Back to the Castle

Castle Volkihar was just as imposing as Rictus remembered. If anything, the castle had grown darker and more ominous than before. The trip here had been rather dull besides some conversations with Serana about each other's family. It was a little saddening hearing the longing in her voice as she spoke about the good times spent with her mother. The sudden change brought about by the prophecy had soured all that though. She still had bouts of loneliness, but it wasn't as much as before. When asked about her loneliness, she had been quick to change the subject.

"It should be just around this bend. The castle looks so much bigger from down here. I mean, it is big, but, well, even bigger."

Rictus stopped himself from laughing at her words. He was certain there was a 'that's what she said' reference in there somewhere, but this wasn't the time, nor would Serana understand the reference. He put out a hand to stop her though as they came around the bend.

"Wait. I thought you said the docks were unused?"

"They should be..."

Taking a closer look, they could make out figures moving around and repairing the docks. From what Rictus could tell, they were a mix of weaker vampires and thralls. Seems they wanted to update the place and get it back in working order.

"I guess we will be sneaking past them and into the castle. I hope you are prepared."

Serana was a little put out but crouched down in a classic sneaking position. Rictus cleared his throat getting her attention. She was at a loss for a moment seeing him standing there on a small stone platform floating in the air.

"I have a modified invisibility spell. Instead of straining ourselves with the sneaking you were doing, we should try my way."

While a little conflicted, she was extremely curious about how he would sneak past them all. Finally, she stepped onto the platform with him. There was enough space on it for a few people, so the two of them fit comfortably on it.

"Well, let's see what you can do then."

"With pleasure. Try not to be too impressed. Maybe one day I will even teach you how to do it."

A veil of magic surrounded them as Rictus floated them over the work crew. Not a sound was made as they landed right at the door to the undercroft. Serana was impressed how no one had even turned their heads in their direction. Arriving at their destination, she suppressed her curiosity though. While no one was looking, they quickly slipped in and shut the door behind them.

Rictus suppressed a sneeze as they entered the dusty underground. Cobwebs and dust coated everything, although he did notice the dust was disturbed in the middle of the hallway. Someone had definitely been through here, and relatively recently at that.

"Does this area see a lot of regular use?"

She pondered the question for a bit before answering.

"It shouldn't. A few who couldn't handle their new lot in life and went feral sometimes stayed down here, but they rarely attack another vampire."

His blank stare caused her to shift from confident to embarrassed she realized their situation.

"Ah…well I am sure it won't be a problem. If they attack us, we can dispatch them easily. It isn't like anyone will miss them."

They then came to a large wooden door. The hinges loudly screeched as it opened. Serana looked at him like it was his fault the door made noise.

"So much for being sneaky."

He rolled his eyes as growls could be heard farther into the room. A waterway filled with ice and water split the first part of the room into two sides. On their side stood two large death hounds with teeth bared at them. Before they could charge, Rictus lifted both of them into the air. Noticing the large icy stalactites on the ceiling, he launched the two monsters upwards and impaled them there.

A scream of rage revealed a feral vampire in a rough looking tunic charging them with sword raised and preparing a spell in the off hand. Rictus calmly removed the ax from his back as he used his telekinesis to pull the vampire towards him. The rage turned to confusion as it flew through the air before being bisected by his ax. A disgruntled voice came from behind him.

"Seriously?"

Turning around revealed Serana's cloak had been covered in the feral vampire's remains. Rictus smiled at her before tossing her another cloak he pulled from storage.

"Sorry about that. Thought you would have moved from standing behind me when I drew my weapon."

She let out a sigh as she rolled her eyes and donned the new cloak. They didn't encounter anyone else as they moved towards the back of the room. Passing through an archway, they were stopped by an opened chasm with a raised drawbridge. Looking up, Rictus could see a lever on a balcony overlooking the area. A quick pull with telekinesis caused the drawbridge to fall.

"Do you use that spell for everything?"

"Why of course I do. Telekinesis is easily one of my favorites and may be my most used spell. Pulling enemies closer, manipulating far away levers, sneakily grabbing sweet rolls. There are countless applications for such a versatile spell. I highly recommend learning it if you don't already know it."

"I always heard it was too costly for not enough benefits. How do you get around that?"

Rictus waved his hands in front of him as tiny sparkling lights appeared on them and dust swirled around.

"Magic."

Serana snorted at his actions as they continued, not bothering to dignify his actions with a response.

