Chapter 50 -- Serana
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It had taken another two days to cross Skyrim to arrive at the docks where the boat for the castle still sat in the calm water. Tying our horses, ensuring they had enough food to survive, I rowed us across, both of us wrapped in furs as the weather had turned on our way north. Once docked, Serena led the way, having told me all about the castle on route, telling me about the secret entrances, hallways and rooms, and she was quite proud of the fact that she knew more about the castle than her father. She was confident we'd get in and out without being noticed.
Walking together, the castle towered over us, craning our necks to see it. "Castle looks big from down here," she said.
"Someone compensating?" I joked.
She gave me a look and smiled. Then my face fell as I immediately remembered. She noticed and grabbed my hand. "Don't," she said, "Because I know what you meant."
"It's just... you know... I feel like I should watch..."
"I'm not going to take offence to every bad joke, Ragnar. Trust me. I told you because I wanted to. I've already moved on." She stopped and gave me a hug. "I know it was a shock," she added softly.
"It made me... angry. Probably nothing like you."
"My anger disappeared a long time ago now, Ragnar. Now I just want..." She sighed. "I just want an end to all this madness."
There may have been a secret entrance into the castle but between that and where we wanted to be, there were still plenty of traps and monsters waiting for us. Serana at least knew how to deal with the traps, ensuring they were reset once we passed them, while the enemies we dealt with were those I generally fought. We did fight one or two what she called 'feral' vampires, likely those cast out of her father's presence.
The part of the castle we were going through was practically ruins, amazing some of it was still standing. But it was when we exited out into the courtyard that I realised finding her mother might be more difficult than imagined, and it was the first time I saw Serana truly upset.
"Oh no... What happened to this place? Everything's been torn down... the whole place looks... well, dead. It's like we're the first to set foot here in centuries." I watched her walk around, upset and possibly a little confused. She grabbed my hand and led me to what had once been a huge set of double doors, now boarded up. "This used to lead into the castle's great hall. It looks like my father had it sealed up."
"Why would he do that?"
She gave me a look and probably didn't feel confident enough to answer. She led me towards the now obviously dead garden. "This was my mother's garden. It... do you know how beautiful something can be when it's tended by a master for hundreds of years? She would have hated to see it like this."
I couldn't think of something to say without being completely corny with perhaps a little sweetness on top. Again, she gave me a look. I swear she always knew what I was thinking. We continued to walk around, searching for a way through, when she stopped next to what looked like a sundial but wasn't, explaining it was a moondial.
And it was a puzzle, as there were some crests missing that we found around the courtyard. Once they were in position, a secret passage entered, one Serana had no idea existed. It felt like we continued to climb after that, battling our way through numerous gargoyles, skeletons and other creatures that reacted to our presence. With her magic and my brawn, we made short work of nearly everything, only the gargoyles causing concern if more than two or three woke up at once.
It was a long climb, and we had to find the key for more than one secret entrance on the way, her mother obviously paranoid about her father finding her. But we eventually came to a door that looked different to the rest, and it was after passing through that we entered some sort of laboratory. That's when Serana seemed to get a little excited.
"Look at this place. This has to be it! I knew she was deep into necromancy. I mean, she taught me everything I know. But I had no idea she had a setup like this."
I found my hand grabbed again as I was led around. While it had clearly been abandoned for a long time, everything on display seemed like it had only been picked and bought yesterday. Probably something to do with the air. Or magic. Serana led me from shelf to shelf. "Look at all this. She must have spent years collecting these components."
"They look fresh too."
"Mother would have made sure everything would have survived a million years. The air does feel a little different in here."
Stopping near something on the ground, she slowly walked around it. "And what's this thing? I'm not sure about this circle, but it's obviously... something."
I had no idea so asked, "Where do you think your mother is? She's clearly not here. From the looks of it, she hasn't been here for a very long time."
"No, you're right. Let's take a look around. There has to be something here that tells us where she's gone. I remember she used to keep a small journal. Let's see if that's hidden around somewhere."
She let go of my hand as we wandered around the laboratory. As we did, I asked a few questions about her mother and what she researched. Serana mentioned necromancy again. I had a feeling Serana was also interested in it though she'd certainly not used any sort of spells in front of me. Maybe she thought I'd judge her over that?
I eventually found the journal, hiding in plain sight. Handing it over, Serana got excited again as it pretty much explained what her mother was looking for and, more importantly, what we would need to find her. The circle on the floor was a portal, and all we needed was some ingredients we found located around the laboratory. When it came to needing her mother's blood, it took me to suggest that she shared the same blood. That made her smile and kiss me for such a smart idea.
As she prepared the formula, she told me more about the Soul Cairn, as it was obviously something well outside my realm of knowledge. I did wonder if even Mirabelle knew what it was. Apparently it was a realm of Oblivion, run by a group called the Ideal Masters. Having learned about her father, all too much in some instances, I thought I'd ask about her mother.
"What will we do when we find her?"
That made her stop and think. "I've been asking myself the same thing since we came back to the castle. She was so sure of what we did to my father, I couldn't help but go along with her. I never thought of the cost."
"You were never asked?"
She gave me a look but scoffed. "No, I was told, not asked. I guess they were both pretty selfish. She was practically smirking as we left home. Almost like she was proud of herself. Like she didn't want to just stop my father... she wanted to stick it to him, too."
