Arven ducked beneath the legs of the Keeper, a towering undead monstrosity that loomed over him at almost double his height. The monster was carrying a large bow, larger than Arven himself and he swung it down in an attempt to swat at the man as he darted around.

Dashing in and out of range, Arven made repeated swipes with his blade at the creature's legs while Serana blasted it with shards of ice. It didn't take long, and the monster fell to one knee, an inhuman screech coming from the void where a mouth would usually be. Bringing his blade down with a shout Arven severed one of the monster's legs at the knee, causing it to stumble onto the ground. Then, walking over to its head, he drove Dawnbreaker into the skull of the beast before it disappeared into ash and mist.

After the monster had been slain Arven sheathed his sword, walking back over to Serana as he readied to tend to a wound he had received. As soon as he had moved in sight of the Keeper, the beast had drawn and fired an arrow at Arven.

Arven had raised his shield to block it, but he didn't realise the sheer power that a bow of that size could deliver. The arrow had punched right through the shield, burying itself into his forearm. While he approached Serana, looking at the arrow sticking out of his shield, Serana ran over to him.

"Arven! Are you okay?" She asked as she looked down, hands reaching out as if she wanted to help, but she hesitated as she didn't know what to do.

"I'm fine," Arven said. "I've had much worse than this." He grabbed a dagger from his belt, placing it flat against the outer side of his shield before swiping it against the arrow to cut off the shaft. That allowed him to then remove his shield, giving him access to his forearm again where the head of the arrow had buried in a good inch or so.

Grasping the small protrusion of the arrow he yanked it out, a sharp grunt of pain coming from him as he inspected the arrowhead.

"I don't get it," Arven said. "This is dragonbone."

"What do you mean?" Serana asked, although her eyes were more focused on his wound than the arrow.

"The arrowhead, and the armour that thing was wearing. It was all made from dragonbone," Arven continued.

"You can forge their bones? I didn't even know," Serana said.

Arven nodded. "You can. It's just about the strongest material out there. A smith back in Whiterun made me a set of armour from the bones of some dragons I had killed, I didn't think it was even possible until he did," Arven said.

"Why don't you- ah, nevermind," Serana said. She was confused for a moment, if it was the strongest material available, why wouldn't Arven wear it? But the reason hit her a second later.

Arven had a small smile come to his lips. "How did it get down here, though? It doesn't make any sense," he said.

Serana shrugged, folding her arms across her chest. "You should probably tend to your arm first, shouldn't you?"

Arven nodded, tossing the arrow to the side as he took off the gauntlet covering the wound. The arrow had punched through the chainmail underneath, avoiding any solid metal. With this, the hole in his shield, and various other wounds he'd suffered, it was starting to look like he'd need a new set of armour soon.

Holding a hand above the wound, he paused. "Wait, do you need more?" Arven asked.

Serana raised a brow, looking up at him with curiosity. "More…?"

Arven raised his arm, showing her the blood freely flowing down the limb. It looked like the arrow had struck a vein. "Don't make me say it," Arven said.

Serana's eyes widened with realization for a moment before she reached into a pouch at her waist, pulling out a vial that was half full with Arven's blood. She didn't hold it out, but Arven reached out to grab it, popping it open before he let the blood from his wound run down to fill it up. Once he had finished, he gave it back, running a finger over the wound to seal it up with magic before he placed his gauntlet back on.

Serana just watched him the entire time, silent. It didn't take long for Arven to notice.

"Something wrong?" He asked her, re-doing the straps that kept his gauntlet in place.

"Hmm?" Serana replied, seeming obviously distracted. "Oh, no- it's just… you did that so casually," she said.

"…I can act grossed out, if you want," Arven replied with half a grin.

Serana rolled her eyes, shoving him lightly on the shoulder before she picked up his shield for him. Arven nodded his thanks, strapping the piece of worn-down metal back to his forearm.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't," Serana replied in a dry voice. "It's just, you seemed so squeamish the first time you did it. It's still a bit of a shock to see you do it so casually now."

