It took a few days before Leola was comfortable getting up and moving around. The Jarl of Falkreath was more than accommodating, letting Leola stay in a guest room and providing food and drink to her and her friends. They all took their turns visiting her, trying to ease the pain and guilt that had overcome her and trying to get her back to normal.
In this time, the group managed to pinpoint the location of Clavicus Vile's nearby shrine. They used this as fuel, trying to convince Leola that it was time to go, but ultimately, the choice to finally get up ended up being Leola's.
She all but staggered out of bed, startling Ulfric and the Jarl out in the main hall of the Jarl's longhouse as she entered.
"Leola!" Ulfric said, jumping to his feet and hurrying to her. "Are you alright?"
"I'm - I'm going to be okay," Leola replied in a soft voice. "I want to get back to work. For my mother."
"Of course," Ulfric said, smiling. "Shall we go and get your friends?"
"Yes please," said Leola.
Erith, Aventus, Shelur and Bottar were all holed up in the inn. Elienne had returned to Markarth, Louisa had gone back to her guard duties, and the other members of the Dark Brotherhood had all headed back to Dawnstar. It was just Leola with her close friends again, which was fine with her.
"So Clavicus Vile's shrine is in a cave," Shelur told Leola excitedly. "Bottar and I went ahead to check it out and it's definitely his - there's a statue and everything."
"That's good," Leola said softly. "Has anyone notified Runa of what happened?"
"Not yet," said Aventus. "We were waiting until you were well enough to help decide how we should break the news."
"I'd like to do it," Leola said. "After we get back to Windhelm, I want to tell her what happened."
"Tell her exactly what happened? Or are you just going to tell her a variation of it?" asked Erith.
"She deserves to know the truth," said Leola. "Even if it means she hates me."
"Well, we still have time for you to figure out how you're going to tell her," Ulfric said. "We have several shrines to visit in this part of Skyrim before we head back."
"Of course," Leola said with a nod. "Let's go see Clavicus Vile then."
All in agreement that this was the best course of action for now, the group began to file out of the inn. Leola much enjoyed having her smaller group of close friends back, rather than having a group of eleven people all crowding around. The cave where her friends had found the shrine was about a five hours ride from Falkreath, according to Bottar and Shelur, so they could easily make it there and back before the end of the day. Erith packed a basket full of food so they could have lunch before they returned, and they set out on horseback for the cave.
Leola was somewhat amused when she saw that Bottar and Shelur had opted to ride together instead of each taking their own horse. She certainly hoped that something was blossoming there - she'd seen it starting back when Shelur and Sond had first met, and it seemed to be happening anew between them.
She, meanwhile, decided to ride with Aventus. Shadowmere always seemed to find them no matter where they left her, and she'd been waiting for them by the Falkreath stables when they went to get horses. The beautiful black mare had proven herself to be quite protective of Leola, so the princess knew that she was in good hands riding with Aventus. Ulfric and Erith each took a horse of their own, and off they went.
The ride was mostly silent. Leola could see that everyone was still wrapping their heads around what had happened with Samuel - she'd taken a few days of rest to get over it, but they'd not given themselves that luxury. Instead, they were all going about business as usual, pushing their feelings about what had happened off to one side to deal with later. It was going to blow up in their faces eventually, Leola knew it.
Every now and then, they would pause so Erith could hand somebody something from the basket, whether it was a chunk of cheese, a hunk of bread, or just a piece of fruit. The uncomfortable silence of the ride was only making it feel longer than it was.
They passed near Lakeview Manor, and then by Helgen. As they rode past the destroyed town, which almost seemed to still be smouldering from the dragon's fire all those years ago, Leola thought back to all the times she'd passed it by while out with her mother. She had asked her mother what that place was, and her mother had…had told her the truth. Looking back now, it seemed odd, but her mother hadn't lied to her about Helgen.
"It used to be a town," her mother said softly, her blue eyes shining with apparent sadness. "It was destroyed many years ago by a great dragon."
"A dragon!" the young Leola had exclaimed, her own blue eyes wide with surprise. "A dragon won't destroy our home, mother, will it?"
"Of course not," her mother said, laughing a little. "There are no more dragons anymore, so don't you worry."
"Where did the dragons go, then?" Leola asked, pausing to gather some berries off a bush, though really she just wanted a longer look at the destroyed town.
"Dragons are dangerous, my sweet princess, so of course they were killed until none remained," her mother answered, leaning in to help Leola gather the berries. She lifted one up, and Leola giggled, opening her mouth and letting her mother pop the berry in.
"Mm," Leola said with a smile. "Have you ever seen a dragon, mother?"
"Indeed I have," her mother replied. Of course she had - Leola's mother knew everything. "Big and frightful creatures, they are. They'd give a sweet little thing like you such nightmares. It's better that there are none left now."
"Leola?" came Aventus's voice, breaking her from her thoughts. She blinked in surprise, looking at him.
"Yes?" she asked.
"We're here," he said with a laugh.
"Oh," Leola said, smiling. Ulfric, who had already dismounted his horse, approached and offered her a hand, and she let him help her down off the horse. They all eyed the cave for a moment before Bottar stepped forward.
"Let's go," he said. "It's through here."
The group began to move forward, and Bottar took them through the cave system. There were, to Leola's surprise, no monsters or enemies to be seen, but that was probably because any who might have been there had already been cleared out by Shelur and Bottar on their last journey here. The cave was filled with wooden structures and furniture, and Leola suspected that it had probably been inhabited by bandits or something of the sort.
Deep into the cave, they finally came into a room that housed a statue. The statue showed a small, impish man alongside a dog, and Leola bit her lip. "Was my mother once here?" she murmured, and Aventus shrugged his shoulders.
"Perhaps," he said. "Here's the masque - we'll leave you alone," he said, reaching into his bag and pulling out the horned helmet. Leola smiled.
"I'm glad you remembered it," she said. "I'd almost completely forgotten."
"I know," he said, laughing. With that, he and the others began to file out of the room, back into the cavernous tunnels from which they'd come, and they left Leola alone at the statue.
Hesitantly, Leola held the masque in her hands and stepped forward. "C-Clavicus Vile?" she asked in a soft voice. "I - I found it…and brought your masque…just as you requested," she said, thinking back to what he'd said in his note.
"Bring me the assassin," came a voice, and Leola raised an eyebrow.
"I, er - you want Aventus?" she asked softly.
She was met with silence, and she sighed softly. Of course. Quietly, she turned and went back the way the others had gone. She found them sitting in some chairs, mingling about and munching on the food that Erith had brought while they waited for her.
"That was even faster than with Molag Bal," Aventus said, raising an eyebrow.
"Not quite," Leola said. "He wants to speak with you."
"Me?" asked Aventus.
"Yes," she replied.
A quizzical look on his face, Aventus rose to his feet and followed Leola back into the chamber. He took the masque from her and approached the altar, and Leola waited, hearing silence.
"Leola," said Aventus after a moment, turning to look at her, "can you step out for a minute? He wishes to speak with me alone."
"Alone?" Leola murmured, raising an eyebrow. "Very well." She, just as her friends had done before, turned and left the cavern, leaving Aventus and the masque alone to strike their deal.