Maria brought a hand to her mouth and let out a little yawn. She blinked once or twice so that she could see more clearly and turned on her side, wondering if Mr. Wolf was sleeping. Her eyes shot wide open.

She saw nobody.

Gut-wrenching fear took hold of Maria. She had fallen asleep almost immediately after Mr. Wolf had begun reading her a story, something about a grumpy old 'troll', whatever a troll was. She had gone to sleep with a smile on her face, for finally she wasn't sleeping in the Legion camp she hated so much and in which she'd lived as long as she could remember. When she'd woken up, however, the smile had vanished from her lips in an instant.

Mr. Wolf was gone.

Maria instinctively let out a shriek in terror as tears began to streak down her cheeks. Where had he gone? Why had he left her all alone in the middle of the night? What had happened while she was sleeping? Was… was it because of something she'd done, something she wasn't supposed to do or say? She racked her brain trying to find an answer, each more dreadful than the other while she curled up on the bedroll she had woken into and sobbed loudly.

Had this all been a dream, a cruel joke her mind had played on her? Her cries grew more desperate at the thought, yet she couldn't bring herself to think of anything else. This meant Mr. Wolf had never been real, her new friends had never been real, it was back to the camp, back to slavery, back to work, back to the legionaries, back to Hell

Maria hugged her knees tight and pressed her cheek hard on them. It was all insane… had she gone insane? Maybe it was something the Legion had done to her, maybe Mr. Wolf had never come to save her and the legionary had done something to her. She grit her teeth and closed her eyes shut, but she kept on wailing and spilling tears nonetheless. She couldn't believe it had all been fake, it wasn't possible after all she'd been through. Mr. Wolf's rescue had been a relief – and now it had been taken away from her.

She heard a door swing open followed by a series of footsteps, but she didn't care. There wasn't a door the last time she remembered being in the camp, who knew where she'd been dragged. Perhaps where they kept all those women, where everyone told her not to go. They had gotten her now, and there was nothing she could do. It was the end.

A hand caressed her hair, but Maria recoiled in fear. There were voices. She didn't care for what they were saying, engrossed as she was in her despair. Why, oh why? It had been so real, so vivid, and now it was all gone, taken away from her in a heartbeat. She clenched her small hands in frustration. It had all been a joke, an illusion…

Two bare arms enveloped her and held her tight to their owner's bosom. She felt a pair of lips gently kissing her head. Maria thought it had to be another woman sharing her fate, when she finally began to recognize the voices as familiar. She opened an eye, but a veil of raven hair covered her vision. The stench was almost unbearable.

"Shh, everything's going to be okay." A young voice whispered in her ear, one that had possessed a weak tone just an hour before. "We're here."

Maria sobbed in relief and hugged Phoenix as tight as she could. This meant it hadn't been a dream, it had all been real. The best day of her entire life had happened. She wasn't in the Legion camp, she was on the shore of Lake Mead, away from that nightmarish place and away from its rusty walls.

Most important, she wasn't alone.

Fingers ran through her hair, although the skin on these was harder, rougher. No voice came, but a glimpse of dark red told her this was Eagle.

"How did he even sneak out like that?" Maria heard Ray wonder aloud, every syllable pronounced with utter confusion. "He's eight feet tall!"

"He's also a werewolf, even a big guy like him can be sneaky." Came a voice she knew well, shortly accompanied by the sound of a slap and a grunt of pain from Ray. "And stop staring."

"Naeera!" Eagle managed, indignated. "We have a child here!"

"Don't blame me, first thing I found." Naeera dismissed her, sighing.

Maria heard muffled steps coming closer and closer, up until Phoenix loosened her embrace and she felt a gentle hand delicately lifting her chin. She met a pair of golden eyes and a reassuring smile from Naeera. She was wearing a tight-fitting, black-leather bodyglove that didn't really cover its wearer like it was supposed to. It revealed much of her gray scales.

"Hey, what happened?" Naeera asked, slightly tilting her head.

"Mr… Mr. Wolf is gone!" Maria sobbed, suddenly brought back to the question at hand. "Wh-where is he?"

