Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

I don't know how I got back to Mosal, nor do I know when I fell asleep. When Hayu woke me up the next day, everyone else had packed their bags and were ready to leave. We stopped by the official road outside the city for a while, waiting for Falion to bring Vikmond. I found a big rock and hid behind it. Helgi ran over to check on me, but she ran away without saying anything. This girl noticed that I was in a bad mood yesterday and asked me if I was bullied by the soldiers.

But what can I say? How can I face Falion and Vikmond after doing something like this?

I heard footsteps and the voice of Falion greeting us. I should have walked out from behind the stone, greeted them, accepted the notes given by the wizard, comforted the orphans who had lost their parents, and then said goodbye to this place and embarked on the future. If I hadn't been so smart as to review the entire operation yesterday, I would have done so. But now, my legs feel like they are filled with lead, and my mouth feels like it contains coptis root. I can't move, or even speak. I don't know when, I was already in tears.

"Lord Locke, did anything unexpected happen outside the city yesterday?"

Falion sat beside me carelessly, not looking like a master at all. He was not wearing the wizard robe today, revealing the dark face unique to the Red Guards. I buried my face in my hands and shook my head weakly.

"So, my lord, are you blaming Lord Igrod for not giving the hero who killed the Vampire King the proper respect?"

His words sounded murderous to me.

"Sir, I...I killed the Tony couple! We ambushed Lailet in the cemetery. We outnumbered them in that battle. If we had been more patient, we would have captured her alive. Sir, if you could cure vampires, Lailet would not have died. It was also my idea to let Tony go to lure away the couple. But if Lailet was alive, Tony would not have been so angry and fought with Alva. It was all wrong! It was all wrong from the beginning! It was me who made Vikmond an orphan! But you still call me a hero and want me to adopt him. I...how can I cope with it? How can I cope with it!"

Falion was silent for a long time before he gently patted my shoulder.

"It's amazing that you are so kind-hearted despite your high position. But things are not entirely as you say. My research has never been made public. How do you know that I can cure vampires? Moreover, to be honest, although I am quite confident of success, no one can guarantee that it will be foolproof unless it is actually done. Besides, you are not a local and are not familiar with the Donnells, so you have no way of predicting his behavior. The incident happened in a hurry, and I think you did a very good job. Although the lord is stingy, she is right in some of her words. Movarth and I have been fighting secretly for three years. If I could have half of your achievements, many tragedies could have been avoided. Therefore, I am the one who should blame myself, the lord, not you."

The words of the wizard could not really comfort me, because I was a time traveler, and I knew for sure that Donnell would be deeply involved in the hunting of Movas, and I also knew that Falion in Mosal City had the ability to cure vampires. I clearly had all the information in my hands, and if I could plan carefully, I could make more appropriate arrangements. But at that time, I was only thinking about how to stay out of it and protect myself, which made me lose my way and finally caused an irreparable disaster. Even in the eyes of bystanders, I have tried my best, but I cannot forgive myself.

Falion sighed and waved to the side. A boy of about eight or nine years old came to us.

"This is Tony's son, Vikmond. Lord Locke, I understand your feelings to some extent, but none of us can change what has happened. If you can raise this child well, perhaps it can be regarded as compensation to Tony and his wife."

Vikmond obviously hasn't recovered from the shock of losing his parents. He looked dull, decadent, and timid. I pulled myself together and hugged him, then looked at the people waiting on the roadside. I spoke loudly just now, and everyone heard it clearly. At this moment, their expressions were different. Cindy was the most uncomfortable one. The incident with Movars was caused by her, and she missed the information that Donnel was going to see Alva with an axe, which led to my misjudgment. Hayou was not much better, and Lailet died under his sword. Helgi's face was full of concern for me. As for Agis, the little cat girl was jumping on the snow, and then admiring her new boots with satisfaction.

After bidding farewell to Falion, we continued westward along the official road. I asked Cindy to escort Vikmond to Falkreath and hand the little boy over to Lund. Cindy took the opportunity to talk and walked side by side with me at the end of the team, away from the others.

"Locke, I don't understand."

"what?"

