“Good, I'm glad to have you on board. The clients have wanted to launch this for weeks, so you only have until tomorrow to prepare,” she explains, relaxing slightly at the easy acceptance on everyone's faces, “Don't forget to prepare for the desert, if this is your first time. Being caught out in full armour is a fast route to heatstroke, and you aren't going to be able to do your job if we have to drag you.”

“The guild has some supplies you can take, but we'd generally recommend not going in full armour in the first place, so if you do, that's your problem,” she adds, finally introducing herself as Tannida and taking the papers off of the hovering young man. Some she hands over – contract stipulations, the bare details of the job – and others she simply looks through. As brusque as it is, the interview is clearly over; more and more of the normal guild members are coming through to ask other questions.

---

“For people so interested in their own magic swords, they never seem to take me up on the offer of conjured weapons,” another half-shrug, “The conjuration is just something on the side. Trying to put a permanent conjuration into a scroll…”

The Argonian seems amused by the desire to look at his finished work, but pulls out a few nonetheless. Not conjuration, but alteration, mostly – protection against fire, or wind, or a particularly elaborate and specific barrier to deal with sand of all things. Surprisingly thorough, for a wizard working from a market stall, and a much better indication of his speciality. The lone evidence of destruction magic is more in line with the half-finished work on the table; the quality is standard and without any fanfare, but not riddled with functional mistakes.

And the occasional half-finished work that clearly wouldn't function speaks to the dabbling he spoke of.

Colcette

---

Well, this seems simple enough.

"Understood, Dame Tannida." Colcette looked over the papers. It wouldn't be her first time traveling through the desert, so she was somewhat well aware of the dangers of wearing metal in the blazing sun. Though...she didn't exactly have a lot of other options for armor, either. Perhaps something lighter? "I suppose I need a suit of armor more suited for a desert climate anyways...now as good of time as any to try and find something. Don't suppose you could make something, Brulhaus?"

She was overall eager to get underway, despite the seeming lack of time to prepare. Not that there was much anyways. Just enough food and water for all of them as well as some other basic supplies would be all they'd need...depending on how far away this Dwemer ruin was, exactly.

She was rapidly running out of patience with this entire affair. There was, in her mind, an entirely more expedient method of supplanting this lizard's place in the market. And Keirthanil was taking entirely too long. A plan set in place, Rela stepped forward up to the stall, practically supplanting the Altmer's place as she began perusing the finished scrolls the Argonian had produced.

A mage's scrollwork was generally indicative of their capabilities and confidence. Largely alteration, from this one. Competent enough for someone without decades of work and practice, but nothing special. And a conjurer, if his words to her companion were any indication. In comparison, the lizard's destruction magic was pathetic. Rote and textbook. Bland. Mediocre.

Rela ran the odds in her head. Daedra and necromancy were out of the question for both of them. The guards would have their heads if they tried. Atronachs might just have them sent to the pillory instead. So minions were off the table on both sides here. His alteration would be passable, but Rela was certain she could overcome it, if the scrollwork was any indication. And without a doubt, her offensive capabilities were greater than his. This was workable.

"You. Lizard." The Telvanni didn't even try to not be provoking, the upturned glare and malicious glint in her eyes indicating she knew damn well what she was doing. "Fetch your master. I would complain about the mediocre quality of scrollcraft available in this squalid stall of theirs."

I had almost forgotten about how much I disliked the desert sun Verius mused, scowling slightly beneath his helmet. The Alik'r Desert was much more challenging to traverse than Colovia or The Reach, and typically required special preparation for those who did not want to risk death. And to complicate matters, clothing meant for desert travel wasn't typically very effective against the blades and bludgeons of Dwemer constructs.

Still, there were creative ways to circumvent it. Verius knew of some defensive magical techniques, and with deft enough use of a sword and shield, their foes' blades need not ever reach him.

"A straightforward assignment, we will take care of it," Verius replied. "Who or where might I be able to get the details of the job from? I'd like to know exactly where we'll be heading ahead of time."

He hoped that most of this expedition will be spent within the much more tolerable climate of the ruins' interior. He wondered if the Empress still had Auriel's Bow, or if it had made itself scarce as Tamrielic artifacts were reputed to do.