20demayo Chapter 248: Chapter XLIX: The Volkihar Heist
Chapter 248: Chapter XLIX: The Volkihar Heist
Chapter 248: Chapter XLIX: The Volkihar Heist
"There it is, home sweet home." Serana voices blandly.
"Bigger than I expected" I note idly as I observe the dozens of tall towers, many of them in ruins, looming over a veritable fortress island "And also far more disgusting" I add with a mildly offended sniff.
Quickly catching my meaning she asks "How so?"
I cup my chin and narrow my eyes "Think of somehow turning unbridled cruelty and decadence into a color and have it virtually bursting from atop the entire structure." And that was the best way I could put what I was seeing into words, the aura of the place was genuinely disgusting to look upon, the echoes of everyone ever tormented within scraping at the edge of my senses.
Honestly, if not for my strength and experience I'd be scared shitless right about now.
"Oh..." Serana cringes lightly.
But I tap her shoulder and draw her attention before she can go down that particular thought spiral "No point thinking about it now, we are here to stop it after all."
She exhales slowly and nods "Yes. Yes, we are."
"Speaking of, how do you plan to sneak us in?" I ask the important question.
She looks around for a moment before noticing something "There is an old enchanted boat here that can only be used by someone from the castle. They don't usually check on it as most either stay in the castle permanently or use magic to leave."
"But there is a detection system, no?" I ask firmly.
She thinks for a moment and nods "Yes, but you assured me that that would not be a problem."
"Merely making sure" I assure her and summon my new shroud, barely even feeling it as the powerful artifact covers me in its nearly imperceptible entirety. With a satisfied smile I point my hand toward the rickety boat "Lead the way, my lady."
The revolting aura became all that much stronger as we passed the threshold of the mist surrounding the castle, a part of me wanted to just turn my perception down to a minimum but that would make me far more vulnerable and was definitely not worth doing in the name of mere comfort.
Our offensively low class transport floated next to the small dock with nary a sound and upon reaching a certain point simply stopped, moving back toward the mainland shore the moment we stepped off.
My eyes immediately narrowed as I noticed the dozen or so gargoyle statues hanging off a nearby lookout tower "How charming."
"You can sightsee when we are not in the open" Serana hisses and tugs my arm and quickly leads us to an outcropping of rock to the castle's west, letting out a sigh of relief as we finally find some cover.
I take a thorough peek around our position and point my thumb toward a stone structure connected to the sea "That the supply entrance you mentioned?"
"Yes, it has been out of use for some time so there shouldn't be that many guards there." "Right. Anything I should avoid?"
"Try avoiding any flashier spells." She decides after a moment "There is no guarantee that they will get us spotted but we best err on the side of caution."
I try not to pout and fail utterly, earning myself an exasperated stare from the vampire lady "Fine" I sigh "No blowing the castle half to bits."
"You can do that once we are ready to leave." She permits with some amusement.
"You couldn't stop me even if you tried." I smirk and flick the Ebony Blade into my hand "But first we need to actually get in."
The stone supply dock was watched over by a pair of short walls carved into the side of the cave that housed it, some thrall archers and a pair of very bored vampires stood watch, or at least pretended to as not one of them expected an actual attack in this godsforsaken place.
hers to make something that would show time at night just to see if she could. It ended up being far more complex than we ever expected but when the garden was still clear and the moonlight fell just right it made for a beautiful sight."
"I can picture it" I offer genuinely "Then again an immortal without a hobby is a dull thing."
"Very" Serana smiles wryly "Most vampires usually end up as stagnant caricatures but not my mother. She always found something new to do and still kept up with her earlier projects... Just imagine a garden tended to for centuries by a true master." Her smile turns wistful at the
memory.
I allow her to reminisce for a brief moment before pointing at the dial "Some parts appear to be missing, you think it was on purpose?"
"It would not surprise me." She sends a quick glance toward the ruined southern entrance "Considering how well she knew my father she must have expected him to bar any memory of her... I don't think even she expected him to do it quite so literally."
"Fucking thousands of years old and still throwing tantrums" I snort and wave her on "Come on, those missing pieces won't find themselves."
We take our time searching for the missing pieces, mostly as a way to take a break as we knew
that no one was going to go behind Harkon's back and actually check on the garden, and as the sun is slowly replaced by the moons we slot the circular tablets into their intended spots and watch with interest as the dial retracts into a circular stairwell leading into yet another
passage.
"I swear to Azura, your mother must have gotten off on the idea of secret passages." I deadpan, and ignoring Serana's indignant glare step into the darkness once again. Thankfully the air within is not tainted with a thousand dead so I do not feel rushed in my exploration, slowly examining the dusted halls and looting them for all they were worth.
I did have to promise Serana that I'd give her most of the value though, simply stealing it in front of her was not going to fly no matter the excuse.
We had to slow down somewhat as she was forced to manually deactivate each and every gargoyle we passed due to all of them being personalized and carrying her mother's mark. Why did we not simply destroy them? One might ask themselves.
Simple really, why destroy what you can repurpose?
After a slow descent we began to climb upwards, my sight quickly informing me that we were
ascending one of the less damaged towers to the castle's north. The halls became smaller the higher up we got but far more opulent, with traces of multiple forms of workshops, anything from alchemy to ritualism to carpentry, it could be found up here.
And then we stepped into her actual study and I almost started looting the place then and
there, only stopped by Serana's knowing look and threatening smile.
Damn you private property!
To all of you wise enough to pay the troll toll
the next installment is here.
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