Timothy
Castor walks just behind and to the side of his Dunmer escort, pulling the cork off his bottle of mead and taking a deep sample of its scent before responding to Varis' query.

"I don't eat much meat, myself. It'll do in a pinch mind you, but I mostly keep it on me for wild animals. Foxes, wolves, sabrecats, even frostbite spiders..." He hesitates for a second, then clears his throat and continues.

"I like to make friendly with them. Can't stand spriggans, though. Pacifying a pissed-off bear with Illusion magic is leagues different from mind-controlling them to assist you in murdering a random traveler that made the mistake of enjoying nature."

Sütcleff's nose twitches a bit, seemingly unimpressed by the quality of his drink. He downs half the bottle in a quick swig, grinning slightly as the alcohol began to warm his ice-cold blood.

"Vampires in Cyrodiil like to play at being aristocrats. They prefer to feed without killing or infecting, and usually on noblewomen, priestesses, or virgins. Probably so they can write some trashy romance novel that dramaticizes the weird things they get up to. The bloodsuckers here in Skyrim, though? They're absolutely deranged. They live in caves and ruins like Falmer or bandits and their hygiene is about on the same level. They don't drain their victims as much as just ouright butcher them and eat the bloody flesh they tear off some poor sod's bones. A lot of times they don't even care if their prey is fully dead before they start chowing down. There are exceptions, but few and far between. I've been hunting vampires, along with all other types of monsters, ever since I was old enough to swing a sword."
Michael
His eyebrows rose as he listened to Castor, and a smirk formed. The man wished to pacify animals? Impressive. However, when he brought up his distaste for Spriggans, Varis' eyes lit up a little. He suddenly remembered a study on spriggans written by Magister Neloth's Apprentice, Talvas Fathryon, who had witnessed the torture methods and experiments performed on their kind.

A grin formed, as Varis also held a lackluster view of Spriggans, not because he had experience with them, but because he knew the calculations of their death, and possible mutation and alteration.

Varis did not say as much, but he continued to listen, and raised his eyebrows as Castor got on with a thesis on the distinction between Cyrodiil's Vampires and Skyrim's Vampires. Varis said nothing, as he had little experience with the vampires of this land, aside from his brief discussions with the Court Wizard of Solitude. She was an interesting, albeit disinterested wet blanket brimming with knowledge and power.

"Hm. Vampire Hunting. Perhaps you would like to collect some specimens for me, since, it seems you have no fondness for the feral savages that accompany the roads of Skyrim's Nights? I've read more than a few documents on the different strains throughout Tamriel, and am most familiar with Morrowind's strains. Some are blood thirsty beasts, others are rather amicable, civilized folk. Of course, I would gladly supply silver bonds for easier transport, perhaps with an enchantment to make them feather-light to carry, but mentally burdened so that they believe they cannot move?"

Varis smirked a little at his own request, before saying, "Apologies, I don't mean to get ahead of myself. You say you hunted vampires from a young age. Why?"
Timothy
While he didn't address Varis' proposal first, he didn't ignore it. His answer would come later.

"My family was deeply involved with exterminating vampires. They specialized in researching them exclusively for the sake of refining techniques to kill them. Silver, fire, and weapons enchanted specifically to drain Magicka are the most reliably effective methods. As for why I followed their example... I could say I had little choice, if I was one for excuses. In truth, it was simply a task I could perform."

The Imperial swirls the contents of the bottle in his had, listening to the mead within slosh about in rhythm with the pair's footsteps.

"As for your job offer, I'll have to decline. Standard procedure for vampires is to destroy the remains so as to combat spreading the disease. Wild animals can even temporarily become carriers for the affliction if they feed on the bodies of killed vampires. The only reason you got some blood is because Noxiphilic Sanguivoria requires a detailed ritual to be carried out in order to be contracted."
Michael
The Wizard raised an eyebrow as Castor spoke. Was this family his blood family, or more of this, honor-bound family, like with the sister's sword they were tracking down? Varis had to tread lightly. This man was a vampire hunter by vocation, seemingly continuing it by choice, despite having been thrust into it from a young age, *Simply a task I could perform*. 

