Indira Skyrim Fic

Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Bethesda Studios. I own Indira Rosebed.

Chapter 25: Nightmares

When I visited Dawnstar, it was about sunset, and the cold air was already creeping into the small little town. There was a quicksilver mine, which I would definitely want to mine some of that ore to see what weapons I could make from it later. But, right now, there was a more immediate concern.

As I walked around town, people were terrified. I overheard a conversation that the nightmares would not go away; that they only seemed to be getting worse. I was tired from the trip, but I dare not sleep here if this was such a place where I would be having nightmares. I asked about and someone said to me that there was a priest of Mara at the inn, looking for an adventurer to accompany him into the place where he said the nightmares were originating from. I walked into the local inn and saw the priest of Mara. However, I had a bad feeling from him the minute I saw him.

Unlike the other people in this town, he seemed to show an unusual interest in the plague of nightmares. I had to be careful of this man; for all I know; he could be the one spreading these nightmares. That; or he knows what is. As I approached, he saw me, and beckoned me for help. He said that he knew exactly what was causing this and that the temple was right above the town. The Nightcrawler Temple, he called it. I nodded in understanding; it would have to be someplace close that could oversee the whole town. I decided to accompany him to this Nightcrawler temple and help him purge out what was causing the nightmare.

We trekked through the ice and snow at night and, as we walked up the hill, the priest of Mara explained to me that the cause of the suffering of the people of Dawnstar was caused by a wretched Daedric artifact known as the Skull of Corruption. It was powered by the nightmares of others, an instrument to the Daedric prince Vaermina, lady of nightmares and dreams. I shuddered to think of how wicked a woman this had to have been. I remembered Sanguine and his game, but that was by no means an easy comparison.

We came upon two ice wraiths and dispatched them quickly; me keeping my distance and unleashing arrows. I kept my fire breath attack ready, just in case they did get too close to me. After that, we both entered the temple. The priest then began explaining that there were Orc raiders that had come into the temple to stop the Skull of Corruption's influence before, but that the priests of the Daedric lord had unleashed a miasma of sorts. This miasma put all of them in a sort of deep sleep. It was well documented that people exposed to this gas had gone mad, as it degraded their sanity. There was a seal that kept the miasma in, but, once he opened the seal, then, there would be a good chance the gas would dissipate, and that everyone would wake up.

I asked how he knew so much about this place and, once he lowered the seal, he told me that he himself was once a priest here as well.

I pulled out my sword and held it to his throat, demanding a reason why I should have let him live. The priest looked at me. He was not even fighting back. He did not want to fight back, at least, not against me. The priest said that he was serving Mara as a sort of penance. He got out as the Miasma began to take a hold over everyone. Yes, he admitted he was a coward, but, he was going to correct the wrongs he committed in this dark place by destroying it.

I let him go, but I was not happy. I wish he had told me this sooner, but, as it stood now, we had a job to do, and we had to do it. We continued down the dark temple, the chills ever evident in my body. I cautiously stepped carefully and figured that, if the Orcs and Daedric priests would wake up, they would kill each other, and I could finish off the winner. Of course, there would be no way to reason with the Orcs, seeing as what little sanity they had would be gone the minute they would wake up. Who knows how long the miasma had taken an effect on them?

There was a problem up ahead; a barrier. The priest of Mara looked at it and said there would be no way to pass it unless we got to travel through the dreamstride. I asked what that was and he explained that it was a way of traveling through someone else's dreams and alter events then to now. It was risky, and many people were killed because of the attempt. It was believed that, through this method of travel; a priest of Vaermina could travel and meet the Daedric lord herself. Whether that was actually true or not remained to be seen. All he knew was that there was a particular potion that we needed to get to. Either that, or hope to find the recipe for it.

The priests had revived, but we dispatched them quickly. A swung of a holy mace here, an arrow from my bow there; it was hardly fitting to hunt weak prey, but, considering they were a conduit for a very evil Daedric prince, I would say it more than makes up for the lake of honor involved.

After clearing out another room deeper within the temple, we began searching for anything that could help us find the Dreamstride potion. This place, though not abandoned long, was definitely in a state of disrepair. The Orcs must have made some serious strides to stop this Skull of Corruption and, in a way, I did have to admire them for trying such a dangerous stunt. I finally found the Dreamstride potion and the priest of Mara said that, if I drank it, then, we could alter the dream to get past the barrier. I shook my head and downed the concoction.

It was a surreal feeling that I had, and the memory of the priest was interesting. I was talking to two other priests, both sharing concerns about the Orc raid and how they may not survive it. They looked at me and told me to unleash the miasma. Only then would we be able to stop them. I made my way through the fighting, watching as the priests blasted some of the Orcs with magic, but the Orcs, despite crude armor, were holding out very well for themselves. One priests was cleaved in two with an axe, and the sounds of screaming could be heard echoing throughout the temple. I had to hurry, but they did not seem to notice me. I quickened my pace, feeling my heart beat and my breath quicken. Finally, I got to where the barrier was and unleashed the miasma. I depowered the trap that was powered by a soul gem and unleashed the gas.

In a moment, the barrier was down, the trap was no longer, and the priest of Mara looked at me rather surprised. He must have known it worked, for, the barrier was down and we could continue onward. Continuing onward, we dispatched more of these nightmarish priests and finally got to the same level as the Skull of Corruption. Two priests, looking much stronger than the others, greeted us. I recognized them both from the Dreamstride and both of them were not happy to see their former brother in arms. I knew this was going to end badly. And no Orcs to back us up. We killed everyone to get down here.

Our best bet was to separate the two of them, so I lured one away, firing arrows at him. The arrows got him mad and he began chasing after me. I pulled out a magical bow that I had kept with me, one that specialized in draining magicka. I figured this would be the perfect weapon to stop him. I took cover behind a wall and waited until he rounded the corner. Once I did, this particular priest of Vaermina to his end with a very powerful shock from my bow. He staggered back, feeling the shock flowing through his body, paralyzing him in place. The priest of the nightmare prince clutched his chest, as I let loose a second arrow, this time into his heart. He laid dead.

The sounds of my fight were over, and, when I returned to where the priest of Mara was, I found he had finished the other one off nicely. He then said he had to perform a ritual to destroy the Skull of Corruption and he needed me to watch his back. I watched him raise his hands and pray to Mara for the strength needed to destroy this evil artifact. As he did, I heard a woman's voice enter my mind. I tried to block it out, but she said that this priest would betray me and steal the staff for himself. I shook my head, trying to drown out the voice. Vaermina, the woman's voice, demanded I kill him. I did not want to. He watched my back throughout this whole thing, and I trusted him with my life. I dropped my bow and clutched my head, a wave of pain overtaking my body. Vaermina must have been punishing me for not obeying her.

But, then, the pain suddenly stopped. The Skull of Corruption was destroyed. I looked up and the priest of Mara looked down at me. He then waved his hands over me and healed me of my wounds. Then, he said he would try and turn this place into a temple of Mara.

Good luck to him on that; I just wanted to go someplace and rest. I was tired…

Next Chapter:

Mining, and a new quest.