Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

I looked at Eric suspiciously.

"What are you doing with them?"

After Masinissa gathered his men, he came to the Blood Throne once. At that time, I had just taken over the affairs of the fortress and was in a state of panic. Naturally, I had no intention of assigning work to these people. I just asked them to help Lorak in the Pinewood Watchtower do some miscellaneous work such as sorting and security. The proud Red Guard regarded this as a humiliation, and after a big quarrel with me, he slammed the door and left.

However, Lorak later wrote to me that the Red Guards did start working for him, and they did it very efficiently. Although they complained that they were being underemployed, they did not cause any trouble. Nevertheless, I still deducted 20% of their commission as a punishment. After that, neither Masinissa nor I contacted each other again.

Eric gave a fake smile and nodded to Talver, and the dark elf immediately stood up and said goodbye. There were only two of us left in the room, and this guy pulled a chair over and sat down, placing the bottles of wine in his hands on the table.

"What bad intentions could I have? I'm just worried that you'd get ripped off, so I wanted to help you check the goods."

I believe you.

Seeing that I didn't respond, Eric laughed awkwardly and pointed at the wine on the table.

"Look, I've brought the wine. How about you go get some dishes first? We can drink and chat together."

"I have to go out to do some work this afternoon, what kind of wine should I drink?"

Having said that, I still stood up and walked to the kitchen. Eric could buy the best wine in Helgen, that was beyond doubt. If he enjoyed such good wine alone, wouldn't it be a waste of precious treasures?

Thanks to the people of Torric, the warehouse of the Bloodthrone Fortress is full of various fresh meats that can't be eaten. In order to prevent Eric from drinking secretly, I don't want to make it too complicated. I picked up a leg of lamb, cut the meat into slices skillfully, stir-fried it with green onions, and sprinkled a handful of salt. A plate of low-profile stir-fried lamb with green onions came out of the pot steaming hot.

In my previous life, if I sold dishes of this quality, I would probably be scolded by customers, but Eric ate ​​them with a smile on his face. I concentrated on drinking and did not urge him, just waiting for him to confess his wishful thinking.

"Lo...hiccup...Locke, this is what happened. Helgen received a commission, it's a big deal. I thought, instead of letting others do it, why not settle the matter ourselves, so that the benefits don't flow to outsiders. You happen to have a team of people who are idle, right? Just lend them to me, and I will take this opportunity to help you test their weight. What do you think?"

According to Eric, in the past month, except for coming to see me once, he has been busy handling the business of the Companions in Helgen Town. What he has to do is not complicated, just collect commissions from Falkreath Territory and the western part of Riften Territory, and then send these messages back to Yuevaska in Whiterun City.

The Companions have peripheral members who do this kind of work in every territory, and the specific number varies depending on the prosperity of the territory. Previously, they had an office in Helgen Town, but it was destroyed by the dragon Alduin, and the person in charge sent there was unable to escape, and the house was burned to the ground. Now that the situation here has stabilized again, the prophet Krako has instructed Eric to rebuild this contact point.

The person in charge of this type of expatriate assignment is nominally a middle-level manager, but in fact his or her power can be great or small.

The reason they have great power is that they are the first to receive commissions, and how to handle them is entirely up to them. Almost all responsible persons will take over the less difficult tasks and hire others or complete them themselves, and the rewards earned from this will be attributed to them personally. As for those more difficult, time-consuming and labor-intensive tasks, they will be sorted out and submitted to the circle members, who will arrange for the staff.

However, which tasks are assigned to which members of the Circle are also very particular. The more sensible leaders will send their trusted subordinates to send the more lucrative tasks to the senior leaders with whom they have a good relationship. After the other party completes the task and receives the reward, they will naturally share the profits. Some comrades with strong abilities and wide connections can save a lot of money after being sent abroad for a few years, and even have more than a dozen people to support. For ordinary tasks, they will do it themselves, and the Circle will not get any information.

Yuevaska knew this very well. After all, most of the members of the circle had been trained step by step from the grassroots level. Including Krako, the previous prophets had never thought of turning a blind eye to this - they closed both eyes.

When you were young, you made a living from this. Now that you have climbed up, you are directly overturning the table of the younger generation. How can this be justified?

The Nords’ world is also their own world.

