"The College is independent of Skyrim, and is not subject to the White-Gold Concordat. You are here as a guest of the Archmage, so whether you will receive a report or you won't is his decision and not yours, and I do not see why he should given that you are not a member of the College."

...he looks honestly shocked that a lowly Erudite would speak to him thus, but he recovers quickly enough. "My role here is as an advisor to the Archmage, and I cannot do my job very well if I am not informed!"

"I'm certain you mean to advise the Archmage, and I'm just as certain that he is the one deciding which topics you can advise him on. And that said, members of the College are not bound to follow the Archmage's instructions, and outside the contract we all agree to upon joining which restricts certain kinds of activities we also are not bound to inform the Thalmor of anything else. So if you wish to acquire information about what happened in Saarthal it is the Archmage you should consult, not some easily intimidated Erudite.

"Now if you'll excuse us, we have some important matters to attend to."

And he, of course, does not wait for Ancano to excuse him, and just continues his way out of the College to meet up with Erandur.

"That was very ballsy," says Onmund once they're sufficiently far out of Ancano's earshot.

"Was it? If everything I said was true, I don't think it was. Ancano does not have any power over the College. And you should know by now that I have no tolerance for bullies throwing their weight around."

"I mean, it was kind of hot."

Ruby grins widely. "Glad you think so. Now let's find Erandur."

Erandur is ready to go when they are.

Ruby summons horses for himself and for Onmund, and they set off.

Onmund's specialty is elemental magic, and "air" is an element, so he has this little spell he can use that'll make sound travel between them without them having to shout even while the horses are going full speed ahead. "So, Ruby was a bit light on the details. How exactly did you two meet?"

"I believe Mara sent him to my aid in Dawnstar. The temple of Vaermina nearby housed one of her unholy artefacts and the people inside it were held in stasis for decades but after this long the seal around it could not hold its influence back anymore. He helped me deal with it and save the people of Dawnstar.

"And the reason I knew about all of this was that I used to be a priest of Vaermina, myself. I have been on a long road to redemption since, and I believe the next step along this road is helping Ruby. If he is to help rid the world of a second coming of the dragon menace, I would be glad to accompany him."

...wow this guy is even more dramatic than Onmund, that's kind of impressive.

"You were raised since you were a child by the temple, indoctrinated, and then you still managed to break free. I think putting all the blame on your shoulders like that is not a fair or good way for things to be."

"I fled the temple out of fear, not out of regret or a desire to right my wrongs."

"Because you realised deep down that what Vaermina did to people wasn't good, and you yourself were the person harmed by her that you had the most means to save. And after you had saved that person, you did in fact go on to try to help others and save more people.

"Maybe there's still harms for you to make right, I don't know. But I don't think you need forgiveness. I think, if Mara really understands you, she has already forgiven you. You have become a better person, now, and I think you will continue to do good regardless of whether you are trying to redeem yourself."

"I thank you for your faith in me, my friend. I hope I am worthy of it."

Man he didn't mean to get stuff this philosophical, he just wanted to make small talk.

"For what it's worth I'm with Ruby, here." He's not sure he would've produced that reasoning himself, unprompted like that, but now that Ruby's gone and said it he cannot fault that logic.

"I will strive to rise to both of your expectations."

He's so dramatic.

"So you're following Ruby just because you think Mara sent him to you?" Wait, shit, that was kind of rude.

He seems unruffled.

"Not exclusively. I... believe you are right, that I wish to do good for its own sake. It seems like he will be positioned to do much of it.

"And... I like him, as a person. I am glad to have met him."

"Aw, shucks."

Map of the Trip

The trip to Fellglow Keep takes several days, even at the pace of Ethereal Horses. A spell like Tolfdir's would probably come in very handy, here, but unfortunately none of them have the masery of Conjuration and Alteration needed to make it work. Most of the way there follows the main road, south and southwest into The Pale then west and south towards Whiterun Hold and then back around south and east into a smaller road towards the keep. The road ends before they can reach it, as it's in the mountains and has been abandoned by its lords long enough that the roads are slowly being consumed by snow. This last leg of the journey is slower, and they opt to retire early and try to actually make the keep in the morning.

It's not impossible that they'll be able to talk it out peacefully, but... none of them expect it.

They are attacked on sight.

But Urag said these weren't crazy mages, at least in theory.

Ruby keeps a Ward up and weathers the onslaught and calls, "We come in peace!"

The attacks stop.

Well, then.

Two mages approach, one flanked by a Flame Atronach and another by a Frost Atronach. The first one says, "Leave. There is nothing here for you."

"We don't want to pick a fight, but there is something we want, actually."