"You know what to do. And start taking off that armor," Serana hissed quietly, clearly on edge.
"Serana?" A voice echoed behind the door to her chambers. A deep male voice that made her flinch. Fuck. That meant nothing good.
Bishop did not like the idea of taking off his armor right now. He understood what this was supposed to look like – at the very least, he needed to be seen in his mindless state again and getting rid of his equipment at Serana's instruction. But it was fucking nerve-wrecking again.
Still, everything worked so far according to Serana's instructions. He needed to trust that she knew how to handle this interruption.
Bishop stood up by the bed and began slowly unclasping his armor, staring dead ahead without moving in any other way. When Serana was satisfied with him following instructions, she turned back to the door.
"Come in!" She called out.
The door opened and another vampire walked in. He looked… somewhat older. There were some grey hairs in his dark mane and trimmed beard. He was a Nord, just like Serana, but what was most striking and telling about him was his outfit. It was in the same weirdly old style as everyone's, but somehow it looked more lavish with the high collar and silver buckles everywhere. He looked almost… regal.
Was this… Harkon?
The man entered the room without a word at first. His eyes rested on Bishop instantly and he tried his best not to let his nerves show.
The vampire walked over to him and Bishop just continued to unbuckle his armor, staring dead ahead. He was done with his chest piece by now, but before he took it off entirely, Serana spoke.
"Stop for now."
"Yes, mistress," Bishop answered monotonously and let his hands drop limply from his armor. Now he just stood there, staring and not moving an inch.
"Father?" Serana prodded Harkon, confirming his identity. The man paid her no mind though as he stepped really close to Bishop and looked at his face intently.
Fuck, this was excruciating. Bishop had to really focus not to let his eyes turn to him even slightly. In his peripheral vision, he noticed Harkon look down a bit – on the lipstick stains and puncture marks on his neck.
"What's this?" Harkon scoffed. What did that mean? Was there something suspicious? Bishop forced himself to stand still and not focus on the man. Fuck, this was hard.
"I went to see about the ransom for that lunatic in the pens. I picked it up on the way, brought it back," Serana shrugged noncommittally. "Do you need something, father?"
Harkon let out a disgusted sound before he finally turned away from Bishop and towards Serana.
"Pointless trivialities," he growled.
"I need to feed, father," Serana sighed. "And what does it matter if I bring a new one that's not already almost drained? It's not even a waste of time." She made a good point, didn't she? Bishop hoped so. After all, she would just order him to follow her. She was walking back here anyway. There was no waste of time or anything at all, according to her narrative. Fuck, Bishop hoped that she didn't just piss Harkon off with this.
"Not this, I don't care what you feed on," Harkon scoffed. "The whole ransom idiocy. Everyone is so concerned about such trivialities instead of focusing on what matters."
"What are they supposed to do?" Serana shook her head. He was probably talking about the prophecy, wasn't he?
"Be useful," he snarled hatefully. "But I didn't come to talk about them."
"Do you have any other ideas on where she could be?" Serana cocked her head curiously. Was she talking about her mother? She didn't let any hint of concern or wariness show at all. She was good.
"Not as such. Do you remember her introducing you to that count in Cyrodiil?" Harkon asked.
Count in Cyrodiil?
"Uhm… not exactly. She introduced me to a lot of people in Cyrodiil," Serana sighed.
"Hmph. Her pointless attempts at gaining allies in other clans rather than wiping those weakling out. Pathetic. But I was thinking… perhaps she got some of those lesser vampires to shelter her. You met some of them," Harkon pointed out.
"You want me to reach out?" Serana scowled a bit. "I don't remember them."
"I do. You will approach them as the concerned daughter, perhaps escaping my 'clutches'," he scoffed disdainfully. "And I'm sure they will be malleable."
"Very well. Just… let me rest for a bit and tell me where to go later," Serana nodded. "It's worth a try."
"Good," the man nodded before he gave one more brief look to Bishop's motionless form. "Don't dawdle too much. This is more important."
"Yes, father," Serana nodded.
Finally the man turned on his heel and walked from the room. Only once the door closed and a brief moment passed, Serana and Bishop let out a relieved sigh.
"Fuck," Bishop shook his head. "He knows she has the Scroll?"
"Yes. It only makes sense. It disappeared when she did," Serana nodded.
"So he has you chasing around after the leads. But you don't want him to find her, right?" Bishop clarified.
"I… do not want him to find her, no. I do want to find the Scroll and give it to him to gain his trust though. Just so that I can be entrusted with all of them to get the reading," she explained again. "If he found mother though… well… it would not end well."
"Are you gonna go to Cyrodiil for him?" Bishop asked while Serana kept looking around the room.
"It actually provides an opportunity. I can tell him I did when I return from wherever we find her with the Scroll. It will make him feel like he was the one to direct me, instruct me correctly and I carried out his task. He will be more inclined to do that again and entrust me with the Scrolls."
"That's a good point," Bishop nodded. "Why doesn't he do this stuff himself though? Why wouldn't he himself go get a priest and the reading."
"He doesn't actually leave the Castle," Serana smirked. "For all his bravado, he and mother are the same. They are paranoid and they hide from everything, walling themselves in, protecting themselves with secrets and guardians. They are obsessed with their power and endlessly concerned that someone out there might just be able to threaten it. Father will not leave for the priest. That's why he wanted a priest brought here. I will have to convince him that the Scrolls need to be read outside of the Castle, that there will be no way to get a Priest here. Or maybe I could get a Priest here and convince him that the reading is too dangerous to witness… I… haven't decided yet. I need to think on this more. And I hope Isran will help me think of a safe way to do this."
"Hmm… that will be tough," Bishop nodded. Harkon would probably be even more concerned about relinquishing the Scrolls once he had all three. Fuck, he was so worried about that one he had that he had Serana entombed with it.
"Yes. But those concerns are moot as long as we don't have the last Scroll. Come. Put your armor back in order. I have an idea," Serana looked intently at her bed and then, she suddenly began to pull the drapes off her canopy.
Bishop started to buckle his armor once more, but he still kept thinking about it. This would be a fucking tough convincing to pull on Serana's part.
