Once we had taken time to recover from the scare, we returned to Winterhold and sat down at The Frozen Hearth to discuss our next move. We had one Elder Scroll, but we needed to find the second… with no further clues to go on. Septimus was dead, and we had no one else to ask. Serana was fidgety but was evasive about discussing why.

I didn't press her. That evening, Serana stared into her mug of ale for a while in silence before she cleared her throat. "Um, do you have a moment to talk?"

"Sure. What's on your mind?" I looked up from my hot meal to meet her gaze, but she seemed to be afraid to meet my eyes.

"That Moth Priest; Dexion. He said we needed an Elder Scroll on Ancient Blood. I think I know where we can start looking." She was doing that aborted hand-wringing thing again, staring down at them like they were the most fascinating things in the world.

"You do?" I stared at her, mouth agape, "Why didn't you say something earlier?"

My voice wasn't accusatory: more like curious, but Serana flinched. "Half the people in the Dawnguard would just as soon kill me as talk to me. That doesn't exactly make me want to open up. I got a warmer welcome from my father, and that's saying something."

I made a face, "Engh. Okay, that's fair."

"And… and I couldn't tell you… not at first…" Guilt and fear were tumbling back and forth in her glowing eyes.

I let out a slow breath, "Okay. So where is the Elder Scroll?"

"We need to find my mother, Valerica. She'll definitely know where it is, and if we're lucky, she has it herself."

I slowly nodded, feeling sympathy rise within me. "Okay, I wouldn't be too keen to bring my mother to the attention of a pack of zealous vampire hunters either."

I winced at the memory of my own mother's death. 'Gruesome' was putting it kindly, though she luckily hadn't survived long enough to be part of the vampire's twisted games later. Cold comfort, that.

"Thank you for trusting me with this…" I gave her a small smile and a nod, "Do you have any idea where she went after she... sealed you away? Your father hasn't found her yet either, so it would have to be very well hidden."

Serana nodded, unclenching a little, "I've been thinking… She said that she'd go somewhere safe; somewhere that my father would never search. Other than that, she wouldn't tell me anything." She paused, and when she spoke again, the words were coming easier after a moment of thought. "But the way she said it… 'where he would never search.' It was cryptic, yet she called attention to it."

"Sounds a bit like she was sowing clues, but didn't want to risk saying it outright." I leaned against the wall. "Depending on the number of vampires and thralls that were around, she was probably afraid of being overheard."

"That's always a possibility," the Nord sighed. "She was almost as obsessed as my father by the time she shut me in, and was getting increasingly paranoid. Not that she was wrong, but that's something we're going to have to deal with, likely sooner than later. We need the scroll, and she's our lead. The only problem is... I can't imagine a single place my father would avoid looking. And he's had all this time, too. Any ideas?"

I thought for a moment, "Only two, I'm afraid. The first possibility is that she chose to be sealed away like you were."

I sincerely hoped that this was not the case. Skyrim had a LOT of caves, and I wasn't keen on trying to find another location like Serana's. Especially not if I had to figure out whether there had been a cave-in at some point to disguise an entrance.

To my immense relief, Serana shook her head, "I don't think so. At least, not in a similar fashion. She said she wanted to stay awake in case the situation was resolved. It had to be one of us, and, well, she's so much more powerful than I am."

Well, that gave me a chill.

Serana missed my tiny shiver and continued, "It made sense for her to be somewhere else."

I swallowed down my unease and offered, "Then the only other idea I've got is that maybe she's right there in Castle Volkihar."

It was the only place I could think of. What better way to hide than right under Harkon's very nose? He would never assume his wife would stay so close. Depending on how many discarded rooms, towers, hallways, and secret passages the place might hold, there was no telling how many hideaways could be tucked away.

Serana's eyes went wide and she gasped, "Wait... that almost makes sense! There's a courtyard in the castle. I used to help her tend a garden there. All the ingredients for our potions came from that garden. She used to say that my father couldn't stand the place. Too... peaceful."

I rose from the table. The only place to buy food was right here at the inn, so I headed over to Dagur's counter to buy supplies. He agreed to offer up a counter for us to pile our chosen items on. He managed to lay out a spread of various travel foods for us, but before we could haggle there was a thump at the opposite side of the bar. With a sigh, the man went over to try rousing the town drunk, who had chosen to go face-down at the far counter.

