Beyond Death, Pt. III: Soul Cairn

Desmond paced around the study, running each scenario through in his mind. Serana was sitting quietly by the vessel that had opened the Soul Cairn, watching him circle around as he murmured to himself.

"So."

"Mm?" Desmond's head snapped up from where he had paused to stare at a pile of mountain flowers on a table.

"Tell me about your orphanage."

"What?" He shrugged, confused. "Awful. Heartless old hag runs the place, refused to let any of us be adopted. No one cared."

Desmond resumed his pacing, and Serana fell silent again. She had been trying to engage him in friendly conversation for the past quarter hour, perhaps trying to take his mind off the decision. But how would that help him?

"Are you sure—"

"If there was something else we could do, I would say so," Serana assured him. "Trust me, if I knew a better way..."

They fell silent again. Desmond resumed his pacing, battling with two equally awful scenarios.

Desmond picked up his bag and crossbow from the floor by the entryway, tossing Serana her pack.

"Have you made up your mind?" she asked, slinging it over her shoulder.

Desmond nodded resolutely. "Soul trap me," he said. "I won't feel right as a vampire."

"Are you sure?" Serana asked. "I'm willing to do it, but you need to think it through. You'll remain mortal, but you'll be weakened while we're in the Soul Cairn."

"But I'll be fine when we come back, right?"

Serana opened her mouth, then closed it again.

"Right?"

"...No promises."

Desmond bit his lip, swallowing curses.

"I'm sorry—"

"Do it," he told her. "Look, j-just do it, ok?"

"I know this is difficult for you, I hope you trust me."

"Don't worry about it, just... let's go, all right?" Desmond pleaded. "Before I freak out and decide not to go."

"Ok. I promise to make this as painless as possible," Serana said. "Hold still..."

Desmond squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for whatever was to come. There was a violent jerking feeling, and a harsh pinching sensation somewhere deep in his chest. "OW!"

"Let's go," Serana said quickly, tossing the soul gem into the portal. It flashed a brighter shade of purple for a split second. "My mother is waiting on the other side of that thing."

"Right... yeah," Desmond said, rubbing his chest and following her in.

The Soul Cairn felt lonely.

A soft purple glow blanketed the world of the Soul Cairn, muting the colors of their clothes and skin. What Desmond assumed to be souls wandered in and out of sight, none of whom were smiling. Desmond shook his head subconsciously, repulsed and scared.

"You think a vampire would be right at home in this place," Serana said quietly. "You'd be wrong. Let's just find my mother and get out of here. Quickly."

"Yeah. This is awful," Desmond said, following her down the stone steps to a path.

"The air, the ground... this is all wrong," said a voice as they passed a soul sitting on a tall boulder. They followed the path, listening to the damned souls who were trapped in the Cairn. "Get out while you can."

"This place is horrible," Desmond said, watching the souls weave on and off the path. "I would never want to be trapped here for hundreds of years. Your mother is clearly a strong woman."

Serana nodded solemnly. "I feel terrible for the dead who end up here for eternity. Seems awful, like they're still suffering."

"No kidding."

"You!" A soul called out to them, scrambling to his feet and approaching them. "Please—"

"We can't take you with us," Serana said quickly.

"No, no, I know, but—!" The soul appeared Breton, elderly and frail. "Please, I must know, you must tell me—"

"Slow down," Desmond said, both confused and shocked. "I don't know how to help."

"Does Mannimarco live?" asked the soul. "Mannimarco, the King of Worms, does he yet live?"

"Wha—who?" Desmond asked, now thoroughly perplexed. "I've never heard of him."

Undeterred, the soul kept speaking. "What about the University?"

"The College? In Winterhold?"

The stranger shook his head, "No, no! In the City! The Imperial City, the University, my University, what has become of it?"

Desmond frowned, shaking his head. "That hasn't been around since... a long time. I think."

The soul went quiet, trying to process this. "How long has...? Then she failed?"

"Who?"

The soul shook his head. "My, I, we made a plan to kill the King of Worms and she, I trusted her with my University. I gave her the Archmagistry."