"Oh, don't worry, he'll be back soon." Naeera reassured her as she knelt with a broad smile. She winked. "You know, wolves need to hunt."

"But he could've told me!" Maria replied, her eyes tearing up again. "We… we're best friends!"

Naeera just kept her smile, cupping her hand on Maria's cheek. She couldn't identify the smell, but it was sweet… almost too sweet. She sneezed. "Bless you. I think he didn't want to wake you up."

Maria was about to retort how unfair it was and how he could have told her earlier, but she reflected on it for a moment or two and ultimately gave a slow, resigned nod. It made sense, she would have done the same thing if she had to go somewhere and didn't want to bother Mr. Wolf. She had done it a lot of times before, when she didn't want to make him worry.

Naeera raised a brow and grinned. "See?"

Slowly but surely, Maria stopped crying. She was nowhere near that hellish camp, her new friends were all here, she had nothing to fear. Mr. Wolf just hadn't wanted to wake her up, that was all.

"Want us to stay here until he comes back?" Ray asked from the doorway. He wore a simple sky blue shirt and a pair of matching pants. She had no idea why he was keeping that far, but she saw that, despite the lack of armor, the gray thing on his arm was still there where she'd last seen it. He was holding a sword with the other.

"I'll stay with her."

Maria turned at the source of the voice, a little surprised. She found Phoenix sitting at her side in a gray tank top and blue panties, both covered in blood like the girl's hands, face and hair. Next to her, Eagle wore a red nightgown with trimming and intricate designs made of what could only be gold.

"You can go back to your rooms, I wasn't going to fall asleep any time soon anyway." Phoenix continued, a calm expression on her face. "I'll handle it."

"Are you sure?" Eagle asked in a hushed, worried tone.

"'Course I am." Phoenix nodded with a faint smile, then gave a look at the other two. "We've all had a long day, but I'm still in my world and I'm all in one piece."

Ray grimaced, shaking his head. "Phoenix, you-"

"It's happened before, worse than the last time." Phoenix sighed shakily. "And I've managed to get through it. Trust me, it's all right."

Ray and Eagle looked unconvinced, but they ultimately nodded. Naeera, however, smiled and kissed Maria's forehead. "Goodnight then."

"Goodnight." Maria echoed as she watched the three of them exit the room, one by one. First was Ray, closest to the door, followed by Eagle and finally Naeera, who closed it. She frowned. What was the point in Naeera's suit? It was useless, it left too much skin uncovered. It must have been cold to wear that.

Phoenix cleared her throat, and she turned to look at her. "So, we're waiting for Mr. Wolf, huh?"

"Yeah." Maria nodded, sitting more comfortably and giving a suspicious look at the girl's bloodstained form. "What happened?"

"A kid that asked too many questions." Phoenix deadpanned.

Maria's eyes widened.

"Nah, I'm joking." Phoenix waved her off with a chuckle and a shake of her head. "But… I don't want to talk about it. Okay?"

"Okay." Maria breathed in relief. She had sounded so serious…

Phoenix stared at the door for a second, then turned to her and winked. "You can call me Becky, by the way."

Maria blinked before nodding vigorously and beaming, making a mess of her hair. "I like it!"

"Why, thank you." Phoenix cooed and ruffled her hair, then sat more comefortably. "I've brought someone, if you don't mind."

"Oh, who?" Maria asked curiously. She tried to lean to one side to see what the girl was holding behind her head, but Phoenix was quicker. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Phoenix smiled and lifted a large toy in front of her. It looked like a lizard that stood on two big, clawed feet, with its mouth open and full of teeth. Its eyes were red and it had spikes on its back and on its long tail. No matter how menacing it might have looked with its black scales, though, it had something that made it all less threatening: its arms were ridiculously tiny.

"He's a boy." Phoenix announced proudly. "His name's Spike. He's pretty rude, he's ugly and he doesn't like anyone, but he's real old and he knows a lot of things."