They eventually came to another room that had a T junction where the narrow walkway dropped off into a dark pit. Rictus looked around before turning towards Serana for direction. She glanced around the room before pointed up to an opening covered by metal bars. Behind the bars was a lever just waiting to be pulled. He couldn't help smiling as he repeated his trick and getting the bridge lower before them.

"The courtyard should be just down the hallway and up the stairs. Then maybe we can find some answers."

After traveling through the cramped hallway and up the stairs, they arrived at the door to the courtyard. Seeing her trepidation at entering, Rictus comfortably patted her back. Taking a breath of courage, Serana pushed opened the door and strutted out. A couple steps in, she faltered.

"Oh no… What happened to this place?"

The area was a complete mess. Walls had been broken and stone torn down, littering the space. Large dead and petrified gray trees dotted the decaying landscape. A large worn looking golden sundial dominated the middle of the courtyard.

"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 wouldn't say the first."

Serana jumped as the strange voice startled her. Looking around, she noticed someone else was there with them. A figure in a large blood colored trench coat was lounging beside some ruined stairs with his back against a dead tree. He tilted up his wide rimed hat as he finished speaking, revealing blood red eyes and a smile. Serana did not smile as she looked back at him.

"What are you doing here Alucard?"

"Waiting for you of course."

He tilted his head as if confused she could have thought anything different. He slowly started walking over towards her.

"I am surprised you came here alone though. I would have thought you might have gotten some help. Maybe from the man who rescued you?"

Serana's eyebrows raised in surprised at his words. She could have sworn Rictus was right there behind her this whole time. Where did he go?

She received her answer as Rictus suddenly appeared behind Alucard. Before the other vampire could react, stones encapsulated him all the way up to the neck. His grin finally faded as shock replaced it.

"This was unexpected."

Rictus walked till he was standing in front of the trapped vampire.

"Hello there."

Alucard spoke in a whisper almost on reflex.

"Kenobi…"

"That's General Kenobi to you."

There was a moment of silence before both men started laughing. Alucard gave Serana a glance before turning back towards Rictus and whispering.

"Umm can we talk out of character?"

Seeing him nervously glancing at Serana, Rictus nodded his head as he raised up a stone wall separating them. He kept him trapped though. No reason to take any unnecessary risks after all. Once the wall was raised, Alucard seemed to relax a bit more.

"You really surprised me dude. I didn't even notice you at all. Your illusion or sneak must be really good. Also, how freaking cool is all this?? I mean, I have become a fucking Vampire Lord with Minions and everything. It's like a dream come true. Super excited to finally meet someone else from back home though."

The sudden change of attitude and speech threw Rictus for a loop. One moment the guy was a strong and confident vampire lord, and then suddenly he is super chill. It was strange.

"I have to ask, what's with the sudden change?"

It took Alucard a moment before he understood what was being asked.

"Huh? Oh, right. Well, I was always real big into D&D and table top role playing games. Figured it would be awesome to roleplay this character who started off as a simple bandit who was turned into a vampire. I was always a big fan of vampires, especially the abridged version of Hellsing, which was who I based my character after. But why stop there? I built up my reputation and created the biggest bandit operation in all of Skyrim. Thanks for taking out the Blood Horkers by the way, they were trying to steal my title. Anyways, I figured if I was gonna be a vampire, I might as well be the most OP of them all. So, I was able to bribe and talk my way into the Castle here and eventually persuaded Harkon to personally change me. Again, thanks for playing along the first time you came here. Would have thanked you sooner, but I was out of action for a bit. I always saw myself as a ruthless ruler who lavishly rewards those who follow me but crush those who oppose. Be good to your minions and they will be good to you, you know? Mine appreciate the carrot and stick approach."

Rictus numbly nodded his head at the long-winded explanation. He let out a sigh as he rubbed his face. This was not what he had been expecting at all. Part of him had believed Alucard would be the traditional bad guy/edge lord who would have ended up being even worse than Harkon. There would have been a huge battle between the forces of good (the Restored) and evil (the vampires) which would have ended with Rictus slaying Alucard. At least that was what normal fantasy conventions would have followed. Instead, he got some random dude roleplaying like this was some kind of D&D campaign. If this was a trick to get him to lower his guard, it was working wonderfully. He even dismissed the stone trapping Alucard who started stretching with a big smile on his face.

"Thanks. It was starting to get mighty uncomfortable in there."

Rictus looked carefully at him before speaking.