"Desmond, come on," Serana said quietly, trying to tug him along. He shook his head as something clicked in his mind.

"You don't mean Ami, do you?" he asked. "Amelie Rose?"

The soul's face lit up. "YES! Yes, what has become of her, of the University, what has happened? Tell me!"

Desmond grasped for words, not sure what exactly to say. "Well... I don't know, I wasn't there, but the University kind of fell apart after she died. Kind of. But she did, er, whatever you needed her to. She was Archmage for..." He plucked a number from thin air. "Ten years? Twenty, maybe? I don't know."

"How much time has passed?" the former Archmage demanded.

"Probably been about two hundred years since you were last on Tamriel," Desmond guessed. "Or thereabouts."

The soul fell back into silence as he processed everything Desmond told him. Serana nudged Desmond with the toe of her boot.

"Yeah." Desmond nodded to her, speaking one last time to the poor Archmage. "Listen, we, er... we have stuff to do here. I'm really..."

The soul forced a quick smile. "Thank you, my boy. You've given an old man the closest thing to peace in this wretched place."

"So... who was that?" Serana asked, tugging Desmond along the path.

"I don't know."

They wandered aimlessly for a while, hopelessly lost and with no direction. They encountered dark skeletons who fired arrows from a distance and were no major threat, continuing down the path in uneasy silence.

"Do you remember what she looks like?" Desmond asked.

"Of course I do."

"Where do you think—"

"If I knew, we wouldn't be wandering around like idiots."

They fell silent again, following the path out of habit. If nothing else, they could always follow it back to the stairs and regroup.

A towering figure rose from the ground, a flow of black smoke where its head ought to have been. It wore armor made of bones and swung a mace at them, catching them off-guard. Desmond fumbled for his crossbow, Serana pitching a handful of fire at it. She dodged a blow from the mace, retaliating with a shower of frost that the Keeper seemed only to shrug off. Desmond fired a bolt into its shin, watching it burst into a puff of smoke and gelling into a ball of goo on the ground.

"Gross."

"Is that what we're all made of?" Desmond asked, grimacing at the pile of gunk on the ground. "Soul goo?"

"I'd rather not think about it."

Lightning flashed in the swirling storm clouds above as they came up to a tall stone structure, more a wall than a castle. A barrier of glassy magic separated them from the door, prompting Desmond to turn around.

"Who's there?"

Serana yanked him back towards the barrier. "Mother? Mother!"

"Maker... it can't be. Serana?" An older woman dressed in the same royal armor as Serana approached the barrier from the other side, fear in her eyes.

"Is it really you?" Serana nearly ran into the barrier in her excitement. "I can't believe it! How do we get inside? We have to talk!"

"Serana, what are you doing here? Where's your father?" Valerica demanded.

"He doesn't know we're here, I don't have time to explain—"

"I must have failed. Harkon's discovered a way to decipher the prophecy, hasn't he?"

Desmond hung back, uncomfortable with these sorts of reunions. It was always awkward, seeing long-lost friends and family reunite and having no comparable experience of his own.

"No, you've got it all wrong. We're here to stop him, to make everything right," Serana said.

"Wait a moment." Valerica turned her gaze from her daughter and looked towards Desmond. "You've brought a stranger here? Have you lost your mind?"

Serana looked momentarily confused. "Wha—? No, you don't—"

"You. Come forward," Valerica commanded. "I would speak with you."

Desmond shuffled forward to the barrier, somehow more intimidated by Valerica than he had been by Harkon. "Yes, ma'am."

"So. How has it come to pass that a vampire hunter is in the company of my daughter?" Valerica snapped at him. "It pains me to think you'd travel with Serana under the guise of her protector in an effort to hunt me down."

Desmond frowned. "Ok. No, she doesn't need my help to keep safe," he said. "And besides that, I'm the one who pulled her out of Dimhollow where you shoved her and left her for centuries, so who's throwing stones with foolish plans here?"

Valerica glowered at him. "I find your choice of words quite interesting, considering that Serana is in far more danger now than she was while she was following my foolish plan."

"How's that, then?"

