... We may need to deal with Vita more severely, as it is Hermaeus Mora is likely to send someone else to deal with her and the 'problems' she is causing. She truly needs to come with us if she wants to live, all other options end with her dying or being Mora'd.
Options for us are to get her to come with us, kill her, or get her Mora'd.
If the last, do we want what 'he' is offering us and do we want 'him' to know what Vita knows? Knowledge is dangerous in the wrong hands, and a being without hands seems like it falls under that.
/
Anyway, about the vampires:
If it's 1 in the morning they would likely be out doing something, so I'm not sure if any of these would help.
[ ] Keep knocking until someone answers. Not sure if the vampires would ever answer even if they are there.
[ ] Go back to the elven fort until tomorrow night.
- [ ] Stay hidden.
- [ ] Do what you want. Potentially wasting time.
[X] See if there's another entrance somewhere. First this, then breaking down the door are likely our best options.
[ ] Break in through the front door.
- [ ] Be polite afterward.
- [ ] Be rude. Likely a bit much, first let us try to see if there is another entrance.
[ ] Break in through a wall.
- [ ] Be polite afterward.
- [ ] Be rude. Energy intensive, likely just the same as breaking down the door.
[X] Go back to the elven fort until tomorrow night.
- [X] Do what you want.
Is that a chance to screw with the Thalmor? That's a chance to screw with the Thalmor. Heck, the closest thing to innocents we might meet are Stormcloaks. Its not like Skyrim vampires are really that impressive anyways.
[] Go back to the elven fort until tomorrow night.
This still feels like wasting time, if we feel the need to kill Thalmor, okay but we shouldn't delay ourselves for an entire day just for that.
[] Break in through the front door.
- [] Be polite afterward.
If we are going to be polite, we might as well see if there is a back door/etc open before busting in the front.
[X]See if there's another entrance somewhere.
I support this, followed by breaking in the front door if we don't find anything.
Sneak mode activate. Go through their stuff. Discover their secrets. Sow disunity. Pour out all their milk/juice/blood and place the empty bottle back in the ice box. Take all their slippers and stash them under someone's bed.
You give in to your feelings just a little and give the nearest statue a nice solid kick, shattering one stony leg, then decide to see if there are any other proper entrances. You aren't above admitting that there may be nuances to knocking at doors that you've either forgotten or never learned, and maybe there simply isn't anyone at this door. … Of course, that would be like leaving the main gate at the mansion locked and expecting people to use - much less know about - the back gate. You sigh - the one problem with dealing with vampires is that you really do have to start out polite ….
You flit away from the bridge and begin circling the castle at a moderate height. Some vampires used entrances you needed to fly up to use as a measure against their inferiors. These, however, don't appear to have used that particular counter, unless it was in the collapsed tower. They do have a small dock on the north side of the castle, though. A brief inspection reveals that it's been unused for … a very long time. There is a door, however, and you sigh before knocking loudly. It doesn't look like you'll get a response, and indeed no one appears after several minutes, so you knock again. Again, you wait for several minutes, temper rising, but as you turn to leave, you hear the door click open behind you, and you turn to look. A pair of bright eyes, almost golden-red, peer at you through the crack.
"Can … can I help you?" The voice wavers a little, like the speaker is sick, and you turn around fully, a cheerful smile plastered on your face.
"Hello! May I come in?" The eyes stare back, wide with surprise, and then they wink away and you hear a rattling cough.
"I … I'm sorry …. You … want to come in?" You fix your smile as forcefully as you can.
"Yes. I tried knocking at the front door, but no one answered. So I came back here …." Your smile drops. "You do live here, right?" The individual chuckles weakly and opens the door, revealing itself. A … female? Yes, you can tell it's a woman even under all those rags and that gunk - especially because of the rags. If this is the standard of vampire the Dawnguard have to face …. Its olive-toned skin and pointed ears mark it for an elf, and you step inside as it walks away.
"Oh, yes, I live here. Not that they know that, no. I'm not good enough for them. Heheha! I'm not good enough for you, either, am I? I saw that look!" She snaps her head around to glare at you as a large dog-like creature wanders over to her, an ugly rat-like thing in its jaws. You shrug.
"Well, you are filthy and you seem to be sick. That's reason enough for me to be wary of you. That you admit to being here falsely …. Well, if they can't keep their own house clean, what's it to me?" She stares at you, surprised. You don't have a good impression of her, it's true, and neither do you have a good one of the proper owners. Of course, they're still more likely to receive a better impression from you than this wretch. She begins cackling, head thrown back, and another of the black hounds creeps around. It sniffs you with a shriveled nose and its putrid breath washes over you, but it doesn't try to attack you.
"Hehe …. Oh, you are a darling, did you know? I haven't had any amusement in years, and here you come, all sweet and innocent and honest! I … I almost regret having to kill you, but I'm so hungry … it's been so long …." You tilt your head to the side as her head lolls back, but then she snaps forward, fangs bared and hands outstretched. You duck underneath her arms and trip her, but before you can decide what to do with her, the two hounds pounce on her, wicked needle-rows of teeth ripping into her flesh, and you watch them devour her alive … or unliving. You always get confused on matters like these! And neither Remilia nor Patchouli are any help, because your sister is inconsistent and the witch just goes, 'It depends!' When the vampire is dead, you pat the two hounds on the head and continue forward. Hopefully, this won't be another dead end.
