Katia: Have a seat

ForthanEldiar wrote:

Before dinner, you should ask if you can browse through the books. It would be a good chance to make sure you intake some knowledge in case anything unfavorable happens. Try to look for how to improve your current spells.

While you’d certainly like to flip through some books before dinner, it doesn’t look like you’ll have a chance. Sigrid grabs your shoulder and swiftly ushers you into the next room.

Just look at you, she says! Scraggly fur, pale nose… you look positively famished! Let me guess, been out on some magical adventures? Traveling Tamriel, seeking fame and fortune?

Kind of, you say. You’ve actually just sort of been running errands all day, but it’s kept you pretty busy. You admit you kinda haven’t actually eaten or drank anything since this morning.

Sigrid grins warmly. We’ll have to fix that, then! Come, have a seat. Oh, and careful not to slip on the flowers. I keep telling people to leave them off to the side of the walkway, but, well, you know…

People.

Something to drink? Sigrid explains she has a couple of her specialty drinks mixed. She’s got Applepear Surprise – which is made from pears and apples mashed together. She’s got Holiday Punch – made from a mix of ham and lettuce. Aaaaand she’s got a pitcher of melted cheese mixed with more cheese. She hasn’t come up with a name for that one yet.

Ah… all virgin, you ask?

As a Redguard who can’t swing a sword, she replies.

You opt for Applepear Surprise, being the only one that sounds remotely like a beverage. Sigrid commends you on the choice, and says it’s her personal favorite too.

You smile uneasily and thank her for the drink. She tells you to wait here – she’s going to grab the rest of the meal and join you in a moment. It’s been so long since she’s met a real, traveling mage, she looks forward to hearing all about you!

LordFenrir12 wrote:

Katia: Be very, very, VERY cautious around Sigrid. She’s super friendly, but something feels…off about her. Tread carefully, Jo’Khajiit.

Guardianangel…maybe. wrote:

Katia: Add it all together girl: All those bones must have come from previously living people. No students or member mages in a place supposed to have many. Blood from under a heavily locked door. (Blood?) stains on the floors. Bookshelf section on necromancy empty of books= books that are off a shelf tend to be in use. Large alchemy laboratory. Unusually alluring and friendly lady in charge. Come to conclusion.

With Sigrid out of the room, you take a moment to assess the situation.

A few of the things you saw downstairs were… unsettling, sure. But you don’t want to jump to any conclusions just yet. I mean, there still might be a perfectly reasonable explanation. After all, this is still the Mages Guild, and Sigrid herself seems nice enough. You suspect there’s probably nothing to worry about.

DayDream wrote:

And, uh, Does Sigrid have Fangs?

Fangs? You’re pretty sure those were just the regular, nubby little fangs most humans have. Pretty sure.

You guess they looked a little pointy, but… nothing to be concerned about, probably.

Just to be safe, you glance around the room and note your potential escape routes. It’s a long way to the front door, but you guess you could always go for the window and…

Oh, don’t mind me, Sigrid says. Just handling some security stuff. Wouldn’t want an imp flying through the window and crashing our meal now, would we?

Heh, no, you say. That would be terrible.

Kofiman wrote:

Sigrid only has places for two people to eat, so there aren’t a lot of people here. There is going to be a reason for that.

In an attempt to curb your implacable feeling of impending doom, you cautiously bring up one of the most pressing questions on your mind. So, ah, Miss Sigrid? I can’t help but maybe notice that there are a lot less people here than I expected. Like, the whole place really seems sort of… empty.

Sigrid confesses the Kvatch guildhall has been a little barren since the Necromancy ban. Most Guild mages still view the place with a bit of a stigma. Archmage Traven won’t even give us funding, she says. As far as he’s concerned, this whole building is permanently evil.

But I’ve been working on turning things around! I’ve been doing some renovations, restocking the library, and trying to restore the Guild’s reputation with the citizens of Kvatch. You know, showing everyone that not all mages are evil, soul-stealing necromancers. It’s hard work, but very rewarding!

It does get a little lonely sometimes, holding the place down on my own. But I do what I can to make it as inviting as possible. To remind everyone that there’s still a Kvatch Mages Guild, and that everyone is welcome here.

Ah! For instance, I see you’ve noticed my ethnic diversity mural!

I had it painted last month. One of my many attempts to brighten this place up a little.

A pretty successful one, I think? I bet you feel more at home here already.

Additional resource credit:
Squiggles – priceless work of art