BLOODLUST

The Listener

"You know vampires actually don't need to be brought up in the ground. You don't have to bury them at all!" Bartender finally tells me.

I'm getting dirt whipped into my face with the fierce wind and staring on the two mounds with sudden confusion. "Really? I thought it would be a good idea. So we'd know when they'd wake up."

The man seems to pale, "You actually…buried them already?"

I give a smirk before falling into laughter, "No but you should've seen the look on your face!" I keep laughing with the absurdity of it all. Anything to hide the pain of seeing Bryn in such a fevered state. I lay a hand on Bartender's shoulder to steady myself. "Sorry. Couldn't help that joke. I'll buy you a drink, promise. I just wanted to survey the place first."

He arches an eyebrow but doesn't say more. I get it. I would be pissed too if I were brought all the way just outside of Raven Rock to have a joke played on me. We were in the area where Bryn got stabbed, but no more baddies in sight. "Let's go back."

He follows me after an exaggerated sigh. No, my plan was simpler, infect the both of them in their beds and let the change take place. Then I'd barricade the door, so we'd know when they woke up. I have no doubt they'll be thirsty. I was, I was absolutely ravenous for blood when I rose.

I feel a slight pang of guilt when we trudge back into the Retching Netch. I remember the pain in my throat too. But I had Vorstag around to help me. And I don't exactly have the blood they'll be craving.

Lucky for me, someone has offered up their own blood. I nod to the man in the strange beacon helmet contraption when I pass him by. He nods back. I can't see his face so that's the only assurance I have that he hasn't changed his mind.

When I enter the room housing Bryn and Cicero, I have to take pause. The smell is rancid. Worse than when we left. I take in a shaky breath. I'll have to do the change soon. Tonight. They won't have much longer with whatever infections they have. And the healer just wasn't cutting it.

"Lass, is everything ready?" Bryn watches me through slit eyes. I see the sweat dripping down his forehead.

"I am. Are you?" I ask. Cicero is asleep and almost snoring. But he too, wakes up.

"I'm ready." He says immediately, "Sithis spoke to me in my dream. He says it is time." He watches me.

I wasn't asking him. I keep my eyes on Bryn. "Are you ready?" I enunciate.

He laughs, but the sound is weak with his failing body. "As ready as one would be."

I nod, then turn and give two thumbs up to everyone outside. Bartender clears off the bar immediately. The others give hesitant nods before turning back to their drinks. I guess they didn't get the memo that this will take a few days.

Cicero was first. I needed some practice before trying on Bryn. Thankfully, he was more than ready for it. He seemed to hold his breath when I got my face next to his neck. "Make it as painful as possible." He drawls.

"I will." I promise. My bite wasn't light. I know I should have been practicing for Bryn, a gentler bite would have sufficed. But this is all I've got.

Cicero yelps in pain and begins to writhe when I hold tight. I keep his head and chest down with my hands, my bite keeps his neck steady. I drink slowly. I'm not sure how much blood I need to take, but I figure I'll know when it's enough.

"Listener, you are so brash." Cicero chokes out above me, "Keep that up and Sithis will be seeking you out for his champion."

I don't want his ramblings anymore, so I bite harder. He yelps but I keep drinking. Eventually, he falls into a sleep that only a lack of blood could bring. I rise when he stops squirming. This is my cue to stop. I tilt my head to the side and hear the soft pounding of his heart. Sounds like he'll live.

I must have forgotten to clean my face because when I turn, I can't help but see Bryn wince. He gives me an apologetic look after. "Sorry lass, just can't believe I'll love having blood on my face when this is all said and done."

I sink down to my knees next to his face. It's painted in the soft glow from the nearby candle. I can't help but feel that heavy lead weight in my chest. I saw him like this once. He was suffering from one of my bites not long ago. He was held up in a room about as big as this, fighting off infection and begging me to stay. Now, he wants to change.

"Are you sure you want this? You get used to this, but I didn't have a choice. You do. I can't bear it if you regret this." I say honestly.

He brushes my cheek with the back of his hand, "Lass, I decided some time ago. You get to live for a long, long time. Forever, if you could. I don't have that as a mortal. I've wanted to change over since you got back to the Rift."

Tears threaten me. "Why didn't you say you wanted it back when we were getting Azura's Star?"

"I was…not in the right frame of mind. I was scared you were getting reckless. I don't want to lose you." He whispers.

