John
*For Halvar, the choice was already made the moment he called upon his lord to guide him, the moment that the priestess locked eyes with him, and even the very moment that he stepped through the entrance into the table to begin with. There was a brief moment of anxiety stirring within Halvar, but that was quickly snuffed out. If he left now, not only did he come here for nothing, but he potentially allowed himself to be exposed to someone with enough influence and pull to see him forced out of town or more likely marked and hunted down by the Dawnguard. He's already too deep in the rabbit hole to climb out the same way he went in, and so the only way is down and through.* 

*Halvar stood up, silently as a whisper, and moved through the temple like a ghost. There was only one place to really go, the place where she was now most definitely waiting for him. Halvar paused again just before the tall door. This woman was to be respected as a mage, and with her possible affiliation with the Dawnguard, anything could be waiting for him on the other side of this very door. She could simply be wanting to confront him directly and personally, or she has a trap laid out for either his capture or demise. Whatever the case, he couldn't back out now. The Nord steeled himself, and gingerly opened the door to the back of the temple, before closing it behind him.* 

*"You called for me, priestess? I couldn't help but notice you had eyes on me the entire time." The Nord would call out, observing the entrance portion of the back of the temple.*
Eddie
The back of the temple, a hidey-hole where few light was allowed entry, was a macabre place of esoteric, ancient power. Halvar could feel it. The blessing of his God would bristle at it. It was not evil. It was simply power. 

Combined and collected via the Mystic, and her Disciples. 

High Priestess Unilara sat in the center of the room, which was formed from a rectangular architecture to a circular room, with a lowered dais sunken into the floor, and around the dais, men and women sat. 

Eyeless men and women. 

They looked forward dutifully, with utter and complete silence. 

Their eyes were not covered, as if behind these walls, there was no place for them to be ashamed. Their bodies were granted ribbons and sashes to cover themselves, but their bare skin was left available to the elements, to torment as nature pleased. 

Or bless, as the Gods pleased.

And immediately, if Halvar was well versed, these were a reminiscence on an ancient way, where the Clevermen of old had sometimes been capable of becoming Seers. Six of them sat in this one room, seemingly forcefully transformed into such entities of divination and sight, and remained utterly silent. 

Meanwhile, Unilara looked at Halvar. 

Her voice, where once it was a booming, hoarse, but rich sound, was now far more sultry. Far more cool and slippery, as if every word sought to slather the man in its corruption. 

"I did."

The room, where one might imagine documents and scrolls and tomes of religious texts and connections, there were only the Seers. 

The woman raised her chin and smiled, as she disrobed her outer most layers, to let her baggy brown robes underneath to show, while the grey shawls fell away onto the floor.

Unilara gestured to the floor in front of her, onto the rug that sat atop a stone flooring. It was obviously uncomfortable, and yet, there she sat. Content to watch him. 

"***Be seated. Entertain an old woman.***"

Her voice suddenly became shrill, rich, thunderous, echoic, resounding, *Commanding*. It was laced with enchantment and illusion, reverberating through the room and assaulting Halvar. She stared at him. Would he be able to resist this, rather subtle, but lesser, version of illusory manipulation? Would he simply choose to sit down and chat, or, would he be *Compelled*, by a force stronger than his own powers, but not particularly aiming to be stronger than his own mind? 

His senses? Of course. Those were things the woman directly attacked. 

Would he be capable of resisting his own body? Would his willpower allow him to choose, or would he simply strut forward, take a seat, and become loose of lip?

Meanwhile, the Seers remained silent, facing forward, seemingly unaware of what was happening in the room. Perhaps they were also deaf?
John
*The vampire spent a long moment looking over the chamber. Surely, this congregation floor of priestly men and women wasn't all there was to see in this this temple. There must be another door or hatch to another section of the establishment, especially in a building that seemed as impressive on the outside as this one. It would irk the vampire if there were only two chambers in this entire layout, and neither of them were purposed for anything other than a worship grounds. There must be somewhere they sleep, eat, and store private assortments, Halvar thought as he inwardly growled, especially as the so-called "Holy" Magics lapped onto his form.* 

*As the transfigured elderly mistress called to him, Halvar's attention was brought back to the center of his target. He noticed her demeanor and the manner of her words, and frowned. Well, he knew he was walking into a mousetrap from the moment she caught eye of him and sauntered into the back chamber. Lord of Domination guard him, as the only thing to do now was to play along with her game, and see what tricks she had at her sleeve. The vampire strutted forward, suppressing all urges to turn this encounter into a bloody one, at least for now.* 

