Leola's hands were shaking as she read and reread the letter in her hands. Her mouth had fallen open and she stared down at the letter, wide-eyed.

Two borders and a central lake
Mark where you'll find my shrine
My masque and a soul are what I'll take
For the fragment you call mine
At the foot of a mountain
Tucked away underground
I'll see you when my shrine is found

She was slowly beginning to grin. It was from Clavicus Vile, it just had to be. How had he delivered it to her? Obviously he hadn't brought it himself, had he sent a follower? Had Ulfric not questioned the courier who had delivered the letter? Smiling widely, she set the letter down on her nightstand before picking up the second one. She opened it, frowning as she saw the hastily scribbled, messy in on the paper. Her eyes scanned it over a few times, but it was difficult to make out.

Leola;
Come to Morvunskar. Bring a vase, a dagger, a wheel of cheese, an empty bottle, a circlet, a potion of illusion, and blue mountain flowers. Come alone.

She read this one a few times over, slowly beginning to smile at this one as well. Perhaps it was from Sanguine? It made sense, after all – the list of items seemed completely random enough to have been generated by Sheogorath. She set that one atop the letter from Vile, and then picked up the last of the letters.

Also bring the Wabbajack.

She couldn't help but to laugh at this last letter, basically confirming that it was, in fact, Sanguine and Sheogorath who wanted to meet with her in Morvunskar. She set it down with the rest before going to her wardrobe. Her clothing had been transported to Windhelm from Falkreath, and she had made a few pretty new purchases. Now, however, she needed only to find a suitable night dress.

It was a tawny shade of white, floor length and loose-fitting. She slipped the soft cotton over her figure and adjusted the lace-trimmed wrists of her sleeves before moving back towards the bed. She sat down, reaching for the lit candle on her nightstand.

"Leola?"

The blonde jumped slightly, turning and seeing Aventus step out from behind a heavy drape that hung before her windows. Her blue eyes went wide.

"By Talos, Aventus, you scared me!" she exclaimed as he moved towards the bed. "What are you doing here? How long have you been there?"

"What are those letters?" Aventus asked as he came around her side of the bed, sitting down beside her.

"One is a riddle that says where Clavicus Vile's shrine is," she replied softly. "The other one is from Sanguine saying where to meet him and Sheogorath to get another piece. Aventus, what are you doing here?"

"I just needed to make sure you were okay," he replied softly, lifting one hand and bringing it to rest gently on her back.

"Where's Erith? She went after you," Leola said softly, and Aventus gave a light shrug of his shoulders.

"I'm sure that if she checked my house and found that I wasn't there, she gave up and went to the inn. She probably figures I'll be back," he replied, smiling as Leola leaned over, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Won't you?" she asked softly.

"Of course I will," he replied, and a light sigh left his lips. "I'm just frustrated…we shouldn't have lost Sond today. I should have been able to prevent it."

"Stop blaming yourself," Leola pleaded, her blue eyes gazing up at her friend.

"Do you want to come to Dawnstar with me?" Aventus asked, and Leola gave him a quizzical look.

"When? Why?" she asked, confused as to why he'd so suddenly asked.

"We can visit the Daedric shrines between here and there, it's the first part of the plan anyways," he replied softly. "I just need to get away for a few days, clear my head – I thought that if I'm going there anyways, I should invite you, see if we can get some more soul gem fragments…"

Leola paused thoughtfully. It made perfect sense to go ahead and get started on their plan. She gave him a nod before grabbing the handful of letters from her nightstand, handing them to Aventus.

"Should we go and meet with Sanguine first?" she asked him softly as he read the letters over curiously. "And can you figure out where Clavicus Vile is?"

"Falkreath," Aventus answered almost immediately, and Leola blinked in surprise.

"How do you know that?" she asked him softly.

"Falkreath Hold and the Reach are the only holds that border two other provinces – the Reach borders High Rock and Hammerfell, Falkreath Hold borders Hammerfell and Cyrodiil. Falkreath Hold has a lake though, and the Reach doesn't." He handed back the letter from Clavicus Vile, smiling as he saw Leola's wide-eyed expression. "And Sanguine wants you to come alone, so we aren't going anywhere."

"You can't possibly expect me to go on my own," she said, her eyes wide.

"I'll take you there, but once we reach the fort you're on your own," he replied. "We can head there before going up to Dawnstar if you want."

"I'd like that," she said with a nod.

"Very well," Aventus said, pausing slightly as his gaze fell to a vase filled with dead flowers on Leola's dresser. The bouquet had been made of nightshade, deathbells, and a few sprigs of lavenders, the purple accented with a few dragon's tongue flowers and a single, central gleamblossom. Leola followed his gaze and her face went pink.

"Erith gave them to me," she mumbled. "I haven't had the heart to throw them out yet."

"Where did she get them?" Aventus asked curiously, and Leola simply shrugged.

"I don't know," she replied. "Why?"

"That flower there," he said, pointing at the withered gleamblossom, "they're very rare."

"She loves me," Leola replied in a soft, rather sleepy voice, and Aventus smiled over at her.

"You should get some sleep," he said gently. Leola smiled up at him and gave a slight nod.

"Alright," she said softly. "Before you leave…can you at least try to make amends with my father? For me?"

A grim look came over Aventus's face and he hung his head slightly. "I'm…not sure, Leola," he said softly. "I don't know if I can do that just yet."

Leola let out a sigh, hanging her head for a moment before nodding. "Will you tell me about Dawnstar before you go?"

"Now you're just trying to get out of going to bed," Aventus replied, standing. Leola looked sadly up at him. He gazed down at her, pausing a moment before sighing. "Very well. At least lie down and let me tuck you in while I tell you."

"Alright," Leola said, pulling back the bedsheets and lying down on her side, tucking one arm under the pillow as Aventus grasped the sheets and pulled them up over her.

"The Jarl of Dawnstar is Frorkmar Banner-Torn," Aventus said, sitting down at the edge of the bed again once the sheets were drawn up to Leola's shoulders. "From what I understand, he was one of your father's men stationed there during the Civil War. He likely would have known your mother." Leola beamed at hearing this. "He has three small children, so don't expect to be making friends in the Jarl's house when they're not even half your age – the people you're going to want to meet are some friends of mine."

"The Dark Brotherhood?" asked Leola, and he grinned.

"Yes, them too, but they're not who I meant," he replied. "There's Alesan – you'll love him, he's a lot of fun to be around – and then there are the blacksmith's twins, Edith and Byglain."

"Are they smiths too?" Leola asked, and Aventus nodded.

"Byglain is – he's going to take over his father's shop. Edith is learning alchemy at the town's apothecary, she wants to make potions."

"That sounds exciting," Leola said with a smile, and Aventus laughed.

"She certainly makes it seem so. I think you'll like them."

"Good," Leola replied softly. "Goodnight, Aventus."

"Sleep well, Leola," he said. "I'll be here in the morning and we'll leave for Morvunskar."