Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

This woman is the daughter of the Gray Mane family. She and Joe from the War Maniac family are lovers. Originally, this was a good marriage for the two families, but unfortunately, the civil war broke out and the two families had different positions, so the two young people dared not make their relationship public. Ophelia should have made an appointment to meet Joe secretly, but her mother saw the signs and put her under house arrest.

I bowed to the two ladies and continued to wander around the windy area. There was no need to rush to deliver a letter. It was common for boys to wait for an hour or so on a date. The key point was not to arouse the suspicion of Ophelia's mother. The so-called letter that Ophelia stuffed in my hand was actually a hastily written note. I hid in a corner where no one noticed and peeped into their privacy.

"Joe, everyone is very nervous about the disappearance of Thorade. I am under close surveillance and will not be working at Mare Banner recently. Please be patient, I will try my best to find an opportunity."

The letter was not finished and the handwriting was very sloppy.

The missing Thorad is the youngest son of the Graymane family. After joining the Stormcloaks, he was captured by the Thalmor and is now imprisoned in the North Tower Fortress. The War Crazy family mocked his mother in public, saying that he was on the wrong side and deserved the bad luck, but secretly used their connections in the Empire to try to save him. However, this time it was the religious police of the Thalmor father who enforced the law across borders. As a submissive subject of the child emperor, how could General Tullius dare to intervene in this matter?

"gentlemen!"

A timid childish voice sounded behind me, which frightened me as I was peeking at the letter. A boy of about thirteen or fourteen appeared behind me without knowing when.

"Sir, you are a warrior, right? Just like dad and uncle."

Since I was going to meet the lord, I was only wearing civilian clothes and did not carry any weapons. I don't know how this child made such a judgment.

"So young man, what do you want with a warrior?"

"I...uh...I want to ask you for a favor, go teach someone a lesson. It's Bryce, that girl is crazy, she always steals my money and beats me up. I...if you can stop her, I'll give you all my savings."

The boy opened his hand and held up two coins.

"Two Septim?"

"She took the others, and I hid these two in my shoes..."

I have a connection with the Zhan Kuang family today. Lars, the youngest son of the Zhan Kuang family, has been bullied by this little bully named Bryce. I followed him through the complicated streets of Whiterun and soon found the target in the plains.

"Lars! Crybaby! Where's the money you promised to give me?"

The boy turned and ran without hesitation. The Red Guard girl shouted "Stop" and rushed over to him, but was blocked by me.

"Get out of the way! What are you looking at? Don't think I'm afraid of you just because you're big!"

Seeing that I had no intention of giving way, Bryce started punching me. This was a move that only street kids would use to fight, so she was no match for me. She was quickly grabbed by both hands, and continued to struggle for a while. When she was sure that she could not escape, she angrily shouted at Lars who was watching from a distance.

"Crybaby! You traitor! You promised to give me money, why did you find this man to deal with me?"

The commotion we caused quickly attracted other people's attention, and two soldiers wearing the standard armor of the White Man came over and surrounded me.

"Miss Bryce? Sir, I order you to let go of that lady and put your hands where I can see them!"

The two men drew their swords and took a step forward. I regretted intervening in this matter. I thought I was just scaring the kids, but now I have attracted the guards.

"I am the envoy of Falkreath. My friend was bullied by this girl and asked me to help."

The two looked around suspiciously, and I was thinking about how to prove my identity as an envoy. But they soon found the boy hiding in the distance.

"Oh, so it's Master Las's friend. It's just a misunderstanding. Sir, we adults shouldn't get involved in the fights between children, right?"

The soldiers put away their weapons, laughed, and turned to Bryce, who was still standing there grumbling.

"Ms. Bryce, how about we take you to Instructor Amulen?"

"No need!"

When Bryce heard his father's name, he turned and left decisively. The two soldiers nodded at me and went back to patrol. It seemed that they often dealt with this little devil and knew her weaknesses. For a moment, only Lars was left with a bitter face, sighing beside me.

"It's over now. She won't let me go. Please give me those two Septim back. Maybe she can save me a few more blows."

I handed the money to the cowardly boy and followed the direction Bryce left. According to the two guards, Amulen is their instructor. I plan to contact her father through the little devil and have a chat with him. I hope to use this day to understand the views of the residents of Whiterun on the situation and do some homework for tomorrow's court meeting.

