The trip to Markarth was relatively uneventful, which came as a relief to the group. They stopped in every town, village, or settlement they passed, whether it was to rest, to eat, or to seek out information. Nobody anywhere seemed to know anything about Samuel. Even the people who knew him had no idea where they might even begin to look, apologizing and wishing they could do more to help.
The group arrived in Markarth no further ahead than they had been when they left. They were set up with three rooms in the Jarl's palace, and no sooner had they arrived than Erith already wanted to head into the city to meet up with someone.
The someone in question was waiting for them by the city gates when they came to the edge of town - a beautiful young woman with vibrant red hair that hung down just below her shoulders in perfect curls that made even Leola envious. She had clear blue eyes and a bored look on her face, though she smiled when she saw Erith and Leola approaching.
"Erith," she said, moving forward to greet them. "This must be Princess Leola."
"It is," Erith said, grinning. "Leola, this is Dalfina. Her mother Lisbet runs a trading post in town."
"Training my brother to take the place over though," Dalfina said, smirking slightly. "Walk with me, we've much to discuss."
The group was silent as they left the city walls, and nobody spoke again until they were out of earshot of the guards. They stood now by a bridge, and had come to rest by the edge of the little creek that ran beneath it.
"I understand that you've a need to speak with each of the Daedric Lords?" Dalfina asked, looking towards Leola.
"Yes," Leola said softly. "Are you able to help?"
"To a degree, I can help with one of them. I've discussed it at great lengths with the others. We've agreed that you may join us tomorrow night as we dine, and we can come to an agreement about helping you."
"I appreciate it," Leola said. "Except, er - does it have to be over a, erm, meal…?"
Dalfina laughed aloud at Leola's comment, shaking her head. "We eat whenever we meet," she said. "You needn't worry, we won't force you to join us. Our Lady Namira might, however."
Leola bit her lip slightly, glancing away. "I hope not," she said.
"Come now, it's not as bad as you seem to think," said Dalfina, a frown coming to her lips. "It's good for you, good for the soul. Anyhow, my group and I have discussed some terms. They'll want to discuss them more at length with you when they meet you, but until then, I just want you to be aware of what we want."
"Very well," said Leola. "Go ahead."
"We want all members of our family - who will be recognized by matching rings made in the shape of Namira's ring, which was lost to us when your mother died - to be able to continue to practice safely and without fear of arrest," Dalfina said firmly. "Now that you know who we are and where we practice, you could easily have us wiped out, but we want you to, you know, not do that."
"I can do that," Leola agreed, nodding.
"Obviously anything that Namira asks of you, you will have to do," Dalfina said. "So there's really no need to explain that one…"
"Of course," said Leola, nodding.
"And there's one last thing… I understand that the group of you are looking for Samuel?"
"We are," said Leola, suddenly nervous as to where this was going.
"Our leader, Eola, has some rather…special abilities granted to her by Namira herself. When Eola has grown too old to lead any longer, she will be our next meal, and whoever eats her heart - an honour that will be decided by Eola herself - will gain those abilities. Until then, however, she wishes to help you find Samuel, in exchange for allowing us to feast on him once he has been captured."
Leola's eyes widened at this.
"Leola, we are looking to be your allies. As your allies, we shall devour the flesh of your enemies." There was a smile on Dalfina's lips, and Leola suspected that she enjoyed making her uncomfortable.
"Very well," Leola said. "If your leader can help find Samuel, your group can have him for your - meal…"
"Excellent," Dalfina said, grinning. "Tomorrow evening I shall meet you here, then, and you may accompany me to the dinner."
"That sounds like a plan," said Erith, smiling. "Thank you for meeting with us, Dalfina."
"The pleasure is all mine," Dalfina replied with a smirk. "I'll see you around."
The three all walked back to the gates together, but once inside, Dalfina headed off in another direction. Erith began to walk with Leola in the direction of the local inn, but they were interrupted by a Redguard girl who all but hurled herself at them.
"Erith!" exclaimed the girl, a grin on her lips as she hugged the brunette.
"Adara!" said Erith, laughing as she pulled back from the hug. "It's good to see you!"
"Where have you been? What have you been doing? It's been forever!" exclaimed the other girl before her gaze turned to Leola. "Who's this?"
"Adara, this is Princess Leola," said Erith proudly, wrapping an arm around Leola's shoulders.
"Princess? Princess of where?" asked Adara.
"Princess of here, silly, Princess of Skyrim! She's the High King's daughter," Erith laughed.
"Oh! Yes, I heard about that! Oh! Here, have this!" Adara said, reaching into the pocket of her dress and pulling out a pretty amulet, gold with a trio of violet stones set in the middle. "A client was supposed to be buying this from me privately, but they backed out at the last minute and now I have no one to sell it to - consider it a gift!"
Leola laughed softly, taking the amulet and admiring it. "It's beautiful - did you make this?" she asked.
"Oh, no," she said quickly. "To be honest, I'm not sure where it came from. It was sold to my parents when I was young, I think."
"That's a shame," said Leola. "It really is beautiful - maybe I can look into its history when I get home," she said.
"That would be neat! I'm sure it has quite the history," Adara said, smirking. "I don't know if it's true or not, but I once heard my mother mention to my father that it was sold to her by the Dragonborn."
Leola couldn't help but to giggle slightly. "The Dragonborn was my mother," she said softly.
Adara's dark brown eyes widened with surprise. "The Dragonborn was your mother? And the High King is your father?" she asked, clearly bewildered. "You're a special kind of special, Princess Leola, aren't you?"
"She sure is," Erith agreed with a laugh, causing a pinkish flush to come across Leola's cheeks.
"Where were you two headed?" asked Adara.
"For a drink or two," Erith said. "Did you want to come with us?"
"Ha! I know better than to drink with a Nord," Adara said, laughing a little. "Nice try, though. Maybe another time. What brings you to Markarth, Princess Leola?"
"We have business," Leola replied, smiling.
"Important royal business?" asked Adara with a giggle.
"Indeed," Leola replied, grinning. "Top secret, super important royal business."
"I'd best not interfere then!" Adara laughed. "I'll see you later, then?"
"Sure!" Erith said. "We'll come and see you before we leave Markarth."
"You're leaving again?" asked Adara, a frown coming to her lips. "Where are you going?"
"I'm living with Leola in Windhelm now," Erith said softly. "She has royal business and all that. Very important."
"So you're not going to live in Markarth again ever?" Adara asked, her dark eyes gazing intently towards Erith.
"I might one day, but not quite now," Erith said softly. "Don't worry, I'll still visit.
"You'd better, I had no idea where you were all along!" Adara said, smiling. "I'll see you later."
"See you later, Adara," Erith replied before the Redguard turned around and left. She turned to Leola and smiled.
"She seemed nice," said Leola.
"She is, but she needs to get that I don't want to be more than friends with her," Erith said with a laugh. "Come on, let's go get a drink.