I nod to that. I can understand. It sounds like that issue is over with now, "Good thing you're becoming immortal then, now when I piss off someone enough to throw down, you'll be able to aid in the fight."

He gives a soft chuckle, "Just thank the gods that there's no more dragons about. I don't know if I could deal with them."

"I don't think they're around. I hope they are because then that keeps Mother busy." I laugh.

"Certainly. Is that what you want after this? To go find her?" Bryn asks.

"We don't have a choice. Bryn, in Sovngarde, she was unstoppable. It took me and Mjoll to bring her down and that was just by the skin of our teeth. Here, it's going to be harder. We need this Mirror guy to help us."

He nods. "Then let's not waste any more time."

I hesitate, my hand is on his forehead and I'm gazing down upon his form. Will he be the same when he wakes up? Or will he be a monster he wishes he never was?

"I trust you." He whispers to me, "I know you. You'll help guide us through this." His hand cups my cheek before he lets it fall back to him.

"I'll try." I whisper before I begin to cry. I damn well hope this works. It's not like we have much of a choice, but I'm so, so scared I'll accidentally kill him. Based on Cicero's slow beating heart in the corner, I shouldn't fear anything.

I kiss Bryn. Softly at first, before parting his lips and trying to make it last. He laughs under me and grasps my hair. "Bite me." He whispers.

I laugh softly. "Only if you ask, nicely."

"Bite me, lass. Please." He gives me those little puppy dog eyes. They are hard to resist.

I can't hesitate much longer. I certainly don't want Cicero and Bryn's changes to be staggered. Not by a long shot, so I oblige him. I sink my fangs into his neck. He moans softly. I think out of pain but soon he is resting. I know the bite can be painful at first, but then the endorphins or whatever kick in. It makes the prey…more docile.

When I've taken enough, just enough to hear his heart beating a little more strongly than Cicero, I let him go. I try to close the wound as quickly as possible.

When I back away the candlelight illuminates what I did. One bite mark on his neck. Two vampires in the making.

"I'll see you soon. Sleep well." I say to the room before closing the door softly.

Thinking back to my own change, I guess it did take a few days. I was out of it. Buried under the ground and with Sithis for some time. I can't tell how long it is and I'm usually on the dot with timing. I know how many seconds have passed but man, this waiting has felt like an eternity.

Bartender hands me another mug of whatever he deems best. I drink it slowly. I've had far too much to drink in the past few days. I'd rather get all out before having the new baby vampires running around. The bloodlust can be hard to control.

"Tell me when and I'll begin the siphon." The Beacon mercenary man says next to me. He had the oddest of accents. He never showed his skin, but I have a feeling he's a Dark Elf.

"Not now." I say. I went in a few minutes ago. Felt their pulses, smelled their blood. They were smelling more like vampires by the day, but they weren't there yet. "In a few minutes you can." I lean my head against the mug.

"I don't think we've been acquainted yet. I am Teldryn Sero at your service." He nods to me. It's a graceful half bow. Looks weird in a seat right next to someone. But I'll take it.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Eve Northstar." I say back with a half-smile.

"I know that, Eventide, that's your name. You told me some time ago, but you must have forgotten. You've been quite…distracted recently. Not that I can blame you." He laughs.

"Yeah, this vampire making business is stressful." I take another long sip of my mead. It's getting grosser, must mean the spice is settling at the bottom. I need to ask for honey next time.

"You made the right choice though. After assessing their injuries and without a proper healer with adequate supplies they only would have had a few weeks. Not enough to make it back to the mainland."

"I guess you're right." I say, "So, how does this work? I woke up as a vamp, never saw one wake up though. Are they going to go insane?"

"Most certainly, that's why we have the door there, and you. I have no doubt you'll be able to hold them back. The competent warrior you are." He laughs, then takes his helmet off. I do a double take with him. Dark Elf. Check. His scars tell a different story.

"How'd you get those scars?" I ask in way of conversation.

"Quite the tale. If you wish to hear it." He grins.

I nod and we fall into a long conversation. We go on for hours. Swapping battle stories, tough times and happy moments. The best were the stories where we beat some ass. This guy was the most excited to hear mine with Lord Harkon. He had his own tale of killing bandits in Skyrim. Told me one day he came across a large bandit encampment after following one for days. The guy leading it led Teldryn to believe he'd be horse meat if he tried to fight them. So he tucked tail and ran.