"Well I'm just helping you out, guess I've gotten used to it," Arven said. He exhaled deeply, still catching his breath from the fight. "Alright, let's get going to the next one."

"It'd be nice if they were closer together," Serana said as she eyed off the next ruined tower, far off in the distance.

"Do you think this place has a suggestions box?" Arven quipped as they started walking once more.

"Unfortunately, I doubt it," Serana said.

The journey to the second tower passed quickly, as all time seemed to. It was a strange feeling, and Arven had no idea how long the two had even been in the Soul Cairn. It could still be the same day, it could be a month later. Either way he'd believe it. Time just didn't seem to work the same way within this plane of Oblivion.

As they walked, Arven's breath didn't return back to normal. He still seemed to be trying to catch his breath, well after they finished fighting the last keeper. Arven himself didn't notice, but Serana kept glancing at him occasionally. It was strange, and it worried her slightly yet she didn't comment on it.

As they made it to the second Keeper Arven drew his sword, walking towards it as the creature stood up from a throne. This one was clad in dragonplate as well, with a mace and shield instead of a bow. While Arven stepped closer, readying himself to fight, Serana grasped hold of his shoulder.

"Let me start this one," she said. "If that shield is as strong as you say it is, I might be a bit more effective here."

Arven's instincts wanted to argue, but Serana was right. Breaking through that shield would be an incredibly difficult task.

"Yeah, sure. Go for it," he said as he stood back, still holding Dawnbreaker in his hand. The Keeper stood, talking slow steps towards Serana while she simply stood in place, arms at her side, palms facing up.

Holding one arm out Serana sent a blizzard of cold winds and ice shards at the beast. The Keeper reacted by holding up its shield, yet the shield was nowhere near large enough to cover its entire body. Within seconds the Keeper's feet had been coated in ice, rooting it to the ground. It didn't seem damaged, however.

As soon as it was immobilised Serana started to blast it with lightning. Each bolt was powerful enough to chip away at the armour, and she never seemed to slow down in her attacks. Second after second, powerful blasts that would've been enough to knock Arven clean off his feet struck the undead monstrosity as slowly, but surely, the shield was reduced to nothing.

The deafening sound that rung about Arven almost made him miss something particularly important. The undead that had left them alone for so long had started to react, and they were closing in.

"Uh, Serana," he said, standing at her back to face the undead that were now walking towards them.

"Bit busy here," she replied. "Can you handle it?"

Arven raised his shield, eyeing off a group of undead. Each one had some sort of armour, yet none of them carried a complete set. One had a helm, another with gauntlets and a shield, another with a chest plate. Each one carried some sort of weapon in their hand though.

Deciding not to let them get too close Arven dashed out, slicing at the nearest one with his sword to cut it cleanly in two. The armour they wore was old, rusted, and provided little to no protection. They were slow, only regular, ordinary undead that posed no threat to someone used to the reflexes of a vampire.

Within a matter of seconds Arven had cut most of them down, with six 'corpses' laying down by his feet.

"You done?" Serana yelled out above the sound of her magic. "Can you come finish this thing off?"

Arven turned on his heel, walking back to see the Keeper on its knees with one hand raised, protecting its face from Serana's lightning. The armour it was wearing had been mostly obliterated, but it was still holding on. Any magic that blasted the shadowy skeleton underneath did damage, yet that damage was regenerated incredibly quickly.

"I don't want to burn myself out killing him," Serana called. "Just stab the bastard, would you?"

"Just stab him… please?" Arven commented, yet he regretted it instantly. Just as he said it a spark of lightning jolted out from Serana's hands, not hitting the Keeper, but instead zapping him on his thigh, making him jump slightly.

If he wasn't so impressed with her control of her magic, he would've been a bit embarrassed. He did as he was asked though, running around to approach the Keeper from the back who had to keep its attention forward to resist Serana's magic. Stepping up behind it, Arven pierced its skull with Dawnbreaker, instantly killing it as the skeleton dissolved, leaving nothing but the mace behind.

