"Master Tolfdir? Here for more candy?" I asked with a chuckle.
Yes the man had in fact regularly stopped by for candy after that first piece. Not just the cinnamon caramel candies either but various other sorts as well. He wasn't alone either as somehow the information I made candies got out and a few other people came to ask for some. You'd be flabbergasted by how many of the colleges master wizards had a sweet tooth.-
He smiled "Not today my boy. Theres been some concern among my colleagues that you have yet to attend a single lesson or lecture in the entirety of your time here. While nobody will deny the necessity of theory work we are concerned you may not be getting the practical experience to go with it." he said seriously.
I scratched the back of my head at that "Ah. Yes, in hind sight I MAY have been rather narrowly focused on getting my foundation patched up and forgotten to actually practice. Rest assured I'll make an effort to correct this once I finish up these last few books." I promised sincerely.
"I'll be sure to let the others know. But while i'm here you wouldn't happen to have any more of that, what did you call it? Ah! Hot sauce! Why I just can't get enough of the stuff, I put it on everything." he said with an embarrassed smile.
"As a matter of fact I have an entirely new recipe that I recently came up with. Found an excerpt from one of the tomes about a fruit with juices that have a spicy and salty flavor from Valenwood and had Enthir procure some for me to experiment with. I think it's even better than my previous hot sauce in fact!" I said eagerly as I opened the small stone box I installed in my room and enchanted to act as a refrigerator.
"I'll never cease to be in awe of your creativity my boy! Perhaps not the most useful in a place like skyrim but that cooled box of yours would make food preservation drastically easier in other provinces. Why it's the sort of product names are built on!" he said with a smile as the cold vapors escaped the box as I retrieved the small bright orange liquid filled vial.
"It's nothing revolutionary, just a clever use of the properties of cold on food." I said shaking my head as I pulled the top off the vial and lightly touched the liquid within with the dip stick before handing it to him "Here, try it." I offered.
He took the dip stick and rolled it on his tongue before closing his eyes and savoring the flavor.
"Wonderful! I do believe you are right, this is superior to the original recipe. The heat is the same but theres that extra saltiness and some sort of earthy flavor, a mushroom of some sort I'd wager. And of course the sharp tang of vinegar as well." he said like a true connoisseur.
"Right on all but one account, it's a moss rather than fungus." I said with a smile.
"Moss? What a funny thing to put in food." he said with a surprised expression.
I shrugged "It had the balancing properties I needed for the vinegar and fruit juice to mix without either flavor overwhelming the other." I said frankly.
"I swear you are almost wasted pursuing magic. The culinary arts are where you clearly shine best." he said with a chuckle.
"Here and do try to make it last this time, making this stuff isn't cheap." I say with a smile as I hand him the vial after I cork it again.
He leaves happily after that and I get back to finishing the last of my conjuration book list. It only took me two days and I finally went and gave a look at the lessons posted on the dorm wall.
'Hmm, I missed the most recent destruction lesson with Faralda but there is a conjuration lesson tomorrow that works out well since I should have solidified my foundation in that area.' I thought seriously as I stared at the wall.
"Oh? What's this? Is the hermit actually going to make a public appearance?~" a playful female voice said with a sing song lilt from behind me.
I sighed and turned to look at the owner of this unfortunately familiar voice.
"I'm not a hermit Mina, you know that since you come steal candy from me almost everyday." I said annoyed as I looked at her.
Mina Red-eye, the only daughter of the Nordic clan Red-eye leader. Clan Red-eye is one of the rare clans that have a long history of mage craft spanning all the way back to the days of Ysgramor supposedly. They earned their clan name centuries ago if the tales are to be believed when their clan leader at the time Arn Spellfire made a bet against the daedric prince Sanguine and won. The prince in a fit of anger cursed the man and all of his descendants with a set of wine red eyes and a strong taste for drink that has led many to their graves if they give in to it even a little. Basically they were born alcoholics but abstained by choice because of the curse.-
Only the main line of the clan had the signature red eyes of the clan and it was both a sign of heritage and responsibility. The current head of the main line was Minas father Torgleif Red-eye, an infamous battlemage who fought in the great war and killed scores of Thalmor. Like most Nord he had blonde hair that was clearly inherited by Mina. The girl herself was an only child because of a spell damaging her fathers vitality during the war and stripping him of his ability to produce any more children as a result.-
She was basically the closest thing to a princess Nords could have, entirely on the same social level as the children of Jarls and the High king. She was sixteen this year and stood at five feet eight inches. Which was a respectable height for a Nordic woman, she'd be on the taller side when she finished growing in fact. She had the standard pale complexion most nords had and waist length blonde hair that she braided in a traditional style behind her back. Her red eyes stood out on her narrow face alongside the spattering of freckles dotting her cheeks. -
And for some gods awful reason she decided to bother me almost every day for candy after Tolfdir was feeling too generous for my own good and gave her some of what I gave him. Did I mention she was a compulsive and shameless tease? I don't mean in the "oh she fancies me" kind of way but in the "oh gods she treats everyone like this" way. I just happened to be a particular favorite target because I didn't crack under it like most people. She enjoyed making people squirm and the fact the best she's gotten out of me is a deadpan seems to have been interpreted as a personal challenge by her.