Chapter CIV – Dreams Come True
"Do you know what will happen to you when we take the Skull?"
Aeyrin asked Jules when they got a moment where they were sure they were alone again. They had been traversing the confusing hallways, following Jules's lead. They saw an apparition of a cultist so far, rummaging around in a room to pack his things. He didn't seem eager to join the battle. Then there was the shadow. It passed through the hallway ahead of them, too fast to spot properly. But other than that, the halls seemed empty. Bishop and Aeyrin used the time to catch up Jules on what was actually happening. He still didn't know what the Skull was or why he appeared here, so they told him everything they could.
"I don't," Jules shook his head. "Maybe I'll disappear."
"No," Bishop shook his head briskly, but it sounded more like he was reassuring himself rather than Jules. His brother didn't sound half as concerned about this. "You're probably gonna go back to… Quagmire?" That made sense, right? He would just… be back in Vaermina's realm. Forever. Actually… was that a good thing? Was he just going to be trapped in eternal nightmares?
"Is that where I was?" Jules gave him a dubious look.
"You don't know?" Aeyrin looked at him curiously. "Didn't you… I don't know… see Vaermina? Or… couldn't you tell what that place was?"
"I never saw Vaermina. I don't even know what that thing looks like," Jules snorted. "I never even saw a Daedra. Like… in my life. I remember Bishop seeing some and other… weird memories of his of Princes in basements… but that's it. I don't know where I was. I just saw dreams. They didn't feel like dreams. But I know they were now. Now that I'm not in that place anymore."
That may have been a good thing. Vaermina's realm could hold nothing good. It still didn't really explain anything though.
"Maybe I was inside that Skull," Jules mused. "You said it steals dreams."
"Oh. Like a pocket realm?" Aeyrin gave him a thoughtful nod. That was possible, though she didn't know much about the concept beyond the fact that those existed.
"I don't know what that is, but sure," Jules smirked.
"We still don't know what happens to you when we take it though," Bishop grumbled.
"Does it matter?" Jules shook his head.
"Shouldn't it? You could… stay. Here. Wherever. You could be alive here for… forever," Bishop scowled. Those nightmares were a fucking pain. But if they made a world where Jules could live… it kind of sounded worth it. Maybe he could even visit this creepy place with that potion. He could…
Jules stopped in his tracks, almost making Bishop collide with him as he was lost in his own thoughts. Jules turned around sharply and he gave Bishop a meaningful and somewhat angry look.
"I'm not alive, Bishop," he scowled. "I'm not alive here and I'm not alive there. Maybe there's a real Jules enjoying his eternity somewhere. But it's not me."
His self-awareness was still a bit staggering. He sounded so frustrated and assertive. Jules only ever sounded like that when he was trying to 'get something through Bishop's thick skull', as he would have put it. It tended to be surprisingly effective. Though not always.
He was right, of course. It was just… hard to think about it. About letting him go again. About killing him again.
"Hey," Jules's face softened considerably when he saw Bishop's troubled expression. "Maybe I'll just live inside your head again," he smirked. "I'd kinda like that. I always liked messing around in there."
Bishop smirked back at him. He kind of knew that Jules was right and he kind of knew that they couldn't just leave the Skull here in order to keep Jules in this place. Besides, he would be trapped here with Torban, a horde of angry Orcs and cultists, some weird dangerous shadow and Gods-knew-what else. That was not exactly an ideal eternity.
Still, Bishop couldn't help but feel tempted by the prospect.
"Uhm… do you… hear that?" Aeyrin suddenly piped up. She didn't really want to interrupt their moment, but she couldn't help but notice the sounds coming from the next hallway. There was a distant clanking of weapons and also some voice that kept talking, though she couldn't make out a word from here.
"There's another battle going on there. Just a few people though," Jules nodded. "And it's where I saw the man on the ground, but I didn't approach close enough to see him. I didn't want to get discovered. We can avoid that corridor though. There's another way further in."
He gestured at them silently and led them towards the corridor. As he suggested, they would likely pass by and take another way. But just as they neared the place, the sounds of battle suddenly hushed after a few pained wails.
Jules quickly gestured at them and, instead of their intended path through another hallway ahead, he rushed towards the wall separating them from the corridor where the action was. The two of them promptly hid with him behind that wall as Jules started to subtly peek out to see what was happening.
"The lying man is still there," Jules whispered to them. "I can see him better, but his face is turned. I can't tell who it is," he leaned out a bit more to see, but he promptly retreated behind the wall again, worried that he would be spotted. "I think the Orcs and cultists there are dead. There's someone there with a big sword and annoyingly shiny armor. Guess that says it all," he smirked.
"A paladin," Aeyrin gasped and she quickly pushed past Jules to take a peek around the corner herself. "It's probably Casavir or Azshan. Maybe they could help us here too." She couldn't help but get hopeful. Jules was helping them, why wouldn't they?
As she peered ahead, she saw the lying man on the ground. While Jules hadn't recognized him from the distance, she did. She knew this sight all too well, unlike Bishop and his memories. It was her father, lying there, likely in a delirium. She had seen him like this too many times before to mistake it for anything else.
Then her eyes landed on the paladin. He was hard to miss, all shiny like that. But the contrast of his dark skin let her know who it was from afar as well.
"The man on the ground is Faldaen," she sighed as she retreated behind the corner again. "Azshan's there, he's walking down the corridor. I think he almost saw me."
"So we're hiding?" Bishop wasn't even sure why he asked a question. They should just turn around and go back to where they had intended to in the first place.
"Yeah, that claymore of his is a lot fucking bigger than the dagger I gave you," Jules smirked. "And Shouting isn't a good idea either, unless you wanna attract everyone's attention."
"It's Azshan, we don't have to hide," Aeyrin shook her head at them. Despite what he had done, despite the fact that she didn't really want to see him, he would help them in his place, wouldn't he? What possible reason could he have not to?
Bishop promptly got her a doubtful and somewhat exasperated look. He clearly wasn't of the same opinion.
"Why would he attack us here? There's no reason for him not to help in this situation," Aeyrin scowled. There were no political schemes he needed to see to here, right? So why wouldn't he? And this was still a Daedric Prince at work and Azshan was still a paladin.
