I would not suggest quoting the NPCs word for word. What I have done is taken the NPC dialog, divulged the meaning beneath their dialog, and edited the dialog to fit the situation in my story, but still maintain that meaning. You may have to change around a few words here or there, and add words on occasion, to make the dialog smooth.

Poor Sienna. Her friends are past the point of no return now. :nope:

Still loving it. You really show the character of the Shivering Isles. One can't help but wonder whether it will affect her, much less as quickly and drastically as it has affected her friends. Or maybe it has already, and we don't know it because he camera is so close. Hmm.

Yep. Not much else to say. I'm useful.

Keep it up!

Actually, that was useful. It showed me that I am approaching this with the proper method.

Chapter 6: Mother of Monstrosities
Siena opened the door to the Wastrel's Purse as the sun began to dip in the sky. As her feet touched the floor she became distinctly aware once more that she was barefoot. The Inn floor was damp and mossy, like it had not been cleaned for some time and felt chilling on the soles of her feet. She shuddered as she saw the innkeeper; a bosmeri female hunched over behind the counter, arms dangling. She wore a tan robe with a soft blue vest over her chest. Siena adjusted her glasses on her face and worriedly approached, tapping the counter and hoping in the back of her mind that this woman was not who she thought it was.

As the elf groggily raised her head to look at Siena, the dunmer's heart dropped. It was Dredhwen, with bags under her eyes. She looked so exhausted; it almost made Siena feel energized. "Dredhwen? what happened to you?" Siena asked and the woman shrugged back.

"I? don't know." Dredhwen replied slowly, yawning. Her voice and tone were so sluggish it almost put Siena to sleep listening to her talk. "I got here to find the inn empty, and the town too? Sheldon was the only one living here, so I took over the Inn. Sheldon says he's mayor." She yawned again, and the sudden urge to do the same washed over Siena, but she fought it back. "Don't believe him. The people who used to live here left plenty of things behind though. Do you need anything?"

Siena frowned, watching Dredhwen slowly droop as she awaited Siena's answer. She prodded the elf awake once she had decided.

"I have no money, but I need food, some shoes-" She wiggled her toes on the damp floor and cringed. "-and a bow and arrows."

Dredhwen seemed to be considering the situation, until Siena realized the woman was stooping lower with each passing moment, and prodded her again with an angry finger. The woman jumped awake and spoke slowly again, as if in a dream. "Wha? Huh? Oh, yes? Well, money isn't really an issue here in Passwall; I mean, all my inventory I got for free. No one should be barefoot, or without a home and food. You may have the first room upstairs, and some food from the table. And some old boots. There should be a pair in the chest upstairs. Anything else?" She asked.

"A bow and arrows?" Siena reminded the Bosmer. Dredhwen frowned, the action making her face look more tired than usual.

"I have a bow, and arrows too? but those are mine and I do not wish to give them away. I'm sorry." Siena grit her teeth at this. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Siena replied quickly this time, not wanting Dredhwen to start dozing off again. "Yes, actually. Jayred Ice-Veins, where is he?"

Dredhwen looked at Siena through narrowed, tired eyes before she answered. "He's a little south of the town, before the ruins. Why would you want to find him?" She inquired.

"I need to kill the Gatekeeper and get through the Gates of Madness." Siena answered, moving away from the counter to the small table in the room, and picking up a piece of surprisingly fresh bread. She already knew what she wanted from Dredhwen, so she wasn't going to sit by the counter and withhold herself from eating any longer.

"The Gates of Madness." Dredhwen repeated, looking at the countertop airily. "I feel like I need to be on the other side. I'm just not sure how to get in."

"I'd imagine killing the Gatekeeper would work." Siena replied with a shrug, biting her bread and chewing on it. She was consciously trying NOT to think about the Gatekeeper. Not with food in the area, not with a chance to eat and sleep so close.

"But the Gatekeeper kills anyone who comes near? anyone except Relmyna Verenim. She's staying upstairs right now." Siena perked up at this, blinking at the elf behind the counter. She forced herself to swallow her bread before speaking.

"What did you say?" But Dredhwen was already bowed over and asleep again. Siena frowned, looking at the bread, and then at the stairs to the rooms. Up there was a woman whom the Gatekeeper did not attack. And a bed, and boots. Siena wolfed down the bread before rising.

The first room was the one Dredhwen had given her, so Siena entered it first. Like the rest of the inn it was musty and moldy, with a dank bed and stained furniture. There was a chest there, and when she cracked it open a cloud of dust came out to greet her. Forcing her into a coughing fit she waved the air clear before reopening it and shifting through the stuff inside. There were clothes and something that might have been a leather glove. When she finally found the shoes, she cringed. They were decrepit examples of footwear, damp and putrid, with threads missing in places. She tossed them back in, deciding to risk stepping in Goblin-fish-man [censored] rather than put her feet in that.

And Relmyna was in the next room, according to Dredhwen. A woman whom the Gatekeeper would not kill. But why would the Gatekeeper spare her? Siena's curiosity took over as she moved into the small hallway and approached the second door, knocking on it. No one answered, so Siena grabbed the rusted handle and slowly cracked the door open. There was a desk, with a bottle of wine, a cup, a bowl, a scroll and?

A hand scythe, spots of blood, and a skull. Siena gulped, shaking as she looked at the empty sockets of the skull's eyes. Could one of her past friends be staring back now? She shook the thought from her mind and opened the door further. What she saw made her recoil and grab at her chest with one hand in an attempt to steady her heart. There was a bloodied shovel leaning on the wall, and a mutilated corpse in the corner, blood pooling on the floor. She didn't even want to look behind the door to see what horrors awaited behind it on the fourth wall. Instead she looked at the scroll on the table.

Just as her hand hovered over the paper, a voice made her jump into the air and land on the musty bed with a yelp. "Well, what have we here?" The voice came from a middle-aged Dunmer woman in a puffy, gold-embroidered black dress with flared sleeves and a low cut v-neck. The dress was beautiful, though she had never seen anything of its kind back home. She stared at the woman as she sat up in the bed, dazed.

"Another hopeful whose blessing has not fully taken root?" The woman -who had to be Relmyna- asked, stepping into the room and putting one hand towards the table as she regarded Siena with cold red eyes. "No? I don't think so. You're an adventurer?" When Siena didn't answer, the Dunmer sneered. "How disgusting. Why don't you come back the way you came?"

Siena stared at the woman as she picked up the scroll and calmly slipped it into the pocket of her dress, looking at Siena again with distaste. "Well? um? I can't." Siena replied, pulling her legs under her; away from the woman. "Are you? Relmyna Verenim?"

"Yes, I am. What do you want?" She snapped back, obviously agitated by her new intruder. Siena recoiled again, feeling a threatening air from the woman. Her hand subconsciously went to the dagger at her hip.

"I want to know about the Gates of Madness and the Gatekeeper." She said defiantly, as if testing the woman's threat. Her hand came closer to the dagger as Relmyna gave her a look that sent shivers down her spine. It was a look of morbid interest.

"The Gates of Madness? One leads to Mania, and one to Dementia. Two shades of madness." Relmyna explained, telling Siena what she already knew by now. "You're not getting in because you're not Blessed by Sheogorath. You can try to get the keys; my Lord had them sewn into my child's body." She sounded almost proud of this statement, which only made Siena more uncomfortable about what the statement meant.

"I wonder if you're a fast bleeder, or a slow bleeder." Relmyna added as if in afterthought. Her face had taken on a dreamy glaze, making Siena wonder just what the woman was thinking about. Siena shuffled backwards on the bed into the wall.

