There's concerned murmurs rising around her, people restless and on edge. "Markarth's Imperial territory!" one woman calls. "We can't let this stand - "

"You want another Civil War - " her tablemate interrupts, gesturing broadly, her voice loud and tone somewhere between scared and angry. "Our last daughter off into that meat grinder?"

And then more, people shouting and discontent.

Lianda stands, takes a deep breath, and - "Silence." It doesn't have quite the weight of the thu'um, but there's power in her voice nonetheless, and people hush and draw back from her. "We have no confirmation of this. No knowledge of what Jarl Elisif or the Imperial forces will do in response. Squabbling and panicking like a disturbed flock won't change the facts of the matter here." She sweeps her gaze across the room, meeting each person's gaze in turn. Many of them avert their eyes. "Go home. Pray. Speak to your families." And back to the man who started all this, "And you. Why aren't you at the Palace, with news like this? Surely the jarl needs to know?"

He falters. "I needed a drink! After that long hard road - "

She gestures, sharply. "The Palace has drinks. Come. She'll want to know. Everything."

He hesitates, until the angry murmur of the people around him - agreeing with Lianda - propels him forwards. She nods to the innkeeper, leaves her pay on the table, and leads the man out and into the cooling night air.

Serana follows them both. "Never a dull moment around here, huh?" the vampire comments.

The man shoots her a glare. "Markarth's plight isn't for your amusement, woman!"

Lianda puts a hand on his shoulder, gives Serana an exasperated glance. "That wasn't what she meant. We've all had a long day, stranger, and it's about to get longer. Let's get to the Palace."

He grumbles, but subsides, and lets her lead him. The Palace guards know her, but are far more reluctant to let her in at this hour, especially with unknown companions. The Markarth man has to recite his abridged story (far less dramatic now) to the gate guards, and then to the guard captain, before they'll let him in.

Jarl Elisif doesn't look particularly like they woke her as she sweeps into the throne room. She never does. Lianda appreciates that about her. The jarl sends Lianda a fondly exasperated glance, before sitting at her usual place, and setting about drawing the man's story out of him.

The facts are as such:

-The man was a minor bureaucrat in Jarl Igmund's court

-The attack happened quickly.

-The walls weren't breached - the Forsworn were already in the city, wearing normal garb.

-The woman herself walked into the Keep despite the barricaded doors, threw the Jarl down from his throne, and killed him.

-The Thalmor were among the first dead in the scuffle.

-The man escaped through a window in the chaos - and he has a swollen ankle to show for it.

-The dovecote was taken over by Forsworn, so no messages could get out.

-He got out of the city by scaling the mountainside - he's never been more grateful for his youth as an adventurer.

-This was twelve days ago - a remarkable time given Markarth's distance and the rough terrain, speaking to the man's desperation.

Lianda listens stony-faced, but can't perceive a lie in the man's words. She might ask Serana, later, if she saw anything, but the vampire's going to be at a disadvantage due to an unfamiliarity with modern geopolitics.

The Jarl keeps her expression level as she thanks the man, and sends him to get food and rest. She then turns to Lianda, once the room is empty of all but them and her guards. "You've helped us before," she notes. "We need to investigate this, and you're known for your neutrality and good will to all. Will you help us again?"

"Yes, my Jarl," Lianda says. "But I have another commitment I must attend to first."

The Jarl sighs. "That stands to reason. But this is quite urgent."

Lianda nods. "I understand that. My detour shouldn't add more than ten days to the journey - less if I'm able to move as quickly as I think I can."

"Still faster than I could send a diplomatic force - or gather intelligence more subtly," the Jarl says, leaning back with a contemplative look on her face. "My request stands. Go to Markarth. Investigate - I'm not asking you to take a side, but find out as much as you can about this Aithne, what happened, and what other forces are moving. Is she opposed among her own people? How stable is her hold? How tyrannical? Has she replaced Markarth's defenses utterly - and how prepared are her own forces to defend the city?"

Lianda nods. "I'll see what I can find, and what information I can have returned. In exchange… I have recently had cause to send my family outside of Solitude for a time. But the roads are dangerous. I would have guards accompany them, since I may not. Discreetly, as I don't want to advertise where they're going."

"An odd request," Jarl Elisif says, examining Lianda. "But I'll grant it, as payment for the favor you are doing us. Speak to my Captain about your requirements; I'll have him informed of our agreement."

She bows. "Thank you, my Jarl." She holds the bow until Elisif dismisses her, then goes to speak to the Captain of the Guard.

