//------------------------------//
// Interlude: The Mind of Madness 
// Story: Skyrim: The Faces of Death 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Once Amaryllis was done in Windhelm, and made sure to leave the Hall of the Dead before the priestess came back to her duties and discovered the body, she headed out into the wilderness once more and put some distance between her and the city. The moment she was far enough away she shifted back into her true form and started to fly back to Dawnstar, so she could meet up with Nazir, if he was inside the Sanctuary, and start coming up with things that needed to be done for them to finally call the place home, even though most of the items would come from Delvin. Of course she really wasn't expecting to see him when she returned to the new Sanctuary, given that he informed her that he would be heading out to find and recruit more members, but there was a chance she could be surprised. Either way she was expecting to reach the Sanctuary, head inside, and either relax for a while before speaking to the Night Mother or just speak with the Unholy Matron and get another contract to kill some time before there were more members in their Family.

What stopped her on the way to Dawnstar, however, wasn't a dragon or a now burning area, something she only thought about since there was still one somewhere in Skyrim at the moment, rather she spotted the ebony black scaled Argonian who happened to be dealing with another group of Thalmor. They were near the mill that one of her previous targets had been hiding near, though while everyone was distracted she landed behind one tree and watched them for a time, as she knew that the Argonian needed no help in dealing with them. Interestingly enough the Thalmor had sent a force of at least ten soldiers, split evenly between warriors and mages, to take care of her and any Talos worshipers they might find while on the road, and right now they were fighting the Argonain. Sure enough the ebony Argonian danced around the area that they were fighting in, just like last time Amaryllis had seen her, and she used her scythe to cut down her foes, all while she took no damage as she dropped them to the ground.

Part of Amaryllis had to wonder what was up with the Argonian, as she loved to kill everything that dared to challenge her, especially since her weapon was a scythe, though before she could consider anything the figure finished making sure all of her targets were dead before resuming her walk down the road.

Amaryllis had a feeling that she'd be seeing the figure again, she seemed too unique in this land, before taking off as well, as she wanted to get to the Sanctuary, though she was happy to see a Khajiit caravan moving as well, though given where they were it was hard to tell where they had come from. From what she would see they were traveling to the west, instead of the east, so they either left Windhelm or Whiterun, meaning the Argonian must have passed them, but based on what she was seeing it looked like the road was clear for travelers. In fact all of the wild animals seemed to be sleeping or eating at the moment, so the road was definitely safe, to which she turned her attention back to her flying as she zeroed in on where Dawnstar was located. Such a thing gave her a chance to think about the future of her Family, now that the rest of Skyrim knew that they had killed the Emperor, and what might be coming their way next, which caused her to smile as she found herself eager to face whatever might happen next.

When she reached Dawnstar Amaryllis slipped through the Black Door and found that Nazir was sitting at a table, which was in the middle of the lower chamber, meaning he must have been thinking about making it their new eating area for when their Family members weren't on contracts. Babette, as she soon discovered, was sitting at a table that was off to the left of the main opening, across from where the Night Mother's coffin rested, and it looked like she was starting a new garden for herbs and other items they might find useful. Cicero, who appeared to have been forgiven by the remainder of the Family for trying to kill Astrid, was standing near the metallic coffin, though she could see that he was happy to have a Family again, after what happened to his last one. Of course he seemed like he was getting ready to work on the corpse of the Night Mother, given his duties as Keeper, though when he spotted her, standing nearby, he understood immediately and took a few steps back, allowing her to approach the coffin and kneel with her head bowed.

You are to speak with the Corrupt Agent at the Penitus Oculatus Outpost, in Dragon Bridge. the Night Mother stated, something that came as a surprise to Amaryllis, especially when she considered their drive to kill her Family, which made her wonder what was going on right now, Accept his gold, then kill the target... hail Sithis!

"A corrupt member of the Penitus Oculatus... interesting," Amaryllis said, speaking to herself as Babette and Nazir walked over to where she was standing, as it appeared that the vampire told their brother she was back and he seemed eager to hear what the Night Mother had said, "While I would like to start training any newcomers to our Family, or test their skills in the art of assassination, this is one that I should tackle myself..."

"In the off chance that this is a trap, to get back at us for bringing ruin on their organization?" Nazir inquired, showing that he understood her train of thought and that he agreed with it, without saying that much in regards to what had just been said, to which Amaryllis nodded her head, as a new assassin might be caught or killed if this was a trap, "I don't have any new assassins to bring into the Family, not yet anyway, so you should focus on the contract while Babette and I worry about heading out and seeing if we can find some newcomers to add to our Family... Cicero can keep tending to the Night Mother, since that's all he seems to focus on these days, while we do that."