"You know, the Imperial Library is keeping all the Scrolls they managed to find again. What if your mother gave them the one she stole?" He pondered while Serana kept pulling off the drapes.
"Why would she give it to the Library?" Serana scoffed.
"Because it would get lost among the rest. Because the Imperial Library is one of the most secure places in Tamriel, especially after the Scrolls were scattered. And because your father would not be able to get there in any way. There's Thalmor there and mages and probably people who recognize illusions and could see a charmed person from miles away. There's no way anyone would take a Scroll out of there now," Bishop pointed out. Everyone knew that the White Gold Tower was practically impenetrable by magical and regular means alike. And the Library held the most powerful and valuable treasures there. Torban used to dream of stealing from the Tower one day, but of course that lowlife bandit would never be able to pull off something like that. Even a master thief couldn't, not with how insane the security was, especially with the Thalmor in charge. Or… well… not officially in charge.
"The only way would be to get a reading there in the Tower," Serana stopped what she was doing suddenly and looked at Bishop in surprise. "And I wouldn't have to give father the Scroll. Isran would keep it safe. Because it's 'in the Library'. And father might give me the rest to… hmm… this is worth considering, Bishop. Clever."
"Yeah, I'm not just a pretty neck for you to pretend to drain," Bishop smirked at her. That actually made Serana smile and snort a little in amusement. That was a lot of expressiveness for her.
"Thank you, Bishop. For all of this," she looked at him sincerely as she approached with a long silk drape in her hands. This one didn't look so old, but she still pulled on it roughly in her hands a few times to test it out. "Now, hands up. I'm gonna dangle you from the window," she pointed to the small window that was letting some light into her room. Not much light. The Castle walls and spires were clearly blocking the direct sun, but at least there was no actual need for candles during the day.
"Ugh, fine," Bishop sighed. Once he saw her grab the drape though, he kinda saw this coming. They couldn't really go back through the main hall after all. "You could have said this was an alternate plan, you know? I could have grabbed a rope." He didn't have his pack, just emergency sneaking equipment like invisibility potions and many lockpicks in his belt pouches, but he could have just carried the rope.
"Yes, that wouldn't have been suspicious," Serana shook her head. "And I wasn't sure if it would come to this. It was just… one of the things that could have happened. If I didn't find anything to support you, I would have just caught you down below."
"Uhm… sure…" Bishop raised his brow at her. She wasn't really a bulging muscly woman to be claiming to be able to catch him in.
"Or rather took you down with me… hmm… not important. I'd rather avoid that," Serana sighed. "Here, let me fasten it." She promptly approached and began to circle the drape around his waist. "We are above the landing now, above the edges where we should have taken the boat in the first place. You should not be visible in any way unless you somehow swing way too much. But we're high above the landing. The drape isn't long enough, you won't be able to get all the way down, but there is a ledge you need to get to. From that, you can either jump into the water or… I suppose I could help you if you really don't want to get wet."
"I don't care. My shit will dry," Bishop shrugged. "You're getting down yourself though?"
"Yes. Don't worry about me. I will hold the drape until you get to the ledge and then get down," she explained, but when Bishop gave her a dubious look, she got a little defensive. "I am strong enough, just so you know. I can hold the drape."
"Why not just tie it to the bed and we can both get down?" Bishop prodded.
"And leave the tied drape here for anyone to be able to spot our illicit escape?" She scoffed. "I will wrap it around the bed to help with the pressure, don't worry and go. Just trust me. When you make it to the ledge, untie the drape so that I can put it back into place."
Alright. Fine. She was clearly being careful at least. That was comforting. But Bishop still hated not having all the information about their mission. Didn't he just prove to her that he had good ideas on being subtle with the whole Library thing? This was frustrating.
But fine. He stepped on the window ledge and waited until she gave him the 'all clear'. He looked back, just in case. Serana had the drape wrapped around one of the poles of the bed and she held the other end firmly in her hands while she had her leg lodged against the bed as well.
He knew he shouldn't look down too much, but he had to if he was gonna climb down. It was… really high. They were in one of the tallest towers, apparently. Below him there was the landing, all stone and nothing else, and further away was the water.
He did spot the ledge at the side of the castle wall. It was about half-way down. He would have to swing a bit to get there, but it was manageable.
He took a deep breath and turned around so that he would be able to descend. He had to hold onto the ledge for a while, but the drape held him tightly and securely. The walls were somewhat old and there were places where bits were missing or too rough, so at least he had some things to hold onto. But it was still a tough climb with the wind howling around him.
Serana secured him surprisingly well. It took a while, in which he kept hoping everyone would just assume Serana was having fun with her new victim and nobody would bother her. Eventually, he finally made it close to the ledge and let go of the wall, letting himself dangle there.
He felt the drape dip down a bit, probably when Serana got shocked at the sudden force of his weight, but he didn't fall. Good. She was still holding him. He used his foot to launch himself a bit and began to swing.
It was… kinda fun. The freezing wind slashing around his ears felt nice. And it went well too. He managed to land on his feet on the ledge and steady himself with some flailing of his arms. When he was confident he was standing firm, he began to untie the drape. Then he pulled on it a few times to let Serana know.
The drape was being dragged up above again and Bishop walked on the ledge until he was right above the water. For whatever reason, Serana seemed uncomfortable with 'helping' him get down. And he didn't mind getting wet. He kinda expected it, sneaking around a small island.
He plunged into the cold water promptly. It wasn't that bad. Usually the Sea of Ghosts was much worse to dip into so far from the shore, but this small bay and the calmer waters near the landing made it much warmer.
By the time he swam to the landing and pulled himself up, he spotted a figure in the window above. Serana was getting out, pulling herself around the window in a strange contorted way as she clearly tried to at least make the window look closed from her awkward position outside.
That looked… dangerous.
Just as he thought that, a small yelp echoed through the area and Serana's hold on the window slipped. She was falling.
Fuck!
Bishop tried to gouge her trajectory. He needed to catch her, though at that height and speed…
Suddenly, there was a strange puff of black smoke. And Serana was… gone.
What?! What the fuck?
