Having completed clearing the section of the keep, they continued on. Down the corridor, the sound of small talk could be heard, slightly muffled, as two Mages were eating breakfast together. These two Mages happened to be tucked away in a corner, which made them slightly more difficult to take out. Luckily, both were so distracted by the conversation and food that neither could put up a fight. The next enemy was even easier to take down. He was alone reading a book on a pedestal on the other side of the room. The next thing he knew, he had three arrows sticking out of him before his vision went black.

Marcus nodded in satisfaction as he glanced at his skills. His conjuration and archery experience was rising sharply compared to normal. While he had previously raised them by hunting in the past, the constant small encounters he was not going through were far more efficient. With a smile on his face, he made his way over to the nearby chest. Unfortunately, aside from some academic materials and potions, there was only one item of note, a book. This book, The Doors of Oblivion, was one of the two items Marcus had come to find as it was an adept level book for conjuration. Given that conjuration affected his primary means of attack, it was extremely important. Content with his acquisition, the family continued on into the dungeons.

The first thing that came into their sites was a Nord coffin. However, the slight mumbling off the side revealed that not only the dead were about. With deft accuracy, Marcus killed the necromancer that was studying, thankfully facing the other direction. However, the sudden noise that filled the room, notably the coffins opening, made for an eerie experience. Just as Marcus was about to continue, the necromancer's body began to rise from the floor. Momentarily startled, Marcus quickly went into action as he rolled past the opening, found and took aim at another necromancer that was hiding around the corner. The words of help were forever locked by the arrow that pierced the necromancer's throat.

Marcus frowned slightly as he dismissed his bow and instead conjured a sword. There were half a dozen skeletons in the room, and they were all making their way towards him. It wasn't extremely uncommon for undead to appear naturally, without interference. While there were varying factors in their creation, it was not so strict to be an uncommon sight. This was one of the reasons why it had become custom to cremate bodies, though none dared to touch those already dead out of respect and fear of superstitions. These were the reasons why the halls of the dead were so closely guarded and maintained.

However, the skeletons before Marcus were most likely not natural. If they were, they would have risen with the intrusion of the necromancers and subsequently attacked as the undead, at least those who were not sentient, would automatically attack the living. Most likely, there was some sort of magic tied to a sacrifice, of which the first necromancer Marcus killed would fit, reanimating on skeletons. Luckily, even though they were outnumbered two to one, Marcus wasn't worried.

Necromancy was one of the areas he had heavenly modded due to its lackluster use in the game. As such, he had a decent understanding of it. The skeletons, and other skeletons in general, were extremely weak. Their movements were easy to read, and they required at most two strikes to be destroyed. Their lack of teamwork quickly became apparent, and they were quickly dispatched.

Having confirmed that the nearby enemies were taking care of, Marcus quickly went into his inventory and found two spell tomes. The first, Raise Zombie, was what he expected to find and the other of the two books he had come to obtain. While looked down upon, necromancy was not illegal and the ability to create meat shields out of defeated enemies would be useful, at least as a distraction. However, the other spell tome was a welcome surprise. This Spell tome contained the spell Pale Shadow. Pale Shadow would create an image of a targeted enemy to attack them for 10 seconds, though only with 1 HP. In the absence of dead bodies, or just for fun, this would create a useful distraction and trump card in the future.

Content with his loot, and not planning to go further, Marcus hesitated for a moment before deciding to continue on. Though he had obtained what he wanted, there was always the possibility for more. More resources, more spells, more of anything that would increase his survival rate. To be blunt, these current stages were extremely easy and Marcus worried that he would be put in ever increasingly dangerous situations. Slacking was not something he wanted to do, especially with his life on the line.

The next enemy proved to be as simple to defeat as the rest. An arrow to the neck was all it took, same for the next mage found in the jail area. Neither was capable of retaliation or even noting his existence. Having continued on, Marcus came across a locked door, which he promptly unlocked along with the locked chest behind it. Unfortunately, there is nothing notable except for a robe that had an increased mana regeneration enchantment, which he already had. At the very least, it would be worth some gold.