"Agreed, though you should know that Delvin has agreed to help us outfit the Sanctuary, so his team should be here in the near future to help us tidy this place up," Amaryllis stated, informing Nazir that she had done as he suggested earlier, as it had been a good suggestion in the grand scheme of things in her mind, while at the same time it was clear that he knew she had something else in mind before she went and figured out what this corrupt officer wanted from them, "though we should clean up some of the mess that has been gathering throughout this place, since the last inhabitants lived in here anyway, to make things somewhat easier for when Delvin's team arrives with our new goods."

Sure enough Nazir was the only one who didn't care for the task, even though he did so anyway since even he agreed that their new home needed some cleaning, but that didn't mean she wanted them to go overboard or anything, since Delvin's team would be doing most of the heavy lifting and whatnot. As such they focused on making sure the burial area was safe, so the spirits of the older Brotherhood members could rest peacefully, or at least until some unlucky adventurer stumbled upon the back entrance of this place and annoyed them anyway. She also assisted them in clearing some of the rubble to make things easier for them and Delvin's team, since they had no idea when they would arrive, while giving them a good chance to secure anything important. Her only reason for that was because Delvin was a thief and his people had to be allied with the Guide, so it was just a precaution on her part, and two of the others agreed, as Cicero seemed to focus on his task, which influenced how they went about their work.

Once she was sure the basic work was done, however, Amaryllis bid the others farewell as she headed outside and quickly opened her wings once more, where she headed to the west and angled herself so she was lined up with Dragon Bridge, since it was time for her to find the next client. She was still surprised that a member of the Penitus Oculatus wanted them to kill someone, though she was still worried that this might be a trap, given the destruction of their organization, so she resolved to keep her guard up. While she flew over Skyrim she flew over the massive ruin known as Labyrinthian and was left alone, as nothing else seemed to be in the area, which she was perfectly fine with since it meant that she didn't have to worry about the black dragon. The roads were strangely clear as well, meaning most of the travelers were at home or had stopped at one of the inns that were along the roads, though she paid it no mind as she focused on her destination

When she reached Dragon Bridge she found that the coast was clear and quickly landed, taking on the form of a traveling warrior, a male Nord, and walked into the outpost, where she found the agent sitting nearby, though as he turned to face her she revealed her true form to him.

"You... you must be the assassin... from the..." the agent started to say, though it was clear that he was terrified of her, a fact that confirmed what she thought earlier, before he noticed the emblem on her armor and focused on what he had to say next, "Well, there's this Traveling Dignitary, in Solitude, and for my own reasons I need her... you know. This gold will cover the contract... right?"

Amaryllis took a look at the bag that was placed on the table and found that it contained nearly two thousand gold, likely due to the fact that she was looking for a noble of some kind, or maybe it was an apology for taking her dog and killing her Family members. As she checked it out, however, she found a note that contained a description of the target, a useful item to have, causing her to seal the bag and add it to her pouch as she nodded her head, which seemed to appease the man, or allowed him to calm down. With that done she headed outside and closed the door before shifting into the disguise she had used a few moments ago, though with that done she made her way to the north, giving her time to study the agent's note on the target. She found that it was an Imperial noble who had light gray hair, elegant clothing, and was a lady, where the noble part meant she might have to deal with guards, an interesting challenge for sure, and once she finished taking in that information Amaryllis reverted to her true form, on the outskirts of the village, and headed for Solitude.

She found that it was far too easy for her to get inside Solitude, she just flew over the main gate, landed on the bridge she had used to escape the Emperor's tower, and turned into a female Imperial traveler before anyone noticed her, allowing her to take to the streets and start her search.

What surprised her was that she noticed a noble, who perfectly matched the description she had been given, just walking down the road from the Blue Palace, without any guards, which was just strange when she considered what was going on at the moment. Amaryllis observed for a few moments as the noble ignored the local beggar, in fact she appeared to be a little offended by his existence before ignoring him entirely, before she investigated one of the alleyways that was out of sight from most people. For a moment she had to wonder if her target was stupid or was a spy for someone else, either could be possible, though since her job was to kill people she focused on the task at hand and followed the noble into the alleyway, allowing her to slash open her neck and take her coins, to make it look like a mugging. With that done, in record time she guessed, Amaryllis returned to the street after cleaning her blade, finding that no one had noticed her at all, so she made her way to the beggar.

