Morndas 8th of Heartfire 

	I decided that I would leave Stenvar and the dog at the local inn while I went on this field trip. That man is one who craves battle, not academia. I was the second of the students to arrive, the first, Brelyna Maryon was waiting with our teacher, Tolfdir. While we waited I had a chat with the elf girl, she seems nice enough, and is well studied too. The Khajiit J’zargo seems like he’s only here to gain power from the arcane arts, and Onmund… I don’t know what the deal with Onmund is. 

Apparently this ruin, Sarthaal was one of the first cities of man in Tamriel until it was destroyed by the elves during the Night of Tears. I was able to uncover a hidden chamber that was reviled to me by an amulet, which I will be labeling the amulet of Sarthaal. I also recovered another amulet, but it seems to be broken. The design resembles that of the amulet of Sarthaal, although it’s missing the very top portion. 

This hidden area would prove to have zombies in it, and I’ve come to expect that of Nordic ruins and I would be very surprised if I came across one free of their scourge. I think it’s fair to say that unlike the Nords of today, their ancestors were very fluent in the magical arts, shown by the rune traps I found covering the ground, such as the Fire Rune and Lightning Rune. 

Rooms of interest include a burial chamber with a pit that descended for miles that had coffins lining the walls of said pit. There was a chamber that contained a wall of text that I don’t quite understand, although I have seen various walls like this in other Nordic ruins. A certain section of the text on this wall gave off a faint glow, I wonder if the highlighted words are a part of some sort of code? 

But most importantly, we found some sort of giant glowing sphere that rotated in place, covered in intricate lines and runes. Its purpose is unknown to me, but maybe it’s some sort of container or power source? I’ve alerted the Arch-Mage, Savos Aren, and he’d like me to research the subject, only the books that have the information I’m looking for have been stolen by a former student! No matter, I was planning on leaving the area anyway, and if I find myself in the region this former student was headed, then I’ll attempt to retrieve the tomes. 

Tomorrow we head off west to Dawnstar, and while the war should be my main focus at this time, the business here at the college will not escape me. And before I forget, make sure to look up information on the Psijic Order. I received a message from someone claiming to be with their group in Sarthaal, and it’d be prudent to find out if they’ll be a problem in the future.