Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

"It hurts... Calm down. We were just passing by. It happened in a hurry. For safety reasons, I did not help. So please do not tell Chief Moira about this. It's enough for us to know."

Annis loosened her vise.

"If you want to keep it a secret, you shouldn't tell me."

"You are Helgi's aunt. I can't hide it from anyone else, right?"

"Smooth talk! Come on."

The old lady scolded me, but she seemed satisfied with my answer. After she saw that the battlefield had been cleaned up, she asked me to go into the cave with her.

This long and narrow tunnel has been widened a lot, and can accommodate three people walking side by side. On the stone wall, there is a torch every few meters. The cave at the end of the tunnel has also been cleared, and a wooden staircase leads to the upper house, which used to be the cell where Helgi and I were imprisoned, and now it is used as a temporary storage for spoils of war.

Annis deliberately slowed down his pace and stayed behind me, complaining to me in a low voice about the failed market event.

"What you sell are all animal furs. Can't we go hunting for these things ourselves? The most urgent material for the tribe now is food, but Falkreath can't supply much. In the end, it seems that Danger allocated a batch, and the price is not cheap. The ones I bought from Riverwood before were not so expensive. In addition, our weapons are too poor, and the iron you sell is not enough. Moira was very dissatisfied with this. She once told me privately that if the situation does not change, then there is no need to continue this market."

Haha, you didn't expect that, did you? They didn't even want me to sell this little bit of iron.

According to the old lady, although most of the tribesmen lacked understanding of the value and use of money, she and Moira had lived in the Nords' territory for many years, so they were not so easy to fool. They seized the property of Baron Sengard, including more than 200,000 Septim in cash, as well as valuable jewelry and utensils, and they had intended to become local tyrants. Unfortunately, the goods we could sell were not attractive, and the materials they really wanted to buy could not be put on the market.

On the other hand, no one was interested in the goods provided by the tribe. Only Eddie expressed his intention to purchase juniper berries. The demand for animal furs was not high, and the local hunters were able to provide sufficient supply. Only nobles or wealthy businessmen would be interested in jewelry, but Falkreath had just experienced the rampage of the Imperial Legion last winter, and the wallets of several masters were emptied. Naturally, they had no spare money to buy luxury goods.

This means that the Reachmen can only spend money at the market, but they can't make money. Although we have given up the right to confiscate Baron Cengard's property, no matter how much money he has, there will be a day when he will run out of money. Moira is not a fool. She knows very well that if she really has no money, the Nords in Falkreath will never agree to buy on credit.

Meanwhile, Lord Igmund of Markarth seems to be still consolidating his new territory. In recent months, refugees from the Reach have fled to the Sunny Garden Fortress along the valley between the Kaas River and the Bireguch Mountains. Even after a considerable number of Reach refugees went to work in Falkreath, there are still more than 300 people left in the castle. This size of population is nothing in a Nordic city, but for the Reach, the size of the Snake Cliff Tribe is now ridiculously large.

Sometimes, more population is not necessarily better. More people means more daily necessities, including food, clothing, shelter and transportation. Where to get so many things becomes a headache. Moira and Annis have no experience in managing a large tribe, so they have to bite the bullet and explore. Since they couldn't get what they wanted from the market, they started to think of other things. In addition to arranging people to hunt wild animals and pick juniper berries, they also set their sights on the caravans passing by the fortress. These two people are not picky, and they will kill anyone they find and take away their money.

Although the Nords admired heroic death in battle, they were not so reckless as to seek their own death. As time went by, they were able to capture fewer and fewer merchants, and the harvest became less and less satisfactory. However, after a long period of robbery, Moira discovered that the legendary brave and warlike Nords were actually just so-so. She had an idea: while she had so many soldiers and generals under her command, why not just make a big deal? So there was an action to attack the snake-shaped defense position. How could the combat effectiveness of the standing army under the lord be comparable to that of the makeshift team of the caravan guards? The result was naturally a mess, and she lost more than she gained.

The problem is that the two of them have formed a path dependence. If they don’t rob, where will the money and property come from?

Where there is a sleeping dragon, there must be a young phoenix. After careful thinking, the clever Annis came to her conclusion. In the old aunt's opinion, the Sunshine Garden Fortress is located at the junction of three territories. As long as there are people who want to do business, they must pass by here. In this case, why can't they catch anyone? Of course, it's because the caravans are very cunning and slipped away under the cover of night. So she suggested that the robbery team be divided into two groups, patrolling day and night, and make sure not to let any small fish slip through the net.

Then she actually caught a big fish in her net. The fish was so big that it almost tore the net.

"Why don't we just kill those orcs? The tribe doesn't have enough food to feed them. I've eaten orc meat before, it's very hard and has a fishy smell..."

Annis's words made me shake my head.

"Don't you think the behavior of this group of orcs is strange? They didn't carry any supplies, so they were obviously not passing merchants. After being discovered, they decisively split up their forces, so it doesn't seem like they were going to attack the castle."

"Why do you care about that?"

"The Imperial Army has a habit of hiring orcs. There were also orcs in the army that attacked Falkreath last year. I suspect these guys are going to pass on some kind of message to our enemies. As for the content of the message, it depends on whether we can pry open the mouths of these captives."

According to the information in the game, there are two groups of orcs in the mountains west of Falkreath, one of which lives in the Bireguchi Mine, not far south of Sunny Garden Fortress. If these guys collude with Tullius, Moira will face a situation where she will be attacked from both sides. This matter directly determines the deployment of defense, how can it be taken lightly?

"Oh. Then I'll arrange for someone to conduct an interrogation later."

Although Annis looked disapproving, he still whispered a few words to Dehengu. The sturdy man turned his head and glanced at me with his nose, then took the prisoner away.

