Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

It has been just nine days since I set out from Agis to Falkreath, so I decided to take care of a personal matter along the way.

——Kill the spirit of the mud crab.

The location of this mission is a small lake southeast of the Gukar Monument. There are many such seasonal water bodies in the vast plains of Whiterun Territory. When the rain is abundant in summer and autumn, it can even reach two or three meters deep, while in winter and spring it is just a low-lying mud pond. The mud crabs living here have the habit of hibernation, which adds convenience to my completion of the mission.

Lai Mei couldn't see the spirit, so she could only stand by with a nervous look on her face. I was familiar with the process, so I started by summoning the ice element, then followed behind with my spear in hand, using a large block of ice to block my body. The huge ghost, more than a person tall and nearly four meters wide, held a pair of large claws in front of its body and staggered out of the mud pit. The ice element took a step forward and raised its arms to meet it.

The two giants collided with each other, making a deafening sound. Lydia, who was standing nearby, was also startled. The mud crab clamped the ice element, and the two sides began to compete, but neither could do anything to the other. I went around the crab spirit, shook the gun flower, and used all my strength in my arms to poke at the back edge of the crab shell. With a puffing sound, the long spear sank into the crab shell by one third. The crab spirit felt pain and raised its last two claws to kick around. I grabbed the spear handle and used one hand to paddle, blocking left and right, and the spear tip stirred around in the crab spirit's body. After a while, the big guy turned into a puff of white smoke and disappeared.

I looked at the wounds on my arms with lingering fear, secretly cursing old Floki for being unreliable. According to his introduction, animal spirits are meant to test the courage and skills of hunters, so their attacks can only cause pain and not substantial damage. I mainly used shooting when fighting against the wolf and snow mouse spirits, and there was no way to verify this statement. The big crab had a hard shell like plate armor on its body, so bows and arrows would probably not work, so I took the risk of close combat, and I almost got my wrists cut...

After a simple bandage, Lai Mei and I arrived at the destination of this trip - the Gukar Monument. This is a huge stone pillar built in the valley, about ten meters high. It is said to be built to commemorate an ancient Nord general named Gukar. But there is very little information about this person. We only know that he led his army to a disastrous defeat near the Rejuvenation Valley in the northeast, and the whole army was annihilated. As for the specific time when this battle took place, there is no way to verify it.

To the north of the monument is a rolling hill with many natural caves to hide in and a great view. Lydia and I set up our tent and waited patiently for others to arrive.

Two days later, Aigis and Miko arrived at the camp. The little cat girl held the tip of her tail, staring at her boots, and stood in front of me timidly.

"Aigis did not find Helgi."

This result was not particularly surprising. I handed her a piece of grilled dried fish and listened to the detailed report. Agis picked up two larger stones, representing the Sun Garden Fortress and the town of Loristed, and placed a smaller stone between the two to the right, indicating the location of our camp.

To the west of Loristed is a mountain range that stretches for hundreds of miles, known as the Rift Mountains. People in Skyrim usually believe that the area east of the mountains is Snowrun, where the terrain is gentle, the grass is lush, the land is fertile, and the people are prosperous. To the west of the mountains is Reach, where poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people. Of course, this simple perception does not make much sense in the real world.

First of all, the ingenuity of nature never considers the boring political tricks of human beings. The Rift Mountains are not a line, but a large mixture of mountains, hills, canyons, forests, and even several tributaries of the Cass River. Its boundaries are not clear. For example, the canyon on the north side of the town of Loristed is the junction of the western foothills of the Stone Mountain Range and the eastern foothills of the Rift Mountains. As for which mountain range this canyon belongs to, it may require a very experienced geologist to make a careful study before making a judgment.

On the other hand, the political system of Skyrim, and even the entire Tamriel continent, is in an extremely primitive feudal state. The borders of each province are generally demarcated by natural barriers, while the boundaries between territories within the province are not so strict. Most of them are based on the strongholds actually controlled by the lords. However, the strongholds located on the edge inevitably become the focus of competition among various forces, and often change hands several times.

For example, the Sungarden Fortress was fought over for many years by the three lords of Whiterun, Falkreath, and the Reach, but was eventually won by the Snake Cliff Tribe. Another example is the town of Loristed, which has now been renamed Hofdilsted. The Lords' Council of the High King recognizes it as the de jure territory of the Reach, although Lord Balgruuf may disagree.

