I walk over to the bed and slump down onto it. "Please let this spell be easy to grasp!..." I say as take the 'Lesser Ward' tome from my backpack.
I open it up and read the first page:
"Lesser Ward — Restoration Magic, Novice Level"
"When using magicka to shield yourself, the key principle is stability. A ward must be held constantly and steady to be effective."
"Will your magicka into your hands, and shape it into a barrier. Focus on forming a shield of energy, spreading out from your palms."
"Channel your intention to repel, not attack.
The ward reacts to pressure — magical or otherwise. As long as you sustain it, the ward will attempt to absorb hostile magic and soften physical blows."
"Maintain the flow of magicka steadily. Irregular casting causes the ward to flicker or break."
I scratch my chin. "Hmmm... Ok, so it also works against physical attacks! That's good to know!" I say.
I also notice that Farengar has written some notes in small letters at the bottom of the page. I read it.
'The spell ward will shatter if overpowered.
If a blocked spell is only a bit stronger, both the spell and barrier dissipates, it may also stagger the caster of the ward. If the incoming hostile spell is considerably stronger, it will break the barrier without being dispelled.'
"Thanks Farengar! I'll remember that!.. Don't try to block spells that are obviously to powerful for me!" I tell myself.
I stretch out my hand with an open palm, I close my eyes and focus. "A large, strong shield!" I mutter to myself. With a bit difficulty, the ward does form in front of me. I hold the ward, trying to get used to the sensation of holding it up, but after about 5 seconds, the shield fades.
It's a restoration school spell, so the casting of the ward feels somewhat familiar. But having my magicka drained this fast?! This is a disaster!
"Are you kidding me?! It uses that much magicka?!" I shout to no one, as I feel hope fading. How can I defeat a spellcaster if I can't block spells for more than a few seconds?!
I feel horrible, I I'm not ready for tomorrow's battle at all... I want to puke! I'm starting to cold sweat.
I slap myself hard! "Don't give up damnit!" I snap.
What had Farengar said? 'If you're having a hard time with a spell, read more than the first page of the tome.'
I keep on reading the tome for a few hours, taking short breaks when my magicka have regenerated enough to cast again, getting in as much practice as possible.
The pages beyond the first were just history, some about the "benevolent creator" of the spell, apparently he had been a servant of Stendarr. But I can't find helpful tips, does that mean that this is really all there is to the spell? Am I just too unskilled?...
"What do I do?..." I ask no one in particular, letting out a deep sigh.
My growling stomach interrupts my melancholy. I hadn't eaten all day. I decide that I should turn away from my despair, so I go to have a meal before my magicka regenerates, after that I need to practice as soon as possible again!
I get up from the bed and head out to Mralki, the innkeeper. He's at his counter, counting his income for the evening. The sun has set and the inn is now filled with farmers.
"Hey Mralki" I say as I approach him. "Did you make that meal for me earlier?"
Mralki turns to me, giving me a strange look for a few seconds, before recognizing me. "Oh, you're Esbern's partner. I did make you food yes, just give me a moment. Go find yourself a table, I'll bring it to you."
I head over to an empty table, one that's as far away from the singing bard as possible, wanting some peace. I sit down, watching the people of Rorikstead while I wait for my food.
Like Riverwood, people are heartily singing along with the songs of the bard, probably having consumed a few mugs of mead. Back at home, you'd only seen this during the weekends. But here... is everyday in Skyrim like this?...
"Here you go," Mralki says as he sets a platter of food on my table. "It's gone cold by now… You sure took your time in your room—even Esbern's went to bed."
"Yeah... Big day tomorrow." I say, my voice low.
"I figured. Oh well, enjoy the roast." Mralki says as he waddles away. I wonder if he too has had a mead or two...
The roast smells delicious, and there are grapes and bread on the platter as well! It looks delicious, but Mralki didn't bring me any cutlery, I guess he really is tipsy.
Too hungry to go and ask for a fork, I grab the roasted goat leg with my hands, and bite into it, abandoning all manners.
The meat is juicy, its grease runs down into my beard while I eat.
"Charming..." someone beside me remarks.
The high elf woman we first saw when we first arrived at Rorikstead walks up in front of me. Without asking, she sits down across from me at the table.
She doesn't have that weird hairstyle anymore, the two buns at the back of her head are gone. Now her hair falls loose, golden and elegant, cascading down her shoulders. After freshening up from a day in the fields, her beauty is even more striking.
