jdhmnovel Chapter 124: Willers' Circus
Chapter 124: Willers' Circus
Archery is safe and can disrupt the bandits' encirclement, but it certainly won't stop the leader. Moreover, Helgi is closer to the woods, and I can only attract the attention of the archers in close combat. The bandits didn't show much surprise at my sudden appearance. Perhaps from the moment Aigis fell from the tree, they already knew that the mages had helpers. The two guys closest to the dark elves abandoned the injured target, surrounded me from both sides, and fought with me.
If I had a spear in hand, I would not be afraid of two people attacking me, but dual-wielding weapons is not something I can handle. What's worse is that one of the bandits was brandishing a mace. It was a solid iron lump with finger-long iron nails on it. If it took a bite, my leather armor would be ruined. The mace bandit didn't follow any tricks and just smashed me all over. I didn't dare to block with my sword, so I tried my best to dodge. When I couldn't escape, I used the axe to hit him, but soon I was at a disadvantage.
The two bandits fought more and more bravely. I was in a panic and barely managed to parry. I had no strength to fight back, let alone pay attention to the situation of Helgi and the dark elves. The screams coming from all around hit my nerves, but I couldn't tell whether the person making the sound was an enemy or a friend. Finally, my axe was knocked away by the opponent's hammer, and my palm was in great pain, obviously torn. I almost instinctively avoided the pursuit of the mace, and a deep crack was cut in my leather armor, and my chest was burning with pain. And the axe reflected the bright white moonlight, and it became bigger and bigger in my eyes.
I closed my eyes tightly.
"I'll fight with you!"
There was a bang, but the expected axe didn't hit me. It turned out that I had retreated step by step and was already near the fat and thin rookies. The thin rookie looked up and saw the enemy, roared and rushed over, barely saving my life. The robber's axe was knocked out of his hand, and the two of them wrestled together. Although the thin rookie took the initiative to attack, he was unable to suppress the robber. Instead, he was turned over and pressed to the ground by the robber, and his two fists just greeted his face.
The pressure on my side suddenly dropped. If I hold back at this moment, I will really be risking my life. Without any hesitation, I clenched my left hand and chanted a spell. A purple ball of light flashed and a fire element stood in the air. Before the little guy could show his power, the same ball of light appeared beside the dark elf, and the ice element that had just shown its power came again. It was Helgi and I who interrupted the bandits' siege, giving the dark elf a chance to touch the magic scroll in his arms.
All this happened very quickly. It took only two or three minutes from the time the dark elf was shot to the time we both summoned the magic element. The bandit leader was obviously confused. He stood there for a while, watching the ice element break the spine of one of his brothers. At this moment, another scream came from the woods. Soon, three bandits crawled out, and the one chasing them was the blood-covered, ferocious Hayou.
"The idea is too hard, bullshit!"
Nearly half of his men were killed, but only one was killed and three were injured on the other side. The archers in ambush were also discovered, and the bandit leader decisively called on his men to retreat. We did not go too far and placed the two elements of ice and fire in front of the formation. The others were busy gathering the only remaining horse and the companions who had fled in all directions.
"My friend, thank you for your help, otherwise we would be in great danger. Let me introduce myself. My name is Willers, the director of the Willers Circus."
"I'm Lund, a hunter from Loristed. This is my sister Helgi, and the tiger siblings, Hayu and Agis, are companions we met while hunting. We were camping nearby and heard the sound of fighting, so we rushed over to check it out."
The dark elf glanced at my summon calmly, and I had already prepared my words.
"This is what Uncle Joanne in town taught me. He is a veteran of the Imperial Legion."
"Damn the Imperial Legion! Damn the Stormcloaks! Without them, how could there be so many bandits? Vader wouldn't have died!"
When the skinny rookie heard the words "Imperial Legion", he immediately started cursing. After a few curses, he hugged the fat rookie's body and cried bitterly.
"This is old Klock's son, Sohiel, and the one killed is his brother, Weed. I hope you can understand him and forgive his rudeness out of grief."
The dark elf bowed slightly and I waved my hand to show my understanding.
"Oh, right, these bandits have escaped, and they might find helpers. We shouldn't stay here for long. Where are you going? We have a carriage and can give you a ride."
