Waking Nightmare

"I've overheard two citizens of Dawnstar complaining about horrible nightmares. They seem to be relying on a priest of Mara named Erandur for assistance. Erandur has assured me he can end the nightmares, the source of which seems to be within Nightcaller Temple, a place of worship for Vaermina. I have agreed to assist him in this endeavor and we are now on our way."

- The Dragonborn

Objectives

 * Follow Erandur to Nightcaller Temple.
 * Speak to Erandur.
 * Follow Erandur.
 * Follow Erandur to the Library.
 * Speak to Erandur.
 * Locate The Dreamstride.
 * Speak to Erandur.
 * Follow Erandur to the laboratory.
 * Locate Vaermina's Torpor.
 * Drink Vaermina's Torpor.
 * Release the Miasma.
 * Disable the Magical Barrier.
 * Speak to Erandur.
 * Follow Erandur to the Skull of Corruption.
 * Defeat Veren and Thorek.
 * Speak to Erandur.
 * Wait for Erandur to dispel the barrier.
 * Murder Erandur or allow Erandur to complete his ritual.
 * Take the Skull of Corruption (optional).

Walkthrough
This quest is given after visiting Dawnstar and speaking to Erandur, who is in the Windpeak Inn. All the townsfolk are suffering the same nightmares and Erandur knows how to get rid of them. He wants the Dragonborn to travel with him to the Nightcaller Temple, which is just a short distance east of Dawnstar, to stop the nightmares.

The entrance to Nightcaller Temple is the home of frost trolls, usually three. Snow Bears, Ice Wraiths or Frostbite Spiders may be there instead, depending on the Dragonborn's level.

Inside, Erandur will need to cast a spell on the wall to proceed. In the next room there will be leveled invaders Orcs. When the barrier is reached, Erandur reveals himself as a former priest of Vaermina who ran away during a long-ago attack on the temple by vengeful Orcs. He became a priest of Mara and now wishes to resolve loose ends in the Temple.

In order to pass through the barrier it will be necessary to go to the library to find the book The Dreamstride. There will be Vaermina Devotees to fight along the way and inside the library. Upon locating the book, Erandur states that there is a way to pass the barrier, but it requires Vaermina's Torpor, a potion that allows the user to relive the memories of another.

The next stop will be the laboratory, where Vaermina's Torpor should be stored. There are some more invader Orcs and Vaermina Devotees that will need to be dealt with along the way. The Torpor is located on the shelf in the corner of the laboratory. It is next to three lit candles on the wall. When Vaermina's Torpor is located, Erandur instructs the Dragonborn to drink it and upon doing so, they become Casimir, a Vaermina Devotee during the Orc raid on the temple. Casimir is instructed to release the Miasma to protect the Skull.

After releasing the Miasma by pulling a large ring on a chain on the wall just to the left of the barrier, the Dragonborn will find themselves on the other side of the barrier, where they must collect the Soul Gem powering the barrier. Erandur remarks about what happened, and then proceeds to the inner sanctum.

As the inner sanctum is approaches, Veren and Thorek, the two Vaermina Devotees that told Casimir - the Dragonborn in the dream - to release the Miasma come out and after some short dialogue revealing Erandur to be Casimir, they become hostile. After the battle, Erandur casts a spell to destroy the Skull of Corruption.

Here the choice is to kill Erandur as Vaermina commands and take the Skull of Corruption or let him complete his spell to destroy the Skull. If he lives, he can be a follower for no charge.

Notable Loot

 * The Skull of Corruption.
 * Skill book Mannimarco, King of Worms, in the laboratory.
 * Unique book The Dreamstride.

Trivia
Getting between Erandur and the wall when he uses flames against it, stopping the flames from hitting the wall does not stop the passage from opening.
 * There is a large number of Alchemy ingredients (including two Daedra Hearts) that can be found in the laboratory. (If the temple is left after completing the quest, there will be no way to get back into the laboratory.)
 * High level potions scattered in the temple.
 * Most of the Vaermina Devotees carry alchemy ingredients as well.
 * There is an expert level chest behind a wooden door in the library.
 * In the final room, there is a treasure chest on the right hand side of the stairs leading to the Skull.
 * Outside, there is a chest on the backside of the tower (second tier).
 * A moonstone ore deposit on the left side at ground level.
 * The first room entered in the temple has a novice level chest on the right of the magic sealed door of Vaermina.
 * Semi-unique Vaermina Robes, worn by the Vaermina priests in the temple.
 * Novice Level Chest in the sleeping room.
 * Both Orc and Dark Elf blood can be collected here for the quest Discerning the Transmundane.
 * Using conjuration spells to resurrect the devotees and have them fight an Orc will generate unique dialogue.
 * If Erandur is talked to while he is suspended midair in front of the Skull will break the spell holding him up and the normal dialogue options will appear. Exiting the dialogue will restore the spell and suspend him n the air again.
 * After going through the Dreamstride, all of the loot respawns on the dead enemies.
 * If the Dragonborn is wearing Miraak's Robes while in the Dreamstride, despite viewing the memories of another person, the tentacle explosion of the robes will still trigger in response to being hit by an attack.
 * If over-encumbered before entering the Dreamstride, the Dragonborn will be over-encumbered when in the Dreamstride with no way to remove items.

Bugs
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