0p0 Chapter 147 Willing to Serve
Chapter 147 Willing to Serve
The old fox showed a surprised expression again.
"My child, this trip is more dangerous than I thought!"
"It wasn't that dangerous. I was passing by there at the time, and the Reach launched an attack in the middle of the night and retreated before dawn. The defenders said they killed more than a dozen people, but I had to hide my identity and couldn't go to the battlefield to confirm. At that time, I was most worried that Falkreath would be involved."
"This is just nonsense! If we could communicate in advance, I would definitely advise her not to act rashly."
"I think this is a good idea. This crow hag is very arrogant, and the Reachmen are a people who refuse to be educated. It's not a bad thing to let them run into obstacles. Once they realize that they can't take back their homeland by their own strength, they will be willing to accept our help. Only in this way can we consolidate our alliance."
Danger looked nonchalant.
"I'm worried that this witch will do it again and hurt the vitality of the tribe. When that happens, our soldiers will have to take the lead in retaking the snake-shaped defense position."
"If your Excellency is right, General Tullius will not give her the opportunity to act willfully again."
"That's what I want to tell you. Go back to Howling Bastion to attend the meeting, and then go to the Bloody Throne to handle the affairs of your own territory. After that, I want you to go to Sunnygarden Fortress and persuade the Reachmen to prepare for defense. Madam Montoya's influence is limited, and you are the only one who can talk to them. In addition, our defense work will be handed over to Baron Horrick, and you will inform him. We will not discuss this matter at the Lords' Council. You will arrange your own time and complete it in secret. You have also seen General Tullius's style, and I'm afraid we don't have enough time to set up the defense line."
I am very worried about the arrangement of the old fox, because it means that he still hasn't caught the traitor. Tullius sent Lucius to attack Falkreath last year, and we speculated that Sidgeir was the spy planted among us by the Imperial Legion. But the lord himself has been pretending to be crazy, so he must have an accomplice, which is why it is possible to send the news out. But we don't know who the guy responsible for the tip-off is, and we don't even know how many people are working for Tullius and Sidgeir.
"My lord, is Lord Balgruuf aware of our plan?"
Danger nodded.
"I went to Whiterun this time to discuss the future situation with him and Lord Skade. For some reason, they both seemed to prefer to focus on the defense of Fort Dunstad. Therefore, we have to rely on ourselves in the direction of Fort Sunshine Garden. However, both lords said that if we are indeed attacked fiercely by the main force of the Imperial Legion, they will provide as much help as possible on the premise of ensuring the stability of the northern defense line."
Providing help? Providing all kinds of help except for help, I guess?
The old fox patted my shoulder.
"Never pin your hopes on the help of your allies, my child. If we have no chance of winning, why would others come to help us? Anyway, that's all. Let me summarize. A dragon has come to the territory. It has not attacked any strongholds for the time being. I will arrange people to search for its whereabouts and then organize a hunt. The iron ore of the Bloody Throne will be purchased by the Lords' Council. You proposed this motion yourself, and I will support it. You are responsible for contacting the Rich people, and it will not be discussed at the meeting. Do you have anything else to ask me?"
"One small matter. Your Excellency, do you remember the gang of robbers who killed Baron Montoya? I suspect they may know the smuggling route in the Gerold Mountains, but I wonder if these people are still in custody?"
"They have all been executed."
How come your knife is so fast?
At dusk, I bid farewell to Danger in Howling Bastion and entered Falkreath through the south gate of the fortress. It was late, and I didn't want to disturb others, so I led Lydia straight to my house. The tall wall made of fine wood had disappeared, replaced by half-man-high shrubs. Donna was pruning branches and leaves with Hayou and the maid Savilla. When she saw me coming back, she quickly sent the tiger man to open the door, and the dark elf girl turned and ran into a room. When she saw that it was Lydia following me, the old man smiled even happier.
"You two kids haven't eaten yet, have you? Come in, I'll ask Savilla to get you something to eat. Girl, is your arm okay?"
Lydia bowed respectfully and thanked Donna for the condolences she had asked Stein to convey, but she looked at Hayou with a fierce look. The tiger man was still winking at Lydia, but was startled by the glare. He didn't follow us into Whiterun, so he didn't know that I was dizzy. At this moment, he looked confused and couldn't figure out what he had done wrong.