Arven walked over to the mace, picking it up to feel the weight of it in his hand. It was undoubtedly a strong weapon, much heavier in his hand compared to Dawnbreaker, but that alone would make it much more useful against anything with a lot of protection to hammer through. He knew it'd be smart to hold onto it if he ever found himself going through Dwemer ruins again; a sword wasn't the best tool for smashing constructs.

Yet, he dropped it. He didn't want to have that on his side all day long. He would've been far too uncomfortable. A part of him was angry at himself, knowing that keeping it was the smart thing to do, but he just couldn't get past that gut instinct.

"You all good?" Arven asked as he turned to Serana.

She nodded to him, arms folded across her chest. "You're right, that stuff is hard to break through," she commented.

"I've never actually seen it break before," Arven said. "With that other one I had to go for the weak points, I don't think I could even crack this stuff."

"Yeah, I am pretty amazing," Serana commented with a smirk. Arven looked to her, a brow raised under his helmet.

"Not really the word I'd use, but sure," he said as he started walking off towards the third tower.

"Oh, and what word would you use?" Serana asked.

"There is no chance I'm answering that," Arven said.

"I thought you'd say that, yet I'm still disappointed," Serana replied. He caught up to him, nudging him in the shoulder with her own before they started towards the third tower. As they did, Arven couldn't help but notice the undead. More and more of them were looking towards them now. Some even raised their weapons, letting out unnerving cries designed to either challenge or antagonize the pair.

"I don't like this," Arven said.

"Like what?" Serana asked, turning to look at him.

"The undead. They're getting more… active," he said.

"They don't really seem to be much of an issue," Serana said. "You took them down pretty easily, from what I heard at least."

"Sure, a few of them are fine," Arven said. "But hundreds? That might cause an issue." As he talked Serana couldn't help but notice his breathing. It was the same as before, if not slightly worse. He still struggled to calm down his breathing, lower his heart rate. It was as if he was running, yet they were just walking at a comfortable pace.

"Hey, are you alright?" Serana asked.

Arven looked to her, curious. "Yeah, fine. Why?"

Serana studied him for a moment, her brow furrowing. "Nothing, don't worry about it. As long as you're okay," she said.

"I could go for some food, I guess," Arven said.

"I don't think there's much around here to help with that," Serana replied.

"I should've brough snacks," Arven remarked under his breath, causing Serana to smile ever so slightly.

The journey to the third tower was the same as the last two, yet Arven kept his sword in his hand the entire time. As they walked the undead continued to watch their every move. A couple even stepped forward, charging at them, yet both fell within a second as Serana blasted them into pieces.

As they approached the third tower they saw a throne right where the other two had been seated within the identical buildings, yet no Keeper was visible. The small open room was deserted, except for bones laying scattered around the floor along with a heavy mist clinging to the ground.

Arven raised sword and shield, looking around cautiously. "Alright, where is it?" He asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Serana replied as she stood with her arms folded, looking much more relaxed.

"You think he went home for the day?" Serana continued.

Arven just rolled his eyes before turning around, seeing more undead approaching them. "Great," he said as he walked towards a group of them.

"These things just don't know when to quit, do they?" Serana asked as she turned to another group, outstretching a hand as she started to pick them off one by one with blasts of lightning. As she did so Arven took care of the others, bashing some with his shield, slicing others in half with a single sweep of his blade.

As the two worked, neither noticed as the mists around them started to group up, joining together to form something far more solid. It wasn't until the Keeper had rematerialized, standing behind Arven, towering well over him with its axe raised that Serana noticed.

"Arven! Look out!" She cried as she raised a hand to blast at the Keeper. Her strike hit the monster on the shoulder, yet it wasn't enough to stop it. Arven turned at the last second, his eyes widening as he barely raised his shield in time to catch the strike. The blow came with enough force to break down a pillar of stone, a strike that would've been enough to seriously harm a dragon, let alone a human. Arven was thrown off his feet and sent flying across the room before slamming into a pillar that robbed his lungs of air as he let out a short cry.

