65 Dimhollow Crypt

[AN}: Even though a certain comment didn't save, I still saw it and thought it was a good idea. The first couple paragraphs will show I saw it and wrote about it.

To those other users who don't know, Webnovel sometimes will censure comments which have words they do not approve of, like cuss words. I can still generally see the comment, but I have no way of interacting with it in the app which is what I primarily use for answering comments.

Now on to the chapter!

---

A funeral ceremony honoring the fallen Vigilants was held at first light. It was a somber affair with few words spoken. Once the final rights were observed, Rictus decided to make something honoring the dead. Magic poured out of him and into the ground around them all. A huge pillar of stone rose 40 feet into the air. Pouring his focus into it, he started carving an imagine into the mighty pillar. After working on it for a while, everyone stood back and stared in appreciation at the statue before them.

The image of Keeper Carcette stood proudly before them. She had a gentle yet determined look upon her face with one hand outstretched in welcome while her other held a blade resting against the ground. Stendarr's symbol could be clearly seen upon her chest. At her feet laid the bodies of various spawns of darkness. Vampires, undead, and deadra could be discerned in the pile beneath her. Rictus then poured more magic into the statue further reinforcing it and making it harder than steel. A mana stone was embedded into the outstretched hand which began emitting a soft white light making it seem as if the statue was casting a spell to light the path for weary travelers.

Tears could be seen gathering in the eyes of the Vigilants as they stared at the monument to their former leader. Their sorrow was quickly replaced by a fiery determination. The vampires would pay for their transgression. No more words were spoken as they all went their separate ways. Dante borrowed a horse from Rictus to speed his journey, while Tolan had a wagon which he would use to carry the bodies to the Hall of the Dead in Dawnstar before making his way south to Fort Dawnguard.

Rictus, Adalvald, Illia, and Miruma double checked their equipment before making their way to Dimhollow Crypt. The walk did not take them long at all. It was up a small beaten path not far from the Hall of the Vigilant. Despite the troubles from yesterday, Adalvald was excited with the prospect of exploring the cave.

"I am not entirely sure what we will find in here. There is a high chance of draugr making an appearance and maybe some other undead. It may be best for us to just clear the entire crypt and then I can take my time studying what remains while you can go on your way."

Rictus thought the idea was sound. There were plenty of things he could and probably should be doing.

"I think that is a solid plan. Miruma, I will have you in the lead watching out for traps and things like that. Billy will be directly behind you ready to spring the traps or charge in and distract enemies. I will be behind him for support. Adalvald, you stay in the center and focus on support, so healing and turn undead spells. Illia, you will cover our rear and offer support when needed. Now, let us see what lies in store for us here."

After summoning Billy, he couldn't help appreciating the improved look. A pulsing red light caused by the exploding familiar spell could still be seen around the hooves, horns, and eyes of the massive goat. The horns were larger and sharper looking than before while a faint scaled pattered could be seen along the familiar's body. Enhancing the other goats with materials from the dragon led to Rictus better understanding how to further enhance his familiar. Unlike real animals though, he had much better control over his summon. Billy was hardly recognizable from the first time he had summoned him. A casual observer would never guess that his familiar had started out as a simple goat.

With a basic plan and everyone now prepared, they boldly strode into the crypt.

While not always having the best memory or being very smart, Rictus did finally realize exactly what was going on here. This was obviously the quest to get Serana. It differed a bit from the game because of his interference, but he still knew what was going on. Defeating the vampires before they could even enter the crypt would obviously change how things would happen in the overall questline for sure.

The Vigilants would play a much larger role now that their headquarters and leadership were not entirely eliminated. They would now join up with the Dawnguard as they battled the vampire threat. Of the two sides for this conflict, Rictus preferred the Dawnguard to the vampires. Being a vampire lord was really cool, but not high on his list of to do's. Yes, it was a form of immortality and could boost a person's powers, but it had too many strings attached. Pledging your immortal soul to Molag Bal is one of the big ones. Being subservient to someone known as the King of Rape is not something Rictus really wanted. As far as daedric princes go, he much preferred Sanguine's realm of infinite parties. Maybe instead he would study a vampire lord's body to try and find out how it worked. 'Note to self, persuade one of the Companions to transform as well to see how that works. Between the werewolf and vampire lord, maybe something interesting could be created.'

