She finishes flipping through it. "Not much, just this chamber wasn't built by the Nords, probably by vampires... Though that was kind of obvious..." She puts the book in her pack, then walks over to the central stone island. "There's a button on that pedestal, wonder what it does..."

"Don't go pushing random buttons Lianda - "

Too late! A spike goes through her hand, and she curses, then heals her hand when the spike retracts. The lines on the ground and the braziers start glowing.

Lianda shakes out her hand, then looks around. "I think we move these, looks like a puzzle to me."

She might roll her eyes a bit. Just a bit.

She sets to helping her sister with pushing the braziers around, though, until the ground shakes and the central pedestal rises, revealing a stone monolith.

"So... Think the artifact's in there?"

"That'd be my guess - there's a crack here, c'mon, help me with this - "

"Sure thing," she mutters, then goes to help pry the stone slabs apart.

After they move it a few inches, it shudders, then the front half of the monolith slides down of its own accord.

There's a hollow space inside, and a girl in repose with a scroll strapped across her back. She shifts and groans a little, half-stumbling out of her prison.

She blinks, and sniffs, then narrows her eyes at the two before her. "Who are you?"

"...Ena. She's Lianda. Who're you?"

"Elana. Who sent you?"

"A man named Isran, leader of the Dawnguard - Are you okay? What're you doing here?"

"Dawn- What year is it?"

"Two hundred and one of the Fourth Era."

"Longer than we planned," she murmurs to herself.

"Are you a vampire? And - why are you here?"

"Yes. It's a long story. Were there others?"

"Other vampires? Yeah, there were some trying to find - you, I think. We'd heard the vampires were after an artifact, and decided to investigate. There wasn't anyone else sealed away, though, that we found."

"I need to get home."

"Where's home?"

"An island off the coast, northwest of Solitude."

She sends her sister a look, wondering if they should help her or head back to the Dawnguard for orders. (Ena really doesn't appreciate the feeling of being in over her head, and she knows what Isran would want them to do.)

Lianda notices her sister's look, and nods slightly. The vampire's unlikely to agree to tag along back to the Dawnguard, so...

"We'll help you get there, then." She'd especially like to know what the vampires want with what looks a hell of a lot like an Elder Scroll. "What's your family like?"

"That's part of the long story."

"Do you mind telling it on the way?"

"The less you know. the better for you." Until she knows what's safe to say.

"I haven't found being in the dark to be good for me, most times, but I won't press. Come on, we should probably start getting out of here. Do you know anything about the layout?"

"This place has- changed, since I last saw it."

"Over there, with the gargoyles, looks like an exit."

"You have more armor than I do. Lead the way."

"I'm more of a ranged type, so I'll take up the rear. In case any vampires come after us."

"Well, it's this way..."

There's a bridge to the northwest, flanked on the other end by two looming stone gargoyles. As Lianda crosses, sword out, the gargoyles shudder and come to life, lunging at the three with a screech. 

And that's why she didn't take the lead. She's got a better angle on the left one, so she pins it to the ground with a pair of ice spikes.

Lianda darts at the right one, swinging her sword with one hand, sporadically healing herself with the other.

She's able to do a decent amount of damage, despite it having been stone minutes ago.

Ena peppers the left one with arrows until it stops moving.

Ah, so they're not useless. That's good.

"Is that normal?" she asks her sister.

"Gargoyles are new. Stuff jumping at me isn't. Come on, let's try to find the exit - doesn't look like it's right here."

That one's the professional adventurer. Why's other here, she wonders.

Ena looks around, sees no other threats - or suspicious statues - and helps search for a door.

"Found it," she calls out after a bit, then lets her sister take the lead again.

Lianda leads the way, into a chamber with two coffins and a lever on one wall. "Those probably contain draugr, watch out," she says.

Indeed, two draugr emerge from the coffins as they approach the levers - and two skeletons rise from behind them.

Troublesome.

A jolt of lightning will dispel the magic presently animating the bones- and allow her own to take its place. So the draugr can be facing attack from both sides.

The draugr are easy enough to defeat, especially with three of them. 

Lianda does a sweep of the room, hands a spell book she finds off to Ena, then leads the way up the tunnel.

There's an enormous atrium, with yet more skeletons, and a far more powerful draugr sitting on a throne. Lianda goes to engage - the draugr roars something, and her weapon goes flying from her hands as she stumbles. She straightens, and before the draugr can close, shouts, sending it flying back, and runs for her sword.

