I once asked people about the supreme ruler of Xueman.

The blacksmith of Brookwood and his clerk's nephew think that Bargulf is a good man, perhaps a little cautious, but not a bad thing in the face of crisis. Barguf managed to avoid the war, but Snowman's strategic location connecting the east and west of Skyrim meant he had to choose between the Empire and the Stormcloak.

Alvo the Blacksmith has no doubts about Lord Balguf's loyalty to the Empire, although as it stands, Barguf dislikes neither Ulfric nor Elisifus - his widow temporarily wields power after the murder of Toig, the High King of Skyrim, by Ulfrik.

Although it is generally believed that Lord Barguf has a cautious or hesitant character, and I can see some clues through the confrontation between the two families in Xueman City, I was impressed by his words just now: "I can't hesitate any longer! There's a dragon out there burning my territory and slaughtering my people, and I'm not going to stand idly by. ”

At least he was a ruler who cherished his people.

Farenga gave the lord a brief account of my situation. The lord's expression looked a little tired, and he was worried about the turmoil of the dragon attacks these days. Listening to the court mage's words, the lord walked quickly up to me, took my hand and expressed his gratitude.

"You will be the benefactor of Xueman, and hundreds of people will be spared from the dragon's mouth because of you. On behalf of the people of the territory, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you, and I will not treat you badly after the crisis is resolved, a traveling scholar from Gaoyan. ”

Oh, Lord Balguf's demeanor is a little alarming to me. I've been listening to other people's gossip these days, and I've never accepted such a sincere pleading, which makes me feel good from the bottom of my heart.

"Rest assured, my lord, my journey also needs a beginning without worries and an end without regrets, Xueman is the first stop of my journey through the sky, I love this city, and I will do my best to save this pearl of the north from the erosion of evil."

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

Without further ado, a small detachment was called up and headed to Creekwood Town to begin the journey to acquire the "Dragonstone". As the leader of the operation, I have nominal command over these snow-mans and mercenaries.

There were five members of the party plus me, including: a dark elf, Jane Lhasa, whom she met in the Tavern of the Drunken Hunters, who was still dressed in her previous attire; a middle-aged Nord woman in heavy armor and holding a large sword, the "Indomitable" Usged; A young Nord warrior, Gaudier, from an ancient family in the Snowman Territory; A red-haired dark elf in mage robes, gray-skinned with pointy ears, and I could sense an uncomfortably dark aura from him who knew a little magic—it made me lack the enthusiasm to inquire about him in detail.

"Did you come voluntarily or did you take orders from your employer?"

"I came voluntarily. I have some understanding of the structure of the Frostfall Temple. "The first to answer me was a young man named Gaudier.

"You've also been to the Temple of Coldfall?"

"Nope. My family has a similar tomb in the Snowman Territory, built some time later than the Temple of Coldfall, and the customs of the Nords should not have changed much at that time. The lord has taken good care of us all these years, and now that he is in trouble, I can't sit idly by. ”

"It's a great addition to have a companion who knows the architecture of the Gunnold tombs. Sister Usgade, what about you? ”

"Fighting. I'm tired of searching these days. ”

"Perhaps you have learned from Irelais that there is a ghoul lord in the temple who will hinder our movements, and you can satisfy your thirst for battle from it."

"It's a pity that I'd rather face that dragon." The Great Sword Girl pursed her lips with a disappointed expression.

"Dragons? When we get the slate, we can get the exact location of the dragon, do you have some personal matters to leave early? ”

"Sure enough, you haven't been here for a long time, and you still don't know what happened between me and my comrades."

"Sounds like something unpleasant has happened between you."

"I wanted to join them, they wanted me to prove my worth and sent a hairy boy to fight me. Because it was about whether I could join the Brothers-in-Arms group, I was very excited and nervous, and I didn't control my strength...... Although my comrades-in-arms have forgiven me, I don't have the face to see them anymore. ”

"Sorry to ask about this. Hopefully, you'll find another Warrior organization to join in the future. ”

"There is no other organization in the Skyrim Province that is older and more sacred than the Brothers-in-Arms. As a Nord fighter eager to prove himself, not being able to fight alongside them will be the regret of my life. ”

Although Usgade's tone was a little low at the mention of this, I could sense a characteristic optimism of the Nords—a setback that could not knock down a warrior who yearned for battle and glory.