*The vampire let himself be seated in front of the old priestess as she directed, his face cold and stern, and still disguised despite the high likelihood that she already saw through him. Halvar was still playing on the very slim chance that this was all a bit of a misunderstanding on his part, that she was simply welcoming him as a newcomer to the temple, and he was just being too paranoid for his own good. Thus, he wasn't going to reveal anything that she did not already figure out for herself.* 

*"Well, I'm here, and I'm seated. It's nice to come face to face with the head mistress of this hallowed hall. You may call me Klimmeck. Now, for what reason do you call me, anointed lady?"*
Eddie
Unirala stared at Halvar, watched as he made the crossing, and took a seat across from her. He did it of his own volition. A smirk formed on her wrinkled features, as she took a deep breath through her nostrils, and let it out a second or two later. She had become slow, and as she looked at him, a frown cracked across her wrinkled features. 

"Foreign, but native. Eastern. Looks upon the crowd with distaste. The cattle outside these doors, they beg for blessing, and things like us remain."

Unirala offered a more comfortable expression. One of warmth, as her own disguise fell away. 

First, the yellowed eyes. 

They were as fiery as the sun itself, burning with the passion of a thousand years' conquest, and her fangs nearly jutted out of her lips. Her face was the picture of *Hunger*, *Dissatisfaction*, as if she had refused to feed for a long, *Long* Time. 

Unirala looked directly into *Klimmeck*'s eyes, and said, "The Gods bring a kindred soul to my domain. To my holy temple. Your disguise is subtle, but I can hear your lack of a beating heart."

Until now, every single sense within Halvar's person would have screamed that she was human. A simple human, nordic woman. With a beating heart, flowing veins, aging skin, dying cells. 

But now? 

The Ancient Vampire stared at Halvar with a soft grin. 

There was no soul in her features, no beating heart, no pump of rushing blood. 

"Another predator, here to prey on my congregation? Or, one who seeks the warmth of my Gods' blessings? Of our forefathers' blessings?" She stared at Klimmeck, and said, "You want something, Klimmeck. Ask, and yee shall receive."

As Halvar examined the room, the sunken dais in the floor, as he sat on it, was thick. 

But hallow. 

Unirala stared at the fellow vampire, eyes boring into his entire being. Despite her being an vampire, her features remained old. Not simply hungry, but most clearly *Old*. This woman had been turned when she was on her deathbed, it looked like.
John
*Halvar allowed just a hint of his own shock to wade over his face, as he allowed his own disguise to fall, both as a result of breaking his concentration on the spell, as well as realizing he would no longer need it. His face turned back into a ghostly pale, his eyes shifted from their blue to their own vampiric yellow much like hers, and his hair turned the shade of a starless night. One pair of vampire eyes stared deeply into another, and vice versa. Then, once Halvar's look of surprise faded, a wide grin spread over his face, "Well, is this not a boon from the Lord, hm? Very well, let me start again and give you a proper introduction. My name is Halvar. Klimmeck the traveling sellsword is just the alias I'm running under right now."*

*"My mortal life ended 20 years ago, thereabout, at the siege of Windhelm. I died fighting for my people, for what I believed was true and right at the time. I was cut down in the streets, and only through an intervention of dark powers do I still walk Mundus. Since that rueful day of my death and rebirth, many of my beliefs have changed, but my vision has not."* 

*The younger Nord vampire would bring his hands together, his smile staying, "Now, you're completely right, I do want something. Something vital for my long-term plans." Halvar chuckled, "You play a risky game, sister, letting the hunters get so close to you. I could never be that brave. In fact, it's those very same hunters that were stationed outside the temple that brought my interest here. I intruded upon your temple to get intelligence on the Dawnguard. I want to know what they're doing in this place of all places in town, what their plans are here in Morthal, and why they're currently involved in the affairs of a backwater town and to what degree."* 

*"See, I highly doubt that an order of keen vampire hunters would station men in any place just to protect an old lady and her flock of worshippers. The local guard or some run-of-the-mill hirelings would easily suffice for that. No, if the hunters are here, it's for a reason. They have objectives in mind. I want to know, need to know, what those are."*