[His friends would like that, returning to the castle to live out the rest of their lives with one, like themselves, who will not age and wither away.]

That won't be hard. I'll need to be out searching for his trail. He expects me to react to him, not to act on my own.

[It's what he's always done.]

Isaac was born in the desert, though he traveled before Dracula called upon his service. I could not tell you how he'd fare in water, but I do know I've never seen him forge anything aquatic. I've...dabbled. I studied the anatomy of everything I've been able to get my hands on, and I grew up on an island. Ocean creatures were in no short supply.