The dark elves' circus was coming from the direction of Stone Mountain Town. Seeing that the road ahead was so dangerous, they decided to return the same way. There was only one horse left to pull the cart, so we had to let Aigis and Verus, who had injured their legs, ride in the cart, and then pull up the body of Vader, while the others helped push the cart forward. Although I was scratched by the mace, it was not serious. In order to reduce the weight of the cart, I also walked after a simple bandage.
The group had just experienced a life-and-death struggle. Even though they had been traveling all night, no one dared to complain about being tired, let alone asking for a rest. They ate and drank while walking when they were thirsty or hungry. After the arrow wounds of Wills and Agis were treated with spells and potions, they were no longer serious. The two of them took turns getting off the car, and the others took turns getting on the car to take a rest. After walking for a day and two nights, we finally arrived at Shishan Town in the early morning.
This is a small town built around a mine at the foot of a mountain. In the game, it only has one stone house, and the miners usually camp. However, the Stone Mountain Town in the other world is still quite large, with a stone wall and a wooden gate. There are people with bows and arrows guarding the sentry tower above the gate, but looking at the simple equipment, it is clear that the sentinel is not a regular army, but may just be the town's militia or hired guards.
"Ha! Old Willers! You made a fortune the other day, and now you come back, and we have no spare money. Hey? How come you only have one horse left?"
The sentinel was joking with the dark elves, but soon realized that something was wrong and hurriedly opened the town gate to welcome us in. Velus narrated the incident with a sad face and asked the sentinel to help find someone to bury Vader.
The leaders of Stone Mountain Town, Sori and Paktor, are both Nords in their forties. They were actually arranged by Baroness Bai Ling of Solitude to manage the mine operations, but as the town grew, they naturally took on more responsibilities. As for whether the couple were professional managers hired by Bai Ling or retainers of Baron Solitude, I don't know. Paktor expressed sympathy for our experience and mentioned that the convoy he sent out to transport supplies was also robbed by bandits, and was reprimanded by Bai Ling for this.
"If this war continues, no one will survive. I don't know how General Tullius will ..."
"Pakto! If you have nothing to do, go mining. If you don't open your mouth, no one will think you are dumb! You talk nonsense after taking a few sips of wine!"
Soli stopped her husband from continuing the political topic, but this also reminded me that I should take advantage of this trip to collect some intelligence about the northern territories. The dark elf Velus I met this time happened to be a well-traveled person, so as soon as he finished Vader's funeral, I invited him to the only tavern in the town. Helgi filled our glasses attentively and sat beside us, hugging Barbas' neck.
According to Velus, his family entered Southam Island in the early Fourth Age with the refugees caused by the eruption of Red Mountain. He himself had only been in Skyrim for five or six years. At first, like most dark elves, he lived in the easternmost Windhelm City and did odd jobs.
There has never been any mutual trust between the Dark Elves and the Nords. According to legend, as early as the First Age, there was a High King named Hogg, who was famous for slaughtering Dark Elves and was known as the "Elf Killer". In the legend of the Dark Elves, he was a demon called "Mud Mouth". Compared with him, Ulfric was as docile as a rabbit. The High King after Hogg was the famous Wulfharth. This man ushered in his second death when the three seats of the Dark Elves were deified in the Trial of the Dark Elves, and he hated the Dark Elves because of this. Although the Nords and the Dark Elves formed the Ebonheart Alliance when the Serpent Men invaded the Akavir continent, it was just a short-term affair with different dreams. After that, the great lord Tiber Septim incorporated Morrowind into the territory of the empire, but this province always remained in a state of being close yet distant.
Of course, these illusory myths are believed to have happened thousands of years ago and will not have a decisive impact on people today. However, the dark elves are a very proud race. Even if they are desperate, they are not willing to contribute any of their strength to foreign races. The Nords have always been on guard against the dark elves taking advantage of the name of fleeing and occupying the magpie's nest. By allowing these stray dogs to enter the city and have property and freedom, the Nords believe that they have shown great goodwill.
Velus soon got tired of the life in Windhelm. He used his magic skills and acting talent to start a circus and began to travel around the territories of Skyrim. Before the civil war, his life was very comfortable and his income was considerable. The circus once grew to 15 people. Velus also bought a property in Whiterun, ending his wandering life.
