——4e, 201, the last seed month, 28th, 19:00——
Emilia was not able to arrive at the Rift Valley in the morning as planned, because the "Blade Warriors" had to entertain her well.
As a former royal guard, the Blade Warriors branch of the Ji Province has not seen the royal family members of the empire for a long time after they lurked. They can only understand the surrounding situation through intermittent contact with the empire. After hearing that Her Royal Highness the Princess wanted to When the "counter-rebellion" came, although they had doubts about the princess's ability to do such a big thing, they also expected to meet her one day and continue to perform their duties, so it was normal to be a little excited.
Perhaps due to the influence of Delphine, the leader of this team, many members of the Blades used disguised identities related to taverns and hotels. When those drunkards were chatting, it is very likely that the waiter who was quietly cleaning up not far away had already put those words into his mind. Keep it in mind.
The other part occupies some mines that produce "ebony mines" to provide minerals for making weapons and equipment for their comrades. They are not taken seriously. Naturally, there are not many mines that are not officially mined. If there are wild beasts or robbers who want to take over the magpies, The nests will only turn into corpses, and in the registered ebony mines, the blade warriors will pretend to be ordinary miners, such as the "Red Belly Mine" near "Shul Stone".
The name of this mine comes from the "red-bellied frost spiders" entrenched in the hollows deep inside it. This "pest" is not enough for the lord to send troops to eliminate them, but it is not something that the miners can do with their mining hoes. It can be solved. In the end, the mine owner ordered the miners to bypass the spider's nest and continue mining. However, he must not have thought that there was an underground base of Blade Warriors deep behind the spider's nest. Of course, they had the strength to deal with those spiders, but they obviously still left them. It's better to use it as a natural barrier.
The method for Emilia and Parasos to enter this underground base is that they don't have to dress like miners and drill into the mines, and chop down a few spiders with short memories when passing by the spider lair. "The spiders got out of the way to enter the base, and they walked down directly through a hidden passage like Delphine.
From Parasos's perspective, although this underground base disguised as a mine is not qualified for Her Royal Highness to live in, it is enough if it is only used as a base for secret troops.
"So, why did Her Royal Highness the Princess and the Sharp-Eyed Eagle Scout Captain come all the way to the Rift Valley? If they want to overthrow the city on the sewer, I can help with all my strength." Delphine said at that time.
"...overturned?" Emilia was looking at the piled ebony mines and asked in confusion after hearing this.
"Yes, more than half of the nobles who support the Stormcloaks live in Rift City, and the Blackthorn family also provides a large amount of military support for their army. If they can control Rift City, it will be equivalent to controlling the Storm. The neck of the cloak, this war will be over in just a few weeks." The female blade captain became more and more excited and almost took action immediately.
"...No." The princess shook her head.
"Ah, indeed, if the empire's direct armed forces directly occupy and control a city in the inter-province with a legal lord, no matter what their true purpose is, it will have a bad association with the lords of other cities. If they really do this , what we will face after capturing Rift City will probably be a unanimous siege from the other seven territories." Delphine sighed.
"Aren't you very clear about this?" Parasos shouted: "And in the two paragraphs before and after, I have no doubt that I can 'control' Rift Valley City."
"If you have participated in the war between the Empire and Thalmor, you will know that I am not exaggerating. Many major battles have our contribution, sometimes even the main force." Delphine wrote, and the topic changed: "So, if Her Royal Highness the Princess has any request , please be sure to ask and we will do our best to achieve it for you.”
"...Please make Pari an ebony armor." Emilia thought for a while before answering.
"Huh?" Parasos, who was caught off guard, only uttered a confused onomatopoeia.
Ebony is a kind of mineral that is harder than steel but only as light as wood. Although the armors and weapons made from it are better than steel in terms of protection and attack, many of them require their own use due to their light weight. Weight cannot be used as an auxiliary fighting method. The most suitable weapons for it are bows, arrows and daggers. So, why does the princess want to wear ebony armor now?
"Ah...I see." In contrast, Delphine's eyes sharpened instantly. She looked up and down at Parasos: "It seems that although you were ordered to protect the princess, you have no idea what she wants to do." As far as I know, this hideous leather armor is a complete failure."
It's so easy, Parasos thought. He would rescue the condemned prisoner if nothing happened. He would have snacks at any time. When General Tullius took away the donuts, he would chase him all the way. Hearing that Toig needed treatment, he would take the initiative to collect materials. She conveniently disrupted the summoning ceremony of Queen Wolfheart, and even came straight to the Rift Valley after learning that Ericul was once a member of the Thieves Guild. Who knows what Her Highness the Princess wants to do?
