Beautiful Insanity (A Skyrim/Oblivion Fanfiction) ((ORIGINAL))

A Better Mousetrap

Note: I lied. This will not take the same questline as the original quest, I'll be altering a lot. Don't get me wrong, many things will remain the same, but I'll still have my own unique twist on it.

...

I was lost in the Daedric Prince's gaze until Haskill let out a sharp cough. I shook my head. "Er... Lord Sheogorath?"

"Yes, that's me. I am He, He is me. Always and never. When I'm not? Ooh, then it's trouble for Haskill. He has to take care of the pesky details of removing the brains." I cracked a smile, despite the insanity of his words. "Is something funny, mortal?" I shook my head rapidly, trying to pull myself together long enough to form a cohesive sentence. Here I was, standing before Sheogorath who would just as soon kill me as help, ignoring the brutality of his speech. "A new arrival! A shame about my Gatekeeper. I'm so happy I could just... rip out your entrails and strangle you with them!

"I suppose an introduction is in order. I'm Sheogorath, Prince of Madness." He tapped his chin. "And other things. I'm not talking about them. You've probably figured that out by now. Let's hope so. Or out come the intestines... and I skip rope with them!" Sheogorath laughed deeply, and I had to take a step backwards from the intensity of his gaze. However, I could not bring myself to look away. "But perhaps now's not the time. You've made it this far. Farther than anyone else. Well done!" At this point, his swiftly changing demeanor was confusing me. "Take this trinket of mine. Perhaps it will serve you well. Or look lovely on your corpse." The Daedric Prince didn't move, but a light weight on my neck told me that he'd placed an enchanted necklace around it.

"This is-- I--"

"Regina, yes, yes. Hasky told me all about you!" I shot a glance towards Haskill, who sighed in slight irritation.

"I just wanted to ask you something." I tried my best to avoid sounding like a tiny mouse squeaking in fear. My attempt was... less than successful.

"Out with it!"

"What do you want with me?" I burst out. Asking him for help at the moment was likely a poor idea. Sheogorath pounded his staff onto the floor.

"I've been waiting for you! Or, someone like you. Or someone other than you, for some time. I need a champion, and you've got the job. Time to save the Realm! Rescue the damsel!" His tongue rolled on the 'r', and he continued to enunciate his words. "Slay the beast! Or die trying. Your help is required." His jovial expression shifted to one of distaste. "A change is coming. Everything changes. Even Daedric Princes. Especially Daedric Princes."

"Changes?" I found myself repeating, wishing I could force myself out of the seeming spell he had placed me under.

"Daedra are the embodiment of change!" he rumbled, his strange accent sounding musical. "Change... and permanency. I'm no different, except in the ways that I am." I chuckled, and Sheogorath tipped his head curiously. "What do you find funny?" I cursed myself a thousand times, but figured that with him, honesty was the best policy.

"Never mind. You're the most interesting person..." I went with it. "I've ever met." His face softened.

"Really? I think that's a compliment. Is it a compliment, Haskill? If it isn't, then I'm going to be quite sad. But not when I rip off her arms. That'll be fun." He frowned as he returned his attention to me. "The Greymarch is coming. And you're going to stop it."

"T-the Greymarch?" I queried, trying to hide my nervous stammer as I wrung my hands. "What's the Greymarch?" In my studies, I'd always found the Daedric Princes particularly interesting and had done what research I could into them. However, I hadn't read anything about this 'Greymarch', and that was irking me.