Ena switches from sniping at skeletons to peppering the draugr with arrows when it disarms her sister.

Since when did Redguards use the Voice? She thought that was a Nord thing.

Storm atronach as a distraction, then slip around the outskirts with a dagger and pick off the vulnerable.

The fight's over soon enough. Lianda heals herself and her sister, confesses to not knowing how to heal vampires, and starts searching the room until she finds the word wall she'd glimpsed earlier. She stands in front of it for a moment, lips moving silently, letting the words sink into her mind until the knowledge of a new word of power bubbles up. 

It'll require a bit of meditation to fully examine, but she can do that while they camp.

"I think this is the final room - " she says, and indeed the corridor out leads to daylight. 

When they emerge, she takes a moment to orient herself and pulls out a map. "It'll probably take us the rest of the day to get near the northwest coast of Solitude, more to explore it properly - do you mind spending the night in Solitude proper? I have a friend we can stay with, so we don't have to bother with the inn."

Elana flips the hood of her cape up before stepping fully outside.

"You don't think they'd mind?"

"...She might pester you with questions about vampirism. Or ancient history. More likely history. She's a - curious sort."

"I doubt that will be problematic. I will need to feed, soon."

"...Does feeding involve killing?"

"Not necessarily, thought that typically minimizes complaints afterwards."

"We can ask the jarl of Morthal or Solitude if there's bandits to be cleared out, or if you don't need too much blood, you can drink from me, I can always heal myself afterwards. And my friend Malielle might volunteer in the spirit of scientific curiosity..."

"Either of the last two sound less bothersome than finding a group of bandits."

"If you can wait until tonight, we can ask Malliele."

"That works, then."

So onward to Solitude! It's about six hours of walking; the roads are only moderately dangerous, on this well-traveled a path. 

She's likely to be more dangerous than anything they might encounter outside of Castle Volkihar.

"I heard you Shout, in the cave back there."

"Yeah. I don't know too many words of power yet, but I'm gathering them as I find more of those old Nordic walls, like that one in the crypt. The Greybeards taught me a few, too."

"I didn't think they let their people off that mountain."

"Yeah. They were reluctant about it, but I'm kinda needed for killing dragons - one big thing that's probably different from your time is that dragons are coming back to life. We're not sure how or why."

"Dragons."

"You're carrying an Elder Scroll, are dragons really the weirdest part of all this?"

"The Elder Scrolls weren't hunted to extinction hundreds of years ago."

"-It's closer to thousands of years for us."

"Yes. Well. All the more improbable, then."

"Yeah. I barely believed her when she told me she'd become Thane of Whiterun on account of killing one."

"Oh really?"

She looks mildly exasperated at her sister. "I had help."

"Did the jarl make them all thanes as well?"

"Well, no."

"There's more to you than meets the eye, it seems."

"More to most people, I've found."

"Most people are boring."

"That hasn't really been my experience. I like people's stories."

Ena's nodding to Elana's comment, though.

"If you say so."

"What sort of reception can we expect to get with your family?"

"That depends on who's home. You probably won't be killed on sight if you're with me."

"...Just probably."

"None of them are nice people."

"Anything we can do to make things less hostile?"

"Don't announce that you're with the Dawnguard. And let me do the talking."

"Alright."

Ena nods, too.

Walking along. Trying not to obsess about what awaits at home.

Lianda relaxes as they approach Solitude's gates. She leads the way through the city, turning right just before they would have entered the Blue Palace's courtyard. There's an enormous building, there, what looks like an old temple - "This's the museum, Malliele lives above it" - and she leads them off to the side and up the stairs, where she knocks on the door.

The door opens to reveal a Bosmeri woman in dark leathers. 

"Lianda!" she says, beaming. "Come in! Who're your friends?"

"My sister, Ena, and Elana, someone we met in our travels. It's good to see you. And, before you ask, no, I don't have any new relics for you."

"Not even that Elder Scroll?" she asks, turning to Elana. "The museum would pay a pretty penny for it."

"No."

"Alright. Where'd you find it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I do mind."

"Anyways... Not that I don't appreciate surprise visits, but I hadn't thought you were in the area, Lianda."

"I have some business up here, and since we were passing through, I figured we could ask to crash here instead of at the inn."

"No problem whatsoever. I still have the spare beds in the back. ...Correct me if I'm wrong, but is your new friend a vampire?"

"What gave it away?"