Serana immediately vanished, a swarm of bats appearing instead as she reformed right in front of Arven with both hands raised. She didn't like using that power around him, but his safety was far more important right now. Holding her hands out to the bones scattered on the floor she raised some of the undead they had slain, ordering them to charge the Keeper as it stalked towards them both.

The Keeper raised its axe, decimating the undead, yet some of them got close enough to hack away at the monster. They didn't do any damage, but they were able to slow it down. As they did Serana summoned blizzards in the shape of spheres, sending them flying towards the Keeper. The tiny shards of ice cut into the gaps in its armour, shredding the skeleton hiding underneath as its limbs started to freeze in place. The creature regenerated any damage, yet it was enough to stop it where it stood, at least for the moment.

As Serana held the Keeper at bay Arven stood up, his left arm feeling limp as he dropped his shield to the side. The shield had been caved in, a huge gash running down where the axe had struck it. Thankfully, the axe didn't penetrate far enough to hit Arven's body, but the shield was totally useless now.

Arven cursed at himself mentally. He had been walking with a regular shield for so long purely out of comforts sake, he had practically been asking for something like this to happen. As he walked back up to Serana's side, panting heavily, he pushed the thought away.

"Arven, stay back," she said. "I can handle this. Just conserve your energy."

Arven grimaced. He hated feeling useless, and the emotion was strong enough that he felt his blood start to rage inside of him. He suppressed that feeling once more though, as he always did, standing by with Dawnbreaker held in his hand as he watched.

Serana started to step closer towards the beast. She held out her arms, the floor beneath her turning to pure ice as it spread out. The ground around the Keeper was frozen and pillars of ice shot up on either side, enveloping the creature's wrists to hold it in place. Then she walked right up to it, reaching out to place a hand on the center of its chest as magicka started to build around her.

The Keeper looked to her, a defiant screech coming from its head as it struggled to free itself, yet it couldn't. The ice that held it in place was far too strong, and all it could do is watch as Serana sent an incredibly powerful blast of lightning through its body. The dragonplate shattered while a resounding boom echoed around them for miles, caused by a blast of lightning directly from Serana's palm that pierced the Keeper and continued well through its body. The blast struck a wall behind it, turning it into nothing but rubble while the monster was left with a hole in its chest twice the size of Serana's hand.

It looked down to her for a moment, then dissolved away into nothing, the axe falling to the ground with a loud clang. Serana herself exhaled deeply. Expelling that much energy at once left her slightly drained. It wasn't debilitating, and the magicka would return quickly, but she couldn't remember the last time she exerted herself that much – with the exception of fighting a dragon in daylight.

She turned, running back over to Arven to get a closer look at him.

"Are you okay?" She asked, looking at his arm which was hanging limply at his side.

"I'm fine," Arven said. "Same as always." He looked down to his arm, trying to move it, yet he didn't get much of a response. "Think it might be broken."

"A broken arm isn't fine, you idiot," Serana replied. She had her arms out, as if she was about to tend to Arven's arm, but she couldn't really do much of anything. She had always thought of restoration as a useless school of magic, but recently she'd been thinking more and more that it would've been worth investing at least some time in. Obviously not to benefit herself, but with the amount of damage Arven seemed to attract, she would've felt far better if she could've helped.

"I've lost track of how many times I've broken a bone," Arven responded. With his good hand he placed it on his other arm, wincing as he started to let restorative magic flow through the limb. A dull golden glow came out while he looked down at the shield resting by his feet, a shield that was now entirely useless as it had been battered well beyond repair. It wasn't a special shield; it was made from steel with no special enchantments. There wasn't really anything that would differentiate it from any other shield, except that it was his.

Arven had found countless other shields over the past year made from other materials, many arguably much better than the one he used. Except this shield lying at his feet was his. It had protected him countless times, and he found himself feeling slightly upset knowing it wouldn't do so any longer.

"Just because it's happened a lot, doesn't mean it's okay for it to keep happening," Serana said. "I was worried there for a second, you know?"

