Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

"Helgi was injured, so why didn't you go find her? You knew it was dangerous in the city, so why didn't you get her out?"

Agis was speechless when Annis questioned him. Faced with my aunt's aggressive attitude, I also became angry.

"Because this is my order! Annis, don't forget why Helgi is in this situation. There are some things I don't want to talk about anymore. After all, things have come to this point, and the most urgent thing is to find a way to remedy the situation. If you don't trust my people, then seek help from others, and I will not share any more information with you."

Honestly, Helgi's situation always seems to be getting a little better, only to be disrupted by something unexpected. It's getting so frustrating. Annis, the culprit, isn't even helping, and he's also known to blame others. If he'd listened to my advice, wouldn't all this be happening?

The atmosphere in the shack was a little tense, and no one spoke. In the end, it was Lund who stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Everyone, don't worry. Aigis isn't sure. The girl she saw was Helgi, right?"

The little cat girl shook her head.

"We were too far away at the time. I just thought her figure and movements were very similar. We later met the King of the Forsworn, and he admitted that he had met Helgi before, and that they escaped from prison together."

It wasn't just Iola and Cindy who chose to stir up trouble on Love's Day. There was also the Rage King, Madnatch, imprisoned in the Sidana Mine. After more than twenty years of dormancy, he had gathered a large number of outlaws, secretly collected weapons and equipment, planted spies in the city, and even placed spies in the Silver Blood Family's treasure room.

On the day when Markarth's defenses were at their most lax, the pre-buried assassins launched an attack simultaneously, announcing the return of the Forsworn forces with blood.

Tonar of the Silver Blood family immediately led his troops to intercept them. Though Maidenach's men were numerous, they were constrained by the narrow terrain, making it difficult for them to deploy. Nevertheless, the King of Fury ordered a charge. The Forsworn's army surged forward like a raging wave. The reefs held firm, and the first round of the attack ended in a cascade of spray.

It was one of those small waves that encountered Cindy and the others. Separated from the main force, they had to find their own way out. After a series of bitter battles, Idene sacrificed his life to buy them time to descend the mountain. Along the way, they reunited with other groups and finally found the main force led by King Mednaki.

The soldiers joined together, defeated the defenders at the city gate, and fled from Markarth.

Agis found Hayo near Savius's farm and followed the Forsworn army northward along the west bank of the Kas River for two days. They camped at a manor called Koskaeg Mine and rested for a while.

The next day, the King of Fury summoned Iola, Cindy, and Aigis.

He was an old man in his seventies, his hair and beard white. His face was as wrinkled as the mountains of Richland. Nearly thirty years of imprisonment had worn away his sharp edge. Though his eyes occasionally gleamed with brilliance, his figure was already stooped. He leaned on a heavy wooden cane and, with Kai's support, slowly walked to his seat.

"Please sit down, everyone. There's no need to be so polite. You saved little Kai, and I should have rewarded you handsomely. However, as you can see, I have no other property except these tattered clothes."

It was only then that the three of them understood why Idene was so certain that Mednach would answer Iola's question. It turned out that the hot-tempered girl, Kay, they had encountered, was not only Idene's last disciple, but also the youngest daughter of the Forsworn King.

The girl was born in prison. Back then, the Nord nobles were busy dividing the spoils of victory. The Silver Bloods had only seized control of the Sidana Mine and had yet to establish the robust surveillance system they have today. Through Odvan's connections, Kay was sent to the hag's apothecary shop in Bosera.

All three of Mednarch's children perished after the fall of Markarth, leaving this young scion as his only remaining bloodline. In other words, Kay was the future queen of the Forsworn. Aigis felt a chill run down his spine at the thought of having murdered her teacher.

However, the catgirl's awkward figure was quickly obscured. Iola stood up, stepped forward, and gave a slight bow.

"We... I don't need a reward. But my teacher once said that Your Majesty could answer a few of my questions. I wonder if I could have that honor?"

"your teacher?"

Kai leaned over and whispered in Mednachi's ear, pointing out Agis who was hiding behind him.

"Idene...what a pity...I know, just ask."

Aioula solemnly took out a ring from her bosom.

"When I was still an apprentice, my teacher gave me this item, saying that I could use it to contact Nepos. I want to know what the connection is between my teacher and Nepos. The two of them..."