Varis had his arms behind his back and tapped his fingers against the back of his hands, pondering the choice of words. As far as he had seen, the man was eloquent, and perhaps the dialogue was creative wordplay, designed to seem open and honest. As he perceived it that way, it became increasingly obvious that there were shadows veiling his words. 

Then, he denied the job offer. Varis seemed to mentally pause, there. As if surprised, shocked, and a tad irritated. He continued to lead the duo all the same, and his face hardly changed, but there was a twitch in his eye, expressing all such emotions, as he listened to the retort. Once concluded, the Wizard nodded and said, "Hm. Very well. As for how to hunt Vampires, the methods you learned seem similar to the way one Magister bound and gagged them. He would place silver bonds around his wrists and ankles, with a muzzle on his head, wrapped all around, that was enchanted with an everlasting freezing sensation, while the silver burned his flesh."

"The Vampire, being immortal, always got hungry. But, the muzzle, forced them to remain. With a few Domination spells, enchanted into the matrix of the helm, no matter how rabid the Vampire became, they were forced to work. I visited one such Kwama Mine, where at least a dozen such experiments were undergone." Varis mauled over his memories of such a place as he quietly said, "An... Incredible thing to see. Both, positive, and negative. On the one hand, it is like seeing an enslaved Daedra: an immortal creature, a predator of men, being bound and gagged. On the other hand, the same choice of words." He tilted his head. "That, is not what I would intend for any specimen I acquire." 

Varis glanced toward Castor. "Especially, if that, possibly, offends you?"
Timothy
Sütcleff considered the context of the word "Offended" In this situation.

"I'm not one to be offended easily. And if I was you wouldn't hear a word of complaint, you'd only feel the tip of a blade enter your flesh once my patience ran dry. To answer your question bluntly, no. I don't care how someone treats vampires they have in their possession, I simply have my own preferred methods of dealing with them."

Sütcleff pockets the now empty mead bottle, silently disappointed with both the drink's flavor and how it only took up around two-thirds of the container.

"What area of Morrowind are you from? I came home to Skyrim after a handful of years doing menial labor in Blacklight." Sütcleff wished to change the subject afore any civilians passing by began to pay undue attention to the pair's conversation.
Michael
The Wizard kept his hands behind his back as he listened, and a grin formed. At first, he was pleased by the vampire's disposition, and dispassion toward his own kind. It was evident that this man had not gone into the long night with some predisposed, infantile ignorance of the fate ahead of him. Though, as he continued to answer, Varis' grin shifted into a neutral thing. 

A thing that emitted no emotion, lacking all semblance of the humanity and expressionism he had displayed thus far. Perhaps this was a true expression. The face of the creature that lay beneath a sorcerer bent on dealings, favors, and power. The creature that, once faced with the threat of death, would feel nothing during the ensuing slaughter. 

Alas, Varis perked up a little as Castor offered an inquery of his own. The Telvanni Wizard raised his chin when Castor mentioned Blacklight, the mention of him having visited the Capital of Mainland Morrowind proving a great boone in the man's favor, in the wizard's eyes. "Ah, Blacklight. An exceptional city. Though, I come from Port Telvannis, on the opposite side of Morrowind. My father, an Ashlander, my mother, a Telvanni Wizard. I followed in her footsteps, but, learned my religion from my Father. Most Telvanni are rather... Aesthetic, versus, devout."

Varis raised an eyebrow, "And, might I wonder why you were in Blacklight? I know you said menial labor, but, typically, Outlanders steer far from even Mainland Morrowind."
Timothy
"I have found work everywhere from Valenwood to the Summerset Isles throughout my life, and I had long since discovered that Morrowind is the best place to go when you want to get away from everywhere else."

While he wasn't lying, Sütcleff intentionally left out the more personal details centering around why he left to journey to Morrowind in the first place.