She had no idea what was up with him, other than being poor, though he didn't seem interested in money when she tried to use the noble's pouch as an offering of good faith, causing her to wonder what was up with him as he turned toward her and looked at her with his blackened eyes.

"The flame of my master burns low, and without him we are all lost and forever gray... please, someone must help us set things right!" the Bosmer stated, where Amaryllis had to wonder if he was insane or not, given his words, though she did notice a rather stunning female Bosmer who was focused on something else, "You! You'll help me! You help people, right? That's what you do?"

"What exactly do you need help with?" Amaryllis inquired, mostly to see if there was something she could do to help him out, since she had more time than she originally thought she might have, given that her target had been easier to take out and left her with some time to kill.

"My master has abandoned me! Abandoned his people... and nothing I say can change his mind." the Bosmer replied, to which Amaryllis felt a wave of sadness from the man in question, who seemed devastated by what was going on and the fact that his master seemed to be more interested in whatever he was doing right now, "Now he refuses to even see me, after everything I've done for him. He says I interrupt his vacation, even though its been many years since he departed... won't you please help?"

"How can I find your master?" Amaryllis asked, because that was the part that bothered her the most, as she had no idea where such a person might be hiding, though if he had seen his master recently, like he claimed he had, she was sure that the beggar could point her in the right direction.

"Last I saw, he was visiting a friend in the Blue Palace, but it wasn't someone as mundane as the Jarl." the Bosmer stated, a fact that was rather odd when Amaryllis thought about it, meaning there was a chance she might have found another of the Daedric Princes, though she switched back to the man being insane as he pulled out a male's hip bone, "No, ordinary people are below him, as he went into the forbidden wing of the palace, to speak with an old friend and have some fun... he told me that it has been ages since they had last had tea and just talked with each other. Oh, and you'll need the hip bone to reach my master's location... you can't enter the Pelagius Wing without that."

Instead of saying anything to that, since it was so weird to need a hip bone to do anything important, Amaryllis just took it and stuffed it into her pack without delay, something that was followed by her heading towards the Blue Palace without wasting any time. There were too many problems with this, such as the 'forbidden' wing and a possible Daedric Prince, to which she made sure no one was around as she altered her form, becoming a worker who would be reporting for duty for the first time. What was interesting was that none of the guards were nearby, allowing her to slip into the palace without anyone stopping her and enter the kitchen without delay, all while finding that the Jarl seemed to be meeting someone at the moment, an opportunity she didn't want to waste. Sure enough everyone saw her as a serving girl, which she was fine with, and she was pulled into training without much delay, as it gave her a chance to ask about the wing in question, due to the fact that Amaryllis figured it would take some time to find the key to open the door.

What she discovered was that one of them handed over the key without hesitation, though when the coast was clear she slipped over to the door and opened it, allowing her to slip into the Pelagius Wing in seconds, where she closed the door behind her and focused on what was in front of her.

Amaryllis found a large room that had a bunch of cobwebs and discarded silver goblets, not to mention some tables and benches that were resting all over the room she was in, before she found a path to her left that lead to a cluttered second floor, though she was the first one to touch anything. Such a thing meant that the man was insane, no one else had been here recently and, based on what the other serving girls said, no one else had come asking about the wing, meaning she had been tricked into doing something stupid. After checking the lower floor, and finding nothing of importance, Amaryllis headed up to the second floor for real and found a hallway that had to lead to another part of this wing, an empty part no doubt, but she checked out the surrounding area first. Once she was sure that there was nothing important for her to look at, and no signs of the beggar's 'master', she glanced at the hallway and started to head down it, figuring that she could take a look on the other side before leaving.

She paused as a surge of magical energy suddenly wrapped around her and caused the world to black out for a moment or two, though when it returned Amaryllis found herself in what appeared to be a garden area filled with trees, some odd clouds, a few stone arches, and a table that seemed out of place.