I easily found the little devil, who was losing her temper at the other two girls.

"I told you to stay away from Crybaby! If I see you getting close to him again, I'll break your snub noses!"

Bryce was so absorbed in reprimanding the poor girl that by the time she spotted me it was too late for her to flee, but she still went on with a fierce, desperate attitude.

"Calm down, little girl. I'm not going to fight you. If you can help me contact your father, I can pay for Zhan Kuang's brat. I have something to ask him."

I played with the five Septim in my hand. Although Bryce showed a disdainful expression, his eyes moved up and down with the coins.

"Why are you looking for him? He knows nothing! He can only tell me, oh, baby, you can't do this. Oh, dear, you can't do that. Oh, good boy, I don't know this either. Why don't you ask your mother? You might as well ask me if you have something to ask him."

I looked at this little girl with great interest. She was a free-range kid who wandered around the city every day. Maybe I could really get some opinions from her? Although military and national affairs still depend on the opinions of the nobles, there is still the so-called "people's support", right? The most important point is that I think it is easier to get things out of children. Bryce felt a little guilty when I stared at him, and he couldn't wait to prove his worth.

"My father hangs out with the guards every day, so he definitely doesn't know as much as I do. I'm already thirteen years old, and I still have a lot of friends. I can always find out the news you want. As long as you buy me a bowl of Mare Banner's beef soup, I can answer all your questions."

"Okay, little girl, it's a deal. But I have to run something now. Let's meet at the door of Mare Banner at noon. Let's make it clear in advance that if you can't provide valuable information, you have to help me contact your father. Now, I'll give you a Septim and tell me how to get to Bellator's Grocery Store."

Following the little devil through the streets and alleys, I came to the door of a shop. Although I didn't know Joe Zhan Kuang, it was not difficult to find a young man who was fidgeting like an ant on a hot pot in the crowd. After reading Ophelia's letter, Joe sighed softly. I patted his shoulder.

"Brother, let me have a drink with you."

We found a remote and deserted tavern. Joe was in a low mood and kept complaining about the rebellion of the Stormcloaks, which led to the hostility between the Graymane and Warbers families. However, after my persuasion, he had to admit that the two families had been secretly competing with each other, and the relationship was not as harmonious as they claimed to the outside world. It was just that the recent situation caused all these conflicts to be exposed.

The ancestors of these two families are said to be traceable back to the Five Hundred Heroes of Ysgramor. After the Skyforge was discovered by Ik the River, the weapons and equipment of the Nords were mainly supplied here. The blacksmiths were smoked every day, and their beards and hair were always covered with coal ash. From then on, they took Graymane as their surname. The War Crazy family has been in the army for generations, and many brave warriors have emerged. In that era of great conquest, the brave who opened up new territories on the battlefield were always particularly respected, and the status of the War Crazy family was much higher than that of the Graymane family, which was engaged in logistics.

As the Nords gradually settled down, the Warman family gained the fertile land of Whiterun by virtue of their military merits, while the Graymane family continued to control the Skyforge. Food and weapons are both important strategic resources, and the two families soon became important forces in Whiterun. Although neither of them eventually sat on the throne of the lord, it does not mean that the successive lords can ignore their interests. It is precisely because they are not lords that they do not have to be involved in the treacherous court struggles, but instead become stronger. The children of the two families continue to fight in the military and political circles, sometimes competing for their own interests, and sometimes joining forces for common interests. The lords of Whiterun have changed one after another, but Graymane and Warmaniac have always remained unmoved.

Power lasts forever.

As time entered the Fourth Age, everything in Eternity changed. The reason was that two geniuses suddenly appeared in the Graymane family.

Like all second sons of a family, Vignar Greymane had to fight for his position. He was recognized by the Companions at the age of sixteen and became a member of the Moonvaska. If there had not been the subsequent world war, this young man would have likely become the youngest member of the circle in hundreds of years, but he eventually decided to use his talent to fight for freedom for his country. Vignar quickly grew into a commander of the Imperial Skyrim Legion, followed General Jonah to fight deep into Cyrodiil, witnessed the sincere unity of all human races, defeated the Thalmor who sacrificed their souls to the demons, and also witnessed the Empire betraying Skyrim and Hammerfell without hesitation in exchange for his own night of peace.

