Chapter 8: The Volkihar Dungeons.

Talis and Serana stepped back onto the grounds of Castle Volkihar. Talis glanced and saw two Vampires standing on the bridge. Another came out standing next to the two of them.

"Serana! Over here!" Talis said, running behind a rock. Serana quickly followed behind her.

Serana glanced from behind the stone at the three Vampires. "Garan, Vingalmo, and Orthjolf." Serana said.

"You know them?" Talis asked.

"Yeah. After my father banished you, Vingalmo and Orthjolf were assigned to be my 'personal guard.' It was probably just to keep his eye on the Scroll." Serana explained. "But, it seems now they're on guard duty…which is odd."

"How so?" Talis wondered.

"Usually, there is a old Nord slave on the watch." Serana told her. "I wonder if…"

They began to listen to the Mer and Nord Vampires. "This is a task meant for you, no a superior Vampire as myself." Vingalmo told Orthjolf.

"You, the superior Vampire? Ha! My powers are far beyond yours!" Orthjolf told the Altmer.

"Enough! Both of you!" Garan, the Dunmer Vampire said. "This is your punishment for allowing Serana to escape with the Elder Scroll."

Talis looked over at Serana, a smirk on her face.

"Hmm. They don't seem to notice us. Let's sneak past them." Serana said.

"Why can't we just take them out?" Talis asked.

"Do you want the entire Clan to come after us, my father among them?" Serana asked. Talis shook her head. "Good. Now follow me."

Talis dug into her knapsack and pulled out a pair of boots and handed them to Serana. "Here, take these. They have a Muffle enchantment."

The Vampire took them. "Thanks." She slipped them on. The two snuck by the west side of the Castle. They saw the old docks, guarded by a few Skeletons. "Nothing we can't handle."

"Nope." Talis said, her Greatsword Dovkaalkrine already drew. As Serana cast Ice Spike on her targets, Talis charged at hers and started slashing. She separated the spinal cord of one and turned to another. "FUS RO DAH!" She shouted the Skeleton apart. Talis looked at the door leading into the Undercroft.

Once inside, Serana took the lead. "We have company." Two Death Hounds ran up to them. Talis slashed at the dogs, taking both of them out. They saw another Vampire running toward them.

"Serana! Your father shall pay for what he did to me!" The Altmer Vampire said. Talis drew her bow and shot the Vampire.

"What was that about?" Talis asked Serana.

"If I had to guess, my father kicked her out of the Castle." Serana said. They continued on their way, opening the gate. "My father had traps installed into this passageway. He said it was to keep me safe, but I'm not sure if I still believe that."

They came upon a forked pathway. Then, a familiar sensation began to creep up Talis' spine. "Oh no. NO! NO! NO! NO! FUCK NO!" She began to shiver, despite the warmth from her armor.

"What?" Serana asked. She looked up and saw a web covered room behind bars. "Oh right. Your spider phobia." She remembered from the story Talis told her back at Northwatch Keep. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

"Usually, that's Tymvir's job." Talis said. The two Nords giggled a bit. Serana took the left path and disappeared. Talis stood there, waiting for the bridge to be dropped. She could hear the spider, a giant one judging from how loud it was, as it began to engage Serana. After a few moments the shivering stopped, and Serana appeared behind the bars.

"I took care of it. Wait there. I'm dropping the bridge." Serana told her. Talis heard her pull the lever. She saw the bridge drop. A few moments later, Serana met back up with her. They began to walk forward and found a door. "That leads into the Courtyard." Talis opened the door. The two of them stepped through the doorway and looked around. Talis saw Serana's face; a mix of shock and sadness. "What…what happened here?"

"Something that can't be stopped: time." Talis said.

Serana placed her hand on one of the trees. "Everything's been torn down... the whole place looks... well, dead. It's like we're the first to set foot here in centuries."

Talis was walking around toward the western wall. She saw something that caught her eye. "Serana, we are. Take a look at this." Serana ran up to Talis' side. The remains of an archway, covered in rubble and giant stones. "Looks like something your father might have done."

"Not might have done, he did." Serana said. "I told you, my father hated this place. And this pathway used to lead into the castle's great hall." She turned back around to her mother's garden. "I use to take walks in here after dinner. The garden was beautiful."

Talis placed her hand on Serana's shoulder. "I'm sorry about this. But we need to find your mother." The two began to search. Talis saw something gleaming in a small lake close to the ruined pathway. Walked over and picked it up. It was glass, cut in the shape of a half moon. "Hey Serana, what's this?" She held it up so the Vampire could see it.

Serana took a good look at it, and then she turned her attention to the dial in the center of the garden. "That's part of my mother's moondial." She took a quick look around the dial. "The Half, Crescent, and Full Moon crests are missing. Find the other two. That might give us some answers."

Talis began to look around. She walked to the other side of the garden and walked onto the balcony. By the table was the Crescent crest. "Found another one!" Talis called out.

"As did I." Serana held up the Full Moon crest. She was standing in a fenced off area where flowers were growing. They placed the crests back into their spots. The dial began to spin and revealed a secret passageway. "Very clever mother. I've never been down there, but I'm willing to bet they run underneath the Courtyard and through the tower ruins. Let's go." They entered into the Castle ruins.