"I can imagine that it would be incredibly risky; staying around the castle," I admitted.

"Oh, absolutely," Serana agreed. She checked a wheel of cheese within its wax covering before adding it to the pile that I was building. "But my mother's not a coward, and she managed to engineer the place where she sealed me away."

I bit my tongue and paused in my preparations. Somewhere along the way, I had already guessed that Serana's mother had designed that horrific contraption. It was really hard to feel charitable toward the woman, considering what it had required.

After a second or so of wrestling with my thoughts, I ventured, "I doubt she will be in some forgotten tower. The risk would be too great that someone would see a light, or smoke from a torch, or... a hundred other ways that the smallest mistake could alert someone."

Serana shrugged philosophically, "I agree. I honestly don't think we'll just... trip over her in Castle Volkihar. But it's worth a look. Mother knew all sorts of magic. Who knows what kinds of things she might have learned that would help her hide?"

I grabbed a few more travel rations before finally adding canteens of fresh water to the pile. I haggled briefly, but not too hard, over our selection. Winterhold was a poor place and letting them get away with decent profit was only right.

Once we were safely ensconced in our room, I pointed out, "You realize, of course, that they aren't going to let us use the front door."

"True..." Serana paused thoughtfully, eyes narrowed in thought. "But I know a way we can get to the courtyard without arousing suspicion. Trust me. I lived here for a very long time and I know every nook and cranny." She gave me a sly smile, "There's an unused inlet on the northern side of the island that was used by the previous owners to bring supplies into the castle. An old escape tunnel from the castle has an exit there. I think that's our way in."

"Sounds good to me," I agreed with a nod. "Tomorrow, we'll set south toward Kynesgrove. If we're careful and smart, we'll make it there by nightfall."

From here, it was going to be a long hike to the west, and then out through Morthal's swamps. Once we got past that, we could get to the path that would eventually lead to the dock. Travel was going to be long and cold, with few opportunities for shelter. We would have to try to avoid stirring up the Altmer at the fort again. One Justiciar team disappearing into the wilderness was acceptable, considering the sheer volume of opportunistic predators, bandits, and traveling Stormcloaks. An ambush team at a shrine was less expected but not out of the norm, considering the war over Talos worship. However, if we got into yet another fight, the emissaries would start to notice and we ran the risk of ending up on a list that we really didn't want to end up on. Justicar Enemy Number One was not a title I needed in my life.

After some deliberation, we decided to travel back to Fort Dawnguard for a quick stopoff. We would keep the Elder Scrolls there, as it felt safer than carrying them around where they could be commented upon by all and sundry.

Once Isran accepted the scroll, both of us took over a table and plotted waypoints for campsites or friendly towns. We were, once again, crossing the width of Skyrim.

After finally rolling up my map and stowing it away, I asked gently, "Were you and your mother close?"

Sadness flooded her expression, "We were like the best of friends, at first. I would never hesitate to tell her anything." She gave me a sad smile. "My mother and I spent quite a bit of time together. She was very fond of her alchemical garden in the castle courtyard. She taught me quite a bit about alchemy and cultivating good quality ingredients."

"But then it all changed," I guessed, solemnly, remembering how her father had experienced a turn.

She nodded, her expression melancholy, "It… did. Things got bad pretty much overnight. Something... happened. Please don't ask me for the details. But it was... bad. Really, bad." She shuddered and wrapped her arms protectively around herself, her eyes distant and haunted. "It affected us all. Afterward, Mother got distant. She… lost interest in being so close to me. She started treating me more like a protégé than a daughter. We no longer talked about our thoughts and feelings. The distance increased until one day, I tried to visit my mother in the garden, and she immediately turned me away, saying she was much too busy."

I grimaced at the picture I was getting of her family. "At the risk of sounding like a horse's arse, it sounds like you're not really close to either of them anymore."

Serana's expression was wry, "It's not that simple. I guess it never is with families, is it? On one hand, he's still my father and she's still my mother. On the other, you're right; we haven't been a family for a long time. That's not even counting my time locked away. It's all tangled up."

