Rhazii grinned. "I promise I won't be any trouble."

Janius straightened and looked up at the clouds, taking a breath. He didn't look fully convinced. Still, his ambivalence ended consistently. "Alright," Janius said. He looked to them all and motioned to the gate. "Let's head off now. There's no point tarrying unless we have anything else to work out."

[hr]
Lunise answered as they reached the steps. The stone of their construction clapped loudly against their shoes and echoed. "His name is Pircalmo. He is an eminent natural philosopher, having written on almost every creature you could name on Nirn that he could personally study." Lunise peered at Meesei behind her from the corner of her eye. "He is a man with a hammer in a world of nails, Meesei. Try not to let his passions explain everything."

Murmurs sounded as they progressed. People speaking and moving. The staircase ended to reveal their sources.

They were on the ground of the cloistered garden. Under the shelter of the cloisters around the garden itself were many Altmer in various elegant dresses, robes, and suits. Many wore bags and scroll cases. The first impression of the attire was that of formality, but the functionality of the clothing ruled that out. Either way, it appeared that the edge of the garden was a thoroughfare between the archways on either side. There were no other races in sight until a short Bosmer could be spotted walking through.

As expected, Meesei immediately had eyes trailing her all the way through. The pair stopped conversations as they passed. Lunise walked by without making eye contact with any of them. The amount of looks she got as well, not to mention the way the pedestrians parted for her passage, already spoke of her Thalmor uniform's message.

Lunise lead Meesei through a short tunnel that served as a gate for the cloisters. It emerged to a much larger square, almost three times as large as the yard behind them. It was not gardened, save for some greenery around the edges that framed more statues of full men, women, busts, and some creatures. Its surface -- blinding from the sun -- was made from the same yellow tiles that made up the paths. The buildings that surrounded the square were all slightly different in size and layout, though they held the same architectural style as the cloisters; tall, narrow, and exhibiting high pointed arches on its facets. On their front faces were dull stained glass windows with unique yet unclear designs. If the Cyrodilic temple windows were any indication, they could be enchanting to look at from indoors. Behind each building was a continuous wall that enclosed the square. This appeared to be the college campus in its entirety.

Though there were plenty more passers-by that Lunise and Meesei had to suffer, they did not have to walk far. Lunise lead Meesei to the next building to their right. It was a long building with repeating stained glass arched windows. The walls were yellow as all the other stone and held up an ocre-hued tile roof. It was relatively uninteresting but for the vines that clung like a frozen crashing green wave to one of its corners. The double doors were open.

They walked past what appeared to be a lecture hall, as well as many closed doors within. They ascended a flight of steps to a hallway taken over by an unexpected spray of light. The yellow walls were dappled in bright, fantastical colours. They drew eyes to the windows. Each one was inlaid with beautiful and intricate stained glass. They depicted the basic shape of different animals with some Aldmeris script underneath. Lunise didn't appear to take notice of any of them.

However, she was slowing her walking pace. Her feet took slower and slower steps until she finally halted, looking at the door beside her. It was painted with blurry blotches of green and red from a window depicting a bird of paradise opposite its position.

Her strong posture began to deflate. She bowed her head and closed her eyes. "How shall I even explain why I am here?" She asked herself quietly. The empty hallway made her easy to hear.