"You're child?" Siena repeated, her voice shaky. Could this woman be serious?

"Yes. The Gatekeeper is my child; the consummation of Sheogorath's wisdom in the womb of my genius. It was a painful and bloody birth, but well worth it. His brothers were less... successful." She fell silent for a moment, folding her arms beneath her briasts. "He won't bother those blessed by Lord Sheogorath. You, however, will die trying to get the keys from my child." Relmyna pointed out, and Siena felt challenge in her voice.

Siena shuddered as she thought of this woman giving birth the natural way to a thing like the Gatekeeper. No, it had to be necromancy that birthed it, nothing else would make sense. Necromancy; that foul art that perverts the bodies of holy ancestors and turns them against their successors, their family. That atrocity was her child. It explained why it would not kill her, alright, but did little to help Siena kill it.

"I have to kill it." Siena muttered, forcing herself to stare back at Relmyna defiantly. Killing it was the only way to save her friends? if there were any left to be saved.

"Try him if you like." Relmyna remarked coolly, as if she had no worries in the world. "Believe me, after you die, I can put your flesh and bones to very good use."

This was the last straw; this woman disgusted Siena to the core, and she was through with speaking to such a devil. She came off the bed and drew her dagger in one smooth motion, her stance firm and threatening. She narrowed her eyes beneath her shaded lenses as she took another step forward, and Relmyna raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"I will find a way." Siena snarled, her anger rising. "I will not become one of your unholy children!"

"I am bored with you." Relmyna's response was so insanely off kilter with the emotions in the air that Siena found her anger near boiling as a result. That hideous perversion of virtue was bored with her?! "Why don't you go talk to Nanette? She likes talking. I'll need to cure her of that habit soon enough." Siena was caught off guard at the mention of Nanette, her face becoming blank wonder.

"Nanette?" Could Nanette possibly be-?

"There's one sure way to stop a tongue from flapping; cut it out. Shall I demonstrate?" Relmyna asked, moving with ominous slowness towards her table, and the hand scythe resting on it. Siena tightened her grip on the iron dagger and got the message quickly. This woman was clearly out of her mind, and violent. If she was Redoran she likely would have stayed to defend her honor from the insults of the necromancer, but Hlaalu lacked that reputation for reckless fighting in the name of a reputation. They defended their honor another way.

Siena hastily made her way out of the inn, ignoring the soft earth beneath her feet and the hunger in her belly as she moved through the small town of Passwall. The dagger was still caught in her grip, her hand unwilling to release the weapon, which had become a source of control for her during the encounter.

There was no way Siena could have gleamed any more useful information from the woman. There was also no chance in Oblivion that she would be sleeping in that inn. With Relmyna a wall away from her performing her profane magicks and wanting to use Siena's body for her experiments, and the Gatekeeper's horrific image still burning in her mind, she would not be able to get to sleep from the nervous fear that would grip her. She had to find somewhere else to sleep. Coming up to a small wrecked dock, Siena flopped down and looked at her reflection in the small pool of water beneath her. Where could she possibly sleep?

Well? there was Jayred. She already had a reason to visit him, so maybe she could sleep at his place? Unless? unless he was as out of his mind as the others. But what choice do I have, really? I can't very well sleep out here, and I am NOT sleeping with Relmyna in the same building. Reluctantly rising to her feet, Siena headed south of the town, and quickly made out a small building on stilts in the distance.

Hurray for updateage!

Good stuff, as usual. Your skill with description never ceases to amaze me. The interactions in this one were very vivid. Keep it up. :goodjob:

Interesting story. I'm looking forward to reading the next chapter.

You're very good at writing an interesting and compelling story. Even though I have already played SI I enjoy reading about it, you add a nice personal touch to the story.

I wonder what Siena is going to be a Manic or a Demented?(I'm thinking Demented)

Hahaha, I can't wait until she has to . Off topic, but your new avatar is pretty sweet!

Chapter 7: Skeleton of a Nightmare
The house was a small shack, raised above the swampy marsh on thick stilts. It stood before the trunk-roots of one of those alien mushroom trees, which was as large as two of the shack. Siena looked at the home for a moment before approaching the stairs leading to the door.

She simply stared up at the door, a tarnished metallic colored piece with rust spots and bars over the small round window. Three awnings spread over the door, getting longer the higher up they sat on the door frame. Their triangular design seemed to point away from the door, as if pointing her away from the home.

It was a subtle sign from her sanity and reason, to turn now and leave.

But she had learned, in her day of being in the Fringe of this unholy realm, that she had not the option of obeying her reason. Logic was nothing in this realm of chaos. She could only plod along until she met Sheogorath himself.

And then, she'd take matters into her own hands. For now, Jayred was her only option. She placed one bare foot upon the wooden step and climbed, reaching the door. Raising one hand, she knocked softly on the door.

Light spilled out into the darkness of the night when the Nord opened the door, and if not for her shaded glasses she would have been momentarily blinded. She did a double-take when she finally could focus on the captain of the merchant vessel that stood before her. The Nord was in fur armor, and had a bow and quiver of arrows. I didn't know?. Wait? he can't shoot!

"Yes?" Jayred asked, knocking Siena from her thoughts. She shook her head to clear her mind and then replied.

"Jayred Ice-Veins?"

"YES?" The Nord seemed more aggravated now than before. Siena would have to tread lightly. What will he more likely allow me inside for?

"I want to talk to you? about the Gatekeeper."

The Nord's demeanor melted into warm welcome, as he stepped aside to allow her through with a smile. Siena returned the smile weakly, only to stop in her tracks as Jayred closed the door. Her breath caught in her throat and she gulped it down to ensure it got in her lungs as she shuddered.

His home was a small shack of two floors, the first of which was centered by a fireplace. Two bookshelves and two tables ?one larger than the other- made up the furnishings. The larger table had a bench as well and was to the left of the stone fireplace. The bookshelves were to the right, along with a small circular table. One bookshelf was by the entryway, the other by the small table and near a cupboard.

She didn't mind the furnishings so much as what decorated the furnishings. As Jayred moved to the large table and sat on the bench, looking at her expectantly, Siena moved against her will towards one such decoration on the floor.

It was shaped like a head of the dragons of legends, but it was definitely not a dragon skull. Leather straps as thick as her pinkie finger held together femurs, tibia, claw/finger bones, and even pelvic bone sections. The pieces of bones had been mended together into a puzzle or sculpture-like skull structure. Siena knelt and looked closer at the skull-assemblage. Shuddering, she got to her feet and looked around the room.

At least five of those skull-patchworks were on the ground in this room alone, who knew how many in his bedroom. One leaned on a chest in the entryway she had not noted before. Another by the large table; two more by the cupboard.

But they were not the only bones. Skulls, pelvises, femurs, ribcages, littered everywhere; resting in bowls on the shelves, sitting next to potion bottles. Piled up next to the large table, they even covered the large table along with a pickaxe and bottles of alcoholic beverage. Siena became keenly aware she was surrounded by bones, and instinctively wrapped her arms around herself, biting her lower lip as she looked to Jayred.

"Do you ever wonder why things look better without their skin on?" Jayred asked without prompting, and Siena shuddered, fearing the worst; he'd be like Relmyna.

"For instance, you can only really see the bones, when you take them out. You can hear them better that way, too." He explained, and Siena shook her head vigorously.

Inhaling, Siena removed her arms from around herself, exhaling and placing them firmly at her sides. "Listen, all I want to do is get through the Gates of Madness."

