Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

In Mednatch's eyes, Helgi was an extremely charming person; she always managed to easily gain the trust of others. He was like that, and Griswa was no exception. If his son were still alive, this girl would indeed be the best choice for his daughter-in-law—although the age difference was quite significant. Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in life…

The King of Wrath was conflicted. He was pleased that he had found a capable assistant for his daughter; yet he worried that this assistant was too capable, making it difficult for little Kay to control her; however, he could neither use marriage to bind her to him nor offer her any enticing treatment.

In any case, at least his escape plan had begun methodically. On the fifteenth of the month, the day before the Festival of Love, Griswa sent out his last intelligence report, and that very night he was stabbed in the heart with a dinner knife. By dawn, this villain's henchmen had been completely eliminated. His Majesty the King summoned his followers and gave a final pep talk.

Before dawn on the 16th, the entire Oathsworn entered the tunnels deep within the Hidalas mine, including Helgi and the last remaining member of the scout squad. Another boy had broken his leg while mining and was dragged away by the jailers that same day; he was never heard from again.

The group quickly traversed the underground passages left over from the dwarven era and successfully met up with Kai, who had come to meet them. Before a heavy metal door, they shared a long-awaited feast, donned well-fitting leather armor, and chose their preferred weapons. Pushing open that door would lead to a fierce battle, and ultimately, freedom upon victory.

Mednatch excitedly introduced Helgi to Kai, but the two girls' first meeting was not pleasant.

Master Idne had crafted a set of enchanted armor specifically for her last disciple, capable of enhancing the wearer's spellcasting, archery, and stealth abilities in every way; she named it "Blessing of the Old Gods." Despite Kai's strong protests, this armor, imbued with her master's painstaking efforts and hopes, was given to Helgi by her father as a gift.

His Majesty the King was unaware of the magnitude of his mistake.

He saw Helgi as the future pillar of the Forsaken and eagerly offered his best possessions to win over this talented young girl, thus neglecting his daughter's feelings.

When Kai was sent out of the Hidalas mine prison, she was still a child. From childhood to adolescence, this girl spent her life in the company of Idne. On the contrary, her father, Mednatch, only existed in the teacher's words. Although the teacher always emphasized that her father was a great king and an indomitable hero, in Kai's heart, the image of her father was far less than that of her teacher.

The moment the father and daughter met, his most cherished treasure was snatched away and given to a wild girl of unknown origin! Judging by the manner, this little wench was definitely his new favorite. At such a young age, what couldn't she learn? To seduce men! Bah!

Kai grew increasingly angry, pointing at Helgi and berating her before retreating to a corner to cry. Helgi, bewildered by the outburst, was naturally also unhappy; had it not been for the impending fierce battle, she would have already thrown away this so-called gift. Mednatch, caught in the middle, paid no attention to these matters. He checked the time, waved his hand, and led the Forsworn out of the tunnel.

The escaped army hadn't gone far when they were stopped by the Silverblood family guards, personally led by Tonar.

Over the years, Tonar had tirelessly planted spies around Mednatch, only to watch them be eliminated one by one. The leader of the Silverblood family wasn't flustered; in fact, he seemed to enjoy it. As long as that old dog's attention remained on him, the real informants wouldn't be discovered.

Sure enough, the intelligence report, delivered every two weeks, arrived on time: everything is normal.

So he calmly mobilized his men to patrol the city in a perfunctory manner, pretending to maintain order. Then he would dress up and attend the lord's tedious procession. Busy like this, he finally managed to get to lunchtime. He had plans for the entire afternoon between lunch and dinner.

On such a romantic day, he couldn't forget the lovely Rheada. She was becoming increasingly radiant after her pregnancy, while her pesky husband was engaging in dangerous espionage activities. Perhaps he should have Nepomuk send the man to the mine jail.

After adorning Rheada's increasingly deep ravines with a sapphire necklace, Tonar finally returned to the treasure room, where he met Urzoga, who had been anxiously waiting for him. This robust orc, tasked with guarding the mine's prison, brought shocking news: Grišva, the Nepomuk lineage leader, had been killed, and all the prisoners had vanished.