"How can you be sure that this wizard will help us keep a secret? You told him the truth. What if he himself is Astrid's informant?"

I suddenly reached out to grab Cindy's wrist. The girl reacted very quickly, slid sideways, and slapped my arm with her backhand.

"Why are you making such a fuss when you can just talk properly?"

"Cindy, how many people have you met who can catch you easily?"

"Not many, and you are definitely not among them... You mean, the wizard?"

Falion, there is not much information about this person in the game. We only know that he can heal vampires and is a master-level summoning spell trainer. But according to my observation, this person's strength is unfathomable. If we only talk about personal combat power, among the people I have come into contact with now, Movarth is definitely a unique existence. But this Falion, I think he has the possibility to kill the vampire king after summoning Asmodeus. He actively searched for Movarth's lair and decided to take action immediately after hearing that Alva had escaped. These two points can also confirm my judgment. Maybe when acting alone, he will be more cautious and take measures such as ambush, instead of kicking the door in like now.

I think it is unlikely that such a master of both magic and martial arts would be inferior to Astrid. The Dark Brotherhood is not in a good situation now, with a declining staff and tight finances. Otherwise, they would just take jobs and kill people honestly, and there is no need to be a part-time intelligence dealer. Even if Falion is really an informant for Astrid, it is estimated that the two sides are in a cooperative relationship, and Astrid may not be able to control him.

In addition, he could tell at a glance that Helgi and I knew magic, and that Cindy was a vampire. Although he didn't say it explicitly, he probably knew the identity of Barbas a long time ago. We don't have many secrets in front of him, and there is no way to stop him from selling information. He already knows a lot, so we might as well take the initiative to tell him and try to make a good impression by taking advantage of our friendship in killing Movarth together. In fact, from the fact that Falion adopted Agni and deliberately captured Toriel alive, I think he should be a kind person. It's just that his strength is too strong, which arouses the suspicion of the lord, and he is under a low roof, so he deliberately keeps a low profile.

After listening to my analysis, Cindy was silent for a while.

"Lockel, tell me, should I tell Astrid about Falion when I return?"

"You don't have to say anything. Just say I found it for you. The Yar River is ahead. You and Vikmond cross the river and head south. Cindy, this little boy is my adopted son. Please take good care of him and don't have any bad ideas about him."

"What are you thinking? Even if I'm hungry, I have plenty of other options. There's no need to bite him."

Cindy's face was hidden under her hood, so I couldn't see her expression. I had to accept her promise and gave Vikmond a detailed instruction, asking him to wait patiently for me at the Blood Throne. The little boy had no expression on his face and followed Cindy to the mountain road south of the official road. I didn't look away until the two of us disappeared in the grass, trees, and rocks, and then I called everyone to set off. Maybe it was because I felt guilty about the Donnells' death, so I felt uneasy all the time, but I couldn't figure out what I was worried about.

The terrain on the west bank of the Yar River is higher than that on the east bank. To the south of the official road is a continuous hilly area. Although it is not steep, the terrain is fragmented, so the road is not easy to walk on. To the north is a small piece of tundra sandwiched between swamps and hills. The tall Snow Eagle Fortress can be vaguely seen in the distance. This castle was once the capital of the Yar Border Territory, but it is no longer as grand as it used to be. According to the information in the game, this place was first occupied by bandits and then captured by a group of necromancers. During the attack, the north tower of the fortress was severely damaged. As for the purpose of the mages, it seems that they wanted to capture people from the official road to conduct research on necromancy.

Snow Eagle Fortress controls the main traffic route from Hafengar to Armar, and it is a very important stronghold. Even if the necromancers and bandits dare not attack the regular army, they will definitely threaten the merchants passing through here. Tullius did not let it get out of control. If the player advances the civil war mission in the game, he will attack this castle when fighting for Armar. Despite this, I still think that Tullius made a mistake that an experienced commander would not make. To be honest, all his actions so far are puzzling to me. First, he adopted the strategy of adding fuel to the fire at the border of Cangyuan, resulting in a large number of troops being tied down in the barren northern border; second, despite the huge pressure from the north, he frequently wasted precious resources and energy in the south; third, he rashly supported Lord Igmund of Markarth to seize the town of Loristed, which completely offended Balgruuf of Whiterun.