"You don't fucking know that," Bishop hissed quietly. "Has he seriously still not done enough to garner some fucking suspicion from you already?"
"That's not the point. He could be helpful with that… claymore," Aeyrin retorted. "And he still at least 'acts' like my friend."
"This one doesn't," Bishop scowled. "He knows what you know, remember? Or what I know. Whichever one of us had him in our head, apparently. It doesn't matter. He knows that we know what he'd been up to."
Gods, this was getting so confusing. It would be much simpler if these apparitions didn't have all their knowledge as well.
"Doesn't he also know that he's just a figment, then?" Aeyrin huffed. "Why would he care about any of the stuff that went on in the real world?"
"This is making my head hurt," Bishop sighed in resignation. "Can we just try to be cautious in this fucking place?"
"Psst! Look!" Jules interrupted their exchange. Aeyrin barely even noticed that he had snuck past her and now he was peering around the corner again.
They both clamored around him, pressing themselves to his body and the wall in various ways not to stick out too much as they peeked into the corridor.
Azshan stopped by Faldaen's limp body, studying him for a while. He was still holding his claymore tightly in his hands as he stared at the man below. There was no blood on his weapon. Did these apparitions not bleed?
He stared for a while, but within a few moments, he suddenly raised his sword and, before they could realize what was happening, he lopped Faldaen's head right off in one swift smooth motion. The severed head rolled onto the ground near his feet, but he only scoffed. Aeyrin had to make a lot of effort to subdue her gasp of shock. She wasn't sure if the image was actually disturbing. She thought that she would feel… something if she saw her father die. But she couldn't tell if she actually did, aside from the shock.
"Waste of space," Azshan's voice echoed through the corridor. He didn't even try to be quiet and the three of them quickly retreated back to their hiding space, lest he would turn in their direction next.
"Are you alright?" Bishop whispered as he gave her a concerned expression. He wasn't sure how she would ever react to seeing this. She didn't want her father dead, back when she had the chance.
"Y-yeah," she nodded. Was it bad that she had already stopped thinking about her father and now was more concentrated on Azshan? "What did he just do?" she whispered. "I… I don't think Azshan would kill a helpless man like that…"
"I do," Bishop scowled. "If it suited whatever schemes he was concocting."
"He is whatever you made him," Jules nodded somberly. "Whichever one of you. Let's just… stay clear. I'm not exactly eager to find out whether mortal wounds hurt here too."
"Shit!"
Azshan's sudden panicked voice echoed through the halls again and it prompted all of them to look once more.
They saw him standing there, looking around frantically before he decided to run towards a room behind him, but within a second, he seemed to change his mind and run towards them instead. He looked shocked and he looked like he noticed them, but that was when they saw it.
There was a large shadow on the floor behind him, sweeping over the ground at a terrifying speed. It was almost upon him, and just as it reached him, enveloping his body in darkness, suddenly he was gone. He disappeared completely.
"Run! Come! Now!" Jules's panicked voice riled them up as he grabbed both of their arms and yanked them away. It felt like there were no clothes and armor at all, like he was holding them each by their bare wrists. He tugged until they finally ran with him, back towards where they had been before.
They all ran, looking back on occasion, until they reached a corner of the current chamber. They all pressed themselves against the wall there, unsure what to do, but they could already see that the shadow crossed into another direction instead. And from their position, they could finally see the shape.
"Was that a… dragon?" Aeyrin gasped when it was finally gone. "What happened to Azshan?"
"That's what happens when the shadow gets you," Jules scowled. "Snuffing out 'souls' like that. I don't think it's just any dragon."
"Great. So there's not only hordes of cultists and Orcs and Torban, but there's also a shadow Alduin that can kill us by touching us," Bishop growled. "At least Azshan's gone."
"Uh-huh, we can use that hallway now," Jules grinned at him. How he was grinning right now was beyond Bishop. "It should be a shortcut. I saw the other end of it when I snuck through the alternate way."
"Fine," Aeyrin shuddered. This place really was like a nightmare. "Let's just go before it comes back."
…
They almost traversed the hallway, but before they could manage it all the way through, the ominous shadow appeared again.
Fortunately, they didn't find themselves in the same predicament as Azshan had. They were right by the entrance to one of the side rooms and the three of them promptly hid themselves inside, evading the shadow's 'patrol'.
The room was completely dark, but they didn't really care at that moment. It had a door and they promptly shut it behind them, waiting.
The shadow must have passed by now, it was really quick.
And only then, they managed to compose themselves enough from the panic to look around.
They were all enveloped by a complete darkness, unlike everywhere else, but they could see something in the distance. The end of the room. It was oddly vivid with its wooden walls and a single table by the back one. It looked nothing like the chambers in this fort. There was no stone, no Imperial architecture. And the room wasn't hazy and swirly like all of the others. It looked oddly… comforting.
And they could tell that it wasn't one from reality.
Bishop recognized the room instantly. He would recognize it anywhere and it didn't really surprise him that he had dreamt of this place. He still didn't expect an actual room to manifest as well though.
"What is this place?" Aeyrin gasped in astonishment and she started to step through the darkness, towards the light at the end. The chamber seemed so large and long and the room felt so distant, but she was determined to reach it anyway.
Bishop wanted to follow, but Jules stopped him suddenly. Bishop instantly flinched, wary of any dangers ahead, but Jules looked surprisingly calm. He had a smile on his face.
The darkness around them seemed to slowly dissipate as the room kept forming more and more, but there was nothing in it, besides the familiar wooden walls enveloping them all around now. Aeyrin still kept going, intent on reaching that table at the end.
"You know," Jules whispered to Bishop. "I'm glad that you're putting granny's cottage to good use." He gave him such a warm smile, but Bishop instantly looked at Aeyrin warily to see if she had heard him.
"Shh!" he hissed instinctively. But Aeyrin didn't even turn around. She was far enough by now too.
"She can't hear us," Jules chuckled. "I know it's a surprise. Remember, I know…"
"Yeah, yeah," Bishop interrupted him. He knew what Bishop knew, they've been over this a million times already it seemed.
"I miss granny, you know," Jules sighed somberly.