He's exasperated, a bit, but agrees to send a small detachment with her family - four guards, mostly strong bowmen in the event of a dragon attack, with keen eyes and sure loyalties. (She confides privately about the threat posed by the Dark Brotherhood, not revealing nor even hinting at her source for the information. He seems worried by the news, but accepts it.)

Once her business at the Palace is taken care of and she's gotten a letter sent to Whiterun, Lianda leaves with Serana, then leans against a convenient alley wall and drags her hands down her face.

"You doing alright?" Serana asks, coming to lean across from her.

"Yeah. Just. This's been a lot," Lianda says, huffing. "Long month, pretty much. At least I'll get to sleep in my own bed tonight."

"Always a bonus," the vampire says, voice faintly amused. She then quietly keeps Lianda company until she's ready to head home.

Her children all greet her at the door, voices layering over each other as they clamor for attention. Well, Sofie's hanging back, still shy, and Runa's still in the 'above this all' mood. Lianda manages to draw Sofie into a hug, but Runa's glance shows she won't tolerate such a thing.

She shakes her head, fondly exasperated at her brats, then does her best to usher them all off to bed - which they won't do without a story. She gives in, since she won't be seeing them again for a while, and lets them know they're going on a vacation tomorrow - but they can't tell anyone. That seems to disquiet them - they all have known a hard enough life to be aware that dark things move in the shadows sometimes. But she's found it's best to warn them well ahead of time, rather than rush them in the morning. They might lose sleep for it, but they'll be better prepared.

Once they're at least pretending to be asleep, Lianda draws Lydia aside to warn her about Babette, and Serana, and Ena, and the entire Dark Brotherhood fiasco. Her housecarl's expression is severe as she listens.

"I don't think you should trust Ena's word," Lydia says, voice soft. "Nor this Serana's."

Lianda shakes her head. "You think I don't know that? But I don't see many other paths here - Ena isn't against this family, no matter how morally bankrupt she otherwise may be. The threat posed by the Dark Brotherhood seems legitimate. And I don't have the time to check with the Dawnguard what should be done about Serana - and accompanying her gives me some control of the situation."

"As you will, my Thane." Still, there's something tense in Lydia's voice - disagreement.

Lianda decides to let it lie. She doesn't have the energy for an argument right now, especially when Lydia's clammed up. "I so will. Now, I should likely sleep before the morrow - and so should you. Tomorrow will be long."

Lydia nods, and after she's dismissed goes to take up her usual watch - and not to sleep. Lianda rolls her eyes, but Lydia's an adult and in charge of her own sleep schedule, so she goes to bed without contesting it.

Still, she keeps Dawnbreaker close at hand.

Her children leave the next morning without incident nor too much gossip, meeting the quartet of guards outside the gates. Lianda watches them leave, waves a bit to them, then goes to solidify knowledge among her neighbors that she has business in Skyrim's north before she heads to Markarth - and the news that she'll be looking into the Markarth situation seems to calm people's nerves a bit in the wake of the rapidly spreading news of the Forsworn's victory.

Lianda leaves a few hours after her children, Serana and Serana alone at her side. She plans to turn off at the same route to Meridia's Shrine - two days out of Solitude - and then turn west to go past Clearpine Pond, rather than her usual route of east to the shrine proper, or north towards the mining towns and forts that watch over the coast. After some consultation with Serana and the most detailed map of the region she could find, she's fairly sure she knows where the closest land point to the island holding Serana's family is.

Unfortunately, it's near a Thalmor fort, and her family's good name is unlikely to go far in Skyrim.

The first two days are uneventful, although there's worried murmuring among the caravans she passes, and the route is far more heavily patrolled than usual. After they've turned off, and passed the entrance to Meridia's Shrine - where the last of the foot traffic stops (and where Lianda informs the priests that she's not stopping, but continuing on north) - Ena swings down from the side like nothing's happened, and falls into step beside them.

Lianda quirks an eyebrow at her. "Have you been following us this whole time?" she asks, somewhat amused.

"The target didn't follow your brats. You're welcome for the news. She was still hesitating over whether to leave Solitude when I decided to follow you. You're slow, and obvious," Ena says.

"Thank you," is Lianda's first response. "I haven't been subtle about where I'm going, no. The point is she'll follow me."

"The point is you wouldn't know stealth if it slapped you in the face," Ena grumbles.

Lianda smiles and laughs a bit. "That too! You got all the liar genes, apparently."