"Eyes, skin. You had your hood up outside. And a few details about your face. Plus, knowing Lianda makes it a thousand times more likely something's different or important about you. She attracts - odd situations. I don't know much about vampires - the only other two I know personally won't answer my questions - but there's some coffins in the basement, if you don't sleep in beds."

"Presently unoccupied, I hope?"

"Empty. Though there's one that's used sometimes, the usual occupant's out, it should be pretty obvious which one."

"Tempting as that sounds, I've spent long enough in a coffin recently."

"Alright. Do you need anything other than a place to crash?"

"Something to eat."

"Does eating involve killing for you? If so, do animals work?"

"It does not necessarily involve killing. Animals are not edible."

"Does feeding feel like anything in particular?"

"To me or to them?"

"Either."

"For them, it is a sharp pain in the neck. For me, it is like drinking a fine wine, with various subtleties of flavor."

"Fascinating. I'm not sure where - the local vampire I know - gets their meals, but I wouldn't mind donating a small amount, in exchange for answers to my questions - how old are you, by the way?"

"Several Eras, though I've missed much of worldly events."

"Wonderful - I desperately want to ask you more, but I should probably be a proper hostess now. Non-vampire food's this way, you guys are welcome to anything, I can cook if you don't want something just out of the icebox - beds are through there, there's also a crafting room this way - that door over there leads to the library, and the museum proper."

Elana would like to go look at the library.

Mal shows her it. It has three stories, with Significant Books on display on the first and third, and copies plus less significant books on the second floor (she'll need permission to handle the ones on the first and third floor, but the second floor's fine for browsing), with unsorted books in the books stacks below the library, plus some paintings and a jewelry display in the stairwell.

"The armory's also through the door next to the safehouse door, and the main hall of the museum can be accessed through there, and the doors in the back on the first and second floor lead to Dragonborn Hall."

"Dragonborn Hall?"

"Celebrating the accomplishments of the dragonborn and displaying any artifacts related to the dragons. Right now all that's in there is the robes and masks of some dragon priests, though."

"I thought the dragons' return was a fairly recent phenomenon?"

"The museum's been opened only relatively recently, too. I think it's been a year now? Used to be a temple, so we didn't have to bother with construction. And there's older artifacts, from back before the Dragon War."

"Of what nature?"

"The various artifacts associated with the dragon priests, mostly."

Hmm... Nope, still more interested in the books. She'll skim the first and the third, see if there's anything interesting on the second, and then take a look at the stacks.

There's a number of books on the history of Skyrim and Tamriel, one on famous artifacts, various books about dragons and the dragonborn, several about the Dwemer, a small handful about vampires in various places, some biographies and journals, and works of fiction.

She starts with the histories and the artifacts and cross-references to the biographies, attempting to put together a view of what overall has happened in the world in the past few thousand years.

A lot has happened, though none of the books cover recent events like the return of the dragons. The founding of the Empire in Cyrodil, the dissolution and then refounding of that empire, disappearance of the Dwemer, many wars, the Wolf Queen, the Dragon Breaks, the Oblivion Crisis, the White-Gold Concordant and the Great War between the Empire (which has a long and bloody history itself) and the Thalmor. 

Somewhat surprising the world is intact, given all that.

There are often mentions of a singular hero barely averting disaster, usually whose name has been lost to history.

That sounds fanciful and unlikely.

There is some debate apparently about whether said hero actually always existed, but some of them are accepted as probably or definitely existing - the Nerevarine, the Hero of Kvatch, the Champion of Cyrodiil (may or may not have been the same person as the Hero of Kvatch), and Martin Septim among them.

One history book discusses that the more recent cataclysmic events might be part of an old prophecy (of dubious but definitely ancient origin, possibly either an Elder Scroll or the Akaviri) - 

"When misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world

"When the Brass Tower walks and Time is reshaped

"When the thrice-blessed fail and the Red Tower trembles

"When the Dragonborn Ruler loses his throne, and the White Tower falls

"When the Snow Tower lies sundered, kingless, bleeding

"The World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn."

Prophecies. Bleh.

Prophecies aren't mentioned much; that one seems to be an outlier.

Well. Good.

She's getting hungry. Where'd that Bosmer go...?

At a desk in an office attached to the library, apparently writing a letter.

"Are you busy?"

"Not at all!"

"Good. You mentioned willingness to donate."

"Sure. The safehouse is probably the best place for that, I'm not the only one who uses this office. Besides, I have healing potions there."

"Lead the way."

She heads to the safe house, ducks into the crafting room to grab a healing potion off the shelf above the alchemy lab, and then hums. "Now, where to do this... Here's fine, I suppose."

