Dawnguard Keep

Dawnguard Island was situated at the border junction of several kingdoms.

To the northeast was the Kingdom of Redian, to the west was the Kingdom of Dane, to the south was the Kingdom of Deros, and to the southeast was the Kingdom of Poria.

The island was not particularly large, but its location was extraordinarily advantageous.

Merchant ships from all four kingdoms converged in these waters. Countless goods were gathered, transferred, and traded on this island before flowing out to every corner of the continent.

Nominally, Dawnguard Island belonged to the Kingdom of Dane, but in practice, it was under the sole jurisdiction of Duke Grest.

And the famous Dawnguard Keep sat right upon this island.

Thanks to its proximity to the four kingdoms, commerce on Dawnguard Island thrived. Every day, the docks were filled with merchant ships from various realms—a forest of sails and masts, with the shouts of workers loading and unloading cargo echoing continuously.

It was these commercial tax revenues that sustained the massive operational expenses of the Dawnguard organization.

A large merchant vessel pulled up to the dock.

A sailor tossed a thick hemp rope onto the pier. The loop landed accurately over a bollard, pulled tight, and was secured.

A gangplank was lowered from the ship's side, landing on the stone pavement of the pier with a heavy thud.

A group of travelers walked down the gangplank.

Vera led the way, followed by Rosie.

Rosie stepped onto the solid stone flagging, her eyes scanning her surroundings.

The docks were bustling with people. Porters carrying burlap sacks and wooden crates bustled between cargo ships and warehouses, while peddlers wove through the crowds hawking their wares.

She suddenly recalled her days working as a porter back in the Royal City of Norman.

“It's been almost two months since we set out. Time really flies,” Rosie remarked with a hint of nostalgia.

These two brief months had been far more eventful than her entire past life of over twenty years.

They had pushed forward without pause, traversing half of the Kingdom of Redian, and had finally reached their destination.

“Lady Rosie, is this your first time here as well?” a young boy of around fifteen or sixteen asked her.

The boy was Henry, the second son of the merchant Jerald.

By tradition, a second son would not inherit the family estate, so Jerald planned to have him join the Dawnguard to bring honor to the family.

Naturally, it was mostly a way to gild his resume.

While the Dawnguard did recruit publicly, getting in was by no means easy.

To that end, the merchant was willing to donate a portion of his profits annually to fund the Dawnguard and share his commercial intelligence network.

Vera had hesitated briefly before agreeing to the deal.

Thus, upon entering the Kingdom of Redian, the trio accompanied the merchant to his manor in the city of Hiyota.

There, they were warmly entertained, staying one night, enjoying a proper hot meal, taking a thorough hot bath, and changing into clean clothes.

The next day, Vera visited the Dawnguard stronghold in Hiyota.

Through the stronghold, she dispatched a raven to send her intelligence back to headquarters first, then arranged for the stronghold staff to contact Jerald to iron out the details of the funding and intelligence cooperation.

By the time they set off again, their party had gained a youth.

Unlike his plump father, Henry was tall and lean, with a buzz cut, a broad forehead, and a ramrod-straight posture.

Jerald had hired a swordsmanship instructor for him, and judging by his stance and gait, he had a solid foundation.

“Stop calling me 'Lady.' People will think I'm some kind of noble,” Rosie told Henry.

“Got it, Boss Rosie,” Henry replied promptly, changing the title.

Rosie rolled her eyes, too lazy to bother correcting him further.

“Lady Vera, have we arrived?” Henry turned to Vera.

Vera, walking ahead, replied, “This is the harbor district. It's still a short distance to Dawnguard Keep.”

Just as she spoke, several fully armed guards approached from the harbor exit.

The leader wore a silver-gray cuirass covered by a dark blue tabard, embroidered on the chest with the emblem of the Dawnguard—a dragon with outstretched wings soaring toward a sun.

Seeing Vera, he raised his hand out of habit, but then his eyes fell on her empty right sleeve.

His hand froze midair, his speech halting for a moment before he managed to speak again:

“Miss Vera, what happened to you...?”

Vera waved her left hand dismissively, her tone nonchalant. “Ran into a tough customer. Losing just an arm is pretty good, all things considered.”

The guard leader opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately just nodded.

“His Grace the Duke is waiting for you in the Keep...”

As he spoke, his gaze naturally swept over the three people behind Vera:

A young woman with a longsword at her waist, standing a few paces away and taking in the harbor.

A green-skinned beastkin with a large pack on his back, looking around with a bored expression.

A youth with a buzz cut looking at him curiously.

“They're my friends. Let's go,” Vera said.

The four followed the guard away from the docks, walking down a paved stone road.

Most of the buildings lining the street were timber-and-stone structures with shops on the ground floor displaying various signboards.

As they traversed the streets, they occasionally spotted patrols wearing standard Dawnguard tabards.

After following the stone road for quite some distance, their line of sight suddenly opened up.

A vast lake with rippling turquoise waters stretched before them.

The surface was expansive, the water a hue between blue and green, shimmering with fine golden ripples under the afternoon sun.

On an island in the center of the lake stood a massive castle.

It occupied almost the entire area of the island. Grayish-white stone walls extended from the shore straight up to the topmost towers, their spires sharply silhouetted against the blue sky.

The castle walls cast a dark reflection upon the water, swaying gently with the ripples.

Arrow slits and narrow windows were visibly arranged in neat rows along the masonry.

The entire castle was surrounded by water, connected to the shore by a single stone bridge.