Arven turned to look at her, a solemn smile on his lips. "I know, but it can't always be avoided," he said. Arven turned towards the prison that was holding Serana's mother, the prison that should now be open to them. "That should be the last thing we have to fight that's worth any trouble. We can go get the scroll, get your mother and find a place to sleep it all off."

He conveniently decided to ignore the threat of a dragon flying around.

"You're being rather optimistic," Serana said.

Arven turned to her, tilting his head. "Am I?"

"Well, there's plenty of things that could still happen. We are in Oblivion, after all," Serana noted.

"Couldn't hurt me to be positive for once though, right?" Arven asked with a soft grin.

Serana rolled her eyes, but his words made her worry ever so slightly. Was he just trying to reassure her? Or himself? As she studied him the man was still panting, looking much worse off than he should. Yes, he got hurt badly, but his ability to recover was incredible. She couldn't tell if it was just her, but he seemed to be struggling.

"Come on. Let's get going, no point in standing around," Arven said. He started walking back towards the prison and Serana followed. It wasn't a comfortable journey though. The entire time, while no more undead attacked them, every single one they passed was staring at the pair. It was incredibly unnerving, having hundreds of them acutely aware of the two travelers.

Judging by the strength of them so far they weren't a threat. But hundreds? Arven didn't want to think about it.

"You know, I think I am going to take a day off when we get out of here," Arven said as they walked.

"Really? That's a shock, coming from you," Serana replied.

"I guess you're rubbing off on me," Arven replied. "Plus, I'm really tired."

Serana smiled. "Well, I think it's a good idea. Any idea what you're going to do?" She asked.

Arven just shrugged, still holding his bad arm close to his body. "Nope. I was hoping you could give me some ideas, seeing how you're so experienced with being lazy," he replied.

Serana frowned at him. "What exactly are you implying, Arven?" She asked.

Arven looked at her, a cheeky smile on his lips. "That you spent hundreds of years sitting in a castle like royalty, with no responsibilities?"

Serana opened her mouth to respond, but she couldn't. He was right, in a way. It was a gross generalization, but he was right.

"Ass," she commented under her breath, with a small hint of a smile.

Arven smirked to himself as they kept walking. The landscape around them seemed to never change, not until there was suddenly a prison up on the horizon, the building where Serana's mother was trapped.

"I," Arven started before he paused. "I feel like we've been here for much longer than a day, but I haven't felt the need to sleep yet. It feels wrong."

"Time can be a strange thing in places like this," Serana said. "It's almost impossible to understand. I wouldn't try and think about it too much."

"Yeah. Still, it's unnerving. I almost envy people who don't know that a place like this exists," Arven said. After speaking Arven let his arm drop to his side, letting go of it with his other hand. He flexed it around but it still hurt. It hadn't fully healed, not even close. It was fine enough that he didn't need to support it or have it in a sling, but it wouldn't be good for much in a battle.

"So, ready to talk to your mother again?" Arven asked.

Serana exhaled deeply, shaking her head. "No, not exactly. That wasn't how I wanted our conversation to go," she said. "But I'm not… unhappy, with the way it turned out," she clarified while looking to Arven.

"I still feel bad," he said to her, remembering how easily he lost his temper.

"Don't," she said, trying to reassure him. "You didn't do anything wrong. When we got here, I was planning on asking her to come back with us. I don't know if that would even be a good idea, now."

"If you could convince her, I'd be surprised," Arven said.

"Why's that?"

"She's hiding here for a reason, and that reason is still very much alive. Even if we're trying to fight it," Arven explained to her.

Serana murmured in response, her brow furrowed slightly as she thought to herself.

As they got closer and closer to the prison they could see Valerica standing just outside where the barrier had been in place, arms folded across her chest as she looked out to the surrounding area. It had likely been the first time in hundreds of years that she'd seen the rest of the Soul Cairn with her own eyes, not through the distorted lens of the trap that kept her in place.

Serana went into a slight jog as they got close enough, approaching her mother. There was still a rather awkward feeling in the air, but it seemed better than before.

