Cael tapped his fingers on the table as he watched the map spread out on it, "How about this one, Alftand?"
Ren shifted through the reports and then nodded, "It's a clear possibility. It's quite remote and in an inhospitable location. There are rumors that it's very deep and a rather large location."
Sheila nodded, "A very strong candidate I would say, it's in the middle of a mountain range and way above the tree line and has snow year around," and then reached for one of the notes Ren were looking at, "It's… in the middle of a glacier. Nobody sane would have explored that already."
"Perfect for us!" I said with a grin, earning a double eyeroll from Sheila and Ren. Score, double! That's a rare one!
"Alftand then," Cael agreed and rolled up the map, "We should travel there as soon as possible."
"Eager to get started?" I asked and looked out the window. Snowing again. Nice.
He grinned and nodded, "Exploring a ruin full of ancient knowledge unknown to anyone from our Plane, finding out how to make Dwemer metal… I can't wait."
"Not to mention finding out more about the Dwemer themselves," Sheila agreed, "It's interesting."
"Do we need to find more supplies?" Ren asked as she shuffled together the notes on Alftand, "It's in the middle of a glacier, not much to hunt there. You can only life on conjured food for so long."
Cael considered it for a second before he shook his head, "No. Worst case, the drakes can go hunting or we can return here and purchase more if necessary. We brought plenty, especially when expanded with conjured food."
"Sounds like a plan," I agreed, "We'll leave tomorrow. We should use conjured horses for about a day's ride from the town and then fly the rest of the way."
Cael frowned, "Isn't there a portal close by Winterhold?"
"Relatively," I agreed and then hmmed, "We could portal there. It would be closer than riding from here and in the middle of nowhere. We could transform and fly from there. Good idea."
Sheila shook her head, "We can do that," before she looked at Cael, "Except you shouldn't fly. You're a Wyrm, you would stand out way too much. You'll ride on Rengosa, Atreus carry me."
Cael nodded, "…Agreed."
He was larger than a couple of elephants put together, not as large as Kalecgos, but still very big.
I could tell he didn't overly like the idea of not flying under his own power, but he went along with it.
Ren looked over at me, "Should we rest for a day or two first?"
I hesitated for a moment. Getting there would involve a day's flight and Walking was always tiring.
"…Perhaps it's better to wait until tomorrow," I admitted, "A night's rest would be nice."
Cael nodded, "Understandable. I think I'll explore the town until dark. Anything I need to know?"
Ren shook her head, "Not really. Just watch the locals and do what they do. I recommend the Bannered Mare, the food there is pretty good. Ask Galkir on the way out, he'll give you some money."
As Cael left, I moved to sit down in one of the comfy chairs, rubbing my eyes. Damn, it's nice to sit down.
"Knew you were tired," Ren said with a grin as she sat down on the other free chair, pulling her legs up beneath her as she put a book in her lap.
"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled and picked up my satchel, digging through it for my notebook only for Sheila to take the book away from me, "Hey!" I started to protest only to quickly be derailed as she sat down across my lap and put her head against my shoulder.
…She's right, this is much better than making enchanting calculations.
I quickly put my arms around her and she made a small soft sigh,
"…Atreus?"
"Yeah?" I asked and played with a lock of her hair.
She glanced up at me, "You want to go digging through those ruins, don't you?"
"…Kind of do," I admitted and sighed, "But not our job this time. We'll just have to make sure they get settled in and then head of to see what we can find."
"I know what you mean," Sheila agreed and smiled a bit, "I miss it, the exploration."
Ren grinned, "Luckily, that's what we are doing next!"
"Yeah, will be fun," Sheila agreed and stretched a bit before relaxing, "We're not returning to town before we head off, right?"
"I think so," I agreed, "Head out… do two or three stops, basically as far out as we get in a month and a half and then head back here going another way, see what we find."
Sheila nodded, "Right. So this is the last reliable source of food and other supplies for at least three months."
"We can always hunt?" Ren suggested and closed her book, "Always something to hunt."
Sheila shook her head, "Not always. Best case, yes, but we really should bring enough food for three months. Or at least enough that the rest can be conjured."
I would must rather stay right where I was.
But she was right.
Like usual.
Damn it.
Sighing, I nodded, "…Yeah, you're right. We should go over our supplies and see what we need to get before tomorrow."
AN// Unbetaed due to lack of time. Posted early because of early morning tomorrow.
