Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

I revealed my identity outside the gate of Whiterun, and the guards on duty were shocked and respectfully let us into the city. The news that the Imperial Army was annihilated by Lord Falkreath had obviously spread here. Stein followed me with his head held high, trying to pretend to be calm, but unfortunately when he asked in a slightly trembling voice what to do next, I gave him an answer that broke his defense.

"Let's go to Yuevaska first. I'm going to meet a friend."

The Companions, a famous mercenary organization in Skyrim, was founded by Ysgramor's close friend, Ik of the River, one of the Five Hundred Heroes. Its history far exceeds any family in the nine territories today. The members of the Companions are highly respected by the Nords. They respect Ysgramor as "the pioneer of all of us" and have inherited the ancient traditions of the Five Hundred Heroes, being brave and fearless.

Stein never thought that a peasant like me could have such a relationship with a comrade-in-arms.

Moonwaska is located at the northernmost end of the Wind District in Whiterun. It is so named because River Ik used his ship, Moonwaska, as the roof to build the Warrior's House next to the Skyforge. The Wind District is located halfway up the mountain. Most people who live here are either rich or noble. The few who remain are both rich and noble, such as the War Mad Family and the priests of the Holy Spirit. Their houses are tall and magnificent, and they are imposing, but compared to Moonwaska, they are like children standing in front of a giant.

No one could be seen outside the main gate of Yuevaska, but shouts and the clanging of weapons could be heard from behind the house. Stein and I walked around the house and came to a wide playground. More than 20 people were divided into four groups to practice martial arts. The leader of each group was a member of the Circle. I soon spotted Eric, who was fighting with two people. The bearded man with a long sword must be Eric's good drinking buddy Torva. I didn't recognize the other woman. This girl gave me a feeling of a mini-Rigail. Although she was not tall, she was very strong, with strong and well-proportioned muscles. She waved a wheel axe in her hand and walked in a bold and fierce way. Torva mainly used sneak attacks. Eric had a spear in his hand, and he was not at a disadvantage when fighting one against two.

A few people noticed us, but no one came up to talk to us. The Companions were famous and people often came to visit. Stein and I were carrying weapons with us, so they probably thought we were adventurers who wanted to join us.

Stein was very excited. For the Nords, Yuevaska was a holy place. Now he could not only make a physical pilgrimage, but also observe the daily training of idols up close. What a good fortune! You have to know that many people on this playground are famous mercenaries who have already made a name for themselves. Those battle skills that have been tempered for thousands of times will benefit you a lot if you can learn a few moves. I was too lazy to pay attention to this silly boy who was shaking with excitement. I was concentrating on learning Eric's gun skills. I once fought with a soldier with a big axe under Soraf, and I had no way to restrain him, so I wanted to see how Eric got the upper hand.

In fact, in this kind of competition with fewer people, the advantage of the spear is not very obvious. If there are 20 or 30 people fighting in a formation, the spearman can attack in the second row by stabbing, while other long-pole weapons are not very useful in the back row, which can form a situation of more people fighting fewer people. However, Eric still made good use of the spear's large attack radius and flexible attack characteristics, and frequently used the spear to mobilize the axe female warrior. Although the wheel axe is amazingly powerful, it is too poorly balanced and it takes a lot of effort to use it. That woman is really a man. I saw that she persisted for nearly 20 minutes. I don’t know when they started the competition. As for Torva, who was harassing on the side, because the one-handed sword has a short attack range and his level is very limited, he only slightly narrowed the area where Eric can dodge and maneuver. I am confident that if I fight Torva alone, I can at least fight 50-50.

Eric kept moving around, consuming the opponent's physical strength, and gradually gained the upper hand. You know, just the fact that he persisted in such a high-intensity confrontation for such a long time is enough to prove his outstanding endurance. If it were me, I would have been exhausted and defeated long ago. The axe girl's physical strength decreased, but she strengthened her attack instead, posing a posture of fighting for her life. Even I, a bystander, was sweating. This comrade group used real weapons during training. Aren't they afraid of causing deaths? Eric, on the contrary, became more and more at ease. His seemingly random movement actually cleverly threw Tolva and the axe girl on the same line.

The opponent had one more person but still couldn't gain an advantage. His teammates became the opponent's cover. The breathless Tolva was very anxious. He finally decided to jump out of the battle circle and rushed to the flank. Eric suddenly launched an offensive. After forcing the axe girl back with two shots, he stabbed at Tolva at full speed. With a flash of cold light, the tip of the gun attacked three directions! The bearded man dodged the first two moves, but couldn't avoid the attack on his thigh. He had no choice but to swing his sword to block. How could a one-handed sword compete with the power of a spear? With a crisp sound, Tolva's weapon fell to the ground. With the force of the collision, Eric swung the tip of the gun and stabbed the axe girl who came to support from a weird angle.

