Chapter CII – The Haunting of the Pale

Bishop and Aeyrin sat in the common room morosely, slowly munching on their breakfast.

And they weren't the only ones. Apparently, it didn't matter that it was barely the crack of dawn, there were plenty of disgruntled travelers and residents there in the same state – tired with barely enough sleep behind them to function.

The innkeeper seemed used to the early morning shift. It must have been quite exhausting for him – he probably didn't get much sleep either, but that one morning was nothing in the scope of things. This had been going on for over two years – the whole city and any who spent their nights in it, plagued by the constant nightmares. Back when Aeyrin and Bishop had learned of this phenomenon from the ferryman, he said that it was going on for a year. But that was another year ago and nothing had changed.

But there was nothing to be done. Their best plan was to find that cave where they could catch up on their sleep and then head out on their adventures. They were not sleeping in Dawnstar again, that was for certain. It hardly left them fit for battle. Or even walking, really. The mere idea of heading out on that journey felt exhausting just then.

"Fucking Dawnstar," Bishop grumbled, before he took another bite from his slice of potato bread. "Fucking stale bread. Stale ale too." It wasn't anything new. And he couldn't really expect fresh bread when the sun was barely up – the proprietors were probably not baking through the night. But he just felt like complaining. Everything pissed him off just then. "And that fucking guy keeps staring at me. The fuck's his problem?"

He may have been a little too focused on that guy. It was some Dark Elf dressed in robes, sitting by one of the tables. Bishop noticed him looking their way once and then he kept looking to see if that guy was looking again. He probably sensed it so he kept looking back. It was stupid and the whole situation was just annoying.

"Maybe he likes you," Aeyrin smirked weakly, though she wasn't really in much better mood than Bishop. He was kind of right. The ale was stale, they didn't have any more mead after the Old Life festivities, and her apple dumplings were kind of soggy too. She couldn't really blame the innkeeper for not having fresh baked goods so early, but it only made the whole morning even worse.

"Yeah? Well, I don't like him," Bishop scoffed. He should probably stop looking at him. Though he was pretty sure that he was sending that guy death-glares, it clearly didn't deter him. Or maybe he was watching Bishop more out of wariness now.

"Oh. He's… coming over," Aeyrin looked at the man curiously, just as Bishop had decided to avoid that line of sight. But she quickly lowered her gaze so that it wasn't that obvious that she had been staring. That would hardly work though.

And regardless of her efforts, Bishop turned his head at her words instantly and glared at that man. He kept making jokes about her lack of subtlety, but he was hardly being a good example just then.

The Dunmer was not deterred by Bishop's unpleasant stare and he approached steadily. Before he could say anything though, Bishop instantly snapped at him.

"Why the fuck do you keep staring at me?" he growled.

"O-oh…" the man stammered, startled by that reaction. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I was just… hoping to speak with you. May… may I?" he gestured to a free chair by their table.

Aeyrin already saw that Bishop was ready to send him away. Possibly as rudely as possible. She quickly shot the man a tired smile and nodded at him. She was curious about what he wanted. Must have been important since he was determined to speak despite Bishop's open hostility.

"I'm sorry to disturb your meal, but this is important," the man sighed as he took the seat. He looked at Bishop again, who merely kept glaring at him, but once more, he was not deterred. "I just… I heard some rumors. Some of the patrons were whispering that… that you're the Dragonborn?" he peered at Bishop with strange hopefulness in his eyes.

Bishop only let out a sigh and pointed at Aeyrin instead. It'd been a long time since someone actually mistook him for the Dragonborn. The rumors of the legendary hero being an elven woman had spread eventually. This guy had to have been living under a rock not to know that. But regardless, this didn't bode well. He probably met a dragon on the road and now he was going to rope Aeyrin into killing it. They were hardly fit to fight a dragon in this state.

"Oh!" The Dunmer looked at Aeyrin instead in surprise. "I'm sorry. I didn't know… they talked about the two of you and someone being a Dragonborn. I just… assumed," he sighed. "I've been away for a long time. Out of the province. The rumors of what's happening in Skyrim are… varied."

"It's fine. Why did you want to talk?" Aeyrin shrugged, trying to hide the impatience from her voice. Besides, she would hardly ever complain about not being recognized as the Dragonborn.

The man was quiet for a while, but the silence got interrupted soon by Aeyrin's yawn. She didn't want it to seem like she yawned to rush him, though she was kind of hoping he would get to the point already, but it was not something she could really control.

