Lena arrived at the Leyawiin Sanctuary in the early evening.

“Mistress!” – Fenris greeted her as she entered. “You have returned.”

He looked much better than last time when Lena saw him – he was clearly taking care of himself.

“Ah, you are looking better” – she said. “Well done. But you need to feed more often still – I want you to blend in, you will need to travel. Of course people will still recognise you for a vampire when they look closely, but not at a fleeting glance.”

She did not want to say that most people in Cyrodiil wouldn’t pay him more than a fleeting glance because he was a Dunmer… Instead, she tried a different approach.

“Since the Dunmer already have sanguine eyes, your vampire eyes won’t stand out too much” – she smiled. “And your face will look healthy if you feed often enough. Here – read this” – she handed him a copy of Manifesto Cyrodiil Vampyrum.

Fenris looked at her in surprise. “But you are no longer a vampire!”

“True, but I was. It counts.”

What did she mean by that? Fenris was confused but didn’t dare to ask. He took the book with reverence – as a slave, he wasn’t allowed to as much as look at it, but now… he couldn’t refuse his Mistress… but that book wasn’t written for slaves…

“The book is not cursed” – Lena saw Fenris’ hesitation. “It simply teaches how to blend in with the society, as far as possible – you will never be able to blend in completely. Even the best of us couldn’t do it…” Her voice trailed off in thought.

“Us?” – Fenris wondered to himself, but again didn’t dare to ask.

“Anyway” – Lena returned to reality. “We’ll be leaving for Bravil and then Skingrad in a few hours. You won’t be able to feed for several days, so make sure to feed well before we go. We leave when I wake up.”

She left the room, her black silk robes rustling softly as she walked.

“Thank you, Mistress” – Fenris murmured, not daring to believe the conversation they’ve just had.