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."