I laugh, "Makes sense. You should have seen the time I had to fight a hagraven…I would have lost if not for Mother."

"Mother you say? I've heard those whispers." He clutches his half-filled mug before taking another sip from his now bare mouth. The beacon helmet sits next to us on the table.

I bow my head. Didn't know they got a whiff of that all the way out here. "Yeah, she was a pain. She's gone now. Locked up in Skyrim somewhere. I need to go back and finish her off. It's why I'm trying to find Miraak." I don't butcher his name for once.

His eyes crinkle up with his scrunched nose. "That man. Talk about a plague. I think I know a way you can find him. He has a temple up north. If I were to guess, that would be the best place to look…"

His words are cut off with the sudden slam on the door. I jolt up. A wail sounds behind it.

"Might want to start siphoning. Someone just woke up." I say before racing over to the door. I push against it when some of the wood bends outwards. Someone is certainly hungry.

"Listener!" He yells from the other side of the room.

My heart is beating so fast. Bryn is still in the change. I shouldn't have left them in the same room. I can't leave them in the same room. "Close the door behind me." I command Bartender. I see him scrambling around the bar, all the dirty glasses forgotten when I slip into the room.

His fangs are piercing my shoulder the moment I enter. I groan but shove him off. He snarls and charges me. I go flying back into the door with his sudden weight. He is strong now. Fine. He doesn't want to comply, then we'll do it this way.

I sweep his feet out from under him, which is far too easy and land my knees on his chest. He goes down snarling and seething. "Sithis told me about you! He said you want Mother dead!"

"Did he? Did you know that was all a dream from your fevered state?" I keep my hands on his neck and forehead to keep him from launching up with those sharp fangs. No, the fact that he saw Sithis too means it's real. I don't know if it's all vampires or just the two of us who saw him, but I need him to keep believing it was all just a dream. It can't be anything else to him. I can't afford it.

"It wasn't." He chokes out, "Cicero knows what he heard."

"It's wrong. I was hallucinating too when I changed. When you get blood, you'll think more clearly." I state. I glance over at Bryn and hear his heart beating slower than before. He is close.

"What if it's true? Sithis. My master. Warning me!" He bucks me, tries to get out from under me but I hold fast.

The door opens slightly. "Eve, here's a potion. The first of many." A hand snakes around the way and I grasp the bottle before Cicero can push again.

"Sithis doesn't trust you! He says I should kill you!" He screams under me. I dig my knees in further and shove the blood potion neck in his mouth.

"Drink. You'll be more clearheaded when you wake." I say. He's writhing under me. Fighting me but also drinking as much as he can. When he's drunk the bottle dry, he bites the neck off of it. Glass crunches in his mouth.

"We need more, Tale Rim!" I yell to him knowing I got his name wrong but damn I hope he hears it. Cicero is stronger than I ever thought possible, and he's a fairly small man. Strong and good with knives but this just added to his power. He's now ten times as strong. The only thing that might take this situation out of control is…

"Lass, is that you?" I look up to see Bryn standing, hands at his side and staring me down with hungry eyes.

"Don't." Is all I get out before he tackles me. I know he doesn't want to hurt me. He wants the small amount of blood I have in this potion. I yelp with the impact. If I thought Cicero was strong, I was not expecting Bryn.

"More blood!" I yell to the outsiders and shove Bryn with as much force as possible. Cicero attacks me from behind. I barely register Bryn pulling the jester from me. I throw both of them to the other side of the room before bolting through the door.

I shove it closed and push whatever I can in front of it. As many tables, a rock or two, and possibly the bar itself if I could. Banging and wailing comes from inside.

"Sorry, Eve. It's taking longer than I thought." The mercenary says next to me. I see the knife in one of his hands and a bottle in the other.

"No worries, not like they have the strength to bring the Inn down." I lean my forearms on the nearest table to keep my eye on the door. It keeps moving with their repeated hits.

The Dark Elf's brow furrows, deep in thought. He passes me another potion bottle filled with blood. "I have an idea. There's a strange occurrence out by the shore. We could trap them there. Although, I'm not sure how long they'd stay stuck."

