Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

Ajis folded her airplane ears, grabbed the tip of her tail and rubbed it vigorously. She drooped her head, showing me her fluffy head.

The little cat girl was almost driven mad with frustration. Back home, she was so successful, but now she was facing obstacles at every turn in Skyrim. First, she stole money from a client, shattering Lahlan's business dreams; then, she nearly perished in the wolf's jaws during the Blood Moon Hunt; and after barely escaping death, she was threatened by my Dragon-Tiger Fight. After joining me, she took on three jobs in total.

First, she accompanied me and Helgi through the territory of Hafengal. It was a wonderful journey, and to this day, it remains my most successful adventure. But for Argis personally, her performance was disastrous. Aside from helping Cindy steal the handle of Dagon's Razor, she played almost no positive role and instead repeatedly hindered the journey. However, she learned magic tricks from the circus master, Veles, and from then on, she had a means to suppress her urge to steal.

Not long ago, she was ordered to venture deep into the territory of Ruichi to find the whereabouts of Helgi. Actually, my initial plan was simply to exchange information with Anton of Markars City in exchange for silver molds, but the little catgirl resolutely and boldly risked her life to venture into the lion's den. Although it's regrettable that we couldn't achieve a result that satisfied everyone, at least she stayed by my side and persisted until the very last second, so I felt too embarrassed to say "Damn it, refund my money" again.

Then, Argis was appointed intelligence officer, reporting directly to me. In a sense, she was now on par with Leigh and Lund. And her first task was extremely simple: no need for a full search of the hilly area or to pinpoint the bandits' exact hiding places; just find their supply lines.

The hilly area to the north, though not small, has only three routes in and out: south to Granite Village, west through the Old Cal Memorial to Loristed Town, and east towards Grey Marsh Fortress. To the north lies the vast wilderness of Whiterun, where human settlements may only be found at the foot of the Stone Mountains.

Since I was out delivering mail, the little cat had plenty of time, and she also had Jagil and Miko as helpers. How could she possibly mess this up?

I believe my thinking is correct. Regardless of the length of time, we were once legitimate bandits. Bandits are human too; they need to eat, drink, and relieve themselves. If they really wanted to farm properly, would they have become outlaws? Besides, how much crop can grow in hills? Even a bandit like Rigel, who had a small farm, still had to send Cindy out to buy supplies.

First, you need to exchange the loot you steal for legitimate Septim coins. Second, many consumables are easier to buy with real money, such as meat and vegetables, and very importantly, alcohol and salt.

The lives of bandits were not like those depicted in "Water Margin," where they drank from large bowls, ate large chunks of meat, and lived freely and happily. On the contrary, these people were not accepted by normal society, and therefore were subject to control at every turn, leading very difficult lives.

Take my time at Pinewood Watchtower as an example. Most of the time, everyone was vegetarian, unless the loot happened to include meat, in which case they had to wait for Cindy to make occasional purchases. Because Rigel was very stingy, he usually bought very little meat, and it had to be eaten within a day or two.

Skyrim is indeed a harsh and cold place, but it's definitely not so cold that it's suitable for flash-freezing meat. If the temperature were that low, people would freeze to death. Especially in the humid climate of Falkreath, even in winter, fresh meat cannot be stored for long. Salt is also a scarce commodity, making the cost of curing meat very high.

Furthermore, theoretically, all the forests in Skyrim belong to the lords. Ordinary people are not allowed to hunt or cut down trees in the forests without permission. Although poaching and illegal logging do occur, they are not rampant. Therefore, firewood is not a resource that can be wasted. Most people struggle to even bake bread, let alone make smoked meat.

Meat is scarce, and the variety of vegetables is limited and heavily dependent on the season. Summer and autumn are manageable, but in winter, only durable produce like cabbage, carrots, and potatoes are available. Spring is an especially desolate time, with the old vegetables exhausted and the new harvest yet to come, particularly in late spring.

As for seasonings, they were the cream of the crop. Eddie had long only had salt and honey, and even those were often out of stock.