Vigner's brilliant military achievements once overshadowed the achievements of his younger brother Erlund, who was the true glory of the Graymane family - a talented blacksmith. People initially only discovered that the quality of equipment produced by Skyforge had improved, until this young man under 30 years old took over his uncle's work in full, and everyone realized that the Graymane family had produced an extraordinary figure. What's more terrifying is that in the following 20 years, Erlund's forging skills have never stopped improving, and no one knows where this guy's upper limit is. He even claimed that if he could get all the fragments of Wuthrad, he would try to recast the battle axe. This is equivalent to implying that his level is comparable to that of a legendary blacksmith like Inger.

The strong rise of the Graymane family has brought great pressure to Offred, the patriarch of the War Crazy. With his excellent communication skills, he has made friends with many high-ranking figures in the empire, and has also won many lucrative deals for the family. He even got the iron ore franchise in Whiterun Territory, which is equivalent to strangling the upstream supply chain of the Graymane family. The large amount of land owned by the family has also become Offred's confidence in competing with his old rivals. Cyrodiil was reduced to ruins in the protracted world war, and the food from the sky became an important strategic material to support the empire's survival. It is no surprise that the War Crazy family has obtained the franchise. Personal ability is important, but wealth and connections are also important resources. Speaking of this, I have a lot of coincidences with the current head of the War Crazy family.

What’s interesting is that the status of the two families have now been reversed. Gray Mane is doing well in the army, while War Maniac is in charge of logistics supply.

However, everything was ruined by the rebellion instigated by Ulfric!

Vignar completely abandoned everything he had accumulated in the Imperial Legion and retired in despair. Erlund also refused to continue supplying weapons and equipment to the forces supporting the Empire. The Skyforge only served the Companions. Several young people in the family, including Thorad, disappeared. Everyone knew that they had joined the Stormcloaks. The powerful Graymane family immediately declined. In less than a year, it was so bad that Erlund had to make some small jewelry to sell to his wife, and Ophelia had to work to earn pocket money.

The Battlecrackers were not much better off. Offred tried his best to maintain trade with the Empire, but the situation in Whiterun continued to deteriorate, leaving him helpless. Maidenach led the Reachmen to independence, basically blocking the trade route to Solitude in the west; the Stormcloak rebellion interrupted the route to the east; and the appearance of Alduin cut off the difficult route to the south over Mount Jerrol.

The main source of income for the War Mad Family now is to transport food to the north and sell it to Morningstar City, the enemy camp. This road is not easy to travel, but Lord Skade has been sending heavy troops to protect the road to the south, so it is still passable. The people of Morningstar City like to complain that Skade is desperate to recruit soldiers and send them to the front line, but they never mention that the bread they eat is made of wheat shipped back from the "front line". As long as Balgruuf defends the few farms next to the city, he will not starve to death, but if Morningstar City loses the supply from Whiterun, it will not even survive a winter.

The mine owners in Cangyuan Territory directly do business with Erlund, and the iron ore monopoly of the War Mad Family is in name only. Offred spent a lot of Septim to barely "persuade" Caius to send people to retake the coal block mines, which can be regarded as retaining a little share in this field. Ulfric turned a blind eye to Skard's "collaboration" behavior. His East Territory has limited arable land and still needs to be supplied by Rift Valley Territory. He really can't ask his allies to keep their loyalty to him while starving.

According to Joe, neither Graymane nor Warbringer had much affection for the Empire and the Stormcloaks. If Vigner had some faith collapse in his mind, then Offred was purely motivated by profit. Most of his clients were from the Empire, so he didn't want to make things too awkward with the Empire, but he didn't trust Tullius and didn't even allow Joe to study at the Bards' College in Solitude, fearing that his youngest son would become a hostage in the hands of the other side.

We have drunk enough wine. As long as we are all for the benefit, we can talk about everything. Even if Balgruuf refuses to form an alliance, I will find another opportunity to contact Offred privately to see if there is any possibility of cooperation between the two sides. As for the young man who is troubled by his feelings, I am no longer in the mood to coax him. There is a little devil waiting to drink beef soup on the other side of the mare banner.