"I know," Bishop gave him a sympathetic smile. He kinda missed that old hag too. "You named your daughter after her," he smiled wistfully.
"That's right," a sly smile suddenly formed on Jules's lips. What was he up to? "Do you know what I wanted to name the kid if it was a boy?" he gave him a meaningful look.
What? What did he mean? Did he mean that… was it what it sounded like? Did he want to name his son after Bishop?
Bishop couldn't help but feel all warm all of the sudden. He didn't even know how to react, but for some reason, he really hoped that it was true.
"No…" he answered almost silently. He felt like he needed to hear him say it.
"Well if you don't know, then how am I supposed to?" Jules laughed heartily.
Fuck him. That was… Bishop didn't even know if he was mad. He still hoped that it was actually true for the real Jules.
"I hate you," he groaned in response. Jules never pulled punches with his jokes.
"I missed you," Jules grinned at him wryly instead.
Fuck, he couldn't help it. Bishop missed him too, even his annoying jokes and teasing. He missed everything about him.
"Me too," he shook his head in resignation as he tried to fight the smile forming on his face.
When they turned back towards the end of the room again, Aeyrin had already been rushing back to them, clutching something shiny in her hand.
"Look, there was a knife stuck in that table," she beamed at them when she reached them as she proudly presented her find. Any functioning weapon here was useful and Jules promptly touched it to reaffirm that it was 'here'.
"Great job, sweetie," Jules beamed at her, earning another beaming smile from Aeyrin and an instant groan of annoyance from Bishop.
"Stop it," he growled.
"What? I can't call her 'sweetie' now?" Jules chuckled. "You are so insecure."
"You're just saying that to piss me off," Bishop threw up his arms in exasperation. He always did shit like this, although it was really kinda nice seeing him in his high spirits again after all this time. They hadn't ended things between each other on a very amicable note before Jules was killed.
"Oh, come on, I know so much," Jules smirked at him meanly. "If I really wanted to piss you off, I have much better fodder."
"Uh-huh," Bishop only rolled his eyes in response. He didn't doubt that for a second, but Jules's expression still told him that he was determined to demonstrate.
Jules turned back to Aeyrin again and a sly smirk instantly formed on his lips.
"Raven's a good kisser, right?" he grinned.
Aeyrin quickly slapped her free hand over her mouth to subdue the involuntary laugh. It was a bit disturbing to be reminded of this though, of how she actually threw herself at Jules's past lover, but still, Bishop's angry expression was priceless just then. Especially since she had already noticed just how little he minded the teasing from Jules. He would be seething at anyone else by now. Maybe throwing punches too.
"Seriously? Fuck you," Bishop groaned. It only earned a hearty laugh from Jules in return.
"Heh, I bet I could think of more… like…" Jules scratched his jaw rapidly with a pondering expression on his face. Bishop could already imagine the endless jabs, but instead, a sudden crackling sound interrupted them.
All of them turned their attention to the sound instantly – towards the door leading back into the corridor. They'd already seen the impenetrable darkness of the room turn into the wooden walls all around, but now another change of scenery greeted them. A small flame, forming at the bottom of the door and spreading fast.
Aeyrin couldn't help the chill running down her spine at the sight. It didn't leave her guessing as to why the flame appeared. Whether it was nightmares of the past long gone or of her being trapped in the Butcher's house didn't really matter, the sight filled her with paralyzing dread either way.
"Is that real?" Bishop looked at the flame in shock. It really shouldn't shock him by now that something like this would just… appear out of nowhere, but it still did.
"What does it matter? 'Real' or 'not real', anything will hurt you two now, you're in both places," Jules scowled. "Just stomp it out before it spreads."
"With what? My bare foot? My shit doesn't work, remember?" Bishop scoffed. For someone who grasped their situation so confidently, this detail kind of seemed to have slipped his mind.
Before Jules could respond, the flames suddenly startled them with a sudden burst as they spread further. Heat was beginning to envelop the room and the ceiling was already filling with smoke. The flames were traveling across the walls at a disturbing speed.
Bishop turned towards Aeyrin promptly. She was standing there with disturbing stillness and a terrified expression on her face. He knew all too well why, but she needed to snap out of it. He didn't know how else they could stop the flames and escape the room. He could already feel the smoke irritating the back of his throat.
He stepped in front of her, partly to block her view and get her out of her shock and partly just to look at her properly. She looked so terrified. He didn't even want to imagine how much worse it must have been in that room in Windhelm. For the first time he was kind of grateful that she had been completely still and expressionless back when he found her.
"Sweetness," he gripped her shoulders, getting her attention at last. She kept alternating between trying hard to concentrate on him and watching the flames spread with wariness. The air around them was starting to get stifling. "You have to stop the fire. We have no other way of doing that."
Aeyrin nodded at him. She knew that. She knew the second she saw that first small flame. She knew that they would spread out of control, she could feel the foreboding clench in her stomach right away. And she knew she had to stop staring at them and imagining how she was going to die here. By imaginary flames. Doubtlessly of her own making. Because that would be a fitting irony.
"Y-yeah," she stammered. The smoke was starting to get suffocating and the heat was permeating through the place. She just hoped that the Shout wouldn't attract attention this time.
She placed her hand on top of Bishop's on her shoulder for a brief second, but then she stepped away, towards the door. The sooner she got rid of the fire, the better.
"FO!"
Frost spread out in front of her, dousing the flames with a loud hiss. She had done this before in Windhelm, she knew that it was pretty effective, but she had a wizard and countless guards with buckets of snow on her side there too. Her Shout only really cleared the door of the flames. She would have to do this several more times to extinguish everything.
She took a deep breath, but the smoke made it a bit tough. And before she could Shout again, another burst startled her, right in front of her as the door got enveloped in flames once more rapidly. She had only seen fire spread this incredibly fast once before, back in Chorrol. Back where this memory came from. Why was she even surprised to see it here?
The smoke was starting to get thick and Jules was the first one to succumb to the burning in their throats. He started to cough and heave violently as the room kept filling with more and the flames continued to spread.
