Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

Moira gathered us together early in the morning and announced the next plan. She had agreed to cancel her engagement with Eric, but because the marriage was arranged by the demon, Eric needed to go to the Mowanska Fortress with her to meet the demon and get his approval before the matter could be settled. My concerns about Eric's safety were ridiculed by Moira. She said that the leader of the Mowanska Wizard Group was half her apprentice and would come to greet her every year, so there was no safety problem. Of Moira's four apprentices, one followed her and Eric to Mowanska, and the other three followed Annis to her retreat to plan a plan to seize the Sun Garden Fortress. In this way, only I and Barbas could go to the south to find the Shame Cave of Hema. In order not to be separated from Barbas, Helgi used all his tricks to act like a spoiled child and finally got to go with me.

Since we had to act separately, Eric said that he would go back to Whiterun after the matter was settled, first to report to Yuevaska, and second to confirm the progress of Ennis's work. Ennis called Helgi to a corner and gave her detailed instructions, but I doubted how much the little girl who was stroking Barbas heard. Anyway, the old aunt gritted her teeth and reminded me to abide by the original agreement and not to have any improper thoughts about Helgi. Of course, I agreed to this matter. I treated this girl as my daughter. Besides, I didn't grow up in the desert, so I couldn't do anything to such a young child. So the two of us disguised ourselves as traveling brothers and sisters again and set off towards the Blackwater Crossroads in the south.

"Brother, did you know long ago that this was not an ordinary stone?"

"How do you know this stone is unusual?"

"Someone spoke to me! It was the goddess. She told me to take this stone to the Kirkreath Mountains. Do you know where that is?"

So this is why Meridia didn't assign me a mission. Is this demon serious about letting a little girl deal with a wizard of Mokran's level? However, this mission and Barbas's mission both lead to the same destination - Hafengar Territory, where the Imperial Legion Headquarters is located. It seems that this dangerous place cannot be avoided. I really hope that Barbas can perform as powerful as in the game, instead of playing the role of a pet the whole time like now.

When I thought of this dog, since there were no outsiders around, I asked it about the vampires in Howling Bastion. Because in my impression, all vampires were created by Molag Bal. Although the creation process may be a culmination of performance art in the alphabet circle, which is not worth telling to outsiders, how could the Lord of Domination allow his slaves to worship other masters? Moreover, although there are many factions of vampires in the game, and some are even hostile to each other, I have never heard of anyone daring to change his faction and betray his ancestors.

"You're talking about them. Many centuries ago, I don't remember exactly how long it was. You know, mortal time means nothing to demons. Anyway, a long, long time ago, a vampire clan reached a deal with Clavicus Vile. With the help of Vile's power, they transformed the barbaric desires from Molag Bal into witty and reasonable, which allowed them to perfectly disguise themselves as humans. They used several surnames to cover up the clan's real name, and lurked in human society, secretly influencing the decisions of monarchs or tyrants. This clan therefore worshipped Vile as their patron saint. I think in their eyes, Vile's favor is even more important than Molag Bal's."

Maybe because he had pretended to be a pet the day before, Babas couldn't stop talking after he started. He kept introducing me to a dark world lurking under the known world. A group of vampires who looked no different from normal people lived with humans in a low-key manner, secretly but efficiently influencing the various forces of the human race, and quietly directed the situation to their own advantage. And those unsolved cases that appeared from time to time around the world were often caused by vampires. After all, stealth, assassination, charm, and disguise were all their specialties. Even those cases that had been announced to be solved, how could we know that they were not the result of their frame-up?

Vampires' weapons include not only political families with a long history and great influence, but also the subtle influence on culture and art. For example, the pursuit of blue blood and white skin, which is becoming more and more popular in the aristocratic circle, is a typical example of vampires' perverted aesthetics secretly influencing humans. You should know that when the Septim Dynasty was first established, wheat-colored skin and strong and sturdy calves were the greatest charm of men. After all, how could a good man walk around and expand the territory with a pale face and shabby hands? However, under the advocacy and suggestion of generations of so-called art masters, people gradually abandoned healthy aesthetics and replaced them with feminine perversion. How can people who grow up under such a trend still have the legacy of their ancestors? How can they not end up as two-legged sheep?

But as far as I know, Clavicus Vile is not the kind of demon who will casually fulfill other people's wishes. People who make deals with him often feel very regretful when their wishes are fulfilled. What price did these vampires pay to maintain long-term deals with Vile and even worship him as their patron saint? Although Barbas said a lot and even told several stories as evidence, he did not elaborate on this issue, so I will not delve into it. After all, the more you know about such secrets, the more dangerous it is. I still understand this principle.

