"That was a bit of a pain in the ass," Ena mutters, kicking the dead vampire. "Anything interesting in that book?"
"Not as of yet." A lie, strictly speaking. But it's still- too early, to involve her.
"The attacks have mostly been annoying in the cities, really. Not as bad as the dragon attacks, though I think a few guards have gotten killed..."
"To be honest, might also be a comparison thing - before the war, I would've thought even a few guards dead was a huge problem. The vampires at least don't pursue people into their houses, and attack at night when only guards, adventurers, and drunks are about. Sometimes a dragon will manage to set a major part of a town on fire. Though it definitely does seem like you all could be doing much worse..."
"Yeah, if the vampires were worse than the dragons or the war there'd be more than just the Dawnguard hunting you."
"Vampire hunters. There's not many now - me and Lianda were two of only three new recruits, and I think I only saw three or four other people. I think they're trying to absorb some of the remaining Vigilants of Stendarr, and Lianda's been helping them recruit. She - has a way with people, and a lot of adventurers owe her favors, there's a good chance she'll be able to help bolster their ranks. I don't know much about their history, but I think they only really formed in response to the vampire attacks."
"To be honest? I have no idea. With me here Lianda's more likely to take it personally, but - the dragons are probably a bigger threat in her eyes, so I suspect she'll be focusing on those."
"Yeah. Though, we shouldn't discount her. I'm not entirely convinced she even sleeps."
"See you."
And she departs.
The next day, Harkon calls her into his study, and tells her to go talk to a vampire by the name of Garan Marethi, passing on the simple message, "It is time."
She does so (apparently being a newby here involves being demoted to messenger duty. Joy. But she's worked her way up in ranks before, she can again). Garen apparently understands the cryptic message, because he tasks her with a fetch quest to take the "bloodstone chalice" to Redwater Den.
She's heard of it, once - a notorious skooma den outside of Riften. Just great.
Ena informs Elana of where she's going, then sets out alone. She's able to use her connections with the Thieves' Guild to get in easily enough, then ghosts past the attendant to unlock the door into the depths of the den.
...Which turns out to be full of yet more vampires. Who are not, luckily, on very high alert. She's never sniped this full a room before, and she starts to regret having alienated her tank of a sister by the time she gets through, but she survives, even if she requires a few heals on the way.
Turns out that two of the members of the court decided to try to have her assassinated. Joke's on them in the end.
She trudges back to Volkihar Keep, explains to Garan what happened, receives his warning about treachery with a blank face (she doesn't know what she expected, but - maybe something more like the Brotherhood), and then goes to meet Harkon.
"You wanted to speak with me?" she asks, entering his chambers.
"Yes. When I told you I was grateful for my daughter's safe return, I told the truth. But I didn't tell you everything."
She nods. "I suspected that."
"Good. Come with me - "
And he leads her to the throne room, where the other vampires are gathered, and says, "Scions of the night! Hear my words! The prophesied time is at last upon us. Soon we will claim dominion over the sun itself, and forge a new realm of eternal darkness. Now that I have reclaimed one of my Elder Scrolls, we must find a Moth Priest to read it. I have lured one here. Go forth, and search for rumors of a Moth Priest within our borders. Go now, and carry out this task. This is my command!"