I nodded.

"What about you? What were your parents like?" Her question caught me by surprise, but I guess it shouldn't have.

"They were good people," I managed, feeling my own pang of sadness, "I miss them a lot. The years only ever seem to dull the feeling."

"I know how that feels. I mean... I know it isn't the same thing, but I was a pretty lonely child, myself. Waitaminute… 'were'?" Her eyes cut sharply to me in the shadow of her hood.

"They're… they're dead. It's part and parcel of why I'm a vampire hunter now."

Serana flinched, "Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to bring up a bad memory."

"You didn't know," I shrugged. "I figured you'd learn something about my past sooner or later. I guess you're right in that we're both a little lonely."

"Not as much, anymore," I barely heard her murmur, and turned in surprise to look at her. Her face flushed and she cleared her throat. "Anyway, that's why I want to find my mother," Serana said hastily. "She had to be up to something in that garden. I'm hoping it's a clue that will tell us where she went. Let's... uh... let's just get some rest."

I climbed into bed, amused and also pleased.

.

It was evening when we got to Darkwater Crossing; the last dregs of light were fading from the world around us. It was our first stop after visiting the Dawnguard. Initially, the married couple that owned the mine were wary of us coming out of the darkness to join the group at the dinner fire outside.

The troop of weary miners, however, were more open to the sight of the two strangers. Soon we had a considerable audience, inquiring about all the gossip we could provide. I shared what I could, and though it wasn't much, they gobbled it up like hungry beggars with a crust of bread. Any bit of news, any murmur of gossip, any story to tell that one had not been told a hundred times over already, was worthy of hearing.

Serana excused herself and disappeared into the night early on, made nervous by the group clamoring to know more about us. It didn't help that there was the risk of someone seeing her eyes glowing from within her hood. She was gone long before the miners discovered that a vampire hunter was in their midst.

I soon discovered that stories of the vampire nests I had wiped out were the highlight of the evening. This, at least, I could provide with a lot more information than I could basic gossip. My tale of saving Morthal earned me a bottle of mead and a dessert from a couple of hurrahing Nords. They always celebrated tales of battle with cheers and clanked tankards. I made sure to tuck aside half of everything for Serana's return. Knowing my audience, I shared the tragedy of Hroggar's wife and child early on, to make the triumph of killing Movarth all the more worthy. And if I didn't mention my sorrow, and the tears I shed for the little girl, no one would be the wiser.

As things wound down, a Dunmer named Sondas joined me by the fire, gazing thoughtfully into the flames.

"So," he said by way of quiet conversation, "How long have you two been together?"

I blinked at him, "Serana and I? Not long. Almost a month, perhaps? We're mostly traveling buddies, but I've seen her interest." I acknowledged with a small smile, then grew serious. "Thing is, I think she's been… hurt… and I mean badly. She's interested, but she's afraid too."

Sondas nodded sagely, "You should see the way she looks at you, sera. I think if you play your Septims right, she'll come to trust you, despite her pain. If you want to take a word of advice from a backwater miner…"

I nodded and gestured for him to continue.

"...to the north and just a little west, you'll find an unassuming cave entrance." He had me open my map and pointed to the spot, then gestured in the direction we would want to take from the mining camp. "It leads to a place called Eldergleam Sanctuary. It doesn't look like much at first, when you go through the tunnel. But when it opens up, I'll bet you a year's wages you'll like what you find. If you don't mind a small delay in your travels." He added with a sly grin.

I gave a small laugh, "No bets, my friend. I don't like to throw that kind of money around. But I will take your advice."

I downed a Potion of Resist Cold to help me sleep through the night and curled up in my sleep roll, trying to get comfortable. I was the only one still awake to see Serana quietly slip back into the settlement and join me in the tent. She paused at the sight of the bundle that awaited her, and then I heard the soft sound of surprise and pleasure as she found the bread, cheese, and still-warm seasoned beef.

She needs blood, but she still eats like a human. I still don't know what kind of vampire she is, but I'm oddly comforted by the fact that she made this area a little safer for the residents. I smirked to myself, and finally felt the fog of sleep creeping through my thoughts. Not that bandits would find much to steal from this place anyway…