The Asterian Dream

X: Clear Skies

Conrad quickly knelt on one knee when he saw the Dragonborn Archon standing before him. He bent his head down, silently praying to not be instantly struck down. To his surprise, the Dragonborn and Fasela seemed to be having a normal conversation.

As Fasela told Amethyst they needed to talk, Amethyst turned to Conrad and slowly approached him. He slowly looked up and saw the imposing figure of the First Archon standing above him. He slowly began to bend his head back down.

However, as he was doing so, he felt a strange sensation. It was almost as if he was compelled by some other power to look up. He complied and saw the Archon had extended her hand to him.

"Rise," she said, laughing softly. "How can I hold a conversation with you down there?"

Conrad quickly rose to his feet. He was a good few inches shorter than Amethyst, and so he still had to look up a bit to make eye contact.

Amethyst smiled and folded her hands together. "Now, let us speak. Tell me about yourself."

Conrad appeared slightly uncomfortable, but Fasela rather aggressively motioned for him to speak. Reluctantly, he began to tell Amethyst how he had come across Fasela and begun traveling with her. His speech got slower and slower as he approached the portion where he would have to relate where exactly he came from.

"...and so that's how I ended up here." he finished.

Amethyst appeared dissatisfied. "Why won't you just tell me where you came from?"

Conrad was afraid, knowing what Amethyst could do, but still remained silent.

She sighed in frustration and turned to Fasela. "Tell me what he will not."

Fasela was slightly reluctant to speak and seemed unwilling to tell her. "Well, it's not exactly what you'd expect, so maybe it's best you don't-"

Amethyst scowled. She raised her right hand and faced it in the direction of Fasela's head. Fasela's eyes widened with fear, and she hurriedly tried to back away. But Amethyst, speaking works in an ancient Dragonborn dialect, conjured two burning ropes which tied Fasela's wrists to Amethyst's left hand. She used the ropes to hold her still and pulled her hand closer to Fasela's head.

"Just give me what I want Fasela, you've never kept anything from me before," she said. "After all we've done together, you're going to keep some trivial secret away from me like this?"

Fasela was still in a panic, struggling against the ropes which held her still. "I can't let you know, it's-!"

She was interrupted by the ropes suddenly disappearing. Amethyst stumbled forward, appearing stunned from a blow. Both her and Fasela looked behind them and saw what had caused it.

Conrad was standing there, the longsword Fasela had given him firmly gripped in his hands. He had struck Amethyst in the back of the head with the flat side of the blade.

As Amethyst turned to face him, he flinched a bit, almost dropping the sword. But he managed to pull himself together and adopted a defensive stance.

Amethyst chuckled. "Someone's gotten a little attached I see. I guess I can just take your mind instead, although it is quite inferior."

Conrad, in a panic, didn't seem to know what to do as Amethyst approached him. However, as she got closer, Fasela got up.

"The amulet!" she shouted.

Conrad quickly reached into the pouch on his hip and drew out the amulet. It began to shine with a brilliant white light.

Amethyst froze in shock when she saw it. "Is that-" she couldn't complete her sentence.