I grab my shirt quickly and wipe the grease away from around my mouth, that damn Mralki hadn't even brought me a napkin, or whatever Skyrim people use!
I blush deeply, struggling to swallow the oversized bite I'd taken just before she sat down. After a moment of silent battling, I finally manage to get it down. I clear my throat. "Ahem—sorry. Haven't eaten all day. I was starving…"
She just stares at me for a moment, before speaking. "No need to apologize for lacking manners, though I must admit, it is unsightly."
I push my platter of food aside, looking down at the table, hoping that my flushed cheeks will soon cool off. "I'm sorry, can I help you with anything?..." I ask, wondering why she sat down with me.
"Why do you keep apologizing?" she says, ignoring my question completely. "You do know it makes you look insecure, right?"
Damn… she really is a high elf—blunt, a little arrogant. But even so, I can't help being drawn to her beauty.
I take a deep breath, and let out a sigh, having a hard time to find a reponse. "Yes, I suppose you're right... Now, how can I help you?"
She smirks slightly. "You mean besides being my entertainment?"
I raise my hands in feigned surrender. "As much as I enjoy playing the part, yes." I smile as I say it—not because I feel confident, but just because this woman makes me feel like a joke right now.
She actually chuckled at that, her eyes seems to warm up a bit. "But yes, sir hunter, I would like to know what the two of you found out today, concerning the graveyard." She says, assuming that I'm a hunter. "It might have something to do with regards to Kaleb." She adds.
That's right, Kaleb! The young man who was supposed to run to Whiterun for help, and who never showed up.
"Ah, your boyfriend... We—" I start saying.
She cuts me off. "Oh gods, no! I simply urged him to head to Whiterun—he is, after all, quite fast on his feet. One of his few useful qualities…" she says, seeming not to be too impressed by him either.
"Uh-huh... Well, we'll let you know what's been going on as soon as we've solved the issue..." I say, hoping that she'll accept the answer, but somehow, I doubt it.
"Oh please, it's obviously a necromancer—that's no mystery!" Her voice is loud, arms crossed as she looks at me. "Now, did you figure out anything else?"
"Shhh!... Would you keep it down?!" I retort. "There's no need to tell the entire village!"
Her eyes narrows. "Don't ever shush me." She says sharply, before turning silent for a moment. " But I might let it slide, just this once—if you tell me what you know."
"We don't know much more than you do appearantly... We're going to investigate further in the morning..." I answer, knowing that she won't relent until she gets answers.
Her eyes widen slightly, understanding that there's something more to our delay. "You had hours to do so after you arrived, why didn't you start looking?"
I shrug my shoulders slightly. "We need to prepare first."
This time, she sighs. "How much preparation can be made in a village like Rorikstead?! We asked the Jarl for soldiers, not cowards." Probably assuming that we're scared.
This time, I raise my voice at her. "We're not cowards! And we're about to risk our lives for you! So we need some damn time to prepare!"
Her eyes goes wider than they were before, seeming a bit uncomfortable, but not scared.
I lean back into my chair and take a deep breath. "I'm sorry... But tomorrow..." Frightens me, I was about to say. But I turn silent for a moment, trying to explain our delay another waym
I meet her gaze, deciding to be straight with her. "I need to learn a spell first, ok?... Otherwise, tomorrow might become a suicide mission." I say, before my gaze falls down onto the table, my despair is written on my face.
There's a moment of silence.
"What kind of spell?" She asks, her voice softer now.
I shrug my shoulders and lift my hands, sighing. "A ward spell..." I answer.
"What level?" She asks.
In surprise I quickly meet her gaze again. "It's just a lesser ward... Why, do you magic?..." I ask curiously.
She huffs. "Of course I know magic, I'm an Altmer, if you can't tell."
I reply. "Yes, a High elf, I can tell."
"Well, so what's the problem with the spell?" She continues to ask.
"I just learned it two hours ago, but I can't hold it for more than 5 seconds before my magicka is drained." I answer.
She chuckles. "5 seconds... No really, how long can you maintain it?"
I gaze at her, my expression serious.
She stops chuckling and clears her throat. "Well, you are just a human, after all… Now, tell me—who's your teacher?"
"Farengar," I say, since he's the closest thing I have to one. "Farengar Secret-Fire. He's the—"
"Yes, yes, I know who he is!" she cuts in, waving a hand dismissively. "Leave it to a Nord to mess things up."