They ventured through the ruins and fought off the Skeletons and Gargoyles that challenged them. Talis noticed a ruined statue of Mara. "I take it your father doesn't like Mara much."

"I did hear rumors that before we came, this castle was a temple of Mara." Serana said. In the final chamber, they took down the Gargoyles. Serana looked around the fire place. "This can't be a dead end." She looked around.

Talis began to search as well. She started jiggling a candlestick next to the fireplace. When she turned it, a passageway opened.

"Leave it to my mother. She's smarter than I gave her credit for." Serana said. They continued down the hallway into what looked like a large alchemy laboratory.

"Is this your mothers?" Talis asked. "If that's the case, she was one fucking busy bee." Talis walked by the structure in the middle of the room. "Something seems…familiar about this."

"Mother?" Serana called out. She looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. "She's not here."

Talis smacked the doorway. "Dammit. Did we come all this way for nothing?"

Serana looked over at the bookshelves close by. "Maybe not. There might be something that can tell us where she's gone." She walked over to bookshelf and began searching.

"What are you looking for?" Talis wondered.

"My mother's journal." Serana said. "I never saw her without it, even the last time I saw her when she sealed me away." She traced her fingers upon the ancient bindings of the books. Talis was surprised none of them turned to dust just by touching them. "Ahah! I found it!" Serana removed a book with red bindings from the shelf. She began to read it, and after a few moments, closed it. "By Ysmir's beard, she actually did it."

"Did what?" Talis asked, not knowing what in Oblivion she was talking about.

"My mother actually opened a portal to the Soul Cairn." Serana said.

Talis turned her head quickly back to the structure in the center of the room. "That's it! That's where I've seen this before."

"Now I'm the one who's confused." Serana said.

"Did I ever tell you about how I defeated Alduin?" Talis said.

"No, you've neglected to tell me that story." Serana told her.

"Well, Tymvir and I had to go to Sovngarde." Talis began to explain. "And in order to get there, we had to take a portal at an ancient fortress known as Skuldafn." She pointed at the structure. "This must be the portal to the Soul Cairn. All we need to do is open it."

"Well, how did you open the portal at Skuldafn?" Serana asked.

"We used Nahkriin's Staff." Talis looked at Serana, still with a confused expression on her face. "He was a Dragon Priest."

"Oh. Never did meet one." Serana said. "But, according to Mother's journal, that won't work. We need Finley Grounded Bone Meal, Purified Void Salts, some Soul Gem Fragments, and…ah, dammit. We need a sample of her blood. But since we're opening this to go find her, that won't work."

Talis thought for a moment. "Well, wouldn't you're blood work?"

Serana snapped her fingers. "That could work. We're back on track. C'mon. You get the ingredients, and I'll prepare the portal."

As Talis was gathering the ingredients, she took another look at the portal. She remembered the battles at Skuldafn; the Draugr, the Dragons, and Nahkriin. She also remembered the ones she considered abominations of Mephala. The ones Tymvir took care of. "Wonder what he's up to right now?"

Back at Fort Dawngaurd…

Tymvir sat at the long table in the dining area of Fort Dawnguard with a quill, an inkwell, and a blank book. He was going to start writing about his and Talis' adventures in the Dawnguard, but he then got to thinking Isran might not like it, giving how secretive the Dawnguard is. So, he took out a book he found called The Aetherium Wars by Taron Dreth.

"Hmm. Arkngthamz seems like an interesting place." He placed the book back in his satchel. Dexion took a seat next to him. "Sleep well, Dexion?"

"Yes, thank you." The Imperial said. "What were you reading?"

"The Aetherium Wars." Tymvir replied. Sorrine and Gunmar took seats across from them. Gunmar placed a goblet of water in front of Dexion.

"So Tymvir, can I ask you something?" Sorrine said. Tymvir nodded. "You and Talis live together in Whiterun, correct?"

That caught Tymvir off guard. Knowing Sorrine, he assumed she was going to ask about something related to the Dwemer. "Well…yes. How did you know?"

"Talis and I talked on the way. Though, if you ask me, you should have at least married her first." Sorrine said.

"Hey, it's her house! She asked me to move in." Tymvir said and sighed. "Besides, I was going to." He dug into his armor and pulled out an Amulet of Mara.

"So what happened?" Gunmar asked.

"Vampires happened." Tymvir answered, placing his amulet back. "I know they were bloodsucking monsters, but I didn't know they were also such cockblockers." The Dawnguard members began to laugh. They then heard a small clang. They turned and saw Dexion's goblet lying on the ground. Tymvir noticed Dexion's hand shaking. "Dexion? Are you alright?"

"It…it's so dark in here all of the sudden. Did something happen to the fire?" Dexion asked. The fire was still burning.

Tymvir held up a folded fist. "Dexion, how many fingers am I holding up?"

Dexion looked at Tymvir and squinted. "Th…three?"

Tymvir was silent for a moment. "Dexion, I wasn't holding up any fingers." That's when Tymvir remembered something he read when he and Talis went to fine their first Elder Scroll. It was in the book The Effects of the Elder Scrolls. "Oh no. It's happened."