It's smelly and filthy, and you wonder if the dock wasn't so much a secondary entrance as a way to get the filth of the castle out. Even though it's on an island. Maybe they just aren't very bright? Your new pets follow along as best they can as you drift slowly through the room. A small raised area - probably where the vampire was living - has a low-quality coffin and some too-big gloves and boots, although those are at least nice and well-made. You shake your head and continue forward, crossing a small bridge to a 'crossroads' of sorts: the way you came, a path to the right and one to the left … and what is obviously the way forward, except barred by a raised wooden bridge. You raise an eyebrow at the foolishness of the design - it's not so far that a human couldn't reach it with a good jump, and then they could either pry the bridge apart or manually lower it! You opt for a more destructive variant of the former, simply ripping the bridge off its pivot and laying it so it's more-or-less useable. You then ignore the side paths and follow the way forward and upward, eventually leading to … a garden. Or what used to be a garden, at any rate. It looks like it's an overgrown weed-farm now. But there are doors! Even if one of them is collapsed, there are places to go! You take the eastern door first, and it seems that the collapse of the eastern tower wasn't simply an artistic statement - the interior of the tower is collapsed as well, and there's nothing of note.
The northern tower is a bit larger, and less damaged … but the paths leading farther in are all collapsed, and when one of the gargoyle statues bursts into life to attack you, your patience snaps and you beat it to death before it finishes roaring at you. Snarling, you savage the garden even more, tearing up the fencing, the gargoyle statues, and the benches, and using the massive sundial as target practice. When you manage to reassert some control over yourself you find your new pets cowering in the small pool.
What do you do?
[ ] Reopen the door to the castle proper with Laevateinn.
[ ] Go through the front door.
- [ ] With Laevateinn.
- [ ] Just break through.
[ ] Go visit the fort to calm down, come back tomorrow.
[X] Go through the front door.
- [X] Just break through.
This is the abandoned part of the castle, where the Dragonborn has to go through as part of the quest. There isn't going to be a whole lot here at the moment, unless we want to poke around enough to visit Oblivion, namely the Soul Cairn.
It's not a very nice place, or a very interesting one at that, plus we'd need to solve part of a puzzle to get in.
The rest of the area is just various ruined rooms and shit.
You duck underneath her arms and trip her, but before you can decide what to do with her, the two hounds pounce on her, wicked needle-rows of teeth ripping into her flesh, and you watch them devour her alive
[X] Reassure dogs that you are friendly
-[X] Reopen the door to the castle proper with Laevateinn.
You shake yourself and slowly drift down toward the hounds. They seem to want to bury themselves in the dirt and mud as you approach, and you smile as soothingly as you can. "There, there. I'm not angry with you. You haven't done anything to earn my wrath, and if you do you probably won't live long enough to run, so don't worry!" You scratch their muzzles and run your hands along the tops of their heads, wondering whether the odd texture of their flesh is normal to their species or if it has to do with their late master. They rise, all appearances of fear gone, and you wonder whether they were actually afraid, or if it was some kind of learned behavior. Maybe you can find someone to tell you? In any case, you're now prepared to move on, so you turn away, drop your smiling mask, and take out Laevateinn. You tried being polite, but that didn't work! Either they don't care to speak with you, or they're criminally negligent, and you're really starting to suspect the latter. Well, you'll know soon enough. You look at the three tower entrances, gauging their worth, then position yourself at the end of the patio by the collapsed western door. Leveling your gift at the door, you pour power into it, and the gout of flame that bursts forth tears through the rubble, blasting stones apart, and after a few seconds you cut off the flow of power. The path into the castle proper is clear, and you carefully check for more discourteous things like traps, then turn back to the courtyard and lean over the patio railing. The two hounds still seem anxious, but when you whistle they obediently creep up to you. It's good to know that some things stay the same.
You wait until they reach the final tier of steps before advancing into the castle proper, floating over the melted, glossy steps, exulting in the heat still radiating from the stones around you. The hounds are reluctant to follow, though they quickly marshal themselves and scrabble up the steps past you, unwilling to bear the heat of the stone for long and unable to fly. You hear the footsteps before you reach the hall above, and see the hounds look to their right, so you're expecting someone to be there. You aren't expecting the yellow-eyed woman to be charging at you with a great axe in her hands … but she isn't moving that quickly. Even her final lunge, executed from well outside human striking range, isn't too fast for you, and you easily slip under her strike and shove her down the stairs, grinning as her howl of outrage turns almost instantly to one of pain. Your joy fades slightly as several more vampires make their appearance - a Dunmer male, eyeing you cautiously; an Altmer, furious, his hands working in fitful arcane gestures; a human, smiling confidently; and behind the three of them, two more that reek of power. You float a little higher, bringing yourself to head-height with the lord of the castle, and his subordinates step aside after a moment.