In general, the location we are currently in is not clear, and it may take several wars to finally settle. At present, General Tullius personally led the army to capture the Sun Garden Fortress, and as I expected, he used the town of Loristed as a place to store food.

The distance between the two places is not too far. If a person like me who is light and strong travels at full speed, it only takes two days to complete the one-way journey. However, it takes at least four days to transport war supplies by ox cart. If you want to reach Granite Village further east, you have to walk another day. According to the information obtained by Agis, the Imperial Legion has built four temporary wooden fortifications beside the official road, which are exactly one day's journey apart. The nearest one is just west of our camp, about four hours' walk away, and there are no less than five soldiers inside.

Every four or five days, a transport team would rush to the front line with food, arrows and other consumables. A team of empty vehicles just returned a few days ago, and the next batch of supplies was expected to arrive within a week.

The two imperial camps on the front line were heavily guarded, and Agis did not dare to take the risk of sneaking in. The little cat girl hid during the day and came out at night, following the official road all the way north, and finally arrived at the town of Loristed. She had been in and out of my hometown many times before, and was quite familiar with Eric's father, Muraki, the owner of the Ice Fruit Inn, but this time she failed to meet him.

The main part of the village, including the manor, mill and inn, is surrounded by a three-meter-high wooden wall. There is a sentry every three steps and a sentry every five steps on the wall. At night, torches are lit up like daylight inside and outside the wooden wall. Agis is only good at stealth, but he can't be truly invisible. With this level of defense, I'm afraid no one I know, except Cindy, can get in.

The little cat girl squatted outside the village for a long time and found that no one came out, so she climbed up the high mountain on the north side and looked inside the wall.

The town of Loristede became a large military camp. Food was gathered next to the mill to the west of the village, and weapons and equipment were stored in the manor, guarded by the village chief and his servants. The villagers seemed to be controlled in the Ice Fruit Inn and several nearby houses. Agis saw some people carrying supplies from the warehouse to several empty carts under the supervision of soldiers.

The sentries and the garrison must have been more than forty. This was only the ones that showed up, and there was no telling how many were hiding in the house. Of course, she found no trace of Helgi or the other captives. Because too much time had passed, Miko was unable to find any clues from the smell.

“Very good, Aigis, you are now a qualified scout. Oh, and so is Miko. You two take a rest first, Lydia, we will take turns to be on guard.”

I stretched out my hands and gently stroked the two furry round heads. The cat and the dog dragged their tails, not at all proud of being praised, and their faces were full of frustration, and Lai Mei was even more worried.

"Sir, if we can't find Helgi, how can we save her?"

"I never thought I could find her directly. Come on, you should take a rest first. I will go and see if Masinissa and the others have arrived."

I spent the whole afternoon leaning against the cold stone wall, scanning the area around the Gukar Monument. Although I acted calm and composed in front of Lydia and Agis, I was actually very nervous. After all, Tullius had a history of executing prisoners at will. I could only comfort myself that since the other party had taken the person away, they must have been thinking of extorting a ransom. Helgi was not a Stormcloak, and he would not be beheaded for no reason.

As for where she was imprisoned, Aigis couldn't find out, but I could guess.

The most likely location is her hometown, Sheyaling, which is the snake-shaped defense position in the game.

The battle was not over yet, and Tullius would definitely not send the prisoners back to Solitude. Because there was no point in doing so. After all, if the two sides agreed on the ransom, they would have to transport the prisoners back. It would be better to detain them on the spot. Therefore, Helgi's position would not be very far from the Sunny Garden Fortress, but it was definitely not in the front-line military camp.

This war has been going on for more than two months. The Imperial Legion has deployed thousands of soldiers on the front line. Their supplies must not be carried with them, but must be transported from the rear. From past information, the most suitable place to store food is Loristed Town. This is a grain-producing area, and Salton keeps plundering and accumulating. I suspected at the time that he was preparing for war.

Since the front line is short of rations, prisoners will not be left there. As the storage place for most of the supplies, the security of Loristed Town is very important. No matter how poor the combat effectiveness of the scout team is, they are all combat personnel. If they lose control, the consequences will be disastrous. On the other hand, Snake Cliff Ridge is located relatively far back and the terrain is dangerous, so it is most suitable for use as a temporary prison.