She was just gone. But there was something there in her stead. A black mass… a shitload of bats, flopping their wings. What the fuck was going on?
The bats flew down, right towards Bishop. He wasn't sure what to do. His instinct was to raise his arms protectively in front of his face to stave off the bats, though he was really not used to bats attacking or flying in such clumps.
But they didn't fly at him. The moment the mass got close to the stone ground, there was that black puff of smoke again. And then, Serana stood in front of him, hale and whole.
"What. The. Fuck?" Bishop gaped at her. Did she just turn into bats? How the fuck did she do that?
"All well? Are you ready?" She just asked him as if what just happened was completely normal.
"You… turned into bats," he still couldn't shake that. He had never seen anything like that.
"Vampiric magic," she shrugged noncommittally. "If you are ready, let's go. We should not dawdle here."
Right. Sure. He was just… gonna follow.
Follow that woman who just turned into a bunch of bats.
…
"Isran, just hang on a second," Aeyrin desperately tried to slow the man down.
He was like possessed all of the sudden. He just kept putting on his equipment as if he was gearing up for war. And he provided no more explanations for her.
"What are you doing? What's happening in that fort? Just explain, please," she prodded him in frustration. He said they were safe. He said Bishop and Serana were likely safe – meaning this had nothing to do with them. So what was it?
Serana mentioned that he was impulsive, but Aeyrin did not expect something like this. They needed to stay here and watch the ring in case it got extinguished. What if Serana and Bishop needed help? They needed to be alert and ready.
"That fort there is full of Thalmor," Isran explained curtly as he finally grabbed his large runed warhammer and fastened it onto his back. He seemed all ready to go and he gave Aeyrin an expectant look, as if he was waiting for her to join him. Or not.
Thalmor. Alright. That… was likely not good. But Thalmor had forts in some places. That was not unusual. And… Aeyrin did not like the Thalmor, but… was Isran just going to attack them? Why? How? What for? That was insane. And illegal.
"So?" Aeyrin gave him an uncertain look. The Dawnguard were fighting Harkon's clan, right? Their whole purpose was to stop the prophecy, possibly kill evil and feral vampires and help those that wanted to be helped. Why was he so bothered about the Thalmor? Sure, the knowledge did not make Aeyrin at ease, but… was he seriously arming himself to attack them? Or what was he going to do?
"I've been watching them. They're dragging people inside in chains," Isran growled.
Dragging people… in chains?
A prison? Or… that thing that Master Therien and Bishop were held in? Their… interrogation outpost?
No! Focus! You can't just attack a Thalmor outpost! And you can't leave the camp.
She quickly reminded herself of what it took last time to take that horrible outpost down. It took planning and scheming and her having to let that man paw at her and then kill him. No. This wasn't how things worked. Unfortunate as it was, the Thalmor were here rightfully. This was Haafingar. They couldn't just attack them.
"Isran, they… they probably can. We're in Haafingar and…" she spoke uncertainly.
"This is exactly why I left the Vigil," he growled angrily. What? "People suffer under the power of monsters, but everyone would rather turn a blind eye and strike only the weak, or their own. When I spoke of the Volkihar clan, they just told me to focus on this… this one person rumored to be a vampire in Markarth. A citizen, living amongst mortals without harming anyone. So I did and I warned her of the Vigil knowing her identity. She left the Province and the Vigil sent me to a den of rabid werewolves next and denied me healing for two weeks as a punishment. Those were their priorities while Harkon still plotted to doom the world and his clan stole defenseless people to put them in their cattle pens."
'Cattle pens'?
"You think they are any different than Harkon? They rely on the power that shields them. They rely on the fact that people won't dare to defy them," Isran growled.
Well… she agreed with him. Sure. And that story about the Vigil practices was just… horrifying. She remembered Vuaerion telling her once that he was denied healing too for some transgression. It was awful to hear about Stendarrites behaving like this, defying the doctrines of mercy.
But… this was insane.
He looked so passionate and… angry. Was this what she used to be like around the skooma dens, like at Fort Fellhammer? Bishop said she was out of control and she knew that she was. She just… never saw it from the other side. Was this what she was like?
That was scary and dangerous. But she couldn't help feeling like his words resonated with her.
Still… she was not like that anymore. Most of the time. She needed to talk to him. Calmly and rationally and they could discuss the best course of action together.
"Wait a moment, please," she raised her hands at him in a calming gesture. "I understand, I really do, but… we can't just storm the place. We have to be here for Bishop and Serana. Maybe when they get back, we could all look into that place, see what's going on there and sneak in or such. But this…"
"I think I saw someone I know," Isran interrupted her.
Oh. That… made more sense for why he acted so rashly. He spotted a prisoner he knew?
"Who?" Aeyrin asked carefully. She wasn't sure why that was important to know. It clearly wouldn't change anything for Isran. And she completely understood why.
"He was one of my men for a year or so. Good lad. But his mother got sick and he wanted to take care of her, so he left us and returned home. To Whiterun," Isran scowled fiercely. "I don't know what happened, but I know his family was involved in some feud with some Imperial supporters in the city. I also know that the Thalmor have no business arresting Whiterun citizens."
He had a point. Well… if that man wasn't in Whiterun at that time, maybe actually doing something to the Thalmor and then getting arrested for it, that could be possible. But Aeyrin already knew how they operated. Maybe they blackmailed him into turning himself in for the interrogation, just like they did Master Therien.
But still…
"Bishop and Serana might need help. If we risk ourselves and…" Aeyrin tried to reason with him.
"I do not intend to storm the place," Isran shook his head. "Despite what Serana undoubtedly told you, I can control myself. I just do not intend to hide myself and stand by. She is not used to this approach and it gives her pause."
"So… what do you intend?" She asked carefully.
"Scouting first. We won't be much further from the camp to make it impossible to come back and get on the boat. I know that every single Imperial fort has an escape route through the prison. Imperials are quite predictable with their strategies."
"You want to free them from the other side?" Aeyrin cocked her head. That didn't sound that bad. But would it be possible? It was a Thalmor outpost! Then again, it was clearly meant to be hidden here. Maybe they wouldn't expect anyone coming here and the security would reflect that. Maybe. Maybe that was just naïve.
