I was floored when I saw the state Serana was in. She was bound to a chair with heavy iron chains, her body covered in wounds.
"Isran. What in the hell is the meaning of this?"
When I demanded an answer, Isran didn't even blink. To him, she was just another vampire.
"She claims she has no hostile intent, but how can you trust the word of a bloodsucker?"
"Even so, there's no need to go this fa—"
"Hold on. I think you're misunderstanding something. I didn't cause those injuries."
"What?"
Isran told me to calm down and explained the situation with a cold, level voice.
"She was already covered in wounds when she crawled up to the gates of this fort."
"You could have easily healed her."
"Restoration magic is poison to a vampire. Besides, I'm not wasting expensive healing potions on a stranger, let alone our primary enemy."
Isran’s logic was irritatingly sound. I couldn't find a word to push back with.
That aside, Serana's condition was strange. Vampires are supposed to have high regenerative capabilities. A few scrapes and bruises should have knit themselves back together long ago, but her wounds weren't showing any sign of closing.
First things first, I need to treat her.
"Lydia, give me a potion."
Lydia handed me a focused healing potion, and I carefully poured the liquid into Serana’s mouth.
"Ugh..."
As the medicine went down, the wounds finally began to seal. A moment later, Serana's consciousness slowly drifted back to the surface.
"Where... am I?"
"You're finally awake."
"Can you explain... what happened?"
Serana scanned her surroundings, assessing the situation. Once her breathing steadied, she calmly explained how she had ended up at the fort in such a state.
Tired of her father and the other vampires, Serana had resolved to flee Castle Volkihar. She had intended to take an Elder Scroll with her to prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled.
However, Harkon had seen through her betrayal. He had sent his bloodline's members to hunt her down.
Serana had fought back desperately, and though she was strong, she eventually lost the scroll to her pursuers. Somehow, she had managed to escape and flee all the way to the gates of Fort Dawnguard.
"And that's how you ended up here."
"Yes," Serana replied.
Wait, she left the Elder Scroll behind?
Only then did I notice that she was empty-handed. In the game, she always has that damn heavy scroll strapped to her back.
This is a problem.
By obtaining the Elder Scroll (Sun) that Serana was supposed to have, along with the two other scrolls hidden somewhere in Skyrim, one could learn the location of Auriel's Bow.
If Harkon currently possessed even one of those scrolls, he was one step closer to making the prophecy a reality.
"What is this 'prophecy' exactly?" Lydia asked.
Serana answered, "Overcoming the sun."
A heavy silence fell over the room. Isran was the first to break it with a scoff.
"Ha. You're spewing all sorts of nonsense just to stay alive, aren't you?"
"Everything I said is the truth."
"How can I trust the words of a vampire?"
I knew Serana's character and alignment thanks to my meta-knowledge, but Isran was a different story. He lived for the hunt.
Serana had no reply to his interrogation.
My turn to step in, I guess.
If I didn't do something, Serana being kicked out of the fort was only a matter of time. I couldn't just stand by.
"Isran. Why not give her words some weight? She doesn't seem to be lying to us."
"I don't know why you're taking her side. She's lucky I didn't kill her the moment she showed up wounded at our doorstep."
"Isran, put your hatred aside for a moment and look at the bigger picture."
"Not a chance. Hatred is what keeps me going."
As expected, trying to persuade Isran was like talking to a brick wall. The man was stubborn to a fault.
"You might not believe her, but I’m asking you to trust me. (Persuade)"
"Hm..."
Isran remained silent for a long time.
"Fine. I'll allow her to stay for now. But if anything goes wrong, I'm holding you responsible as well."
—Dun-dun!
[Speech skill increased!]
ㄴ Current Level: 49
"Thank you."
"Thank you," Serana echoed my sentiment. But Isran offered her a sharp warning.
"Look, you're here as a resource. Understood? Don't act like you're a guest."
"I understand. I'll keep that in mind for later... when I'm thirsty."
"Hmph."
Isran clearly didn't like her attitude, but he didn't press the matter further.
"Since we have a new resource, I might as well put her to work. Sorine mentioned she needed someone to assist with her research. I'm putting that on you."
Isran told Serana to prove her worth by succeeding in the task before turning on his heel and leaving.
The story is diverging from the original game.
Normally, after meeting Serana, I’d be heading off to find a Moth Priest to read the Elder Scroll. However, since she failed to bring the scroll with her, the flow of events had shifted.
I wanted to ignore the mission and go find Choi Ha-neul immediately, but Isran's mood was already foul because of Serana. As a member of the Dawnguard, I had to follow his directives for now. The search for the Moth Priest would have to wait.
"I'm Eloise...!"
"My name is Lydia."
"I'm Serana. Nice to meet you... I think?"