He was looking forward to how things would play out in this questline. Joining the Dawnguard and running fetch missions for Isran was not something he was going to do though. What was the point of having minions and workers if you couldn't get them to do the mundane tasks you didn't like?

A seed of worry did grow in his heart though. Part of the quest involved entering the Soul Cairn. He had already clashed with the rulers of that place, the Ideal Masters. Further angering beings strong enough to lay claim to an entire plane of Oblivion may not be the best idea for his health. Still, entering such a location could have immense benefits. Even though he had avenged them, the deaths of Assur and Thaena weighed heavily on him. If there was a chance he could save their souls from the Soul Cairn, could he really not even try?

All that was a problem for latter though. Right now, he needed to stay focused on the task at hand. Dungeon delving while distracted was a recipe for disaster. He couldn't help smiling to himself though. Serana had always been one of his absolutely favorite followers in the game. Now, he had a chance to meet her and get her as a follower.

Unless someone had already beat him here. 'That is not a promising thought. Decent chance someone else would have remembered the location of this place and wanted to save her themselves. She always was one of the most popular followers. We'll just have to be extra careful if that is the case.'

As he had been having all those internal thoughts, they had passed through the entrance tunnel and entered a large cavern. A waterfall cascaded from the ceiling, creating a small river which flowed through part of the area. Stone pillars were spaced randomly throughout the room while a decrepit tower could be seen along the right side of the cave. Directly in front of them across the uneven ground was a large metal gate.

A light shot from Adalvald's hand to brighten up the area. Sometimes Rictus forgot others did not have the same ability to see in the dark like him and his followers now had.

Illia and Adalvald investigated the tower as Rictus and Miruma surveyed the rest of the cave. Soon a creaking sound was heard as the metal gate slowly raised up. After finding nothing worth their time, the group proceeded on in their exploration.

Moving through the tunnels and down some stairs found them entering another room. A small amount of water flowed along the floor while tall walls rose on either side of them. Stairs on the opposite side of the room lead up to the tops of the walls surrounding them. Instead of following along that path, Rictus created some stairs leading them directly to the high ground. Surveying the room revealed broken skeletons scattered about the floor. Besides that, another metal gate could be seen along the left wall.

The lever which controlled the gate lay broken and strewn across the floor. Everyone shared a look after seeing it like that. This had been done deliberately. Thankfully, getting past the gate was not really a problem for someone like Rictus. Instead of bothering with the gate at all, he simply created an opening in the stone directly beside it.

They passed through the small empty room and down the stairs leading further into the crypt. A typical Nordic draugr burial greeted them. Beds which normally housed draugr were carved three high into the stone. Strangely, every one of them was empty. As they moved a little further into the room, they discovered why.

A mass of bodies with various wounds were piled against the wall leading to another gate. Interestingly, there were a couple bodies which were not draugr. An argonian and dark elf had been stripped down to their small clothes and left with nothing of value. It appeared both had been cut down by the draugr. As Rictus studied the mass of bodies, he found something else interesting. Almost all the wounds on the draugr were puncture wounds from arrows. Someone or a group of someones had obviously been through here before them. Based off the blood from the two non-draugr, it had to of been in the past 36 hours.

Rictus shared a pointed look with Adalvald. The man looked at the bodies as he scrunched his brow in thought.

"Hmm. Now that I think about it, one of the brothers did mention he thought he saw a group of bandits in the area. I wonder if these two are from that group?"

No one knew the answer to that. Only by further exploring would they figure it out.

Passing through the gate and another tunnel led them into a large cave. Two waterfalls cascaded down on the left and right side of the room creating a shallow pool of water in the middle of the room. Small stone markers could be seen poking out of the water. More skeletal remains could be seen just beneath the surface of the water. Another body laid stripped and pushed against the wall.

