Pein and Alice went back down the hill and rented a room, or rather got a free night for their exploits, at the Braidwood Inn. Lucky them there was only one room with a two-person bed, and made full use of it.

Salhnoknir was pushed out of his mind as a new conquest presented itself, and was teasing him. Even after their fun was had, neither felt tired. Each enjoyed their new friend in the same way, but they were battling different demons.

Alice was sitting on a stool brushing her hair, she knew Pein made a move on Aela and had slept with Gerdur, and was trying to grasp what Delphine had said. Dragons were drawn to victory and conquest, and she knew how men acted around attractive women...

Pein knew Alice was still distressed but didn't know how to help her without making things worse. He started over thinking it and shook away the notions entering his mind. Finally, he decided to take his mind elsewhere; he rummaged in the pockets of his cloak at took out the book he got at fort Amol, the Amulet of Kings.

"A red diamond..." Pein muttered to himself.

"What?" Alice asked. In the mirror, she saw Pein collapse to the ground. Pein could not hear or feel anything, but he saw something simply awe-inspiring. Through the white light, he saw a sword, the same black and red katana as before, while he was at Riverwood. Like Brand, this sword had the spine and edge as straight halves, instead of the wavy lines of standard katanas. The blade wasn't forged together, thus was string-tied, as well as tied to a gold and black hilt. Light glinted off the parts of the shiny gold showing through the intertwining black leather.

When the light faded Pein was standing in front of a stone-like well. He could not control his head or eyes, thus only saw what was in front of him. He spoke to an unseen audience; or rather, his lips moved and he heard his own voice and felt his throat rattle.

"Blood from the Heart of Lorkhan, my father's final gift, and lava-glass bound with the soul of a daedroth, joined by a solid gold handle twist-wrapped with black stained unicorn leather. A weapon fit for the gods, pieced together by a mortal, and forged by the spirits.

Pein watched as his outstretched hand released its grasp on the marvelous sword. He did not continue speaking until he heard the splash of water, the water inside was relatively close to the surface.

"Now, with the sword bathed in the waters of a fragment of Aetherius the three pieces have become one. Pein lifted his still outstretched hand high above his head to show the onlookers the whole sword in his hand once again. Cheers erupted from behind him. Soon they died down and he heard footsteps from behind vacate the area, but one set walked toward him.

"I trust Qorwynn didn't give you too much trouble..."

"No, not after I shoved my foot up his ass... But I'm a little more curious about what you did to those pieces. Quorwynn enchanted the daedric blade with fire and fire resistance; the red diamond is an actual soul gem, and he actually enchanted it with soul trap, he's a hell of an enchanter, the hilt was done with Feather to offset the ebony, so where did the teleporting come from?"
"When someone dies their souls go to Aetherius unless they are earthbound, right? Well after some hard prayer the mortals' god spoke to me.

The vision faded and Pein could see through his own eyes, he was back at the Inn, and Alice was lying asleep on top of him. He didn't know what time it was, but she must've had a long night because he was able to slide out from under her and get travel ready without waking her. He left a note on the nearby stand telling her where to find him and he set out in the midday sun to Whiterun's hall of the dead.

It was dark when he got there, the shops have finished their evening selling and closed for the night. the hall of the dead was easy to spot, the only door that was underground with two columns of braziers lighting the path.
"The hall of the dead," Pein murmured. "A burial shrine in dedication to Arkay, god of life and death. I sure hope he's in a talkative mood..."
Inside the doors and to the right was a shrine of Arkay, the whole reason he came to Whiterun. His exploration-trained mind told him to turn around and look to the left. A wooden door was cracked open, and he heard a man's voice grumbling about an amulet. An idea came into his mind, one that would further his chances of success; after all, what better way to get someone's attention than to help out a friend.
Pein knocked on the door and walked through without awaiting a response. "I couldn't help but overhear your dilemma," he said as he entered the doorway. "I could find your amulet for you if you let me use it for my prayer."
The old man faced Pein and sized him up. After a short while, he said "thank you young man, but it's not as simple as finding it. I seemed to have misplaced it in the catacombs, but the dead have been a bit... restless. if you go in there and get it, you can return it to me after you are finished. I would go in there and help you if I could, but without the amulet, I can't face those things, so I'll just wait here and make sure nothing foul escapes."

Aura Whisper showed a skeleton just to the right of the catacombs door, and another one to the far left. Bones don't hold up very well without muscle, and a solid punch sent the right skeleton's skull flying. Pein summoned the bound bow and knocked an arrow; with Aura Whisper still active, he kicked the door open and opened loose on the skeleton's head, to the same effect as before.

Down the stairway right of the main door, through the iron door, and under the laurel to the right of the braiser was the old priest's amulet. Once out of the catacombs he veered left to the shrine. A wry smile slipped through his lips when he felt the familiar presence of a Divine.

"It is good to hear from you again Pein."