"Really?" Maria asked, rapt by her description. He was nothing like Mr. Wolf, not at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. Yet, while one was kind and generous, the other probably made up for it in knowledge. Spike sounded very resourceful.

"Sometimes, when I'm exploring, I find things that I've never seen." Phoenix told her in a whisper, so that she had to lean closer to hear. "I don't want people to make fun of me when I sell those things, so I bring him up and ask him what I've just found. People think I'm smart and all, but it's Spike here that helps me."

Maria nodded, careful not to lose sight of Spike, when she blinked heavily and yawned loudly.

"Someone's sleepy, huh?" Phoenix asked, amused. She then carefully set Spike on the ground, lifted her up and put her on the bedroll. She brought up the blanket and kissed her forehead. "Come on, I'll stay up and tell you when Mr. Wolf comes."

Maria gave her one last, groggy nod before closing her eyes.


Keram-Rei closed his left eye only once Naeera pulled up her blanket, unaware of the fact he wasn't really sleeping. He considered it a little victory. Now, when he was going to fall asleep, he hoped in something about her and-

He grit his teeth. No, he had a score to settle. That could wait.

He let silently took in a deep breath and let it out. There weren't going to be any dreams tonight. His closed eyes let him focus better on the matter at hand. Most mages had very little experience in thoughts, dreams and matters that regarded the mind in itself – that was Sheogorath's area of expertise, and they had no desire to turn into gibbering fools. Very few managed to block out their dreams and look inside of them to sort out their thoughts, find lost memories or simply to meditate. Keram-Rei was one of them.

The reason for it, however, was entirely different.

Slowly but surely he emptied his mind, letting everything drift away into blackness. Maria's scream, the insanity of this new world, the memories of Skyrim and his family, his irritation at Eyes-Of-Silver's disappearance, unrealizable fantasies about Screaming-Eagle and Naeera… it all faded away. Nothing remained, only one thing remained to help him achieve his goal.

Rage.

Keram-Rei reopened his eyes.

He was sitting on a fairly comfortable wooden chair at the head of a long, empty table, also made of decorated wood. He glanced down, noticing with pleasure he was wearing his officer armor, the one he had been gifted on his promotion to Legate. A layer of fur and leather stood between his skin and the gold-etched plates of heavy steel. Most noticeable among the intricate decorations on his breastplate was the Imperial Dragon carved in the middle of his chest, proud heraldry of the Empire he fought for.

It was an encumbering, heavy, fragile, pathetic armor compared to anything else he'd ever worn, especially Deathbrand's Stalhrim armor, but he was attached to it nonetheless.

The ground beneath his steel-plated boots was a single sheet of polished white marble with veins of black crisscrossing it, the walls around and behind him sculpted from the same material. High arched windows of stained glass cast varicolored lights inside, just as wonderful as the grand white gold columns at each side of him and the bronze statues of ancient Tamrielic heroes between them. One might have mistaken this for one of the hundreds halls of the White-Gold Tower or one of the wondrous shrines that dotted Cyrodill.

Keram-Rei saw how the hall slowly turned less magnificent the closer it got to the center, until it reached a foot-wide space where the entire room was bare stone and the table the humblest of woods. Beyond that the windows vanished, the only light illuminating the room coming from black metal braziers burning deep red.

Blood dripped from the ceiling and from the corpses hung on black iron hooks, staining the ground and walls underneath. Maggots writhed on and within the charred, rotting wood of the gnarled, ruined table, sometimes wandering off into the stray arm or leg left on it. The stone cracked and turned from white marble to the darkest obsidian. He saw the visages of screaming souls trapped underneath, all focused on a precise point of the room.

He narrowed his eyes on it with a contempt he had hardly felt in his entire life.

Glowing red eyes like the smoldering remains of a fire glared back, set into an edged skull covered in black, barbed scales not unlike Alduin's. The figure's fingers were interlaced in front of its mouth, but Keram-Rei knew all too well he was either baring his fangs in a raging, silent snarl or leering one of his shark-like grins. Three rows of long, gray horns jutted from the middle of his forehead, vanishing from sight behind his head and going down to his spiked tail. He wore black robes that seemed to drain all the light and heat from the air around him, with scant plates of warped metal covering his torso, forearms and boots, latched to his body by vermillion roots more resilient than the hardest of leathers.

