When Veria awoke from her nightmare, Tulian was still fast asleep. She settled back down beside him and was quickly overtaken again by sleep. She hoped this time it would be dreamless. She did not get her wish. Veria's mind was eased into another vision, even more strange than the last.
She lay naked in a dark, featureless world. A void surrounded her, swirling endlessly into nothingness. She opened her eyes, and the sight of the void struck her not with fear, but with awe. It's endless expanse made her feel safe, somehow. There was no up, no down. No light or darkness. There was nothing, and she felt content in it. She gasped as something emerged from the void.
A great writhing mass rose before her. Countless thick, gray tentacles with no apparent source squirmed with wills of their own. Their moist skins rubbing against each other filled the darkness with their sound. Behind them echoed a deep, wordless voice. A dozen arms, black as obsidian and covered in glimmering scales, emerged from the mass and grasped at the air, as if they were searching for something.
A tentacle wrapped around Veria's ankle, and the mass came upon her. She was drawn into it, tentacles drawing themselves across her skin and face. She felt one slipping along her inner thigh. A hand pressed into her lower back, and another pressed into her right breast. The voice grew louder, but the whatever words it spoke were distinguishable to her. A gray mass suddenly slipped inside her, and she gasped. It drove deeper, wiggling and becoming moister. Veria moaned as her body arched and moved with the creature. The hands fondled her skin, some rougher than others. The tentacles wrapped around her limbs and drew her closer. They spread her legs apart further, and she felt the entire mass lurch into her. She cried out.
"By the gods-" Her words were cut short by another tentacle finding its way behind her. Two inside her now, she felt them moving. The voice continued to rumble. It rang in her ears, she could feel it in her chest.
She should have been afraid. Veria should have been terrified, but as the best continued to move in her, as its excretions filled her body and combined with her own sweat as it poured across her skin, she was filled only with ecstasy. The voice sounded as if it was coming nearer. Its echoes resounded into words, and Veria recognized her name. She blinked back sweat and tears. A tentacle drew across her face and pushed back locks of hair that had stuck her her drenched cheeks.
Veria. The tentacles in front of her eyes drew away. Her heart beat into her ears and she gasped for breath between each movement of the creature inside her. Layers of gray peeled back until Bedrel's face appeared. It stared expressionless into her eyes. The movements became rougher, harder. The skin where the tentacles gripped was turning red, and she felt raw inside.
Veria was overflowing, and her moaning voice echoed in the darkness. He slid closer, and Bedrel said, "Send him to the void." The voice was not his own. As his words faded from her ears, she awoke. Tulian still slept soundly. She couldn't bring herself to try sleeping again.
When Tulian woke, the floor next to him was empty and cold. Veria sat a distance away, on the edge by the stream so her legs rested in the water. Her eyes were cast downward, and Tulian couldn't see her face past the curtain of her hair. She had put on her still-damp clothes. Tulian rose and approached her. She showed no sign that she heard him, and he didn't say anything. He sat down next to her and waited.
"Now what?" she said quietly. "What do we do now?"
Tulian sighed. He said, "Bedrel will be regaining his senses soon. If we can salvage his trust, we must do so now."
"Return me?" Veria looked up at him. Her face was despairing, but his expression was as calm and steely as ever. "Take me back so that Bedrel can..."
"I do not wish to do so. But..." He trailed off.
Silence stretch on between them. They listened to the rushing of the water streaming past them for a while, until Veria finally said, "Is there something wrong with me?"
"No," Tulian said quickly. "No, I just-"
"Not that. I mean..." Veria paused. "I had a dream. Two of them. They were...grotesque. Every woman should shutter to even think of them but...I liked them. And one of them was...so strange..."
"What were they?" Tulian asked. Veria hesitated, then told him about the dreams in the greatest detail she could. She told him about reliving her time with Hyjekk, but this time feeling joyful about it. Eager, even. But that was mild compared to the second dream. Tulian didn't shutter or even blink as she recounted the void, the creature that took her, and how exquisite it had felt, in every sense. Tulian listened, showing neither shock, surprise, or disgust.
"And then," Veria continued. "Bedrel was there. Or just his face. He spoke, but it wasn't his voice. The words came from his lips but not from him. They said, 'Send him to the void.'" She paused. "I don't understand any of it. Why was any of that in my mind? What does it mean? Why am I not revolted? What do you think it means, Tulian?"
Tulian was silent. He turned his head and looked into the water, deep in thought. "Tulian?" Veria asked. He continued to peer into the water for a while, until he finally said, "I know what you have to do." Veria leaned towards him, and he continued, "Over on the desk. There's a book. Memorize the text and follow the instructions."