"Serana has sacrificed everything to prevent Harkon from completing this prophecy, I would expect her to have explained that to you."

"Right," said Desmond. "We're here for the Elder Scroll."

Valerica was not impressed. "You think I'd have the audacity to place my own daughter in that tomb for the protection of her Elder Scroll alone? The Scrolls are merely a means to an end. The key to the Tyranny of the Sun is Serana herself."

Desmond fought to suppress a groan, utterly fed up with the endless twists the prophecy threw at them. "And what does that mean?"

"When I fled Castle Volkihar, I fled with two Elder Scrolls," Valerica explained, pacing around in a small circle. "The Scroll I presume you found with Serana speaks of Auriel and his arcane weapon, Auriel's Bow. The second scroll declares that the blood of Coldharbour's daughter will blind the eye of the dragon."

"That doesn't answer my question. How does Serana fit in here?" Desmond asked.

"Like myself, Serana was a human once. We were devout followers of Lord Molag Bal."

Desmond scowled. Maybe Martin was right, Daedric worship was everywhere. It seemed that everyone he met was mixed up in it.

"Tradition dictates the females be offered to Molag Bal on his summoning day," Valerica went on. "Few survive the ordeal. Those that do emerge as a pure-blooded vampire. We call such confluences the Daughters of Coldharbour."

Desmond shook his head. "Ok. Fine. So you're telling me Serana did this of her own free will?"

"It was expected of her, just as it was expected of me," Valerica said coldly. "Being selected as an offering to Molag Bal is an honor. She wouldn't have dared turn her back on that."

"That's not what I asked—"

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Serana shook her head. "Desmond, just... forget it."

"So you're telling me the Tyranny of the Sun needs Serana's blood, is that what I'm understanding?" Desmond asked, obediently changing tack.

"Now you're beginning to see why I wanted to protect Serana, and why I've kept the other Elder Scroll as far from her as possible."

"I'm guessing this isn't a prick on the finger we're getting at here," Desmond said. "So Harkon really means to kill her?"

"If Harkon obtained Auriel's Bow and Serana's blood was used to taint the weapon, the Tyranny of the Sun would be complete. In his eyes, she'd be dying for the good of all vampires," Valerica told them.

"I knew he was bad news, but..." Desmond cast a glance at Serana. Her expression was unreadable. "Look, we're not gonna let that happen."

"And how exactly do you plan on stopping him?" Valerica asked.

"Kill Harkon," Desmond said simply. "That's been the plan from day one, I don't see a reason to change it."

"If you believe that, then you're a bigger fool that I originally suspected. Don't you think I weighed that option before I enacted my plans?" Valerica snapped at him.

"So what's Serana's opinion in this?" Desmond shot back.

"You care nothing for Serana or our plight!" Valerica shouted. "You're a vampire hunter at heart. You're here because we're abominations in your mind, evil creatures that need to be destroyed!"

"I AM a vampire hunter!" Desmond yelled at her. "I'm not about say that I'm not, but I don't need you to trust me when you can trust Serana! Because she came to me!"

Valerica visibly deflated a bit. "Serana?"

Desmond's eyes darted to Serana for a moment, then back to Valerica. Serana stepped forward, drawing her mother's attention.

"I did."

"This stranger aligns himself with those who would hunt you down and slay you like an animal, yet I should entrust you to him?" Valerica asked.

"This stranger has done more for me in the brief time I've known him than you've done in centuries!" Serana pointed out.

Stung, Valerica's face contorted into a violently disarming frown, fangs flashing as she yelled. "How dare you! I gave up everything I cared about to protect you from that fanatic you call a father!"

"Yes, he's a fanatic. He's changed, but he's still my father!" Serana shot back. "Why can't you understand how that makes me feel?"

Desmond stepped back from the argument, biting his lip. Was killing Harkon still on the table? Even if his knowledge of the situation was still somewhat limited, killing Harkon seemed to be the only way out. If Serana wasn't on board with it... He let them argue it out, unwilling to get in the middle of their fight.

Finally, Valerica relented. "If you want the Elder Scroll, it's yours."