"And how do we do that?" What a crazy idea. But based on how those hinges keep creaking, it just might be crazy enough to work. I'm not sure I could keep them both from slaughtering the whole town if they were to get out. Cicero, I'd have to watch for. Based on how Bryn looked…he might be too far gone for reason.

He gives a small smile. "We lure them out with my blood. It's already out in the open so they'll be more enticed by it than some nearby beating heart. Once they're trapped on that stone, we can feed them enough blood to calm them down."

"Okay, what stone is this?"

"One of the All-Maker stones. They're important in Skaal religion but have been corrupted recently by Miraak himself. Anyone who touches it falls into a trance. And truth be told, I'm quite interested to find out if these two blood crazed vampires will fall into the same trance. Or, will their instinct take over? Can they resist the lure of the Earth Stone?" He muses.

"Alright, let's do this little experiment." I look around the bar, not many stragglers. "Hey everyone, might want to get out of here for the night. Two vampires are about to prowl these halls."

People, mainly Dunmer, grumble and groan over having to move but they do so. They must have heard the commotion I dealt with inside that room. "How should we do this?" I ask the mercenary.

He stands next to me with the bottle of blood in his hand. "I give this to you, I'll run ahead to keep people out of the way, and you…well, you just follow quickly with them nipping at your heels. I'm sure the scent of this spilling about will be enough."

What could go wrong with a well thought out plan like that? "What about the ash spawns?"

"Nothing's out there. Some guards went to check a few hours ago. Nothing will hurt you unless you can't handle a little dust." He grins over at me.

"I'll be fine. Go scout ahead. I'll give you a few minutes then I'll open up this bad boy." The guy says no more and races off with my proclamation.

I just keep watching the door. The wood creaks with each hit it takes. I wince when I remember my own change. How bad that fire was in my throat. I would stop at nothing to take whatever blood I could. I killed a few people over it. I can't let that happen to them.

"Listener! How could you leave us like this?" Cicero screams. It's muffled by the end. I can only imagine Bryn is holding him down.

"One second, guys." I glance back at the door. Teldryn's scent is losing its potency. Means that's our cue. "I'm going to let you out and you will follow me. Only me. Don't go running off."

The pounding behind the door quiets. I swear I can almost feel their agitation. The air is stifling with it. "Understood, lass." Bryn's voice is strangled. I feel how much he is holding back from here.

"Okay, here we go." I drop some of the blood on my hands, maybe I can just hold them up and watch them try, desperately to lick it while I'm racing backwards. No way that would fail. I shove some of the debris out of the way until the door is right in front of me. I wince when I see all the splinters littering the wood. I'll have to put down a hefty amount of coin for a new door. Unless that isn't imported like everything else.

The door squeaks open. Behind it, I find Bryn with his crazed golden eyes. I have to take a moment to pause. I never thought I'd miss his forest green, didn't think to look at them closely before the change. But his eyes will calm. That hunger will fade. I feel his desperation leaching through his skin.

Cicero is held by the neck and shoulder. Bryn has him good. "Blood. Listener." He moans.

"Follow me." I command it sharply. They both do. Cicero is being dragged while Bryn keeps his eyes on me. I know how precarious this is. If one mortal beating heart crosses our paths, his control might shatter. His eyes move to my hands. I hold one palm up. "Just follow me and you'll get all the blood you need."

We make it out the Inn. That's the first benchmark of this ordeal. When we near the gates I feel his desperation growing. "Lass, could you give me…some of that?" He nods to the potion bottle in my hand.

I shake my head firmly. "It will only make it worse, trust me, I've been there. Just keep following me."

"Cicero can't take it anymore." He groans and tries to flail. Bryn even has a hard time holding him back. I keep my eyes on them, the first of my mistakes, that's when I run into the woman. She trips when I back into her. "Sorry." I grumble but when I turn back, I realize we're in deep shit.

Cicero yanks himself out of Bryn's grasp and my lover only has eyes for the potion. I feel Cicero's attention turning to the Dunmer woman scrambling to her feet. I have little time to stop him. I launch myself so I'm in his way. Then shove the woman down the steps into the heart of town. "Go!" I yell to her.

Bryn slams into me. The force of his weight and strength shoves me into the nearby wall. I groan when I hear that potion break on the ground. My control slipped. I thought the jester would turn to lap up all the blood he can. Instead, I feel him turning to go find that woman.