Serana and the other two introduced themselves. We had technically met at Dimhollow Crypt before, but back then everyone was on edge because of the whole 'being a vampire' thing. It had been far too chaotic for pleasantries.
Lydia and Eloise tried to be as kind as possible for my sake, but I could sense an underlying wariness. It was natural—Serana was a vampire, after all.
I wonder if this will all work out.
Breaking Ha-neul’s brainwashing, securing the Elder Scrolls, finding a Moth Priest, and now Sorine’s research... The to-do list was piling up like a mountain of undelivered mail.
"Phew—"
I took a deep breath, trying to organize the sequence of tasks in my head.
"Right! I'll be counting on you!"
First, we needed to go see Sorine Jurard.
Having gathered their weapons at the entrance, Choi Ha-neul and Salonia descended back into the cavern to find the spring of blood.
—Schwing
Before moving deeper, however, Salonia drew her axe and—
—Thwack!
She began methodically slaughtering the drug-addicted junkies one by one.
"Why are you killing them?"
Ha-neul watched as Salonia was splattered with the blood of the addicts.
"I'm saving them. Saving them from a life rotted by skooma."
"..."
Ha-neul didn't offer a rebuttal. He simply entered the passage to find the spring.
—Clack
Ha-neul and Salonia pushed through the iron gate and navigated a narrow corridor. They stayed low, minimizing their footsteps and presence as they scouted the cave.
At the end of the tunnel, a space much larger than the skooma den opened up.
Is this where they produce the drugs?
There were distillation units, refining devices, and oak barrels for holding liquids. It was a full-scale manufacturing facility for narcotics.
The state of the workers was equally disturbing. Everyone there looked out of their minds, as if they were perpetually high on the skooma they were making.
"This is strange..." Ha-neul muttered under his breath.
"They're slaves," Salonia stated simply.
"Slaves?"
Just as Salonia said, the people here had once been addicts who came looking for a fix. Instead, they had been captured by vampires and had their brains turned to mush with special drugs to turn them into forced labor.
In fact, this place, Redwater Den, was designed to produce such slaves to be sent to Castle Volkihar as 'cattle.'
"But like all mongrels, they started acting on their own whims eventually."
Clearing the place out was essentially a 'maintenance' part of their mission.
For now, the slaves were so engrossed in their skooma production that they hadn't noticed the two intruders, but at this rate, discovery was inevitable.
"Who goes there?!"
Found out. Right on cue.
Without a word of coordination, Salonia and Ha-neul split their targets and began a unilateral massacre of the slaves.
Salonia killed everyone—except for one.
The cave's interior was complex, and finding the way was a chore. They needed a guide. She had spared a single person for that purpose.
"Hello there."
"Eeeek!"
Salonia smiled warmly as she approached the last remaining vampire slave. The terrified man scrambled backward, shaking in his boots.
"Do you know where the Bloodstone Chalice is?"
—Shake, shake
"You don't?"
—Pfft!
An icy spear pierced the slave's chest. Just like that, the nameless man’s life was extinguished.
"I guess we'll just have to wander around ourselves."
In the end, they failed to find a guide. The two of them navigated the convoluted cave system until they finally began to approach the source of the red water.
The deeper they went, the more they encountered real vampires rather than just slaves.
Still, they moved forward, cutting down any opposition. At last, only one room remained between them and the Bloodstone Chalice's spring.
Ha-neul dealt with the minor thralls while Salonia came face to face with the master of this den, a high-ranking vampire.
"Venarus Vulpin. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Tch! Volkihar rats!"
"Hehe. You remember me? I’m touched."
Venarus answered Salonia's greeting with a volley of arrows.
—Whish!
The arrows were fired with enough force to pierce stone, but Salonia dodged them fluidly, closing the gap with Venarus.
She reached out to grab him as she reached point-blank range.
But Venarus was no pushover. He ducked and blocked Salonia's bare-handed strikes, holding his ground.
"You fight better than I expected."
Bored with the drawn-out struggle, Salonia began chanting. A chilling, razor-sharp frost swirled around her hands, forming a massive lance of ice.
"Gugh!"
The lance flew forward at high speed, impaling Venarus through the ribs.
—Crackle!
Salonia gripped the fallen Venarus by the throat and began draining his life force through blood magic.
"Is it over?"
Before she knew it, Ha-neul was standing beside her, having finished off the rest of the enemies.
Salonia gave Ha-neul a beaming smile, and the pair moved into the next chamber where the spring for the chalice was located.
—Bubbling
Right in the center of the expansive room, a pool of blood was welling up from the earth.
Ha-neul slowly approached the spring and filled the chalice.
Salonia watched with a look of pure satisfaction.
"Good work. Now, before we leave, I have a proposal for you..."
Just as they were about to head out with the filled Bloodstone Chalice—
"Thanks for taking out the trash for me. I think I'll be taking that chalice now."
A man stepped out from behind a pillar.
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