As the ship pulled up to the docks and the men began to anchor it down, Leola couldn't help but to stand right at the edge and gaze over the railing at the sight before her. It was amazing to see – she'd never left Skyrim, so this place was utterly foreign to her. It wasn't anywhere near as beautiful as Skyrim was – there seemed to be very few trees from what she could see, and everything was a sickly grey colour as if the land itself had no life. The docks at which they'd be getting off led to what looked like a city of gold – Leola doubted it was made of gold, and the colours weren't as bright as she would have expected from a city of gold if she ever encountered one, but everything from the walls to the buildings, and even the armour worn by the guards, was a dull gold in colour.
"There should be someone here to meet us," said Erith, gently taking Leola's hand in hers as she came up beside the Princess.
"Who is it?" Leola asked, looking at Erith. Nobody had mentioned this to her.
"Your father didn't say," Erith replied with a shrug. "Basically we disembark and hope that they come to us. Otherwise we just head into town and find an inn."
"I suppose that works," Leola said softly.
"We're good to get off now," said Shelur, approaching the pair and smiling.
"Then let's go," Leola said. The three women walked over to where Francois had just lowered the gangplank and the ship's captain gave them a grin.
"Need a hand off, ladies?" he asked.
"We're fine," Erith replied, and though her answer was cold and cut him off, her expression offered him a friendly smile. "Thank you for the ride, though. We shouldn't be very long – no more than a day or so."
"We'll be right here waiting," Francois replied with a nod, holding the gangplank steady as Shelur went first, heading across and stepping on to the docks.
Leola went next, delicately stepping onto the wooden plank. With the ocean's movements, the ship rocked, and that caused the plank to rock. It hadn't been swaying quite this much back in Windhelm when she'd boarded, so she very carefully focused on putting one foot in front of the other. When she was almost at the docks, Shelur reached out one hand and Leola was quick to grab on to it, letting the Orc help her with the last two steps.
"Thank you," Leola said, smiling up at Shelur.
"It's not a problem," Shelur replied as Erith crossed, her movements full of grace and Leola envious that her lover didn't seem as affected by the wobbling as she had been.
"Are you Princess Leola?" came a voice, and Leola turned her head towards the city. Just a few steps further down the docks, a young Nord woman had appeared. She stood out immensely compared to the Dunmer guards who all lurked about, and had a warm smile on her lips. She had long, wavy brown hair with a dusting of snow over the top, wide blue eyes, and pinkish cheeks – perhaps from the cold. She wore a heavy snowsuit of furs and leather with a massive war axe strapped across her back.
"I am," said Leola, smiling at the woman. "You must be the one intended to meet us?"
"My name is Aeta," she said softly. "It's an honour to meet you. I knew your mother – I mean, I met her…a few times… She saved this island, and my village – we owe her a great debt, and anything I can do to help you, I will do without hesitation."
Leola nodded slightly. Of course this other girl had known her mother. Who hadn't? Isleald hadn't – that seemed to be about it. "Well, thank you, Aeta," she said softly. "Is this your village?" The walled city didn't look like much of a village.
"Oh, no – this is Raven Rock. I live in the Skaal village, further to the North," Aeta replied quickly, shaking her head. "Your father wanted me to join your group just in case you need somebody with more knowledge of the island. I don't think he trusts the people of Raven Rock."
Leola smiled, shaking her head. It made sense that he wouldn't trust an entire city of Dunmer people. If she ever became High Queen, she would certainly be more trusting and accepting than he was. "That sounds like him," she said. "Very well, we've no time to waste – let's get going."
"Of course," Aeta said. "We're just going to stay in the Retching Netch while you finish – whatever business you have to finish. Your father was vague. He only said that you needed someplace safe to do your work."
"Well, he's not wrong," Leola said with a giggle. "Lead the way then, Aeta – we're trusting your expertise here."
Aeta laughed softly and nodded. As she turned and began to head up the docks to the walled city, Erith took Leola's hand again. Perhaps feeling threatened, Leola thought – Aeta was pretty, but Erith was the one she loved and had no reason to have her confidence undermined. Leola gave Erith's hand a reassuring squeeze as the pair took off after Aeta, followed by Bottar and Shelur.