"That was quicker than I had thought," Valerica said. "You really killed all three of them?" The woman asked.

"We did. They were a pain, but they're all taken care of now," she responded.

"No issues with them?" Valerica continued.

"They were… difficult, but we managed," Serana said.

"You seem fine. They gave me a bit of trouble once, so I wasn't sure how easily you'd handle three of them," Valerica said as Arven walked up alongside them, not saying anything himself.

"You on the other hand, look far worse off," Valerica said with a smirk.

Wonderful, Arven thought. He had hoped it wouldn't be so obvious.

"Not as strong as you thought you were, mortal?" Valerica continued, clearly goading him on.

"There's something about this place," Arven commented. "It… it takes longer for me to recover."

"It shouldn't," Valerica said. "There's nothing inherent about this place that inhibits your strength. Unless you're merely not as strong as you think you are, Vampire Hunter."

Arven scowled beneath his helmet, looking away.

"Actually, Arven. I think it's because of me," Serana said.

Arven and Valerica both turned to her, confused.

"Remember how you got in here in the first place?" She continued.

Ah, right, Arven thought.

"Yeah, that makes sense," he said with a sigh.

"What exactly are you talking about, daughter?" Valerica interjected.

"When Arven first tried to enter the Soul Cairn it was trying to eat away at him. So I used one of your old tricks and partially soul trapped him, hoping it'd work. It did, but it's left him weaker," she responded.

"Clever," Valerica said. "In that case you should be fine once you leave this place. You remember how to unbind a soul from a gem, don't you Serana?"

"Oh, will that work? I thought we'd have to find his soul here to return it to him," Serana responded.

"That would certainly work as well, but do you really want to go hunting for a single soul in this place?" Valerica said with a raised brow. "Or would you rather just cast a simple spell and be done with it?"

"Yeah, I can't argue with that," Serana said.

"Then let us get you what you need, and you can be off," Valerica stated before she started to walk off towards her 'home', not waiting for the two to follow her.

Serana instead walked over to Arven, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Really though, are you okay? You don't look too great right now."

Arven grimaced. "My regeneration isn't… it's not working quite right. I'm not recovering my magicka and I still feel like I just ran for hours. I feel like I'm a regular human again. And my arm still aches," he explained.

Serana just looked at him with a sympathetic smile, but Valerica stepped into their conversation.

"A regular human? So just what, exactly, are you then?" She asked.

Arven looked to her, before just sighing. He wasn't in the right frame of mind to explain all of this now.

"Nothing important," he said.

"Oh? I find that hard to believe. Anything that would make someone capable of fighting my kind and entering a place like this without being entirely crippled is particularly important, I would think," Valerica retorted.

Arven didn't respond to her. Instead he just looked to Serana. "You tell her, if she wants to know that badly. I don't," he said before sighing. "I just can't right now."

Serana responded with a sweet smile before Arven walked off, heading into Valerica's prison ahead of the two of them. She then turned to her mother, who was looking at her with a mixture of disappointment and curiosity.

"So?" Valerica asked. "Going to explain things some more for me?"

Serana pursed her lips, thinking. It was an easy thing to explain, really, but at the same time it wasn't.

"Do you know much about dragons, mother?" She asked.

"Besides my jailor? No, I don't. Nothing beyond what was written in myths and legends," Valerica said.

"Well, have you ever heard of the Dragonborn?" Serana continued.

Valerica didn't respond, just studying Serana.

"I suppose not, I hadn't either," Serana said. "Well, the dragon keeping you here isn't the only one that's around now. While you were here, and while I was locked away dragons started coming back to Skyrim. I don't know the specifics, but somehow they returned."

Valerica narrowed her gaze, looking towards Serana. "Are you sure? That's… a rather wild claim," she said.

Serana nodded. "I didn't quite believe it myself until I saw one and had to fight it."

"You killed a dragon? Forgive me daughter, but I find that hard to believe. Not to diminish your abilities, but from everything I know and I've seen, fighting a dragon would be incredibly foolish," Valerica said. "Even for us."

