Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

Helgi and I had two things to do in Hafengard. One was to find the abandoned Temple of Meridia in the Kirkreath Mountains and return Meridia's beacon. This task required us to face a necromancer with explosive damage and his army of undead. The second was to go to the Rimestone Cave further west to find Madeline's father Sebastian and facilitate a reconciliation between father and daughter. Sebastian himself was not a very strong summoner, but we had to have some skills to convince him to calm down.

Hafengar is the headquarters of the Imperial Legion in Skyrim, so I certainly can't go there in an official capacity. I can only organize a team of three or four people to go. I am not worried about the sentries and guards along the way. Skyrim does not have the technology to take photos and record videos. Even if people in other territories have heard of my name, they certainly don't know what I look like. Tullius and I met once in Helgen, but I don't think he would remember a small person like me. As long as Helgi and I continue to pretend to be two siblings going out for training, and with Hayu and Babas, a cat and a dog, it shouldn't be a problem to fool the guards.

But I still have a lot of preparation to do.

The first thing is to determine the route. Dragonborn can open the map at any time in the game, view the special places that have been explored, and travel to these locations quickly, but I definitely can't rely on the system to teleport in the other world. If I want to go anywhere, I have to walk step by step, and this Skyrim is several times larger than in the game. Another problem is that although every lord has a map of Skyrim, it is just a very rough sketch with mountains, rivers, and the capital of the territory, important strongholds, and several major official roads marked in approximate locations. I borrowed it from Danger and drew a copy according to it.

As for the detailed topographic maps of each territory, they are military secrets and not available to ordinary people. I even suspect that the lords do not have the overall map of their own territory, because the lords and nobles originally ruled their territories by controlling the settlements, and there were no clear boundaries between the territories like in modern countries. Moreover, the ownership of the settlements themselves is not fixed. For example, the Sun Garden Fortress has changed hands several times, and my hometown, Loristed Town, has been occupied by Igmund of Markarth. Everyone may only have the map of their own stronghold and the surrounding area, and at most the nearby official roads. Those sparsely populated mountains and forests are undoubtedly mysterious and dangerous, and those who rashly break in may disappear.

So I can't go in a straight line over the mountains and hills according to the experience in the game, but I have to choose to go along the official road. The shortest route is to go north through the town of Loristed, cross the Cass River Basin in the west of the Yar Border Territory and reach Longqiao Town, and then continue north to the Kirkreath Mountains. The advantage is of course the shortest route, but the disadvantage is that it is very dangerous. My hometown has fallen, and the people there know me. If things go wrong, they will capture me and send me to Tullius. In addition, the canyon north of Loristed is called "Robber Canyon", and Ennis never dared to go in that direction to sell food. We are not many in number, so we should try not to cause this trouble.

The second shortest route is to go west from Sunny Garden Fortress, along the Kaas River to Dragon Bridge Town. There are several sections of the Kaas River that are navigable, and this route can be much faster, but along the way you have to pass countless Reach tribes, such as the famous Spear of Kaas, which withstood the attack of the regular army of Markarth City, and it is obviously not something that the four of us can handle.

The third option is to go north from Whiterun to Morningstar, take a boat to Solitude's port, and then go west from there to the Kil'Kreath Mountains. I have walked this route from Falkreath to Morningstar, and Cindy has also walked it. It should be a relatively safe route. The variable is whether the port of Morningstar can thaw in March. In addition, because Cangyuan and Hafengar belong to different camps in the civil war, even if we can find a boat, we will probably have to undergo strict inspections at Solitude's port. If we are caught, it will be bad.

After much thought, only the longest route is the safest. We can start from Helgen, pass through Riverwood Town to Whiterun City, then go north through Dunstad Fortress and Vigilant Hall, turn west at Windward Ruins, bypass the official road south of Morthal City and Snow Eagle Fortress to reach Dragon Bridge Town, and finally go north into the Kirkreath Mountains. This route is all land, I think it may take fifteen to twenty days one way. There are quite a few supply points along the way. The most troublesome part may be the section from Windward Ruins to Morthal City. To be safe, we should prepare enough food in Morningstar City before setting off.

This route also allows me to hunt the Snow Rat Spirit along the way, and then find time to hunt the Mud Crab Spirit in Snowrun. I will be the first person to complete the first round of hunting in Jine's Holy Trial. I think I should be able to do it with my current strength. The second round of hunting will face beasts like bears and saber-toothed tigers, which will be a real challenge.

This route requires passing through several giant camps, crossing an iceberg snowfield, and then moving along the edge of the swamp. Although it can avoid contact with people from the Empire camp as much as possible, there are poisonous insects and beasts on the road. This is one of the reasons why I am going to Helgen Town: I want to ask Yilandur for some magical knowledge. During this period, I found that the progress that meditation can bring is getting smaller and smaller. My magic power can only support the summoning of a fire spirit once, or cast two ice thorns. How can this be used?

Fortunately, my trip to Whiterun has improved my combat skills to a considerable extent. Although I didn't train with the comrades like Stein, the people living in Yuevaska are all martial arts enthusiasts. Usually, the conversations are always centered around combat skills. When they get excited, they can't help but show off. Farkas, Eric, and Ella all gave me a lot of advice. Especially Ella, there are not many people in the comrades who like to play with bows, and she took me in as a confidant and taught me a lot of hunting experience.

