The sun was high in the sky, its radiant golden beams shining down on the cold city of Windhelm. A biting wind blustered about, and Leola shivered slightly, taking care not to tread in the shadows so she could at least appreciate the sun's warmth. For a moment, she recalled Erith mentioning a town north of here called Winterhold – perhaps the only name befitting a town that would be as cold as she imagined. How could people even live someplace so cold? She was a Nord, so she had a natural resistance to the cold and snow of Skyrim, but even here it was biting. Perhaps it was because she had been raised near Falkreath, in the warmth and sunshine of Southern Skyrim.

As she neared the castle, she saw Ulfric outside. He was on the back of a horse, and addressing a small group of his men. She drew nearer, but one of the soldiers noticed her and gave a nod in her direction. Ulfric turned his head, his hard expression softening and a frown coming to his lips as he saw her.

"What's going on?" she asked him when she was close enough that he might hear her.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, my dear," he said gently, outstretching one hand to his daughter. She came over to him and reached up, taking his hand.

"Why not?" she asked as he leant down and laid a kiss on the top of her hand.

"We'll talk when I get back," he said to her. "It may be a few days – two at the very least."

"Where are you going?" she asked, and he smiled slightly.

"So full of questions," he mused. "Falkreath. Galmar and Jorleif are here if you need anything, don't you worry about me. Something's been found in a tomb in Falkreath and I've been asked to come and take a look."

"Oh," Leola said softly, nodding. "Well, be careful."

"I will," he replied with a smile. "And you as well, my dear."

With that, he turned his attention to his men. A few soldiers were walking towards the castle with horses, perhaps having just fetched them from the stables so that they could ride along with the King. Leola watched for a moment, stepping back out of the way. Three soldiers climbed up atop the three horses that had been brought, and Ulfric gave his daughter a bright smile over his shoulder before riding away with them. The soldiers that remained returned to their business, some wandering towards the barracks, others into the town, and a few into the palace.

Leola followed after the latter of the guards, heading into the warmth and safety of the palace. Her friends all had things to do – Sond and Bottar were preparing for their journey to Morthal, for business reasons, while Erith had gone back to bed because she claimed she hadn't slept well the previous night. Aventus was still gone, and Samuel had gone to speak with Niranye, taking Runa with him. Leola had little else to do but to head home and wait until just before sunset, when Erith had said to come back so they could spend some time together.

She headed to the room that Ulfric had given her for the duration of her stay, closing the door firmly behind her. She then went to the chest that sat in one corner of the room, lifting the lid and propping it up for a moment. She and Aventus had collected all the notes, letters, and journals they had found in Hjerim and brought them here a few days ago. She wanted some time to go through them in a place she felt was safe, and she hoped that something in the chest would help her and her friends with their search for the Daedric shrines. She was sure that they had missed some books here and there, but for now, this was more than a good start.

She had her own journal, a blank book bound in leather, and she intended to take notes in there so she wouldn't have to worry about searching again through the letters. She took a deep breath, and then grabbed one at random.

"You're needed," she murmured aloud as she unfolded the crumpled sheet. A frown came to her lips. She turned it over, but there was nothing else. A sigh left her lips. "Useless," she muttered, setting it aside so that she would know it was one of the ones she had already read.

She grabbed at another random letter, unfolding it and scanning it over. It seemed to be instructions, telling somebody to board a ship, travel to Windhelm, and search for the "false Dragonborn", her mother. The last sentence said that Miraak would be pleased, and she shuddered at the memory of the tale Ulfric had told her. Her mother must have found this on the bodies of the men who had come to kill her – why she would keep it, however, was beyond Leola's understanding.

She set it aside, doubtful that there was any connection with the Daedric princes, and she grabbed another one. This one was several pages long. She shifted her sitting position before opening it and beginning to read it over. It took three reads through the letter before she finally decided that she wasn't going to understand any of it – the author specifically noted at the end of the letter that they were being vague for security purposes, and she was certain that the content of the letter was all in some kind of code, as the writer described the steps required to meet with the "Leader". She shook her head, tossing this one aside as well.

The next letter that she grabbed peaked her curiosity. It was unsigned and unaddressed, perhaps because it was a note rather than a letter, and it made mention of a "Blighted Lord" with whom somebody called Orchendor wished to commune, adding that he was attempting to use dwemer machines to do so. She folded the note back up and slipped it in the back of her journal, between the leather binding and the pages, so that she would not lose it.

The next letter sent chills down Leola's spine. "'The Black Sacrament has been performed…failure is not an option…' By Talos…" Leola murmured as she read it. Since Aventus made her aware of her mother's involvement with the Dark Brotherhood, this note shouldn't have unsettled her as much as it did. What unsettled her about it was the fact that the named target was her mother. Had she been a target before joining them? Was that how she had come to be their leader?

She stuck the note in her journal, figuring that she would save it to ask Aventus's opinion when he returned. She then returned to her work.

A few hours passed. She went through note after note, occasionally picking up a bound journal from her pile and reading through it. Very little seemed to be helping. She had found a curious note addressed to somebody named Helgi, which discussed forming a coven in the woods. That one had made its way into her journal, though she was unsure yet whether or not it was about Daedra worship or not. She had found one note that simply read, "Meet me at the shrine of Talos." A smile had come to Leola's lips, and she was certain it was from Ulfric.

The strangest part, Leola found, was the number of letters and notes in her mother's collection that were addressed to other people. She had found correspondence between people from all over Skyrim, and many of the letters had clearly defined senders and recipients. How did her mother get her hands on all these letters? Did she steal them? Were they given to her?

She lifted out a leather-bound journal and opened it. It appeared to be some kind of report, and a few sentences in, Leola's eyes went wide. It was a report on Ulfric. She read it over slowly, several times, finding herself rather confused. Perhaps it would make more sense if she knew who had written it. For example, if it had been written by someone from the Dark Brotherhood – perhaps Astrid, the leader who had been referenced in some of the letters she had found – Leola would be pleased, but she doubted it. She set it aside, lifting her blue eyes towards the window.

There was a golden glow across the sky as the sun was beginning its descent, and she decided that now was as good a time as any to make her way to the inn. She organized the items within the chest so that she would know what documents she still had left to read, and then she left her room quietly.

The palace seemed empty without Ulfric. Normally he was lounging in his throne, talking with guards or Galmar or Jorleif, but the throne room was empty now. Leola left quickly, making her way from the palace to Candlehearth Hall, barely a few minutes away.

She moved quickly, and as she opened the door and went to walk in, she bumped into Samuel. She blinked in surprise, looking up at the bearded man into whom she'd just walked.

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, and he gave her a smile.

"It's quite alright," he said, stepping aside and holding the door for her.

She smiled back up at him before heading past. Even though he had stepped aside, her arm still brushed against his chest as she passed him. Surely there should have been enough room, but perhaps she was mistaken. She smiled back at him again before he left, the door closing behind him, and then she began up the stairs.

She paused at the top of the stairs, looking around slowly. Erith wasn't at any of the tables, so she must have still been in her room. Leola walked quietly across the floor to the door of Erith's room, lifting a hand and knocking gently.

"Erith?" she asked, and inside, she could hear a soft but unfamiliar noise. She raised an eyebrow, grasping the door and pushing it open.

As the door opened, Leola's eyes grew wide. Erith was sitting on the bed, wrapped in the warm fur blankets and sobbing into her hands. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and the entirety of her body shook violently with the force of her tears.