Bishop looked at him in concern instantly. It was nothing weird to be coughing in this situation. He would surely need to as well in a second. But seeing Jules choke like that brought memories that were too unpleasant. Fuck, any cough from him had always been a cause for major concern. He couldn't stand seeing this. Listening to this.
And he couldn't stop wondering if Jules was still sick, even here. If this was going to aggravate his condition.
"They're…" Aeyrin stopped mid-sentence to cough for a bit and she quickly buried her face into the crook of her elbow. "Too fast," she spoke only as little as necessary. "I can't."
"Fuck," Bishop had to clear his throat as well. "Clear the door. Gotta get out fast."
"FO!"
Aeyrin didn't hesitate. The flames cleared from around the door after her Shout, but there was no time to wait right now. She threw herself against the door instantly, intent on breaking it down before the fire could claim it once more.
At the impact, her entire arm got enveloped by burning pain. For a second she thought that she didn't make it in time, but she soon realized that it was just the pain of her bare skin smashing against the wood. She always forgot about the lack of equipment and clothes, as opposed to the stuff manifested in the dream realm.
The pain threw her off and she collided with the opposite wall of the corridor in the momentum. It was done though. The door was off its hinges and disposed of.
She could hear Bishop and Jules coughing some distance away, but the sound got instantly drowned out by something else. A familiar voice.
"There you are, little rabbit."
The nickname rang in her ears unpleasantly, but even worse was the recognition that dawned on her. Before she could even open her eyes though, she was grabbed by her shoulders and pressed back into the wall. She felt Ri'zhassa's familiar claws dig into her bare skin painfully.
She opened her eyes at last to see his face. The face she hoped never to see again, unless it was lifeless in front of her. The menacing scars on his nose, the broken-off fang, exposed as he sneered at her, and his one good eye piercing her.
Her hand clutched firmly around the knife that she was still holding. It was almost subconscious, almost a reflex.
She stabbed at his stomach in a manner of seconds, but somehow he was faster. He had always been faster. He lurched back and evaded her knife in one swift motion, but at least he finally let go of her shoulders. It still felt like she could feel his claws in her skin though.
"Hey!"
She didn't even see Bishop, but she heard his voice. And he was quickly upon them, grabbing Ri'zhassa by the neck and yanking him away from her. The Khajiit flailed in the movement, and in that moment, he managed to scratch against her left thigh, right where the old scars were, seeping into her skin once more with his claws.
It only took a second, but the pain lingered. She cried out, her voice ringing and echoing through the corridor, but he was already away from her.
He managed to twist away from Bishop's grasp and staggered back. Jules and Bishop were both already there, ready to take the Khajiit down as he faced them, but then, something flashed in Ri'zhassa's eyes. A startled look, directed behind Bishop's shoulder.
Bishop instantly felt compelled to look back. There was someone there. A figure in the distance, dressed in black. But before he could take a proper look, the sound of footsteps tore his attention away again.
Ri'zhassa was fleeing through the corridor. It looked like the figure scared him. For a second, Bishop was tempted to follow and slit that scum's throat, but he couldn't help but look back again, wary of what was lurking behind them.
But the figure was gone.
And by the time he turned around again, Ri'zhassa already had a head start.
"I… I didn't know if I should…" Jules threw him a guilty look. He looked regretful over not following the Khajiit. "I'm unarmed. I can't help you here if I…"
"It's fine," Aeyrin let out a deep breath of exhaustion when she heard the tone in his voice. She wasn't sure if she even knew what just happened.
"Yeah. At least we're out of that place," Bishop nodded in determination. The last thing he wanted was to see Jules die here anyway. But he still couldn't get that figure out of his mind. "Did you see that? There was a person back there." He pointed to the other end of the corridor.
"I didn't. I wasn't looking there," Jules shook his head. "There are people lurking all over this place though, looks like."
Bishop didn't pay much attention to it anymore. He turned to Aeyrin promptly and stepped closer. She was still breathing heavily and leaning against the wall.
"I'm alright," she gave him a weak smile when she noticed his concerned expression. She could still feel those damn claws, both on her shoulders and on her thigh, but Ri'zhassa was gone at least. She still felt a little regretful over the fact that she couldn't kill him, even if it wasn't the real one.
"Let's… let's just go," she inclined her head towards the end of the corridor. "We still gotta get out of here alive before anything else jumps us."
…
They continued through the corridors for a little while longer undisturbed.
Aeyrin couldn't help but keep looking at Bishop. His eyes were darting all around, over every shadowy corner and into every doorway. He was expecting something to jump up at them at any second. She should have probably been doing the same, but his behavior was only making her even more nervous in this place.
It may have been very irresponsible to leave him to his scouring. She should have been alert as well, but her nerves were rattled enough as it was. She needed to distract herself and calm herself down a bit. After seeing that fire and Ri'zhassa again, she really needed to concentrate on anything else.
Her eyes became drawn to Jules instead more and more often. She had tried to imagine him a few times, after Bishop told her about him. She couldn't help but be curious. She never thought that it was possible for a human to sire a child with a Khajiit. None of her restoration books had ever mentioned anything like this. In fact, they mentioned that it was impossible.
"What is it?" Jules smirked at her suddenly, after she had looked at him for what must have been the hundredth time. Of course he must have noticed the curious stares. "Are you regretting your choices?" his smirk turned mischievous and his eyes darted towards Bishop for a brief second before he looked at her again. "Don't worry. Maybe we'll be seeing each other at night from now on."
Bishop scoffed and threw Jules a chastising look, finally torn away from his vigilant scouting.
"N-no," Aeyrin stammered a bit, but she did chuckle a little. He was really intent on teasing Bishop at every opportunity. "I just… I've never seen a half-Khajiit before." That was probably a bit of an obvious statement. "I thought that there are usually some traits that distinguish the half-…" He didn't really look like a Khajiit in any way. She wasn't sure what she had expected though. She didn't even know how to finish her thought, but Jules promptly reacted.
"Breeds?" he smirked again.
"No!" she shook her head vehemently. She wasn't sure what she had meant to call him, but this was definitely not it. "That's not what I…"
Jules didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest though. He only let out a chuckle in response.
"What? The hairy mug wasn't a hint enough?" Bishop snorted. He still remembered Jules fretting constantly over his hair and beard. If he had let it be for a week or two, he would have looked like an aspiring Greybeard.
