At the start of the mod, the player is tasked with finding a man named Nifram, but learns he is long dead, having lived centuries ago.

Basically, Nifram is said to be an ancient sorcerer who betrayed the town founder, Saint Ylldra.

The player actually encounters Nifram at the inn, but at the time, knows them only to be a basic bard, seemingly no different than a vanilla NPC.

While posing as a bard

Sorry, I don’t take requests.

I’m a bard, trained at the Bards College in Solitude. Wanderers like you should think about applying.

Yes?

How can I help you?

Hm?

What is it?

If it’s food and drink you want, talk to the innkeeper.

As a bard, I’ve heard many a tale in my life. I didn’t expect to find myself in one.

 

Quest Scene

A meeting of NPCs takes place. The bard stops by to interrupt, foreshadowing a later event

 

Excuse me, I just wanted to check in and see if you needed anything.

 

We’re fine, thanks.

 

Dream/Vision Scene 

In this scene, the player is looking at a past event through magical means.
Since this event is taking place in the past, none of the parties notice or acknowledge the player, who is immobile
Anyway, in the scene two characters are doing some exposition, and are interrupted by the bard in the same manner as the earlier quest scene.

 

(repeat line, no need to record again)
Excuse me, I just wanted to check in and see if you needed anything.

 

Thank you, but we’re fine.

 

Okay, well, let me know if you do.

 

More exposition is done between the 2 characters, and the scene is about to end, but in this instance, the bard comes downstairs a second time

 

I’m sorry to interrupt again, but are you sure you two don’t need anything?

 

We’re fine. Thank you.

 

Suddenly, the bard, while inside this vision turns to player and forcegreets them, acknowledging their existence

 

And what about you?

Wait, you can see me?
There is nothing on this island I cannot see, Stranded.
And you’re not supposed to be here. Not yet, anyway.

Don’t talk to me, you aren’t real. You’re just a memory.
Oh, I am quite real. It is you who doesn’t belong here. Not yet, anyway.

Yes, I would like to order a drink please.
I’m not here to deliver you a drink. And you aren’t supposed to be here at all. Not yet, anyway.

I picked the wrong time to stop drinking skooma.
This is the wrong time for you to even exist. You aren’t supposed to be here. Not yet, anyway.

But I see you have done your task. You have filled my pendant with Ylldra’s soul, as I hoped you would.
All that’s left for you to do is to return it to its rightful owner.
Meet me at the top of the hill, at the shrine to Ylldra, and come alone. We’ll speak more there.

 

Back in the present day, the player goes to the hill, and sees the bard, having not aged a day, looking at the statue of his former love, Saint Ylldra, the “divine protector” of the town

Don’t worry my love, I will see you soon.
(to player)

Thank you for bringing her back here. You have freed her heart and soul. All that remains now, is flesh and mind.

Who are you?
My name is Nifram. Centuries ago I was Ylldra’s most trusted adviser. And she, my greatest love.

How are you still alive?
That is a difficult question to answer, given where we are.
The island has the power to reanimate the dead. As such, it’s possible I died long ago. And yet, as I stand here now, who can say for sure?

Why did the villagers turn to ghosts?
Because they already were ghosts. Only now you see them for what they truly are.
They lived, once upon time, and died too soon. As such, they are bound to this island through longing, sadness, and regret.
But in an exchange for a second life, there is a cost. Their existence gives rise to a rot, that over time, consumes the island with death.

Is there a way to give them their bodies back?
Yes, but a great sacrifice must be made. A heroic deed. Just as Ylldra did herself, so many years ago.

Or so you’ve been led to believe. The reality is, there is nothing heroic about what happened to my love.

In truth, Ylldra was lost in her final years.
The more she learned about the island, the more she questioned her own existence.
She became obsessed with the idea that she was already dead, so she did the only thing she could to prove it. She took her own life.
I mourned her for a long time. Even now, I wonder what I could’ve done to save her.
What I didn’t know was how her death would change the island, and this village.

 

How so?
The island does not take without giving in return.
When Ylldra made her sacrifice, the years she lost were returned to the village tenfold.
The harvest became bountiful, and the ghosts regained their bodies.
Death stood at our doorstep, rotting the island, but never consuming it.
Some may consider this a worthwhile bargain. But it’s not a price I agreed to.

