Fire And Fangs

Chapter 40

"So, what's our next move?"

Morgan rolled her eyes playfully at Aela, who just smirked back at her. They were all sitting in the training room in Proudspire, Serana next to Morgan and Aela sitting next to Jordis. Piles of weapons and armour lay strewn around them, with cleaning agents and flint nearby. They had been repairing and sharpening their equipment for the last two days, and every day Aela had asked that same question.

"We get ready." was Morgans every reply.

Aela laughed as she began to sharpen her own Skyforge blade, her eyes still on the Dragonborn opposite her.

"It was an honest question. And don't deny it, you want to get out there and crack some skulls."

"She could do that if she went drinking with us." Jordis butted in with a mischievous grin.

Serana chuckled as she started working on her own dragonbone daggers which Morgan had made her.

"Don't give her ideas you two."

"Fuck you." Morgan muttered with a sweet smile as she also tended to her sword.

"So, we wait?" Aela said after a minute of silence.

"Not exactly. Serana knows how to get into the castle undetected. But we have the problem of getting to the coast without running into any of his loyal lackeys. And there's the problem of how to take him down once we get to him. He may be a bastard, but he's a powerful bastard, surrounded by powerful vampires." Morgan answered.

Morgans first thought had been to ask Odahviing to simply blast the castle with fire until it was left a smoking pile of rubble. But then she reminded herself that it was as much Seranas home as it was Harkons. She played with the idea of bringing in a few favours from the Empire, the College of Winterhold, the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild as well, but again, there were problems with that idea.

The Empire was currently waging war with the Stormcloaks and while they were holding ground, they weren't advancing either, and they needed every single person loyal to their cause just to keep it that way. The Dark Brotherhood were capable killers but they also would demand payment in gold, despite their friendship that had formed, and even Morgan hadn't amassed the gold required to keep them happy...and she doubted the Night Mother would be happy either, and she didn't want to piss her off.

The Thieves Guild were in decline for the time being, and while Brynjolf had gained her trust, Morgan thought that asking them to help in this sort of thing was going too far, even though there would be spoils for them to take should they succeed. Even Serana had agreed that she wouldn't mind them taking something from the castle, as long as it wasn't her mothers...even though they hadn't spoken in over a thousand years.

Morgan grinned suddenly.

"Oh shit...she's smiling. Not a good sign."

Morgan ignored Jordis giggling at Seranas jibe, although she had to fight herself from joining in the laughter.

"The mages. Surely they might know of a way to give us an edge. Savos Aren is the Arch-Mage there and he's a little distant with some people, but he always said I was welcome to visit after killing two dragons that time."

"You killed two dragons...by yourself?"

Morgan smiled a little at the way Jordis' eyes lit up. She was so adorable when she heard about her past. Only Lydia knew everything that Morgan had been up to over the years, and Serana was just beginning to understand what she had gone through. And now someone else was seeing that being a Dragonborn wasn't just a name. Morgan had sacrificed a lot over the years in becoming Dragonborn, but seeing someone smile at her doings always made her feel that it had been worth it.