"I think she was just expecting something else," Jules snickered. "You know, if you're looking for the tail, it's in the front."
"She wasn't," Bishop scoffed in retort while Aeyrin's face flushed deep red. "And even if she were, that would be one long-ass search," he smirked.
"Ooh, somebody's feeling threatened," Jules laughed. "You gotta be to resort to blatant lies and slander."
Bishop groaned in response promptly before he turned back to Aeyrin. Her face was still so red. "I told you, princess, I would go grey in days with the two of you around."
She couldn't help but chuckle too, though she knew that he wanted nothing more than to actually have the both of them around in the real world. It only made her feel worse about the inevitable.
Their talk got soon interrupted by a strange pitter-patter. It sounded like someone was running on the stone with their bare feet.
All three of them tensed up and stopped in their tracks instantly, watching the crossroads ahead with trepidation. All too soon the source of the sound came closer and a woman appeared in front of them.
She was clearly a Dunmer, with her grey skin and black hair, but she was entirely naked. They all stayed deathly still, waiting to see who it actually was.
The woman turned her face towards them in a second, but to their horror, there was nothing on it. No mouth, no nose, no eyes. Her whole face was entirely blank, a blank grey skin.
"Eeesh," Jules cringed loudly as Bishop and Aeyrin almost jumped up at the start. That was a disturbing sight. But they were more concerned about what that woman would do next.
Much to their surprise, she turned on her heel and ran off again, as if she was trying to escape. That was kind of a relief. They really didn't even want to imagine what a faceless woman would do. They didn't even know who she was.
All three of them let out a collective sigh of relief. After a few more moments of silence, Jules finally snickered. His laugh sounded much more disturbed now though.
"Tsk, tsk, Bishop," he smirked, though it was much weaker than before. "What kind of creepy naked women are you dreaming of?"
"Pfft, I don't even know what the fuck that was," Bishop scoffed. He had no idea why he would ever dream of a faceless Dunmer woman like that.
Jules only chuckled in response as he turned towards Bishop to retort something. But instead, his eyes turned wide in horror promptly.
"Watch out!"
Bishop didn't manage to react fast enough. He moved in panic, but a sharp pain pierced his back within a second. A knife. He moved too much for it to go too deep, but it still went in, especially without the protection of his armor. His vision blurred for a while and he staggered forward with a gasp of pain escaping his lips.
That alerted Aeyrin instantly. There was a woman behind Bishop, clutching a bloodied dagger. She was dressed in tight black leather armor with some red lining here and there, a cowl and a face mask. The only things visible were her dark-green piercing eyes.
Aeyrin didn't waste more time scrutinizing her though. She clutched the knife in her hand tightly and lunged at the woman. She was so tempted to Shout just then as the familiar anger enveloped her, but she needed to keep herself composed. She couldn't risk that here.
She reached the woman soon enough and slashed her knife towards her face, but the woman was fast. She evaded the attack with natural grace and slashed her dagger against Aeyrin's arm in one fluid motion. She cut her forearm easily and sharp pain shot through Aeyrin's limb. She couldn't help it. The shock made her grip on her weapon weaken and it instantly clattered onto the ground.
In the meantime, Bishop managed to get his bearings a little. While the searing pain still coursed through his back, he finally turned around to face the woman. He recognized her instantly. And suddenly he knew what that figure from before was.
He knew exactly why Ri'zhassa got scared enough to run.
This was the Brotherhood assassin that had captured him in the swamp.
She was still holding her knife firmly, ready to attack at any second. But Bishop suddenly noticed something. Jules was no longer by his side.
He only barely saw the shape on the ground behind the woman and recollection struck him. He knew this tactic all too well.
He advanced, slashing Jules's knife against the woman as she parried, and with each slash, she took a small step back.
It only took two more before she collided with Jules's crouched body behind her. She fell over right away, tumbling over Jules's back, and Bishop was ready for this. He ignored the pain as best as he could, panting heavily from the exertion, but he couldn't back down now.
He knelt down by the woman and slashed her throat quickly. A familiar gurgle left her lips, echoing around the corridor.
Fuck, if only he had managed to do that back then in that shack.
He collapsed onto the floor right after. The cold stone was oddly pleasant against his wound as he tried to catch his breath. Before he could even make sense of what just happened though, Aeyrin was already by his side with concern in her eyes and hands pointedly raised, ready to heal him.
"Heh," Jules let out a strained chuckle as he straightened himself up. "Just like old times, huh?"
It was… a useful tactic for them in the past.
Bishop let Aeyrin straighten him up into a sitting position before she started to roam around his back to locate the wound. It was hard to do it this way, unlike all the apparitions, she did have his armor in the way – it was still 'there' just like them, as Jules would have put it. But this place was too dangerous to waste time on removing it. She would have to make do this way and hope that the wound wasn't too bad. It couldn't have been if Bishop still managed to fight, right?
"Thanks," Bishop let out a deep breath. He wasn't even sure if he had meant to direct it at Jules or Aeyrin. Maybe both of them.
This place was fucking insane. As much as he dreaded the end, dreaded losing Jules again, it was really for the best if they could find that fucking Skull soon.
…
They continued onwards for a while until Jules could no longer recognize the corridors.
At his bidding, they continued further in the same direction they had before. He was sure that that was the way to go. He even ran off to scout ahead a few times whenever they heard a noise and he managed to lead them around a few groups of fighting cultists and Orcs successfully.
The shadow was still roaming the corridors and they had two more close calls with it when they barely managed to hide in a side room.
But they were making good progress as it seemed.
It only became more unnerving when there were suddenly no more sounds of distant battle.
The corridors around them seemed completely empty again, and they weren't sure if that was a good thing or not. They always assumed that they would have to go where the battles were the most frequent, but Jules rationalized that the Orcs probably didn't manage to get to the inner sanctums before the ritual was performed. It would have probably been tough to pull off with constant fighting.
It seemed like a long time before they heard sounds again, but when they finally did, it wasn't the sound of battle that alerted them. It was the hushed talking of unfamiliar voices.