"Well, that is one heck of a story. I am actually kind of impressed how well you have managed all of that. Are you working with Harkon though?"

The playful atmosphere disappeared as both men stared each other down. It was suddenly broken though as Alucard snorted.

"Psh. No way. Eternal darkness and night? That is a stupid plan which would have everyone targeting vampires even more than they already do. There just aren't enough vampires to make the plan truly viable. There are some crazy strong people out there in this world after all. Also, the darkness could kill off plants, which could kill off people, which are kinda important to vampires. I am definitely opposed to Harkon. I just wanted his blessing. If anything, I think I will try and usurp him and become the leader of the vampires. It's not like I could do much worse."

His answer made Rictus relax even further around him. 'I know I shouldn't lower my guard too much, but these long answers are making it mighty hard not to. It's weird finding someone so open about themselves and thoughts like this. I bet he would get along great with Falla.' He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. There were more important things to deal with.

"That is good to hear. Harkon has created a mess for the vampires here. The Dawnguard and the Vigilants of Stendarr have teamed up for a holy crusade. They even have the backing of the College of Winterhold since the archmage's lover was at the Hall when Harkon's men attacked. Not to mention the attacks on the Restored."

"Yeah, that is a pretty terrible situation for Harkon and his court. Not the greatest rulership if you ask me. The final fight would be epic though. The game never did large group battles justice. Things are so much more intense here that's for sure."

Rictus could agree with that.

"We can talk about all that more later while we focus on what is important right now. What are your plans for being here?"

Alucard seemed genuinely confused by the question.

"I thought that was obvious. I've been waiting here for Serana so that we can go to the Soul Cairn and get her mom. Was a little hopeful the dragonborn would be the one coming with her instead of you though, no offense."

Finding the answer acceptable, he brought down the wall separating them from Serana. She just raised one dainty eyebrow at the two of them.

"Oh, finally remembered me, did you? Don't mind me. Just trying to discover my long-lost mother and save the world from damnation by my father. Take your time though. No rush."

Both men shared an embarrassed look with one another. They may have gotten a little carried away. Alucard cleared his throat.

"I fear I must clear the air here my lady. I have actually come here for the same reason you have. I believe Valerica has hidden herself away from Harkon, and we must find her. Maybe I have given you the wrong impression, but I do not actually support your father in his quest to enshroud the world. Please, let me assist you in your quest here."

She studied him a moment before glancing at Rictus for an answer. He shrugged, leaving the decision up to her. She was technically the one in charge of this operation while he was just here for support. Still, she wanted his thoughts on the proposition as she got him to raise a wall for privacy, or maybe she had felt left out before, ancient vampiric women were difficult to understand.

"Hmm. I do not fully trust him, and I don't know if he will betray us to my father or not. What are your thoughts?"

Rictus took a moment to think about what to say.

"I also do not fully trust him. Despite such feelings, he could be a great asset. If what he says is true, then his support would go a long way in strengthening your position in the court while weakening your fathers. While I don't know how strong he truly is, I can tell you that he is extremely formidable and has a much larger backing number wise than your father. Having someone like that on your side would be good idea. Besides, I have heard to keep your friends close but your enemies closer. If he does try and betray us, I will not hesitate to kill him. I'd gladly pick either of our lives over his."

She stood in contemplation for a bit longer before nodding at Rictus who dismissed the wall. Once it came down, Alucard perked up. Serana gave him a long searching look before finally speaking.

"I do not fully trust you."

His face fell a little at hearing the words, but he perked back up as she kept talking.

"Despite this, I will accept your assistance as long as you swear on your mana and blood not to betray me."

He made a quick cut on his wrist with a nail before flicking the blood in the air. A soft blue glow surrounded it before it burned up as he made his oath.

"I, Alucard, do so swear by blood and magic to not betray Serana in her quest to find her mother and stop her father."

Accepting his oath, Serana looked at them both.

"Where should we look now?"

Alucard was the first to speak up.

"Your mother's secret laboratory. I have already prepared the ingredients and just need a drop of your blood before we are ready to go."

She looked at him in confusion.

"What are you talking about? Why would you need my blood? And ready to go where?"

He gave her a reassuring smile.

"To open the portal to the Soul Cairn of course."

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[AN]: So I decided that Alucard was not going to be this super edgy emo vampire killer person, or at least not yet. Hopefully it wasn't too weird or you hated it, but I did have a lot of fun writing that part.

Next chapter we will finally be entering the soul cairn and finding out what Rictus will do to enter it.