Jianghu is not about fighting and killing; Jianghu is about human relations.

On the other hand, this is also a channel for the comrades-in-arms group to select talents. Those who are sent out have to handle affairs on their own, screen information, manage their subordinates, deal with the top management, and maintain relationships with local bosses. Those who can take care of all aspects are definitely talents that can be cultivated. If you can't even lead a small team, no matter how strong your martial arts skills are, you are just a brave man and are not worthy of being entrusted with major tasks.

Moreover, the subordinates recruited by the dispatched personnel are not considered as formal members of the comrades-in-arms group. Therefore, all the expenses related to this, such as commissions, the cost of purchasing and maintaining weapons and equipment, pensions for casualties, etc., will not be paid by Yuevaska at all, and all will be borne by the dispatched person in charge. The task assigned to you by the headquarters is just to collect commissions and make contacts. How big a business you can expand depends entirely on how capable you are.

Don't do porcelain work without diamonds.

Of course, if the person in charge made a mistake in judgment and withheld something that he couldn't handle, Yuevaska would eventually come forward to help solve it. After all, he was acting under the banner of the Comrades Group, and it was related to the reputation of the Comrades Group. He couldn't really lose face and make a fool of himself. However, the reputation of the person who made the mistake was inevitably damaged, and it would be difficult for him to make any progress in the future.

Therefore, Yuevaska was even happy to see the person in charge of the outposts build his own team. When this person entered the circle in the future, these former subordinates would become his eyes and ears in the local area.

But when it comes to my good brother Eric, he is now just a poor commander without any troops.

He had no money. Even the Ice and Fruit Inn, which his father had used to save money for his coffin, became the property of the Companions under his operation. He had no connections at all. Half a year ago, Eric was just a farmer and had hardly left the town of Loristed. So he, like me, was in an awkward situation where no one was available, so he set his sights on Masinissa and his Red Guards.

But, that’s not right!

His good wife Angie is not just a pretty face. I have seen the woman's skills. Whether it was hunting the vampire Vighar or fighting the werewolf Skuna, she showed a very high level of skill. Moreover, it is obvious that Angie is very good at partnering with warriors like Eric. Back then in the underground cave of the Bloodthrone Fortress, she and Rigel worked together perfectly, and I couldn't even find a chance to intervene and help.

I had hoped that Eric would let Angie and Lund go to Sunshine Garden Fortress together, but he refused. Now that he has run into trouble, are you still reluctant to let your wife show up in public?

"Hey Eric, we don't know the background of that group of Red Guards, so we dare not entrust them with important tasks. Besides, don't you have Angie? Why are you hiding a beautiful woman in your house?"

When Eric heard me ask this, he laughed in a sly way and raised his glass to clink with mine.

"I don't have a golden house. But Angie is really very delicate now."

He moved his chair forward and put his arm around my shoulders.

"Do you know why I'm treating you to a drink today? Angie's pregnant! Haha! Bro, I'm going to be a father!"

The bear's paw slapped my shoulder twice.

"You and Lund better hurry up. Hehe, in this generation, I am the eldest brother. In the next generation, my son will still be the eldest brother. Hahahaha...you should work hard and try to surpass Lund. My little junior sister is really good..."

I rolled my eyes and looked at Eric dancing around, speechless.

Big brother is bullshit! At the end of this month, I will be a father!

"In that case, why don't you take a year off? At least wait until the baby is born before you start your career, right?"

Eric waved his hand.

"I didn't mean to make a fuss, but this matter must be done!"

When it came to business, his expression changed and his voice became a little deeper.

"Do you know why I have to do this myself?"

Looking at his expression, I guessed the answer.

"Silver Hand?"

Eric nodded.

A month ago, Eric and Angie sent Helgi to the Bloodthrone Fortress, and then returned to Helgen Town to rebuild the Companions' office there. Not long after, Angie found out that she was pregnant. However, due to the limited medical level in Skyrim, it was extremely risky for a woman to get pregnant, so they were not going to tell anyone about it for the time being.

Eric was naturally in no mood to do anything else. He used his living room as a reception room, sent letters to Whiterun every three days, and threw all the commissions to Yuevaska. It was not until he saw Lund in the town that he ran out to find me. How could he agree to borrow Angie when I asked him to do so?