"Keram-Rei." The figure growled. The amusement in his raspy, gravelly voice was poorly concealed.

Keram-Rei snorted in barely-contained rage. "Treads-In-Gloom."

Treads-In-Gloom stared back at him for a few moments before laughing hoarsely and unlacing his fingers, only to set his hands behind his head and his boots on the table. "You've got to dream logic! We're some hundred feet apart, and yet we're talking and looking into our faces like we're close enough to fuck! Isn't that great?"

Keram-Rei roared and slammed his fist on the table, splintering its surface with the force of the blow. "Enough of your damn-"

"Enough of my damn what, Keram-Rei?" Treads-In-Gloom interrupted him with a purr. "Of my damn myself? You've known me for a pretty long time. What's wrong, hmm?" He tilted his head and pouted. "Your precious mage refused you?"

"You know what's wrong, necromancer!" Keram-Rei roared and bolted upright, propping his open hands on the table and baring his teeth. He was going to have none of his shit tonight. "You know what you've done!"

"Oh, that." Treads-In-Gloom sighed and dismissively flicked his wrist. "We're even resorting to titles. Want to know something, Keram-Rei?"

Keram-Rei glared at him, eyes set in stone. "No."

"I'm fucking angrier than you right now!" Treads-In-Gloom screamed. He cast his chair aside and buried his claws into the table, his red eyes now burning with the fury of a wildfire. "It's been seven years since I've last lived – seven fucking years! Do you know what it means, Keram-Rei? Do you know how it feels to be a tortured soul in Quagmire for six years and then a goddamn parasite in your head to this day, huh? Can you imagine how shitty my non-life has been, you little son of a bitch!? NO! OF COURSE NOT!"

"IT'S STILL MY BODY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT!" Keram-Rei shouted at the top of his lungs. His rage flared at the necromancer's hideous excuses. "You took over me, drank blood, ate flesh, used necromancy and attempted to rape a man, you sick fuck!"

"Of course, let's conveniently forget the part where I saved your fucking life!" Treads-In-Gloom laughed hysterically, only to let out a beastial roar of wrath. "I warned you, took over, fixed everything and slaughtered Legion soldiers, why would you even care?!"

"It was you who did it, not me, fucking psychopath!" Keram-Rei growled through gritted teeth, his nails burying themselves into the wood. "You made sure I couldn't get back in control until you were done, I know it, I felt it! You caged me!"

"HOW DOES IT FEEL, MOTHERFUCKER?!" Treads-In-Gloom screeched with a maniacal smile. His claws buried deeper into the table. "DID YOU LIKE IT, KERAM-REI?! DOESN'T SOUND SO DIFFERENT FROM SOMETHING YOU DID!" His hateful features twisted and deformed in wrath. "AND YOU RANT?!"

Keram-Rei was about to scream at him with all his rage, when he shook his head and sat down. He was simmering, but Treads-In-Gloom could only win in a situation like this. "Scream all you want, you'll never leave my Pip-Boy either way."

For the briefest moment, he caught a glimpse of fear in Treads-In-Gloom's eyes. It was soon drowned by a savage growl. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, I can and I will." Keram-Rei shrugged with a smug grin. Funny how the tables had turned. He raised a finger before the necromancer began with his howls. "Either that, or you make yourself useful."

"Two words, Keram-Rei." Treads-In-Gloom snorted, his eyes narrowed to slits. "Fuck. You."

Keram-Rei rose and turned around. A golden door stood before him, ever-changing patterns appearing and vanishing on its surface like a bubbling cauldron of memories and images. "Suit yourself then, I'm going. We'll see if another night in there makes you change your-"

"Wait, that's fucking unfair!" Treads-In-Gloom ranted and gripped his arm. The hall vanished into a small stone room with a circular table in the middle and two creaky chairs. The door, however, remained unchanged. "Let's make it fair - you do that and I drag us both to Quagmire. Do you know how easy it would be for me to take your sword and cut your throat?"