"All right." Elana bares her teeth, fangs very much in evidence, and goes for the neck.

Chomp.

Ow.

Soon (too soon) over. She licks her lips as she pulls away.

She drinks the healing potion and rubs at her neck as the familiar itchy sensation of flesh knitting back together and blood replenishing takes over. 

"Not as bad as a dragon's attack, but would not recommend it recreationally. Still. Interesting experience."

"That I am."

"So. Do you mind sitting down and answering some of my questions? I'll try to steer away from personal topics."

"All right." She takes a chair.

Questions! Mostly on ancient history, some on vampires and their culture. There's a lot.

She didn't actually spend a lot of time out and about, and politics is mostly uninteresting to her. She's knowledgeable about the culture of Skyrim vampires, less so for other areas of Tamriel.

She's still bound to know things like the names and reputations of High Kings and Jarls, some about what was relatively recent history for her but is ancient history for Malielle, like the Dragon War...

Not so recent, even for her. They were long over by the time she was born.

Still a fascinating historical perspective! Malielle is delighted.

This conversation is... pleasant. Elana might like this Malielle.

She definitely likes Elana! 

"Do you want a full tour of the museum?" she asks after a bit.

"All right."

Museum tour! The library connects to the armories (which are only mostly full), the Dragonborn Hall (which doesn't have much yet), and the Hall of Heroes (classic weapons from around Tamriel, plus a display of metallic claws and dragon priest masks), which then connects to the Upper Gallery (weapon and armor sets, mostly), the Gallery of Natural Science, the Hall of Oddities, the Culture and Art Gallery, the Daedric Gallery, and the Hall of Lost Empires (dwemer, falmer, and the ancient Nords).

"We're also planning a Planetarium, but it's not ready yet," she says.

(The museum isn't quite full - there's obviously a lot of space for expansion.)

"Very ambitious."

"We're lucky to have a lot of adventurers helping us. I do some of the delving myself, but I don't have nearly the luck that someone like Lianda does."

"Luck, hm. I suppose that's one word for it."

"Well, she definitely has a talent for stumbling into - odd - situations."

"And surviving them, evidently."

"Yeah. She's collecting quite the reputation."

"What about the other? Her sister."

"Haven't actually met her before, and Lianda doesn't really talk about her family."

"Hmm."

?

"Exceptional qualities tend to run in families, or so I've found."

"Possibly. Ena doesn't seem like the type to fade into the background, from what I've seen just talking to her. Though I'm not going to touch the drama between her and Lianda with a ten foot pole."

"Drama?"

"Something about their family? And of course Lianda refusing to talk about her - usually she's pretty chatty with me. Don't know the details though."

"A mystery for another time then, I suppose."

"Mhmm. Any questions about the displays?"

"The dragon claws. Where are they from?"

"They're associated with important Nordic ruins - they're the keys to puzzle-doors. Sometimes they're in the ruin itself, but more often some villager or adventurer has it."

"Puzzle-doors."

"We have a mock-up of one in the Nordic section... They're these large stone doors with bands that have animals carved on them. You need to align the animals correctly, then insert the key, and the door opens."

She rolls her eyes. "Nords."

"Certainly fits their - aesthetic."

"A brute force sort of cunning."

"Like - the Word Walls. They're a fascinating bit of magic, each encodes a word of power, but they're - the exact opposite of subtle."

"I much prefer the construction of the Ayleids. Their cities were a sight to see, when last I visited Cyrodiil."

That sparks a round of questions about the Ayleids! (Most of what's left is ruins, now.)

Oh, what a shame. Presumably to do with this new Cyrodiilic Empire she's heard about?

The Ayleid Empire fell in the early First Era to the Alessian Empire, yes - a different empire than the current one, though. Some of the buildings remain - the Temple of the Ancestors actually became the Imperial Palace, which has just barely finished being reconstructed after being sacked by the Thalmor - though many of the cities are ruins. She's been to a few, they're even more impressive than the Dwemeri ruins. 

The Dwemer as well? All things fade, it seems.

The Dwemer especially were a weird case. They didn't fade, they literally vanished overnight. 

What happened to their Snow Elf servants?

It's unclear. Most figure they're extinct. 

It was delayed, at least.

Yeah. She's not sure what sort of catastrophe would get the Dwemer but not their servants.

The Dwemer were always fiddling with something. Perhaps it was not a catastrophe.

One theory is it was some kind of spell gone wrong. Or right.