At the table sat a Breton male who happened to be dressed up in the attire of the Emperor, or at least one's casual attire based on what she was seeing, though the other was a male, of what humanoid race she had no idea since it was hard to tell for sure. Part of her was sure that he was also a Breton, who had white colored hair and wore a suit that was unique and split between two colors, the right side being purple colored while the left side was orange, like it was mad or maybe influenced by the Prince of madness. That was when she noticed something else, her armor had been replaced with what she assumed was some sort of noble attire, brown that reminded her of Jarl Balgruuf's Steward, Proventus, and she found that weapons were gone as well. In addition to that her pack was gone and, interestingly enough, her magic seemed far away at the moment, like this place nullified her powers and abilities, causing her to wonder if she was standing before one of the other Princes.

"More tea, Pelly my dear?" the odd Breton asked, where it looked like a few tea pots floated in the air around them while he said that, confirming Amaryllis' thoughts that he was the only one that could use magic in this space and that he had to be the one she had been sent to talk to, as she assumed that 'Pelly' was a nickname for Pelagius, where she found that the other figure shook his head as she noticed the food in front of them.

"Oh, I couldn't... it goes right through me." Pelagius replied, something that seemed odd to Amaryllis since she was sure he had been dead for some time, something that made her wonder about things as the figure focused on his host, looking as if something saddened him, "Besides, I have so many things to do... so many undesirables to contend with... naysayers, buffoons, detractors... why, my headsman hasn't slept in three days!"

"You are far too hard on yourself, my dear, sweet, homicidally insane Pelagius." the Breton said, showing that his opinion on the matter was entirely different than what the dead Emperor was thinking about, before he glanced at something for a few seconds, as if noticing something else, and then focused on his dead friend, "What would the people do without you? Dance... sing... smile... grow old? You're the best Septim that's ever ruled... well, except for that Martin fellow, but he turned into a dragon god, and that's hardly sporting... you know, I was there for that whole sordid affair. Marvelous time! Butterflies, blood, a Fox, a severed head... Oh, and the cheese! To die for."

"Um, pardon me, can I talk with you for a few seconds?" Amaryllis asked, where she was able to tell that the Breton had to be speaking of the Oblivion Crisis, given the fact that he named Martin Septim, the man who sacrificed himself to stop the near certain destruction of the world by Mehrunes' hands, while hoping that the pair wouldn't be upset with her coming to deliver a message, "I have a message fr..."

"How rude! Can't be left alone for a decade or two, to host an old friend and catch up with him... hm, maybe I should smite you, with a serious smiting." the Breton stated, his tone revealing that he was definitely annoyed with Amaryllis' presence and the fact that she was interrupting him while he was talking with Palegius, the dead Emperor disappearing within a few seconds of his host speaking up, before he snapped his fingers for some reason.

Amaryllis paused for a moment as she felt something odd happen to her body, like a bit of magic washed over her, where she raised her hands and watched as her fingers started to merge, changing shape into something new, before grinding to a halt when she had a pair of cow hooves. As her eyes widened, however, the sides of her head started to hurt as a pair of curved white cow horns grew out of her head, the tips pointed toward the sky, though it wasn't long before her ears hurt and she found them shifting position, resting below her new horns. Amaryllis barely had time to register what was going on as a small bit of pain washed over her tail and she turned her gaze toward it, finding that the hairs fell away and that it had thickened into a cow's tail, complete with an amethyst tuft at the end. The shock of being transformed against her will was preventing her from saying anything, as she couldn't believe what she was seeing and was shocked to find that none of her Changeling powers were working, meaning she shouldn't stop this if she wanted to.

As she considered what to do next, however, her body shook for a moment as white cow fur started to grow all over her, which came complete with a number of black spots that were scattered randomly all over her body, even though she felt one appear over her right eye. A few seconds later she felt an odd pressure in her breasts and watched in disbelief as they grew several sizes before her eyes, making them double what they had been before she came here, though they also felt different than what she was used to felling. She wasn't sure why she thought they were different, save for what was going on with her body, but before Amaryllis could even think about what it might mean she felt another part of her fall under the Prince's power and turned her attention to it immediately. In the following moment a pink mass grew out just below her abdomen, something that really stunned her when she laid eyes on it, because it was a cow's udder, which she quickly confirmed thanks to the four finger length tips that were attached to it, and it stopped when it reached her knees.

Once she saw that she knew what was going on: the Prince was transforming her into a cow for interrupting his vacation, despite her reasons for coming here in the first place, and she dreaded to wonder when he'd stop, as in would he leave her as a feral or twist her into a mockery of herself and a cow.