They crept up through the corridors towards another crossroads, as silently as they could. For some reason, the closer they got, the thicker the air around felt, but they never let it deter them. Finally, when they were nearing the corner, they could make out what the voices were saying.
"I don't understand. We will all die here if we do this," one of the voices whispered with palpable fear.
"It is our purpose to serve the Dark Lady in our deaths," another voice retorted and Aeyrin and Bishop had to both suppress a gasp. That voice sounded awfully familiar just then.
They crept closer until they could peek from around the corner. Five people were standing there, all dressed in the purple cultist robes. And among them, none other than Erandur. The supposed 'priest of Mara' who had led them here.
"What the fuck?" Bishop whispered almost silently and mostly to himself. They all promptly stopped looking, just so that nobody could spot them there, but they still listened to the exchange with rapt attention. Erandur was here. He was a memory of this place. Was he infiltrating the cult? But that wouldn't make sense – he said that he was investigating the dreams in High Rock. That he hadn't known about the Skull before he did that. He was lying the entire time. He was one of them.
"We can't let them desecrate our temple any longer," Erandur spoke with determination. "This is the only way. You will serve Vaermina in the memories, just as you would in the Dreamstride."
'Dreamstride'. Aeyrin had heard of that before. It was another name for Quagmire – Vaermina's realm of Oblivion.
"'You'?" another voice scoffed. "You will serve with us, brother Erandur. When the Skull releases the miasma, it will envelop us all in its power."
"I cannot," Erandur sighed mournfully. "Someone has to put up the barrier and I am the only one among you who knows how. We cannot let the miasma spread outside of the temple. We cannot have it spread to the town."
'Miasma'? What were they talking about?
"I don't understand. What's the plan?" another voice asked frightfully.
"We will perform the ritual. Once the Skull begins to release the miasma, you have to help me make my way out towards the library. It's the perfect place to erect the barrier," Erandur explained. "I will wait then while all our brothers and sisters get enveloped. Along with the Orcs. You will all be trapped in the memories, but I swear to you, once I know that everyone's mortal shells are dead, I will make the torpor for myself and come back to remove the Skull from the altar. You'll all be freed to serve Vaermina in Dreamstride then, as is your purpose."
"I… I don't know," the frightful voice spoke again. "We don't really know that much about the ritual. What if it's more powerful than we know? What if the miasma fills this place too fast and you won't be able to escape? What if the attackers kill you before you get to the library?"
"Those are the risks we need to take," Erandur said with determination. "We must do everything in our power to protect the temple. We must do everything to protect the Skull."
"Brother Erandur is right," a voice piped up. "The Orcs will overwhelm us. We cannot allow this."
"T-then… this is it? We all die now?" the frightful voice asked again.
"Have faith, brother. We may all manage to escape along with brother Erandur," the first voice said reassuringly.
"Indeed. But if it comes to that, you must protect me with your lives," Erandur responded. "Come, brothers and sisters. We must make haste. There is no more time to waste."
The three of them heard the shuffling of feet, gaining distance. Some sounded more reluctant than others. What was going on? Erandur was the one who did this ritual? He was the one who made the barrier? Then why didn't his plan work? Why did he not return for the Skull for years?
They all shared a disturbed look, but soon enough, they passed around the corner to watch what happened next. They saw the group of cultists in the distance, marching through a corridor and then rounding another corner. But as they walked nearer, Jules suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Shh," he halted the both of them with his hand raised. There was silence. Utter silence.
"I don't hear anything," Aeyrin looked at him in confusion.
"Exactly," he whispered. "The footsteps stopped. We are near."
He was right. There was no more sound. The cultists must have stopped to do the ritual. But there were no voices around either.
They continued onwards until they reached the corner where the cultists had taken a turn before. But to their horror, when they peeked around carefully, they found out why the noise stopped.
There, at the end of the corridor, past a few more turns, there was a large room. In its center was an altar upon a small set of steps. In the altar, a staff was lodged, probably in some slot. It looked menacing. There was no shiny gem atop it, only a large skull with horns and its jaw wide open. Some strange purple gas seemed to be gathering around the jaw thickly, or maybe it was escaping the jaw. They hadn't noticed it before. But now that they saw this, suddenly it all made sense. While everything was swirly and blurry, it was hard to notice the change in all around them when they entered the barrier, but it was a sudden recollection. Everything inside the barrier was enveloped in a faint purple hue. The 'miasma'? The cultists were speaking about the Skull 'releasing' it. It must have been some form of a gas that killed everyone and trapped them in this memory loop in this place.
But unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing in that room. There were three figures there, all too familiar not to recognize them.
Torban was leaning lazily on the edge of the altar, playing with his dagger in his hands. He had a permanent sneer etched on his face, as he always had.
Nearby stood another phantom of the past, both 'here' and 'there'. Ri'zhassa seemed to have made his way here somehow. Now he was stretching himself by one of the walls, as if he was preparing for battle. They must have figured out that the Skull was what they were here for. After all, it looked quite prominent.
And finally, there was Thorn. Standing at the foot of the steps with his axes brandished menacingly and his long hair falling over his eyes. He looked frighteningly cold and confident.
Yet that wasn't even the worst thing. Down below the steps, close to Thorn's feet, a large shadow was spread out. The familiar shadow of Alduin. They barely even noticed that they hadn't seen it in a while. It must have made its 'camp' here, instead of hunting the corridors. Dragons were infuriatingly patient.
"Gods, what do we do?" Aeyrin whispered with palpable fear in her voice.
"I don't know. We can't get past that shadow," Bishop scowled. "And even if we did, we can't fight those three with no equipment and only two fucking knives."
"I could Shout," Aeyrin suggested hopefully.
"What about the shadow? Your Shouts didn't affect the real Alduin, maybe they won't affect this either," Bishop gritted his teeth. Fuck, this seemed bleak. They needed to find a way past them, not through them.
"We need to distract them instead. Draw them away from the altar," Jules nodded resolutely. He was right. It was the only way to get to that Skull. The shadow blocked the path completely, there was no way around it, even if by some miracle Bishop's invisibility potions would work.
Wait… he said 'distraction'.
Aeyrin knew exactly how to draw attention away.