"That would not surprise me."

"Yeah. The ruins are amazing, I can't imagine what they must have looked like intact..."

"Unfortunately, the Deep Elves were much shyer about visitors than the Wild Elves."

"I've been trying to reconstruct some of their technology. It's a bit of a wild goose chase, but it's fun."

"What sorts of things are you working on?"

"My specialty is the dwemer, but I'm also working on reconstructing some old Nordic pieces. I recently got a lead while exploring a dwemer ruin on some of the technology that I'm pretty sure used to power some of their artifacts. I do a lot of running around on the side - just got back from a trip to Elsweyr to recover a staff."

"Mother used to say that the only people who knew more about soul gems than she did were the Dwemer."

"Ooo, I did a lot of research on soul gems when I was at the College. Still don't know as much as I would like. Your mother must be incredibly smart to have a good understanding of them."

"And willing to perform whatever experiment was necessary to obtain the next piece of data."

"Point. Most of the advances I've heard of haven't been... Incredibly ethical. Like that one guy who decided it'd be a good idea to experiment with Azura's Star, ended up killing an apprentice."

"Death is part of the nature of the subject."

"Yeah, but it's fairly easy to restrict the death to bandits and criminals and scum like that."

"Mother would call that an artificial and unnecessary restriction of experimental parameters."

"I don't know that I'm the best one to be explaining this, but... Okay, from a purely pragmatic standpoint, 'killing apprentices' is not how you get good apprentices, because good apprentices with lots of options won't work for someone who might kill them. And with students, you generally get out what you put in. Put in murder and betrayal, get out 'killed by apprentice' on tombstone.

"From a moral standpoint... Now, I'm not good at morals, but - bandits and criminals have broken social rules in such a way that the agreed upon and widely expected punishment is 'death.' They knew that before they became outlaws, so killing them is by most interpretations fair. Also they're often continuously dangerous to society, so killing them will on average better the world. Apprentices have presumably not broken those rules, at least if you're recruiting good apprentices who won't steal from or murder you, and they're usually supposed to trust you at least some, because the master-apprentice relationship runs smoother when there's trust involved. Breaking that trust and killing someone who is within the law is not only cruel, it contributes to disorder. ...Contributing to disorder is bad, because if everyone did, society would collapse and nothing would get done because specialization and division of labor exist for a reason, and not even vampires have infinite time to do everything in."

"My mother never took apprentices."

"I've found they're generally helpful for easy, tedious tasks. But killing your coworkers - or random, non-outlaw people - is bad, too."

"If everyone did it, perhaps. I do not claim Mother is an example to follow."

"Point. What's your mother like?"

"Fierce. And demanding."

"She certainly sounds it."

Shrug.

She changes the subject. Back to random anthropology questions!

Elana doesn't technically need to sleep. She can go all night.

Malielle had pulled all nighters before! ...Though she should probably eventually sleep at least some. So she's not yawning over her work tomorrow. Not a college student anymore, after all.

She bids Elana goodnight once it gets to 'probably technically tomorrow,' then heads to bed.

Anyone else up late?

Ena's wandering the museum some. There's also a pair of ghosts that show up once the sun goes down.

And what's the sister of the Dragonborn looking at?

Mostly the dragon claw and dragon priest mask display, at the moment. 

"Hey," she says when she sees Elana. "Did you know one of the display halls is in a cave under the museum? Pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be open to the public, but it's pretty cool looking."

"What's inside?"

"Famous remains, a werewolf display section, some stuff I'm pretty sure they're not supposed to have. I'm tempted to donate some things, now. Anonymously, probably."

"Now I want to see it."

"It's through the Dragonborn Hall, I can show you the way..."

Let's go.

Ena shows her where the tomb on one end of the hall has a button, that causes it to recede into the wall, revealing steps down to a door. "Figured it out because I've seen something similar before. Plus the button doesn't fit well in its setting."

The cavern beyond the door is fairly poorly lit, consisting of islands connected by rope bridges, and contains what Ena described, plus two coffins, a throne, and a shrine to Molag Bal in one dark corner, and in another a statue of Hircine and some werewolf totems. There's a few weapons on display, too, and some miscellaneous other things - mostly jeweled items, a few of which Ena's able to identify as "Originally stolen a long while ago, the proper - and legal - thing for the museum would've been to return them to their owners."

Elana grimaces at Molag Bal's shrine.

"What if the owners are dead?"

"...Not entirely sure. I know the polite thing to do is return items to their heirs, not sure about the legal thing."

