Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

It was still daylight, and the old fox obviously meant for me to go find the blacksmith Rod tomorrow morning. I decided to go meet the pustule Sidgeir first. Falkreath was barely divided into three districts, separated by a wide road. The south of the city was the business district, where the blacksmith shop, grocery store, and alchemy hut were all located. To the west of the central city was the Dead Man's Wine Inn and the Corpse Light Farm, and to the east was the lord's longhouse and the homes of the nobles. To the north of the city was the cemetery and the lumberyard, as well as most of the houses. The entire city was sandwiched between the Jerrol Mountains and the Black Pine Forest. Although it was depressing, it was quiet and peaceful, and it seemed to be completely unaffected by the flames of war that burned across the sky. If we really took control of this city, could we still stay out of it like we are now? Would actively intervening in the civil war be a good thing for the residents of this city? Was it all worth it for a bandit like Rigel?

I showed the letter in front of the lord's longhouse and was led to the hall. The fire was crackling in the room, and Sidgeir was slumped in an armchair, talking to a high elf woman. When he saw me come in, he straightened his back and tried to look majestic.

"I'm Locke. I received a letter from the lord, and I came here to meet him." Although I hated this rich kid in front of me, I still followed Danger's advice and pretended to be respectful.

"Ah... I heard you were in the fur trade in Falkreath. Did you pay your taxes?"

Huh? Brother, why don't you follow the script? Pay taxes? What taxes?

Sidgal looked at the elf next to her and said, "I am Nanya, the steward of Falkreath. You are doing business in Falkreath. According to the sacred order issued by the Lord, you should pay 22% of your income as sales tax. If you purchase goods in this city, you should pay a purchase tax of 12% of the purchase amount. Since you entered Falkreath from other provinces, you should pay an entry tax of five Septim and a tariff of 22% of your income. However, since you have commercial activities in this city, you are regarded as a resident of this city and should pay a security tax of three Septim and a head tax of five Septim. If you rent or buy a house in this city..."

Nanya kept talking, and I was stunned. Isn't this a bit too shady? You have to pay taxes on both sales and purchases, and you are considered a resident when you enter the country. You can eat from both ends without worrying about being full! The old fox gave me a bag of gold coins, and before I had time to count them, 44% plus thirteen Septim were gone! I finally understand why there is no one in Falkreath! With this ability to scrape the land, who would dare to come? Seeing that I was stunned and didn't say anything, Sidgeir laughed, and waved his hand, signaling Nanya to leave.

"You see, being a lord is not easy. You should really give it a try. As for the taxes and so on, I'll ask Nanya to find someone who knows how to settle with you. Don't collect too much. It's not easy for everyone these days."

I was speechless again. It was clearly a robbery, but why did he act like he was taking good care of me? If I were a real businessman, I would definitely lose money on this order. If I knew that this letter was for collecting taxes, and such a heavy tax, I would never come! In the end, I was misled by the plot in the game and underestimated the despicableness of this guy in front of me.

"Right now, I have something else to do. I heard that you came from the north. On your way back, can you help me deliver a letter? I can pay you thirty Septim, the kind that does not require tax. But I will pay you after you bring me the reply letter. What do you think?"

I really want to say that I am not very nice. Although I will accept errands in the game, the person who sends the task will not take half of my gold coins first. But on second thought, this task is different from the one in the game. If delivering a letter can exchange for the right to purchase Lake View Manor, then Rigel can live in Pinewood Watchtower with peace of mind.

"It is my honor to be able to do my bit for you, sir." Bah, bah, bah, what bad luck! What bad luck!

Sidger chuckled, and the sound was a bit like the eunuchs in movies and TV dramas. It gave me a chill. He turned and went into the side room. Not long after, he came back with a familiar envelope. "Send this to Björg at Knife's Ridge, and then bring back the reply letter. The gold coin will be yours. By the way, be polite when you go there. He's not easy to talk to."

That man is a bandit leader, how can he be easy to talk to? In the game, Sidgeir will ask the Dragonborn to clean up a random bandit camp because he colluded with the bandits and was dissatisfied with the reduced share given by the other party. Is he trying to negotiate first now? I took the letter, suppressed my nausea, bowed respectfully, and followed the people sent by Nanya back to the inn. The old fox gave me a hundred Septim, which was generous, but more than half of it had to be used to pay taxes.

However, I still underestimated Sidger's greed. The guy who came to collect taxes said that for convenience, the 12% purchase tax would be paid by the seller, and the hotel room I rented was considered a business place, so I had to pay a land tax of 10% of the rent. Because I engaged in business activities without reporting, I should pay a fine. Considering that I was a friend of the lord and a first-time offender, the fine was halved to only ten septims. If I continued to operate, I would have to go to the lord's longhouse to register, pay a contract tax of two septims, and be assigned to a special tax collector. When he left, he did not forget to remind me to remember to add the purchase tax to the selling price in the future to avoid losses, with an ugly face of "I'm doing this for your own good."

Who the hell is the Lord's friend! I don't have such a crappy friend! One hundred Septim left with only nineteen! What is this? This is competing with the people for profit! This is draining the pond to catch fish! Absurd! Unheard of! This is a sign of destruction!

I was so angry that my hands were shaking. I finally managed to calm down and opened the letter from Sidger to the robber. I will read it first to understand the content. Tomorrow I will ask Danger for a ring to reseal it, or just not take the envelope. It doesn't matter if I see it, I almost vomited blood.

"Bjorg, you'd better remember that if I hadn't gotten you out of jail, you would have been hanged three times for what you did to those girls. You haven't paid your share for two months in a row! Two months! If you have thought it through, send someone you can trust to contact Helward."

"Also, the person who sent the letter didn't know about our relationship. I told him to get a reply so that you would have time to resolve it properly."

The signature is his initials.

Proper solution? Just kill me! It seems that I must get the position of lord.