Under these circumstances, any bandit gang of any size would be careful to maintain its procurement channels, with spring, summer, and autumn being the busiest seasons. Summer, needless to say, is hot, and food is difficult to store, requiring frequent purchases. Autumn is for stockpiling for the harsh winter. And after a winter of hibernation, spring is the time to replenish their stocks.

Then, that stupid cat Argis wasted almost two months without finding anything.

impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Could it be that these bandits dug tunnels?

I shook my head, banishing the absurd idea from my mind. If they truly had the skill and patience to dig through a mountain, where couldn't they find decent work?

"Go and rest now. We'll continue tomorrow..."

The little female cat bowed deeply, grabbed her tail, and walked out.

"and many more!"

Argis was so frightened by me that its fur stood on end, and the cat looked much fatter.

“Go and invite Lund over, and you come back with him. I think I know why.”

The little female cat scurried away, and I quickly pulled out paper and pen to write a letter.

The skies of this other world are many times larger than those in the game. Take this Granite Village, for example; it's not a real settlement in the game, and I have difficulty pinpointing its exact location from memory. But we're located directly east of Sunshine Garden Fortress and directly north of Rift Canyon, at the intersection of several main roads. According to the game's lore, there should be a place called Broken Tooth Cave to the north of here.

That place is a vampire's lair.

Who says bandits are human? Can't they be vampires? Of course, my previous reasoning was only wrong in the first step; the rest was flawless. It's just a pity that the conclusion was absurd.

This explains many things. Vampires crave flesh and blood, but they aren't limited to humans; Cindy admitted she also drinks the blood of other animals. Even without blood for a long time, vampires won't starve; their thirst actually makes them stronger and more terrifying. So this band of bandits didn't need any supplies at all, and Ajis's surveillance efforts were in vain.

In the game, vampires lead diverse lifestyles. Some mingle in human society and even attain respectable status, such as the court mages of Solitude; others hide in the wilderness, occupying a dark cave; the most prestigious, of course, is the Valziha clan, said to be the oldest vampire family in Skyrim, whose castle is located on a small island in the Sea of ​​Ghosts.

The Valziha clan raises humans like pigs, using them as a food source, but other vampires don't seem so keen on doing that. They use secret arts to charm humans into becoming their servants; I don't know if these unfortunate souls also have to work as blood cows on the side.

Most vampires keep a low profile, even the Cyrodiil family, who have taken over Howling Wind Ridge, are no exception. However, I was fortunate enough to encounter a highly ambitious outlier—the vampire king, Movas. This guy had planted a spy named Alva in Morsal, attempting to seize control of the city through conspiracy.

If I'm not mistaken, I've met the heir to Movas's mantle.

"Lund is here, have a seat. I have something to ask you."

I poured myself a cup of tea. Unlike Eric and me, this guy rarely drinks, although he can actually hold his liquor quite well.

"Those three villagers the bandits released, I told you to have someone keep an eye on them, have you found anything?"

“These three families had all been allocated land before, and two of them were even neighbors. I didn’t want to make it too obvious, so I didn’t make any adjustments. So far, they seem to be doing alright, just too lazy.”

"How exactly are you lazy?"

“They finish work early in the morning and get up late in the afternoon. It’s not even summer yet, and they’re already complaining about the midday sun being too strong. What will they do in two months? I’ve talked to them about it, and they agree verbally but haven’t changed at all.”

You're asking vampires to sunbathe; of course they won't want to.

I stroked my beard and smiled, while Lund looked tense. This village had been attacked twice under his watch, and my fellow villagers were now extremely wary.

"Lochle, have they colluded with bandits? Should we arrest them first?"

"Don't panic, don't panic. We'll continue to observe these three families, focusing on their patterns of activity. There are a few questions you two should take note of: Have they left the village? If so, how often? Are they in contact with each other? And which other villagers are they closely associated with? Lund is in charge during the day, and Ajis is in charge at night. Remember, just keep watch, don't alert them."

It's another situation where the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. Lai's troop training is being conducted openly; in the past month or so, the three spies have probably gathered a pretty good understanding of Granite Village, while my spies, Ajis, haven't found anything. I just don't know yet if they've already relayed the information to their masters.