Donna ignored their whispering and took me around the yard.
My land is not small. I originally wanted to build a villa in the northernmost part, and then use the stream flowing down from the Howling Bastion Mountain to arrange a garden in the courtyard. Now my plan has been interrupted by the hateful Nanya. Although the foundation of the villa has been laid, there is no way to talk about the building on it. I can only use it as a cellar temporarily. The Nords have a tradition of living in caves. Large houses generally have basements, and my villa is no exception. On the west side of the courtyard are three small houses built side by side. The one that Savira went into is probably the kitchen.
Donna cultivated a small piece of land in the open space in the middle of the yard and planted some seasonal vegetables. It was green and lovely. According to her, Nanya originally complained that my canal diverted the stream water, resulting in insufficient power for the logging camp, so she sent people to block it. However, after the beginning of spring this year, the climate of abundant rain in Falkreath returned to the previous years. Our respected steward began to worry about the sudden rise of the river and caused a flood, so he dug a new canal to discharge the flood. This made it convenient for Donna to irrigate her vegetable garden.
Of course, the wood for the fence was also taken away by this guy. I bought those with my own money!
"The steward said that the city is being rebuilt and wood is in short supply. She just borrowed it first, and when everyone has a house to live in, she will use the output of the lumberyard to repay the debt. She also wrote me an IOU, and she arranged for people to plant these trees. I think the current state is pretty good. The wooden wall is too high, like living in a prison. I know it's not easy for you now, so don't offend the steward because of these trivial matters."
Donna brought out some papers from the house, and I looked through them carefully to prevent the elf from tampering with the numbers. But I was a hands-off manager, and I couldn't figure it out after staring at it for a long time, so I had to ask Donna to keep the IOU and wait for Lund to check it when he had time. Savilla prepared dinner and set the table quickly, standing aside with his hands hanging down, waiting for Lydia and I to sit down. Lydia was reluctant to eat at the same table with me at first, but she couldn't resist Donna's repeated persuasion and had to sit upright opposite me. I think she had a more uncomfortable meal than being tortured.
I searched my body and couldn't find any small items, so I gathered my change and collected more than 20 Septim coins and stuffed them into Savilla's pocket. The dark elf girl was so frightened that she didn't dare to accept or refuse. She could only look at Donna for help.
"Why did you give her money? Lund came to visit me twice, and the money he brought was enough for our daily expenses."
"I'm always out and about, so I can't spare the time to spend with you. This child has taken good care of my mother, but I don't have anything nice to thank her for, so I'll give her some pocket money, and she can buy whatever she likes."
Donna nodded at Savera.
"Since he said so, you should keep it."
"I will be in the castle tomorrow to discuss matters with Lord Danger, and then I will be heading to the Bloody Throne. Times are tense right now, and I'm afraid we still have a lot to do. I don't know when I will be able to stay with you for a few days."
Donna took it easy and told me to be careful when I went out and not to worry about her.
I entered Howling Bastion the next morning. Because Rigel was still pregnant, there were only four people attending the meeting. Nanya really accused me of instructing Rund to sell the iron ore to the Reachmen. Naturally, I proposed that the Falkreath Council should be responsible for the purchase and sale. This high elf was so arrogant that he claimed that the future output of iron ore could be negotiated, but the money I earned this time must be confiscated. If Danger hadn't jumped out to mediate, I'm afraid we would have quarreled for a whole day. Fortunately, a resolution was finally reached. Since I knew nothing about the cost of iron ore mining, Danger said that he and Nanya would summon Rund to check the account books before deciding the purchase price.
Tagel gave a detailed account of the dragon's entry. This thing suddenly passed between Helgen Town and Nugra Fortress last month, causing great panic among the residents of both places, and then disappeared in Mount Jerrol. Not only was there no trace of it in Falkreath City, but Bloodthrone Fortress was also normal. I suddenly remembered that there is a place called the Ancient Ramp in the game, which is located southeast of Falkreath City, southwest of Helgen Town, north of Bloodthrone, and west of Nugra Fortress. There is a dragon language wall here, and after the Dragonborn appears, a dragon will appear to guard this place. In this case, could it be that Alduin began to resurrect dragons and send them to various places?