Although the terrain of the Bonesent Highlands is gentle, the scenery is beautiful, and the climate is pleasant, the distance we have to walk is very long, almost equivalent to the distance from Whiterun to Waltham Tower. Helgi was very interested at first and would occasionally interject, but as the topics discussed by Barbas and I became more and more political, she could no longer pretend to be interested. In the afternoon, she looked tired and even squinted her eyes to take a nap while walking. I was really afraid that she would fall suddenly, but I didn't want to set up camp so early, so I simply threw the luggage to Barbas and carried her on my back to continue on the road.

The little girl leaned on my shoulder and said in a daze: "Brother, I thought you knew everything. You knew that eating human flesh would make you crazy, that there was a sword in the canyon, and that the strange stone was a token of the goddess. You are always right, but you shouldn't have given the Snake Cliff Ridge tribe to Moira, she would have killed Zoltan. I..."

The word "I" is not clear, but I guess it means "I still love him" or "I can't bear to see him die". In fact, although Zoltan has always played the role of a villain in Helgi's story, I don't hate him very much. I have only known Rigel for a month, and I am willing to risk my life for her. Moreover, Zoltan and Stella have been in love for several years. If he really watched his girlfriend being sacrificed, it would be a scumbag's behavior. It doesn't matter who is right or wrong in the grudge between these two people and Helgi. There is only one position of the patriarch, and there can't be a solution that everyone is happy with.

As for the affiliation of the Snake Cliff Tribe, Annis and I have very different concerns. For me, as long as I can support a tribe leader who is relatively friendly to Falkreath, it will be fine. And Annis obviously hopes that this tribe leader is Helgi. But Helgi is too young and lacks the shrewdness required of a leader. She may be a talented mage apprentice, but she is not yet a qualified successor to the tribe leader. Besides, I have already led her to a smooth road, how can I bear to watch her intrigue again?

It was completely dark when we arrived at the Blackwater Crossroads, but the miners were generous enough to allow us to share food and tents. Helgi had woken up and soon started playing with a girl named Hefna. Babas once again started to act like a normal pet dog, playing around the two little girls, while I chatted with Hefna's mother Tomil and a dark elf miner named Sondas.

This small village at the foot of the Borean Mountains is now guarded by Stormcloak soldiers. However, five months ago, Locke and Ulfric were captured by the Imperial Legion led by Tullius near here. Today, it seems that this is a strange thing from beginning to end. Because this place is located at the junction of Eastland and Riften, the distance from Solitude is four to five times the distance from Windhelm, which belongs to the hinterland of the Stormcloaks' sphere of influence. Tullius was not only able to predict Ulfric's action plan, but also personally led his troops to set up an ambush behind enemy lines. After succeeding, he calmly escorted the captives to Falkreath, and also notified the Thalmor envoy Alanwen in advance to come and supervise the execution. All these actions did not seem like away battles, but rather like closing the net after he had won the victory.

From these phenomena, it can be seen that Ulfric's initial target was Falkreath, and the Stormcloak camp near Orphan Rock was probably his outpost, which is now isolated and in a dilemma. But obviously, his detailed plan was obtained by Tullius, and the Imperial Legion may have launched the operation a month in advance, and caught him off guard after entering secretly.

The inferences I can draw are:

First, there is a spy of Tullius among Ulfric's core advisors. The Stormcloaks are not as monolithic as imagined, and someone betrayed extremely important and detailed intelligence. If this action was decided on at the last minute, Tullius would never have been able to rush to the destination and ambush at four times the distance. After that failure, did Ulfric clean up the door? Even more, can he be sure who this senior spy is? Judging from the progress of the game, the answer to both questions is no, because in the subsequent attack and defense of Whiterun, Tullius once again staged a divine descend from the sky, crossing Ardre and most of Whiterun, and arrived at the same time as the Stormcloaks. It can be seen that Tullius can not only predict the timing of Ulfric's military deployment every time, but also know the actual destination of the opponent very well.

Secondly, Riften's position in the civil war is questionable. As an ally of Ulfric, Riften's lord, Lyra the Spellbinder, should have known that the Stormcloaks were going to attack Falkreath. Of course, this might just be Ulfric informing her out of courtesy, and she probably got the news later than Tullius. Lyra's rule in Riften is very weak, and it is under the control of the Blackthorn family, but no matter who is actually in power in Riften, it is unlikely that they will be indifferent to the heavy troops that are about to pass through the territory. After Tullius succeeded in the sneak attack, he swaggered Ulfric and others through Riften and headed from the Hrothgar Trail to the town of Helgen, but Riften did not respond. In addition, Lyra herself was quite critical of Ulfric's purpose of launching an uprising, which made people wonder whether they were really against the Empire.

After thinking about these two points, I felt a cold sweat running down my spine. How many spies did Tullius plant around the lords of Skyrim? Do we really have the strength to fight against such a terrible opponent? Maybe from the beginning, I underestimated this battle-hardened imperial general and chose the wrong path. But, can I turn back?

Babas turned his head and stared at me with his black eyes for a long time, then he leaned into Helgi's arms and fell asleep.