"Bryn get off. We need to stop him." I shove my lover away from me but it's too late. Cicero is on a mad dash down the cobblestone walkway. He's all fervent emotion. His head sways uncontrollably with his movements. He's uncoordinated and looks like a complete lunatic if someone didn't know what he was searching for.

I didn't want to do this, but I have to. I shift into the Vampire Lord, right at the foot of the town. I should hear gasps, but I only hear screams up ahead. This gives me energy. Bryn snarls when he sees me. I just hold out my hand to drain his life-force. Soon, he falls to the ground. At least he's near the spilled blood.

I launch myself into the air, take flight as much as I can, and soar over the little town until I see him. Cicero is nearing the woman. And she's cornered. Near a shop. It has weapons littering the display so maybe she'd know how to kill him. And just like that, one of my never-ending problems would be gone.

Instead, I get to him first. I slam into his small form and take him down to the ground. My larger hands curl around his shoulders to shove him into the pavement. His forehead scrapes the cobblestone and I almost wince from the sound of it.

"Listener's power! Can Cicero have a taste of it?" He whimpers beneath me.

I can't allow this to go further, I use the drain spell on him, then lift him over my shoulder. I nod to the woman who seems to be shell-shocked. Her hands are just grasping the hilt of a short sword and her mouth is agape. I know what she sees. A gargoyle-like creature with razor sharp fangs, an unhealthy amount of muscle, eyes that glow, and an ugly mug to match the horrible image.

I spin on my heel to take flight and grab Bryn when I see him. He yelps when I take him by the forearm and carry us out into the open.

Talos man was right. There's an ash storm going on out here. It's hard to see through all the dust and dirt flinging itself into my face, but I persevere. I carry us through this turbulent wind with nothing but the flimsy wings on my back. I nearly let out a cheer when I see Teldryn standing around some other confused people in front of a large, green glowing pillar.

I throw Cicero into the water, then Bryn and finally change back. I nearly fall over with the impact of it. It's so disorienting sometimes to fall back into my smaller form and be covered in blood that is most certainly my own.

The other Dunmer around me gasp. Well, two of them. The rest are caught up in a trance. Suddenly, Cicero turns, his gaze is locked on the large stone in front of us. He slowly reaches out to it and begins to pound on it with his fists.

"The hell?" I saunter up next to him and turn to check his eyes. They're glazed over. Bryn moves next to me. So silently I don't even have a chance to warn him.

Soon, he is pounding on the stone with his bare hands. I see the other Dark Elf in robes move to grab something. Teldryn races to me. "Watch out! Don't touch that…"

But I'm caught up in this trap too. The green swirls are mesmerizing coming from this stone, it's as if it were asking me to place my hands on it and all the color in the world will appear. It's like this world is drab, muted. I can change that if I just place my hands on this stone…

I open my eyes and find I was acting like an idiot. I was so invested in getting the colors out of that stone, then thinking about how great a temple would look around here, that I forgot all about my surroundings.

When I look around, I find a vomit-colored sky, a strange floor made of cobblestone, and beyond it, some guy in a dragon priest looking mask. His posture is commanding power, and the way his eyes appear to want to blaze through that mask, he's pretty pissed at me.

"You. You are not the one." He says in the creepiest of voices.

"Come again? I can't hear over all this sloshing noise!" I yell to him. I'm not joking. There're weird tentacle creatures here that raise their arms from the water, they keep splashing it everywhere.

"I said, you are not who I thought you'd be!" He yells over the cavern.

I can't help it, "What?" I yell.

"I said, you are not the Dragonborn." He's right in front of me now. The sudden movement kicks it out of me. I fall straight on my ass.

And back into the world of the living. I retch when I smell the disgusting rotting water I fell into.

"Get up! How ever did you resist that?" The Dunmer in robes stands next to me. He's flailing about. Teldryn lifts me by my elbow. "You okay? I told you not to touch that. Nasty magic in there."

Magic? I turn my head to see Cicero and Bryn in a trance, slowly hammer away at the rock with their own hammers. "Who gave them those?" I ask.

"I did." The man in robes sneers before me, "This stone has some sort of curse on it. Whoever touches it is compelled to…build something. I believe. If I didn't give them tools, they would begin to bleed from throwing their bare hands against it."

Huh, at least they weren't trying to kill anyone.

"But how did you resist? What happened to pull you out of it?" He raises a brow.