Without hesitation, the unruly beast attempted to escape again. Tonar immediately gathered his men and headed straight for the southern city. He needed to resolve this matter before Lord Igmund intervened. The Hidala mine was his father's prize, earned with his life; he couldn't tolerate anyone touching his family's prized possession!

More than twenty years have passed, and these two arch-enemies meet again. A war of words is inevitable, but what will truly determine the outcome is the swords in their hands. The Silverblood family is wealthy, and its retainers are well-equipped. In contrast, the weapons collected by Idne are far too rudimentary, mostly small daggers and simple tools used by the Ruichi tribe.

This meant the Forsworn were at a complete disadvantage. Furthermore, the narrow and rugged mountain paths prevented them from deploying their formations effectively, hindering their numerical advantage. Fortunately, besides Madnach himself, there were several skilled mages like Kay, keeping the situation relatively stable for the time being. However, the King of Wrath knew that the enemy before him was merely a hastily assembled vanguard, and if the stalemate continued, his situation would become increasingly perilous.

Instead of piecemeal tactics, it would be better to break up the ranks and let each squad find its own way out, eventually regrouping at the city gate. However, what's baffling is that Mednatch specifically requested that Helgi join Kai's squad so that they could "cultivate teamwork and friendship in battle." Kai readily agreed. Once that little bitch was killed, he could steal the gift his teacher had given him from her corpse.

Helgi took the initiative to lead the charge. Instead of descending the mountain from the southeast, she headed north along the west side. Kai watched in disbelief as she skillfully used the terrain, clearing a path with arrows and magic, single-handedly creating a gap in the enemy formation, and even using ice elements to protect her flanks and rear throughout.

Mednatch's daughter then realized that this young girl was far from being just a pretty face. Her keen judgment of the battlefield situation, her skillful use of combat techniques, and her bold choice of fighting style all deeply impressed her. Perhaps this was the real reason why her father valued her so highly.

Kai urged his team to follow closely behind Helgi, and the small squad sliced ​​through the enemy lines like a hot knife through butter.

Meanwhile, Tonar clearly didn't want to see any Forsworn escape. He yelled at his personal guard, urging them to reinforce and block the enemy again. The sudden reinforcement of the Silverblood Guards put immense pressure on Helgi, who was at the forefront, forcing them into close combat several times.

In Kai's view, archery was merely a supplementary means for Helgi to distract the enemy; her greatest strength lay in magic. This girl had a high casting frequency and excellent accuracy, and favored electric magic, relying on speed as her primary weapon. As for close-quarters combat, that was a clear weakness. She had already suffered twice, her left leg bearing a long gash.

She could have compensated for this disadvantage with the ice elementals she summoned. But Helgei kept that massive block of ice blocking her flanks and rear the entire time. Clearly, she didn't consider anyone an ally.

What a cautious young girl.

Kai decided to have a good talk with Helgi after the war. If Helgi agreed to return the Ancient God Set, they could be friends.

Now, her team is embedded in the enemy's position. To survive, they must fight desperately and break through the enemy lines.

This valiant squad thoroughly enraged Tonal, prompting him to take a desperate gamble and send out all his guards. For a fleeting moment, he was completely exposed, despite being so heavily protected.

An arrow pierced through the noisy crowd and struck Tonar in the face. Kai saw it clearly: the one who fired that piercing arrow was none other than Helgi, who had already moved to the flank.

With their leader fallen, the Silverblood Guards descended into chaos. Kai's squad broke through the encirclement and stormed into the towering mountain in the heart of the city.

Despite her limp, Helgi maintained a rapid pace, deliberately avoiding man-made paths and choosing instead to venture into desolate, wild areas. Kai couldn't tell if the girl was particularly familiar with the terrain or simply panicked and lost. All she could do was keep an eye on the massive body of the ice elemental and try to keep up.

After a burst of crackling lightning, the ice element vanished. Kai, panting, caught up, but Helgi was nowhere to be seen.

Was I... tricked?!

That little bitch planned to run away by herself from the very beginning!

Kay had no time to be angry. The squad's performance during the breakout had been too impressive, and they had even taken down Tonal along the way, thus drawing the enemy's main force. She had no idea where she was or what the way was, but she knew the pursuers were fast approaching. After hastily setting up an ambush, she sent the scouts to find a mountain path.