"From your nifty little box?" Keram-Rei chuckled, looking into the necromancer's eyes with a brow raised in amusement. "I'd say pretty hard."

Treads-In-Gloom gave him a feral sneer. "I'd say a moment of distraction."

Keram-Rei rolled his eyes, shook his forearm free and folded his arms on his chest. "Distraction."

"Oh, I don't know, it might not be immediate…" Treads-In-Gloom said vaguely, stroking his chin with a pout. He smiled. "Maybe during an intimate moment with Screaming-Eagle?"

Keram-Rei froze on the spot.

"Who knows, maybe I could kill her as well." Treads-In-Gloom gloated, slowly circling around him. "Yes, imagine the look on her face when I'll tear her heart out with your hands… only when you two are done fucking like animals, of course. Think you'll realize at least one of your fantasies with her?"

"Never talk about her again." Keram-Rei hissed, more out of fear than anger. He knew it all too well Treads-In-Gloom kept his promises.

"Or what?" Treads-In-Gloom snapped and glared into his eyes. They were both the same height. He shook his head. "We're at a stalemate here. You don't want to die with that tailless whore, and I don't want to stay in that cage."

Keram-Rei grit his teeth at how he called Screaming-Eagle, but let out a long breath. "Yeah."

"Listen here: how about a deal?" Treads-In-Gloom proposed. "It's the only thing I can think about."

Despite the despicable individual he was talking to, Keram-Rei raised a brow. "I'm listening."

"I will never take control of your body and do all the shit I want with it, but I'll stay in your mind and, between an orgy and another, I'll occasionally help you." Treads-In-Gloom began, his arms spread out in what he thought would've invited an embrace. The necromancer's mouth twitched for the briefest of instants, then twisted in a yellow grin. "Deal?"

"Say that out loud." Keram-Rei ordered, his eyes narrowed. It wasn't beyond Treads-In-Gloom to deceive him into accepting stupid deals and then trying to say 'I warned you'.

Treads-In-Gloom blinked innocently. He might have been convincing to someone who didn't know him. "Say what out loud?"

Keram-Rei gripped at the black-scaled essence's throat. "The part you didn't want me to hear, you bastard."

"Since when did you become so smart?" Treads-In-Gloom barked, throwing his head back in laughter. "Alright, alright." He rolled his eyes once he was done. "I want a body."

Keram-Rei's eyes widened. He immediately released his throat, as if he were made of lava. "No!"

Treads-In-Gloom shook his head with a low chuckle, a sound like gravel being ground under the tramp of a marching army. "It's not a request, it's a statement. I will have one once again, rest assured." He jabbed a finger at Keram-Rei's chest. He flinched as though it had pierced his armor and touched his heart. "If you don't agree, I'll kill you all – kid included. If you agree, I'll keep to myself. You'll never hear from me again."

"Vaermina won't let you." Keram-Rei tried, too terrified to formulate an actual answer. The prospect of Treads-In-Gloom being free again was too grim. He and his sister had only killed him by sheer luck.

"Oh, of course she won't let me." Treads-In-Gloom confirmed with a confidence that sounded frightening. "But I think Molag Bal, Mehrunes Dagon, Mephala, Namira, Sanguine and Peyrite will have something to say in the matter, huh? They wouldn't want to lose one of their greatest champions. Sheogorath might want to help me, too. Can't imagine how much fun I had breaking people. Not to mention – no matter how much she hates undeath, that bitch Meridia still owes me."

Keram-Rei shook his head in desperation. "The others-"

"Don't give a shit what I do, maybe Azura and Hircine will rant a little, but the others just have no reason to get involved." Treads-In-Gloom said slowly, pleasure visible on his features with every syllable he pronounced. "There's no escape, I want a body and I'll get it. Do you have some more heroic alternatives for me? Let me guess, your Divines won't let me do it?" He spread his hands out and wiggled his fingers. "Surprise, surprise! They're useless. They can't do jackshit on Mundus, much less on Earth! Come on, you know I've won. Just say the magic word. You won't die, I won't be trapped, and we'll all be happy." He smiled. "Deal?"