Traveling up the stairs brought them into more classic Nordic ruins. It was the kind of place separated into small hallways with alcoves in the walls which normally held a standing draugr. Large spider webs covered the area and smashed egg sacks dotted the ground. Some of the webs had been burned away showing the pathway the people before them had taken. The spiders must have been killed or scared off already.

They went through a few more corridors and another gate before they finally found something new. The old Nordic architect and rough caves had made way for a more gothic appearance. Two large gargoyle statues stood upon pillars acting as guards for the door between them. Seems they had finally gotten to the main area of interest.

Rictus was a little worried about what would happen next. Even though he had not met her yet, he was a bit worried about Serana. Adalvald would not spare any vampire he came across right now no matter their circumstances. Rictus was not sure what he would do if a fight between the two of them broke out.

As they entered the new area, an empty pedestal stood in the center of the dark room. Large archways flanked by more gargoyle statues immediately drew their attention. The archways led to a balcony overlooking the rest of the massive cave. A lake could be seen covering the ground while a strange circular structure rose from the water and dominated the middle of the cavern. It had two rings of arches leading to a more open middle area. Adalvald wasted no time in moving ahead of everyone as he sped down the stairs. Whatever he was searching for would be found in the middle of the structure.

They quickly followed after him as they moved across the bridge. Once they passed through the arches, they saw a chalice raised into the air on a stone pedestal slightly taller than a person. Seeing that, Rictus knew someone else had beat them here already.

Adalvald let out a cry of frustration when he found out there was nothing hidden inside the stone compartment.

"I was so sure there was something here! All my research and notes pointed to something of great importance being left here by the vampires. How can there be nothing…Those people who came before us must have taken whatever it was!"

He took a couple deep breaths as he calmed himself back down. Anger would not solve anything. Looking around the area, he started getting a contemplative look upon his face. It wasn't long before he had out his notebook and started writing something down. A minute passed before he turned back to Rictus.

"Would you be willing to continue exploring without me? There is something important about the way this is set up here. The pattern of the grooves is no mistake and remind me of some ancient runes of protection and preservation. I know we said we would clear the cave first, but I must figure this out. Maybe you can find a clue about the people who were here before us."

"Of course. I will leave Miruma here as a guard for you while Illia, Billy, and I continue on."

Rictus had quickly agreed with him. He felt a little relieved at the prospect even. If there was any chance of finding Serana or what had happened here, then it would be further ahead. Not having Adalvald with them would keep things a lot simpler.

They quickly crossed the bridge and made their way further into the crypt. Signs of another fight was evident when then entered another room with busted open sarcophaguses. Skeletal remains and draugr bodies littered the floor. Going up the stairs in that room led them into a wide hallway with an already opened gate.

Rictus paused at this point. He could detect there was something before them in the next room. Interestingly enough, it was only the dead he could detect and no one living. Him and Illia slowly crept into the room while doing their best to stay concealed, even Billy pretended to tip toe behind them.

An arena like room laid before them with what appeared to be a word wall in the back right corner of the room. Stairs ringed a flat squared area with a large burning pit in the center. 4 large pillars jutted up from the corners and into the ceiling above them. Stone thrones were coupled between each of the pillars and overlooked the middle arena. All the thrones were empty except for the two directly across from them.

One was filled with a large hulking draugr covered in heavy armor and a spiked helmet. A massive ebony greatsword casually placed along its lap. The other one hosted a more worrying opponent. A dragon priest wielding a staff was floating above the chair. Unlike his first encounter with the dragon priest Vokun, this one lacked a mask covering its face.

Taking a look around the room revealed a battle had already taken place here. Bodies were all over the place. The living had tried and failed taking on the dead. Some of the bodies closer to them had large, scorched marks on their backs from the dragon priest's magic as they attempted running away. After taking a longer look, Rictus could see a few arrows jutting from the overlord and the priest. Seems the attackers had at least landed a few hits before being wiped out.

Rictus and Illia shared a look as they mentally prepared themselves for the fight. He drew his ax, and scales began appearing over both their skins as they cast dragonhide. The dragon priest suddenly raised its head and looked in their direction. Seems it had been alerted by their casting. Rictus chided himself at his dumb mistake but immediately sprang into action. He flung himself with telekinesis at his opponents as two large ice spears flew past him.