"Well. It's been a long time since we had an uninvited visitor, especially one as … colorful … as you. I don't suppose you're capable of giving me a reason to let you live?" You chuckle darkly.
"Well, if you had someone watching the front door, I wouldn't have had to go to your smuggler's dock and ask your other resident for entrance." You snicker at the confusion evident on their faces. "What, you didn't know you had a filthy madwoman living in your castle? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, really, given your indifferent grasp of courtesy." You sniff disdainfully, and the Altmer snarls at you before the lord raises his hand.
"Fura, go see if Feran has need of assistance. He should know something." She slinks past you, eyes narrow, and stalks down the hall. The lord stares at and bows sardonically "… Your pardon, milady. I am Harkon, and this is my home, Castle Volkihar. My chief advisor, Garan Marethi; my ranking courtiers, Vingalmo and Orthjolf; and my daughter, Serana." Each bows in turn upon introduction with varying levels of hostility. Oddly, the girl Serana seems the least upset, followed by the Dunmer. "Now that the basics of courtesy have been seen to, why don't you introduce yourself?" You can tell you struck a nerve, and it takes a real effort for you to not giggle.
"I am Flandre Scarlet, Burggräfin von Hesse. A pleasure to meet you, Lord Harkon." You curtsy demurely. Technically – and legally – you gave up your title when you left Earth for Gensokyo, but that's not going to stop you from using it if you want to. The claim of a noble title certainly raises a few eyebrows, although Harkon himself seems to take it in stride. Or maybe he just doesn't believe you. It doesn't matter.
"I see. My apologies. However, I suspect you did not come here randomly. And we have begun a great undertaking, so strangers are … suspicious. Especially when they arrive as violently as you did. Very … threatening. I'm sure you understand." You shrug.
"I was told that an individual I am interested in would be coming here eventually, so I decided to see if it would be worth waiting. And, perhaps, to learn about the Dawnguard …." You smile at the stormy expression on Harkon's face.
"They are nothing but vermin to be ignored." He watches you carefully and his expression turns conciliatory. "My wife really didn't tell you much, did she? She just found some little thing and sent you here to ruin my plans. How unfortunate for her, because I believe you'll come around to my side once you hear more." He either doesn't see your own expression darken dangerously or doesn't realize what it entails. "You see, what I plan is to increase our kind's power even further, to grant vampires power over the sun itself! No more will we be weakened by its light, no more shall we have to fear its tyranny! Vampires will rule the world, as we should, as is our right! Valerica doesn't understand, she fears that it will lead to our destruction." He glowers intently at the wall, and you can't help but feel that this 'Valerica' is right. Even if his plan works, time will end his reign - by the deaths of his subjects, if not his own death by another vampire. There's a reason Remilia went for a blatantly obvious method for her Incident. After the Laki eruption and the Year Without Summer, she started working on the Mist, and the Incident let her make sure it worked. What this fool seems to be suggesting is something far more permanent, something that can't be disrupted by even a reasonably competent magician. And how he plans to rule the world with one castle's worth of vampires, at best …. Regardless, you need to correct something right now.
"Harkon, I don't know who your wife is, or who Valerica is. Neither one had anything to do with my being here." He blinks at you, a little irritated as you interrupt his reverie.
"That doesn't matter. Once I have the Elder Scrolls, I can destroy the sun's hold over vampires! We will be invincible, never weakening or tiring, and the world will fall to us!" You see his advisors look askance at him, his daughter's face fall unhappily, and you realize that this is something he's brought up before. "When Valerica left, I had to halt my plans, since we could find neither her nor Serana, nor their Elder Scrolls, but with my daughter returned, we can begin again. After thousands of years, we will prevail!" Your eyes narrow sharply, you can tell that both of the elves notice your hostility. But Harkon is obviously a threat, a danger – he's mad, to have spent thousands of years on some goose-chase of a plan, such a dangerous plan, when he could have spent decades on something with a smaller scope, something more likely to succeed and less likely to get the magicians of the world to turn against him. But … how to handle it? How far has the rot of madness spread? Harkon, his unknown tenant, the Dawnguard madman, Vulthuryol … this world seems tainted. You shudder.
What do you do?
[ ] Kill everything in the castle.
[ ] Other?
Wow. It's been a whole year already, hasn't it? It's ... astonishing, amazing. I didn't think it would last this long - didn't think I could keep it going this long. I'm glad it has, though, and I hope people have enjoyed it. I hope you continue to enjoy it.
Happy quest anniversary, dude! Honestly, you've really improved over the course of the quest. You were above average when you started it, but by now you're genuinely my favorite quest DM. May this go on for a while yet!
Seems like these vampires are in need of some proper guidance.
Let's pop this fucker's eye like a corn kernel in a nuclear furnace.
[x] Permanently obliterate the full-mad vampire and whatever insanity he might carry. Crush his eye like a bug.
--[x] If anyone else causes trouble, smite them with extreme prejudice.
Once we've dealt with the ones who feel like they're up to the challenge, we can address the rest. Maybe get them to swear allegiance to the House of Scarlet, or something, I don't know. No need to murder the entire castle outright for the madness of its ruler, though. Just the ones who object the most strongly to our actions.