"Rough night?" he gave them both a sympathetic smile.

"What else in this fucking place?" Bishop growled at him.

"Yes. Of course. The people have been plagued by these nightmares for so long," the man sighed.

"Didn't you just get here? How do you know?" Bishop scowled at him.

"I left for High Rock shortly after it began. And now I've returned to see the city in the same state. It's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," the man continued.

"You want to talk about the nightmares?" Aeyrin raised her brows at him. What was there even to talk about? Nobody remembered them and nobody knew what was causing them, right?

"First, let me introduce myself," the man gave her an amicable smile. "My name is Erandur. I am a priest of Mara. When this… phenomenon began, and when nobody knew what caused this, I traveled to consult my brethren in High Rock to see what it could be. It's… been a long search for answers."

"So you actually found an answer?" Aeyrin looked at him with astonishment. She couldn't even begin to imagine what could cause the entire city to be in this state. If it was a person, the power they would wield must have been immense.

"I have. An ancient object can cause this, if a certain ritual is performed. It's an obscure artifact. But this can all be undone," he looked at her hopefully.

"What kind of an artifact can do that?" Aeyrin gaped at him. Hopefully this wasn't going to be a similar situation that they had experienced at the College of Winterhold.

"It's a… very obscure one. A powerful staff," Erandur lowered his voice for some reason as he spoke. "But the most important thing is that I found where this ritual had taken place. I have attempted sleeping in various places around the city and I managed to narrow down the location based on the… nightmares. There's a ruined fort up on a hill above Dawnstar. I'm sure you have seen it from a distance. The artifact must be there. When I found out, I came here, looking for capable help and… then I heard the patrons talking about the Dragonborn."

"Why?" Bishop scowled at him. "Talk to the Jarl. Get some guards. Everyone wants to get rid of the nightmares, don't they? Why her?"

"It's not that simple," Erandur sighed. "There's an… obstacle. It's hard to explain. I would rather show you. But the more people would go in, the more challenging it would be to undo the ritual. I need someone who can handle the place on their own… or… in a very small group," he looked briefly at Bishop. "Your abilities would give you an edge there that no one else would have. I could explain everything when we get there and when I can show you what the issue is, but, please, help me. And the people of Dawnstar."

Bishop rolled his eyes at the response. He didn't see how Aeyrin's Shouts would be more reliable than a small army of guards. Sure, they could handle themselves better than people with basic guard training, but still, it all sounded fishy. This wasn't anything illegal, or anything that the whole city wouldn't be interested in handling, so why?

"I don't understand. Why would it be more dangerous if more people went in?" Aeyrin gave him a dubious look. None of this made any sense to her yet.

"It would… really be easier to show you. Please," Erandur gave her another pleading look.

She did want to help with this, of course, and they wanted to adventure after their rest anyway, but she got nervous by how vague this man was being. She was conflicted. She kept thinking that a year ago, she wouldn't hesitate for a second, but things were different now. What if the man was lying? What if he was from the Brotherhood, leading them into an ambush? Or whomever else that might wish them harm? It was still a bit disheartening to constantly be thinking like this. She hated it. She just wanted to get excited about the prospect of helping the people here like she used to. Without the incessant paranoia.

"This sounds fucking sketchy," Bishop grumbled. It looked like she wasn't the only one thinking that, but that was hardly surprising from Bishop. "Why can't you tell us now?"

"It's… complicated. I've looked into that place and there are some books there that explain the rituals and the phenomena. It would be helpful to show you. As well as the effects of the ritual. I couldn't go further to do this myself, there's… ghosts of sorts. I am not very capable in battle."

"We'll help," Aeyrin nodded. There was obviously no talking to him – he wasn't going to reveal anything more. And she was growing tired of this evasive conversation. "But we need to rest first. We're in no way prepared for battle right now."

"Oh," Erandur looked at her skeptically. "But… wouldn't it be the same if you rested more? The sooner we can rid the town of this, the sooner everyone can sleep soundly."

"We'll go someplace else," Bishop scowled at him. "They've been dealing with this shit for two years, they can handle half a day more."

"That's… fair," Erandur sighed. "How about we meet by the entrance to the ruins before dusk? Would that be alright?"

They nodded at him, somewhat morosely. They really needed some sleep already and the sooner they would head out, the sooner they would get some.