"Does knowing the legal thing often come in handy for you?"

Shrug. "Sometimes. Used to more often, back in Hammerfell." 

"You're a long way from home, then."

"Yeah. Skyrim is - very itself."

"Why travel all this way?"

"This is where my sister was - I think she came to Skyrim on her father's trail, he was a Nord - and Hammerfell was becoming... Not a place to stay, what with the Thalmor. Skyrim's at least a lot less friendly to the elves."

"I seem to have slept through the eras of a human-dominated Tamriel."

"I know some history, I can try to explain things if you'd like."

"I've skimmed the books available upstairs already."

"Find anything good?"

"In historical value or monetary?"

"More meant interesting to read."

"One that claimed recent events fit the signs of a world-ending prophecy."

Snort. "I've heard some people declaring that the dragons are the end of the world, but - that's just so ridiculous to me. We survived the Dragon Break and the Oblivion Crisis, a bunch of overgrown fire lizards that're mostly just in Skyrim are hardly going to threaten everything."

"People like to think they live at the end of days. It makes them feel important."

"Were end of the world prophecies a thing in your time, too?"

"For my family, they were."

"As in there was one involving your family, or your family believed in one - "

"Both."

"I hope there isn't a world-ending prophecy involving my family."

"It's not as much fun as it sounds like."

"Doesn't sound like much fun to start with. I generally prefer the world stay put."

"So would most sane people."

"Yet there's always someone who seems oddly excited about their end-of-world prophecy."

"Some people think they can twist it to their advantage."

"Some people are terrible at calculating odds."

"The world has not ended thus far."

"I'd be rather disappointed if it had."

"You'd be rather dead."

"I'd be an exceedingly disappointed ghost."

"Fair enough."

"What sorts of gloom-and-doom prophecies were common before? Nowadays it's mostly dragons. Or Mehrunes Dagon. Or the Dragon Break. Or the Thalmor, there's all sorts of wild rumors about what their goals are."

Shrug.

"Mutterings about the Ayleids, or the accession of this or that Daedra."

"Not much different, then."

Except for the one that her father wants to use to blot out the sun. But she's not thinking about that right now.

"People tend to think in similar patterns, even across gulfs of distance and time. It's not terribly surprising."

"Seems like the Nords fairly consistently distrust the elves, too."

"Their history together began in blood. And as they say, if a thing is not broken, there is no need to repair it."

Shrug. "Seems awfully inefficient to me."

"The presence of an external enemy can be a great boon to intra-group cohesion."

"They aren't succeeding at being very cohesive currently, even with more external enemies than they know what to do with."

Shrug. "It doesn't always work."

"Yeah. Problem with the Thalmor is that they can get people on their side. Who knows, maybe a less personable enemy like the dragons will do something. Doubt it, but maybe."

"Many things are possible. Fewer are likely."

"'Likely' seems to have been flipped on its head, lately."

"Oh?"

"Just - the dragons. People you wouldn't expect siding with the Thalmor. Some personal stuff, too."

"What sort of people?"

"Some people on my father's side of the family, and a few old friends. The Thalmor have been terrible for Hammerfell, I can't see any reason to side entirely with them unless you're a complete coward or planning on backstabbing them later. Which I doubt those people were, none of them're the type."

"Personal bribes unrelated to the larger success of their people, perhaps?"

"...Yeah, I could see some of them being sell-outs, maybe. Not likely, though."

"The same 'likely' that has been flipped on its head?"

"My point exactly."

Small snort of amusement.

Smile.

"It grows late. I believe I shall retire before the morn."

"...Yeah, I should probably get some sleep, too."

"A good night to you, then."

Bedwards.

And to sleep!

(Lianda is already abed when they get there. She wakes up and looks their direction when they come it, then goes back to sleep.)

Elana's dreams are less troubled without a stone lid enclosing her.

The next morning, after breakfast, Lianda leads the way out of Solitude and towards the northern coast, along a path she knows. She and Ena talk in low tones for most of the walk, mostly about inconsequential things - Lianda will occasionally point out a cave or ruin and mention an adventure she had there, or an artifact she found. They run into a few wild animals, and once a group of bandits, but for the most part the path is clear, and nothing they encounter is a challenge for the three of them.

As the daylight fades from the sky, they finally find an old boat, tied up on a small jetty, Volkihar Castle barely visible through the mists to the north. Lianda pauses there. "Looks like we found it."

"Before we cross..." Ena says, turning to Elana. "I'd like a better picture of what we're walking into."

