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Dal followed the girls all the way to the dock. "I wonder if there is a boat that will take us to Sols- Stolsi- Sholt- ....the island?" he asked.

"Neither would I but the whole purpose of this is to save the innocent family of bosmer, not to satisfy bloodlust." Arithorn reminded the group.

Selvia smirked. "I've never traveled by ship. I hope it doesn't take long," she said.

Brandoril shook his head, beginning to get frustrated. "We need to take as few risks as possible. This is what I propose. The Khajiit brothers and I head to Fort Frostmoth to gather as much information as we can about troop numbers, field agents, anything we can do to sabotage them. Everybody else can head to Lake Fjalding to rescue the Bosmer. After an hour has passed, Ra'zhar, Ra'ziir, and I will do as much damage as we can, and flee in the direction opposite the Lake, to give you and the Bosmeri refugees the best hope of escape. Perhaps you can arrange for a ship to pick you up at the nearest coast, and take you and the refugees back to Skyrim--perhaps even Morrowind."

He turned to Ra'zhar. "I cannot ask you and your brother to take such risk, whatever the plan. If necessary, I will head to the fort on my own, or draw them away from the lake by myself."

Brandoril turned to the innkeeper. "Is there anybody who can show us the way to Fort Frostmoth? ...Somebody else who can show us to Lake Fjalding?"

"Anything that can get you wet shouldn't take long," Dal said.

"You might be surprised," Selvia replied with a childish giggle.

"No, we all have to go to the fort," Theo said quietly but forcefully, trying to wave off the innkeeper before he could overhear him. "The Thalmor are waiting for Thaneus and his men to arrive; they won't move on the Bosmer before then. We can head that way to warn and help them right after, but if they're as half as clever as they should be, we won't be telling them anything they don't already know. And by then, they'll be much better off with five or more of us than they would be with only two. You all have a better chance at living through this if Arithorn and I are there to help at the fort. Plus, the Bosmer likely don't have any of the information we need about vampire activity in the area. And on top of all that, with my approach, if anyone's being tortured by the Thalmor right now, we'll be giving them a fighting chance of regaining their freedom. Do you know what they do to people in those rooms, Brandoril?"

Despite herself, Irriwen mirrored Selvia's giggling. "Hehehehe! I think the point of the boat is to keep us dry, Dal. Unless you're planning to do something else belowdecks?"

"So below deck you get wet?" Dal asked, the alternate meaning of what was being said completely lost on his simple mind. He thought a moment, looking at the two ladies one at a time, one of his large fingers pressed against his lower lip. "So some people want to get wet below deck?"

At this, Selvia began laughing hysterically and placed a hand on Irriwen's shoulder to steady herself.

Irriwen, too, couldn't help but burst into laughter. She was leaning on Selvia as much as the Vampire was on her.

Adrianne joined in the laughter as well, not quite in as much hysterics as the others but still grinning widely.

"Why are you...what's so fu-..." Dal said, a familiar look of confusion once again settling on his face. "What? Do you girls want to get wet or something?"

"I can't- I can't say I'd mind it!" Selvia exclaimed between her laughter.

Irri squeezed a "Me either!" into a mess of giggles.

Dal stood there, mouth agape, not knowing what to say next. He finally decided on what he hoped was an innocuous, "I guess I'll watch, unless you need help."

Irri let out another laugh. "Maybe later." she said, giving Selvia a pat on the cheek, before walking up toward the boat, shaking her head.

Dal looked at Selvia, hoping she would shed some light on what had just happened.

"You've really got no idea what you're saying?" Selvia asked, still giggling a little.

Dal shook his head, exasperated. "What did I say?" he asked, walking to Selvia.

Selvia thought about how to explain delicately, as if to a child. "Um, 'below-deck' can sometimes mean..." she began, and then slowly waved a hand near her crotch.

"So you only get wet from the waist down?" Dal asked, still not following.

"No, it's- Have you ever...'been' with a woman, Dal?" Selvia asked in a quieter voice.

"I'm with you right now," Dal said, bending over to speak just as softly to Selvia.

Irri was just out of earshot, trouping up the gangplank as it moaned beneath her feet.