"The Gates of Madness? So do I. I can hear them? calling to me from the other side. We have to kill the Gatekeeper! He has the keys." Jayred announced. Why did everyone think she didn't know this?! Why did they always have to bring it up and make bile rise in her throat?!

"I want him dead. I need him dead! His bones are calling to me!" Jayred seemed to get really worked up about this and rose from the bench, pointing at Siena. "Rumor has it you want the Gatekeeper dead too."

Wow? rumor travels fast here. Siena thought, reeling back from the bone-whisperer ex-captain. She hadn't announced her decision to kill the Gatekeeper until recently and by then Jayred should have been in his home. So how did he-?

"If you're good with a lockpick, we can help each other out." Siena perked up at this, eyes sharp. She was a Hlaalu mercenary scout; she better be good with a lockpick, or she was out of a profession. "We can get into the Gardens of Flesh and Bone."

Siena's alertness became nervousness as she bit her lip again. Why? Why the Gardens of Flesh and Bone? What is wrong with a garden of mushrooms and marshmerrow?! She closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and opened them again, pushing away her nervousness.

"The gardens? of? flesh? and bone?" She asked slowly, praying with futility she had heard him wrong the first time. Jayred nodded.

"They say the Gatekeeper's magical. I don't believe in magic. But I do believe in bones. And the best way to kill something is with the bones of its own." Siena cringed. She didn't like where this was going.

"I can see the bones of a dead Gatekeeper in the courtyard of the Gardens. The door's locked though. You'll pick that lock, and I'll collect the bones. Then I'll make some arrows, and we'll kill the Gatekeeper. Sound good?"

All of it sounded wonderful. The picking of the lock, the killing of the Gatekeeper. The only thing she didn't agree with was the bones. Against her will, her head nodded. But her mouth opened a moment later.

"Not right now though, Captain Jayred. I? need rest first. And some boots." She told him, not thinking when she called him Captain. The Nord paused, casting her a skeptical glance.

"Captain?" He asked, and Siena nodded again.

"Yeah, you were captain of a merchant vessel, remember?" The Nord shook his head, frowning. "What do you remember?"

"I remember coming here. I followed the bones, and they lead me here. I moved in. No one seemed to mind. Everyone seems to be waiting for something." Jayred informed her, shrugging.

Can't imagine why they would have to wait for Sheogorath's Blessing. I'd say they already have it. Siena thought.

"But I have some boots on the shelf here." He changed the subject, moving past her to some boots lying beside two long, purplish things. Siena followed behind him, looking at the things.

She was suddenly reminded of tongues and nearly puked up the bread she had just eaten. Jayred handed her the boots, clueless as to why she was clutching her chest and facing away from the shelf.

She took the boots gratefully. "Where might I sleep?"

"There's a bed upstairs. I'll sleep down here with the bones." He told her, pointing briefly at the wooden planks above them and smiling softly. Siena couldn't help but return the smile, as she had not expected the modesty from the insane Nordic sailor. It was? touching, considering everyone else had been so far violent or gruesome towards her.

Her heart ached as she was reminded of Belmyne. He was always so loving towards her. Always so gentle, his caresses and his kisses feather-light and yet strong and powerful. If he had been alive right now, here with her, he would be laughing at Jayred, at Sheldon and Felas. He would have stood between Relmyna and her, magic flashing at his fingertips in anger at her threats towards Siena.

If he were still alive?. She wouldn't be here.

A tear rolled down her cheek, and that cold line on her face made her realize where she was and what she was doing. Quickly she thanked Jayred and headed upstairs, only stopping when she was at the top of the steps. There she removed her glasses and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, setting the lenses on top of the dresser.

She saw two of the skull-creations sitting beside the dresser, and her back straightened, muscles tensing. Ignore them, Siena. Just forget they are even there. It's just a skull? it can't hurt you. She told herself, hands firmly at her sides as she closed her eyes and calmed herself.

The feeling of her damp pants on her hands made her wonder as to the state of the clothes in this dresser. She pulled it open, to discover d?j? vu and shut it just as quickly. Then she looked at the bed.

It was somewhat musty, and old and rickety, but at least there was a Nord obsessed with bones -and not with cutting out her tongue- nearby. Siena wasn't really sure which was worse.

Shaking slightly, she lifted her chain mail cuirass from her body, not caring that she was in her bra and tight pants now. She had a feeling Jayred was too modest to look. Tossing her armor with a clink onto the floor she collapsed into the bed, the day's exertions having taken their toll. She was more exhausted than she thought, and even with two skull-things nearby she was quick to fall asleep.

"Why the Gardens of Flesh and Bone? What is wrong with a garden of mushrooms and marshmerrow?!"

Isn't that just the age-old question?

Poor Siena. By the time most of us have played SI, we've grown accustomed to Oblivion's ample creepy elements: zombies... Oblivion Gates... a baby skeleton or three. But looking at it through Siena's eyes is like seeng it all over again. I never thought about just how friggin' creepy SI is.

Chapter 8: Flesh of a Nightmare
They'll never find me here? it's perfect! Siena thought to herself, hiding behind an urn. All around her were dim shadows and soft candlelight, as they cast their glow upon the stone walls and dirt floors of the crypt. Even torches could not pierce the gloom. The young dunmer's skin was still that dark gray shade of youth, and would not brighten to a blue-gray tinge until she was of age, so she blended in perfectly. That and her small frame hid behind the urn easily.

Minutes passed, and then more minutes passed, and still they had not come for her. I can't be hiding THAT well? where are they? Siena wondered, and crept out from behind the urn. No one was around.

Getting to her feet cautiously, she moved towards the door. "Helrin? Mincy?" She could hear creaking on the other side, and a rushing of air soft as a breeze. Frowning, she opened the door just a crack.

On the other side of the door stood a skeleton, air rushing between the gleaming teeth in soft whispers. Its shoulders rose and fell in a futile attempt to mimic the breathing it had performed in life, the ribcage expanding and contracting. Hollow eye sockets looked through the crack in the door at Siena, and her breath caught in her throat. Somehow, it was looking at her without eyes. She barely understood what she was looking at, but her gut told her it was unnatural and evil.

The skeleton stepped towards the door, that one motion causing its leather-fastened bones to creak loudly. The movement also revealed the glint of a steel axe in the torchlight. It was going to kill her!

Siena slammed the door shut, forgoing stealth. Now she WANTED to be found ?by someone, anyone, just to save her from that thing! The young Dunmer ran through the burial room, reaching the other door and jerking it open before rushing through into the hall beyond. She came to a halt and looked to her left and right. Which way was it to get out? She had come in through the door the skeleton was now smashing with the axe. She'd have to find another way. Right was in the general direction of where she had come from, so maybe it would get her out.

Decision made, she bolted down the hallway, the air currents of her fast movement causing the torches on the wall to flicker and almost die. It only served to further her fear. She continued running, not looking back to see if the skeletal monster followed.

Without even thinking, she ran down the steps and further down the hall. Only when she came to a dead end with three doors did she realize where she had gone. Down, and not up. Deeper in, and not out.

One of these doors has to lead out! It has to! Her thoughts were frantic now, any logic she might have had at her young age being lost to fear and the need to survive. She grabbed the door to her right and flung it open.

It led into an empty chamber, with an ash pit before the wall and bones within the ash. She shut the door as quickly as she had opened it, and whirled around to face the left door, opening it as well.

While a similar chamber, this room contained something. A man, in dark clothes that looked almost like exquisitely flared thin leather armor, was crouched on the ground, holding his head in his hands and sobbing. Siena froze in place, curiosity wrestling with her fear and leaving her indecisive. Was he lost, like her? Was he scared, like her? Siena took a step forward, warily testing her grounds.