The scouts found the mountain path and unexpectedly discovered Idne, Iola, and Cindy.

Ajis was also a witness to what happened afterward. If this account is true, then Helgi was also on the mountain at the time, and the girl the little cat saw in the woods could very well have been her.

Argis stayed at the Forsworn's camp for another three days, until Mednatch sent word that they were preparing to break camp and return to their homeland in northern Rych, but she still didn't see Helgi. The King of Wrath, extremely impatient, wanted to drive the little catgirl away, but solemnly invited Aiolia to join his ranks.

Aiola hesitated for a long time. If her teacher were still alive, she would definitely be willing to fight alongside her. But now…

Mednatch's nonchalant attitude when mentioning Idne deeply stung Eola. She felt indignant at her teacher's sacrifice, yet also vaguely sensed that what her teacher sought and what this old king was doing were not the same thing.

As for what her teacher was pursuing, she couldn't say. Even her teacher's deeds were only fragmented and incomplete. What kind of unworthy disciple could there be? Therefore, she decided to follow in her teacher's footsteps and venture into the wilderness of Ruichi Territory. There were countless tribes there; surely someone had seen her teacher and knew him. She would go among them, to trace the path her teacher had walked.

Cindy had already left after meeting the king, citing other matters.

Argis then joined Hayu and the other cats and rushed back to Falkriss's territory.

The temporary trio parted ways.

By the time the story of the little kitten was finished, it was already dark. The shack was eerily quiet, and I was surprised to find someone breaking the deathly silence.

Irina, who had been listening quietly, stood up and bowed. Although we had been giving each other the cold shoulder for a few days, she always gave us face when there were other people around.

“My lord, I wish to write to the sisters at the Temple of Dibella and ask them to help me search for her. As long as Helgi is still hiding in the mountains, she certainly won't approach the hill where the garrison is located. Markars may be in chaos for quite some time, and if she could stay in the temple, she would be safer.”

"Alright. Write two copies and send one through the Comrades' Corps and the other through Risard's caravan. One of them will surely be received."

Irina glanced at Ajis.

"Tiger... uh... caravans, that's unnecessary. The temple has its own independent delivery channels, which may be a bit slower, but generally no one will intercept them."

I rubbed my temples, unable to think of any other solutions for the moment.

Karan and Lund stayed behind to work overtime reviewing "Lockefa," while Irina and I saw Annis off. My aunt was completely disoriented, in a daze.

Irina was quite adept at comforting people. She claimed that the Temple of Dibella held great prestige in Markarth, and the locals wouldn't search it. The woman spoke softly and confidently, but her words became increasingly outrageous. She told Annis that when she was a priestess, she had sheltered runaway brides. The woman's husband was a minor nobleman, but in the end, he didn't dare to harm her in the temple.

We both assured each other that as soon as we received a reply from the temple, we would inform Auntie immediately. I also wouldn't give up trying other official and private channels; in short, I would find Helgi as soon as possible.

In any case, Annis seems to have been calmed down by her for the time being.

I remembered my chatting technique: if the conversation isn't going well, I change the subject.

"Please tell the chieftain to be lenient for a few days. I will personally explain the matter of the Flying Bear Tribe after I finish my current affairs. Also, I would like to ask if it is true that I have heard that Ms. Esmorida is challenging Chieftain Moira's position?"

My aunt seemed quite displeased with the new topic I had chosen. She sighed heavily, nodded, but offered no explanation.

"Why? Didn't we agree that we wouldn't hand over the tribe to her? Is it because her ambition has grown too big and she's broken her promise?"

"Actually... it can't really be considered breaking a promise..."

"That means you lost your mind and agreed to unreasonable demands!"

Irina secretly tugged at my sleeve, worried that I might upset my aunt who had just been calmed down. But Annis's stammering manner was really infuriating.

"She asked me to help her build her own tribe."

"You agreed?"

"Well... I was thinking that even if we take back Snake Cliff Ridge in the future, people will still need to live in that castle. So I agreed."

I almost fainted from anger.

That castle is mine!