Keram-Rei buried his face in his hands. Treads-In-Gloom wasn't one to bluff, he knew it. He twisted, he controlled, he manipulated, he deceived, he threatened, he killed, he enthralled – but he never bluffed. If anything, he had to be the most sincere person he'd ever met. He had no reason to lie, his other methods were persuasive enough that lies simply became useless. On one hand, if he refused and died with Screaming-Eagle, that would be it. Nobody else would have been killed or taken by his hands.

On the other, Keram-Rei was no saint. He was a hero, sure, but he was afraid of dying just as anyone else, noble intents or no. He wasn't even considered an adult, for Akatosh's sake. Who knew, maybe Treads-In-Gloom would simply feed and… research, whatever in Oblivion it was that he researched.

He had to choose now.

Despite being in a dream, Keram-Rei drew in a deep breath and nodded once. "Alright."

"Yes!" Treads-In-Gloom whooped, clasping his hands together with a broad, insane smile. "I knew you-"

"On one condition." Keram-Rei stopped him. He grabbed him by the collar and stared into his eyes, burning blue meeting with icy red. "You only kill people I consider irredeemable. As of now, the Legion. The list might grow."

"Of course, of course, it's still flesh and blood, after all." Treads-In-Gloom whispered madly. "When do we begin?"

"When I say so." Keram-Rei deadpanned as he let him go. "Not any time soon, that's for sure."

"Doesn't matter, I've waited for seven years, I can wait a little more!" Treads-In-Gloom giggled, licking his lips and his fangs. They were so long he couldn't even fully close his mouth. "I am sure you're going to need to unleash me soon. You don't know this world, anything here could kill you – and I'm going to make sure you're going to fulfill your part of the bargain, don't worry."

Keram-Rei closed his eyes and nodded absentmindedly.

Had it been the right choice?


Treads-In-Gloom ushered Keram-Rei through the Gate of Dreams or whatever it was called. He vanished with a defeated sigh inside the white fog that swirled and bubbled like whater beyond the doors.

When the golden barrier closed once again, Treads-In-Gloom began to chuckle. It slowly turned into a snicker, then into a roaring laughter coming up from the pit of his belly. He couldn't suppress the ecstasy – he was going to have a body again! To breathe, walk, maim, kill, burn, rape, massacre, unmake… oh, the memories that came to his mind were too much to bear.

And Keram-Rei had accepted, too!

Of course he didn't need that whelp's approval to do it, which also restricted him from doing whatever he wanted, but it had saved him a lot of time and effort that could lead to a potential fuck up of his plans. Fair enough, he got to slaughter whomever he wanted in Arizona. It wasn't like the idea didn't make him hard on its own.

Tonight, however, was no time for orgies. He wanted to get used to the feeling of new, fresh, powerful minds asleep around him to explore. It was a rare occasion, for Keram-Rei rarely slept near anyone. He had limited time for this, sure, but he could get to know their strength and weaknesses, their prides and shames, their knowledge and ignorance.

Treads-In-Gloom closed his eyes and set his claws on his skull, drawing blood. The inner machinations of his mind became fluid like rancid oil, seeping everywhere and tainting all it touched. He had already gotten used to its unpleasantness when he was still an undead, and not a little soul relegated to an idiot's head. Luckily, it was one of the few skills Vaermina had let him keep.

When his eyes opened, the perspective had changed drastically.

There were five dots of light in an endless expanse of blackness. One, the closest to him, was Keram-Rei's unconscious; it gleamed a variety of colors, a show of all the different aspects of his personality and traits. Next to him was a green one, surrounded by a bubble that told him it was awake. Hadn't Naeera gone to sleep? He shook the question out of his head and kept on looking. A white one, no doubt indicating the human girl, signaled she was still awake.