Serana turned to shoot him a quick smile, waving him back over. Both vampires appeared worn out by the argument, but at least it seemed Serana had come out on top. "Great, then. Let's get out of here."

"Your intentions are still somewhat unclear to me," Valerica added to Desmond. "But for Serana's safe, I'll assist you in any way that I can."

"Good. Do you have the Elder Scroll with you?" he asked.

"Yes. I've kept it safely secured here ever since I was imprisoned. Fortunately, you're in a position to breach the barrier that surrounds these ruins."

"All right. How?"

"You need to locate the tallest of the rocky spires that surround these ruins," Valerica directed, pointing to the spires. "At their bases, the barrier's energy is being drawn from unfortunate souls that have been exiled there. Destroy the Keepers that are tending them, and that should bring the barrier down."

Desmond cracked a smile, and Serana visibly perked up at this news. "Excellent, I think we got one on the way over. All right, we'll be back," he said, turning to the farther of the two remaining spires.

"One more word of warning," Valerica added quickly, before they could leave. "There's a dragon that calls itself Durnehviir roaming the Cairn. Be wary of him. The Ideal Masters have charged him with overseeing the Keepers, and will undoubtedly intervene if you are perceived as a threat."

Desmond fought off the urge to laugh. "Dragons don't scare me," he said confidently, heading off down the stairs.

Serana followed, shaking with silent laughter. "Way to make an impression," she said, once Valerica was well out of earshot. "Dragons don't scare me..."

"They don't!" Desmond said. "Out of everything we've seen on this crazy adventure, running into a dragon would be the least of my worries."

"You're ridiculous."

They walked off the path, advancing towards the spire.

"How do you feel?" Desmond asked carefully. "After talking to Valerica?"

"Relieved. I think," Serana said. "All those things had been building for a while, you had no idea how long I've been wanting to say that to her."

"I could kinda tell." Desmond fired a bolt into a skeleton's skull, watching bones scatter everywhere. "So why did you go along with her plan in the first place?"

"Look. I loved my father," Serana said, "but when he found that prophecy, that became his life. Everything else, even me and my mother... we just became clutter. I was close with my mother, but she just kept feeding me her opinions of him, and eventually I started believe them."

"Yeah, she doesn't seem too fond of him," Desmond agreed, wondering in the back of his mind how two such disparate people ever came together in the first place.

"The moment we gave ourselves to Molag Bal, things got really icy between them," Serana said. "They were both drunk with power and pulling in different directions. Then they found that prophecy, and that was it."

"Leaving you stuck in the middle."

"Yeah. Honestly, it took me up until now to figure out that my mother was just as bad as he was. He was obsessed with power, she was obsessed with seeing him fail. It was just so... toxic," Serana concluded. "Maybe I could have seen this coming, we could all be better off."

"You? They were both being selfish!" Desmond pointed out.

"Oh, they definitely were." Serana conjured a ball of fire to pitch at the second Keeper before it could raise a battleaxe in defense. "I just wonder if that meant it was my job to be giving."

"I think you're overthinking it," Desmond said, firing a bolt into the Keeper's stomach. "You're fine."

"So tell me more about your dragon-hunting days," Serana said, sending another ball of fire at the Keeper. It exploded into another pile of sticky goo, surrounded by armor. "What makes a vampire scarier than a dragon?"

"You can see dragons coming, for one thing." Desmond looked around the horizon, finding the last spire. "Besides, dragons aren't really my thing."

"Excuse me? Are you joking? Mr. I-Punch-Dragons-To-Death?"

"It's all Martin's fault anyway, he can tell it better than me," Desmond said, laughing. "Come on, let's go."

"You think we'll ever meet the Ideal Masters?" Desmond asked, kicking the final Keeper's helmet off his shoe as they set off back towards Valerica's fort.

"I don't think anyone's ever met them," Serana said. "I'm not even sure anyone knows what they look like. They could be underground, flying above us... they might be the ground, I have no idea."

"Why are they collecting all these souls?" Desmond asked, passing by another small congregation of lost souls. "Gotta be for something."

