How to Pickpocket a Pickpocket

Chapter 26

Artis arrived in Winterhold around late noon. It was the first time she's been in that part of Skyrim and honestly, she already disliked it. It was snowing like it was raining cats and dogs. Maybe the city had seen better days, but she wouldn't stick around to find out. Artis had no idea where to start looking for this Enthir Karliah spoke of but figured the best place to start looking was at the inn. The Frozen Hearth Inn was nothing special. In fact, it looked almost exactly as the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood. There were only a few people there, locals she assumed.

Artis sat down at the bar and thought about what to order, "Please tell me you have warm ale and chicken breast with baked potatoes on the menu."

The barman grinned, "Long journey, I see. I'll have your order ready in a minute."

And indeed, in a minute he slid a plate of food and a tankard of warm ale to her. Artis paid him a generous sum of money, just because she figured they didn't get many visitors and because of the decent service and dug into her meal. Halfway through, she decided to ask him about the person she was looking for, "Say, you don't know anyone here in Winterhold that goes by the name Enthir?"

The man nodded, "As a matter of fact, I do. Luckily for you, he's right there."

Artis turned around and saw the man he was pointing at. He was a Bosmer with snow white hair and elegant grey mage robes. She thanked the barman again and made her way over to where the elf was sitting. He didn't seem to notice her as she sat down next to him, instead, he had his nose buried in a book.

Artis decided to approach it from a cautious angle, "I really wish I had put more work into studying when I was younger. There's so much knowledge out there, so much things to learn and then to teach, it's overwhelming."

The elf briefly looked up from his book at her, "Er... Yes, knowledge can be quite the advantage for those who have it."

"I take your word for it." She agreed, "But it can also be a great burden, like knowing that a dear friend was murdered in the past by someone he trusted."

Enthir's head jerked up to look at her, his eyes narrow and his brows furrowed, "Who are you?"

"Karliah sent me." Artis finally told him, "We need you to translate Gallus' journal to prove Mercer Frey guilty of murdering him."

Enthir's eyes widened, "So, she has found the journal. Here, let me see it." Artis handed him the journal and he immediately recognized what was going on in it, "This is just like Gallus. A dear friend, but always too clever for his own good. He's written all of the text in the Falmer language."

"Can you translate it?" she asked hopefully.

"No." he shook his head, "However, I know someone who might. The court wizard of Markarth, Calcelmo, may have the materials you need to get this journal translated. A word of warning. Calcelmo is a fierce guardian of his research. Getting the information won't be easy."

"Of course, another quest." Artis sighed, "Why did he have to write his journal in that language?"

"Besides the fact that there are only a handful of people in Tamriel that even recognize the language? I'm fairly certain he was planning some sort of a heist that involved a deep understanding of the Falmer language. Sadly, we never had the opportunity to speak about the details." Enthir smiled, "Ironically, I pointed him in the same direction I pointed you to learn the language. To Markarth and Calcelmo. I'm only hoping by whatever means he used to learn the language will still be available to you."

She'll just have to see about that. Artis bid Enthir goodbye and left the inn. Luckily Winterhold had a cart she could hire for the journey to Markarth, another city she has never been at.