![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/3-1-24-1.png\")
<\/p>\nIt didn\u2019t take long for Dynjyl to prove that he was, in fact, good with a bow.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Andante took off at a trot toward the castle, with the others in tow. The closer they got to it, lightning strikes got closer and thunder became louder. He thought he heard an odd sound, but couldn\u2019t make out what it was until he heard Brynjolf shouting.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeargh!\u201d<\/p>\n
Andante turned to see Brynjolf rushing a group of skeletons.\u00a0 Or rather, they looked like skeletons, on the surface. But they were black, gleaming like ebony, not the bleached beige of bone. Brynjolf waded into them and Andante broke into a run to help.<\/p>\n
Dynny\u2019s arrows took one down, as Serana shot lighting at another.<\/p>\n
\u201cArrgh!\u201d he heard Dynjyl yell. \u201cBastard!\u201d<\/p>\n
An arrow caught Andante in the pauldron, hard enough to set him off balance.\u00a0 He turned to find its source standing atop a rise, and ran to take him down. Skeletons usually fell apart at the least touch of his axe but this one took several blows to disintegrate.\u00a0 Whirling, Andante spotted Dynny and Brynjolf hammering on yet another bone man with Serana firing magic at another.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t quite made it to them when he heard Dynjyl say \u201cVictory! For now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Somehow that made him grin.\u00a0 He slid up beside the ghost and said \u201cNicely done.\u00a0 You are<\/em> still good with a bow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you,\u201d Dynny said with a grin.\u00a0 \u201cI had a feeling we would be fine, between all of us.\u201d\u00a0 He turned and tossed Brynjolf a wide, brilliant smile.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re even better than you used to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf smirked.\u00a0 \u201cWell. It\u2019s just lots of years of practice. I\u2019ve had a few since you saw me last.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante felt knives stabbing at his heart whenever they looked at each other, and grimaced at himself. He\u2019s just a ghost. He\u2019s not alive. He\u2019s not even a complete soul. <\/em>He broke into a trot again, passing beneath another peaked archway and up the fairly steep hill toward the ever-nearer castle.\u00a0 Ah but we\u2019re not complete souls, either, are we.\u00a0 None of us is complete. It\u2019s all absurd, isn\u2019t it. I don\u2019t know what being jealous of the man is going to accomplish. I am at least\u2026 solid.<\/em><\/p>\n He reached the castle and mounted the steps to its courtyard, the light around them changing from the bluish hues of the open wastes to a now-familiar, purplish, magical glow.\u00a0 The same sort of barrier he\u2019d encountered around Serana\u2019s resting place in Dimhollow Crypt and along the edges of this wasteland stretched across the front of the courtyard.\u00a0 He thought he could see movement behind it, but wasn\u2019t sure what was moving.\u00a0 In front of the barrier, though, were huge mounds of bones, bloody, gnawed-on, and stinking as the similar mounds in Volkihar\u2019s undercroft had been.\u00a0 He wrinkled his nose, and then laughed at himself, silently.<\/p>\n I\u2019m getting to be a bit particular for a vampire, aren\u2019t I? <\/em><\/p>\n Whereas he and the other two men had rushed up the stairs and were scouting about for clues, Andante noticed that Serana hung back, below the stairway.\u00a0 He returned to her.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n She made a face.\u00a0 \u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting it to smell quite this bad.\u201d<\/p>\n He grinned. \u201cI know what you mean.\u00a0 I\u2019m glad to know I\u2019m not the only one who is a bit bothered. Blood is one thing but this is\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cAre you certain Valerica has the Elder Scroll, Serana?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. But there\u2019s no way she would have left it in Tamriel. She wanted to get it as far away from my father as possible. I can\u2019t imagine a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante frowned. \u201cAnd if she doesn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen\u2026 we find out where she hid it.\u00a0 If she\u2019s still alive. Well\u2026 as alive as she was before. Or is now. Or\u2026 you know what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. Yes I do. But why not just hide the scroll here in the Soul Cairn and return?\u201d<\/p>\n She looked thoughtful. \u201cWell, possibly to avoid whatever my father would do to her if he could get his hands on her.\u00a0 Or maybe she planned to come back but was stuck here. Either way, we won\u2019t know until we find her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight. Well, come up here, then, and help us look. You know what she looks like. We don\u2019t. Or, maybe Dynjyl does, but I can\u2019t imagine he\u2019d have a lot of influence over her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight.