“Chasing Echoes” sends you and Serana back into the oldest, most forgotten parts of Castle Volkihar to find out where her mother went – and how to follow her. It’s one of the add-on’s best dungeons: a flooded undercroft, a moon-dial puzzle and a hidden alchemy lab with a portal to another realm.
How it starts
After the first Elder Scroll reading in “Prophet”, Serana wants to find her estranged mother Valerica, who fled Castle Volkihar long ago with another Elder Scroll. Speak to Serana to begin.
Walkthrough
The undercroft
The way in is an old, disused dock on the northwest side of the island – climb the rocks or swim. Armored skeletons guard the platform, and the undercroft beyond holds death hounds, more skeletons and a feral vampire.
- A lever lowers a bridge further in. Look out for the books A Hypothetical Treachery and The Aetherium Wars along the way.
- A giant frostbite spider guards a second lever that opens the way on.
- A chest area is reached by jumping up a bone pile – or with Whirlwind Sprint.
The courtyard moondial
Three crests are missing from the moondial in the courtyard:
- Half Moon Crest – in the small pond near the dial.
- Crescent Moon Crest – on the east balcony, near the table.
- Full Moon Crest – in the fenced garden below that balcony.
Put all three in place and the dial turns, revealing a hidden stairway.
The ruined towers
Expect armored skeletons and gargoyles. Locked doors hide chests and an armory, an iron gate opens with a chain behind a gargoyle statue, and a ruined chapel of Mara has a chest. In a room with two coffins you’ll find a set of Vampire Royal Armor on a shelf. The secret entrance to the study is behind a candlestick on the back wall, left of the fireplace.
Valerica’s study
Valerica’s Journal is on the right-hand bookshelf. The lab holds the three portal ingredients: Soul Gem Shards, Finely Ground Bone Meal and Purified Void Salts. Place them in the vessel over the stone dial, Serana adds her blood, and the rings turn to open a portal to the Soul Cairn.
The choice before the portal
Living souls don’t survive the Soul Cairn for long, so if you’re not a vampire you must pick one:
- Become a vampire: Serana bites you and gives you Vampire Lord powers. This cures lycanthropy – Aela can give it back later – and Dawnguard members will notice and nag you about a cure.
- Partial soul trap: Serana traps a piece of your soul in a soul gem. Inside the Soul Cairn you suffer Weakened Soul, minus 45 health, stamina and magicka until it’s fixed in Beyond Death.
Step through the portal and “Beyond Death” begins.
Known bugs
Placing the ingredients sometimes does nothing and eats them – keep a save before the vessel. Moon crests have been reported spawning underground on PC.