"I won't go back." The man muttered, and Siena felt a distinct wave of d?j? vu wash over her. She had heard that before; that voice, those words. Something about them instilled fear in her heart. "I won't go back!" Siena took a step back, clasping her hands in front of her chest.

Unexpectedly she felt cool metal on her hands, and two rounded, firm mounds on either side of her hands too. Then she looked at herself.

She was no longer the dark little dunmer, but a full-grown blue-gray mer in a chainmail cuirass. "You can't make me go back!" The man screamed, and Siena looked up, childish fear still in her eyes as she recognized the man and his words. The man had fallen silent now, and was raising his head to look at Siena, wildness in his eyes and an iron dagger in his hand.

"I'll kill you all!" The man lunged forward, but Siena was quicker, slamming the door and throwing her back on it. There was a loud thud and then silence. Until there was creaking.

Siena wasted no time in opening the third door, stepping through the threshold, and slamming it shut. But she wasn't in a tomb in Vvardenfell anymore. She was standing before a structure akin to an Imperial marble wall, with two massive arches leading to doors shrouded in darkness. A bust of a man stood between the arches. And before the stairwell leading up to those arches were two figures.

One was a giant mangled mess of yellowed flesh and red muscle, clad in iron shackles and missing one arm, which was replaced by a massive iron-cast sword. No eyes looked towards her, but she knew the direction of that stare.

The other was a Dunmeri woman in a royally adorned black dress that flared around her in a dome style, and was lined with gold. Blood red hair was done up in a tight bun that topped her sneering face, as she held a hand scythe before her.

The large flesh-construct strode forward, moving with deadly intent towards her. Freaking out, Siena sharply turned to the door and tried to open it, only to find it locked. She screamed as she turned around to watch the horrific thing come even closer with another step.

"There's one sure way to stop a tongue from flapping. Cut it out?" said the woman, as she tapped the flat of the scythe blade on the palm of her hand. The massive creature of roughly assembled flesh raised its right arm as if the sorceress' words had been an order. Siena continued to scream as the large iron blade came down.

"Its bones are calling to me."

Siena was denied the satisfaction of actually dying as she was ripped from her nightmare, eyes popping open and springing into a sitting position in the bed.

Well, almost a sitting position. She ended up bumping into Jayred, who had been leaning over her. Her head fell almost naturally into the crook of his neck and she wrapped her arms around him instinctively as she began to cry. She needed someone to hold, someone to hold her, as she recovered from that horrid dream. Jayred seemed caught off guard by her actions, and hesitantly held the topless elf in his thick-furred arms.

"We have to kill the Gatekeeper." Jayred whispered, as if it was the only thing on his mind. Unless he was referring to her dream, but how would he know the Gatekeeper nearly killed her within her own nightmare? Siena nodded, biting her lip and pulling away from Jayred to look at the Nord.

"Alright, we'll do it." She told him, though she looked reluctant to say so. The Nord nodded and rose from the bed. He was behaving with such normalcy and informality, as if he did not even notice that Siena's small bosom was covered by merely a bra. Was he being chivalrous, or had insanity wiped away that part of his mind?

Regardless, Siena WAS embarrassed to be in such a state of undress before the husky Nord. She plucked the chainmail cuirass from the floor, slipping it over her body and finding comfort in the familiar cool feeling of the metal on her skin. The dresser was blurry from her position on the bed, but she walked over to it anyways. It got sharper as she approached, and now she could see her shaded glasses laying there. She slipped them on, the world becoming clearer in an instant. The dagger and furred boots were the final pieces of her current wardrobe, and then she headed downstairs to see Jayred again.

"You open the gate, I'll kill things." Jayred told her, and Siena smiled softly, reflexively reaching for her boots and the lockpicks hidden within. She was startled to feel only the fur lining of her new boots, before memory returned to her. She had lost everything in the crash. Her lockpicks were gone.

"I don't have any lockpicks." She muttered with mixed emotion. It meant they could not get in the Gardens of Flesh and Bone to get arrows to kill the Gatekeeper. But it also meant they could not get into the Gardens of Flesh and Bone.

"Here. Take this lockpick." Jayred handed her one, which she reluctantly took from him. Perhaps her reluctance was the reason her hand remained holding his and the lockpick for more than a minute before Jayred released it. "Careful, though; it's my only one." He told her, and then moved towards the door.

"The sun rises soon. We must hurry." He told her as he opened the door. Siena nodded, but remained standing in the entryway for a short time, holding that lockpick to her chest; trying to find the courage to follow.

Finally, when Jayred was a yard or so from the door and still walking, she closed her eyes, inhaled, and dashed out of the house into the early morning air, the chill biting into her arms and torso. But the fur boots kept her feet warm, at least.

Okay, I'm reading this now. Keep bathing things in description and I'll keep reading...

Author's Note: I know these two chapters were written pretty closely together and maybe too fast for you readers, but I do want to get the Gatekeeper quests done, and my plan for doing the quest means it will take a few chapters, so... here it is. Feedback is appreciated highly!
Chapter 9: Gardens of Flesh and Bone
The stone walls loomed over Siena as she looked upon them, standing at the foot of a stairwell that wound around a statue. They were dark gray in the dimness of pre-dawn, and mossy, like the gardener had not taken care of them for some time.

If there even was a gardener for such a horrific place. Siena moved up the broken stairs, coming to the landing and turning to the right, towards the garden proper. To either side of the next set of stairs were statues of demonic things. Thin and lanky with long fingers and tails and a mouth like a leech, she recognized these beasts from the teachings of the Temple. Hungers, minions of Boethiah, one of the Good Deadra. But it did not make his sinuous and lanky beasts any more appealing in Siena's eyes. Especially since the statues were in a land of Sheogorath.

Jayred was already at the gate, standing there and looking through the bars. Siena approached the gate, which was ornamented with curving lines of metal in smooth, peaceful patterns. She could see through the bars as well, and what she saw made her gasp.

It was a ruin of pillars and steps, of ornate carvings and brazier-lit statues. She could see on the far side a tall staircase, two more hunger statues bordering it. The right statue had a brazier lit, the other, had none. There was a tower of stone -like the two she had seen before arriving in Passwall- to the left and nothing else she could make out in the gloom and shading of her glasses. But nothing like the Garden of Flesh and Bone she had imagined, and that made her heart beat just a little slower.

"Hurry, I need to get in." Jayred told her in a rushed tone. Siena sighed, her shoulders dropping, before bending down in front of the gate and sticking her ear close as the lockpick went in. It's so easy a Nord could open? well? maybe a Nord couldn't. Siena thought as the pick clicked the tumbler into place, and the gate opened. It was one of the easiest locks she had ever encountered, and she slipped the pick into her boot without even thinking. Putting her fingers delicately into the grating, she pulled the gate towards her. It creaked and groaned as it moved.

Jayred bolted through the opening like a thing possessed, and Siena yelled after his fur-armored back. "Wait, there might be-!"

Jayred knocked an arrow on his bow and snarled, as Siena heard that familiar hissing clack of a skeleton angered. The Nord fired a shot from his position as Siena rushed into the Gardens.

The place was one large, dark courtyard, with a second flight of stairs to the right of the stairs she had seen from the gate. And in the center of it all Jayred stood over a large skeleton. He growled again as a second arrow flew at a skeleton charging at the Nord. The arrow hit the ribcage and bounced around before falling to the ground, making the skeleton stop but doing little else.