\u201d\u00a0 She turned and slowly walked up the stairs.\u00a0 Andante waited a moment, turning to scan the horizon for threats. Aside from the eerie horse galloping back and forth, there was nothing obvious moving.<\/p>\n \u201cMother? Mother!\u201d<\/p>\n A deeper, older voice answered.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can\u2019t be! Serana?\u201d<\/p>\n He ran up the stairs to see an older woman standing behind the magical barrier.\u00a0 If not for her much more worn complexion and a different hairstyle she might have been Serana looking out at them, rather than the other way around.<\/p>\n \u201cMother! Is it really you? I can\u2019t believe it! How do we get inside? We have to talk!\u201d Serana yelped.<\/p>\n The vampire behind the barrier frowned.<\/p>\n \u201cSerana. What<\/em> are you doing here? Where\u2019s your father?\u201d Her voice was sharp, stern, and unforgiving. Her face had no welcome on it, no happiness, nothing but disapproval.<\/p>\n Andante glanced at Serana just in time to see her flinch and cross her arms.\u00a0 What a warm greeting, Mother. How many hundreds of years has it been since you saw your daughter? You\u2019re not quite as bad as Harkon but the two of you certainly are a pair, aren\u2019t you?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t know we\u2019re here,\u201d Serana said, her voice changing from the excited tones she\u2019d had to the sarcastic one Andante had grown familiar with. \u201cI don\u2019t have time to explain.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI must have failed,\u201d Valerica snapped. \u201cHarkon\u2019s found a way to decipher the prophecy, hasn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n Does she think we\u2019re here to capture her, somehow? To take the Scroll for ourselves?<\/em><\/p>\n Andante smirked. Unwelcome, a thought bubbled up from somewhere inside him.<\/p>\n Clever woman.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNo. You\u2019ve got it all wrong,\u201d Serana continued.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re here to complete the prophecy our own way. Not his.\u201d<\/p>\n Valerica suddenly turned to stare at Andante, as though the words \u201cwe\u201d and \u201cour\u201d had finally made an impression on her where his physical presence had not.\u00a0 Her gaze bored into him, and he let his own reflect the same sentiment.<\/p>\n \u201cWait a moment. You\u2019ve brought a stranger here? Have you lost your mind?\u201d She pointed at Andante. \u201cYou. Come forward. I would speak with you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hardly see this plane of Oblivion as your private domain, Madame,\u201d he murmured.\u00a0 \u201cAs you have no doubt noticed there are a great many souls here, and I would wager that you\u2019re not familiar with all of them.\u00a0 Perhaps you\u2019ve not met our friend Dynjyl, for instance,\u201d he said, nodding behind him to where Dynny and Brynjolf stood, together, silently.<\/p>\n She ignored everything he\u2019d said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo how has it come to pass that a vampire of mixed blood is in the company of my daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n Andante\u2019s mind shifted, somehow.\u00a0 This is going to be a delicate dance, I see. Best tread carefully. <\/em>Once more he felt the sensation of being outside himself, in some way, while his body engaged in what was clearly going to be a vital conversation.<\/p>\n \u201cHardly of mixed blood, Madame, unless your dear husband left some of my old blood behind when he changed me. I was a Nightlord before, and am now a full-blooded Volkihar vampire lord.\u00a0 And so, I might add, is my companion Brynjolf standing behind me.\u201d\u00a0 He didn\u2019t turn his head to look but he could sense Dynjyl staring at his former lover. \u201cNow then. I happen to be in the company of your daughter because we have been keeping her safe. From your husband. But,\u201d he said, feeling himself smirk, \u201cas you have surmised I am here for the Elder Scroll.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGlorious,\u201d she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. \u201cYou are supposedly Serana\u2019s guardian, but your first instinct appears to be greed.\u201d<\/p>\n He inclined his head. \u201cI am a thief by trade. So are we all. Greed comes naturally.\u201d<\/p>\n Behind him, he heard Dynjyl chuckle quietly and Brynjolf shush him.\u00a0 He had to stifle a grin.<\/p>\n \u201cI see that Serana is as na\u00efve as ever,\u201d Valerica said, her voice cold. \u201cShe sacrificed everything to prevent Harkon from completing the prophecy.\u00a0 I would have expected her to explain that to you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so she has. That\u2019s exactly why we are here for the Elder Scroll. I would hardly have risked us all to fight our way here if not for a good reason.\u00a0 I can become a great deal wealthier and more powerful for far less effort back on Tamriel.\u201d<\/p>\n She laughed at him.