Veria, curious as to what he was getting at, rose and approached the desk in the corner. It was lit by a solitary candle, casting the corner in a warm light that contrasted with the cold illumination of the mushrooms in the rest of the cave. There was only one book on the desk. The book was bound in old, worn leather and had no title on the cover. When she opened the book, she was greeted with phrases she knew to be of highest taboo in Skyrim.
"'A Kiss, Sweet Mother," she read. "Do you wish to summon...the Dark Brotherhood?'" She glanced up at Tulian, but he hadn't moved. She swallowed and continued, "'Do you want someone dead? Pray, child. Pray and let the Night Mother hear your plea.' This is..." She knew of the Dark Brotherhood. Rumors of them echoed around Windhelm from time to time, all of them dark and dripping with taboo. As the shock of their name faded, Veria felt calm. She found that she held no prejudice against them in her heart, despite the authorities of Windhelm's continuous attempts to plant it there. Perhaps before she came into the possession of the Black Eagles she saw them as criminals. Perhaps once she feared them, but no longer. She no longer remembered to fear them, and continued reading.
"'You must perform that most profane of rituals...the Black Sacrament. Create an effigy of the intended victim...'" She trailed off as she read what was needed. A heart, a skull, bones, flesh, a circle of candles, and a blade rubbed with the petals of the nightshade plant. A plea, and patience. Veria calculated in her head. She knew nightshade could be found in the healer's herb collection. She could get the body parts from the kitchen, provided it wasn't human parts that were needed. Only one thing concerned her. The patience.
"I don't have any time," she said. "I have only a few days before the wedding. What if the assassin doesn't get here in time?"
"Do you want Bedrel dead, or don't you?" Tulian said firmly without looking up.
Veria was taken aback by the coolness of his response. It felt impersonal, and rough. "I do," she said. "More than anything."
"Then take the only chance you have."
She nodded quietly and looked down at the book again. "Why do you have this, Tulian?"
"Have you memorized it?" He got up and began putting his leather armor back on. She could tell he didn't want to answer, so she answered his question affirmatively. "Leave it, then. I'll take you back to Bedrel now. We can use the mead he drank as an excuse. I'll gather what you need for the ritual here. Next time you come to take a bath, I'll be here. You can perform the ritual then." Veria nodded, and drew in a breath. Tulian was acting strangely. This was hard for him. He was sacrificing his friend for her, a woman he barely knew. The connection they forged was undeniable, and Veria felt that connection in her chest. It was like a thread was wrapped around her heart, constricting it.
Tulian avoided her gaze, focusing instead on his leathers. Veria grasped his hand to force his attention. When he looked at her, she said, "Thank you, Tulian." She kissed him, and he wrapped an arm around her waist to bring her nearer. "I've never met anyone like you," she said quietly. Tulian pulled her closer, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Nor I," he said. "I will keep you safe. I will give you whatever I can." Veria wrapped her arms around his back and embraced him.
When they emerged from the water into the baths, it was the small hours of the morning. Tulian led Veria by the arm through the halls to her room, passing by numerous men who had fallen asleep in their chairs with tankards of mean still in their hands. A few of them had even spread themselves across the ground, and Veria had to step over a few to get through the halls.
Tulian pulled her around a corner and suddenly stopped. Bedrel blocked their way. Evidence of his state a few hours ago was not lacking. Despite his best efforts to stand up straight and strong as usual, his posture wavered. His eyes were circled with a pinkish hue and he squinted in pain. No doubt the mead was attacking his head now. "Where have you been?" He demanded as loud as he dared. His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he looked them over. "You're soaking wet. What have you two been up to? Tell me, now!" He tried his best to hide the wince that followed his outburst, but Veria still caught it.
"I found her in the baths, Bedrel," Tulian said calmly, but firmly. "It seems she was, too, overtaken by the mead last night and fell asleep outside her designated bed. Like so many of the others I've seen this morning." He added quickly. Veria blushed and giggled shyly. "It's shameful," she said. "A Nord like me who can't even take a single tankard of mead without losing her senses. I felt compelled to take a bath, but forgot to remove my dress. I fell asleep in the warm water." She frowned and bowed her head. "Forgive me, my lord."
Bedrel peered harshly down at her, then glanced at Tulian. "She was alone?" he asked. Tulian nodded. Bedrel was silent a moment then nodded. He took Veria from Tulian and draped his arm possessively over her shoulders. Tulian straightened his posture and asked, "How are you faring, sir?"
Bedrel laughed once and winced. "My head would hurt less had it been split with an axe. I can't remember anything beyond my third tankard of mead. Tell me truthfully, did I act foolishly last night?"
Tulian smiled and said, "No sir. You were quite noble a drunkard, at least compared to some of the others." Bedrel laughed and patted his friend on the shoulder. "I'll need you to keep everything sorted today, Tulian. It seems you're the only one not pained by last night's celebrations." Tulian nodded and took his leave. Bedrel gently patted Veria on the shoulder and led her in the opposite direction.