Despite her shaded lenses making the world darker than it already was, Siena could make out a second skeleton charging at Jayred's left flank. And despite the fear gripping at her heart, a greater power drove her to spring into the air from the top of the steps and crash into the skeleton. She fell on top of the bag of bones with a painful crunch, both of them crashing to the ground and the steel war axe the skeleton held flying into the dirt nearby.

The skeleton was falling apart, some of the bones having been freed by the crash, but it still squirmed and thrashed grotesquely beneath her. A hard object hit the side of her head, dazing her and causing her to roll off the skeleton. The undead horror rose from the ground and picked up the axe with its left arm -it's only good arm- before raising it over Siena.

Survival instincts surged through her mind, and she threw up both her hands, summoning the magic within her into the only spell she truly knew well. Fire belched from her fingers to bloom inside the skeleton's ribcage, blasting it apart. Bones rained down around her, clinking off her chainmail and bruising her already tender arms, just before the axe spun down and dug into the dirt mere inches from her face.

Siena shuddered as her eyes wavered towards the axe nearby. She seemed to have lost all resolve to do anything, fear turning her muscles to stone, until she heard Jayred growl and a skeleton hiss in anger. Siena rolled towards the axe, one hand grabbing it and the motion of her body rising jerked the weapon from the dirt.

An arrow spun end-over-end to her left, having bounced off the hard bones of the skeleton Jayred was fighting. Siena watched as in the span of an instant Jayred knocked another arrow, fired, and hit the eye socket, ripping the skull from the spine. The Nord kicked the decapitated bones away, sending them shattering to the ground before standing proudly over the rotted corpse of a giant.

Siena walked up to him, relief washing over her as she stood at the feet of the massive skeleton. The ribcage alone could fit her body if she curled up inside it. Red flesh still clung to it and a horrid smell tickled her senses. If it was daylight the flies would have been buzzing with skooma-induced delight. With the danger gone Siena could no longer override her disgust and she dropped the axe, doubling over. Her only meal in the Shivering Isles became a new delightful feast for the flies when they awoke at dawn. Jayred did not seem to notice as he reached down and grabbed the skeleton's arm, not caring for the grime on his hands as he twisted and sickeningly crunched the arm out of the shoulder socket.

Siena watched with a horrid fascination. That a man who had been so courteous and gentlemanly to her would be doing such a disgusting-

Her thoughts were interrupted when a sharp sting in her left shoulder made her cry out and grasp at the perpetrator. It was an iron arrow that had hit her chainmail, but had been unable to penetrate the metal rings with its large arrowhead. The sting had been from the tip piercing shallowly into her skin. She ripped out the arrow with a trickling of blood, noting many of the small rings in the mail were broken; a small hole, but still a hole.

When she looked up her mind instantly calculated the archer's location from the direction of the arrow when it had stuck out of her shoulder, and she could barely make out the thin, gray form through her dark lenses. Snarling, she wanted to move but her stomach protested; it simply would not let her sprint after having expended its contents. She clutched at her shoulder and stomach as the skeleton knocked another arrow and pulled it back. The movement made it easier to see for a moment, and she threw out her hand, letting go of her shoulder to fling another ball of fire at the thing.

The flames lit the area as it traveled across the courtyard, towards the small corner nestled between the two staircases that had been in front and to the right of her when she had come in. So stupid! I didn't make sure the place was clear! I forgot half the area!

The fireball burst behind the skeleton, having missed it, but the light the explosion afforded revealed to Siena just where he was. The second arrow did not hit her this time; she'd seen it coming as it went past her spellfire. She moved to one side in a half-crouch, magic coursing through her hand and sparking into fiery brilliance. Jayred had knocked another arrow and uselessly fired, the arrow bouncing off the bones. Siena swung her hand forward, extending her fingers as if reaching out to the skeleton.

The source of her fear, of her pain, of her anger and of her sickness. Like a resolution the fireball burned through the air to blast apart that skeletal archer, bones raining down upon the ground. Siena breathed heavily, chest heaving as she fell to one knee. She felt so tired; a fatigue caused by a combination of bruising crashes and bumps, a bleeding shoulder, inadequate sleep and an expenditure of magic. She had drained herself so much in her anger with that final spell. Worse, she knew her magicka would not restore itself on its own, and her loss of control might cost her later on now that she had little magicka left for spells. But she rarely used her magic anyways, since she knew so little and her birthsign was so restrictive.

Bones snapped and ligaments tore, prompting Siena to turn her head and look at Jayred, mouth agape in exhaustion. Some of her hair that had come loose in the fighting fell over her face, but she ignored it as again a horrid fascination overtook her.

Jayred broke the humorus from the rest of the arm, then took the ulna and radius and tied all three of them together with a string. She didn't want to know where he got the string from. He then moved to one of the legs and picked up the axe Siena had dropped. Hacking at the knee cap, he separated the femur from the rest of the leg and ripped it from the pelvis in a brutish fashion. He added the femur to his bone collection and slung them over his shoulder.

"With these Gatekeeper bones, I can make some arrows." The Nord told her, as if proud of himself. Siena simply smiled weakly.

"When will they be ready?" She feigned enthusiasm, her voice falsely sweet.

"I'll only be a few hours." Jayred told her, waving his hand nonchalantly. "Then we'll kill the Gatekeeper." Jayred told her, smiling warmly back before turning and walking out of the Gardens with his bones.

Leaving Siena completely alone, in a dark courtyard with a half-present skeleton of the most loathsome being she had ever seen, and surrounded by pieces of other skeletons. For a moment she simply gawked at his back as he proceeded up the steps and through the gate, but then pouted.

To be expected, really. All he cared about was the damn bones. Nice and all? but he's insane and more in love with bones than a cup of mead. That's not right. Her opinion of the captain seemed to drop in that one moment from attractive to not-so-much. But thinking of him kept the realization of where she was out of her mind.

I need that bow? Dredhwen won't give me hers so I'll have to use that one. I can't shoot bone arrows to kill the Gatekeeper without a bow. Siena thought, moving purposely over to the scattered remains of the skeleton archer. She picked up the rusted iron bow, pulling the string taunt and then relaxing it before shrugging. Could have been better, but a rusted bow was better than no bow at all really. Grabbing the quiver of iron arrows from the ground she slung it over her shoulder and walked out of the Gardens with a pace that neared running.

She made sure to close the gate behind her, and never look back as she walked hurriedly down the hill after Jayred, the world brightening as dawn neared.

Not too fast for me!

Been reading them as you've posted them, and they're all good, FC. I've got a Shivering Isles story I been wanting to write since before seeing this, but this makes me wanna write it even more. Now I just need an Xbox360 to play it on so I can get the quests right. I'm afraid of oversights I might make should I just use game scripts. ><

Good chapter, the realism of arrows bouncing off bone makes Jayred look like an ididot for using a bow against them.

The nice thing about falling off the face of the planet is that you come back to stuff like this.

Unfortunately, I am far too tired right now to give you a coherent comment other than: :goodjob:

A thumbs-up is far better than no comments at all. I'm lookin' at you, lurker readers.... <_<

Anyways, to update you all, I haven't worked on the next chapter yet because I was off in California mountains, and I am moving into a university Dorm on sunday so, even though I want to work on it right now, immediately, I am holding back as other chores have taken precedence.

But I will not call it quits on this story.

YAY! Glad to hear it's not dead. :celebration:

Hope your dorm is nice and air conditioned and that college is workin' for ya. I'll be here when you post the next chapter. ^_^

Author's note: This chapter is a little longer than the others, but I really couldn't prevent that from happening. It's also the first chapter of fanfiction I have written since my hiatus when I left for California, so I hope I've gotten back into my groove quickly enough. Enjoy.