She leans in, resting her elbows on the table, and folding her hands. "Now, how are you casting the ward?... Into what do you shape it?"
She leaned in closely, probably missing having someone to talk about magic with, I can finally see her smiling. I think my heart skips a beat, I have never seen anyone so beautiful in my entire life.
I must have stared for a moment. I shake my head. "Focus damnit!" I think to myself, trying to shift my thoughts to answer her questions. "Ummm, I make a large warding shield... Thick and strong! And I—"
She interrupts me by clicking her tounge in disapproval. "Tsk tsk tsk... Thick, no. Strong, yes— It's the quality of your ward that repels spells, not necessarily the amount of magicka you pump into it, make it thin. As long as it doesn't flicker, it's thick enough."
My eyes widen, that's the best instructions I've received so far! If that's true, that might actually make a huge difference.
Before I can reply, she asks another question. "How many times have you cast it by now?"
I stop and think, I haven't counted, but I cast it every now and then when I read about the spell. "About 5 times... Why?" I ask.
She leans back into her chair, crossing her arms. "Show me..." She asks as she narrows her eyes.
I look at her, I can tell that she's serious, and she expects me to do it here. I cast a quick glance around the room, there's alot of people here, but we're far back at the inn.
Playing along, I decide to do it. I hold my arm out from my side, away from the table. I close my eyes and focus.
"Dead." she says.
"Excuse me?..." I reply.
She shakes her head. "You don't close your eyes in battle. Now, do it again!" She commands.
"Shees..." I mutter to myself.
I raise my hand again to my side and focus, after a few seconds I manage to cast the ward, I focus on making it thin and strong, it doesn't flicker.
This time, I held it for a whole 15 seconds before it vanished.
Surprised by how long I held it, I grin widely. "Holy Sh—"
"Dead!" She interrupts me.
"Oh, come on! What now?!" I ask her, annoyed. Sure she's beautiful, but this chick is getting on my nerves.
She leans in over the table again. "If I had charged a lightning bolt and fired it at you, how fast could you react?..."
My silence is my answer.
"Like I said, dead..." She punctuates.
I let out a sigh. "Then what do I do?!" I ask her, she's clearly skilled, or at least knowledgeable when it comes to magic.
"You need to get familiar with the spell, and learn how to cast it instantly." She answers shortly.
I laugh at her answer. "Yeah, no shit!... But I don't have the time!" I say, my voice laced with despair.
"From what I can tell, you have all night..." She replies calmly.
I raise my hands and sigh. "Yeah... And that gives me what, time to cast it 20 times?!"
She picks a grape from the cluster on my food platter, and leans back into her chair. Slowly she lifts the grape to her lips. "I was thinking more like— a thousand times." She says softly, before biting the grape in half.
I raise my eyebrows, speechless I just stare at her for a moment, her expression is totally calm. "What are you talking about." I ask.
She slowly chews the grape while smiling for a moment, before swallowing it. "The answer is obvious. You need to get familiar with the sensation of casting the spell, and learn to cast it instantly."
"Yes?..." I say with an expecting voice, waiting for what in the world she's going to say next.
She smirks. "We Altmer are taught a basic training method at childhood. Cast your spell, as weak as possible, and for as shortly as possible. So, cast the ward— as small you can, and don't hold it."
It dawns on me that doing that would actually be possible. "Oh my god..." I mutter to myself, as I have just been mindblown.
This training method would let me feel the sensation of casting a thousand times, I would practice my casting speed a thousand times. And that would probably even reduce how much magicka I need to cast it.
With a smirk the Altmer gets up from her chair, she walks over to me and taps me on my shoulder. "Then get to it. And let me know when you've find out anything else..." She says, before walking away.
I quickly turn toward her. "Wait!..."
She stops briefly, and turn to look at me.
"What's your name?!..." I ask her.
"Thal'Niriel." She answers briefly, turning to leave again, not asking for my name.
I gaze at her until she has left the inn. Then I quickly sit down and eat my fill, before charging into the room.
I stretch out my hand and cast lesser ward about twenty times in a row, making the barrier as thin and small as possible. I don't hold the spell, only cast it fast enough for it to activate, before I let go of it.
This hardly consumes magicka at all! And the amount I need to cast is quickly regenerated! I don't think Thal'Niriel was joking! I think I can actually cast the spell like this a thousand times tonight!
I stayed up as long as I possible could, casting the spell over and over again, I lost count of how many times. I could hear the birds start to sing before I finally fell asleep.