"Yes. You said you know some Shouts that serve as diversions?"
"Uhm… yes. I do," she nodded.
"Good. You have to take stock of your arsenal before you strike. My men could create a diversion out front and we could take care of any lurkers in the prison. But first, for that, we need to find the entrance," he explained.
Alright. That maybe didn't sound too bad.
"I don't think I'll be much help with sneaking around and scouting, Isran," Aeyrin sighed. She was horrible at that. She always ruined any subtlety.
"Fair enough," Isran nodded and he suddenly pulled off the soul gem ring from his finger, handing it to her. "You watch the ring then and stay here. I'll get my best scout from the cave. I'll be back soon with news."
"Alright. Good luck," Aeyrin took the ring eagerly. Although now she would have two missions to worry and obsess over.
She couldn't deny that Isran managed to get her… invested. If they really could free these people from Thalmor custody, that would be worth the risks. And it had been several hours and the soul gem ring was still shining. Surely if Bishop and Serana got found out by the vampires, it would be right away.
She hoped so at least.
This was all getting more complicated than she intended. She could only hope that Bishop and Serana would come back sooner than Isran would spring his plans.
And if Bishop thought she was bad with her dangerous impulsive ideas, Isran was clearly so much worse.
…
Stones flew into several directions, splattering around the room as the beast crumbled in front of Bishop. It looked so strange when it… died. Did it die or was it more like an automaton? He wasn't sure.
The gargoyles were certainly challenging, but not impossible to defeat. And now that he knew what they looked like, he was never caught off guard by them springing to life. The hounds fell easily under the enchantment of his new hammer and Serana's chain lightning spells took care of all the undead. Things were going well.
"I love this hammer," Bishop grinned as he watched the rocks crumble under it. It worked so well on these things with that enchantment. Even though he was much more used to swords and pointy shit, it was pretty light and easy to wield.
"Just don't hit me with it accidentally," Serana smirked at him. "You keep waving it around."
"It's how Aeyrin fights. She has a blunt weapon," Bishop chuckled. She said it was an effective technique. It has been so far.
"You look… content here," Serana noted.
It was a strange thing to say. They were in the old wings of the Castle, all filled with dust, cobwebs, broken furniture that looked like someone smashed it in anger, which Serana pointed out might have been her father when her mother escaped. There were bats and spiders prowling through the dismal halls, but also undead, gargoyles and those creepy hounds. Aggressive ones. Serana did warn about these things and here they all were. And yet she could clearly tell, even in this ominous place, that he was actually having fun.
It's been a while. He missed adventuring a bit. And he finally felt much more useful here than he did as Serana's pretend cattle. All the gates and doors were locked and he could take care of them with his lockpicks. His hammer was useful in battle, as was his sword against the undead when there were too many for Serana to zap with one spell.
"I like this shit," he shrugged a bit. "Though I expected more sneaking and less fighting." He really did not expect this many guardians. But it made sense. And it made sense that it gave Serana pause to try on her own. She could do that any time after all if she could just jump off her window like that and turn into fucking bats! But she did say she worried she might not be up to the challenge alone. She knew her father best.
"Must be a relief after all that pretending though," she noted as they continued onwards through the hallways.
"Kinda. Your father is fucking intimidating," Bishop scoffed. "And I did constantly worry I would not be able to be convincing."
"Me too. That's why I wanted to really charm you," she sighed. "But I think you did well. It's a good thing nobody watches the cattle much. Well… nobody but Rargal. He's the thrall master. We needed to avoid him at any cost. All he does is watch the cattle."
"That's the guy everyone wanted to get me to," Bishop nodded in recognition. "Well… you were not bad yourself, navigating that shit." She handled all of them easily, taking attention away from Bishop. "I'm just glad we're here. This is like the first time in days I don't feel so fucking tense all the time." Battle tension was very different from what he felt before.
"Uhm… 'days'? What do you mean?" Serana scowled a bit. Did she think he was only tense at the Castle?
"You and Isran," he clarified. "Don't tell me it was all in my head. You two are acting as if the other will stab you at any second."
"What?" Serana's head snapped towards him with a surprisingly shocked expression. What? Was that news to her? "I… I may not trust Isran to be subtle, but I know he would not ever betray me. Do I… really seem like I don't trust him?" She looked genuinely concerned about that. It was a strange break from her stoicism that Bishop did not expect.
"I don't know," Bishop shrugged. She kept saying she trusted him, that he was helping her. "Why is shit so tense with you two then? Or is he just prissy because you didn't want to take him here?" He asked as he gestured to the old decrepit halls they traversed.
"I… don't know. Maybe," she sighed. "There… might be other factors though. I think his men are becoming a problem."
"His men? Why?" Bishop pried. They seemed to treat Serana much better than when they brought her the first time. Nobody watched her, aimed their crossbows at her or followed her every step. They were more at ease around her, surely. And she even helped them train, didn't she?
"I'm not sure. I really have no basis for this, just a… feeling," she sighed. "Isran has me show them who I am, show my powers to prepare them for the worst. But I see how they see it. The fear. I think they're trying to influence him. To mistrust me, or… to convince him that things need to be done in order for me to be trustworthy."
To be fair, Bishop did understand shock and fear borne out of seeing Serana in action. He still hasn't gotten over those bats. And the charming. Still… it must have been hard for her. But what did she mean, exactly?
"What 'things'?" He scowled in confusion.
Serana didn't answer for a while. She seemed deep in thought, or maybe just avoiding the reply. And in the end, her answer wasn't what he expected. Or maybe it wasn't an answer at all.
"I was hoping Aeyrin would turn last night," her brows furrowed a bit.
"Yeah… you seemed eager to bring that shit up," Bishop grumbled a bit. "She doesn't love talking about it, you know? Why did you hope she would turn?" Did she just find the werewolf fascinating? He could understand that. But why ask only when Isran was around? It seemed weird. She didn't ask the night they were traveling to the canyon.
"I know that the Dawnguard don't focus on the dragons much, but… they know the prophecy too. Apparently, everyone does. I only got interested in it after meeting you two, but it appears that everyone now knows what it's about. Everyone, even the Dawnguard are wary of encountering dragons. And there's only one person everyone can trust to end it."