After asking the Great Sword Girl, I turned my gaze to the silent Dark Elf Mage, "Dear Mr. Mage, could you introduce yourself and give your opinion on the Frostfall Temple by the way?" ”

"I don't have to tell you." The dark elf mage unhappily squeezed a few words out of his mouth and ignored me.

Staying in the house for a long time and studying magic made his emotional intelligence not very high. But it doesn't matter, judging by the dark aura that emanates from him, he may be a mage who specializes in necromancy, and the large number of ghouls in the Frostfall Temple is right in his hands.

"What about you, Jane Sarah...... Well, I know you're in it for pay. ”

……

We've been here once before, and with the guidance of locals in the team who are familiar with the environment, we have entered the Temple of Coldfall with ease.

"Ah, I can't imagine that the ancestors of the Nords lived in such a place." The Dark Elf Assassin lit a torch and entered the cave of the Gounods for the first time, impressed by the strange culture of the alien race.

"First of all, I need to inform you of some important things. I can block out the sceptibility of the ghouls, but you can't move around anything in this temple or you'll disturb the ghouls. We also need to be careful when walking, as bumping and making too much movement will cause us a lot of trouble. ”

Several people expressed their willingness to obey my orders, and the Dark Elf necromancer nodded reluctantly. I unleashed a probe spell and led them slowly deeper into the temple.

It's still the same spell that exudes the illusion of death and decay to isolate the breath of the living. The difference is that I, as a spellcaster, can be somewhat comfortable with this amount of power, and my teammates are a group of living people whose bodies instinctively dispel this energy. So I need to cast the spell on all the ghouls here.

I walked cautiously to the front.

Unlike the first time I came here, it was so dark that I had to light a torch to light it.

Soon I realized something was wrong. Aside from a few snow rats, I didn't find any ghoul breath or activated traps. Deeper down, it's devastating.

The ghouls lay on their feet, most of them left marks of being cut by sharp blades, and their bodies were littered with broken bones. It seems that people have been visiting again in less than a week, and with rather violent means.

Musk told me before that my arrival will attract a lot of attention, so does this visit have anything to do with me?

I am bothered by unknown visitors. I've had a little bit of a retreat, but I've promised the leader to get the dragonstone in my hands, and I have to keep going.

Stepping on the shards of the ghouls, we came to the Dragon's Claw Gate. I deliberately closed the door the last time I left, and now it's being opened, which gives me a premonition that it's not going to be good. I quickened my pace and was the first to pass through the Dragon's Claw Gate into the Cold Fall Secret Room.

The Chamber of Secrets is a mess, and there must have been a great change in the days since I was gone. I set the target area for my exploration on the platform of the Dragon's Wall, and the results told me that the Ghoul Lord had disappeared as well.

There are many traces of fighting along the way. The shocking cracks and spilled rocks meant that the rock walls had been violently impacted, the holes in the rocks were probably the result of sharp punctures, several places where the ground was not strong enough to be trampled deep by strong steps, and the vegetation was devastated, not to mention the bat carcasses that were conspicuously floating on the water.

The ghoul lord was nailed to the wall of the dragon, and the victor of the battle did not leave any information that would identify him. During the battle, he snatched the Sengunod longsword from the ghoul lord's hand, and in turn used it to pierce the body of its original owner.

Although I have decided to make up for the strength of the dragon's roar by slaying the dragon, I still feel a little sorry for the death of the ghoul lord, this feeling...... It's like a girl who can't catch up with me for a long time and has been given up by me and is suddenly won by someone else.

I ignored the miserable corpse and walked over to the ebony coffin. The result was dismal, there was nothing in the coffin. Reluctantly, I rummaged through the lower altar again, and ordered others to search the platform carefully, but in the end they found nothing.

I have to regret to announce the termination of the mandate. The dragonstone should be in the hands of the ghoul lord, and the lack of discovery can only mean that the stone slab has been taken.

Usgad didn't make it through a good battle here, and had to leave in disgrace. Jane Lhasa was more concerned about whether the lord would be paid for this failed operation, and also returned to Xueman first. Gaudier said he would stay here for a while, and he had the impression that the tombs were always scary and eerie, and that the Temple of Coldfall subverted his common sense.

There was also a necromancer who stayed behind to tinker with the ghoul fragments inside the temple. I didn't bother to pay attention to him, and rode back to Brookwood alone.