Chapter 10: Kill the Gatekeeper
"I'll only be a few hours." Jayred had told her, and yet those few hours seemed like eternity to the Dunmeri mercenary. She had to find something to do during those hours of early morning. She was too frightened to enter the inn, lest she encounter the crazed necromancer Relmyna again. And it wasn't like she really needed anything from there; well, minus food, but that she found by rummaging through a barrel near the door while Drewdhen was rocking in place in sleepy stupor.

Siena felt sort of... guilty inside for stealing from her old friend and comrade, but she had to take it. And it wasn't technically stealing seeing as Drewdhen had practically given her the last meal for free anyways. So she managed to rationally eat the bread with a clear conscience as she sat on the thin balcony of one of the marble ruins.

Climbing up there had been a chore, yes, but the view was spectacular. As the dawn greeted the vile realm of Sheogorath Siena found it harder to really call it vile at all. The soft orange light shone with such pure beauty upon the world, which was a gorgeous array of greens, browns, and blues from the vegetation around it. In fact, the more she gazed upon the dawn, the more she found herself at ease, at home. It was so much like Morrowind, with its rocky lands and mushrooms of giant proportion, and colorful plants sprouting here and there through hard ground. While the mushrooms might be more like trees than those of home, and while the colorful plant life may not be technically the same, it still held that rustic and homey feel.

Until thinking of home got her thinking of home; of Belmyne and Drewdhen and Nanette and Felas and Jayred. Thinking of her old life, looting crypts and confiscating items at the whims of the Councilmen of Hlaalu. Thinking of Belmyne, and how right now the two of them would have been making wild, passionate love beneath the romantic soft glow of orange sunrise. A tear rolled down her cheek; she made no move to discard it.

She sat there for another hour, before the dawn had come and gone and she felt it was time to meet Jayred again. Jumping nimbly down from the thin railing around the ruin, she returned to the now familiar shack and opened the door, not even bothering to knock. Her mind was elsewhere as she entered, closing the door behind her.

Her mind made a quick trip back to reality, though, when she looked around. Bones... If it wasn't for the fact they held her together, she would hate bones to her very core. She looked to her left to find the fur-clad captain sitting at his table, a collection of arrows in front of him and one in his hands. Siena ran a quick count; nineteen, twenty counting the one he worked on now. She didn't want to begin to imagine how much of that bone he had used to make those arrows.

Jayred was so absorbed in his work he didn't even notice Siena's arrival. She moved to the side of the table, standing there and watching him. With careful, loving precision his dining knife cut into the bone, shaving off a sliver there, and a sliver here. After a few minutes he seemed to take notice of the world around him, likely because he was finished, and set the knife down next to his fork and spoon, looking up to Siena.

"You're going to eat with that knife still?"? Siena blurted out, looking dumbfounded and pointing at the utensil. Jayred blinked, caught off guard by the question.

"Yeah, why not? It's still good."? He replied, and Siena reflexively cringed. Jayred shrugged and held out the arrow he recently finished. "Think you can shoot this?"? He asked her.

"Of course I can shoot it, it's an ar-" Siena snapped quickly, before her hand went to the arrow and she took it, looking at it. The tip was ragged and triangular, looking almost like those old stone arrows before the time of men's metalworking. The shaft was smooth and straight, though she could see signs of knife shaving and straighter-stone on it.

The only thing that had her worried was the fletching. It too was made of bone. But as she looked closer she noticed the bone was precisely shaved to parchment-thin strips, and near the shaft the bone got thicker for support. It had to be one of the most expertly made arrows she had ever seen, and it left her at a loss for words.

How could a man who was the captain of a merchant vessel make such a high-quality arrow? And out of such poor quality material? It was a burning question in her mind, just like how Jayred had seemed to just know she was out to kill the Gatekeeper, even though her intentions had not been announced but mere hours before.

"Where did you learn to make such arrows?" Siena asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Jayred simply smiled, and moved to his shelves. "The bones instructed me."

That statement pretty much ended the conversation on the spot. Jayred turned around and came back, setting what looking like an oversized quiver on the table. But it also looked like a skull. Two eye sockets, and the surrounding bone, had been removed from a skull and attached to bone plates. Beneath the eye sockets were what looked like two femoral bones stuck together, and then a kneecap of sorts as a base. Two horns sprouted just under the eyes and outwards a few inches while two more shot out away from the sides of the eyes. And two more sprouted from above the eyes, mirror images of below. Even the top of the 'quiver' was fashioned like the bottom, and that symmetry coupled with the dark eye sockets to send shivers down Siena's spine. Jayred began packing the nineteen arrows into this hellish thing, before Siena reached out a hand and stopped him.

"Thanks, but I think I will use my own quiver." She told him nervously, casting a small, polite smile before taking off the rusted iron quiver and placing the bone arrows inside.

Even though she was not looking at it, the eyes of that skeletal quiver seemed to burn in her mind, staring at her. There was no way she could use such a thing. She was surprised she could even bring herself to use the bone arrows. But at least they don't stare at me, and make me think I'm wearing a creature. She reasoned with herself as she slung the quiver back on her back.

Jayred clapped his hands together, nodding to Siena. She looked him up and down, noticed he was already prepared, and nodded back. "Let's go kill the Gatekeeper. We might die, but there are worse things."? He told her, exiting. Siena forced her lips shut to prevent herself from speaking her mind.

There were plenty of worse things in Siena's mind, but most of them came after death.
~*~*~*~*~
When Siena and Jayred arrived at the Gates of Madness, it was already midday. The sun pounded down upon them in the hot, muggy air, but both ignored it as they walked up the last steps leading to the plateau of the Gates. Simultaneously they readied their bows and knocked arrows of bone, Siena trying hard to ignore the material they were made of.

The Gatekeeper -that horrid giant of preserved flesh and cast iron- just stood there, in the center of the stone plaza with the curving stairwells at each side and the bust of a man as big as the Gatekeeper behind it. And then it moved, making Siena flinch. But all it did was strut towards its left, walking calmly. Almost as if it failed to notice two bows drawn and aimed at it.

Or maybe it just didn't care.

"We have to alternate our fire, Jayred. You fire, then I will, then you will. Each time it will draw the Gatekeeper's attention from the other and onto the attacker. It'll give us time to draw and make another shot, and possibly help keep distance between us and the Gatekeeper."? Siena explained, her voice smooth and unnaturally calm.

"You go to one side, and I'll take the other."? Siena told the Nord, and the captain nodded and moved towards the wall of rock at his left. Siena inched herself towards the wall of rocks on her right. The entire time, the Gatekeeper seemed oblivious to their presence.

If anything, that was what unnerved Siena the most. Not that it was undead, or rotting where it stood; while that unnerved her to the core, it was fear, and fear could be overcome. No. It was the fact that the Gatekeeper seemed to not even care, as if they were meaningless fodder. Anger was often more fatal than fear.

A bowstring twanged and an arrow whistled through the air, snapping Siena's attention towards it. She watched through her shaded lenses as the arrow soared and struck true, impaling the right shoulder of the monster; the sword shoulder. The Gatekeeper emitted a disgusting wale of pain, turning with remarkable agility towards the source of the arrow. The ground rumbled as it lumbered forward unabated by its wound, sword arm swinging back to prepare to strike.