"So what?" Bishop scowled. "You thought you'd show Isran that Aeyrin is the same as you? Everyone's only hope to turn some prophecy around while she's… something else too?"
"In a way," she admitted. "To show that it doesn't matter. That it shouldn't matter to him."
"And instead Aeyrin got cured," Bishop nodded in understanding.
"You saw the way he looked at me when she spoke of the cure?" Serana scowled a bit more and shook her head. She seemed peeved, but soon, her expression turned more stony again and she waved her hand dismissively. "Never mind. I don't want to talk about it anymore."
He did notice Isran looking at her oddly when Aeyrin was talking about being cured. It was kind of a normal thing to think about, wasn't it? Didn't everyone in her situation at least consider it? Why shouldn't Isran wonder? Bishop wondered too.
"You never thought about…" He tried to ask, but he was interrupted before he managed to get the words out at all.
"I'm done, Bishop."
Alright. Message received. He could definitely understand not wanting to discuss shit.
Besides, they should probably focus on watching out for more gargoyles.
…
"I'm back," a voice hissed from behind her and Aeyrin let out a little yelp.
How in the Void did she not hear him approach? She was staring at the waves, trying to let the sound of their crashing calm her down, and apparently she ignored everything around her.
It's been around two more hours or so, judging from the position of the sun. Isran's been gone the whole time and Bishop and Serana weren't back yet. The ring still shone brightly though. Everyone was alright, as far as she knew. And now she knew that so was Isran.
Although she kind of hoped that he wouldn't be back sooner than Bishop and Serana.
"I'm glad you're alright," she let out a relieved sigh when she roused from her shock. Isran did smirk at her reaction a bit as he walked around her so that she could see him. "What did you find?"
"What I needed," Isran nodded in determination. "I took my best scouts, Sorine and Durak, and we managed to find the escape route. Sorine went in and confirmed it leads to the prison. There are not that many guards in the prison. And everyone will provide a distraction while you and me go rescue the prisoners and Sorine and Durak will lead the escaped ones back to the cave. I have a few plans. But I need to know exactly how your Shouts work."
Right. Great. He had everything. He had a plan. She wanted to help these prisoners so badly, but…
"Isran, I think we should wait for Bishop and Serana. They could help. Serana could charm people and Bishop could sneak in there and…"
"Do you know what they do to people there?" Isran scowled. "Thorald is a good man, he does not deserve to suffer there a second longer than I already allowed him to suffer there by looking for the entrance. And what if something happens to Bishop and Serana? We will have to go help them and leave the prisoners there even longer. Risk leaving them there for good."
"So we're risking not being able to help Bishop and Serana?" Aeyrin scowled at him. Why was that better?
"Bishop and Serana are not being held in chains and tortured right now," he growled. "And we have a way to make sure they are alright. The ring is still shining?"
"Yes," Aeyrin nodded. It was comforting to see the ring. And she understood Isran. It didn't sit well with her to leave those people there either. Gods, this was nerve-wracking. She really wanted to help, but… she really felt awful about tackling a dangerous task while she should be ready to help Bishop if need be.
But… it's been a long time. Bishop and Serana were probably already in the restricted wings for a long time now, just searching for clues of her mother. There were no vampires in there – Serana said so. And maybe this would go smoothly and quickly with Isran's men helping.
"So… your Shouts?" Isran prodded.
"I can… uhm… make it sound like there's a voice coming from somewhere, but not from where I am. If that makes sense," she tried to explain.
"I think I understand. So you can hide in a place and make it seem like there is a voice coming from somewhere else?" He moved his hand to his beard and began to stroke it thoughtfully.
"Yeah. That's how it works," she nodded. "I can also almost stop time for a little while, or I can move really fast, but those are all… real Shouts. They are very loud. The first one nobody but me hears somehow."
"Interesting. That's very useful. Like this, everything will go even smoother than I thought," Isran smiled at her confidently.
"Really? Are you sure?" She scowled a bit. "Isran, I really want to help those people. I know too well what Thalmor do to them and I know that there's a really big possibility in a place like this that they have no right to hold these people there. But… if something happens to us and Bishop and Serana need help…"
"I could give the ring to Durak or Sorine while we're there. They would make sure to either alert us or go to the rescue themselves. They are very skilled and subtle," Isran tried to reassure her.
Aeyrin did not like the idea of relinquishing that ring and being unable to check. But, then again, it would distract her and it was probably for the best if someone who wasn't going inside that fort had it. But… she didn't know these people. She wasn't so sure about this.
"Actually, I could send Sorine with you instead of me. Her subtlety and skills with locks would help while you provide the distractions. And I could wait for the prisoners outside and guide them to safety. And I would keep an eye on the ring," Isran suggested instead. "Yes. I think I prefer this plan. I usually like to take point in operations so that my men don't think I'm just ordering them around into danger without taking risks myself, but… Sorine is really much more suited to this task. I need to play to everyone's strengths after all."
Well… that wasn't that bad. Isran would have the ring and Aeyrin would just hide somewhere in the prison and keep Shouting to help this Sorine out. She still had to work with someone she didn't know, but Isran was trustworthy, right? And he trusted his men fully.
"Alright," she nodded. She would hate herself if she didn't even try to help.
"Good," he smiled at her warmly. "Do you want to put on your armor? It might get more difficult to be subtle, but it would give you some protection, just in case."
Hmm… that was quite the dilemma. She was definitely not subtle in her armor. And it was not the same as using the Shout to distract Falmer. The Thalmor were not blind. She needed to sneak and hide.
"I'll… leave it here," she decided. It wouldn't be much help against mages anyway. "But I'm taking my mace."
"Of course. I would never condone anyone going in there unarmed," Isran nodded. "Get ready and let's get going. Every minute counts for those people."
He was right. And the sooner they finished this, the sooner she could relax again. Or more likely, just focus on worrying about Bishop.
She just hoped she wouldn't regret this.
…
It was surprising to see the sunlight. Bishop did not expect it at all in this place.