Angie and Helgi were also excellent hunters, but Ella was better than them. She was good at finding and chasing prey on the great plains, and was not afraid to fight wild beasts in small caves. She was also good at setting traps. She was an all-around hunter. She had killed countless bears, tigers, deer, pigs, and even two or three mammoths. Even Kangxi would shout "Baturu" for this record. I specifically asked her for tips on camping and trapping. Spending the night in the wild was the most dangerous thing. I often heard about campers' tents being robbed by bears. Ella showed a teachable expression at that time.

The reason why I stayed at the Blood Throne for two days was not because there was something I needed to deal with, but because I wanted to observe Helgi's condition. This girl seemed to be emotionally stable and had a regular schedule. Although she was far from being as eccentric as before, she was at least no longer depressed. She took Lucia for a run every morning, and then practiced martial arts with Bryce. After lunch, Lucia started processing the data of the mine, and she read quietly beside him. After dinner, she studied with Annis, and went to bed after meditation in the evening.

I was surprised that Helgi adjusted her mentality so quickly. Perhaps it was because of the company of two peers, Bryce and Lucia, that she realized that "life is not just about love." Annis was very satisfied with this gratifying change and even thanked me.

The new Richmen were divided into four groups by Lund, and led by veterans to learn about the work and safety knowledge of the mine. Lund and Annis handled these things with ease, so I didn't need to worry about them, so I focused all my energy on the mushrooms collected by the tiger people. According to my request, Hayou and his team kept the mushrooms on the rotten wood or soil where they grew and brought them back. Many wild mushrooms look very similar, and even veterans can't help but make mistakes. I plan to cultivate non-toxic species myself after tasting them to avoid accidentally eating toxic species in the future.

I selected a dozen mushrooms that I thought were pine mushrooms, cleaned them carefully, and cut them into small pieces. I also sliced ​​a piece of pickled pork into thin slices, and after the aroma came out, I threw the mushrooms in and fried them until they were cooked, then added water and stewed them, and finally sprinkled a handful of chopped green onions. A pot of fragrant piglet stewed with mushrooms was ready. Hayou carefully scooped up a piece of mushroom with a spoon, threw it into his mouth and chewed it, then took the pot and fled into Zenabi's room, leaving the three stupid cats with drooling mouths looking at each other. Lund borrowed six soldiers from Soraf to guard outside the house, and ordered them to take down the two cats immediately if they made trouble.

After arranging for the tigers to plant the remaining mushrooms, I called Helgi into the room. The little girl lowered her head and said nothing, fiddling with the corners of her clothes with her hands. I showed her the map with the planned route marked on it.

"Helgi, this is the route we are going to take to Hafingar. Just remember it and don't tell anyone else. We will go there secretly as siblings this time, and try not to attract the attention of guards from other territories. We are few in number, so you should make as many preparations as possible these days, and get some useful potions from Aunt Annis. I will stay in Helgen for a few days tomorrow, so please keep an eye on Bryce for me and don't let her cause any trouble. You are the only one in this fortress who can control her. Also, don't wear the clothes of the Rich people this time. Lund should have some money, and you can ask him to get you a set of leather armor."

Helgi looked up, his eyes misty.

"Brother, I didn't mean to hide from you...I...I..."

"I understand, Helgi." I patted the little girl's shoulder. "I won't ask you about the things you don't want to talk about. Just remember that you will always be my little sister Helgi. If there is anything that makes you unhappy, come and stay in this small fortress for a few days. You are always welcome here."

Helgi's tears finally burst out and he sobbed in my arms.

"I just... I just want him to live... I can ask my aunt for mercy... he won't die... Why did he say such harsh words? He could live with his sister... It's all over! It's impossible anymore..."

This silly girl was upset because she failed to save Zoltan's life, when he had been plotting to kill her from the beginning. I was a little speechless, and I didn't know how to comfort her, so I could only let her cry. If I told these words to Annis, she might be blamed; she was embarrassed to tell Lucia about such an embarrassing thing, and the other party might not understand it even if she told it; although Barbas witnessed the whole process of her social death, the emotions of the demons and humans were not connected, and it seemed that it did not play any positive role. She didn't want to tell me, so she kept avoiding me, but I didn't ask about the story, just let her vent her emotions.

If she had a few little girlfriends who grew up together, maybe she wouldn't have to feel so depressed, right? Unfortunately, this child's childhood was completely distorted, resulting in her having no friends to confide in. After all the twists and turns, I was the most reliable tree hole. Helgi cried and fell asleep. I put her to my bed and wandered around the fortress.

The six soldiers seconded by Lund complained to me, saying that the two tiger men did make a lot of noise in the house, but the noise was not something that required third-party intervention. Everyone was forced to listen to the cat's noise for half a night, and cursed Lund for not caring about anything. It seemed that his reputation as a cruel official was confirmed. After sending the six unlucky guys away, I carefully told the other three tiger men not to eat mushrooms randomly, and then I found an empty room to meditate. I didn't know when Helgi woke up. Anyway, when Lydia and I said goodbye to everyone the next morning, she walked out of the room with the other two little girls and promised me that she would take good care of Lucia and Bryce.

After greeting Rigel and Donna, I knocked on Ilandur's door. This dark elf still lived a simple life. Apart from an alchemy table and a wooden bed, there were no other changes in the room.

"Brother Locke, welcome, welcome. Please come in. I think it's time for you to come see me."

We still sat on the ground. Yilandur boiled a pot of pine needle tea and looked at me with a smile.

"Do you feel that there has been no progress in magic recently?"