"That rickety old boat, to start with."

"I more meant your family."

"What do you know of the Daedra lord Molag Bal?"

"One of the worst of the Daedric Princes."

"Yeah. And he's the one my father dealt with to become the most powerful vampire in Tamriel."

"Yikes."

"My mother and I were also beneficiaries of the Prince's... gift. Not entirely voluntarily."

"So pretty safe to assume your father's an ass."

"He is used to getting his way. It's easier to not openly defy him."

"Noted."

"You have brought me this far. If you declined to continue, that would be understandable."

"I'd like to at least get a closer look at the castle."

"I'm not planning on backing out, either," Ena says after a few moments.

"Very well. It has been some centuries and I do not know what changes may have taken place in the court. It would be best if you both followed my lead."

"Alright. Lead the way."

Then into the boat and across the water. The castle looms out of the fog.

They approach the closed gate.

"Vampires sure do like their spooky aesthetic."

"Discourages casual visitors." She raises her fist and knocks heavily on the door, three times.

A vampire comes to the door, then - "Lady Elana? You're back?"

"Obviously. Open the gate."

He does so, then leads them into the castle proper, going ahead of them to announce her return.

Well. Here goes nothing.

Her father stands from his throne when he hears the announcement, and strides forward. "Ah, my long-lost daughter returns at last. I trust you have my Elder Scroll?"

"After so long, you think I'd return without it? Yes, I have the Scroll."

"I hardly knew what to think, when you vanished like you did. Ah, if only your traitor mother was here, I'd let her watch this reunion before putting her head on a spike. Now tell me, who are these strangers you have brought into our hall?"

Suppose she won't be putting in an immediate appearance then. Whether she'll turn up later... Could go either way.

"My rescuers. And escorts."

He turns to the two sisters. "For my daughter's safe return, you have my gratitude. Tell me, what are your names?"

"Lianda and Ena at-Sharinda," Lianda says.

"And I am Harkon, Lord of this court. By now, my daughter will have told you what we are - some of the most ancient and powerful vampires in all of Skyrim. For centuries we lived here, far from the cares of the mortal world. All that ended when my wife betrayed me and stole what I valued most."

Lianda inclines her head slightly. "And what happens now?"

"Now you must be rewarded, for you have done me a great service. There is but one gift I can give equal in value to the Elder Scroll and my daughter - I offer you my blood. Take it, and you will walk as a lion among sheep. Men will tremble at your approach, and you will never fear death again."

"And if we refuse?"

"Then you will be prey, like all mortals. I will spare your life this once for the service you have done me, but you will be banished from this hall. Perhaps you still need convincing? Behold the power!" And shadows gather around him, clinging, as he transforms into an enormous bat-like creature, radiating dark power. "This is the power that I offer! Now, make your choice!"

"I refuse," Lianda says icily.

Ena glances at her sister, but - "I accept your gift, Lord Harkon."

"What - " Lianda hisses, but before she can argue with her sister - 

"Very well," Harkon responds, swiftly hitting Lianda with a spell that knocks her out. Ena tenses. "Have her carried to the end of the bridge." The gate guard moves to collect her unconscious body, as Harkon turns to Ena and says, "Stand still," before lunging forward, fangs sinking into her neck as she slumps, also unconscious.

They're both getting off lightly. Perhaps Harkon is mellowing with age. Or he's just pleased with recovering the Elder Scroll, or doesn't want to alienate Elana herself by harming her companions unnecessarily. Mm. She needs to find her mother.

"Now what?"

"Now we get our new guest settled in - and you tell me where you've been all these years."

"Are my rooms in the west wing still intact? We can put her there until she wakes up."

"They are." He directs someone to move her.

"I'll go with her." Stall for as much time as possible.

"Very well. Afterwards, you and I can have a little chat in the cathedral."

"Of course." Fuck.

She leads the way to her old rooms. On the way, she notes that the passages that would lead to her mother's tower have been collapsed. There's a thick layer of dust coating her possessions. Have to have that cleaned up a bit. Ena can go on one of the spare beds. Fortunately they were covered.

Then over to the cathedral.

Harkon is waiting for her, back in his more human-resembling form. "I trust our guest is settled in well?" he asks.

"Still unconscious. I told the servants to get the place cleaned up."

"Good. You will offer her training when she wakes. Now, where have you been all these years, daughter mine?"

Deep breath. Give the story as planned.

"Caught in a trap. That Snow Elf clan, the Keborel, ambushed Mother and I. We were separated. They locked me in a warded coffin and buried me. I've been... asleep."