 

What can you tell me about this island?
I have thought for many years that the island itself is alive. But now, I’m not so sure.
Perhaps the island has compassion for mortals, and aims to heal the hearts and minds of those who have suffered loss.
Or, it could be this island is more like a machine. A smelter that turns ore into ingots, the dead into the living.

 

What is it you want?
What I’ve always wanted. To bring my Ylldra back to life.
But even with her soul free, she is as you saw. Just an echo, like the ghosts in the village.
There is a way, however, to return the dead back to their mortal form.
All it requires is a sacrifice. One life for the life of a village.

Who am I supposed to sacrifice?
One of your companions. In exchange, I will give you what you need to leave this island. A ferry token.

There’s no way I am sacrificing anyone.
I understand your hesitancy. To take a life is no small thing. But by doing nothing, you’ll be letting the lives of countless others expire.
Mortals who died before they ever had a chance to live.
There’s also the matter of your reward.

What happens if I do nothing?
Then Ylldra’s time expires, as do the fruits of her sacrifice.
The rot will consume the village, and the ghosts will fade from this plane. Perhaps then, those that remain will be free to leave.
But there is another way.

I could just kill you and see what happens then.
You could. But my fate is already sealed. Even if Ylldra is revived, my time with her will be brief.
What I do, I do for her.
In any case, perhaps I can appeal to your own needs, rather than the village’s.
If you do as I ask, I will give you a ferry token. A way off this island.

 

 

A ferry token would be worth it.
You don’t have to decide right away. I realize a decision like this takes time.
And remember, you need only choose one. With this offer, I hope to grant you what Ylldra never had when she made her sacrifice. Clarity.
Between the Bosmer and the half-blood, choose the companion you are willing to part with, and deliver them to me.
Or come with sword raised, and leave this island to die.
Either way, when you’re ready, pass through the gate to the west, and step through the portal.
It will transport you to the Temple of Jhunal. I will be waiting there for your answer.

 

I’ll find another way off the island. I’m not sacrificing my friends.
Then you damn the island to a purging.
I know that many of these souls were already dead. But think of their living counterparts, the ones who love them.
What is one life compared to the pain and sorrow you will give them?
And you need only choose one sacrifice. By giving you this choice, I am doing you a kindness.

 

Well, I could just kill you and take your ferry token too.
A token is useless without the ferryman to guide you. Still, when the purge is over, you may be able to leave without him.
But I warn you now, the cost may be the same.

 

Perhaps when this is over, I won’t need a ferry token to leave.
There is truth in what you say. When the purge is done and death consumes the island, the living will be allowed to leave again.
But I warn you now, the cost may be the same.

 

Why one of my companions?
I don’t mean to be heartless. I realize you’ve journeyed together, and fought together.
But the island’s gears cannot be greased with the blood of the old and indifferent.
A life must be taken far before its time. And a sacrifice must be made that merits the reward.

 

The player eventually meets Nifram at the final battle location

 

You’ve come. And you’ve brought your companions, good.
Only one is required for my Ylldra to return, and give life to the dead that now haunt your village. But you must choose.

I know what I want to do.
Very well.

I still need some time to think it over.
Return then, when you are ready.

Ending A

 

(If combat option chosen)

 

That is unfortunate. If you will not give yourself willingly, you leave me no choice but to take your lives by force.

 

Ending B

 

(if Lycan volunteers to sacrifice himself for Saint Ylldra)

 

I’m ready. What do you need from me?

 

All you need to do is touch the altar.

 

Understood.

 

(lycan gets attached to sacrificial pillar)

 

Wait, stop! There has to be another way!

 

I’m sorry, but it’s already done.

 

(Magic surrounds them, Lycan dies, and Saint Ylldra is revived, but in the purging flame Nifram is badly wounded)

 

Ylldra, is it really you?

 

You should not have brought me back. You took that Bosmer’s life, and for that, you must be punished.

 

I’m sorry, my love. I just wanted to see you again. Even if for a moment.

 

We never did get to say goodbye.

 

It’s all I ever wanted.

 

Then you shall have it. Rest now, my love. Your pain is over.

 

(kills Nifram)