I can't say we left Uirrigan's study pristine. By the end of the no-holds-barred encounter, a chair was broken, a wooden table was split, one of the torches had been splintered due to being used as a weapon, two racks of scrolls were blood-spattered, and one unidentifiable glass vial of something wound up shattered on the floor. My hooves got wet and the center nerves began to burn, but the Dragonborn had glass slivers in his feet and tail stump. The burning didn't bother me- I was on a roll, and going to deliver a final blow when I found I could not move at all.
"Just a moment," Uirrigan interjected. With a quickness, he disappeared from the top of the dais and reappeared beside me, jabbing something into my arm. My eyes widened in anger and pain, and without thinking, I tried to move to strike him back. He, looking at his newly filled vial, merely grunted. "You're paralyzed, my dear. But as far as this testing goes, do feel free to continue your rage-"
Just that quickly, a second small vial had been filled.
"-because I'll need to quickly compare both of these samples to the original one."
The Dragonborn panted, spent on the ground, an unhealthy smell coming from his tail. For a few fleeting moments, I was insane with anger at not being able to move a muscle to finish my kill or harm the thing that had just harmed me. Uirrigan, absorbed in his work, passed right by the damaged furniture and scattered scrolls to get to a set of glassware near the back of the study. Struck suddenly by the fact that I was being studied like an animal, I lost all anger. Uirrigan appeared at the Dragonborn's side a few seconds later with what appeared to be a glass of water in his hand.
"The find is very intriguing. It seems there is a distinct, magicka-related reaction in your blood. Much more activity than when you're dealing with a non-bloodied target. Then, it seems as though there is not as much- moving around, as it were." As he spoke, he poured the liquid substance on the Dragonborn's wounds. The liquid dried and hardened quickly, like some sort of wax. "Don't worry, the compound is just irritating the flesh under your scale. It's not really burning you, but it will be quite uncomfortable, if any has seeped in. Never mind that it's spilled. It's not difficult to remake, either- nothing up here is, or I would have taken care to move it to some other place before I asked you two to do this for me."
The Dragonborn grunted a pained response.
"How are your hooves?" Uirrigan asked me without turning around. "Look at them, you'll find your range of motion has returned."
"So you've deemed me calm enough to move?" I asked with an edge of bitterness, finally able to put my arms down.
"It's not polite to answer a question with a question," Uirrigan tutored gently, as though he were speaking to a child. "Now, that compound is irritating. I have seen it work on flesh, fur, feather and scale, but not hoof, so I need to know whether I need to quickly develop a cleansing agent for you or not. It may seem unimportant, but it may wind up being quite serious indeed." He moved his right hand over the dried goo that he had poured onto the Dragonborn's wounds, and his hand glowed slightly.
"I thought hoof was just a thicker scale," I responded, massaging my sore and stiff arms. I noted with a sigh that I had sustained some serious bruises and scrapes in the name of scientific inquiry.
Uirrigan turned his head over his shoulder and smiled at me. "And your wit returns. It must not burn so much, then." He stood up and turned to check me over, and as he did, the Dragonborn got up and rolled his shoulders.
"It is good fight," he offered with a pained smile. He turned every which way to allow his functional eye to see what was going on with his body.
"You said you've been here a while," I managed as Uirrigan poked at a bruise. "I haven't even had a decent jail stay in ages."
Uirrigan put his hands under each of my own, noting that two of the fingers on my right hand were crushed and bloody. Without saying anything, he moved toward the back of his study.
"You maybe question the winged one, yes? I understand. He is maybe not well. My mother's sister is working with the weak-mind ones, who cannot live on their own any longer- I am seeing this as a child. The winged one's magic is strong, and he is strong, but he is not thinking he is strong. He is thinking he is trapped. I do not completely know why, but- this cleric dying- how he is acting now is very different. I am thinking Tiamat is calling my blade again, but I am different too. Bahamut is making me humble."
A humble Dragonborn? I thought to myself. Let that be so, and I will have seen everything.
"You said you would tell me who you were when I earned it- have I?" I asked, sitting down. Just as I did, Uirrigan appeared at my side with some strips of cloth, some paste, and some splints.
"Of course," the Dragonborn smirked, picking up his sword and sheathing it. "I am Aleksei. From the mountains, very used to cold. But I am being sent away, because of no more use in battle." He poked wryly at the permanently shut eyelid. "I maybe am turning a few seconds too slowly when I see small Tiefling child sitting alone in the dust. They are saying always to kill Tiefling children, and although I am blindly killing many others, I cannot do this. So, exile. No honor."
"It wasn't the nicest of tactics," I frowned, remembering why people would have suspected me even as a child. Uirrigan had slathered my cuts with the salve that he had, and was beginning to bind my fingers together quite tightly. "Mi'ishaen. And in my opinion, honor is a lie."
"Don't bother, Alek, your blade daughter is bitter," Uirrigan muttered as he looked over the rest of my injuries.
"I am not bothering, I am listening," Aleksei chuckled indulgently. "It is experience speaking to me."
And Uirrigan looked from me to Aleksei. "You two have much to discuss, and you will do so while I ask my dear Ylyssa a favor."
"It is well," Aleksei agreed, turning to go. "May I put back all these things in later time?"
Uirrigan vanished from my side, but didn't seem to immediately reappear somewhere else. "We'll see, Alek, thank you."
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