Bond Of Blood

Chapter 7

Lucien waited until he was certain that the Dragonborn was sleeping (or pretending to sleep, he was never sure whether vampires slept like mortals did) before he sought out the current leader of the Dark Brotherhood. As he had anticipated, Astrid was sitting at a battered table and idly reading a novel he caught the name of the book, 'A Lusty Argonian Maid', and he smirked a little before arranging his face into a calm expression.

"Thank you for bringing me back," he rumbled softly.

Astrid jumped a little and closed the book hastily as she looked over her shoulder. She gave a wan smile and nodded to him.

"It seemed best if you were around more often as things stand," Astrid replied.

"Indeed," Lucien agreed as he sat down opposite her, "and now that we are alone, I have information of vital importance for you."

"From who...the Night Mother?" Astrid whispered.

Lucien merely nodded before speaking. He understood her slight paranoia. She was looking out for any possible threat, and he couldn't fault her for that.

"Yes. She has a task for us. She told me to inform you that you will need to increase our numbers somehow, as well as our gold supply. The Unholy Matron also knows that this will not occur overnight, so there is no set time limit."

"But the sooner we are back in full strength, the better," Astrid said quietly.

"Exactly. That is why she also told me that you are to send Morgan to a contract. And on her own."

"A contract? From who? And more importantly, who is the target?"

Lucien grinned wickedly.

"The contact is a young girl who was slighted by the target...she hated this person so much, she killed a city guard in Solitude so that she could attempt a Black Sacrament."

"Interesting. And the target?"

"The Night Mother never said. She assumes that Morgan would find out when she gets there to meet the contact."

"We have to accept then, we are going nowhere at the moment...and her skills are already good enough for what we do. My only concern is where her loyalties will lie in the future."

"She will remain faithful to the Dark Brotherhood Astrid, I am certain of it."

Astrid said nothing as she idly poked the dirt from under her fingernails with a steel dagger before looking up at Lucien again.

"Anything else?"

"Yes. The Night Mother also wishes for Morgan's mother to be safely returned to her daughter. To do this, she asked to send someone to Winterhold where a vampire Dunmer is said to be residing, and ask for her help."

"That's Brelyna. She gave up her mortality in exchange for saving Morgan's life once," Astrid explained as she spotted Lucien's slightly furrowed forehead. "I have no idea why she would help us, but she would certainly help Morgan."

"One last thing. The Night Mother asked to not tell Morgan about going to rescue her mother just yet. I think she wishes for Morgan to concentrate on killing for our Family." Lucien finished.

Astrid ran her dagger along the battered wood, thinking hard. This was a large twist for her to accept. But she knew that everything was changing again in the Dark Brotherhood. She was sure that they would recover in time, but she also knew that it was a gamble to ask Morgan to help them in such a manner...after all, she was the heroine of Skyrim.

"Thank you Lucien. I better go and send her to her first contract."

"Of course," Lucien said simply and watched as the blonde Nord walked away. He then decided to follow her to make certain he was no longer needed.