"One sec, kind of a lot going on right now." I say then turn to the mercenary next to me, "This is the trap? What if they can't get out!"

"That is something I feared. I didn't think it would be so strong…" He peers over at the two new vamps. "I have blood. I can give it to them for enough time that they lose their cravings. Raven Rock would be safe then."

"Okay, how do we get them out of the trance?" I ask both of them.

Robes guy looks at me from head to toe. "You have some sort of aura about you. Something off. Care to tell me what happened when you touched that stone?"

Right. "I wanted to bring color in the world. Then I felt like I wanted to build a temple. Instead, I was thrown into this cesspool with flying octopus, or octopi, however you say it." I ramble off, "Then this guy in a dragon mask was yelling at me. Got right in my face and he said…" What did he say to me? "Oh, he said I'm not the Dragonborn which I thought would be clear as day."

They're staring at me wide eyed. For a moment I think I got something in my teeth when robe man speaks. "That sounds…like Miraak."

I snap my fingers, "That's it! That's who we're looking for! That's why we came here in the first place!"

The man shakes his head, "You don't understand. It makes little sense. Miraak's been dead for thousands of years."

Hold up. "What? We were just getting this party started."

Robe man slides his gaze to Teldryn who just shrugs, "I'm not sure what it means." Robe man begins, "It is fascinating, isn't it? Perhaps it has some relation to what's going on here. Quite unexpected. I'm afraid I can't give you any answers. But there are ruins of an ancient temple of Miraak's toward the center of the island. If I were you, I'd look there."

"The temple. Yes, that's what I was telling you about earlier." Teldryn says to me.

My head is spinning with all this new information. "Okay. So how do I get there? I don't know the geography of this place."

Teldryn gives the stone a good look, "I was going to stay here and feed them until they were sated. But I could take you. We could bring others here to do the job for me."

I nearly cringe at the thought. But then again, these people weren't signing a death warrant. Just giving a little blood. And gods know I need a guide.

"Sure thing. I need to grab some stuff at the Inn then we can head off." I watch as Teldryn begins to strap up with his beacon-looking helmet.

"Yes, fair maiden, I am at your service." He gives a low comical bow.

I smile. I like where this is going. I hope he can keep up with me with all the strange shit we're sure to encounter. "Cool. Let me say goodbye to the others and I'll be ready. Keep them safe. Or I'll gut you." I glare at Robes guy. He gives a brisk nod.

"I will. Don't worry, I know all about your plights with the Dark Brotherhood."

Ain't that the truth? Everyone and their grandmother know that by now. I turn to the two vampires slowly building the temple of doom on this rock. "Be good guys." I say to them both then I kiss Bryn on the cheek, "You especially, I couldn't bear to lose you."

His eyes are unfocused. Watching something I can't even imagine. I'm not even sure if he was seeing Miraak like I did. I hope not. I hope it's all sunshine and rainbows in there. A strange feeling comes across me then. Determination. I look to Cicero and feel the same thing.

"I see it happening. These are your kin?" Robe Man asks from the sidelines.

"What? No, I just changed them. Gave them my curse, if you'd call it that."

He laughs, "Yes, that's what I meant. You don't know much about vampires do you? You just sired a line. They are your kin. You should be able to feel their emotions and instincts, where they're headed. They can't feel that of you, but they would with someone they change."

The more you know. "Wow, so…I can predict what they'd do?"

"Not like a seer, no, not that precise. But you can feel what they can in the moment. It can be useful. It's how most sires reign control over their subordinates."

Just like Harkon. No wonder he was able to know exactly what I was doing. I wasn't sired by him. The guy who changed me was killed shortly after by Vorstag, a kill I wanted. But I got Harkon. Sounds like changing me to the Vampire Lord had the same perks for him. But he's dead too.

"Hm, guess I'm learning as we go. And that's good news. If anything bad happens here, I'll be the first to know it." I glare at Robe Man again.

He gives me a cheeky smile, "I know, I know, and you will stop at nothing to kill me then. I've heard the lore. Now carry on. The guard and I will keep Miraak or some dragon from ending them."

That little sarcasm and quip should elicit a quick remark from me. Instead, I hobble off to go back to the Inn. It's a lot to take in, admittedly. I'll have to mull over it the next few days and learn as much about vampires and sires as possible. Maybe a little information in there could be the silver bullet to all our problems back on the mainland.