In Which Finds-The-Way Quests Through the Soul Cairn

Time to swing back around to Finds-The-Way, to try to catch up some more on her Skyrim playthrough. This post is mostly familiar territory, since it involved moving the Dawnguard plot further along, and in particular running the Soul Cairn. So the main interesting content here is the language geekery! Enjoy!

Play by play

Play date: 8/7/2024
Session number in this run: 53
Picked up again with Serana entering the back of Castle Volkihar
Ran that pretty much as per prior playthroughs
Nabbed assorted random loot out of assorted containers
Leveled up to 60; took Health bump and dropped another perk point on Conjuration, so I could work my way up to two dremora lords at once
Also started wielding Dragonbane instead of Chillrend, because Chillrend wasn’t doing as much damage, I needed to improve it more
Made it to Valerica’s laboratory
Got Valerica’s journal and then found the ingredients to open the portal
Told Serana to soul-trap me rather than making me a vampire, as per usual
Then we went into the Soul Cairn
Ran the whole thing but this did take a while
Because inevitably, I got turned around once I ran the Reaper’s Lair and talked to Jiub
So had to circle around a few times to get back to known landmarks, so that i could use the wiki map to navigate next to where I needed to be
Skipped some of the places with loot just because of course I got overloaded, but I did harvest a bunch of soul husks and traded 25 of them to Morven Stroud
Used assorted lightning attractors to make black soul gems
Hit assorted soul fissures to fill my gems
Killed all three Keepers and this time I got the bow off the one on the floating island
Got Arvak
Got all three spellbooks, this time without any trouble with clipping
Got all ten pages of Jiub’s book, and got my soul gem back
Then went and talked to Valerica and convinced her I was on the level
Proceeded to the fight with Durnehviir
Took him out and then got the Elder Scroll from Valerica
Promised to come back for her, then headed back out with Serana
Had convo with re-corporated Durnehviir
Sure, creepy undead dragon who is actually surprisingly nice, I’ll Shout for you when I get back to Tamriel
Summoned Arvak to get to Jiub faster
Dropped off all the pages with Jiub and got his locket and book
Then rode on Arvak back to the stairs and returned to Valerica’s lab
Went out on the balcony and fast traveled from there to the meadery to sell stuff to Mallus
And OOOOPS forgot I was wearing the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal–got attacked by a guard
Threw a Pacify spell on him to get him to fuck off, and that actually worked!
So de-Cowled and then went in to sell stuff to Mallus
Boinged to Bloodchill Cavern again to drop off more stuff there, including the very heavy dragonbone battleaxe and mace, but kept the bow
Returned to Fort Dawnguard, talked to Florentius, and bought his spells from him
Sold a bunch of stuff to Gunmar
Talked to Dexion and OHNOEZ Dexion is blind!
Got objective to go to Ancestor Glade to read all the scrolls myself
Talked to Sorine and turned in her schematics quest; did not bother to get another one
Also sold her stuff, then headed back out again with Serana
Boinged to Lakeview to prep to go to Ancestor Glade
Lucia welcomed me home and gave me a gift <3
Saved there until next time

Commentary

Running the back of Castle Volkihar with Serana went pretty much as per prior playthroughs, with a couple of minor exceptions.

This time through, I found a chest I don’t think I’d seen before. It was while coming down the long hall that leads to the feral vampire, facing towards the encounter point, but to the right of that. Noting that for Future Me! Easy to miss if you’re me, I think, just because that hallway is quite dark even if you come in there with a light source. But for once I happened to be at a good angle to actually find it.

Also, for once I actually found my way through the place without getting lost or having to backtrack! Go me!

As I usually do when playing this part of Dawnguard in general, never mind whether I’m playing a thief, I assume for the sake of narrative that Serana does not have a problem with the Dragonborn appropriating anything useful. Because it sure as hell wasn’t like anybody else in Castle Volkihar was going to give a shit about that stuff! 😉

I did not, however, manage to run the Soul Cairn this time without getting lost. And boy howdy, would I like an in-game map to let myself navigate better through the place! Next load order I build myself, I will be looking for such a thing. Apparently there are mod solutions for this problem.

And while most of the stuff in this session was stuff I’d done many times before, one new thing did present itself. I learned that if I manage to piss off guards by wearing the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal, I can actually get them to back off by casting a Pacify spell. Good to know!

Achievements unlocked

Beyond Death: For finishing the quest of that name, by talking to Durnehviir and getting his Shout, finding Valerica, and getting her Elder Scroll

Achievements count as of this post: 47.