The city was unusual. The buildings didn't seem to be buildings at all – they were almost pods, and they seemed to disappear underground. At the very least, Leola hoped that they went underground. If they didn't, she would have to question how anyone could live in such a building. Aeta led them to one such pod, and sure enough, the doors opened to a staircase. As they descended, they quickly found themselves in a tavern setting much larger than Leola would have predicted from the outside.
"Skaal," said the voice of a Dunmer woman standing behind the counter. Her skin was grey, her features were sharp and angular, and she had almost red eyes. Her black hair was done up in an elegant bun with a few braided tendrils hanging loose, and she wore a simple blue dress with an apron.
"Toruli?" Aeta asked, in the tone of one who wished to be certain they had the right name.
"That's correct," said the woman. "Who are your friends? They are of Skyrim?"
"Yes, they are," Aeta said. "This is Toruli Sadri. Her father owns the inn."
"He's out of town at the moment," Toruli said. "So I'm running the place in his absence."
"It's good to meet you," Leola said politely, smiling. "My name is Leola. This is Erith, and Bottar, and Shelur. We're just looking for a place to stay for the night."
"It's ten gold a room, such is the rate – how many rooms do you need?" asked Toruli.
Leola glanced at her friends, and then at Aeta. "I suppose four," she said softly, turning back to Toruli.
"Sounds good," said the Dunmer. Leola pulled out the bag of money her father had given her – it was about one hundred gold, but he had figured she shouldn't need any more than that while she was gone. Carefully, she counted out the forty and slid them across the counter to Toruli, who deposited them before getting out some room keys.
"Thank you," Leola said as the Dunmer woman handed her the keys.
"They'll be just that way," Toruli said, gesturing in the directions of the rooms. "Numbers are on the keys so you should have no trouble. Have a good stay – if you need anything, like food or drink, I've got you covered."
"Food sounds good right about now, actually," said Bottar with a laugh. "Let's try some of the local delicacies."
"Certainly," said Shelur, sounding more than excited about trying new things. Leola admired just how eager the other woman was to see the world around her – she reminded her very much of herself when she had first set out for Ulfric's castle, aside from the fact that her mother was dying.
"I've got a pot of horker and ash yam stew cooking now – give it a few minutes and I'll have some fresh and hot for you both," said Toruli with a smile. "Anything to drink?"
"Do you have Nord mead?" asked Bottar.
"I don't," Toruli replied, shaking her head. "I have Ashfire mead, though – and Emberbrand wine, some Flin, Matze, Sujamma…"
"Surprise us," said Bottar. "Whichever one you personally like best – Erith, Aeta, are you joining us?"
"I'd rather stay with Leola, but I'll come out later and have something to drink," Erith replied.
"I'll join you," Aeta said, smiling.
"Then three glasses of your favourite brew," said Bottar to Toruli, who wasted almost no time in reaching under the counter and pulling out a light yellow ceramic bottle, which she opened and began to pour into three glasses as per his request.
"Let's head to our room, Leola," said Erith, gently taking the blonde by the hand. "You have work to do – as much as I'd like to help, the most I can do is wait by you and keep you safe."
"Alright," Leola said softly as the pair started to walk. "Are you sure we can't read the book together?"
"I don't think it would work like that – it would be too easy," Erith replied, shaking her head. "Otherwise we could just all jump in and get what we need. You have to do this on your own."
Leola sighed sadly, using the key to open the door to their room when they reached it. It was small, and she doubted the two of them would fit comfortably on the little bed, but it would have to do. Erith closed and locked the door behind her and Leola went to the bed and sat down.
"Here goes nothing," she said softly. Erith pulled the black book from her bag and handed it over. The cover felt rough and almost threatening under Leola's fingers. She carefully opened it and gazed upon the pages. It was a mess of swirls and runes that she didn't understand. As she tried to make sense of them, she felt a panging sensation in her temples. Either it was giving her a headache or it was working.
The last thing she heard as the edges of her vision blurred was Erith's concerned voice – "Leola, are you alright? What's happening?" before there was nothing, Leola's vision going black as she fainted on the bed.