The civil war destroyed people's comfortable life and the beautiful vision in their hearts. Wills himself was unwilling to get involved in politics. He thought it was a stupid quarrel between the Nords and Cyrodiil, but his members did not think so. Some returned to their hometowns and joined the camp they supported, while others were drafted. As time went by, the circus shrank to only three people. A circus that could only perform some small tricks could not attract the knowledgeable Whiterunners. In order to earn enough money, Wills sold his house and set out on the journey again. He performed in the Whiterun Territory, then went north to the Hafengar Territory, and recruited the two brothers Thorsir and Vider, but was trapped in the city of Morsal.
Lord Skade of the Cangyuan Territory is Ulfric's top general. He continues to exploit the territory's war potential and continuously sends soldiers to the front line, intending to seize the land of the Ar March Territory. Although this swamp is barren and muddy, it is extremely important strategically. It is not only the stepping stone for the Imperial Legion to advance to Whiterun Territory, but also guards the flank of Solitude. It really cannot be lost. However, its lord, Igrod Old Crow, is not normal. He is immersed in illusions all day long and is not someone who can be relied on. Under her command, let alone resisting the attack of the Cangyuan Territory, it is a problem whether the soldiers and military supplies can reach their destination in time.
General Tullius had no choice but to dispatch Taurinas and Constantine to take charge of the military affairs. These two were his confidants brought from Cyrodiil, loyal and capable. They worked well together to overcome the transportation difficulties caused by the swamp, established a three-dimensional defense line, and successfully pinned down the troops organized by Lord Skade in the border area. Although the Imperial Legion was still at a disadvantage overall, at least the city of Mosal and the estuary of the Yar River in the hinterland were safe.
Interestingly, Tullius never seemed to plan to find an opportunity to launch a decisive battle and completely defeat Lord Skade's army. He just followed the footsteps of the Stormcloak camp and gradually increased the army on the front line. During this period, he even made major events in southern Skyrim, from ambushing Ulfric to capturing Falkreath. If he could use these forces in the northern battlefield, he might have turned the situation here long ago.
This is also the reason why many people in Shishan Town and even the border of Ar are dissatisfied with Tullius. These people are in a place where wars are fought on all sides, and they are always worried. They have to tighten their belts and give priority to delivering military supplies to the Imperial Legion. Even more unfortunately, deserters from the front and civilians who have lost their livelihoods have become bandits, looting everywhere, making the lives of those honest people even worse. Some people even began to suspect that Tullius was nurturing bandits to protect himself.
After lingering in Mosal City for more than half a month, Willers finally made up his mind to rush across the border and head to Cangyuan Territory. He had never been to Morning Star City before, and chose this place as his destination because the small circus had very limited performances, and the performance venue had to be constantly changed to keep the audience fresh and willing to pay for tickets. It was not that he didn't know that the road ahead was difficult, but he had been walking in the sky for many years and had some experience in the martial arts world. He also had a magic scroll that he bought at a high price, and he thought he was capable of dealing with danger.
The result was a disaster.
"Brother Lund, the town you mentioned, Loristed, should be called Hofdiersted now, right?"
"Yes, I've been used to it since I was a child, and I can't change it for a while."
"I thought about it and decided to go south. I'll pass by your hometown soon. How about we go together?"
I seriously doubt that Villers is just looking for a few free bodyguards, but his suggestion is reasonable and hard to refute.
"But, brother, we haven't hunted the bear yet. If I go back like this, brother Eric will laugh at me!"
Helgi stroked Babas's messy long hair, pouted his lips, and looked willful and spoiled. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but my face was full of pampering and helplessness. Fortunately, this girl helped me out, otherwise I really didn't know how to refuse.
"Little sister, bears are very fierce, even fiercer than the robbers we encountered."
Helgi snorted and turned his head away. Villers was not embarrassed, but laughed. The little girl stood up angrily, put her hands on her hips, and shouted at me: "I don't care! I will hunt the bear before returning! Babas, let's go!"
It wasn't until Helgi left our sight that Villers stopped smiling.
"I once had a younger sister who also liked to pester me like this, and I could never get over her every time."
I raised my glass silently and drank with him, listening to him talk about the interesting things that happened between brother and sister when they were young. Wills' smile was bitter, his eyes were wet, and the warm memories made him choke several times. I didn't ask him about the cause of his sister's death. What he needed was not a response, but listening. Finally, the dark elf drank the wine in the glass and stood up.
"Brother Lund, I cannot thank you enough for saving my life. I don't have anything valuable to give you, so why not teach you the spell to summon the ice element?"