Iola tried to appear calm, but her voice began to tremble uncontrollably.

Before entering the Dibella Temple, she had imagined numerous scenarios for meeting Idene and prepared her own words of challenge. However, the teacher's sudden unsheathing of the dagger seemed to instantly sever her sanity. Iola remained stunned for a long moment until Cindy's words awoke her.

Her teacher—the venerable Ms. Idene—is not a traitor!

She was supposed to break through the encirclement with her teacher, then have a drink and a good chat. But all of this was shattered by the blood-red magic rune.

Cindy and Agis, who lived with her, knew that since escaping Markarth, Iola would toss and turn until late at night and wake up crying every morning. Cindy had asked her twice, but she refused to say anything.

So, last night, under Aigis's horrified gaze, Cindy's eyes shone with a tangible red light. Amidst this strange, sinister light, Iola fell into a long-lost calm. She sat obediently, answering every question honestly.

Iola believes that she was the one who killed Idene.

It was her insistence on staying in the dangerous area, despite Cindy and Aigis's warnings, that exposed her whereabouts. If she had gritted her teeth and kept moving, could she have avoided the patrol? Could everyone, including the teacher, have survived?

It was she who had entrusted the scouting mission to the ulterior motives of the tiger-man, thus inviting the enemy. If she or Kai had led the charge, we wouldn't have put Idene in danger. Even this damned cat was recruited by her. Twelve hours before her teacher's death, she had the chance to eat Aigis alive.

It was her paranoia, her refusal to trust her teacher's integrity, that led her to act cleverly and remain in hiding. If she had decisively confessed her identity to Bosela, she would have been able to contact her teacher in advance, and the entire Love Heart Festival plan would have been altered. With her involvement, how could Idene risk her own life?

It was she who had spent ten years wandering in the wilderness of Richland, wasting the opportunity to fight alongside her teacher and forcing Idene to act with no help. If she had been able to lend a hand to her teacher in the city during these ten years, how could she have ended up in such a miserable state today?

Iola wondered how Idene had spent those twenty years. She must have done a lot, and these things couldn't be forgotten with her death. She wanted to record her words and deeds as a way to express her grief.

Of course, she didn't say these words to Maidenach because she was crying so hard that she only sat down reluctantly after being comforted by Kay.

"It's hard to explain this in a few words. Sit down, child, and let me think about where to begin."

The old man folded his hands and placed them on the top of his walking stick. His cloudy eyes looked over the crowd at the distant mountains.

"Let's start from thirty years ago..."

Over the ages, the Reachmen and the Nords have cultivated a delicate balance. The Nords control the mountain valleys centered on the city of Markarth, while the Reachmen hunt and fish in the wilderness. The borderlands of the two, such as Carthwesten, are occupied by Nordic Reachmen landowners.

However, with the discovery of large quantities of silver in Markarth, this balance of power was broken. The then Lord Hofdir recruited troops and launched attacks on all sides, madly squeezing the living space of the natives of the Reach.

Thirty years earlier, in the year 173 of the Fourth Era, two major events occurred: first, the Aldmeri, after two years of campaigning, completed a three-sided siege of the Imperial capital by the end of that year; second, the Skyrim Legion, led by General Jonah, arrived to aid Cyrodiil. The impact these two events had on the Reach was unpredictable.

High King Ithrod, Torygg's father, raised a vast army, numbering nearly twenty thousand men in combat alone, with many more able-bodied laborers providing support.

Due to the lack of population in Winterhold and Morthal, and the heavy burden of supplying supplies to Whiterun, Falkreath, and the Riften, the other territories were required to provide a large number of troops. Markarth was forced to provide 2,000 fully armed warriors, which almost drained all of Lord Hofdir's mobile forces.

Although still in his prime, Maidenach had already led a powerful Reach tribe for over fifteen years. He keenly sensed that the Nords were no longer able to maintain their dominance. After aligning himself with several surrounding tribes, he decisively launched an offensive, achieving unexpectedly brilliant results.

In less than a year, the hastily assembled coalition of the Reach tribes was unstoppable, drawing crowds of people everywhere they went, fed and reaping the rewards. Taking advantage of the opportune moment, Maidnach declared himself king of all the Reachmen and sent a proclamation to Markarth, demanding that Jarl Hofdir give up his futile resistance.