"There are lots of theories. Some say they feed on them like I feed on blood, others think they use them as payment to an even higher power, almost like a currency."

"A really strange, dead currency."

"Yeah." Serana found the path first, waving him over to it. "Whatever they're doing with them, they've been harvesting for millennia. No telling how many souls are actually trapped here."

"Why would a necromancer want to deal with them?"

Serana laughed. "Look around. There are some extremely powerful undead here. Even a necromancer as seasoned as my mother would be willing to spend years trying to gain access to them."

"Summon them, you mean?"

"Exactly. It's a lost art," Serana said. "Most necromancers just raise up whatever bodies are nearby."

"Like you do?"

"A simple trick, really. Child's play. But bringing something from the Soul Cairn gives you something much more powerful to work with."

Desmond fell silent, thinking on all this. On the whole, he'd feel much better if necromancy died out entirely. "Sera, please don't ever necromance me."

"Fine."

"What do you mean, fine, it's my dying wish!" Desmond shot at her.

"Your dying wish is not to be brought back to life?"

"My dying wish is to stay dead, all right?"

Serana shrugged. "All right, fine."

Desmond took the steps up to Valerica's door two at a time, anxious to get the Elder Scroll and leave.

"You managed to destroy all three Keepers?" Valerica asked, leaning over an alchemy table. "Impressive."

"Can you give us the Scroll now?" he asked.

"Yes. Please, follow me. Keep watch for Durnehviir," she instructed, leaving her potions behind to go deeper into the fort. "With the prison's barrier down, he's bound to investigate."

"So this is a prison?" Desmond asked. "How'd you get stuck here?"

"When I entered the Soul Cairn, I had intended to strike a bargain with the Ideal Masters, the custodians of this place," Valerica said. "I requested refuge here, and in exchange I would provide the Ideal Masters with the souls they craved. If I had foreseen the value they placed on my own soul, I would never have come here."

"They tricked you?"

"The Ideal Masters unleashed their Keepers and sent them to destroy me. Fortunately, I was able to hold them at bay and retreat into these ruins."

"And then you got stuck here?"

Valerica pushed open the door leading into the fort. "Unfortunately, yes. Since the Keepers weren't able to claim my soul, they had their minions construct a barrier I would never be able to breach."

Desmond's jaw dropped as they entered the empty boneyard within. "Wait, so you've been here this whole time?"

"Time has very little meaning to me," Valerica assured him. "Consequently, it has little meaning to the Ideal Masters as well. I suppose you could call it the ultimate waiting game."

"Come on," Serana said, nudging him. "Let's just get the Scroll and go."

"Yeah—"

The unmistakable roar of a dragon rang around the ruins, echoing off the stone and prompting Desmond immediately to draw his crossbow and look up. Serana's eyes had gone wide.

"I hear something."

"I hear it too," Desmond said, "I know that sound."

"It's Durnehviir," Valerica confirmed. "He's here! Defend yourselves!"

Desmond tracked the dragon, watching him circle lower and lower towards the boneyard. Pieces were missing from his wings, his skin and scales a mottled grey color that gave the impression of a dragon made of dust. Desmond fired off a bolt, Durnehviir's flight skewing to the side as it landed in his neck.

"Get it on the ground!" Serana shouted, a spear of ice just barely missing Durnehviir's head.

Desmond fired again as Durnehviir skidded to the ground, dirt and dust flying as his claws dug into the earth. Serana sprinted out of the way as the dragon roared, fire spewing from his mouth.

"FUS RO DAH!" Desmond yelled, half-hoping something would happen. Nothing did.

"What are you doing?" Serana demanded, throwing a handful of fire at Durnehviir's wing. "Quit it, we've gotta kill this thing!"

"Right, it—yeah, never mind—!" Desmond yanked back on his crossbow, loading another bolt as Durnehviir rounded on him and reared back his head. A bolt of lightning came from nowhere as Valerica carefully aimed and fired, giving Desmond enough space to dive out of the way of another blast of fire.

He rolled onto his side and fired, piercing through Durnehviir's neck and hearing another guttural roar. The dragon turned, his claws gouging deep gashes into the ground as he bore down on Desmond.