Before the ice spears could impact the dragon priest, the deathlord responded.

"FUS"

The unrelenting force shattered the incoming ice spears. Rictus quickly flung himself upwards while dodging the incoming shout. As he passed over the head of the dragon priest, he launched his ax down. At the last second, the dragon priest moved to the side. Instead of bisecting it, the ax cut off the arm holding the staff.

Fire sprang up from the ground creating a large wall of fire between the dragon priest and Illia. The ice spears she had casted being dissipated by the intense flames. The deathlord quickly charged Rictus as soon has he had landed on the ground. Casting telekinesis, he tried tossing the draugr away from him. As it was just being picked up though, it released another unrelenting force shout which disrupted the spell and caused it to land back on its feet.

Metal projectiles were immediately flung at the deathlord who blocked most of them with its sword. A couple made it through its defense, but they didn't hit anything vital. While it was still distracted, Rictus used Dire Corrosion to weaken its armor. Two large horns penetrated the armor from behind as Billy impaled the deathlord. The mighty undead was still able to fight and swung its sword behind it while aiming at Billy. Billy exploded in a fiery inferno after the blade struck him. Another Dire Corrosion combined with the damage from the heat greatly weakened the armor protecting its head and neck. Then, two large tentacles of stone rose up before slamming together, completely pulverizing the deathlord's head.

Fire and Ice raged against each other on the other side of the room. The dragon priest was covered in a cloak of flames while Illia had one of frost. Two atronachs of flame and frost fought alongside their masters. The spell casters had slowly gotten closer to one another as they continued their elemental duel. Their opposing magics cancelling each other out. Illia had the advantage of being able to cast magic from both her hands while the crippled dragon priest possessed more power.

Two blades of lightning impacted the dragon priest from behind. Taking advantage of its lack in concentration, Illia cast a new magic she had been working on. Instead of ice, two whips of water lashed out towards the priest. The water cut through the fire cloak and wrapped itself around its hand and neck. The water quickly froze over before exploding point blank into shards of ice which ripped through the dragon priest's body. More lightning impacted its back as it suddenly disintegrated into dust.

Illia put her hands on her knees as she took a moment to catch her breath.

"I had it under control. You didn't need to interfere."

Rictus casually strolled up to her and patted her back.

"This was not some friendly magical duel or prideful competition. It was a fight to the death between two powerful mages. A single mistake could have ended in your death. I had already finished my opponent so I could easily lend support. If the situation had been reversed, I expect you to do the same."

She nodded her head properly chastised. Few opponents had been a worthy match against her. Her pride had started clouding her judgement recently. Such a thing was unbecoming of an experienced mage. Realizing she was better than this, she promised not to fall into the same mistakes again.

The hand squeezing her shoulder pulled her from her thoughts. She saw Rictus looking at her with kind eyes.

"Don't worry about it too much right now. You should go back and watch over them back in the main cave. I will stay here and gather up any valuables while trying to figure out where these other people came from."

She nodded her head before retreating to where the rest of their group was. Once she had left, he turned his attention back to the rest of the room.

"You can come out now. No use hiding anymore."

A figure slowly moved out of a small recess in the stone wall along the side of the wall. Their figure became much more apparent as they entered the light. A faded black cloak was wrapped around her body while the handle of something poked from behind her back. Underneath the cloak, old faded vampiric armor could be seen clinging to her while a long and slightly rusted dagger hung from her hips. Her face was a thing of beauty. Smooth unblemished skin, lush red lips, prominent eyebrows, large expressive eyes the color of rubies, and long silk like black hair cascaded past her shoulders.

She studied him suspiciously as she warily approached them.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Rictus. What's yours?"

She paused a moment as she weighed whether to tell him or not. Eventually, she seemed to relax just a little bit.

"Serana."

----

[AN]: And so we finally meet Serana! Not the traditional method of meeting her, but it still at least happened in the crypt.

The next chapter will have some bonus POVs in it. If there are any ones you are wanting to read about, just let me know. No promising I will add them all, but I will try and do at least a couple if anyone wants something specific.