While Amaryllis considered that, and wondered what her fate might be, her breasts and her udder started to ache, where she had no doubts that they were being filled with milk, though the speed of which they were filling meant that she would be full in no time. When she tried to ignite her horn, so she could make an attempt to relieve some of the pressure, even if it meant milking herself like she was a cow, the Prince snapped his fingers and another surge washed over her body for a second or two. She quickly discovered what he had done, her Changeling horn and wings disappeared without a trace, just like the tales of what Discord did, though as she realized that she was now cut off from her magic she felt more changes starting to take hold of her. The next change was centered in her hooves as they shifted before her eyes, twisting into the hooves of a cow, though her legs also bulked up a little, which meant her muscles were being altered to help her carry her new weight, regardless of which form she ended up trapped in.

When she opened her mouth to object to what was going on, however, all she let out was a 'moo', just like a cow, which told her that the Prince was just messing with her, having a laugh at her expense while she was transformed into such an embarrassing form, since she'd never pick this herself. Of course as she took stock of her changes Amaryllis had to pause and wonder which route the Prince was going to take, as in would he leave her like this or force her into a feral state, just to punish her for the interruption. After that pain erupted from her face, where she watched as it pushed out into a cow's muzzle, complete with the tongue and nose, and all she could do was moo in protest, which fell on deaf ears as the Prince continued to alter her twisted body. Amaryllis could feel him tweaking both her breasts and her udder, likely forcing them to hold more milk before reaching their limit, though she could already feel small droplets wetting her attire, meaning she might start gushing soon.

As she considered all of that, and what it meant for her future, the divine being suddenly remembered something, what Amaryllis had no idea, and stopped twisting her body, though she remained silent as she waited to see what the Prince wanted from her, just to ensure she didn't anger him for a second time.

"Wait! You mentioned that you had a message for me?" the Prince asked, recalling what Amaryllis had said before he used his power on her, though with the loss of her vocal cords all she could do was nod her head, causing a smile to appear on his face, "Reeaaallllyyyy? Ooh, ooh, what kind of message? A song? A summons? Wait, I know! A death threat written on the back of an Argonian concubine... those are my favorite! Well? Spit it out, mortal. I haven't got an eternity... actually, I do... little joke. But seriously, what's the message?"

Amaryllis just stood there, surprised he had forgotten what he had done to her, before the figure realized his blunder and snapped his fingers, where she felt a change in her vocal cord area and quickly tested it, to be sure she could speak again, before answering the question.

"I'm sorry for barging in on your vacation, but all I was asked to do was come retrieve you from your vacation, as it sounds like your people are worried about you," Amaryllis replied, deciding to just answer the question and get this over with, as he might reverse the changes if she was lucky enough, but that didn't stop her breasts and udder from aching, which she was doing her best to ignore.

"Were you now? By whom?" the Prince inquired, though it appeared that he was having fun thinking about who could have asked her to come and retrieve him, something that reminded her of Discord again, before he jumped to his feet not a few moments later, as if he had come to a revelation of some kind, "Wait! Don't tell me! I want to guess! Was it Molag? No, no... Little Tim, the toymaker's son? The ghost of King Lysandus? Or was it... yes! Stanley, that talking grapefruit from Passwall... wrong on all accounts, aren't I? No matter! Honestly, I don't want to know... why ruin the surprise? But more to the point. Did you... a tiny, puny, expendable little mortal... actually think you could convince me to leave? Because that's... crazy. You do realize who you're dealing with here?"

"At this point, no, I don't think I could convince you to leave... not when your a madman, not to mention a Daedric Prince whose far more powerful than I am," Amaryllis answered, because after realizing that he was a Prince of Oblivion, not to mention seeing what he had done to her body, she knew that she was doomed to her fate as his toy, unless he released her from this place.

"Jolly good guess! But only half right. I'm a mad god... The Mad God, actually." the Prince stated, where Amaryllis started to realize who was standing on the other side of the table, given her knowledge on some of the godly beings that happened to be worshiped by the mortals of this world, though she remained silent as the figure beckoned to himself, "It's a family title... gets passed down from me to myself every few thousand years. Now you! You can call me Ann Marie, but only if you're partial to being flayed alive and having an angry immortal skip rope with your entrails! If not... then call me Sheogorath, Daedric Prince of Madness... charmed."

"Nice to, um, meet you." Amaryllis said, though at that point she realized something, if she didn't speak up she was going to be stuck in this realm with the soul of Pelagius the Mad, as he was called, and Sheogorath, one of the most dangerous and unpredictable Princes out of the Daedric Princes, to which she steeled her will for a moment, "Again, I'm terribly sorry for interrupting your vacation, but maybe you can call it off for a few days and head back to your followers, so they know you haven't abandoned all of them, and then come back to finish this vacation at a later date?"