Satisfied, Erandur rose from his chair and left them to their breakfast at last.

"You think he's lying?" Aeyrin looked at Bishop with concern.

"Anyone who's this fucking vague is hiding something," Bishop frowned in response. "But we'll be ready for it. If it's some fucking ambush or something, at least we'll expect it. Better than having him come up with alternate plans."

That was a fair point. And if Erandur was sincere, they would finally rid Dawnstar of these nightmares. Not only would it make people's lives here easier, it would help them on their journeys tremendously. They already had to avoid Whiterun Hold for the most part, not being able to sleep in Dawnstar made their travels all the harder.

But whatever awaited them at that fort would have to wait until they were rested.

Their old trusty cave provided a good shelter for a respite. The day was very cold and the cave was hardly comfortable, but anything was better than suffering through more of those nightmares.

After at least six hours of more quality rest than they could have ever dreamed of in Dawnstar, they headed back towards the fort perched above the town.

When they arrived, Erandur was already waiting there, shivering in the cold, but waiting nonetheless. He eagerly ushered them inside and the two of them, without Karnwyr, both got ready for any possible ambushes.

None came though. Even Erandur was unarmed, only dressed in his robes. The fort looked abandoned and there was nothing dangerous inside from what they could see.

Maybe he was telling the truth.

The Dark Elf was silent while they continued to march through the fort and they didn't question him anymore. What was the point? He promised to 'show them', whatever that meant.

They continued quietly for a while longer until they finally reached what could only be the place. They stopped in their tracks when they saw it. A barrier. A violet swirling barrier of magic, blocking one of the doors.

It instantly made them both think about the College and they almost panicked. But… this barrier seemed much less harmful. It wasn't moving, for one. It didn't need mages to hold it back either. And it looked a bit more peaceful in general. They shouldn't jump to conclusions, there were so many kinds of things that could create barriers, not just evil, world-destroying Eyes.

"What is that?" Aeyrin peered at the barrier with concern. It still wasn't anything good, right? Some powerful artifact creating nightmares was inside.

"It's the… obstacle," Erandur nodded somberly. "You see, when the ritual was completed, the artifact created this field, encasing itself in it. To save the people from the nightmares, the Skull needs to be removed from an enchanted altar that was used for it."

That didn't make much more sense and it didn't explain anything more. And… wait. Did he just say 'skull'?

"'Skull'?" Aeyrin gave him a shocked look. He said that it was a staff. She had a bad feeling about this.

"Is that like a skull of an insane necromancer or something?" Bishop smirked. He clearly hadn't made the same connection as Aeyrin had. "Cause stepping on it is enough, trust me."

Erandur looked very confused just then and he stammered uncertainly: "N-no… it's a…"

"A staff," Aeyrin scowled at him. "Are you talking about the Skull of Corruption?"

"The what?" Bishop tilted his head. Maybe they didn't make the same connection.

"You have heard of the Skull?" Erandur looked at her in shock and palpable worry. It was understandable, given what this thing actually was.

"It's a Daedric Artifact of Vaermina," Aeyrin continued to frown at the man. "The Prince of nightmares. Why would you not call the Vigilants?!" They were there exactly to deal with this stuff! Why would this man look for random travelers if he knew what this thing was?

"It's… it's not that simple," Erandur sighed. "Let me explain."

"It better be a damn good explanation," Bishop snarled at him. "We're not dealing with Daedric shit." They've had enough of that for a lifetime, especially after the whole mess with Karliah. He didn't want anything to do with those fucking Princes. It all just left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Just, listen, please," Erandur looked at them pleadingly. "This place, it used to be a temple of Vaermina. According to the records here, the cultists here were plagued by the onslaught of an Orcish tribe that attempted to take this place from them. They… they wanted to protect the Skull from them. And in order to do that, they decided to invoke an ancient ritual. It was supposed to encase this place in… in a dream state. That's what the barrier is. This place is trapped in an eternal dream, recreating the cultists' final moments over and over. But they didn't know what effect it would have on the city below! I… I mean… the records didn't speak of this. I only learned that after… during my research in High Rock. I don't think they knew. They only wanted to protect the Skull from the intruders for an eternity."

"Wait… so inside that barrier is a… dream?" Bishop looked at him dubiously. That sounded fucking made up. What did that even mean? He couldn't even begin to imagine that.

