Practicing destruction magic turned out to be great for passing the time while keeping warm.
By using the same concept to train as I did with the ward, making the flame small and stable—holding it, was a good heat source at a low magicka cost.
The hours go by, my focus was purely on spellcasting, which let the guards approach my cell without me noticing.
Several guards stood by the bar door, staring.
"Is it time already?" I ask, getting up from the bed.
They all eye me in silence for a few more seconds, before one of them turns to leave, the rest follow him.
"What the hell?" I mutter to myself, "have I become some sort of show for these guys now?"
Time went by slowly in the cell, I slept and woke up several times, and often when waking up, there were guards staring at me again. I couldn't recognize any of them though, new ones kept showing up. I assume that most of the guards knows my face by now.
After about three days, a guard finally approached my cell, keys jingling in his hand. With no windows, it was hard to keep track of how much time had passed.
"Get up Conjured, time for your trial." He says while unlocking the door.
I was already in the process of getting up, but the nickname 'Conjured' stopped me in my tracks.
"Conjured?... How known has that name become?" I ask him, curious if I'm going to hear this for a while.
He only shrugs his shoulders, "beats me, one of the guards told Mikael, I heard it from him."
I deadpan. "That's the bard, right?..."
He nods.
That settles it, I guess I have a new nickname around town, though only the guards should be able to put a face to it, for now...
We go to the hall of Dragonsreach, several people have already gathered.
Irileth, Proventus and a few guards are by the throne, Balgruuf himself sitting on it.
At the base of the stairs leading down from the throne, Esbern, Delphine, and Farengar are standing by.
Jarl Balgruuf notices my arrival. "Good, you've arrived Ragnar." he says, motioning to the group below. "Please, join your defense."
Perfect, Farengar is among my defense, he must have gotten something from the book we took from Sandor, the necromancer.
Upon joining them, they all greet me as a friend.
Balgruuf leans back into his chair, raising his voice, "Now, due to the discoveries of Farengar Secret-fire, I hope we can make this a short trial. I want a few simple questions answered before Farengar will unravel his findings. Is everyone in agreement?"
As one, my defense bows their heads. "Yes, my Jarl!" they reply in unison.
"First question," the Jarl begins, "did Ragnar show any signs of allegiance to either of the necromancers he killed?"
"No." Both Delphine and Esbern answers.
"Second question." The Jarl continues, "did you Delphine, send Ragnar the necromancer robes as a tool for undercover against the necromancer threat?"
"Yes." She answers.
"Third question," he looks at me, "do you stand by your claim of having been summoned here by a necromancer?"
I nod. "Yes."
Balgruuf gestures to Farengar, "Farengar, tell what you told me to the present company."
"Yes, my Jarl," Farengar replies before walking to the center of the hearing.
"When I first met Ragnar, he gave me a spell tome, a conjuration spell to be precise, titled 'Summon Ash Spawn'."
"The tome looked authentic, the dark purple cover, the symbol of a gate of oblivion on the cover—but it was not a spell from the conjuration school."
"I studied it, unfortunately this book seemed to have been written to misguide the user. It was a spell, however it was only a part of a bigger spell. A cog in a bigger machinery, if you will."
"The nature of the spell doesn't belong to any of the known schools, but it does have elements of both conjuration and destruction in it."
"This spell is an attack—against the barriers of our world! When breaking down those barriers, the spell must be held. Those barriers are as powerful as reality itself, and will mend itself almost immediately."
"When Ragnar was summoned, only a crack must have been made, and then conjuration was cast. Instead of drawing upon the forces of oblivion, the crack could let the caster draw upon creatures beyond what exist in our world."
"I believe the nature of this spell is to summon something much more powerful than mere humans, this cult must be stopped."
My eyes widen. This could be big, much bigger than I thought.
Proventus clears his throat. "Excuse me, Farengar. How can you know that it's intended to summon something more powerful than a human?"
Farengar turns toward Proventus. "I said believe. My reasoning is this: the necromancer who had the book, also had a letter, which instructed to cast the spell at midnight. There is no reason for that if you just want to summon a human, that's possible when casting it alone."
"What other reason could there be to cast at a specific time, unless it was meant to synchronize with other casters?"
Farengar let's it sink in for a moment before continuing, "that's why I believe so. The more casters, the more damage to the barriers, and thus—the bigger the interdimensional doors will be."
A heavy silence falls over Dragonsreach — everyone can feel the gravity of the matter.
Balgruuf let's out a deep sigh, "gods help us..." He looks at me and my defense, "are any of you willing to continue in aiding us?"
Esbern sighs. "I would, my Jarl. But I lost all function in my arm in my previous fight... I wouldn't be of much help."
I look at Esbern, he seems like he's already accepted his fate, his eyes are as fiery as they used to be.
"I'll do it." I say, stepping forward.
I didn't have much in this world, a few friends, sure, but Skyrim wasn't my home. Stendarr had promised me passage home if I took care of Mordyn.
"Have you tried healing it?" Farengar asks Esbern.
"Yes," Esbern points at me with his left hand, "Ragnar tried several times."
Farengar chuckles, "novice healing is no good when it comes to fixing damaged nerves."
Both mine and Esbern's eyes light up. "Then what can?!" I burst out.
Farengar smirks, "Healing spells of the Adapt level should suffice, IF it's nerve damage."
Esbern looks at me with hope in his eyes.
"Could you borrow me a tome?" I ask Farengar.
"I don't have any here, you could check with traders in the city." Farengar says, before turning and bowing to Balgruuf. "Forgive my interruption, my Jarl. But it seems Esbern can help as well, if he can be healed."
Balgruuf nods, "Thank you Farengar, your advice is always welcomed."
He turns to me. "Ragnar, I hereby find you, not guilty. You're free to go, and your continued service will be appreciated."
Turning to Proventus, he continues, "pay Ragnar the same amount as Esbern received for his aid."
I bow my head, "thank you my Jarl!"
I leave Dragonsreach with Esbern and Delphine. I got a written notice that said my charges were dropped, so I was free to return to Rorikstead without the townsfolk there wanting to kill me.
But I can't really say that I want to return there anymore... Our victorious return from battle was supposed to end differently, going back now wouldn't bring any heroic welcome.
Proventus gave me a reward of 500 septims for the aid, I had to smirk when he gave it to me.
Add that to the rest or the gold Esbern owes me, I should be able to finally buy some decent spells!
I have to become stronger! Something tells me that Mordyn is extremely powerful!