He subdued two powerful opponents with one move. Eric seemed to have the fighting style of patiently holding back in the early stage, and then breaking the rhythm and suddenly exerting force. His skills and tactics were not very mature when he was in Helgen before, but now he has obviously improved a lot. I think he may have surpassed Riya's level. The victory and defeat were determined, and the three of them put away their weapons and walked towards Farkas who was standing by and watching the battle. Eric noticed me, but just made a gesture to wait, and then began to listen to Farkas' comments on the gains and losses of the previous battle. I led Stein to move forward. This opportunity to listen to the big guy's face-to-face teaching is rare, how can we easily miss it?

Farkas didn't mind us listening in, and he summarized the pros and cons of the three people by talking and gesturing, and organized a discussion with several other onlookers. He even specifically asked me to talk about my experience with the gun because I was carrying a long gun. After chatting for more than 20 minutes, he arranged the next group to fight. After Eric briefly introduced me, he said hello to Farkas and took me to sit in the pergola next to him.

"Why did you come here by yourself? Where's Lund?"

I took out the letter and handed it to him, explaining that Lund was busy running the quarry. Eric glanced at it, curled his lips, and stuffed the letter into his clothes.

"This stubborn boy is quite opinionated. Forget about him not coming. Locke, do you see the girl with short hair over there? Yes, yes, the one wearing studded armor and holding a long sword. Her name is Leah, our little junior sister. Aunt Donna has been taking care of her these days. How about I introduce you two to each other?"

What's wrong with these guys? Why are they suddenly concerned about this? Is it because spring is here and they are ready to fall in love? I shook my head, saying that I am not considering marriage at the moment. Eric seemed to be ready to continue to promote his junior sister, but I blocked him with Angie's letter. This guy probably read the letter letter by letter for more than ten minutes without saying a word. At the end, he even leaned in to smell it, and then carefully folded it and put it close to his body. Seeing this gave me goose bumps. Fortunately, he stopped talking about Leah and took me to see Donna.

Donna has been living with the servant of the Companions, "Wild Eagle" Tilma, helping with chores such as boiling water, cooking, washing clothes and cleaning. The old woman was relieved to be involved in the fight between the lords, saying that she was in danger because her son was promising. She and Mulagi have become respected elders in Loristed Town, but Ennis's parents don't have this treatment. Donna readily agreed to my suggestion to take her to live in Falkreath after the house is built, and encouraged me that a good man should have ambitions and not always think about her. If I am really worried that she will be lonely, I might as well give her a big fat grandson as soon as possible...

Finally, Eric suggested taking me to the Drunk Hunter Restaurant in the Plains to eat barbecue, and I was able to escape the marriage urging scene. Stein had followed Nicada Stonearm and Leah to the market to purchase the things Angie and Eddie ordered. This kid made a fortune today. When I went to see Donna, Eric arranged for him to train with the people of the Companions. It is said that he learned a few moves. When he went out, he was still asking Nicada for advice on the timing and skills of blocking. The Companions are very commendable in this regard. Anyone who is interested in martial arts can learn from each other without joining, and they never hide anything. It is also because of this that it can become the leading mercenary organization in Skyrim, with a very high reputation and extensive connections in the nine territories.

Eric and I were sitting in a small private room, cutting the roasted venison leg in front of us and chatting with malt liquor. According to him, the Companions have only more than 50 permanent members in Yuevaska, but there are nearly 200 people in the halls of the major territories and other organizations or individuals with close cooperation. Such a powerful force can almost match that of a mid-level lord. However, the expansion of the Companions has only happened in recent decades. The more chaotic the times, the more popular the mercenary groups are. There is no place for them in peaceful times, and Skyrim is no exception. This organization has lasted for thousands of years, and has experienced glory and troughs. Although they seem to be in an upward period, they are also facing strong challenges from their peers. The most powerful among them is the Silver Hand Mercenary Group.

"Didn't you say you wanted to ask for my opinion on something? You didn't mean to ask me if I should pursue your junior sister, did you?"

I don't know when Eric learned to beat around the bush. Why is he introducing the background of the Comrades in a rambling way? Brother, I have already understood this organization thoroughly in the game. Do I need you to explain it to me?

"That's not the case. I was just joking. I originally wanted to introduce Leah to Lund. That boy will be 24 in a few days. His parents are no longer alive. As brothers, shouldn't we help keep an eye on him? Who knew that the boy would fall in love with someone? Don't listen to Aunt Donna. Why are you in such a hurry to get married? With your current status and position, you should marry a baronet or something in the future."

I…the Baroness I want to marry is now the Lord’s wife…wait…what do you mean by Rund chooses one himself?

"Who does he fancy?"

"How should I know? He didn't say it in the letter. Aren't you two together? I wanted to ask you something. Don't... don't you have a crush on Miss Angie?"

I don't think it would be so ridiculous. Lund knew about the relationship between Eric and Angie, and considering his reputation in Helgen, Angie might not necessarily look down on him.

"You're not really just concerned about the relationship between me and Lund, are you?"

"No, no, no, you see, I forgot about the important things." Eric stood up and looked outside the private room, then carefully closed the door. "I found out a secret, you must not tell anyone!"

"Oh! Big brother, please speak quickly. My mouth is tighter than the gate of Markarth."

It is strict, isn't it? The baby in the lord's wife's belly is mine. Who among you knows that?

"That is... there are werewolves among the comrades..."