Language commentary

Wilder Vampir: Feral Vampire
Tagebuchfragment: Journal Fragment (carried by the Feral Vampire)
Sicherheitseinrichtungen: Security measures (used by Serana to describe traps set up by her father)
Volkihar-Innenhof: Volkihar Courtyard (the area of the castle with Valerica’s garden and the moondial)
Monduhr: Moondial (lit. “moon clock”)
Fehlendes Emblem: Missing Emblem
Halbmondemblem: Half Moon Emblem
Mondsichelemblem: Crescent Moon Emblem
Vollmondemblem: Full Moon Emblem
Turmruine: Tower ruins, ruined tower
Volkihar-Ruinen: Volkihar Ruins
Feuerholz: Firewood
Mächtiger Gargoyle: Gargoyle Brute (lit. “mighty gargoyle”, the second most powerful type of gargoyle in the game)
Bügeleisen: Clothes Iron
Gargoylewächter: Gargoyle Sentinel (the most powerful type of gargoyle in the game)
Kerzenhalter: Candle Holder
Kreis: Circle (used by Serana to describe the inactive Soul Cairn portal in her mother’s lab)
Wonach: For what (used by the player to ask Serana what exactly they’re looking for in the lab)
Forschung: Research
Akribisch: Meticulous
Gesellschaftszimmer: Drawing room, lounge
Totenbeschwörungsfähigkeiten: Necromancy abilities
Langlebigkeit: Longevity
Zeitverschwendung: Waste of time
Seelengrab: Soul Cairn
Formel: Formula
Seelensteinsplitter: Soul Gem Shards
Obwohl: Although, though, despite (used by Serana when she points out that if they could get a sample of her mother’s blood, they wouldn’t be having to open the Soul Cairn portal in the first place)
Salze der Leere: Void Salts
Gereinigte Salze der Leere: Purified Void Salts
Fein gemahlenes Knochenmehl: Finely Ground Bone Meal
Portalgefäß: Portal Vessel
Alles in Ordnung? Das hat sicher wehgetan.: Are you alright? That must have hurt. (What Serana says to the player when you try to enter the Soul Cairn portal without her turning you into a vampire, or soul trapping you.)
Lebensessenz: Life essence
Bezahlung: Payment
Wegzoll: Toll
Vollkommenen Meister: Ideal Masters
Dem Echo nach: Chasing Echoes (the quest)
Jenseits des Todes: Beyond Death (the quest)
Seelenhülle: Soul Husk
Jiubs Werk: Jiub’s Opus
Seite: Page
Knochenmann: Boneman
Immer mit der Ruhe: Don’t panic, just take it easy (said by the player to Arvak’s owner in the Soul Cairn)
Ross: Horse
Seelenriss: Soul Fissure
Zornmann: Wrathman
Stahlschwert der Blitze: Steel Sword of Shocks (lit. “steel sword of lightning”)
Blitzableiter: Lightning Rod
Großer Seelenstein: Greater Soul Gem
Das Buch vom Leben und rechten Dienst: The Book of Life and Service
Vorankündigung: Prior notice (used by Morven Stroud when he laments how abruptly he was slain by the necromancers and just showed up in the Soul Cairn)
Drachenknochenstreitaxt: Dragonbone Battleaxe
Zauberbuch: Zornmann beschwören: Spell Tome: Conjure Wrathman
Schnitterhöhle: Reaper’s Lair (lit. “Reaper cave”)
Schutzpatron: Patron Saint (used by Jiub when he introduces himself)
Auslöscher: Eradicator (also used by Jiub to introduce himself)
Epos: Epic
Schergen: Minions
Nebelmann: Mistman
Zauberbuch: Nebelmann beschwören: Spell Tome: Conjure Mistman
Sakrale Orkische Streitaxt: Hallowed Orcish Battleaxe (another weapon I had to cross-check against the Generic Magic Weapons list)
Torwächter: Keeper (lit. “gatekeeper”, one of the three guardians in the Soul Cairn)
Orkischer Schild der Magieunterdrückung: Orcish Shield of Magic Suppression
Zauberbuch: Knochenmann beschwören: Spell Tome: Conjure Boneman
Zauberbuch: Fenriks Begrüßung: Spell Tome: Fenrik’s Welcome
Lebensunterhalt: Livelihood (used by Valerica when scoffing about the intentions of a vampire hunter towards her daughter)
Vollendung: Completion
Tochter von Kalthafen: Daughter of Coldharbour
Anhängerinnen: Followers
Tyrannei der Sonne: Tyranny of the Sun
Abscheulichkeiten: Abominations
Gefangennahme: Capture
Friedhof: Boneyard, graveyard
Schuppenhaut: Scaly skin, scaly hide (used by Valerica when describing the soul of a dragon)
Wohlergehen: Well-being
Schlachtfeld: Battlefield
Gleichberechtigt: Having equal rights/status (used by the player to address Durnehviir)
Arvak beschwören: Summon Arvak (the spell)
Erstausgabe: First edition (i.e., of Jiub’s book)
Schutzpatron Jiubs Werk: Saint Jiub’s Opus (the full book)
Locke von Schutzpatron Jiub: Saint Jiub’s Locket
Burg Volkihar: Balkon: Castle Volkihar Balcony
Drachenknochenstreitkolben: Dragonbone Mace
Ich habe keinen blassen Schimmer.: I have no idea. (Used by Florentius when the player asks him what he has for sale)
Vampirfluch: Vampire’s Bane (the spell sold by Florentius)
Stendarrs Aura: Stendarr’s Aura (the other spell sold by Florentius)
Lichtung der Ahnen: Ancestor Glade
Ahnenmotte: Ancestor Moth
Canticumbaum: Canticle Tree
Messer der Anziehungskraft: Draw Knife