"Haha, you can go and go slowly. Our blacksmith will make you a suit of armor that fits you. Before that, I will entertain the princess." Delphine took Emilia and left straight away, and Faced with the obstruction of several strong blacksmiths, Parasos could only smile bitterly.
However, that was half a year ago. At this time, Parasos was wearing a newly made but deliberately aged ebony armor, carrying an ebony bow on his back, and hanging a curved ebony long sword on his waist. Walk towards the main entrance of Rift Valley City not far away.
Her Royal Highness is naturally nearby, as you can tell by the faint aroma of donuts. She did not accept too many things from the Blade Warriors. Apart from snacks and some sundries, there was only an ebony dagger. Parasos was very happy about this. Agree, although it is the same for a princess to use any dagger made of any material, but an ordinary iron dagger is really inappropriate.
Riften City, Crossed Dagger, City of Thieves and Crime, City on the Sewers, Land of Blackthorn Mead, the capital of Riften Territory has many titles, but none of them are related to hospitality. At the same time, it is also an interprovince. The only city that collects city taxes, looking at the reaction of the two guards to his approach, Parasos somewhat understood the princess's intention to change her armor.
This city doesn't care at all whether you are a spy for the Empire. It only cares about the money in your pocket and whether you have enough strength to keep it or even make it bigger.
If a guy who is obviously a battlefield scavenger wants to enter the city, although he does not have to pay much in the city entry tax, he will encounter all kinds of trivial and troublesome things that suit his identity, such as theft, fraud, frame-up, etc. At that time, it would be better to show your strength openly in order to gain recognition from the beginning. In any case, a powerful adventurer wearing ebony armor is not someone who is bold enough to provoke.
As for Princess Amelia, she almost never appeared in front of ordinary residents, and her whereabouts were even more of a mystery. Therefore, even if the Stormcloak spies in Solitude reported that there had been no news about the princess for a long time, it would not attract any attention. No one would have thought that she would run into the city. The heart of Stormcloak controlled territory.
Although it is just speculation, if Her Royal Highness can really control this city, the second most important city among the Stormcloak forces, Ulfric Stormcloak's face will definitely look good.
Da da da—whoosh—there was the sound of running in the woods beside the road, and then a bush was parted, and a man wearing worn-out inlaid armor rushed out, holding a handful in his hand in a completely unprofessional manner. Although it was just a glimpse of the long sword, Parasos could confirm that with the exquisiteness of the sword, it was definitely not something this guy could afford to use.
Seeing Parathos, the man's eyes lit up and he rushed over, directly putting the sword into his hand: "Take it for me, I will reward you when I come back!"
Although Parathos has more than a dozen ways to avoid taking over the sword, he is now playing the role of an "adventurer". This kind of person has no such characteristics as "being afraid of trouble" and will only seek for anything. To maximize the benefits, Palathos took the sword and watched the man cross the road and rush into the woods on the other side.
"...Give it to me." The princess's voice sounded beside him, and at the same time there was a weak pull on the sword. Parathos let go, and then saw it disappear into the air.
The scout captain was guessing what kind of trap the sword contained. The mystery had been revealed directly by the planners - three men wearing steel armor and looking like mercenaries stepped out from behind the bushes. They were all staring at him. He even shouted out unnecessarily, "The guy who stole the sword is coming this way."
"Sir, have you seen..." Although they seemed to be chasing someone, several steel-armored mercenaries vaguely surrounded Parasos. The leader glanced at his attire and spoke slowly. .
"No, get out!" Parasos directly pulled out his ebony sword and pointed it at the mercenary leader: "You dare to play this kind of trick in front of me?"
"Friend, pay attention to your tone. We are tracking a despicable thief. He obviously passed by here, but you have never seen him," the mercenary leader said proudly: "We have reason to suspect-"
Obviously, this is the style of conduct in Rift Valley City. Even if it is an obvious crime, as long as there is an excuse from the past at the time, the guards will choose to sit on the sidelines. If there is a fool who goes to the guards afterwards, they will not get anything. As a result, for example, the gate guards of Rift Valley City not far away were watching as if it had nothing to do with them.
Plop! "Ouch!"
The "despicable thief" who originally rushed into the woods on the other side suddenly rushed back and fell to the ground with the exquisite long sword on his back. The mercenary leader was speechless for a moment.
"Oh? What do you suspect?" Parasos pointed the tip of his sword at the mercenaries one by one: "Continue?"
Although I don't know how Her Royal Highness the Princess did it, it seems that she wants to let them go, Parasos thought boringly.
"——I suspect he didn't run far!" Several mercenaries rushed over, picked up the "thief" and turned around to leave. Obviously, their operation failed.
Perhaps he was swayed by something that Parasos showed in this farce. When he entered the city, the two gate guards had no intention of collecting city fees.