"In a way, yes," Erandur nodded. "The Skull is capable of trapping anyone in an eternal state of dreaming, feeding Vaermina's realm with the person's fears and nightmares. "But… with that ritual, it encased this place. Trapping everyone in it, along with the Skull. It's not the people's dreams in there, it's the dream of this place – its past, its memories."

"That still doesn't explain why you haven't called the Vigilants to deal with this thing. Or some Maran order even," Aeyrin scowled. She really hated dealing with Daedric artifacts. She did still want to help, but this made her so uneasy. If the Skull could do this and affect the entire city, it was already too powerful. It needed to be taken somewhere safe, kept from any cultists and sealed away.

"I'm… I'm getting to that," Erandur sighed. "First, let me show you." He stepped closer towards the barrier and placed his hand on it. He made a show of pushing against it, but it looked like it was solid. He couldn't get through. That was kind of a relief though, after their experiences at the College. "You can try it yourself, if you like. Nothing gets inside the dream state. Well… nothing awake."

"So what? You want us to sleep here?" Bishop scoffed at him.

"No. That wouldn't work. It wouldn't get you inside, you wouldn't be able to walk inside of your volition. You would just keep lying here, dreaming," Erandur shook his head. "But there is a way. It's a concoction. I read about it in the records here. It will put one on the verge of Vaermina's realm, in between Mundus and Oblivion. You will be able to walk both realms at once, for a short while. A few hours. You would be able to enter the barrier that way."

"And we're doing this instead of the guards or the Vigilants why?" Bishop insisted. It all sounded weird. Even that talk of that concoction. He didn't understand any of this and he didn't get why someone more versed in the Daedric shit couldn't help. He certainly had no qualms about sending some shiny pricks to do the job.

"When you walk on the verge of Vaermina's realm, that which she had stolen from you can… manifest. And since you would be in that… state, anything from the dream realm would be able to… touch you. The memories of this place, the Orcs, the cultists, you would have to walk through the battle," Erandur continued to explain.

Bishop took a breath to say something, but Erandur raised his hand to stop him. He could already guess Bishop's question, probably. Clearly, since he still didn't give them a reason why they should do this instead of anyone else.

"It's not only this place. It's you. Everything that the Skull has stolen from you and given to Vaermina, it can manifest. The dreams you had in Dawnstar and forgotten, what you have seen in them can take form in there. You, as travelers, may have seen much already in your dreams. Imagine what the dreams of the guards who have them every day here could manifest. Especially if they went in in large numbers. The Vigilants… I know of them well. They would never agree to drink this concoction and enter the realm in between. They would never agree to do this the right way. And I don't know what could happen if they tried to force their way in with their spells. It might just make everything worse."

Bishop and Aeyrin shared an unsettled look. It was… a fair point about the Vigilants. They would never agree to do things according to the cultists' rituals and records. It made the two of them uncomfortable too though. But what if the Vigilants actually did make it worse with their ways? If they had learned anything about mystical barriers, it was that they were too dangerous to force. They had to be approached more cleverly.

"S-so… we might see whatever we saw in our nightmares there?" Aeyrin squirmed in discomfort. Neither of them remembered their dreams in Dawnstar, but they could both imagine what kind of specters would still haunt them.

"I'm afraid so," Erandur nodded. "But… with your powers, I am sure that you can handle anything inside. I… I don't know who else could. I cannot get help from Dawnstar and… the paladin orders would never agree to this. Please. You can help these people. Help them… fix the mistakes that these cultists made," he murmured somberly. "When I heard the rumor about your presence, I thought that Mara had finally answered all my prayers."

Aeyrin looked at Bishop uncertainly. Erandur made some… convincing points. She was still nervous about drinking this concoction and entering this half-dream, or whatever it was, and dealing with a Daedric artifact wasn't exactly something she wanted to do, but if they did this, then they could send for the Vigilants and have it taken care of. And Erandur had a point – her abilities could help with whatever awaited them inside. No one else had that edge.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You've already decided," Bishop sighed. He knew that look. There was no deterring her now. He wanted to. But… he also kind of wanted to deal with this shit as well. It would make everything so much easier for them. And he kind of understood why Erandur didn't trust the paladins with this shit.

Aeyrin still looked at Bishop uncertainly until he finally nodded at her. They wanted some adventure. At least this was definitely going to be… unique. He just worried about what they would see inside. He didn't care about some cultists and some battles, but… their own dreams.