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you think I would have had the audacity to place my daughter in a tomb for centuries for the protection of her Elder Scroll alone? The scrolls are merely a means to an end. The key to the Tyranny of the Sun is Serana herself.\u201d<\/p>\n A means to an end. That\u2019s how you and your husband have treated Serana. You\u2019re no better than he is. <\/em>Andante felt his thoughts fighting with each other.\u00a0 And so have I.\u00a0 But I am not her parent.<\/em><\/p>\n He stood, quietly, listening to Valerica go on at length about Auriel and his bow. Auriel was the being worshipped by most Altmer and Bosmer, an equivalent to what other races named Akatosh, eldest of the gods. By imbuing elven arrows with the blood of a Daughter of Cold Harbour, Auriel\u2019s Bow could end the Tyranny of the Sun, blotting out its light.\u00a0 And Serana, having survived being offered to Molag Bal on his Summoning Day, was just such a being.<\/p>\n \u201cSo once again, Serana\u2019s blood is the key.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow you are beginning to see. In Harkon\u2019s eyes, she would be dying for the good of all vampires.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante pondered.\u00a0 Only a small amount of his blood had been necessary to open her vault in Dimhollow.\u00a0 Only a small amount of her blood had been necessary to open the portal to the Soul Cairn.\u00a0 Surely only a small amount of her blood would be needed to coat arrows. He considered his next words carefully.\u00a0 I need to sound sincere.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t believe she needs to die.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t allow that to happen.\u201d\u00a0 The truth is that<\/em> if I should retrieve the Bow I would need her alive, for a continuous supply of her blood.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAnd how exactly,\u201d Valerica sneered, \u201cdo you plan on completing the prophecy without the death of my daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n Your daughter. Your tool, you mean.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI plan to kill Harkon.\u201d<\/p>\n He heard a sudden intake of breath from Brynjolf, behind him.\u00a0 Oh my dear Guildmaster, did you truly not realize that was my goal all along? How else do you suppose I was going to have that castle for myself? Had you simply not followed the thoughts to their logical conclusion? <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>Valerica spluttered, while he stood chuckling to himself. She called him a fool. Had he not considered that she weighed the option herself?<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what of Serana\u2019s opinion?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou care nothing of Serana. You see the Tyranny of the Sun as your chance for deification, and like Harkon you won\u2019t hesitate to destroy anything that stands in your path!\u201d<\/p>\n Andante fought to keep his facial expression from changing.\u00a0 Well, well. You have me there, Madame. You\u2019ve seen right through me and gotten right to the heart of the matter. I cannot deny a single word. Well done. I am truly impressed. And now to take a lesson from my darling Brynjolf.<\/em><\/p>\n He composed his voice into its most soothing, persuasive tones.<\/p>\n \u201cSerana believes in me,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 \u201cWhy won\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n Andante stood with clenched jaw, listening while Serana and Valerica argued about him and the Prophecy, Harkon, and his fanaticism.\u00a0 And then they bickered like family, Serana accusing her mother of not understanding, Valerica protesting that she\u2019d given up everything to keep Serana safe. They argued for long minutes, hurt feelings and centuries of resentments pouring out until they both agreed that the most important thing was stopping Harkon, and that Valerica would help them if they could just free her from her prison.<\/p>\n They were to look for the tallest of the towers emitting energy, and destroy the Keepers guarding each one. That should drop the barrier. They also needed to be wary of a dragon, Durnehviir, who had been tasked by the Ideal Masters with guarding the Cairn and assisting the Keepers.<\/p>\n Andante nodded. \u201cI\u2019ve heard of the Keepers but not the dragon.\u00a0 We will be careful.\u00a0 But I\u2019m curious, Madame. Why have you not pursued the prophecy yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHarkon\u2019s vision is a world plunged in eternal darkness, where the vampire can flourish, and never again fear the tyranny of the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat seems\u2026 not altogether an unpleasant prospect, at least at first glance.\u201d<\/p>\n She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWhat he fails to realize is how much attention would be called to our kind if the prophecy came to fruition.\u00a0 If eternal night fell, there are many who wouldn\u2019t stand for it. They would raise armies in attempts to return things to normal. The order of the day would be our destruction, until every last vampire was hunted down and eliminated.