I have no idea whether they were magical to begin with, or if someone had altered them. Didn't care to find out, honestly. The woman scared me, and I wasn't about to go back and ask more questions. I'd steer clear of her, if I were you.

I stepped closer to one to get a better look, and it shocked me. Badly, at that. Took several hours to regain the feeling in my left arm. At the time, I stumbled and fell, only to hear her laughing maniacally. She was upset that they weren't strong enough! When I'd recovered a bit, I tried asking what she was up to, and she exploded at me. Accused me of being a spy, of trying to steal from her. She ran me out of the manor, and I haven't spoken to her since, which suits me just fine.

Yes, as I said, it started out with simple questions. She'd show up every now and then, acting a little odd, asking about what would be involved in enchanting various sorts of objects. I assumed she had a passing interest in the subject, until she begged me to visit her manor to help her with something she was working on. There were more than a dozen of them strewn about the place. I'd never seen anything like them before; maybe they were Dwemer in origin.