But eventually, they reached a courtyard. Serana said it was where her mother grew alchemy ingredients and did some gardening and shit. It was in a sorry state now though. The towers around were practically crumbled, everything that had even a little bit of greenery was overgrown with weeds and thorny bushes, and there were piles of rubble everywhere.
Unfortunately, that was all there was. All the doors to the towers around appeared buried in rubble. They would not have to clear that out, would they? Maybe Serana had spells for that too.
"My mother's laboratory was under the moon dial," Serana said as she walked towards the center of the courtyard. There was a… dial there, yes. It was huge, not like a regular sundial. And there were some shiny crests on the ground around it. They did look like moon phases of… Secunda likely. They were white.
But that didn't explain shit.
"How… does that work?" Bishop stared at the thing. He understood how sundials worked, of course, but a moon dial? That made no sense. The moons didn't cast shade.
"I'm not sure," Serana chuckled a bit. "The 'dial' doesn't actually cast any shadow, of course. When the night falls and Secunda becomes visible, one of the crests starts glowing. I'm not exactly sure what kind of magic that is. Or… was. It probably doesn't work anymore."
"Well… alright, I guess," Bishop shrugged. He didn't get the point of this. Couldn't anyone just look up and see what phase the moons were in? This was dumb. It all seemed just for show. "How do we get under it then?"
"I'm… not entirely sure. Mother showed me a long time ago, but I don't recall perfectly. It actually does have something to do with moving the dial to various phases. Then a staircase will be revealed in the center."
"Right. So… which phases?" Bishop studied the crests a little.
"I don't recall. There was a full moon phase, I'm certain of it, but… I don't know any more of them that were used," she sighed.
"It's gotta be thousands of possible combinations," Bishop raised his brows at her in shock. What the fuck were they supposed to do with this? No wonder Harkon never got inside, if he even tried.
"I'm sorry. I know there were three," Serana pondered. "It's been centuries. I'm not even sure if the full moon was first."
Fuck. This was bad. How long would it take them to trigger the mechanism if they just kept trying to…
Hmm… actually…
"The stone's gonna move and reveal the stairs?" Bishop asked. "Like in a Dwemer ruin or shit? There's no magic. It's a mechanism?"
"Yes. There's no magic involved," Serana nodded. "Do you know much about mechanisms like these? I admit, I myself know more about magic."
He wouldn't say he knew much, but he could spot something, couldn't he? There had to be some indication of which crests were connected to the mechanism.
He promptly walked over to the full moon crest and began to pry it off the ground. He expected Serana to protest about him ruining her mother's moon dial, but she didn't. Maybe she didn't care. Or she surmised that the courtyard was ruined enough anyway.
It took a moment, but he managed to pry it off. There were… cogs below. Hmm. Alright. Good sign. Bishop promptly began to pry off the next phase of the moon, only to find nothing but stone beneath.
"Clever," Serana nodded at him somewhat respectfully.
"Well, help me out," he urged her. It would go much faster if she chipped in.
They worked together for a time, removing all the crests from their slots. And in the end, they were left with three very clear targets – all filled with cogs and connected to something beneath the stone. Or at least it looked like. Bishop had no idea how it exactly worked, but it wasn't important. He was just glad there was something on the surface to make it obvious.
Serana kept recording their attempts in her mind and telling Bishop which combination to try next as he pushed the large dial in various directions. With only three crests though, it wasn't very difficult or time-consuming. At one point, something clicked beneath Bishop's feet and all the cogs of the three crests began to spin and let out a metallic sound.
Bishop stepped out of the way and they both watched for a while as stone tiles began to move, revealing a staircase leading down below. It was time to see the laboratory.
They continued onwards through some of the old neglected hallways. This time though, they were empty. It didn't seem as if Serana's mother wanted to raise guardians to keep anyone from her space, not like Harkon did with the restricted wings. Maybe she didn't want to harm Serana – the only person who knew how to even get here. Or maybe she didn't think those creatures could stop anyone who would be able to find her under the moon dial anyway.
"Thank you for your help," Serana smiled at Bishop as they continued up one more staircase. "We're almost there."
"You sure we'll even find any hints of her location there?" Bishop scowled a bit. What if this was all for nothing?
"Yes. I am sure she would leave hints for me. It was her hope that I would follow her one day to escape my father."
"Why didn't you?" Bishop pried. Was it all really just about fear of the guardians of the restricted wings?
"Many reasons. At first, my father was good at poisoning me against my mother. With reason. She had… done some things to earn my mistrust as well. Time passed and I found out more and more about the prophecy and father's plans. But I did not wish to hide. I know my mother. Hiding does not mean the same thing it might mean to you – not being in some remote area, living and enjoying her own company. Not traveling endlessly and seeing the world. No. My mother would hide only where nobody could ever look for her. Either somewhere so dangerous even she wouldn't be able to get a whiff of peace or sleep, or somewhere so void and barren that it would be a struggle to keep one's mind intact. I did not wish to leave this world for that. And I did not wish to run from my father instead of undermining him as the only one that really could."
"That's admirable," Bishop nodded. "So… you think your mother is actually somewhere going insane?"
"Possibly. I don't know. I cannot say, really. I have no idea whom to expect once I find her," Serana sighed. "But first, I have to find her at all."
They reached the top of the stairs and there was only wall there. But Serana promptly pulled on an old extinguished torch on a nearby wall. That began to move the stone once more. At least she remembered this.
The laboratory spread out before them. It was quite a large two-story room. There were countless shelves everywhere, most of them filled with books or ingredients. And of course, there was also a large alchemy station and an enchanting table. All in all though, it was a mess. It was not just the usual dust and cobwebs. There were books and papers scattered around, even some of the ingredients. Someone was making a mess of this place. Perhaps trying to find something. Or to hide it.
"Look for notebooks or such. She would have left clues in one of them," Serana instructed.
Well… this was gonna be a pain. There were so many writings all over the place.
Both of them got to work promptly, grabbing various books and notebooks and looking them over. Bishop found mostly either printed books, some looking quite old, and some notebooks filled with alchemical notes he could not make sense of. Some of them even had magical runes in them and he had to give them to Serana in case it was some important spell he wouldn't be able to recognize. According to Serana, it was nothing special though. Ever.