Fortunately, it only lasted less than two months. I don't know how long Movas had been planning this, but it was definitely more than that. The reason I make this judgment is because Farion's magic notebook contains a large section on vampire research.

This powerful mage believed that there were at least two ways to become a vampire.

One possibility is that an accidental injury during contact with a vampire could implant a "seed" within the body. This "seed" will lie dormant for several days, during which time the infected person appears no different from a normal person. Once the "seed" germinates, the infected person transforms into an undead creature. As far as I know, Cindy falls into this category.

Farion points out that vampires also have an even faster method of transformation: directly bestowing their blood upon the recipient. The usual practice is to sever the recipient's carotid artery with sharp fangs and then inject a drop of their own blood. The recipient becomes a vampire on the same day.

He also offered his own conjectures about the principles and state of being of vampires, using this as a starting point to deduce the connection between the soul and the body. This part is extremely long and the content is obscure and difficult to understand; judging from Helge's annotations, she herself didn't fully grasp it. I've always used it as bedtime reading; just a few glances are enough to induce sleepiness. It was a real lifesaver when I was having a cold war with Irina.

But Farion emphasizes that, regardless of the method, newly born vampires need to endure a period of pain and weakness, ranging from a few days to half a month, before they can truly adapt to their transformation. Generally, they will find a secluded place and silently endure these days.

Take, for example, Alva, whom we encountered in Morsal. She abducted Tony's wife, Lailette, and turned her into a vampire. However, while carrying out this plot, Alva deceived Tony, telling him that Lailette had left Morsal to join the Stormcloak rebellion. Clearly, she did this to make Lailette disappear for a while, allowing her to adapt to her vampiric state.

Therefore, as long as no one in Granite Village suddenly disappears recently, the risk remains manageable. In fact, breaking the deadlock isn't difficult. It's just a matter of the enemy being in the dark while we are in the light; as long as we bring in reinforcements, we'll be the ones hiding in the shadows again.

I took the letter to the headquarters of the comrades-in-arms. Nigada received me very politely, and in addition to promising to deliver the letter, he also gave me a few sheets of paper.

"Yuewaska agreed to provide you with information about the town of Loristed. It was just delivered recently, and I haven't opened it yet."

"Thank you."

I casually stuffed the paper into my pocket. Since it could be delivered so openly, it couldn't possibly be classified information; I just wanted the established fact that "my comrades-in-arms delivered a message to me."

I was busy all day, and it was almost dark when I got home. To my surprise, Irina was waiting for me for dinner. Lund arranged a small courtyard for Sylvia; since returning to Granite Village, my wife and two maids have been tidying up her mother's rooms.

"Sister, are you worried?"

After dinner and before bed, which should have been exercise time, I thought Irina would give us some perks, but she wasn't very enthusiastic.

“My mother wanted to rescue Iya as soon as possible. I said that the adults’ soldiers were not yet ready, and she got angry.”

Not surprising at all. Parents with more than one child are bound to have some degree of favoritism. Iya was raised by Sylvia herself, spending eighteen years together day and night. I don't deny my mother-in-law's affection for her eldest daughter, but it certainly doesn't compare to her doting love for her youngest. But Irina is too honest; why not just push this onto me instead of offending others?

"Sister, tell Mother tomorrow that you begged me, but there's too little information, and I can't find that Bash mage. Then you go to Lydia and ask her to ask her orcs. I'll also have Lund contact the tribes of Bireguchi to see if there are any clues. If Mother is willing, it would be best to get more specific information from Esmoridae."

I squeezed the soft flesh in my palm, ready to take the field. This nobleman is swift with his spear, powerful with his horse, and heavy with his hammer; after three hundred rounds, I guarantee you'll forget all your worries. But to my surprise, this woman refused to cooperate and started whimpering and crying.

You can hang up the white flag if you want, but there's no funeral going on at home, so why are you crying? I tried to comfort her and make her laugh, but Irina just wiped away her tears, gently but firmly pushed me away, curled up in the blankets, and turned her fair back to me.

How can I possibly sleep now!

I rolled out of bed, lit the oil lamp, and read the message sent by my comrades-in-arms by its light. I had only read one line when I gasped in shock.

Old Lori is dead.