After returning from this outing, he saw six fully armed men standing at the door of his house. Four of them were wearing the standard leather armor of the Rich Guards, and they were in a standoff with the other two unfamiliar guys. Eric's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly stepped forward to identify himself. The six men immediately made way for him and let him in.

Eric finally breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the living room. Angie sat at the table, and on her left sat a petite young woman, the second in command of the Rich Guard: Winnie. Opposite them sat a strange man, who was not young, with gray hair on his temples and his face full of traces of time.

Angie smiled at Eric.

"This gentleman came to visit at daybreak, saying that he had an important commission, and would wait till you returned."

The man stood up, put his right hand on his chest and nodded slightly.

"I apologize for disturbing you and your wife."

The words were spoken politely, but there was no apology in the other person's eyes, only anxiety and uneasiness.

Angie poured a cup of tea for Eric, thanked Winnie, and turned into the inner room.

"Now that you are back, I can report to the Baron."

Winnie bowed slightly and left. Eric later learned from Angie that she was sent here by her father.

The Companions wanted to open an office in Helgen Town, so they naturally needed to inform the local leaders. However, Eric had lived here for a while and had shown his skills in the training grounds, so he was considered a little famous. In addition, Angie was very close to Rigel, so the father took more care of the young couple. When he heard that three fully armed men came to find Eric early in the morning, and left two men who were obviously his men to guard the door, and Angie was the only one at home, the father immediately couldn't sit still.

If anything happened to the family members of the comrades-in-arms group members under his nose, would he still be able to keep his reputation?

Dad immediately ordered Winnie to take four people to check. The other party was very restrained and made it clear that he had no ill intentions, but he kept silent about the purpose of his visit and insisted on waiting until he met the comrades. Winnie could only sit by and enjoy a cup of fine pine needle tea. She didn't leave until Eric entered the house.

"I am the Baron of Starleo in the Rift Valley Territory. The Treva Watchtower on the Treva River is my fief. However, the thieves took advantage of my service on the battlefield and stole it."

The old man told Eric a story like singing a poem. The gist of it was that Starleo took most of his men to fight in a war, and when he came back, he found that his house had been robbed. He organized two attacks to recapture the castle, but the enemy defended it very well and beat him back repeatedly. Now he didn't have enough troops, so he had to ask for help from mercenaries.

The first group he contacted was not the Companions, but the Silver Hand. This recently famous mercenary group was known for its excellent equipment and low fees. It happened that Starleo's property was stored in his lost castle, so he could only pay a very low deposit. However, the Silver Hand did not bargain with him at all and directly refused, because it was their people who occupied the Treva Watchtower at that time.

Under Eric's questioning, Staleo admitted that he suspected that this was planned by a man named Bruray. This guy was a baron of the Eastland, and his fiefdom was in Mistwatch Keep. About a year ago, the two of them received a secret mission to lead troops to follow Lord Ulfric. Staleo did not wait for the main force of the Stormcloaks, but received the news that Lord Ulfric was ambushed at the crossroads of Blackwater Crossing.

Apart from Windhelm's core staff, only Bruray and Staleo knew about the operation, and the ambush location was not far to the west of Mistwatch Fortress.

It was clear that Bruray had betrayed his lord.

Staleo was also a reckless man, and he decisively led his troops northward with the intention of kidnapping people. However, from the time he confirmed the news to the time he rushed to Eastland, a long time had passed, and Tullius had already taken Ulfric away. Staleo decided to do something drastic, and simply attacked Mistwatch Keep, capturing Bruray who was counting money in one fell swoop, and then sent people to send the traitor to Windhelm, while following the footsteps of the Imperial Legion and heading west into Falkreathland.

After that, the dragon appeared and the town of Helgen was destroyed. In the chaos, Stallio found Ulfric and escorted him back to Windhelm. Then he learned that Bruray had escaped during the escort and was not brought to justice. This matter concerned his innocence, so he certainly could not sit idly by, so he went straight to Mistwatch Keep, but found that it was already deserted. For more than half a year, he searched everywhere for Bruray's traces, but found nothing.

Starleo thought that Bruray must have escaped from the Storm Cloaks' sphere of influence, but he didn't expect that the other party didn't go far at all, but prepared a big gift for him.