"No, no no-!" Desmond seized hold of one of the scales on Durnehviir's face and swung himself up, wrenching the scale to the side with all his might. Durnehviir roared as the scale came loose, parting company with the dragon's mottled skin. Desmond pulled a bolt from his quiver, jamming it into the exposed skin as far as it would go.

He vaulted off the dragon's head and swung his fist around, his gauntlets colliding with Durnehviir's bony jaw. There was another great roar as Desmond tumbled to the ground. Durnehviir's wings rose, and then fell again. The dragon came crashing to the ground beside Desmond, the skin and scales disintegrating into nothing.

"You're ridiculous." Serana approached them, offering Desmond a hand up with a grin on her face. "You know that?"

"Told you dragons don't scare me." He accepted the help, offering Serana the dragon's scale. "Check it out—!"

The scale melted into dust, disintegrating with the rest of the dragon.

"Thanks?"

"Sorry," said Desmond, disappointed. "Normally we get to keep them." As he looked back over his shoulder, he saw the skeleton vanishing as well. He supposed that, without anyone to absorb it, the dragon's soul just disappeared. "Huh. So that's what happens."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, never mind."

Valerica had her arms crossed, watching them talk. "Forgive my astonishment," she said, "but I never thought I'd witness the death of that dragon."

"What makes you say that?" Desmond asked. "Dragon hunting's easy." Serana kicked him, he elbowed her in return.

"Volumes written on Durnehviir allege that he can't be slain by normal means. It appears they were mistaken. Unless..." She broke off.

"What?"

"The soul of a dragon is as resilient as its owner's scaly hide. It's possible that your killing blow has merely displaced his physical form while he reconstitutes himself."

Desmond shrugged. "That's... oh. That would explain something. How long do we have, you think?"

"Minutes? Hours? Years? I can't even begin to guess." Valerica waved for them to follow her deeper into the boneyard. "I suggest we don't wait around to find out."

"Good idea."

Desmond and Serana followed Valerica to a dusty old chest. She opened it, revealing the Elder Scroll they had come all this way for. Desmond took it, in awe of what it actually looked and felt like. It was big, heavy, and rather imposing for a piece of paper. Although, he supposed, it was much more than just a piece of paper.

"You must be on your way," Valerica said. "If there's anything I can do for you before you depart, you must let me know."

"Oh, hey—!" Desmond reorganized all his things, making sure his crossbow wouldn't accidentally fire into the Elder Scroll that now hung on his back too. "Can you help me get my soul back?"

Valerica stared at him, frowning. "What?"

"I didn't become a vampire to get here, so... can I get my soul back?" Desmond asked. "Or is that...?"

"So Serana applied some of the lessons I taught her about necromancy, did she?" Valerica guessed.

"Yeah. They got us this far," Serana said. "But I wasn't really sure if there was a way to make him whole again."

"Don't worry. I think I can help you." Valerica oriented them towards the door, her hands paused in midair as she thought of directions. "Your soul essence was trapped inside a gem. When you and Serana entered the Soul Cairn, it was given to the Ideal Masters as payment. You simply need to retrieve the gem. The moment you touch it, your soul essence will be restored."

"Where do I find it?" Desmond asked, enormously relieved.

"There's an offering altar not terribly far from here," Valerica said, pointing them to what Desmond suspected was west. "I'm willing to bet the gem you're looking for is there."

"Excellent." Desmond turned to Serana, beaming. "Let's grab that and get on out of here."

"Good idea—"

"Oh, wait." He turned back to Valerica, one last thing on his mind. "Will I ever be able to come back here?"

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Might need to talk to someone, I dunno."

Valerica nodded. "As you've been traveling in the Soul Cairn, your body has become attuned to it. Let's just say a tiny part of you rubbed off on it, and in its place, a bit of the Soul Cairn filled the void. You should have no difficulty using the portal in the future."

"Great!" Desmond checked again to make sure everything was comfortably in place. It would be a pain to grab his crossbow quickly in the middle of a fight, but he supposed he could always rely on throwing things. "Let's go."

