[X] Improve the castle, train the minions. Make them not embarrassing.
-[X] Renovate, too. It's a bit better, but the castle still has a ways to go before it's presentable.
-[X] There's probably a few bandit camps and elf forts nearby we can raid for money and supplies, and no one will raise a fuss over them.
-[X] If any other vampires are in the immediate area, recruit them, but don't go too far our of our way.
After a few minutes of thought you shake your head and begin the ascent to the top of the tower. There's no need to talk with Ulfric, at least not right now, and he might not even know about that patrol Orthjolf eliminated. Short of cashing in your favor or risking both sides joining against you, you probably wouldn't get anything useful out of him. And you're not quite ready to thrust Castle Volkihar onto the political stage, not just yet. You leap off the tower and into the air, swerving south a bit to check on Azura's shrine, but the dragon's corpse is gone; no real surprise, given how long it's been since you last were in the area. Vulthuryol's corpse is probably still down there, unless the Falmer have gotten to it … which they probably have. You actually considered moving to Blackreach, but without any infrastructure or move-in-ready buildings, it would be more trouble than it's worth, at least for now. With everything underground, though, it would definitely be more comfortable than a tower ….
You wing west, keeping an eye on things below you. Not much is going on so late at night, although you do see a few skirmishes, and the ruin with the undead around it seems to be under siege. Nothing particularly interesting, though, not that you can see, and the trip is uneventful. Garan meets you as you land.
"Welcome back, Lady Flandre." You nod, suppressing the shiver of excitement you get from the title.
"We will need to get the upper floors renovated, so I can land there instead of the main gate, if nothing else."
"If you wish. Not many have the magical skill to levitate, let alone properly fly." You scoff, and he chuckles. "I'll remember to inform Serana. If you have a moment, however …?"
"Go on." You lead him into the laboratory, half-empty as the books are being moved to a dedicated library, and hop into one of the chairs. Ronthil starts to scurry over, but a warning look from Garan sees him away.
"I've been working with Orthjolf over the past week, and we're … reasonably sure that those of us who can fight don't need additional training in combat. What we do need is fieldcraft expertise, and while we do have some manuals, it's not something we've put any effort into. Orthjolf's group was actually ambushed by the … the Stormcloaks. Possibly they thought they were local nobility on a hunt, or something. Fortunately, we are much harder to kill, but it's still rather embarrassing – and if the Dawnguard have any scouts, it could prove deadly." You nod.
"Were there any locations Orthjolf noted but was unable to clear out?"
"No, my Lady, not within easy striking distance. We have been reclaiming useful items and coinage, and between Serana and myself, we are compiling a list of goods to purchase – or acquire, if necessary – in Solitude."
"A shame we don't have a ship. It would make things much easier." You stretch. "Are there any vampires in the area who can be persuaded to assist?" Garan sighs.
"Not really. Sybille Stentor in Solitude is established and powerful, but she's a mage and supports her Jarl. Between a rivalry with Vingalmo – which she's almost certain to win, thanks to his injury – and her likely attitude toward us, she might serve as a contact in Solitude, but not as a member of the court itself." You nod idly, frowning. A vampire in Solitude, serving and directing the human lords? If she could be turned to your side, she would be valuable, but as Garan said, she likely would take more effort and more resources to acquire, and would probably be a better associate or ally than subject. "Movarth – if he's still alive, as there was quite the uproar a while ago – might be a willing subject, and he has subjects of his own if you wish to simply kill him. He is rather out of the way, some distance from Morthal, well away from our territory. Apart from them …." He sighs. "Well, Harkon's instructions were to keep potential rivals eliminated, and keeping the populace unaware of our presence was considered more useful than forming alliances."
"Or suzerainty, it seems." He tilts his head at you, and you frown. "Hmm … hegemony, overlord, that sort of thing. They would be subservient to the Castle, and pay tribute, but they would be free to run their territories as they please. It works well for small groups of powerful entities that don't usually form groups." Garan nods, his expression clearing.
"In some ways, it would be a better policy – assuming the local rulers are intelligent and wise enough to avoid drawing more attention than they can deal with, which is something our kind have problems with."
"Yes … well, if there aren't any suitable individuals who could be recruited, you have my permission to … mm, create new vampires if necessary." He stares at you, eyes wide, and you smile. "So long as they can be trusted or controlled, of course. Human senses can't compete with vampire ones, or I'd say to hire or dominate a human ranger or scout, but it really needs to be a vampire to properly teach other vampires." You lean forward, eyes brightening noticeably. "I am not fond of the idea that humans can ambush my vampires when they're doing their own hunting, so either they improve their fieldcraft or they improve their reflexes, and I'm not above teaching everyone how do dodge my way, if I need to." He nods.
"Then, with respect, I'll meet with Vingalmo and Orthjolf to solve this little conundrum. Some spells can help, and if he can develop easy-to-use large-scale versions, that will be useful. Good day, my Lady." He bows and retreats swiftly. You smile at the idea of your top three advisors trying to work together to solve a problem, and wonder if you're going to have two advisors shortly.
You find Serana digging through some pots and boxes of dirt. You look around the mess of a room before clearing your throat loudly, making her jump and spin, one hand rising defensively before she realizes it's you interrupting her, and she kneels in supplication.
"I'm sorry, it's just …." She trails off, apparently having trouble coming up with a suitable defense, and you walk up to her, a nasty smile on your face.
"Yes? Serana, I got back three days ago, and I gave you instructions regarding the improvement of my castle. Spending two days locked in a room at the top of a tower doesn't exactly fulfill my requirements. Is this room important, or do I need to burn it out to get you do your job?" She leaps to her feet.
"No! No, it - … Please, I'm sorry, but … this was my mother's laboratory. I don't know where she went, and … well, I was hoping to find something out. I'm sorry about it disrupting my duties. But if you're going to destroy this room, you're going to have to kill me, too." You stare at her, your smile fading as she speaks, and when she finishes you look around. It was, at some point, obviously some kind of ritual room, and there are even some ingredients that survived the ages in apparently-usable condition. You look at her and nod slowly.
"Family, huh? Considering your father, will she be worth it?" Serana opens her mouth, then looks away, and you sigh. "If you need to look through here, go ahead, just don't let it take time away from your duties, and don't take too many servants away from their duties." She stares at you, gape-mouthed, then goes to her knee again and clasps your hand.
"Thank you, thank you. I'll do better, I promise." As she withdraws to return to her duties, you take another look around the room. Like the rest of the tower, it's hardly comfortable, but it seems like the kind of place Patchouli would like if she were more active – if it were larger, anyway. Hopefully its owner won't return. She probably wouldn't take your usurpation very well, and you'd like to keep your castellan as well, since you've already put work into her. You take the other door, inhaling the brisk ocean breeze, and drop to the courtyard below, then head into your room, throwing yourself onto your bed. Remilia couldn't have enjoyed this, could she? You don't see how anyone could ….
What do you do?
[ ] Pay a visit to Sybille Stentor, just to be polite.
[ ] Introduce yourself to the ruler of Solitude.
[ ] Try to find Movarth, or any of his followers.
[ ] Investigate the besieged tomb.
[ ] Other?