"You sit here first, I'll go see if Moira is awake."

After so much trouble, it was almost dawn. My aunt led me directly into the reception room of the main fortress and then went upstairs.

I sat upright in the chair, thinking about the predicament facing the tribe. I completely disagree with what Moira and the others did. You know, Sunny Garden Fortress was captured by Danger when the Reachmen launched a rebellion and Markarth was unable to take care of itself. This rebellion probably took place between 174 and 176 of the Fourth Era. So, Baron Sengard was in charge of this place for not too long. In more than years, he was able to accumulate such a huge amount of wealth. The Baron did not rely on his hardworking hands. After all, this fortress is isolated on the top of the mountain. There is not much land suitable for farming nearby, and no valuable minerals have been found for the time being. I once asked Danger about this matter, and the old fox's expression at that time was quite interesting.

In short, Baron Sengard's income mainly comes from collecting tolls.

Whenever a caravan passed by, the Baron's guards would follow and escort them for a short distance. If they encountered extreme weather, they would invite them to rest in the fortress. The Baron himself was not arrogant, and basically accompanied them in person, treating them with good wine and food. But he was a lord after all, how noble was his status? He was so approachable, humble, polite, and considerate. As the caravan that accepted the kindness, when they left, they took out a thousand or eight hundred Septim and let the brothers who had escorted them all the way exchange them for some wine. Isn't it human nature?

As for those who are not well-off at the moment, the baron does not force them to give, but such people often bring out some brocade hats, mink furs, jade pendants and flower ornaments, and everyone enjoys appreciating them after dinner and tea, just for entertainment. The lord will naturally not take away what others love, but if the other party really gives it with sincerity, it will be disrespectful to refuse it, so he has to do it reluctantly. There are even more careless people who forget to take things with them when they leave, and he has to keep them for them.

Of course, there are all kinds of birds in a big forest. There are always a few people who are obsessed with money and are stingy. But Skyrim is not peaceful, and those who are unwilling to spend money to buy peace often encounter robbers. At that time, it would be a bit unrealistic to expect a god to come down from the sky and save people. Fortunately, most of the merchants who travel around are smart people and will never risk their lives for a few coins. Money can be earned again, but if people die, the mead hall in Sovngarde will not accept Septim coins.

But Moira's actions blocked this road completely, which was simply killing the goose that lays the golden eggs and draining the pond to catch fish. But now that things have come to this, complaining will not change anything, and will only disgust the arrogant female chief. For me, the most urgent task is to find a way for the tribe to make money, so that I can persuade them to give up robbing.

However, there seems to be no easier way to get rich than robbing others. The Rich people's main skill is fishing and hunting. If it is just a small tribe of about a hundred people, they can live in the mountains chasing prey. But if they rely on this to support a castle, it is nothing but a foolish dream. I am afraid that within a year, all the animals in the vicinity will be killed. As for farming, the Sunshine Garden Fortress is located on the top of the mountain. Even if the people in the tribe are willing to learn to do farm work, there are not enough fields nearby, and it is even more difficult to divert water for irrigation.

In addition, I must consider one more thing: food is one of the important means for us to control the Snake Cliff Tribe. If Moira really finds a way to be self-sufficient, she may no longer be willing to rely on Falkreath. Neither Danger nor I, even Annis, want this crow hag to completely let herself go.

After running around for several months, I had no time to take care of my appearance. Nords are naturally hairy, so my beard not only surrounds my mouth, but also spreads along my chin to my cheeks and temples. This kind of beard is often used as a symbol of bravery, but it doesn't really fit me. I twisted the mustache on my upper lip with one hand and tapped the table with the other.

Moira killed all the merchants and travelers coming and going here. To me, this doesn't seem to be a bad thing...

"Greetings to you, respected Chief Moira."

I didn't notice the crow witch until she sat opposite me, and I quickly stood up and saluted. Moira's face was wrinkled, and she looked unhappy. She didn't respond to me, but just pointed to the chairs, indicating that everyone should sit down and talk in detail.

"What are you here for?"

"I heard that the fair was not going well, so I came to find out more about the situation. After all, this was my idea, and now that something has gone wrong, I should try to find a way to solve it."

Moira snorted coldly and began to complain. The content was nothing more than what Annis and I had said, that the things she wanted to sell could not be sold, the things she wanted to buy could not be bought, and the goods she liked were not priced fairly, wasting her precious time and energy. Although she was sarcastic in her words and accused us of lacking sincerity in cooperation, she never mentioned the cancellation of the market. I think this old witch knows that without the food we provide, her tribe will probably fall apart.

"Chief, if I understand correctly, the crux of all the problems the tribe faces is that we can't sell our goods."

Moira and Annis were both stunned. It was obvious that they had never considered the problem from this angle.

"My dear ladies, our Snake Cliff Tribe now has a large population. To feed so many people, hunting alone is not enough. We also need to buy food from Falkreath. To buy food, the chief must have money. To have money, we need to sell all the extra furs and jewelry in the tribe. However, when these things are brought to the market, no one is willing to pay for them. In this case..."

I stood up and bowed slightly.

"Why don't I just buy these things?"

"You have so much money?"

As for how much money I have, I don't know for sure. The reason I dare to ask for this is because I control the Tiger Man Merchants. These guys travel all over the country and have no worries about sales. I can be a middleman and make some money from it. Especially when other caravans have been killed, Moira only has me as her choice.

This is a monopoly of sales channels! It is exciting to think about how much profit can be made.

I shook my head calmly.

"Even if there is enough money, I don't recommend that the tribe sell all the goods at once, because..."

Before he could finish his words, the door was pushed open with a bang.

"Madam, I asked the question!"

Dehengu walked in with a ruthless step.