"Erith!" Leola exclaimed, closing the door as quickly as she could without slamming it.
She hurried over to the bed, wrapping both arms around Erith and pulling her close. Erith leant into Leola, burying her face in the blonde's shoulder. She said nothing, simply continued to cry.
"Erith, what's wrong? What happened?" Leola asked, one hand beginning to gently rub her friend's back in a circular motion. Erith shook her head slightly against the Nord's shoulder.
"I don't want to talk about it," she said, her tone rather cold and harsh despite being choked by her sobs.
Leola said nothing more, simply sat there and held her crying friend. Several long minutes passed by and no words were exchanged. Erith's sobs began to weaken and her tears slowed, and finally she pulled back from the embrace. Her bloodshot red eyes seemed to avoid meeting Leola's as she drew away, falling to stare downwards at her feet.
"W-what did you find out?" Erith asked in a choked voice, and Leola frowned.
"Are you sure that you don't want to talk?" she asked softly.
"I'm sure," Erith replied immediately. "Did you find anything in the letters?"
"There were a lot of letters," Leola replied softly. "The closest thing I found to mention of any Daedra mentioned a 'Blighted Lord', which sounds like it could be a term of respect for a Daedric prince."
"It does," Erith agreed with a nod. "And that's it?"
"Lots of letters ordering people to kill my mother," Leola said softly. "Including one from the Dark Brotherhood."
Erith's brown eyes widened and for the first time since Leola had arrived, she looked up at Leola. "The Dark Brotherhood targeted your mother?" she asked softly.
"Yes," Leola replied with a nod.
"How did she last as long as she did?" asked the Breton, and Leola shrugged.
"I have no idea," she replied. "Erith, you're from Markarth, right?"
Erith nodded slightly. "Yes, I grew up in the mine just outside the city," she said softly.
"Do you know what the Markarth Incident is?"
Erith's reddened face paled slightly at this question. She bit her lip, looking away for a moment. "Why do you ask?" she asked softly.
"It was mentioned in one of the documents and I was just curious," Leola said quickly.
"A document about your father?"
"Yes," Leola admitted, curious how Erith immediately knew what it was. Obviously, whatever this incident was, Ulfric had played a major role.
"I suppose it depends on who you ask," Erith said in a soft voice. "You see, the Reach used to be a Kingdom separate from Skyrim, but Ulfric was asked to help free it from its leaders and incorporate it into Skyrim. I'm not sure why, I've never been a fan of politics…"
Leola nodded slowly as she listened. At this point, Erith's voice trailed off and she sniffled a bit. Leola hated seeing her friend so upset, and it pained her that Erith wouldn't say what was wrong.
"The version of the story I tend to believe is that the leaders were cruel and brutal and Ulfric was a hero to save them," Erith said softly. "I was never sure, but now I've met Ulfric and I don't believe…anyways…I know the Empire had banned the worship of Talos, and the conditions were that the worship of Talos would be permitted in the Reach again, something to that effect, and eventually the Imperials came in and kicked Ulfric out again…"
Leola quirked an eyebrow, slightly confused. Erith's story seemed all over the place, as if she wasn't entirely sure what she was saying. Erith looked up at Leola, and sighed as she clearly saw the confusion in the blonde's eyes.
"Look, the point is, there are two versions of the story. One version is just normal, with politics and a battle, but there's another version out there claiming that your father was responsible for a number of war crimes – apparently women were tortured, and people killed even after surrendering, and everyone in Markarth old enough to hold a sword that didn't fight alongside Ulfric was murdered. I don't know what you found in your notes, but I'm guessing it has something to do with the war crimes," Erith said softly, hanging her head.
Leola was quiet for a moment. She wasn't sure whether or not to believe Erith – but then, the Breton had said that this was just one version of the events, and that she personally didn't believe them. Hearing it from Erith, having grown up in the Reach, was reassuring to Leola.
"I believe you," Leola said softly. "I don't think my father would do that."
"Nor do I," Erith said. "It doesn't matter – and how is this related to the Daedra?"
"It's not," Leola said quickly, shaking her head.
"Is there anything else you wanted to ask about?" Erith asked, and Leola nodded.
"Yes, what about the Mythic Dawn?" asked Leola, having compiled in her mind a list of the questions she meant to ask.
"I'm not sure," Erith replied curiously. "I know they used to have a museum in Dawnstar. We'll ask Aventus when he gets back, since he spends so much time there."
"We'll ask me what when I get back?" asked a voice suddenly as the door opened, and the girls jumped slightly, turning and seeing Aventus as he was closing the door behind him.
"Don't sneak up on us like that!" Leola exclaimed, and Aventus gave a slight smile. His smile faded, though, as he looked at Erith's tear-streaked face.
"What happened here?" he asked.
"She doesn't want to talk about it," Leola replied as the Breton quickly turned away from her friends, hiding her face.
"Very well," said Aventus, going and sitting in the chair across from the bed. "So what are we asking me about?"
"The Mythic Dawn," Erith replied.
"Mehrunes Dagon worshippers," Aventus replied. "His equivalent of the cultists we met at Boethiah's shrine."
"Lovely," Leola muttered.
"No, they're mostly all gone," said the assassin. "There was a museum in Dawnstar dedicated to them, but your mother shut it down."
"She did?" Leola asked, jumping slightly.
"Well, Nazir says she killed the man who was running it," Aventus said with a shrug. "I think he was actually part of the Mythic Dawn, not just a scholar studying them."
"Why would she kill him then?" Erith asked, and Aventus shrugged again.
"I don't know," he said. "Erith, will you be okay if I take a minute to talk to Leola alone?"
"Yes," answered the brunette, nodding weakly. Aventus stood, looking towards Leola, and the blonde stood up as well.
"We'll be right back," Aventus said, going and opening the door. He held it for Leola and she walked through, followed quickly by the dark-haired assassin. He shut the door, and then turned to face her. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Leola replied in a hushed voice. "I got here and she was crying. I hugged her until she stopped, and she wouldn't tell me anything, just started asking about the documents."
"Documents?" he asked softly.
"I went through the notes and journals we found in Hjerim – well, most of them."
"Damn," Aventus said with a slight shake of his head. "I had hoped to help with that, so you wouldn't be fumbling around with things like the Mythic Dawn that you've never heard of."
"Yes, well, you weren't here," she replied with a slight frown, and Aventus nodded.
"I know, I'm sorry. I had to go back to the Sanctuary…there's been something of an issue," he replied.
"What kind of issue?" she asked curiously, tilting her head to one side.
"The Black Sacrament has been performed…and somebody wants you dead."