Lady Sirali at-Tura

"Keep out, you Supernal brutes! Remember what happened the last time you tried to sneak in? I may be old, but my stiletto is still sharp."

Rihad sent me to help you. "Thank the Eight. I've been so worried since Hosni separated us. And now those Supernal Dreamers outside are threatening me. Though it could be that Hosni just sent them to intimidate me."

You think Hosni is connected to the supernal dreamers? "I do—and I think that so-called Lady Adima is to blame. I'm certain she's why he's threatening Rihad and me. And I'd wager she's putting him up to even worse."

Evidence suggests they stole the Dream Shard from Pariah Abbey. "He did that? Then he's taken High Rock's main defense against Vaermina's cultists. Oh, Adima's behind it, all right. If only we could prove it."

What good would that do? "If Hosni stole the Dream Shard, he did it for Adima … and if so, he'll never give it to you. And you are here to recover the Dream Shard, aren't you? If you help me clear Hosni's name, I'll help you get it."

"If what you say about the Dream Shard is true, Adima must be allied with the Supernal Dreamers. That makes poor Hosni nothing but a pawn in all this."

What do you need from me? "I need evidence that Adima is controlling Hosni, proof that her Daedric influence brought the Supernal Dreamers here. I have a plan."

What kind of evidence are you looking for? "There must be some form of communication between her and the Supernals. If you can find, say, letters from the cult to Adima, I could use them to clear Hosni's name when this is all over. I'd suggest searching their camp on the beach."

I'll see what I can find. "Follow the path down to their camp by the dock. The Supernals arrived by boat—search there first."

What do you know about Lady Adima? "It's mostly guesswork, but informed guesswork. I had an aunt who briefly joined the Supernal Dreamers, so I'd heard the rhetoric. When Adima showed up, her talk about "achieving one's dreams" immediately made me suspicious."

How did she win Hosni's affections? "Alchemy! She gives him potions that put him into dreaming sleep, then visits his dreams, seduces him…. The worst of it is, he'd been betrothed to a good woman, Sister Safia, a Spirit Warden. Adima made Hosni drop her. Poor girl."

That's unfortunate.

"Well, at least you're still alive. Did you manage to find any evidence that will help exonerate Hosni?"

I found these letters. "Mara's heart! This is exactly what we needed. With this in hand my husband and I can escape this place and go to seek help. I have one final favor to ask."

"We must trust in the gods. That's what I do. I've made many offerings to the Divines in these last dark days."

What have you discovered? "I've been thinking about the Dream Shard, and what I know about the Vaermina cult. Hosni spends long periods asleep these days. I think Adima is using the relic to control Hosni through his dreams."

Do you know how to free him? "Adima's been giving my son potions. If you can figure out which one puts him into dreaming sleep—and take some yourself—I think you'll be able to enter his dreams, as she does. Talk to Hosni's bard, Destane. He's in on all Hosni's secrets."

All right. I'll find out what the bard knows. "There must be some way to get through to Hosni."

Where can I find the bard Destane? "He often plays in the courtyard garden. Destane's a maggot, but he's close with Hosni. He's smart, and he's no coward, so watch yourself."

"You have entered my son's dream. Some uncorrupted part of him has sent me to tell you what you need to know."

Am I dreaming, then, as well? "Yes, but the dream is Hosni's. Somewhere in this dream is the Omen of Blood, the demon from Quagmire that drives him to madness. You must find the Omen, and slay it."

How can I kill the Omen if this is only a dream? "That which lives in dreams, can be slain in dreams. If you kill Vaermina's Omen in Hosni's dream, it will be ejected from our world forever. And my son will be free."