The group returned to a ghost town.

Still not sure if the danger was passed, the guards had kept the people in the mine. The result was an eerily silent, empty version of the town they had come from. Daren made his way with the rest toward the inn, which, like the town, was totally empty. Even the barkeep was absent. Delphine found a room that looked to be unoccupied. Daren left a couple septims on the counter to pay, even though Delphine didn't seem intent on doing so.

Daren made his way to the room, located at the far back corner of the inn. He shut the door behind him and leaned back on it. Half to keep anyone from barging in, and half because he could scarcely find the energy needed to move any further. In the rectangular room, there was only one bed against the far wall, beneath a window. Amelia sat on its side, staring at the floor and wringing her hands. De'vohn stood at the window to the left, staring outside into the dark. Delphine made her way to the firepit in the middle of the room, and took a seat by it. Raven, with a small breath and a wave of her hand, ignited the candles, lamps, and fireplace. Once she was done, she took a seat opposite the Blade and invited Daren to take the one next to her left. He mentioned that someone could barge in without him leaning against the door. Her eyes glowed for a fraction of a second as she stared at the door.

"Nobody's getting through that door," she assured him.

He nodded and took a seat, then turned to Delphine.

"What's our next move?" He asked, gaining the attention of Amelia and De'vohn.

"We need to find out who's behind the dragons. Our best lead is the Thalmor. If they're not involved, they'll damn sure know who is."

Raven looked at her quizzically. "What makes you think the Thalmor are behind this?"

"Nothing solid." Raven opened her mouth, Daren assumed to dismiss her, but Delphine cut her off. "But my gut tells me it can't be anyone else. The Empire had captured Ulfric. The war was over. Then, a dragon attacks, the war's back on, and now dragons are terrorizing all of Skyrim. Who benefits from that but the Thalmor?"

Raven seemed content with the explanation, and leaned forward, putting her arms on her knees. It struck Daren as odd that the two were treating each other as equals, as it seemed that, metaphorically, Delphine outranked them all. He was lost in thought, as was everyone else, when Amelia spoke.

"That… can't be all there is to it, though," she all but whispered, still a bit shell-shocked. Her gaze never left the ground. "That whole… resurrection thing. It seemed primal, - "

"Uncontrollable," De'vohn finished for her.

Delphine paused for a moment before speaking. "Alright. Maybe they're not behind it. But, I'm certain they'd have some information."

"How do we get that?" Daren inquired. He hoped it was something simple.

"We'd need to get into the Embassy. It's their center of operations in Skyrim. Which means it's borderline impenetrable."

Somehow, he'd expected that. He gave an exasperated sigh. "So, we're screwed?"

"Not quite," Raven said as she looked up from the fire, a small smile spreading across her face. She looked around, trying to get everyone's attention. She sure as hell had his. "The ambassador, Elenwen, throws parties every once and awhile. They're chances for the rich and connected to cozy up to a great power. As Archmage, I've gotten an invitation every time. Used them to test spells on, of course, but I still got them. I'm pretty sure there's another one coming up soon."

"...And you think you got an invitation," Delphine finished.

"I should have," Raven replied. "To be honest, I'd be a little offended if I didn't."

Daren immediately saw a problem. "How will you be able to break in and search for the documents, then? You'd be one hell of a high-profile guest."

Raven thought for a moment. "I can bring another guest." Silence followed.

"So, any volunteers for a highly dangerous mission into the heavily guarded embassy of a group hell bent on conquering Tamriel?" Daren joked. The silence was beginning to grate on him.

To his surprise, and everyone else's, Amelia looked up - straight into his eyes. "I'll do it."

He gave a weak chuckle. "You serious?" he asked.

The steely look in her grey eyes almost gave him chills. "Dead serious."

He wondered what the Thalmor did to her. He knew enough to keep his question unspoken. "Alright."

Delphine spoke up. "I have a contact inside the Embassy. He's in Solitude. Bosmer - plenty of reason to hate the Thalmor." She turned to Amelia. "He'll smuggle your gear in." With that, the Blade stood up. "I'm going to head to Solitude, you follow behind. Make sure you're not followed."

She moved to the door, which Raven speedily unlocked, and opened it. The Blade hesitated, then looked back at them over her shoulder.

"And, keep your eyes on the sky. This is only going to get worse."