"If there's anything else you need, let me know now," Valerica said. "It could be your last chance."

"Wait... You're not coming?" Serana asked.

"I have no choice." She bowed her head to them. "As I told you before, I'm a daughter of Coldharbour. If I return to Tamriel, that increases Harkon's likelihood of bringing the Tyranny of the Sun to fruition."

"Are you sure?" Desmond asked, aghast that anyone would willingly stay in the Cairn any longer than they had to. "We could use all the help we can get."

"As much as it pains me to send you and Serana back alone, I can't take the risk."

Desmond and Serana exchanged uncertain glances, then nodded. "All right. Stay safe here," Desmond said.

"Remember that Harkon is not to be trusted," Valerica advised. "No matter what he promises, he will deceive you in order to get what he wants. And promise me you'll keep my daughter safe—she's the only thing of value I have left."

"Come on," Serana said. "Let's go. We still have another Scroll to find. I'd hate to miss your friend again."

"Yeah. The sooner we get there, the better."

Serana led the way out, Desmond right behind her as she pushed open the door leading back out in the Soul Cairn. He seized the collar of her cape, dragging her down to crouch by the wall.

"WHAT ARE—"

Desmond pointed further out, the skeleton of a dragon rematerializing on a broken pillar near the fort. "Durnehviir." Serana swore, conjuring a ball of flames as Desmond fussed with everything on his back and readied his crossbow. "Come on. We can get the drop on him if—"

"Stay your weapons."

Desmond's eyes went wide as the dragon spoke in a deep, deliberate voice. "Wha...?"

"I would speak with you, Qahnaarin."

"What's that?" Serana whispered, petrified.

"I dunno." Desmond stood up, his crossbow still ready. "We thought you were dead," he said, louder.

Durnehviir slowly shook his head. "Cursed, not dead. Doomed to exist in this form for eternity. Trapped between laas and dinok, between life and death."

Desmond took a deep breath, prepared for this conversation to end poorly. "Look, er... that's really great, and all, but I—we're on a bit of a time crunch here," he said. "Can we... not do this right now?"

Durnehviir inclined his head. "Forgive me, Qahnaarin. We will continue this when time releases you from its relentless grasp."

"Great. Thanks, we'll—er, we'll be back," Desmond said, awkwardly waving and looking for the offering altar Valerica mentioned.

"When do you think we'll be back here?" Serana whispered to him.

"Well, we've gotta come back to get your mother out, right?" Desmond pointed out. "When we win."

"When we...? You're awfully confident."

"It's the better way to go through life, trust me."

They hurried away towards the offering altar, leaving Durnehviir and Valerica well behind.

Castle Volkihar was just as dark and dusty as they had left it. Valerica's laboratory lay undisturbed when they came back out. Even in its dimly lit state, it felt like a breath of fresh air compared to the Soul Cairn.

"I'm so glad to be out of there," Serana breathed, sitting down on the stairs by the portal. "What's next?"

"What's next is we go back to Dawnstar and hope we haven't missed Martin again," Desmond said, sitting beside her. "He can point us to where we need to go next."

"Are you really sure?" Serana asked. "I mean... Elder Scrolls aren't something that just anyone knows where to find."

"Yeah, well. He's not just anyone," Desmond said. "He'll know. He had one, I'm sure he hasn't gone and lost it somehow."

"He'd better be there this time," Serana said, standing up and stretching. "I don't want to have to search for him, too."

Desmond led the way back through the castle underground, a much quieter trip than on the way in. On the way back through the kitchen, he paused. "Hey, does it bother you have we're working against your father?" he asked.

"Well... I can't say it surprises me," Serana said. "I kinda figured we were heading for this someday. I just didn't know when."

"That's not what I asked." Desmond peeked around a corner, seeing all the dead skeletons and a motionless gargoyle from earlier in the day still lying on the floor. "Are you going to be all right we have to kill him?"

"If? I've been assuming that's where all this is going."

"Me too, to be honest."

"I've been trying to make my peace with it," Serana said. "Come on. We can talk about this later, we need to get to Dawnstar."