The Reach's allies were in no hurry to attack the city. Mednarch knew that while they outnumbered them and had the momentum of a string of victories, they lacked the means and experience to assault the city walls. Throughout the autumn, he cut off the official roads leading up and down the Karth River, allowing the tribes to plunder the countryside and then driving the dispossessed Nords into Markarth.

As the first snow fell, guards brought a Nord to the Raging King's tent. He was a slender man in his forties, slightly bald. He placed his right hand on his chest and performed the ritual salute.

"Greetings, King of the Reachmen. I, Grask, Baron of Markarth, bring greetings from myself and my fellow officers."

According to Grask, many Nord nobles, including himself, opposed Lord Hofdir's expansionist policies. Although the Nords had more than tripled their control of the Reachland over the past decade, these new territories were too barren, difficult to develop, and subject to frequent Reachland counterattacks.

What's more, Lord Hofdir is not only stubborn but also openly ostracizing those who disagree with him. Just last month, he confiscated Glask's smelter at the Left Hand Mine in exchange for an apple orchard near Hammonstall. This greedy tyrant has used similar tactics many times before, defrauding people of vast sums of money.

Maidenach smiled, playing with the apple in his hand. This lovely little thing was produced in Hammonstall. His warriors easily annihilated the local defenders and took everything they had.

Grask stated that the nobles who shared his experience had reached a consensus. They were willing to assist the Reachmen in capturing Markarth. In exchange, they hoped to share Lord Hofdir's amassed wealth and property with Mednarch, and in the future, they would assist His Majesty in governing the Reach.

"Oh? You're willing to betray your lord and make a Reachman your king?"

The King of Fury's momentum surged, his body pressed forward, his forehead almost touching Grask's bald head.

"The Reachmen fish and hunt, the Nords farm. This is their nature, unchanged since the Age of Mythology, a revelation bestowed upon us by the gods. We are not rebels. Hofdir has acted on his own, betraying the teachings of the Holy Spirit and invading Reachmen territory. He is no longer our lord. As long as Your Majesty allows your subjects to abide by their natural ways, you will be our king, granted by the Holy Spirit."

"I don't believe in your bullshit Holy Spirit."

Glask and Mednach kept their eyes on each other, without any evasion of gaze.

"That is natural. The base beliefs of your humble subjects mean nothing to Your Majesty. It is better to let them be."

The winter of that year was exceptionally long, and the following spring was exceptionally cold.

Under Grask's guidance, the Reach Alliance spent several months crafting a large number of siege engines. The tribes that had been operating separately gradually reunited, and many clan leaders protested the loss of plundering opportunities. However, Mednach promised that after capturing Markarth, they could remain at their own pace for ten days.

For the residents of Markarth, life was becoming even more difficult. As settlements outside the city continued to fall, more and more refugees fled into the city. After the winter, the rebels, who had dispersed, gathered again, adopting a siege-like stance. After six months of siege, with nearly half of their food supplies depleted, the lord declared wheat and salt rationing, causing a degree of panic within the city.

In the summer of 4E 174, on the Moon of Second Seed, in the distant province of Cyrodiil, the Aldmeri conquered the Imperial City. Ten days later, on May 22, the Reach's forces conquered Markarth.

Nepos, the Tiger, led his tribe to the city walls, and within a dozen minutes, the gates were opened. Led by Grask and his allies, the allied forces went door to door, capturing the recalcitrant Nords and confiscating their property. By the time Mednach's tribe entered the city, the situation was completely out of control, with bloodshed and slaughter everywhere.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the next day that the King of Fury found Grask and followed his instructions to the Stone Fortress. Unfortunately, Lord Hofdir had already disappeared without a trace.

The chaos lasted for a month.

The twenty-first day of the mid-year month marks the summer solstice. For the sun-worshipping Reachmen, this day marks the commemoration of the Raven God's creation of the world and the beginning of the new year. Maidenach believes the new year will mark the beginning of the Reachmen's centuries-long struggle for freedom.

That same day, Glask stood at the gates of the Sidana Mine, having decided to abandon his father's name and write a new chapter for his family with silver and blood.