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante suddenly heard Babette\u2019s voice. \u201cWe\u2019re being hunted, Andante, each and every one of us.\u201d He stared at Valerica. She\u2019s right. It\u2019s already begun. The Dawnguard is only the first wave. <\/em>He didn\u2019t speak for a moment; then he sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you prefer to live in the shadows.\u201d<\/p>\n She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI do. It\u2019s how the vampire has survived, and how we will continue to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n But not all of us are confined to the darkness.\u00a0 You simply need the right smithing skills, the right armor, to keep yourself fed\u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n He could survive.\u00a0 He could help Brynjolf survive. But they wouldn\u2019t be able to control anything, not even Volkihar Castle, alone.\u00a0 Slowly, he nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBe careful,\u201d Valerica said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd keep my daughter safe.\u201d<\/p>\n But even as he turned to face the others, to explain what they had to do next, he knew that it didn\u2019t matter. We will have that power. The power to blot out the sun. <\/em><\/p>\n He had that thought; and then he shook his head. What am I thinking? I\u2019m an idiot.<\/em><\/p>\n They stepped down off the platform, back into the wastes, and looked around.\u00a0 Off to his left, Andante saw a tower, taller than some of the others, with what seemed to be a whirling cloud above it.\u00a0 He pointed at it and turned to the others.<\/p>\n \u201cThat one first. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n It was not a leisurely stroll between Valerica\u2019s prison and the tower.\u00a0 Lightning strikes were close, and frequent, and would have been deadly if they hadn\u2019t all been quick on their feet.\u00a0 There were bone men all along the path, some walking like skeletons on Nirn, others without visible legs, floating just above the ground.\u00a0 All were tough, and daunting; and even as strong as he was Andante was grateful for the presence of the other three with him. \u00a0He heard Brynjolf\u2019s grunts and the smash of his shield against bone, and the sizzle and crackle of Serana\u2019s spells. He lost count of how many times he heard Dynjyl shout \u201cYou don\u2019t stand a chance!\u201d or \u201cStop! This ends now!\u201d\u00a0 He had to smile whenever he heard the voice. He wasn\u2019t certain whether the bone men could understand Dynjyl, but he could.\u00a0 Even more than that he could understand why Brynjolf had been drawn to this brash, brave man who, even in death, had no fear.<\/p>\n The tower, when they reached it, was an enigma, for it didn\u2019t reach the ground. \u00a0It ended well above their heads, broken at the bottom, bits of stone dangling beneath it held up by some power Andante didn\u2019t recognize. There were carved pillars beneath it, set at the corners of a large platform of black bricks, the place the bottom of the tower might once have reached.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure this is the place.\u00a0 Look around. There must be some way we can get up there.\u201d<\/p>\n He was on one side of the platform when Brynjolf called \u201cOver here, lad\u201d from the other.\u00a0 Where Brynjolf was standing was a pool made of four concentric circles, filled with a purple liquid. He pointed at it and met Andante\u2019s gaze.<\/p>\n \u201cIt reminds me of the other places we\u2019ve found.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight. Portals made of circles and purple energy.\u00a0 Looks right to me.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go first.\u201d\u00a0 He climbed up to the top of it and stepped in.\u00a0 The next seconds were bizarre and unsettling.\u00a0 The liquid started churning, turned black, and erupted from the pool to surround Andante in a cloud of black bubbles.\u00a0 When it cleared, he found himself standing high above the ground, on a balcony hugging the tower. As uneasy as it made him to be that high above the ground, worse was the sight he encountered running around the balcony.\u00a0 Stationed at its very edge were men and women, or the shades of them, their energies being siphoned in columns of brilliant light toward the top of the tower.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what that ghost meant.\u00a0 Must stay away from the Keepers. Or end up like these people, being drained.<\/em><\/p>\n For a moment he stopped, as the incongruity of what he\u2019d just thought struck him.<\/p>\n Is that not what I do, on Tamriel, to living people?<\/em><\/p>\n He shook his head to rid it of that stunning notion.\u00a0 What a time to develop a conscience, Andante. There are things to do right now.<\/em><\/p>\n On the far side of the balcony, stairs led upward.\u00a0 He ran for them, and up them, and stopped in his tracks. There was a being above him, dressed in dragon bone armor, holding a deadly-looking bow and reaching for a deadly-looking arrow.