This is the fortress that Moira led the elite tribesmen and failed to conquer. I only have ten people and a dog. Even if I had the guts, I would not dare to go to such a hellish place to break the prison. So, from the beginning, my plan was not to rescue people directly, but to find a way to end the war as soon as possible. Only if we win, will we be qualified to sit at the negotiation table and discuss the issue of prisoners with Tullius.

There is no chance of a direct battle. Even if I lead a team to support the front line, it will be difficult to change the situation, not to mention that my father doesn't want me to intervene. Instead of running over and getting disliked, it is better to be an independent mobile force and give General Tullius a surprise.

For example, following the story of Cao Cao's banditry at Guandu, we cut off the enemy's food supply.

I had hoped that Balgruuf would do this. If Whiterun could send troops to attack Loristed, the Imperial Army in Sunny Gardens would be attacked from all sides, and it would be possible to capture Tullius alive. But the old turtle was so angry that he stayed in Dragon's Reach Palace and refused to come out. I had no choice but to bear the responsibility of this great feat. Therefore, when I was in Helgen, I asked Masinissa to prepare something to start the fire, and asked Agis to scout the movement patterns of the Imperial Army.

Of course, if the soldiers of Whiterun are dispatched, there will be more tactics to choose from, whether it is a frontal assault or a siege, it will be enough to give Tullius a hard time. But with my limited manpower, let alone a siege, the most important thing is to ensure that I am not surrounded. Fortunately, the enemy is in the open and I am in the dark, so I can get a lot and leave quickly, and there is still a chance to show my micromanagement.

To avoid any trouble, I sent Aigis to the north the next morning to monitor the movement of the transport team. Three days later, she and Masinisa and others arrived at dusk. The little cat brought the news that the next batch of supplies had set out yesterday morning, and Masinisa said that she had scouted the movement of the Whiterun army.

According to him, there is currently a mobile force wandering northwest of Grayswamp Fortress. They patrol the territory along the northern foothills of the Lonely Mountains and the southern bank of the upper reaches of the Yar River. They are not far away from the actual control area of ​​Lord Whiterun, but can reach the town of Loristed within three days under forced march.

"This Lord Balgruuf is very cunning. He has arranged secret sentries to monitor the battle situation. Once we gain the upper hand, this army will go straight to the town of Loristed and take the opportunity to recapture the lost territory."

"How do you know he has a secret sentry?"

Masinisa nodded at the flatbed truck behind him.

"Because we took out his sentry."

A Red Guard soldier pushed the flatbed forward like he was offering a treasure. It was dark, and I didn't look closely just now. Only then did I realize that there were three bodies on the cart, all wearing the standard armor of Xueman. The throats of all three were cut open, and the blood was almost drained. One of them was obviously tortured, with many non-fatal wounds on his body.

Lai Mei's pretty face turned cold and she drew the long sword from her waist.

"how dare you!"

"It was the boss who said that the news must not be leaked. There are so many of us, and we are pushing a cart. If they find us, what can I do?"

Masinissa looked innocent.

"We can catch him alive, too!"

"Miss, didn't you know that we took some bread with us when we went out? There are three extra mouths to feed. Are you going to feed them?"

The long sword stabbed the Red Guard's face like a poisonous snake. Masinisa twisted his waist and stepped back, drew his sword with his right hand, and waved at Lai Mei with his left hand.

"Come on, fat girl, I'll give you a hand."

With a clanging sound, the long sword and scimitar were pushed away by my spear.

"Stop it, both of you! You two, do you think I'm dead? Now that things have come to this, can you save these three unlucky guys by killing him? And you, rinse your mouth before you speak next time, and don't spout such filthy words! In the face of a powerful enemy, you two are the first to start fighting!"

The two men stopped their attacks, but their weapons were not sheathed.

I stared at the three bodies and had a headache. As Baron Loristed, his own men killed the soldiers of Whiterun. This is treason! If Balgruuf knew about it, he would definitely make a big fuss. Considering that the close encounter between me and Rigel was likely to have been exposed, I always felt that a disaster could happen at any time.

Lei Mei turned around and called Aigis, preparing to bury the three people.

"Ladiya, wait a minute!"

I patted the flatbed truck.

"Masinissa, pick out three men, and be smart."