

Leonardo DiCaprio steals every scene he's in as the Kid, brash and cocky and looking to impress someone important. Russell Crowe plays a murderer-turned-man of the cloth, forced to play Herod's game at the point of death. The Lady plans on joining the contest and putting a bullet into Herod, fair and square, but her revenge plan gets complicated as she runs across a host of colorful characters, each with their own reason for joining this twisted contest. As you can guess by the title, whoever doesn't win ends up dead. When the swarm of insects disappears, you'll be treated to a mushroom-laden landscape and a new quest called Through the Fringe of Madness.See, Herod is the mayor of Redemption, and he's hosting a tournament where the baddest desperadoes in the land will square off in the street and find out who's the quickest draw. Agree and Haskill will exit the room just as the walls transform into hundreds of butterflies. Once seated, he introduces himself as Chamberlain to the Lord Sheogorath and explains that the door behind him leads to the realm of Sheogorath, or, to some, the "Prince of Madness" and "Lord of the Never-There." Sheogorath is currently looking for a mortal to act as his Champion, and Haskill offers you the chance to assume that role if you feel up to the task. Haskill is willing to speak with you, but he requires that you take a seat at the table first. You'll appear in a small, dark room containing only a table, a clock, a book called The Madness of Pelagius, and a man named Haskill. Put aside your fears and charge through the portal into The Fringe.

A voice calls out stating that you're unworthy (and then goes on to welcome you to the isles, as it's the "perfect time" for a visit). Once Belmyne has been put down, Gaius approaches you and recommends that you don't go near the doorway as "nothing that's gone in has come out right." Obviously that's not an option if you want to get your money's worth out of the expansion, so cast aside the guard's warning and make your way up to the doorway. You can help fend off the lunatic if you want, though the guard shouldn't have any problem dispatching him on his own. As you approach the portal itself, another NPC named Belmyne Dreleth will return from the other side in a crazed state. The guard refuses to speak to you at the moment, since he's busy checking out noises that have been emanating from the doorway. The Khajiit has lost her mind (presumably by traveling through the door and back again), so she doesn't have much to say to you. There are two NPCs standing outside of the portal - a guard named Gaius Prentus and a Khajiit woman named S'fara. Take a quick swim to the island in the center of the bay and you'll discover a creepy three-headed monument with a swirling blue portal in the mouth of the central face. Niben Bay lies east of Bravil, so you'll either want to fast-travel to the Bay Roan Stables or Fort Grief to shorten the amount of time it's going to take you to investigate the doorway. Shortly after installing Bethesda Softworks' Shivering Isles expansion pack, you'll receive a journal entry claiming that a strange doorway has appeared on a small island in Niben Bay.
