Since I couldn't remember any quests in or around Winterhold from the game beyond the obvious college questline I broke out my handy encoded journal. The book was likely worth several fortunes by sheer amount of future knowledge I had written in it while the game was still fresh in my mind years ago. I looked through it carefully and soon found something. Not exactly a quest for Winterhold but there was a place not far from it that was a well known graveyard of ships. It was known as "Serpents roost" and held that title because it was a well known place where an ancient Wyrm patrolled.-
Wyrms were massive snake like creatures that were not to be confused with sea serpents but may have some relation. These creatures were said to share kinship with dragons and had horns upon their heads as proof of this. They were also very rarely seen as when they were it was only when a winter was to be much harsher than normal. A theory was that they were incredibly hot blooded creatures and so dwelled in the deepest coldest depths of the sea of ghost and only came close to shore when the temperatures dropped drastically.-
They were also ship breakers and whichever one patrolled that stretch of the sea of ghosts didn't tolerate large ships. There were plenty of tales of a vast treasure trove waiting for whoever could kill the beast. I believed the tales too as the documented ships passing through that area and vanishing was not small. Skyrim was never short on the bold of heart after all and many a warrior have thought to earn that glory. The sort of tale that could earn you an honor name.-
'None of them were me.' I thought with a smirk as I prepared.
I didn't bother with potions or any mundane preparations that a normal warrior might and focused on what I thought I'd be facing. The first thing was naturally a backup waterbreathing enchanted item. The hat already gave me that ability but there was no telling if or when the Madgod might take it from me on a whim. I didn't want to be deep beneath the surface of the sea fighting a massive serpent monster when that happened. That would be a quick way to die if nothing else, hence the back up.-
I just settled on a simple earing for this purpose and moved on to the second preparation, depth relief. This was well below the surface of the sea after all and the human body wasn't designed to withstand such pressures. I might be able to manage with how ridiculously sturdy my body was but I DEFINITELY wouldn't be operating at one hundred percent strength that far down without some magical advantage. For this I asked Sergius about any solution as I thought enchantment would work but enchantments were static things. Once they were set they were set, no changes allowed.-
That wasn't how diving worked though as the pressure changed more and more the deeper you got. A static enchantment wouldn't really work unless you already had it set to resist that sort of deep pressure and less. I certainly didn't know any enchantment for it, spells either.
"Depth pressure resistance? What in Oblivion would you need something like that for?" Sergius asked confused.
"I want to take a crack at grabbing the treasures of the Serpents roost. Pretty hard to do that if the water pressure has me feeling like a mug in the hands of a giant." I said helplessly.
"Word of advice, pick a different target. Maybe you are strong but Wyrms are not the sort of beasts an adept can handle. Most masters wouldn't be able to either, those are the sort of foes only a legendary champion might contend with." he said seriously.
"I'm not trying to fight the damned thing I just want to steal all the treasures it has just sitting in those wrecks it made. Some of that stuff dates back to the Merethic after all." I argued.
"That may be true but if that beast catches a whiff of you in it's territory you might not get the chance to slip away without a fight. And that is a death sentence." he said gravely.
"I don't see why you care so much anyways. It's not like i'm asking you to do it or dragging anyone else there with me." I said a little frustrated.
"I care because you dying an easily preventable death would be a loss for all of mage kind. You are a once in an era prodigy in magic. Approaching sixteen and already making your way towards expertise in every school of magic there is! Maybe you haven't considered it but we have all wondered what you'd be like in ten years, twenty, fifty? For all intents and purposes you might even be the next Vanus Galerion or Shalidor if you live that long." he said seriously.
"Ugh, spare me the prodigy glory speeches. I don't want to be the next Shalidor or Galerion. I just want to be me, and that's enough. If it makes you and no doubt the rest of the college masters feel better I'll choose a different target. I do happen to have the dragon claw key to Yngol's barrow I could go for instead." I said with a grumble of reluctant agreement.
"Yngol's barrow? Some sort of ancient Nordic tomb I assume? Never been in one myself but I've heard tales of what's usually in them. Assuming they are fully intact it's Draugr, traps and whatever else has managed to slip in there. Bold but not nearly as much as trying to swim in a Wyrms territory, much less steal it's sunken bounty." he said with a thoughtful nod of his head.
"You have no idea who Yngol is do you?" I asked with a chuckle.
"No? Should I?" he asked confused.
"Yngol was the son of Ysgramor. Tale goes he was on one of the ships bringing the ancient nordic ancestors to Skyrim from Atmora and was drawn into the foul grip of the sea ghosts. He was enthralled and eventually died under their cruel trickery. Ysgramor fought the ghosts and demanded the return of the people they tricked away only to get nothing but corpses. He burried them all in a barrow as per old custom and sealed them within with a puzzle lock that required the coral dragon claw to open." I explained.
"That would make Yngol a not insignificant person historically speaking." he said no longer so sure this was a good idea.