\u00a0 It was enormous, nearly twice his size. Andante heard the others running to catch up with him; the sounds alerted the Keeper \u2013 for there was nothing else this could possibly be \u2013 and it turned to face him.<\/p>\n Except that it had no face.\u00a0 There was nothing there, nothing but a cloud of black vapor of some kind, undulating at its edges, with blue points of light where eyes would be. \u00a0Eyes\u2026 without a face.\u00a0 Andante froze.<\/p>\n For long, agonizing moments, while his gut clenched and his veins turned to ice, Andante saw the horror that had been Roggi wearing the mask he\u2019d found in Markarth. He saw, once again, the terrified face of the old woman from his vision, the one who\u2019d died by a vicious overhand stab to her heart delivered by a man in that mask, the hand of a man who didn\u2019t even have eyes.<\/p>\n The voice inside him laughed.\u00a0 Is it coming back to you now, \u201cAndante?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n But as he gasped for a breath, time returned to normal. It could only have been a fraction of a moment, as the Keeper\u2019s hand was still moving to pull a huge arrow from its quiver.\u00a0 He hesitated, still, part of his mind shrieking at him to move, to do something.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t stand a chance!\u201d he heard Dynny shout behind him, just as Brynjolf yelled \u201cCome on! Show me you\u2019ve got what it takes!\u201d<\/p>\n He began moving again, his practiced skills in battle kicking in automatically, whirling and striking with Mehrune\u2019s Razor and his deadly daedric axe, slipping around behind the Keeper to make room for the others, dodging Serana\u2019s lightning bolts and Dynny\u2019s spectral arrows.\u00a0 The four of them beat on the creature until it finally fell, collapsing, becoming a cloud of the black vapor that quickly dissipated.\u00a0 Nothing remained of it or its armor.<\/p>\n They descended the stairs to find the upper end of the portal.\u00a0 As he looked around himself in a daze, he noticed that all of the spirits, and the columns of their energy, had disappeared as well.\u00a0 He stood staring at the portal, not moving.<\/p>\n A quiet voice murmured next to his ear.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you alright, lad?\u201d<\/p>\n He turned and looked into the bottomless golden eyes that he loved.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, Bryn.\u00a0 I\u2026\u00a0 don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n Then he turned and stepped back into the pool.<\/p>\n The second tower was easy for Andante to spot, now that he knew more or less what to look for.\u00a0 In fact, it almost seemed as though the broken parts of the first tower might somehow have been transported to the second, as there was a cloud of debris swirling around its top in what looked like a violent storm.\u00a0 As they neared it, fighting through bone men along the way, it became clear that the specters being drained of power were situated not somewhere in the air, but at the bottom of the tower.<\/p>\n Thank the gods, no portals this time. I\u2019m getting really tired of portals.<\/em><\/p>\n The Keeper of this tower was seated on a bench up a short flight of stairs, a stinking pile of bones on either side of it.\u00a0 It rose as Andante approached, and raised a monstrous dragon bone battleaxe.\u00a0 He gritted his teeth and sprinted into the creature, attacking with everything he had.\u00a0 It seemed to go on forever, as he dodged and struck and backed, and tried to outmaneuver the creature by rolling around it, and a small, detached part of his mind wondered whether he had remembered to bring any blood potions with him because he was getting hungry and there was nothing living here in the Soul Cairn upon which he might feed aside from other vampires who might also be hungry.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t occur to him that the others hadn\u2019t been with him in this battle until the Keeper fell and he heard the sounds of battle behind him.\u00a0 There was a mass of bone men there on the dirt near the tower, and all three of them were up to their necks in adversaries. He sighed and ran down the stairs to help.<\/p>\n The third tower was in the midst of a large building that they reached after running across the wastes for what seemed like years.\u00a0 Andante wondered, idly, whether all the towers might once have stood in complexes like this one, buildings that had long since collapsed.\u00a0 There was a tall, open archway in the wall nearest Andante\u2019s approach; he dropped into his most silent stealth and crept through it.<\/p>\n It turned out to be not simply one building with a tall tower, but a series of buildings arranged around an open, central courtyard.\u00a0 At the far side, seated at the very base of the tower they\u2019d been looking for, was another Keeper.\u00a0 In spite of Andante\u2019s considerable skills at remaining unseen the Keeper was aware of him almost instantly, and rose, raising an enormous bone shield up before him and drawing a ghastly, multi-headed warhammer.