Eventually, the smell of blood began to fill the air. Marcus peeked around the corner and saw a mage contemplating over a table on which there was a dead khajiit. Even though he had an excellent shot, Marcus didn’t take it. So long as the mage didn’t move, it would be difficult for Marcus to be discovered. Marcus didn’t take a shot because the room was fairly large, and others could be present.

Once he reached the edge of the doorway, Marcus confirmed another individual in the room. Given the menial physical tasks the mage was doing and his weaker stats, it was most likely an apprentice. Though he couldn’t see more of the room, Marcus did not go further as he would be far easier to spot. He signaled to his parents, who quickly got the message. With three swift arrows, two bodies fell to the floor.

Marcus quickly assessed the room, along with the loot, but aside from some simple healing potions, there was nothing of real note.

“I can’t believe it.” Mother said as she began to assess the bodies. “Half of these bodies are vampires.”

“Is that strange?” Marcus asked.

“Very strange.” Mother replied with a frown. “Vampires are fairly rare in Skyr*m. Even though some definitely exist with a few dens scattered about, they are difficult to find and rarely active. Likely, these were freshly turned vampires.” Having said that, mother quickly glanced at the contents of some alchemical vials. “I believe we can rule out there being an actual vampire here. This appears to be the blood of a vampire. Most likely, the necromancers were experimenting with or required vampire bodies to test their necromancy. I imagine that the reason why half of these bodies are vampires is that they died too quickly in the process to become useful for materials or experiments.”

“How crazy do you have to be to create these evil creatures,” Father said with a frown.

“Are all vampires evil?” Marcus asked. His mind was running quickly as he was trying to ascertain his parents’ view on vampires, as it could affect his plans in the future.

“Of course they are.” Father continued. “They are the spawn of a Daedric Prince, cannot be considered among the living, and require blood as sustenance.”

Marcus tilted his head in confusion. “I don’t really understand. Why would having a certain parent make you evil? There are good and evil living people, and we eat meat all the time, which isn’t that different from blood.”

“Well, that’s because….” Father began as he tried to think of a way to explain it.

“If I became a vampire, would I become evil?”

“You absolutely cannot become a vampire.” Mother said with a serious expression on her face.

“I’m not going to. I was just asking the question. Would I become evil?”

Both parents gave each other a worried look as they tried to think of a suitable answer. Eventually, mother tentatively answered. “No, at least not right away. However, the increase in power, immortality, and requirement for blood would likely adversely affect one’s mentality.”

“So what you’re saying is there can be good vampires, but they would be the exception and not the rule.”

“I… I guess.”

“Well, that’s fine, and it’s just like how most bandits are evil. Either way, we are still not done.”

The family of three quickly continued on to the next room. Within the cages were several other bodies, notably also vampires. After making a quick side trip to pick a locked chest, which contained little but some gold, Marcus made his way to the last three Mages in the keep. They consisted of one relatively powerful mage and two fairly weak female mages. Luckily, they all seemed somewhat distracted and were easy to dispatch.

Marcus quickly went through the loot before he became ecstatic. Amongst the loot was a Spell Tome for Bound One-Handed Weapons. This particular spell was due to a mod expansion for the bound weapons. Marcus already knew the bound sword spell, but that was specific to the sword. This was an upgrade of that spell. It allowed for the conjuration of any one-handed weapon, notably dagger or sword, along with allowing the caster to wield them in both hands. For Marcus, this spell tome would be incredibly useful.

Even though dual wielding was not of interest, the ability to conjure a dagger was. This was because several perks, most notably those related to assassination, only worked for the dagger. Given how stealth was already an integral part of his combat style, it wouldn’t hurt to increase his potential.

Happily content, the family of three continued their way through the keep. After trudging through the waterlogged part of the keep and killing a couple skeevers, they finally made their way back to the open air. After making a quick check, Marcus promptly teleported to the Mountain Mansion.