I didn't want to appear to be a prophet, so I kept silent. Since Danger has already said that he will be responsible for this matter, let him take his time to find it. I can't even deal with a werewolf now, so I dare not provoke a dragon. Nanya also reported the progress of the reconstruction work and the income and expenditure of the territory. She emphasized that because the city was destroyed last winter, we had to purchase food from the Rift Valley and weapons and equipment from the Whiterun at a high price, resulting in a serious shortage of cash. The solution to this problem is to sell the wood produced next. As for the batch of goods owed to me, she can only express her sincere apologies at present.
I visited Rigel after the meeting. The little saber-tooth tiger lived in the big villa that Tagel built for her. Eddie and his wife left their business and came here to take care of her daily diet. In addition to the two maids in Helgen Town, Tagel sent two more maids for his daughter-in-law. The four of them took shifts to ensure that there was always someone to serve Rigel. Due to the appearance of the dragon, Dad sent Rhea with four members of the Rich Guard to take charge of security.
I estimated the days, she was about seven or eight months pregnant, her body was already very heavy. But this woman was very active, since she moved to Falkreath, without the restraint of her father, she would go out for a walk every day, making the servants and guards nervous. She said that she had visited Donna before, and the reason she gave was to learn from the elders who had given birth, but we both knew what it was for. Donna never mentioned this to me, it seemed that she really thought it was just a private meeting between women.
Rigel's legs were swollen so badly that she often needed the help of a maid to massage them. She also had frequent urination, so it was inconvenient for a grown man to be around her. So I was kicked out after sitting for a short while. Riya waited outside the door. She nodded to Lydia as a greeting, and then led us to a guest room.
"Lord Locke, I would like to ask Your Excellency to see someone."
She didn't seem to be planning to ask for my opinion at all, and she pushed the door open and walked in. Lai Mei followed me with one hand on her sword, but she soon relaxed.
There was only one person in the room—Bryce. The Red Guard girl sat by the grindstone, meticulously sharpening a scimitar. When she heard our voices, she looked up and greeted Lydia and me with a big smile.
"This girl is my apprentice now. Bryce, I have something to discuss with Lord Locke, please don't let anyone disturb us."
"Yes, master."
Ruiya led us to the inner room, opened the secret compartment on the floor, and went into the basement first. A man immediately came up to us.
"Ms. Riya! Thank God you're here. Who are they?"
The man took two steps back cautiously, half turning sideways so that he could jump to the wall and grab his weapon as soon as possible.
"Calm down, Masinissa! This is Knight Locker from Falkreath. He may be young, but he is very wise. I suggest you tell him about your experience."
"Ok."
Masinissa sat down, pointed to a few empty chairs, then reached out and pulled off his hood, revealing his dark face.
"As you can see, I am a Redguard. My companions and I followed our leader, Kematu, to Skyrim on a mission to capture a traitor."
"Riya told me that you have succeeded."
Masinisa looked at Riya with a reproachful look, and the heroine had to speak up to defend herself.
"Lord Locke was with me at the time, and he was the first to discover Satia's whereabouts. But he had something important to do, so I informed you all."
Masinissa leaned forward slightly in apology.
"I also thought the mission was a success, but unfortunately, things didn't go the way we had hoped. Kaimatu had to keep a low profile, causing us to waste precious time. This can't all be blamed on his over-caution. After all, unlike the Hammerfall Province that bravely fought against the Thalmor, we found that most Nords don't seem to be very opposed to licking the elves' boots..."
"If you wish to die, I am willing to serve you."
Lydia's long sword was unsheathed, Masinissa had a mocking sneer on her face, and Riya quickly stood between the two. I stood up and pushed Lydia's long sword back into the scabbard.
"Ms. Rhea, I have no interest in this gentleman's story. Please excuse me. Lydia, let's go!"
The heroine kicked Masinissa into the chair, and took advantage of the momentum to block my way up the stairs.
"Lord Locke, please don't argue with him. I beg you, you are the only one who can help them now."
I looked Riya up and down.
"Well, why don't you help yourself?"