"Tell us about this vampire," Isaiah requested of Ryan in a demanding tone as the group turned north onto the Silver Road towards Bruma.
"His name is Hindaril, he is a powerful vampire elder, who has been in existence since somewhere near the middle of the Second Era," said Ryan in response. "Make no mistake by the way," he continued, "we are contracted solely to recover Apotheosis, not to destroy Hindaril. It would be foolish of us to believe we could destroy such a foe."
"Understood," Isaiah said simply, his tone did not betray him, but the look in his eyes said he was still going to try however. Alderich saw the look and frowned, but did not say a word.
"He must be the leader of a powerful clan, am I right Ryan?" Makenna asked the fellow scholar.
"Yes," he responded, "though its name is old as Hindaril himself and is lost. He will have a dozen or so powerful vampires protecting him." Ryan paused for so brief a moment it was unnoticeable to the others. "Along with Frostcrag's... defenses."
The five Cards stopped. "Defenses?" queried Isaiah.
"Well, not exactly 'defenses'," Pryde explained unsteadily, knowing the fine line he walked. "More like, assistances to defense. There are three altars inside Frostcrag Spire: an altar of enchanting, an altar of spellmaking, and the Atronach Altar."
Makenna was the first to the obvious question. "The first two are self explanatory. But what is an 'Atronach Altar'."
"An altar that allows the user to summon an Atronach familiar," Ryan stated simply to soften the blow.
"We are fighting vampires, Apotheosis, and Atronachs!?" Alderich exclaimed in disbelief.
"And... perhaps something worse," said Ryan.
"This just keeps getting better and better," Alfonso said in as sarcastic a tone as he could manage.
"What is it?" Thurod asked.
"Monarchs," Ryan answered. "If Hindaril has recovered the Armor of the Atronach, we may be fighting Monarchs."
"What is a Monarch?" Fons asked.
Ryan was not surprised someone was unaware of the existence of Monarchs, they were the rarest of Daedra and not easily encountered. Makenna however, beat him. "Elemental daedra tenfold more powerful than their Atronach brethren," he explained. "How could Hindaril possibly control such a powerful Daedra?" Makenna demanded.
"Using the Atronach Altar in conjunction with Apotheosis and the Armor of the Atronach allows one to summon and command Monarchs," Pryde recited as if he were reading it out of a book.
All that had needed to be explained had been. The Wild Cards and Ryan Pryde made the rest of the journey to the Bruma Mages Guildhall in silence.