I looked around, there were a few bookcases, some chairs, and tables, even some students quietly reading to themselves.

Quite cozy, if nothing else.

"And this is the Job board, it's nothing extravagant but it gets the job done." He smiled brightly at his own joke.

It brought a small smile to my face too.

The job board was….overflowing. I could see why they needed a hand, I guess their services are never in low demand.

"Any jobs I can't take, or is it all fair game?"

"You will have to bring it up with Sergius Turrianus. He overlooks all jobs and requests for the college."

"I heard my name." A man walked over. He was also on the older side, an 'Imperial', bald and wearing standard mage robes.

"Ah yes, here we are. Wilhelm, meet our resident Master Enchant, Sergius Turrianus."

"It's a pleasure, I look forward to your lecture next week." I held out my hand and he grabbed it without any fanfare.

"It's always good to see new blood in the college. So, what can I do for you both?"

"I was just going to take a job or two while I go out for a bit." I spoke. "I wanted to know if there were any stringent requirements on what I could pick."

"As long as you're able to accomplish the jobs, I won't make any unnecessary demands." He came off as a no-nonsense kind of guy, straight to the point and didn't mince his words.

I turned towards the board; I saw one that stood out the most. After hearing about this and seeing it here ...my interest is piqued. I tore it from the board, still looking for another. I saw an older one, a bit ruffled in the corner and saw who commissioned it and where I was required to go, well I could choose worse places. Taking it as well, I handed them towards Sergius.

"An enchanting request by the Companions over in Whiterun." He eyed me, then looked back towards the paper. "There is a reason this one has gone undone for so long, even if the Companions are famous throughout Skyrim. They tend to not be very friendly towards mages, the quintessential Nord, if you will."

"I got a friend who went to Whiterun and wanted to joint he Companions; I want to see how he's doing." I explained.

"I see, well the requirements are just basic Enchanting, nothing a novice can't do. Nord, especially the Companions, don't like anything over the basics. They'll want sharpening, durability, and anti-rusting, maybe a few other requests, but they shouldn't vary much."

"I think I can handle that." I can just read the enchanting book on the way there.

"As for this one….this one is a bit more complicated. You aren't the first to take this request. We had an Adept Mage give up this request halfway through, saying that a powerful Necromancer had taken up residence under the Statue of Meridia, which is why it has been acting up." He gave me an inspecting look. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"I'm confident in my combat ability."

He just shrugged, I guess it wasn't his job to dissuade people from taking jobs. "He also left this." He flipped his hand over and I could tell he pulled on his own personal 'space' to pull out an object. It was a crystal-life object, spherical in nature with many flat sides. "He said it was a 'key', not explaining anything else. Oh, and before I forget, the materials for the enchanting job, which will be deducted from your earnings when you return." He handed me a small bag.

I just put all the stuff into my ring.

"Well, if there's nothing else, I want to get these jobs done as soon as possible." I wasn't even brown-nosing before. I really want to listen to his lecture on enchanting next week.

"I'll make a note of your departure, there aren't any time limits but don't dawdle." He walked away, seemingly content with everything.

"Make sure you have plenty of supplies." Tolfdir looked slightly concerned. "Potions, Magicka and Healing are a must. A good Stamina potion if you need to run away, maybe even a few scrolls…" He rambled on, but his intentions were appreciated.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure I'm properly prepared before engaging an unknown mage." I smiled.

"Yes, of course. I'm sure you are no stranger to the more dangerous side of our profession." He just nodded and I couldn't help but wonder what he'd heard about me. I mean, I only showed off a lackluster duel between me and Ancano, that couldn't mean much. I guess there were also the Ice Wraiths….

Maybe the Archmage said some things I didn't know about?

He said his goodbyes and walked off towards class, but my attention was turned elsewhere. "Are you going to skulk forever?' I called out, taking a few steps out of the common room.

I saw an elf, a Bosmer, I believe. There were many kinds of elves here and it was almost hard to keep track. I noticed him trailing me from the time I had met up with Tolfdir.

"Greetings, friend." He gave me a strange look. "I couldn't help but overhear that you are searching for some….materials."

Ah, that's what this is about. He must be trying to make some coin off me…. well I don't really care as long as I can get what I want. "So it seems, and what can you do for me?"

"You're new around here, so I thought I would introduce myself. You see, I'm someone who can…..acquire things, maybe even of a dubious nature."

Oh, well now this just got worth it. "Are you now? Well, I'm in need of something particular, something that may be rare and might be hard to acquire by normal means."

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Enthir, Scholar and humble Merchant. How could I be of service?"

I thought for a moment before pulling the blue glass out of my ring. "Can you get me more of this, I don't care if it's been forged or not."

"Hmm, a type of glass I've never seen before….I can put my feelers out but I don't know if—"

"Money isn't an issue."

"I know just who to ask. I look forward to any future business." He said happily, walking away.

What a strange guy, though I don't dislike that sort of person. Well, even if it turns into nothing, I would rather fail and try than to ignore a possible lead.

This glass will be important for my sword.

*****

Author's note.

Sorry everyone for missing yesterday, I wasn't feeling well and was in bed all day. Think I had some food poisoning or something. Anyways, here's todays chapter and I threw up a Pat reon if anyone wants to support me, its a few chapters ahead with rough drafts.

Pat reon.com/AStoryForOne