Constructed of rugged granite, the bridge featured stone balustrades lined with lamp posts every few paces, the oil lamps at their tops swaying gently in the wind.

Vera stopped at the bridgehead, turned around, and looked back at the three.

“Welcome to Dawnguard Keep!”

Rosie's eyes traced the grayish-white walls upward until the spires merged into the sky overhead.

“How magnificent,” she murmured softly.

The castle back in Stratholme had been large enough, but compared to this one, it was at best a slightly oversized manor.

“Dawnguard Keep took the Duke's family nearly a hundred years to build,” Vera said.

Vera's tone carried an unmistakable sense of pride.

“It was deliberately designed this way because vampires hate water. It has survived several vampire attacks completely unscathed.”

Henry looked around with intense curiosity.

Balu, lugging the heavy pack, had zero interest in the scenery, continuously muttering, “When do we eat?”

The group crossed the long stone bridge. As they reached the far end, the main gate slowly rose to the rattling groan of chains and gears.

Everyone stepped over the threshold and entered the Keep's interior.

Dawnguard Keep was engineered entirely as a military stronghold. Passing through the first gate did not lead directly into a courtyard, but into a passageway flanked by high walls, with yet another gate at the far end.

Three rings of curtain walls, defensive layers through and through.

Each level possessed an independent defense system and garrison sector. Even if the outer layer fell, the defenders could fall back to the second ring without disrupting one another.

Looking at the seemingly impenetrable defenses, Rosie's mind immediately jumped to the vampire elder.

Building it this solid won't mean a thing if you're up against someone who can fly...

Noticing Rosie's expression, Vera explained, “Vampires are terrifying not just because of their personal martial prowess, but because of their ability to beguile people's minds.”

Walking ahead to the side, the guard leader chimed in, “Indeed. In the various battles Dawnguard Keep has faced, most of those besieging the fortress were actually humans.”

Vera picked up where he left off: “The Dawnguard's standing today was not gained by currying favor with foreign nobles.”

Her voice echoed slightly as they walked through the gatehouse archway.

“It was forged through pure strength!”

Forged through strength, huh? That's far more convincing.

Rosie was reminded of her homeland in her past life, which had likewise earned its respect by beating back multinational forces.

She nodded in agreement.

Passing through the three sets of gates, they finally stepped into the central courtyard at the heart of the Keep.

The courtyard was paved with grayish-white flagstones and covered a considerable area.

In the center of the courtyard stood a statue.

It depicted a woman in armor holding a longsword, her long hair flying back in the wind.

The pedestal was made of dark gray granite, inscribed with a line of text.

Vera paused before the statue and introduced,

“This is the very first Dawnguard—the Legendary Dragonborn.”

“Dawnguard Island was originally the territory of ancient vampires. She eliminated every last vampire single-handedly and liberated the entire island.”

“To commemorate her monumental achievement, it was renamed Dawnguard Island.”

Rosie's eyes lingered on the statue for a moment before she followed Vera forward.

The castle hall's layout was far more open than it appeared from the outside.

The entryway had a high ceiling with a grand iron chandelier hanging from above.

Large tapestries and murals hung on the walls, all depicting battles against vampires.

Several long tables and weapon racks were arranged inside the hall.

People were gathered in small clusters.

Some wore chainmail, others leather armor, with various weapons slung at their waists or across their backs.

They had been conversing in hushed tones, but as Vera's group entered, many turned to look.

Then, almost simultaneously, their eyes landed on her empty right sleeve.

“Vera, what happened to your arm?”

“Did you run into trouble?”

“What happened?”

Concerned inquiries and glances converged upon her.

Vera raised her left hand with a dismissive wave. “Just a bit of trouble. It's fine now.”

Just as she was about to introduce Rosie and the others, someone in the crowd called out, “Miss Vera! His Grace the Duke is waiting for you on the second floor. You should head up right away.”

Vera called back, “Alright, I'll go right now.”

She continued walking forward.

Keenly sensing the respect these people held for her, Rosie lowered her voice and asked, “Are you a high-ranking member?”

Vera didn't slow her pace, answering straightforwardly, “Duke Grest is my uncle.”

Rosie paused for a fraction of a second, unable to help a grimace.

This usually casual hunter was actually a genuine noble?

As if reading her mind, Vera added before turning onto the staircase, “I'm no noble.”

Her tone was calm, free of self-deprecation or evasion.

“My father was nothing but a swindler and a fraud. He deceived my mother, eloped with her, and then heartlessly abandoned her...”

She didn't finish, but her words were laced with deep anger.

Rosie didn't probe further; some things didn't need digging into.

Moments later, the group arrived on the second floor.

The corridor was somewhat narrower than the first floor, but light remained ample.

At the end of the hallway stood double oak doors, thick and unadorned.

The guard stopped at the entrance, stepping aside to push the doors open.

Light from inside spilled out through the open doorway.

Duke Grest stood behind a large wooden desk in the middle of the room.

He looked to be in his fifties, with short, close-cropped graying hair.

Even inside the Keep, he wore a full set of armor.

Several scratches of varying depth marked the surface of his cuirass and pauldrons, showing it was no ornamental piece.

His gaze settled on the doorway as Vera stepped inside, before fixing on her empty right sleeve.

His eyes rested on the sleeve for a moment, but he said nothing, displaying neither surprise nor grief.

He simply gave a firm nod.

Then he spoke, “I have already sent word to the Grand Temple. The High Priest should arrive shortly.”