She made her way past the two brothers towards the corner without a word and she concentrated on one of the side corridors. They would surely all rush there when they heard her voice. They were waiting for them, weren't they?
"ZUL mey gut…"she heard herself whisper the Shout, but everyone else would only be able to hear what followed.
"Hey! You sick freak!" her voice echoed in the corridor, well away from where they were actually hiding, bouncing off the walls effectively.
"Hey, they're customized," Bishop suppressed a chuckle. That Shout still made him giddy. And it sounded like it was directed at Thorn. They had called him that a lot.
"That… wasn't a good idea," Jules sighed instead. What? What did he mean? It was perfect to divert attention!
"I thought I could smell you, little mouse!" Thorn's loud malicious chuckle suddenly rang though the area. It instantly made her shiver in fright. Gods, how she wished that she would never hear that voice again. Never see that face again. She almost felt paralyzed by it. "Come out! We have unfinished business!"
What? Why didn't he follow that voice? Didn't he know by now where she was supposedly 'hiding'?
"They know what you know," Jules gritted his teeth. "They know what that Shout is."
Oh Gods, he was right. None of them even dared to peek out now. They must have all been ready for them, looking around the area for any sign of them. They just hoped that the shadow wouldn't move and start hunting again.
"Fuck. How are we supposed to fight them if they know all our tactics?" Bishop cursed quietly. This just seemed so… hopeless.
"I think I can find a way into that corridor," Jules pondered after a while of silence. "It won't give out your location and I can get them to follow me."
"What? No!" Bishop had to force himself not to actually exclaim that loudly. Jules would die. There was no way he could outrun them all, not with the shadow there. They would kill him!
"I'm pretty sure that the path two corridors back would lead me there," Jules continued plotting, as if he didn't even hear Bishop's protests.
"What the fuck? You're not sacrificing yourself, you tit. Survival. Remember?" Bishop gritted his teeth.
"Bishop, I'm not alive," Jules gave him a regretful look. "And you will make me disappear in a few seconds anyway when you grab that staff."
"No. Maybe we can…" he tried hard to think of some other solution. He wasn't even sure why. From the start, he knew that this was inevitable. It was just… he couldn't let go.
"Bishop," Aeyrin placed her hand on his shoulder gently. This was painful to watch. She had no idea what else to do though. Jules's plan was good. She didn't want Bishop to have to part with him, but he was right. This was inevitable, one way or the other.
"I… I know he's not…" Bishop shook his head as if it would help him ease the emotions bubbling inside. "Fuck I just… I…" I can't watch him die again.
"It's alright," Jules gave Bishop an encouraging look. "Just make sure to grab it fast, you know they like to play with the prey," he shivered in disgust.
"I can't," Bishop shook his head again and he grabbed Jules by the wrist. He kinda wanted to just hold him down, prevent him from going. As pointless as it was.
"Bishop," Jules only chuckled at him weakly. "It's fine. I got to see you again. And I will again, I'm sure of it. Wherever I end up. Just let me do this for you. Let me save you for once."
Bishop only swallowed audibly in response. He couldn't speak anymore. He let go of Jules's wrist as he felt his eyes prickle unpleasantly, but within a second, Jules wrapped his arms around him instead in an affectionate hug.
Jules had to practically pry himself from Bishop's arms for a while. He chuckled quietly at his brother's reaction, but there were no more words exchanged. He briefly shot Aeyrin a smile and squeezed her shoulder. He didn't say anything to her either, but the way he nudged his head made her feel like he just wordlessly asked her to 'take care of Bishop for him'. As if she had planned on doing anything else.
He didn't waste any more time. Any second those three assholes and the shadow could lose their patience. Jules rushed away from them, back to where they came. Now they could only wait.
Aeyrin snuggled into Bishop's side for support and she gently wound her arm around him. He still didn't say anything – perhaps he couldn't, but he did lean on her promptly.
They stayed like that for what seemed like a long time. Everything was eerily silent, but Thorn did call out to Aeyrin a few more times to 'come out and play'. Every single time it made shivers run down her spine.
But eventually, they heard footsteps. Not subtle ones like Jules had the entire time. It sounded like he was trying to stomp around in that corridor some distance away. Neither of them dared to look yet though, not until they heard his voice.
"Hey, Thorn?!" Jules's voice was surprisingly merry as he addressed his past tormentor. Even mocking. "Settle this one for me, will ya?" he chuckled. "You still got your cock chopped off here or did you get a new one so that Bishop can do it again?"
"Look who's back," Thorn scoffed disdainfully. Bishop dared to peek out briefly. Jules was standing there, by the corner of the corridor, some distance away from the shadow. Nobody moved towards him though. Thorn looked… disturbingly calm.
"I knew you were around here, you little shit!" Torban sneered at him. Unlike Thorn, Torban suddenly looked outright murderous with rage.
"And I knew you'd get yourself some help," Jules smirked. "Smart. You got bested by 'your whelps' once before. You know you wouldn't stand a chance otherwise."
"I'll wring your little neck, you catty fucker!" Torban bellowed, his voice echoing unpleasantly through the chambers and corridors. Bishop still watched covertly, unable to tear himself away. Torban looked like he wanted to lunge at Jules, but Thorn stepped towards him and placed his hand on his shoulder, as if to calm him down. It was disturbing to see the two of them together, cooperating. Thorn knew that this was a diversion. He didn't let himself be provoked that easily. He didn't give into anger like Torban did. But he did give into something else. Thorn could never resist a challenge. And fortunately, Jules knew that.
"What's the matter, Thorn?" Jules mocked. "Afraid you can't beat… what was it you used to call me? 'A useless cripple'?"
Something flashed in Thorn's eyes instantly. A familiar sight.
"I'll show you exactly what I can do to you, cripple," a disturbing smile spread on his face. He clutched his axes more firmly and he didn't wait any longer. With Torban in tow, he rushed down the stairs. The shadow promptly moved to the side, as if it knew that killing them would lower their chances at catching their targets, but as Thorn and Torban rushed after the fleeing Jules, the shadow took its previous position again. Neither it nor Ri'zhassa moved.
Dammit.
Jules rushed through the corridor with his attackers in tow, but as much hope as Bishop and Aeyrin put into his plans, they still had no way to reach the Skull.