They spent a long time there, searching. It was taking forever. Bishop figured it must have been at least two hours. The whole mission took a long time already. Aeyrin must have been worried. He did check the ring on Serana's finger every chance he got but it was still shining. At least Aeyrin was safely in their camp with Isran.
Bishop grabbed another small book from the shelf and opened it tiredly. This kind of shit was so exhausting to him.
But what he saw in that one, he could barely recognize. Well… he recognized the shapes. He could not read it at all.
"Serana! This one's in Daedric," he called out hopefully. "You said you know the language." If her mother wanted to hide some information for her, why not use this form of encryption, right?
"Yes. Mother taught me. Let me see," Serana left the book she'd been holding alone and rushed towards Bishop. She promptly took the notebook from him and studied its contents.
Bishop waited in eager anticipation as Serana turned page after page, her brows creasing or rising from time to time. She clearly read something interesting.
"Hmm… I did not expect this," she frowned a bit.
"What?" Bishop prodded.
"This is it. The clues to her location," Serana nodded at him, but the crease between her brows did not disappear.
"Great. So… where is she?"
Serana didn't answer for a moment. She instead walked a bit away from Bishop towards a missing part of the railing on the second story of the chamber. Only now Bishop noticed it wasn't actually crumbled, but it looked like it was missing intentionally.
Serana stared down, onto the floor down below. She sounded concerned.
"Near."
…
Things were going smoothly so far.
Isran brought Aeyrin to the cave where his men camped and they went over the last details of the plans now that he knew what Aeyrin's Shouts could do. Then they prepared for the action.
A young Breton, Sorine, an older Orc, Durak, and Isran went along with Aeyrin towards the nearby fort. Isran and Durak remained hiding among the trees there, waiting to help the prisoners that got out and lead them into the cave again.
Sorine and Aeyrin continued onwards until they reached the shore. They stayed among the trees and didn't approach the water yet. And then Sorine promptly stopped her before Aeyrin could take another step.
"Wait. I'm sure they have the secret entrance watched. We need to wait for the distraction and then take invisibility potions, just in case," the Breton noted.
"Where is the entrance?" Aeyrin pried. She couldn't see anything.
"Over there," Sorine pointed towards a small patch of trees nearby with a lot of bushes and bramble around, right by the shore. "It's well hidden. But I'm sure the Thalmor know about it."
"How are they going to do the distraction?" Aeyrin tried to get more information. She felt like she didn't know much about the mission. She hoped that the days of knowing only what was necessary for her part ended when they stopped working with Karliah, but clearly that was not the case.
"They will cause some suspicious activity in the area. They will pretend to keep checking the fort out, scouting around it. The Thalmor are sure to get nervous. If it comes to confrontation, the men will just tell them they're looking for vampires around here and needed to investigate if they aren't a clan in disguise," Sorine explained.
"And when they find out that right around that time their prisoners escaped?" Aeyrin scowled. Wouldn't it be obvious the Dawnguard had their hands in it? Suddenly she was really glad she wasn't associated with them in any official way.
"And what will they do about it?" Sorine smirked. "They won't have any evidence, they won't be able to do any official arrests and even if they were, we're all in the Rift anyway. And we can always just blame it on the vampire presence in the area."
That… seemed like a weak cover. But it was their business if they wanted to risk the wrath of the Thalmor. It was true that there was not much the Dominion could do when they were all mostly in the Rift, and watching the Dawnguard to wait until a group of them ventured into the Empire-controlled areas seemed like a colossal waste of time for the Thalmor.
"So how do we know when?" Aeyrin asked again.
"You got a lot of questions," Sorine scoffed. Was that a bad thing? "Soon. I'm just giving them a little time."
Aeyrin felt too self-conscious to ask anything more so she stayed silent, waiting there for a while with Sorine looking around as covertly as she could. Eventually, the Breton fished out two white potions from her belt pouch and gave one to Aeyrin.
"I think it's time. Down that and follow me to the bushes. There's a trapdoor there," Sorine nodded in determination. "Find a place to hide once we're in. I'll be unlocking the cells. When you're hidden, use that Shout of yours so that I can get rid of the guards and unlock the cells in peace, alright?"
Alright. That was… fine, probably. Aeyrin had no idea what that place looked like and where she could hide, but she hoped she would just figure it out before the potion stopped working.
She saw Sorine down her potion and disappear in front of her eyes. There was no time to lose. She quickly followed and rushed towards the trees and bramble by the shore.
She wouldn't really be able to spot the trapdoor quickly, but suddenly it opened up right before her, tearing through some of the vegetation there. Aeyrin didn't hesitate and crawled inside, closing the trapdoor behind her. There were stairs there leading down into a dark corridor and Aeyrin couldn't see nor hear Sorine at all. She was probably muffled. Aeyrin didn't notice this before. And now, she felt oddly alone here in the dark, even though the Breton was likely nearby.
She took a deep nervous breath and walked through the hallway. There were torchlights beyond and she could vaguely see some cells. The whole place was rather dark though.
She walked slowly towards the next chamber where the lights and the cells were. She didn't see anything much. The insides of the cells were too dark. There were sounds though, somewhere in the back. Pained whimpers and soft begging of someone.
Then there were footsteps.
Heavy armored footsteps. Aeyrin instantly rushed in the other direction of them. She couldn't see much, but she did spot a bit of an alcove that was entirely devoid of any light. Maybe she could hide there. There were no cells in the corridor she ended up in, but she knew they were only behind one wall.
This was it. She should try the Shout now to distract that Thalmor that was walking through the corridor with the cells.
"ZUL mey gut…" The whispered words left her lips and soon, there was a sound at the very end of the hall, well away from her.
"Hey, pompous assholes!"
Huh… interesting. She always wondered how these words formed. This was the strangest magic she had ever encountered anywhere.
But it worked. She heard the sound of the footsteps in the next corridor stop, then begin again, much faster. But right then, they stopped again. And then there was a gurgling sound and something that seemed like metal crumbling to the ground.
More footsteps. Bare feet?