<\/p>\n Andante was barely aware of a floating bone man rushing past him to attack his companions as he rolled forward with weapons drawn, an attack that sometimes gave him a slight advantage on a first strike.\u00a0 It did him no good, this time.\u00a0 The shield struck him, tossing him backward and knocking the breath from his body.\u00a0 He rolled, barely ahead of the massive weapon that still struck him a glancing blow and delivered an intensely painful shock when it struck.<\/p>\n He was dimly aware of Brynjolf shouting \u201cYou\u2019re pathetic! No mercy for the weak!\u201d and thought yes. I am. I\u2019m done for this time unless I can steer clear of that hammer.<\/em><\/p>\n But he somehow managed to heave himself to his feet.\u00a0 The Keeper, while powerful and enormous, was a victim of its own size in that it was slow. Andante pulled his bow, found a small ledge upon which he could jump for height, and started peppering the creature with the heftiest arrows he had.\u00a0 It seemed to go on forever, and his arm was howling with the agony of exertion, but it paid off; each time the Keeper started for him again he hit it with an arrow, staggering it, buying just a second more of time.<\/p>\n Finally, it dropped.<\/p>\n Andante could hear the others still battling bone men, outside the perimeter of the complex, but he was too exhausted to help.\u00a0 He hopped down from his ledge and reached into his pack for a blood potion he hoped was there, and downed it even though he knew it would taste horrid.\u00a0 He knew he should check on the others, but all he could do, as he felt the potion work in his exhausted body, was think about the faceless Keepers, and the spirits being drained to maintain the magical barrier, and the thought that had been so clear: is it coming back to you, now?<\/em><\/p>\n It is. I think it is. But it\u2019s not clear enough, not yet, and I\u2019m not sure what exactly it is that I\u2019m going to find when it is.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n And I don\u2019t know whether I want to know.<\/em><\/p>\n I think I\u2019m afraid to find out.<\/em><\/p>\n He was still standing there, his head hanging, eyes closed, trying to regain some strength, when he heard footsteps.<\/p>\n \u201cThe barrier should be gone now,\u201d Serana said. \u201cLet\u2019s head back.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante opened his eyes and looked at them, then nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n He started moving toward the opening and was nearly out it when Brynjolf\u2019s hand on his arm stopped him.<\/p>\n \u201cLad?\u201d<\/p>\n He looked at Brynjolf and saw Dynjyl\u2019s form shimmering just behind him, and smiled.\u00a0 He shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cNot right now, Bryn.\u00a0 We can talk about it later.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get back to Valerica.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a long trek back to the castle, and none of them spoke, either too exhausted for chatter or too sobered by what they\u2019d just been through to care to speak. If not for the lightning and thunder it would have been silent.\u00a0 The barrier was gone when they got there; Valerica stood before a gigantic set of ornate doors, her impressive alchemy station tucked into the corner of what had been her prison.<\/p>\n Andante approached her silently, noticing the difference in her expression.\u00a0 Her eyes were open, not calculating; her eyebrows raised.<\/p>\n \u201cYou managed to destroy all three Keepers? Very impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell hardly on my own.\u00a0 You will have noticed that there were four of us fighting them.\u00a0 Still, I understand why it seems like quite a feat.\u201d\u00a0 He tried to muster a smile, but couldn\u2019t. \u201cAre you able to give us the scroll now?\u201d<\/p>\n Valerica nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, please follow me.\u00a0 Keep watch for Durnheviir. With the prison\u2019s barriers down he\u2019s almost certain to investigate.\u201d<\/p>\n She turned and left through the huge doors.\u00a0 Andante looked back at his companions.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, let\u2019s go get a scroll,\u201d Serana said.<\/p>\n \u201cOr fight a dragon,\u201d Andante replied, grinning. \u201cWhy should Dardeh have all the fun?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI certainly have nothing better to do at the moment,\u201d Dynjyl chirped, smiling.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good thing you\u2019re already dead, lad,\u201d Brynjolf grumbled.\u00a0 \u201cOtherwise\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Dynjyl laughed, and they all followed Valerica through the doorway.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t take long for Dynjyl to prove that he was, in fact, good with a bow. Andante took off at a trot toward the castle, with the others in tow. The closer they got to it, lightning strikes got closer and thunder became louder. 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<\/p>\nPart I: Andante<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"