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Leaf’s fingers twisted the gear of the music box that she had recently picked up from a trader. The old music box hummed and twinkled, soft lute strums played through the gears as she put her hands together and gave a soft gasp. Music flowed forth from the box as she tilted her head at it. The song was soft and sweet, peaceful even. The gears turned on their own, moved by things that she knew little about. Such craftsmanship was beyond the argonian’s understanding but she let the box play on her desk as she straightened her posture and took hold of a wooden brom and began to sweep dust around her room.It was a quiet day at the library, and though she hummed to herself the various tasks she needed to get done seemed to only grow. As the song played through the box she idly swayed her hips and tail to the sound as she swept the brom across the floor. Once she was finished with the sweeping she went to sort through new books both donated and bought for her own collection. She quickly found herself carrying a mountain of tomes down to the library below her room. She gave a grunt as she rested them on a table and began to sort them by culture, history, and folklore.Leaf’s library had grown quite a bit in the past year, a number of tomes had simply appeared due to the emergence and remembrance of the Prince of Paths, Ithalia. She wasn’t yet sure if they would remain, or if the books would fade away to far flung corners of Tamriel or even Apocrypha. But thus far it seemed the Great Eye had inclined to let Leaf keep the tomes she had found.She had, of course, flipped through a number of them. And of course, any mention of the Prince of Paths had been completely erased or replaced with tales of dead planes of Oblivion. She had recorded her own thoughts on the whole ordeal when her friend Gelenna Grugnok, an orc mercenary had explained things more clearly. Leaf had been happy to stay relatively clear of Tamriel’s most recent world-dooming event, and though she had been dealing with things of her own she still made time to add more things to her library.Once she had separated the books by the category they most fit, she began to find places on the bookshelves that they’d rest comfortably on. Leaf never placed a book out of order, as she kept things tidy and organized not just for her, but for anyone that might visit her library throughout the day. As she continued to put books away, she heard the music box clicking as though the gears were being reset. She had supposed it was designed to reset so one just needed to turn the switch again.But then the music abruptly stopped and Leaf felt a magical shift, as though a mage had just cast a spell near her. Then she blinked and heard something crash from above her. The argonian frowned and rested her remaining books back down before moving toward the staircase that led back up to her bedroom. She began to climb the stairs, but as she gripped the railing she stopped as she heard a voice say.“Damn! Now where am I?”The voice sounded male, and deep. As though it were made of stone. Leaf’s eyes narrowed and she reached out with her right arm. Green magical energy came to life along her fingertips and a wooden staff formed seemingly out of the vary air. The red scaled argonian snorted and started up the stairs with the staff at the ready. When she stepped into her room, her eyes went wide.Standing in the middle of her bedroom was an ethereal figure. The man was completely see-through and seemed to be dressed in some sort of bard’s outfit. An ethereal lute was strapped at his hip and as he turned to face her, he appeared to have a short beard. Identifying where the man might have hailed from was difficult due to his see-through state but he seemed as surprised to see her as she was him.“W-who?” Leaf started.“Who are you!? How did I get here!?Leaf relaxed her stance a bit, she appeared to be looking at a ghost of some sort. Her eyes went from him, to the music box which still had gears moving even though no sound emitted from it. The man glanced at himself and then at her once more as he repeated his question.“Where am I? Is this Stormhaven?”The question earned another blink from Leaf as she let her staff vanish back into green energy as she rested a hand on her hip.“I’m afraid not. We are in Skyrim, outside of Solitude.”“Skyrim!? My dear lady, that can’t be right! I just played a set at the tavern in High Rock! I remember singing and dancing with a Breton woman and… and… That’s all I remember!” The man was clearly confused as he turned and looked around the room.Leaf cleared her throat a bit and lifted her hands up in a calming gesture. “Say friend, what’s your name?”“Halren, Saint of the Song. And you my lady?” The man asked as he went from looking around to looking at her.“I am Leaf-Scale, and this is my home. I need you to understand something very important, Haldren. You appear to no longer be living. You appear to be a spirit trapped on the mortal plain.”The man looked at himself and lifted his arms. “I appear solid enough… But that does explain a few things. Such as why you appear to be a spirit instead. Wait… Are you certain it’s you who’s not dead?”Leaf gave him a slight chuckle. “I didn’t come from a music box.”The man frowned and peered at the box, then he reached for it and found that his hand slipped right through it.“Fair point. I don’t remember such a box though.”