"Now that's the real question, isn't it?" Sheogorath inquired, possibly referring to the part of her statement that involved him leaving this place and returning to the area that his followers were waiting in, the Shivering Isles, while ignoring most of what she had said, "Because honestly, how much time off could a demented Daedra really need? So here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to leave. That's right, I'm done. Holiday... complete. Time to return to the hum drum day-to-day... on one condition. You have to find the way out of here first... good luck with that."

"Okay... what's the catch?" Amaryllis asked, as she knew that the Princes always had something up their sleeves, given the trial that happened when she helped reforge Mehrunes' Razor, and there was no telling what Sheogorath might have in mind for her, which only worried her.

"Ha! I do love it when the mortals know they're being manipulated... makes things infinitely more interesting." Sheogorath said, his tone showing that he was definitely happy with her knowing that there was a catch to this, even though anyone would assume the same thing when dealing with a Daedric Prince, but Amaryllis said nothing as she listened to him, only to find that he beckoned to the area around them, "Care to take a look around? This is not, I dare say, the Solitude botanical gardens. Have you any idea where you are? Where you truly are? Welcome, my rude guest, to the deceptively verdant mind of the Emperor Pelagius III. That's right! You're in the head of a dead, homicidally insane monarch! Now, I know what you're thinking: 'can I still rely on my swords and spells and sneaking' and all that nonsense? Sure, sure. Or... you could use... the Wabbajack! Huh? Huh? Didn't see that coming, did you?"

The Wabbajack, as Amaryllis soon discovered, was a staff made out of some sort of black material, which might be either an otherworldly wood or ebony that was empowered by the Prince that was in front of her, with three gaping mouths that rested at the top. Based on what she was seeing the faces seemed to be trapped in a state of anger, why she had no idea and she wasn't about to ask about it's appearance, though based on what she could tell it was nearly her height, without her horn anyway, meaning someone could use it as a walking staff. As she thought about that Amaryllis knew that walking around with it would likely draw the attention of Sheogorath's followers to whoever had it, which she could do without as she considered what had happened to her earlier. The interesting thing was that it even appeared out of thin air after the words left the Prince's mouth, meaning it had to be a command statement, to summon it to wherever Sheogorath might be standing, and the figure seemed pleased with his handiwork.

That was when Amaryllis looked down at the hooves that had been her hands a few minutes ago and realized that she was in a bit of a pickle, there was no way she could hold onto things with these, not unless they were like the hooves of ponies from Equestria, causing her to turn her head towards Sheogorath again.

"Um, Lord Sheogorath? How am I supposed to use this?" Amaryllis asked, where she raised her new hooves for a moment, to show him that she didn't have the ability to hold onto the staff, because it wouldn't be a fair game if she couldn't carry it in some manner, "You took away both my hands and my magic, and without either of those I can't carry this staff, let alone use it to overcome whatever challenges might have been placed in Pelagius' mind."

As she suspected the Daedric Prince of Madness didn't seem to care about her situation, or at least it sure looked like that was the case, before he snapped his fingers and Amaryllis felt her main horn grow out for a second, creating a nub which happened to be a very small fragment that gave her an insignificant portion of her power back. She found that it was just enough to use and maintain a levitation spell, allowing her to lift the staff into the air and spin it without much problem, meaning she could tackle the trials now. As she thought about that, however, her body shuddered as she felt the amount of milk that was inside her breasts and udder increasing, pushing them to the absolute limit in a matter of seconds, which told her she had to be on the verge of gushing. Such a thing told Amaryllis that Sheogorath didn't like whiners, given that he expected her to obey everything he told her, but also let her know he was fairer than the other Princes, likely agreeing that being unable to carry and use the Wabbajack defeated the purpose of his challenge.

Once more she found that she was regretting even talking to the Bosmer that had asked for her help, given that it caused such an odd meeting to occur and a strange punishment to be given to her, and realized that if she knew his master was Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness, she wouldn't have helped him.