"Where were you going before that?"

"Recovering this." She taps the Scroll. "As you requested."

"And your dear mother?"

"Haven't seen her."

"What was she planning?"

"What do you mean?"

"What were her plans the last time you saw her?"

"Simply to get back here, so far as I was aware."

"And then why didn't she return?"

"Perhaps she was taken by the elves also."

Snort. "Your mother is far too crafty to have been so easily taken."

Shrug. "I do not know."

"There seems to be a lot you conveniently don't know."

"Comes of being asleep for thousands of years."

Before he can respond, there's a soft knock on the door. "What is it?" he snaps, turning to the exit.

One of the more lowly vampires comes in quietly, and says, "My lord, our new guest has awoken."

Harkon frowns, then turns back to Elana. "Well, daughter mine, it seems our talk must end for now. Go, and see to our newest member."

"Yes, Father."

Back to see Ena.

Who flips from groggy to wide awake and alert when Elana enters, hand hovering near a dagger on her waist. 

"Relax. The transformation will have heightened your senses. Give yourself time to grow used to them."

"This is more than a little freaky," she says, taking a deep breath, "Though this will definitely be useful at night."

"Yes. But there is another side. Come with me." Hopefully Harkon has vacated the cathedral by now.

She follows. When they arrive, the cathedral is empty.

Elana strides to the middle and turns to face Ena.

"This is the power of my family's blood. That of the vampire lord." Her face stretches and deforms, fangs sprouting, Wings burst free of her back as she hunches over, wreathed in darkness. When she straightens, she's taller, grey-skinned, with vicious hooked claws on the ends of her fingers.

"How do I do that? Do I just - concentrate on turning?"

"It lurks within you. Grasp it, and bring it forward."

She focuses, trying to find the power or whatever, and there's something new - 

She frowns, then bursts into her Vampire Lord form.

"Good. In this form, your strength and speed are increased. You also have an increased magicka capacity and certain other powers."

She looks down at her clawed hands. "I can - feel it. What sorts of other powers?"

Does anything become obvious if she - sort of flexes the new sense of herself she has?

A fluttery sense of motion- and suddenly she's standing fifteen feet away.

Woah. 

Again, trying to control it - can she return to where she started?

Yes. Paying attention, she'll notice during the brief transition a sense of splitting, dividing herself into dozens of smaller fragments.

She lands, then tries to search herself - is there anything else intuitive like that?

Nothing leaps out at her.

Breath. "Well. That's something. Any other interesting powers?"

"Many. As you grow into this power, you will discover them."

Well that's helpful.

Okay, so what she can do now... Is basically more magic and the movement thing. Which is going to be useful for dodging attacks, maybe for repositioning and fleeing, especially if it's subtle enough - and if she can go through holes her full self wouldn't be able to fit through.

"I'm going to practice a bit more," she says, "I wouldn't mind sparring lightly some if you want to stick around, but I can also train on my own."

"I could use the exercise."

"Alright. Any particular rules?"

"If somehow you do get an opening to tear out my throat, refrain from taking it."

"Duly noted."

"Since you're new, I'll let you make the first move." She stands apparently relaxed.

Hmm... Do her wings do anything? A bit of height might work out well.

She can't swoop through the air, but she can hover.

When she goes up, a ball of light appears in her right hand - a prepared spell. Interesting. And what happens if she casts it at Elana?

A spike of ice drives at her target.

Elana disperses into a cloud of bats to avoid it, and reforms behind Ena.

Who drops down and swirls, claws lashing out. She's much more used to fighting with daggers, but it's clear she has some unarmed experience. 

Elana has more, and is faster to boot.

Ena's definitely losing this spar, but she does her best to make Elana work for it. (It might be clear that she's not super used to opponents who fight back, though she starts adapting relatively quickly). 

Elana doesn't end it quickly. That would hardly be conducive to getting exercise. She can demonstrate a few tricks and see if Ena picks up on them.

She picks up on most of them, and incorporates them into her fighting. 

Good. Then it's time to end this.

She jumps back and up, and hits her opponent with a paralyze spell she shapes with both hands.

Yeah ouch. 

It works pretty well.

She detransfoms, and waits with a smile for the spell to wear off.

It does, then Ena detransforms. "Ugh. Those're annoying. Good fight, though. I learned a lot."

"Yes. You did well for your first time."

"Thanks. You're good at this. I clearly need to practice more, though..."

"You will have time."