Treads-In-Gloom shivered at the blinding pink ball next to it. Fear was an emotion he had abandoned long ago, the strongest feeling of dread he could manifest was mild unease. There was little worth fearing for one who had lived as long as he had, most of them were either irrational or easily avoidable. The dark or woods were part of the former, the Daedric Princes the latter. Even then they were just for commoners, idiots still praying to their useless Gods to save them and protect them from 'evil', as if the world were black and white. It was all grey, sometimes darker, sometimes lighter. There was nothing to be afraid of.

Right now, however, that kid scared the shit out of him. He had kept his cool in front of Keram-Rei, but he didn't believe for a second what he'd said there. She could kill him with a glare, especially if as wild and untamed as she was. How had that mongrel found her? Now that he thought about it, it was easy to imagine. Any dog worth his nose would've found her, same for any skilled – and experienced, something Screaming-Eagle wasn't- mage. She meant trouble, and he wanted to stay out of trouble, especially the kind that could have him killed.

In this case, tear his soul apart by accident.

Treads-In-Gloom looked away and shielded his dead eyes from the flaring salmon hue of Maria's young mind and looked down, onto a rough-shaped yet potentially incredible sphere. It shone a cobalt blue, filled with inexperience and prone to learning. He grinned and snapped his fingers.

The blackness around him took form of a thick smoke that rolled and billowed around him. He coughed and blinked the irritant out of his eyes. Damn, he still had to work on that part.

He was surprised to find pink granite under his feet and white alabaster around him. It was a welcome change from the marble and gold of heroes and all that bullshit. Everything was plain white and salmon, except for the occasional leaf decoration carved and colored on the walls. The roof wasn't exaggerated, it reached just the right height to look noble. Now that he gave a better look at the floor, he noticed it was arranged in rhomboidal tiles, and not only pink: he also saw purple, yellow and black granite tiles forming patterns on the ground.

The girl had a nice taste for decorations.

Treads-In-Gloom knew a large gate was no doubt closed behind him, so he followed the brightly-illuminated corridor laid out in front of him. It wasn't too long, but certainly long enough to show the owner of the place had the money to afford an entrance like this. He couldn't care less for the frescoes and the rest of the expensive stuff, he just crossed the actual entrance and strode off to a curiously-placed marble balcony. The hall it projected into was vast and majestic, yet he had eyes only for the floor below, with its grand tables covered in potions, parchments, ingredients and items, with trapped beasts and enchanted pieces of armor and weapons lying here and there.

Still, everything had a hazy, undistinguished quality to it that told him it was nothing more than a dream, although the details suggested the glorious location partly originated from a memory. Oh, well, time to watch how it went. He'd invade other parts of her mind in a few minutes.

In all that, a lone gray-clad figure walked, taking notes on whatever it saw with a few waves of its red tail. He sneered and grit his fangs in order to avoid laughing out loud at her pathetic attempt of keeping it.

Screaming-Eagle set her little scroll and quill on a table and let out a sigh. She took the staff on her back and made for an armor that was clearly Kamal in nature, far more savage and warped than Stalhrim plate, yet just as fine. She drew a few runes unknown to him, and something sparked on its surface, orange, small…

Fire.

Treads-In-Gloom's eyes widened and he clutched his horns in his hands at her stupid experiment. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

Realizing what he had just done, he clasped his hands to his mouth and ducked behind the wall around the balcony. He prayed to that whore Vaermina Screaming-Eagle didn't find him; he was out of his cage and he had little to no powers in the mage's mind. If she wanted him dead, he was dead. Boom, no more getting his body back.

"Who's there?" Screaming-Eagle called, her tone suggesting just curiousity and unease – and not actual unarm. Treads-In-Gloom slumped against the wall in relief. She thought it was part of her dream.

Treads-In-Gloom snapped his fingers as he heard worried steps climbing the stairs at his side. He found himself onto his twisted chair, Keram-Rei's Gate of Dreams some hundred feet ahead of him. His head lolled back and he let out a long breath he'd been holding. It had been close, too fucking close.

No more dream-jumping for a long time.