After thinking about that Amaryllis let out a sigh as she used her magic to grip the Wabbajack and caused it to float near her as she stared at the three arches for a few seconds, as there was no telling what was on the other side of all three, but, in the end, she picked the one on her left. As she started to walk, however, she started to deal with her changes, since her hooves were different from what she was used to and it slightly messed up her walk, something she was able to correct in no time at all. After that she had to think about the weight that had been added to her body, as her breasts were twice as large as they had been before coming here, though her true problem was with the udder she had grown, which threw her off as she walked and embarrassed her to no end. She wasn't too sure if she could add all of the milk to her problems, despite the sheer amount she could feel right now, though the aching feeling was rather annoying as well, not to mention it worried her about the potential leaking.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Sheogorath speak in her head, informing her of what was down the path she was talking down and mentioned Pelagius' mother wielded fear like a cleaver, or that she wielded a cleaver in life and that such a thing made people afraid. Such a thing told her that he could never get the facts of that particular story straight, or maybe he just didn't care which version was right, while also teaching her son a valuable lesson, that danger could come from anywhere and from anyone. She wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a hint for this obstacle she needed to take down, given Sheogorath's mad nature, but it was interesting to think about as she reached the end of the path, where she found a circular stone arena with a set of stairs leading to an upper level. Thanks to the additional weight it took her a few moments to walk up the steps, without falling to be exact, and when she reached the upper level she discovered that it was, in fact, an arena, with two elementals fighting each other as three people looked down at them.

One of the figures looked like a younger Pelagius, a young adult, while he was flanked by two guards in brass armor who seemed to be protecting him, though a quick look around the arena told her that there was nothing and no one else for her to worry about.

While she did that, however, Amaryllis felt a bit of pressure in her breasts and udder as the area around the tips became wet, at least for the former anyway, and glancing down at the stone floor revealed a few white droplets hitting the ground as she stood there. Such a thing caused her to sigh for a moment as she focused on the task at hand, or hoof she guessed, where Amaryllis used her magic to raise the Wabbajack and leveled it with one of the guards, allowing her to charge and fire a faint fist sized ball of energy. When it struck the guard she had targeted, however, it transformed him and the other guard into a pair of wolves that assaulted this part of Pelagius, where she heard Sheogorath mention that she was done with the first obstacle, which placed the man under the delusion that he was safe. Such a thing made her wonder if what she had done was truly helpful or not, though she succeeded in overcoming the challenge and that was all that mattered to her, causing her to turn and walk down the steps so she could focus on her other obstacles.

As she walked back to where she started, however, Amaryllis paused against her will as she mooed, which was followed by more milk starting to leak out of her breasts and udder, wetting her attire more than before, causing her to force herself to move so she could get this over with.

Once she returned to the center of this area it was easy for her to see that nothing had changed, as in Sheogorath was still sitting in his throne and was staring at the table in front of him, likely focusing on where his friend had been sitting before they were interrupted. Instead of engaging him Amaryllis headed for the arch that was right behind him, because she felt that it would be easier for her to go in a circular manner and not cut across the area, plus it allowed her to cut out any and all backtracking she might have to do. As she walked down it she learned that Pelagius had suffered from night terrors, an interesting fact that was likely in his books, and that she would have to deal with them to clear the obstacle, meaning she would have to deal with them to pass this trial. At the end of the path she discovered a clearing that had a lone bed with a younger version of the Mad Emperor resting on it, where he was likely a teen or even a kid, and when she got closer she found that it was definitely a child on the bed.

Since there was nothing happening around the area she was in, with no objects or enemies for her to interact with, such a thing told her that she had to focus the energies of the Wabbajack on the slumbering boy and she did so without delay, as she struck him with a blast and waited. Sure enough she discovered that a wolf suddenly appeared nearby and rushed at where Pelagius was resting, to which she did the best thing she could think of and struck the wolf with another blast from the artifact, which turned it into a well behaved goat that wandered to another part of the clearing. Such a thing told her all she needed to know, she had to 'activate' the sleeping avatar with the artifact to trigger the next terror and then use it to turn said terror into something safe, though she wasn't sure how turning a female bandit into a young boy was in the realm of 'safe'. The third terror was a hagraven that got turned into a lady wearing some revealing clothing, the fourth was a fire elemental that got twisted into a campfire, and the fifth was some sort of undead, wearing a robe of metal scales, that was turned into a treasure chest.