That did not bode well.

"Are you sure about this?" Bishop murmured to Aeyrin while they waited in one of the side chambers – an old library with bookshelves overturned and destroyed books laying everywhere. There was an alchemy station in the corner of the room and Erandur was currently working on that strange concoction for the two of them. "I get wanting to get rid of those fucking nightmares, but messing with Daedric artifacts, going into that… half-dream. It sounds fucking weird. And we don't even know if he's telling the truth.

"Of course I'm not sure," Aeyrin sighed quietly. She still wasn't. And she still hated that part of her just wanted to leave right now and abandon the town to its fate. Maybe it would have been a safer choice, but it would never sit well with her to be intimidated out of helping people. "But… he made a good point. We have an edge, we have experience with… strange stuff. And he had a point about the Vigilants. The Stendarrites I know would never drink something that cultists came up with. And anything else might just make things worse. He's a priest, he would have a good reason to go to anyone but paladins for help." Maybe she was trying to persuade herself a little bit too.

"Hmm…" Bishop nodded slowly. He still wasn't sure if he believed everything that Erandur said, but he did try the barrier, just to see. He wanted to be sure that it wasn't the same shit as it was back at the College – that it wouldn't kill them within seconds. But it was solid. There was no getting through it. So far, what the Dunmer was saying seemed to add up. And this couldn't have been some kind of a trap either. They were in Dawnstar for barely a day and nobody could set something like this up so quickly, right? Bishop wasn't even sure if any mage would be able to make a persistent barrier like that, but then again, he knew nothing about magic. That always made him even more nervous. Everything about this was just… he was so out of his depth here.

"Just… when we get to that… Skull," Aeyrin whispered to him again. "We should find a way to get it off the altar… remotely. I'm not sure what could happen if either of us touched that thing."

"You really think that the artifacts do something when you just touch them?" Bishop looked at her skeptically. She was just as freaked out by that rusty mace in Markarth when Molag Bal trapped them in that house. He doubted that just touching a weapon could do something. "Maybe the Stendarrites are exaggerating a little," he smirked. They tended to do that when it came to the Daedra, didn't they?

"I don't know," Aeyrin huffed. "I don't understand how these artifacts work. The books always said that they wield so much power that none can resist them. And the Daedra will hunt anyone down who doesn't have a right to use them."

"That's not what happened," Bishop shook her head. "That's not what happened to Mercer. He was using the Key for a decade."

"And look what he turned out to be," Aeyrin growled, though she kind of knew that it wasn't because of the Key. It may have had a part in it though.

"That's on him. He didn't turn into some mindless cultist of Nocturnal the entire time. And it definitely didn't happen just because he touched it. Brynjolf had it too. Did you notice any Daedra hunting him suddenly? He didn't even feel tempted to take up Karliah on her offer."

"That's… true…" Aeyrin scowled. She always kind of suspected that the Stendarrites were so doomsaying about the artifact more as a preventative measure, but the fear of them that had been instilled in her ever since her youth always got the better of her.

"You need to relax. It's just a staff. We'll grab it, end this fucking curse or whatever, and we'll take it to the Vigilants so that you can sleep at night. For multiple reasons," he smirked at her. Funny, now he was the one reassuring her about their current course of action.

"Yeah… I guess you're right," she gave him a weak smile.

"I'm much more worried about this fucking potion," he growled after a while. The whole 'on the verge of Oblivion' was already unnerving – that was one place he really never wanted to even come close to 'visiting'. But still, it wasn't what terrified him the most about this plan. "I guess we don't really need to wonder what waits for us there. What could be in our nightmares."

Aeyrin shivered at his words automatically, but she still shook her head with surprising determination. Though she felt like she was mostly reassuring herself too. "They're not real. It's just… they're not gonna be real."

"They can still kill us. For real," Bishop scowled. If he understood everything correctly, though he wasn't even a little bit sure that he had, they would be vulnerable to all these 'dream figments' under the effects of that potion.

"But they will be gone once we take the Skull," Aeyrin gave him a weak smile. "And when we're back here… they'll still be gone, just like they are now."

Bishop returned her smile, though his probably wasn't very convincing either. But he did reach out to squeeze her around the shoulders a second later.

"It's almost ready!" Erandur suddenly exclaimed from the corner of the room. It didn't take him very long to make the concoctions.

Soon, they would see what awaited them under the potion's effects.