In a panic Siena raised her bow and aimed, focusing her eyes through her shaded glasses and clearly seeing her target. Forcing her breathing to normalize, she steadied her aim and fired. The bone arrow whistled through the air before piercing into the left side of that faceless head, and the Gatekeeper tilted to the right only slightly before continuing on its path.

Almost as if the arrow did not even affect it.

Horrified, Siena cried out as the serrated blade swiped forward, clanging against the rocky wall that Jayred had chosen as his location. She couldn't see any blood, but her mind was moving too frantically now to realize that fact, and she drew another arrow, leveled her bow, and fired.

This one she made sure the Gatekeeper would feel; if it even had -or had need of- a heart. The arrow hit its mark and the Gatekeeper responded, though not in the way Siena had hoped. The unholy beast reared back in pain, again waling, before turning to face her.

Siena was about to knock another arrow when the beast reared back again, and she heard Jayred's voice. "Die dammit!"? The Gatekeeper twisted in rage and punched the spot where Jayred was supposed to be. Siena could see when it turned another arrow was jutting from the back of its right shoulder.

The rock around the location cracked audibly, and Siena closed her eyes and bit her lip to keep from screaming. She opened them again, though, when the earth began to rumble. The sword came down, but Siena was already rolling out of the way. The moment she was out of the roll, she was running for her life.

In her heart she knew Jayred was dead. She knew he'd been wrong and the Gatekeeper couldn't be defeated. She knew she wasn't going to let herself die, here in this Tribunal-forsaken realm. She cared only for running, only for saving her life. She didn't even care that she'd dropped her bow in her haste to avoid the oncoming attack.

It was like a nightmare where you are unable to run quickly, and time seemed to slow around her. She could hear the rumble of massive feet behind her, but it was overcome by the thumping of her heart in her ears. The stairs to safety seemed to stretch for an eternity.

She heard the rumbles again; the Gatekeeper was closer behind her now. Instinctively she jumped, hurtling herself towards the bottom of the stairs. At the same time she twisted her body in midair and tapped into her depleted well of magicka, flinging a ball of flame at her nightmare.

The sword came within a foot of her feet, and if she hadn't jumped it would have been her waist, and not air, that met the rough metal. The fireball exploded in the Gatekeeper's face, but as Siena landed hard on her back she couldn't really gauge how effective it had been. Hurriedly she raised herself up on one arm, the other clutching her side as she tried to steady her breath.

She'd made it! She'd reached that border where the Gatekeeper would venture no further, and now stared at the monster in defiance. Its face was slightly redder than before as it presumably stared back, and then turned and left. As it walked up the stairs, Siena couldn't help but notice the odd way its sword arm seemed to dangle at its side.

Eyes wide with shock, Siena hastily began picking up the bone arrows that had fallen from her quiver while she was in the air. So... if they did work... they simply didn't work enough. I need something else. Something to augment the arrows and do even more damage. She felt a giddiness come over her that was -to say the least- surprising. All she needed was one more weapon against that thing, and the nightmare would be over.

Nanette! Relmyna had mentioned Nanette. Didn't she say something about... instructing her or something? Maybe she knows a weakness! Yes, yes that was just what she needed to do. Talk to Nanette and find another weakness. But first she had to find Nanette.

An update! :ahhh:

Poor girl. It must be hard taking on a monster like that without a recent save. :nod:

Pity about Jayred, though (assuming Siena's right and the gatekeeper killed him). He was just begining to seem a little less creepy.

Good chapter. I noticed one spelling mistake in the second paragraph; conscious should be conscience if you're going for the noun instead of the verb. Other than that, no physical evidence of Jayred's death (other than the beast's calm state), so fingers crossed

Update:

I have not given up on this fanfic, but college has taken a lot of my time. I am working the next chapter out in my mind, though. Rest assured.

Author's Note: This chapter may seem a little longer than most, and in fact it is... however, the inspiration struck me, and thought flowed from finger to keyboard. After such horrid writer's block, one does not allow a simple extra page of chapter to stop them. No siree. Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Opposites
Siena reached the town of Passwall rather soon, though she was somewhat limping when she did arrive. Her back was sore from her landing, and her heart had still not slowed from the excitement of the battle. She fumbled with strands of her hair to keep them from her face and make herself presentable to the townsfolk. It didn't seem to matter much though, as she did not immediately see any of them.

Felas came out of the inn bearing a bag of food in one arm, and being the only being in sight Siena naturally headed for him, moving quickly and with arm raised to grasp at him. "Felas! Felas, I need to ask you something."

When the Dunmer saw her coming quickly, he freaked, dropping the bag and thrusting out his hands. "Stay away! Away! Don't breathe on me!"

Siena complied, halting in front of him. She huffed, her breathing short, and rolled her eyes beneath her shaded glasses. Tilting her head up so as to not breathe in his direction, she spoke. "I'm not going to breathe on you, Felas. I just want to-"

"No no no! Now your horrid adventurer diseases are all about the air, and falling on me!" He began to cower in place, holding his hands over his head. Siena growled, her patience in this stressed state of activity wearing thin. So, to make sure he heard her, she yelled down at him.

"All I want to know is where Nanette is, damn it all!"

A silence fell over the two, and the surrounding area, and for a moment they remained still; Siena snarling down at the cowering form of the past agent of Hlaalu. But his shaking grew less pronounced, until at one point he peeked his head out at the huffing maiden.

"Nanette? Darling Nanette?" He asked softly, bewilderment in his eyes. Siena was struck by an odd feeling of pity and perplexity. He looked like such a child now. But his words struck her as remarkably unusual. Darling Nanette? Wha- wait no? That can't be. Nonetheless, Siena controlled the expression of her face, smiling sweetly and nodding.

Felas grinned, rising and slowly gathering the food he had dropped. "I was just about to meet her, coincidentally. I'm sure she wouldn't mind a visitor to tear her away from her constant reading." He said in a cheery tone that sharply contrasted his previous childish manner. When he had the bag in his arms again, though, his face was stern. "But promise you won't breathe on, or touch, a thing." His tone had gone hard, and Siena found herself reeling back in expectation of a strike. She nodded quickly, and Felas headed towards the house across from the inn.

By the time she had entered the threshold after the Dunmer, her heart had slowed considerably, but she was still feeling the adrenal high. It was a rather large home, and well furnished with the finest of lower class wooden furniture. A bookcase sat to her immediate right, a fireplace in front, and to her left the rest of the house remained. Her eyes wandered, seeing the long staircase leading up to a small balcony with a door, and barrels sitting upon it. More barrels sat beneath the staircase, and it was these Felas approached to store the new food. In one corner was a table, and then on the far wall she noted two beds, one on each side, with a barrel and a chest between them. But if they really are? wouldn't there be only one bed? She wondered, before turning back to the fireplace when a voice spoke up, sweet and effeminate.

"Hello, is there something I can do for you?" The owner of the voice was a Breton woman in a dress that sharply resembled Relmyna's, with the tussled cuffs, golden trimmings, and v-neck. But the woman's was a deep crimson, not the black that was the necromancer's. Her hair was braided tightly back behind her head into a bun, and she smiled politely. "What was that?" She asked absently, as if she had not heard what Siena had said. Fitting considering Siena had yet to speak.

"Nanette?" Siena managed to stutter hesitantly. The woman closed her book, setting it on the bookshelf beside her. The firelight flickered over her face, and Siena released it was indeed Nanette. The structure of her face? her eyes? it had to be. Siena took a step closer.

"Don't get to close." Felas warned as he was putting away a loaf of bread, making Siena stop. Nanette giggled, and waved a hand at the Dunmer.