“Hmm… You mentioned a woman. Could she have been a mage?” Leaf asked.The man lifted a hand to the back of his head and scratched his short hair as he thought about it. Then he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “I don’t remember…”Leaf moved to the music box and lifted it off of the table. She turned it over in her hands and stared closely at it’s various parts. There were no inscriptions or runes on the wooden case it had been curved into. There was nothing on it’s gears, or even a soul gem to be found. It threw out many of the quick theories that came to mind. She wondered how his spirit had been connected to the music box then. Either that, or it truly was a haunted object that he had some sort of emotional attachment to it. But she supposed in that case, he’d remember where it came from.“Hmm. I bought this box from a merchant from High Rock. Maybe the merchant got this from the woman you danced with. Or even a member of her family?” Leaf asked, though it was more to herself then it was the ghost.Haldren tilted his head at her as he tried to think. “I… Only remember singing and dancing. Though come to think of it, I don’t remember ever finishing.”“Hmm… Maybe finishing your song will provide answers?” Leaf suggested.“Maybe… Do you mind if I play it?” He asked.“Please! I’d love to hear it.” Leaf answered back. Some ideas had started to come to mind. Leaf the librarian was quickly replaced by Leaf the mage, or maybe just Leaf the music lover.Once, Leaf had danced in a tavern near Mournhold. Working at a tavern had been the argonian’s first job before she’d really dove into nature magic and healing. It had provided her the funds to buy a staff and enroll into the Mage’s Guild. That had been so long ago though, when she was younger.She watched as Haldren took hold of his lute and took a breath. Then he strummed it and the sound echoed not from the lute itself, but rather from the music box itself. Leaf gave a slight hum as the music hit her ears and she felt her tail sway almost on it’s own to the resounding sound of what should have been the lute.Halren kept playing and the urge to dance struck Leaf as surely as any spell. She realized quickly that it must have been an effect of whatever attachment the ghost had to the box. She swayed and shifted on her feet. The man started to hum with her and he swayed as well as his fingers danced over the strings with the skills of someone who must have been a master of the instrument when he lived.How long he had been dead was an unknown. It could have been a few months, weeks, or even years. But that didn’t matter, as the man played he seemed to grow more confident in his posture.“Things… Are coming back to me, Lady Leaf.” Halren spoke.“Please, tell me of them.” Leaf replied, unable to keep her body still.
He nodded and replied back. “The woman offered me coin to play this very song, it was one I’d not heard before and the box… Ah yes, the music box! The lady had held it while she danced. I remember now.”“Good, good! Please keep playing.”Halren let go of his lute and it fell back by his side. The music played without him touching the lute and he stepped up to Leaf and offered his hands to her. The argonian frowned briefly and when she seemed to question his intent, the man asked.“May I have this dance, my lady? I believe I do not have long before I leave for Aetherius.”Leaf lifted her hands, and she rested them in his and gave him a soft smile and a nod. The man’s grip felt real enough and as he pulled her close, he twirled her in a circle as the music seemed to ring louder and as the argonian glanced at the box she could swear it glowed. But her attention returned to Halren as he swept her around the room. As he looked at her he gave a kind expression and nodded.“I remember how I died. Lady Leaf. I owed debts, debts that no amount of gold could solve. I’d made a deal with Daedra, you see. That I could play better than anyone.”“I see…” Leaf replied, but already the man had begun to flicker and fade in and out of her vision as they danced and the music seemed to slow a bit.“Thank you, lady Leaf-Scale. I think I can leave now.” Halren said.He gave Leaf one last twirl on her feet and as she turned, he let go of her hands. When the argonian turned back around to face him, the man was gone and the music box had gone silent. Leaf took a breath and blinked as her eyes fell upon the box. She moved to it and with a sigh she closed the box.“What is going on down here!?” A hissing voice abruptly spoke in anger making Leaf almost jump out of her robe.She looked over her shoulder to see her roommate standing on the last step that led upward into the attic of the building. Whispers-Soft-Words was dressed in only a simple shirt and little else, her legs utterly visible. Leaf blinked at the vampire argonian who’s red eyes glowed in irritation and her arms were crossed over her chest.“Oh sorry Whispers, I was… Well I was dancing.”“Well stop! It is far too early to be making so much damn noise! It’s not even evening yet!”
Leaf tilted her head and gave a chuckle, Whispers was often awake all night due to the nature of her affliction. The grey argonian who might have once been green stepped off of the last step and moved to the music box. She abruptly closed it with a glare and turned back to Leaf.“Well, I’m awake now I guess.”“Right well, let me tell you about this music box at least. You won’t be nearly as angry when you hear-”Whispers’ arms went back to being crossed over her chest, the expression on the vampire’s face suggested that she really couldn’t be bothered to care. Leaf just gave a shake of her head and smiled.“Well, would you like some tea at least?”Whisper’s gaze seemed to soften at the offer and she gave a sigh and nodded. “That… Actually, it sounds nice. Sorry for sounding… Well, like me.”“It’s not a problem, Whispers. Let’s go downstairs then.”The two argonian women both descended down, back to the library below and once they were away. The music box was left resting on the desk, looking like a simple squire piece of light brown wood. On the lid there was a slight flash of light, and the black rose of Sanguine appeared on it…END