"Blacklight being the modern capital of Morrowind, I sailed there from Solstheim in an attempt to bury myself in personal research whilst making a living wage doing odd jobs around the city. The Empire doesn't have the cleanest history with the Great Houses of Morrowind, I'm sure you know. Thankfully, I'm only half-Imperial. My height and pale skin made it hard for the locals to tell me apart from a dark-haired Nord, so people largely left me be."
Michael
As the man mentioned Valenwood and the Summerset Isles, Varis had to take a pause and begin to guess how old this vampire may be. Until then, he had assumed, perhaps, roughly, one hundred? Surely, that was how long it took for a *Man* To become so subtly civilized, even if there was a slight bit of a fang behind every word. After all, the man hunted his own kind. 

Though, when the mer pondered it, he wondered if he was being too underappreciative. Surely, for this man to have lived long enough to travel all over Tamriel so thoroughly, he had to be older! In fact, what was he doing in the Summerset Isles? The Thalmor had claimed dominion over that place for nearly two hundred years! Let's see... They took control in the fourth era, supposedly one year from this one. Huh, nearly a two century anniversary, and this man had been there? As a man? Or, perhaps, he wore the guise of an elf?

No. Why would he travel to Morrowind if he had an elven disguise, but appeared as he did now? 

Varis had to consider this carefully... Until the man's words wrapped back around and smacked the front of Varis' consciousness. 

*Research*. 

The moment such a word was uttered, Varis *Needed* To know more. It was his nature. 

"Huh, well-traveled. Most of my travels were spent between pages." He looked around. "Aside from the Telvanni Peninsula, this place is entirely alien to me, aside from what I have read and imagined." Varis turned his head back to Castor. "And, you mentioned, *Research*?"
Timothy
"Someone close to me was originally from Morrowind, so I studied the culture and topography of their homeland as a way to honor their life." 

And that was all he had to say aloud on the matter. No reason to go into detail for Varis' sake, given that they were in large part still a stranger to Sütcleff.

"How much farther to your collector friend's domicile? I've never much cared for this city."

Solitude was an incongruent mess, what with its bustling marketplace juxtaposed against the headsman's block and soldier-infested Caste Dour it lay sandwiched between. The confusing layout of the city did little to distract from the precarious rocky perch it rested upon, which also made Sütcleff distrust the long-lasting integrity of it. 

"Though I guess Solitude has little reason to fall into the sea anytime soon if it's been around since the First Era. Not to mention all that kerfuffle involving the Wolf Queen. Add all the history up and it's a veritable miracle this place is in better shape than Winterhold."
Michael
Varis raised his eyebrows, and nodded. It seemed the nature of the man's research was... Noble, but, not particularly fascinating to Varis. *Very well*. His mind trailed off, before he was pulled back to Castor with the urge to get a move on. The Wizard smirked as he said, "We're only a few more blocks away." 

Then, Castor got into the history of the city, and how that arch over the Karth River Estuary had been a miracle of natural engineering to have lasted so long. Varis nodded, as he recited the events of the Wolf Queen's time in his head. His people were so far removed from the Wolf Queen, that he had difficulty recalling the name *Potema*. Though, she was a powerful magic user, just... Not an exceptional wizard. She produced no theses or studies of note, and it seemed her raw power carried her further than any true understanding of the arts. 

"Agreed. Though, perhaps, by the time the next Era reers its ugly head with a world-wide catastrophe, the city will collapse. Based on some surveys around the base of the arch holding it all up, it would likely only require an echo of earthbound vibration, easily weaker than the one at Winterhold, to have it all crashing down."

Varis looked toward Castor with a grin, "Though, I wouldn't worry. As in, I keep to the part of the city that is *Not* Suspended over air and icy water." He looked forward. "Some are far less pragmatic."

The path toward the collector's home was long, coming from the entrance of the city. The dense streets and massive amount of homes and compartments, taking on the form of courtyards and dark alleys and market places, was a massive matrix to manuever through. It had taken Varis a week to familiarize himself with all of the nooks and crannies, as his investigations into the structure and layout of the city had been thorough. 

It would likely only take a few more moments before they reached the collector's doorstep.