Perhaps this is the reason why Ulfric was able to conquer half of the sky and fight the Imperial Legion back and forth with fewer resources in just one year?

I don't know who the Snow Eagle Fortress is now, and I don't want to take the risk to explore. We have exposed too much of our whereabouts in Mosal City. It is better to act cautiously and try to avoid the eyes and ears of the local guards and the Imperial Legion. So I suggested bypassing the Snow Eagle Fortress from the southern hills on the grounds of taking care of Agis's hunting desire. Others are not as worried as I am. Along the way, everyone has cooperated very well. Hayou and I are responsible for setting up tents, lighting bonfires, and setting traps, while Helgi, Agis, and Barbas go hunting. The little cat girl is now keen on using her stealth skills to ambush and bite her prey to death. Every time she gets blood on her face, I am very worried that she will turn into a vampire. However, Hayou disagrees with this, saying that in Elsvir, the best hunters always tend to use this most classical method, and using weapons is inferior.

The terrain became flatter and we entered the dense coniferous forest two days later. On the first night of camping in the forest, a hungry bear broke into our camp. The poor guy probably wanted to replenish the fat consumed by the long hibernation, but he ran into a tough guy. Fortunately, Hayou, who was on duty, was alert, otherwise this half-ton beast would definitely cause us a lot of trouble. The only person who was excited about this was Helgi. This girl learned a lot of accounting knowledge from Lucia when she was in the Blood Throne. During this trip, she volunteered to manage our purse. In her words, killing this bear would earn us more than all the wolves we killed along the way.

However, considering that there are many ferocious beasts in the deep forest and it is not easy to determine the direction, we decided to return to the official road. At least we can be sure that we can reach Longqiao Town in Hafingar County by following this road.

"Brother, did you see that?"

Helgi, hiding behind a tree, nodded at me. She was talking about a scruffy little dog lying on the side of the road. The poor animal was listless, matted, skinny, and seemed to have not eaten for a long time.

"I'm going to have a look."

Helgi took out two pieces of dried meat from his backpack and carefully got out of the woods. The puppy saw someone approaching, struggled to get up, and staggered away into the woods behind him.

"Stop! You little guy, I have something delicious here!"

Helgi rushed forward, waving the dried meat. Seeing her fierce approach, the dog ran even faster. The man and the dog soon disappeared behind the tree, and we had to chase them. Hayu and Agis climbed up the tree and followed from a high place; Babas walked leisurely, seemingly in no hurry. We soon came to a clearing in the forest, where a small wooden house was located. Helgi sat on the ground at the door, holding up the dried meat to feed the dog. When we approached, she picked up a diary, opened the last page with words, and handed it to me.

"After living in the forest for so many years, it seems that I am doomed to die of petrification. Perhaps it is God's will. My friends are long gone, and I am left with poor Miko. He has always been a loyal friend, and I know he will take good care of himself. I hope I shall see him again some day."

"Poor dog, it must be waiting for kind people on the roadside to help it bury its owner, but it's a pity that it can't speak."

Helgi rubbed Miko's head.

"In fact, it doesn't necessarily have to speak."

Barbas poked his head out at some point.

"I have a simple little spell that will allow you to understand the language of animals. But..."

"Okay! Okay! Teach me now!"

Helgi jumped in front of Barbas.

"Helgi, listen to what Barbas has to say. I don't think that may be a good thing."

Babas turned his head and gave me a meaningful look, but Helgi waved his hands.

"No, how can it not be a good thing? Barbas will eventually return to Master Weir. After learning this spell, I will be able to chat with Miko."

"Master Barbas, please continue, but what?"

"However, this spell is time-limited and can only be used once a day. But a spell cast by an intelligent woman like the Warrior of Vil will definitely last longer than yours."

I was very sure that Babas was not telling the truth, but Helgi could not wait to urge him to start teaching. The little girl led the two dogs around to the back of the wooden house, and Hayou and I looked at each other helplessly and smiled bitterly.

After we buried Miko's master, Helgi announced that she had had preliminary communication with her new friend, and Miko would join the adventure team as a new companion.