It was so strange to be doing this in the dark, only having the sounds as her guidance. But nothing more happened for a time, so she tried again.
"ZUL mey gut…"
"Hey! You overgrown cowards! Over here!"
Heh. They were cowards, keeping people imprisoned like this, likely without any right to. She was sure they were torturing them to get something they could prosecute them for, just how they did with Therien. They probably had nothing so far. The sounds of the bare feet rushing through the corridors was so comforting. And then there was another sound of crumbling metal.
The fort wasn't that big. This would likely not take that long, would it? And she would be out of here without anyone being the wiser. Nobody would recognize her just by her voice. And not many people knew this Shout even existed, or could conceive of such a thing existing.
Alright. There were more sounds and it was getting a little hard to distinguish everything. Maybe she should try the distraction again, even though she was pretty sure there were no more armored footsteps.
"ZUL…"
She heard the sound leave her lips. But then, a bright light blinded her. Bright white light. And the rest of the words didn't come out, not even those that everyone was supposed to hear.
For a moment, she had no idea what happened, but then, there was a green light and her whole body stiffened in an unpleasantly familiar feeling.
Again. Paralyzed. A mage.
She could do nothing as she felt gloved hands grab her exposed shoulders and yank her back.
She couldn't make a sound.
…
"I don't get it. How 'near'? How could she be here?" Bishop approached Serana uncertainly. She kept staring at the floor and being weird. What the fuck did she read in that Daedric notebook?
"It… will be easier if I show you first. There is a place… it can be accessed from here. She left instructions on that," Serana kept half-communicating and half-reading that little book.
"In there? Doesn't your father know Daedric too? Or know someone who does?" Bishop scowled a bit. It seemed a bit risky to write it all out like that, right? It was just a different language. Hiding from a thousand year old power-hungry vampire. Even Gallus encrypted his journal more complexly.
"Yes. It's not as explicit. There is… some wordplay involved, I suppose you could call it. In any case, can you help me find some ingredients?"
Huh. Ingredients? Was it like that weird fucking potion they drank in Dawnstar? Was this another 'dream realm'? That would explain why Serana said she was 'near'.
"What do you need?"
"There should be some soul gem shards here somewhere. If not, just crush a soul gem. Not a filled one though, that's dangerous," Serana warned him.
Easy enough. There were plenty of soulgems around. Bishop looked for a little while for the shards themselves, but when he found none, he just grabbed a grand soul gem and smashed it against a stone bowl, letting the shards fall inside.
"Some freshly ground… bone meal," Serana continued. "Huh… I don't think it's spelled that way, mother," she sighed.
Bishop ignored her grumbling about Daedric scribbling and began to look around. There was a convenient shelf with many finely ground powders on it. And on closer inspection, only one of them was the fitting light color of bone meal.
"Last thing… purified void salts," Serana nodded as she closed the notebook at last.
"What? What does it mean, 'purified'?" Bishop scowled. He had no idea what the fuck that was supposed to be.
"It's sieved and then mixed with regular salt. It looks a little… you know what? Let me find it. Why don't you just add the shards and bone meal into the basin by the railing for now?"
Basin by the railing? Bishop hadn't noticed it before, but there was a small basin on a tall stone leg. When he approached, he noticed a strange black liquid inside. How did that not dry out, out in the open like this over the centuries?
"This… with the… black shit inside?" Bishop scowled. Seriously, what the fuck was going on? He was not drinking that shit.
"Yes, just pour it in," Serana was already approaching with a small bowl on her own. Bishop poured the shards and the bone meal inside and the black liquid began… bubbling. Weird. And when Serana approached and added the slightly lighter and powdery salts than usual, suddenly… something happened.
The ground on the lower lever suddenly started to… move. There was a weird purple light there, seeping through the stone tiles as they began parting.
What. The. Fuck?
"A portal. To where my mother hid. Soul Cairn," Serana announced almost reverently.
'Soul Cairn'? What the fuck was Soul Cairn? Bishop had never heard of it. And… a portal. Portals didn't usually lead to normal places. He had never even seen a portal in his life.
"What's Soul Cairn?" He wasn't sure whether he wanted to know the answer as he stared at the swirling purple hole in the ground, right below his feet. That was fucking disturbing. Was this what all portals looked like, or just this creepy one?
"It's a plane of Oblivion. It's where souls go when they are trapped in gems."
What? Was she serious?
This was a portal to Oblivion?! To actual Oblivion? To that place full of Daedra and Princes and all that bad shit that nobody should ever mess with? And her mother was hiding there? Serana did mention she would be hiding in insane places but… fuck!
This just went from bad to so much worse.
…
"Well, well, would you look at this," a sneer rang by Aeyrin's ear.
She felt the gloved hands squeeze her shoulders painfully and the next thing she knew, she was thrown back onto her back on the ground. She couldn't protect herself in her paralysis and a dull ache spread through the back of her head. She felt her vision blur a little from that, but she could only tell by the strange glow the faraway light suddenly had. It was so dark otherwise.
Then something blocked that light entirely.
She saw a shape of a woman, staring down at her. She couldn't see much else as the woman completely obliterated all sources of light when she loomed over her. There was just one thing. Her eyes were glowing with a strange soft-blue light.
"Ohoho! I did not expect the Dragonborn herself to be trying something like this. Everyone will be talking about this for ages," the woman laughed meanly. "The mighty Dragonborn, rotting in the Dominion's prison for trying to free the rebels that would have her on a pike if they could."
Dammit. No! Of course she was recognized! How could the woman see her in the dark? What was up with her eyes?
"I can't wait to tell them, but first… my trophy."
'Trophy'? What trophy?
She saw sudden movement, only barely. A sound of a blade being unsheathed. A gloved hand grabbed her by the hair and yanked it upwards, but it was not hard enough to move her body.
And then there was sharp pain by the left side of her head.
It was unbearable. There was insanely loud ringing everywhere and she wasn't sure if it was real. Her vision went white and her whole body tautened. She was screaming her lungs out from the pain. She knew she was. But there was no scream. Only the high-pitched ring in her head. She didn't know if it drowned it all out or if she was still silenced by the spell. She couldn't really think.
All there was was the pain.