"Nice try, little rabbit," Ri'zhassa scoffed, addressing nothing in particular. "I know you're out there somewhere. You'll get what's coming to you."
"Alright," Aeyrin let out a palpably frightened sigh. "My turn."
"What?" Again, Bishop had almost exclaimed. She was kidding right? "No. No fucking way. He might not be alive, but you are. They'll kill you. That shadow will… you can't."
"What else can we do?" she whispered desperately. "They'll catch Jules eventually. We have to act fast or we're back where we started, without him. They're waiting for me. I have to do this. And you have to grab that Skull, as fast as you can."
"Did you not see how fucking fast that thing is?" Bishop hissed.
"I have my Shouts. I can escape it. It doesn't matter anymore who we alert. You just have to get to that Skull. There's no other way, Bishop," she gave him a pleading look. As terrified as she was, this was really their only option right now.
But Bishop did not look convinced at all. She knew she could give him no choice in this. There was no time to argue with him.
"I trust you. You'll get us out," she quickly planted a brief kiss on his lips and stepped away. Bishop flailed his hands in panic, trying to grab her, but she had expected that and evaded him. She didn't give him a single second to stop her. She stepped out of their hiding place instantly with one long stride.
"Ha! Good," Ri'zhassa smirked when he spotted her. "You'll get yours. You'll pay for what you've done to me."
The shadow moved right away, straight towards her, but she was ready.
"WULD!"
She got a head start and slipped into one of the corridors with the shadow at her heels. Ri'zhassa followed quickly.
This was Bishop's chance. He had to hurry.
He instantly darted from behind the corner and rushed towards the altar. He heard another Shout when he was halfway there and then another when he almost reached the altar. The second one sounded like it was back at their hiding place. The corridor must have only led her in a circle. He couldn't help but look back for a brief second. She was there, running across the hall, but the shadow was following for sure.
He averted his eyes soon enough and rushed up the steps. He was by the altar now. All he needed to do was dislodge the staff.
He reached out for it, but the second he did, he felt a presence at his back. Someone suddenly grabbed him by the wrist, stilling his motion. A voice rang in his ear right away.
"Wait. Think about this."
"Karliah." He would recognize that voice anywhere. He used to enjoy listening to her elaborate plots and schemes. Now just the sound of it filled him with dread and suspicion. What did she want? What did she really want?
"You don't know what will happen when you do this," Karliah whispered to his ear with palpable concern. "Maybe it was as it was supposed to be. Maybe she did you a favor by stealing your nightmares. Ever think of that?"
"Yeah, I'm sure Vaermina's just a jolly girl, trying to make the world a little happier," he scoffed. He shouldn't even be surprised that one of them had dreamt up a Karliah preaching Daedric bullshit.
"What if she is? You know nothing about her. You knew nothing about the shadows and yet you were so intent on hating the mere idea of it. Even if it cost me my life," she continued rather bitterly.
"I know enough not to let myself be controlled," Bishop snarled. His eyes went back to the chamber. Aeyrin was pressed to the wall right now. Ri'zhassa may have been left behind somewhere, but the shadow was there, trying to envelop her with its wings from both sides. She would have nowhere to run soon.
"It's too late for philosophy," he snarled at Karliah as he reached for the staff. There was no more time to waste. And even if there was, he wasn't gonna listen to this shit.
She still clutched his wrist, trying to stop him, but he wouldn't let her. He grabbed the hilt of the staff and yanked it away from the altar, dislodging it from the slot. The Skull's jaw closed suddenly and the purple gas stopped escaping through it.
This was it, right? That was enough?
He stood there, clutching the staff in his hand as he looked back towards Aeyrin frantically. He panicked for a brief second when he couldn't see her where she had been before, but he noticed her a few paces away, pressed to a wall and breathing heavily.
There was no shadow.
It was hard to concentrate on that fact for long though. He wasn't sure when that happened or how that happened. It was strange, he didn't suddenly see anything flash in front of his eyes, nor did he spend any time recalling the imaginary events. But he just… remembered. It was like those dreams, all the dreams he had ever had in Dawnstar, had burrowed themselves into his memories. Very vividly.
They both stayed where they were silently for a while, only sharing a brief look. The room was still swirly and strange and the purple hue was still there, but the apparitions were gone. Surely when they would leave the field it would disappear. And once the potion dissipated, so would the haziness.
But those memories wouldn't.
They were left there, alone, with nothing but dreams that had been better off forgotten.
Author's Note:
Alright, I feel like I need to explain something here for the lore nuts, now that the Skull is in safe hands again. I played with the Skyrim events and in-game lore here a little, so just to make it clear. Everything that happened in this fort did not happen in Dreamstride. As Erandur explained, Bishop and Aeyrin were able to enter a realm on the verge of what was inside the barrier and the regular world – so not really in Oblivion. It's like the miasma created a pocket realm and the potion helped Aeyrin and Bishop 'approach' it and see it and influence it. Though neither the Skull not the potion have the power to open portals to Oblivion, so it's more like Quagmire was on atop a staircase and the miasma was the first step and the potion lets put one leg on that step while still keeping the other on the ground – it's all much closer to Nirn than to Oblivion. Vaermina was not there just like she was not wherever Jules and the other dream phantoms were trapped before they were dragged here by Aeyrin's and Bishop's presence (they were in the Skull's pocket realm before, which is also not actual Dreamstride).
I went a little backwards, more to the TES IV rules, so in my stories, the only way Daedric Princes can speak and affect anything outside of Oblivion is if they are summoned. Molag Bal was summoned and continuously kept his presence in Markarth because of the replenishing blood pool there. So when Bishop started to remove the blood, his presence finally waned in the basement. In the new Greatness side story, Namira speaks only because the cultists summon her to their feasts (not mentioned in the story, because the protagonist doesn't know at that point). So, Vaermina, although some of you expected her to show up and toy with everyone, had no actual way of being here without a proper summoning ;) And to get to the actual Oblivion, you need proper portals. :P That is all. I hope I didn't make shit more confusing :D
And I hope you enjoyed the plotline. A little bit more of the tying up loose ends will follow in the next chapter :)