Serana shook her head in response. "No, I didn't. He did. It was daytime so I was useless, but he killed two of them, one right after the other."

Valerica turned around, looking at the back of the man who was walking away from them.

"Impossible. He's just a man," she said.

"No," Serana responded. "He's 'Dragonborn'. Somehow he has the strength of dragons and gets stronger every time he fights them. He single-handedly scared off half of father's court when they were chasing him, and I've seen him recover from wounds that would kill any other man."

Valerica paused, not speaking for a moment. When she did, her voice was low and quiet. "How does he get stronger?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Serana asked.

"You said he gets stronger by fighting them. How, exactly?"

"He absorbs their power. Their souls, I'm fairly sure. After he kills them he-" Serana said before she was cut off.

"How many?" Valerica asked.

"What?"

"How many has he killed? How many souls has he absorbed?" Valerica demanded to know with an urgency.

"I don't know, but a lot. When I trapped his soul, it felt immense."

Valerica turned on her heel, shouting with a look of pure anger and worry on her features. "Human! How many dragons have you killed?"

However Arven wasn't to be seen, he had passed through a passageway and was now inside the building in the courtyard, out of view. Valerica instantly turned into a cloud of mist, surging towards the man as Serana ran after to keep up.

"Mother, wait!" Serana called, cursing under her breath.

Valerica rematerialized right behind Arven, causing the man to curse under his breath and spin on his heel – sword in hand.

"How many dragons have you killed?" Valerica asked once more.

"What?" Arven asked.

"How many!" Valerica demanded, almost yelling.

Arven paused, staring at her for a moment before responding – lowering his sword as he did so. "I don't know, I've lost count. Dozens."

"And you took their souls every time?" Valerica asked. Arven nodded.

"You need to go. Now," Valerica responded.

"That's… what we're planning on doing," Arven said as Serana caught up to them both.

"No, you need to take this scroll and run. Leave. Right now," Valerica said as she walked off towards a small building on the edge of the courtyard where they were currently standing. The inside of the prison wasn't all roofed over, the centre was a large outdoor area – almost like an arena.

"Mother, what's going on?" Serana asked.

"Where are we, Serana? What is this place?" Valerica asked.

"The… Soul Cairn?" Serana said hesitantly.

"And what do the people who own this place desire above all else?" Valerica continued.

Realisation dawned on Serana's face, quickly being replaced by panic.

"Arven, can you run?" She asked as she looked to him. She had a look on her face that made him worry.

"Serana, what's happening?" Arven asked.

Valerica returned a moment later, thrusting an Elder Scroll into Serana's hands. It was likely the most unceremonious hand over of an Elder Scroll ever seen, as Serana simply took it and strapped it to her back – carrying two of them right next to each other. The weight didn't seem to affect her in the slightest.

"Think for a moment, human. This place is run by those who desire souls above all else. The more powerful, the more appealing. What do you have an abundance of?" Valerica asked.

Arven paused on the spot.

Ah, shit.

"They've gone to great lengths to keep me here, along with one dragon. If you have dozens of dragon souls, they won't stop at anything to get them as soon as they figure out what you are. That's why you need to leave, right-" Valerica said before she paused. The reason was obvious, Arven had suddenly spun on his feet, holding his sword out in one hand as he looked to the sky.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, confused.

Serana was equally confused, until she heard Arven's heartrate. It had skyrocketed. Then, a second later a deafening roar cascaded across the lands surrounding them – a distinct roar that could only belong to one thing.

A dragon.

Hello again! Here I am with another chapter. A little bit longer waiting for this one, but hopefully not too long! I spent a bit more time working on it, as I've already got the next chapter all written out. I was planning on releasing one huge chapter, but it felt far too large to publish in one go, so next week I'll push that one out as well after cleaning it up. As always I hope you all enjoy it, and a huge thankyou to everyone that reads, comments, follows etc.. Everytime I get an email saying someone's left a comment or has favourited the story it makes my day that much better.