I’m a little stunned that I got this far in on this playthrough without noting the word for “firewood” yet, LOL.

“Bügeleisen” as a translation for “Clothes Iron” interests me here, because “eisen” is the part of that word that actually means “iron”. “Bügel” appears to mean “bracket” or “hanger” (source). Which does not strike me as an intuitive thing to combine with “eisen” to get a thing that means “clothes iron”. But I am not a native German speaker! So it may be perfectly sensible to somebody who is.

“Totenbeschwörungsfähigkeiten” is a contender for longest German word observed in this playthrough–but at 28 characters, it still doesn’t take the lead! Dang!

I was previously unfamiliar with the word “Ross” being a word for “horse” in German! My other known word for this is “Pferd”. And hah, I am not the first player running Skyrim in German to notice this, either. According to this Reddit thread, “Ross” is considered a more archaic (but poetic) word, while “Pferd” is more modern. So I kind of like this as a translation choice for Arvak’s owner’s lines. There’s no telling how long that guy has been in the Cairn! It’s certainly possible he died long enough ago that Tamrielic might have changed since this death. And using an archaic word here is a nice touch.

The random Steel Sword of Shocks I found lying around in the Soul Cairn is a bit confusing for me in its translation. “Blitz”, I knew prior to Skyrim, is the German word for “lightning”. And there are weapons powerful enough to be weapons of Lightning in the game, but a steel sword is not quite powerful enough for that. So I had to match the value shown in the screenshot I took (which was 399 gold) against the known generic magic weapons list on the wiki. That let me narrow down that the weapon in question was actually a Steel Sword of Shocks, even though the translation doesn’t directly say that.

This now also makes me wonder whether any Lightning-class weapons in German are also called “der Blitze”.

“The Book of Life and Service” actually has an extra word in the translated title, “rechten”. Literally translated, the German is “The Book of Life and Right Service”. So there’s a nuance there the English title doesn’t have, but which also seems fitting for the concept.

I noted with interest this line from the player to Valerica, while reviewing my screenshots:

“Ich werde Harkon töten!”

This of course means “I’ll kill Harkon.” But the part that interests me here is that the German translation puts in an exclamation mark that the English original does not have.

Voice acting commentary

The conversation with Serana in Valerica’s laboratory is another place where I basically know all the dialogue at this point. But even given that, hearing it in German just didn’t quite parse for me; my German isn’t good enough.

It did at least give me more examples, though, of the German voice actress doing a good job of capturing the demeanor and delivery of the character. ❤️

I liked the voice actress for Valerica, too. She had a bit of a raspy old lady sound to her. You could make an argument that a vampire, who doesn’t age, probably shouldn’t have a raspy old lady voice. But on the other hand, it was a nice audio indicator of her age. So I was okay with it!

Next time

Finds-The-Way’s next post will feature moving the Dawnguard plot further along, by running Ancestor Glade and Darkfall Cave, and making it to the Forgotten Vale!

Screenshots

No screenshots this time, since this was all familiar play territory, and I only reviewed screenshots for vocabulary.