"Oh stop it Fel. She's fine." Fel? Nanette turned back to smile at Siena. "So, who might you be, and how do you know me?"

"I'm? um?" Dammit! Will she even remember me? "My name is Siena. We used to work together once."

"Hmm?" Nanette contemplated her words, before shaking her head. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell I'm afraid. What do you need?"

Siena sighed, brushing her hair from the side of her face before speaking up. "I need to know about the Gatekeeper." She said quickly, hoping for the best. Nanette looked stunned for a moment, before looking around Siena's thin form to Felas in the background.

"Fel, dear, is it alright if she sits here at the table? I'll clean it up later." Nanette said gently, and Felas looked up, before smiling and nodding. Again with the nickname? and dear.

"Alright, fine; but only if you clean up after her." He ordered, and Nanette grabbed Siena's hand.

"Here, come and sit and eat. You look far too thin." She told the Dunmeri maiden, guiding her to the table and sitting her on the bench. Siena eyed the bread sitting there, and when Nanette nodded she snatched it up and began to eat. It had been almost a half a day since her last meal ?a similar loaf of bread- and with all the excitement of the battle she'd gotten hungry again.

And thinking about the battle made her droop, as the rumble of rock being struck rung in her ears, and she imagined the snap of Jayred's bones under such tremendous force. She shuddered.

"Are you okay?" Nanette suddenly asked, knocking her from her day-mare with a hand on her shoulder. Siena sniffled, nodded, and bit the bread, chewing for a bit as she tried to regain her composure. When she swallowed, she immediately jumped to the question.

"The Gatekeeper?"

"Oh, yes, right." Nanette smiled. "He's Relmyna's crowning achievement. The Gatekeeper keeps out people who don't belong in the Shivering Isles. She made him in the Gardens of Flesh and Bone. She's my teacher." She said proudly. "She's going to teach me all her secrets." Siena's eyes bulged beneath her glasses, and she nearly choked on a piece of bread in her mouth. She knew Nanette was getting taught by Relmyna; but she hadn't expected her to be so giddy about the idea.

"Oh, and this is really interesting -- wait! Never mind. My big mouth almost just got me in trouble again." Nanette giggled girlishly at this, prompting a quizzical eyebrow from Siena.

"What's interesting?" She finally asked after a moment of silence.

"I'd like to tell you? but really, I shouldn't say anything more." Nanette replied; worry crossed her green eyes as she spoke. Siena finished the bread in the following lack of discussion, thinking on her next course of action.

I could threaten her but? Felas was always better with a blade than me, and quicker. And she's a sorceress. I doubt I could. But maybe? well, I've never really tried to trick someone that way before. But it's the best I've got.

"Tell me about something else then? like you and Felas. What's up there?" Siena asked after she swallowed the bread. She reached back and grabbed something -an apple- and began to bite into it, hunger still gnawing her insides.

Her attempt at small talk worked, and Nanette eagerly moved on to discussion of Felas. She remembered waking up on a plateau surrounded by mushroom trees, and being with the others of Passwall there, lost and confused. They'd banned together for safety and had begun to follow a stone path, fighting off strange monsters as they did. She recalled vividly watching Felas scout ahead atop stone rises, disappearing with grace into shadows and moving in on beasts that he could before they reached the group.

By the time they had reached the desolate town of Passwall, they'd lost one Dunmer man, who ran screaming back the way they had come. Belmyne? Siena thought instantly.

The town had been deserted, but when they continued on they found the Gatekeeper standing there, and in fear retreated back. Felas had comforted her in her fear of the beast, and offered to live with her to protect her. From there, Nanette left things to the imagination.

Siena was stunned by the story, not so much the tale of her companions in Passwall but of Felas and Nanette. Their minds really have been changed? "You two? used to hate each other you know."

"Did we?" Nanette asked, blinking owlishly. "Why, I never recall such, do you Fel?"

"Nope." He said simply from beside the fireplace, reading.

"Well you did. Back when I worked with you. You two were always at each other, insulting this way and that." Siena replied, grinning. "Sometimes it was annoying."

"I bet it must have been." Nanette agreed. "But we're better now."

"I stood up for you back then though. Just about everyone made fun of you." Siena added, and Nanette paused, perplexed. "You're afraid of the Gatekeeper, right?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"I can stand up for you, help you, and stop him. I'll stop him from haunting your thoughts." Siena's voice had leveled, as she grew more serious. In her mind, she was replacing 'you' with 'me.' "I'll put a stop to the nightmares he caused."

Nanette stared blankly at Siena for a time, before suddenly breaking down into tears. Felas got up quickly and rushed to her, embracing her. Siena watched the scene solemnly.

"Siena! Siena where are you?! If you can hear me say something!" The voice? it was distant, so distant, but it was familiar; male, young, and with an Ashlandic, hoarse accent.

"SIENA!" The decibel of the voice had risen drastically, and in fright she curled herself up tighter. His voice was so loud. If he kept this up he'd wake them up. They'd rise, slowly and creakily from their tombs, they'd slay and chase and never give in.

"Siena!" The cry was joyous now, and she forced her head up to see a young Dunmer lad with a torch in his hand and a chitin short sword in the other. He smiled, and rushed to her side, dropping the blade. "Found you. I got worried when you didn't come back home for dinner last night, and your father started a search party. Come on, they're just down the hall."

Elation washed over her horrified body, and she thrust herself at the boy, embracing him tighter than ever before in their lives. "Oh Bel? it was terrible." She sobbed. Belmyne patted her back reassuringly.

"It's okay now, Cici."

"I've been dying to tell someone." Nanette's choked voice cut into the memory, opening Siena's eyes. The world was liquefied, and for a moment she was unsure what happened. Then a ripple ran through the world and coolness ran down her cheek. She'd been crying. She took her glasses off and cleaned them, looking to Nanette.

"You seem trustworthy enough? But don't tell Relmyna I said anything!" Nanette ordered frantically, escaping Felas and rushing to Siena's knees. She nodded. "Her Gatekeeper is flawed! Her tears hurt him!"

Siena thrust her head back, unprepared for that information. She hadn't even realized Relmyna was capable of crying? "How the-"

"Her tears somehow agitate the Daedra bound to the Gatekeeper's body." Nanette explained quickly. "Her tears make it really restless, and it starts to strain harder against the warding magic."

"But? Relmyna? crying?"

"She may seem like a tough woman, but the Gatekeeper makes her all weepy." Nanette remarked. "Go see for yourself. She visits him every night around midnight."

There; that was the key! Excitement bubbled up in Siena slowly, and she rose from the bench. Finally, she had a way to kill the Gatekeeper, and put an end to the nightmares! Relmyna's tears! Now the question was how to go about getting them.

She was stopped half way to the door though, by a still frantic woman. "Just don't tell her I said anything. I might get another lesson in the nature of Pain. I don't like those lessons very much." Nanette's eyes were watery as she tried to speak calmly, and Siena stared back into them, her own emotion hidden behind the shaded lenses. She nodded.

"Thank you. Thank you!" Nanette cried out, and in her celebration Siena left the house, only one thing on her mind.

This is really good, Fantastic Frank. I've always liked your writing style. Honestly, it reminds me of myself in many ways, but the difference is that you do a much better job of describing things and whatnot. Another thing I've noticed about your style, and that it's almost 1st person in a way. I don't know, I can't really explain it. :shrug: It's just the way you narrate the story. It's really cool.

And awesome job with the smooth dialogue. I've always thought that's a key element to successful fics.

:goodjob: feel like I am intruding by posting in this thread for some reason however it was really really really really really really really really really really really really really really good

Incredible.