The undead happened to be the last one and she turned around once the slumbering avatar woke up, especially since she heard Sheogorath proclaim her success, though as Amaryllis walked back to the central area she mooed again as more of her milk hit the ground. Either she was being further punished for interrupting the vacation or this was her imagination messing with her, she honestly had no idea which idea was the truth right now, to which she forced herself to focus on her objective, the final challenge that needed to be overcome. As she walked, however, she found a black collar that suddenly appeared around her neck, complete with a fist sized brass cowbell attached to it with her name on it, which seemed to make no sound as she walked, so it seemed to just complete her new cow form. Amaryllis was embarrassed by it, though she couldn't say anything least Sheogorath twist her into a feral form, so she did her best to ignore her drenched shirt and her full udder as she focused on her objective.

As she walked down the third and final path that needed to be taken care of she learned that Pelagius had a fear of many things and that some of them being reasonable, such as assassins for example, while some happened to be a little odd, such as pumpernickel. Amaryllis barely had time to think about that as she reached a small clearing that had two versions of Pelagius in it, a large one that was surrounded by a red color and happened to be assaulting a small one that was white colored. Sheogorath revealed that Pelagius had a deep hatred for himself and it seemed like the scene in front of her was his anger beating up his confidence, not that she could tell for sure due to her lack of powers, before he revealed that her task was to bring the two into balance with each other. She considered it for a moment, to see if there was a trick to this or not, before discovering that all she had to do was blast Pelagius' Anger twice, shrinking it in no time, and then do the same to his Confidence, enlarging it to the point where the pair had switched heights.

That seemed to be how things were supposed to go, since the Prince told her she had succeeded, to which she headed back to the center of this realm and stopped at the table, ignoring the milk trail she left behind, though when she tried to speak she found that all she could do was moo.

"Do you mind? I'm busy doing the fishstick. It's a very delicate state of mind!" Sheogorath stated, informing her that he had been in the middle of something when she arrived, what she had no idea and she couldn't be bothered to care, though he also opened the flood gates and drenched her party attire, draining her breasts and udder as the milk gathered in an orb near him, "Now, rude mortal, I believe you were about to say something."

"Y... Yes. I've fixed Pelagius' mind," Amaryllis replied, where she came to the decision that it was best if she just ignored the changes to her body, which was rather hard because of the sensations she was feeling at the moment, and the games that Sheogorath was playing with her, and just focused on getting out of here, "now, about that exit."

"Hm... 'fixed' is such a subjective term. I think 'treated' is far more appropriate, don't you? Like one does to a rash, or an arrow in the face." Sheogorath said, showing that he disagreed with Amaryllis' choice of words, even though she was sure that if she said either of those words he would have found a way to disagree with her, meaning he was always right and all who argued with him were wrong, "Ah, but no matter. Heartless mortal that you are, and a rather one rude at that, you've actually succeeded in your quest and survived... I am forced to honor my end of the bargain. So allow me to offer you my congratulations! You're free to go!"

Amaryllis was happy to hear that, since it meant she could return to Skyrim and make sure she stayed as far away from all of his cultists, and possibly from the Mad Prince as well, before a familiar surge of energy washed over her and she found that the cursed form disappeared, returning her to her true form, just with larger breasts.

"However, your rudeness hasn't been forgotten, so I have given you a blessing and a curse... the latter will happen once a month, twice during my summoning month and the festival month," Sheogorath continued, showing her that he was still displeased with the fact that she interrupted his vacation, hence why she was being stuck with that cursed form, before he held up a hand, "I... have been known to change my mind. So... go. Really."

Amaryllis stood there for a moment, processing the information she had been given, as the Prince spoke about a couple of things, like how he knew that Pelagius always had it in him to become a 'boringly sane' individual, even though she knew he would likely change him back at a later date, and going over a list of things he had to check. It included his beard and his clothes, as if they might come alive or something and do their own thing, before wondering where he left his luggage, which turned out to be the madman who asked Amaryllis for help earlier, who was pleased about this event. Sheogorath, on the other hand, sent him along before informing her that, while she was rude, he was still extending an invitation for her to come to the Shivering Isles and that she was free to keep the Wabbajack, since he said 'just take the damn thing' in the seconds before banishing her back to the Blue Palace. In the following seconds she discovered that she was standing in the Pelagius Wing, in the hallway she had investigated, and that she was dressed in the now soaked party attire she had been forced to wear upon entering Pelagius' mind, while hear gear was inside her pack.

In that moment she quickly tore off the milk-stained clothing and hurled them down the hallway that was in front of her, before putting on her attire and headed for the door that would take her back to the Blue Palace, as it was time for her to put this madness behind her and return to her duties as the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood.