diskusbooks Chapter 150 The Punishment of the Blood Eagle
Chapter 150 The Punishment of the Blood Eagle
Lund's words made me stunned. After thinking carefully, I didn't seem to have any special tasks assigned to him recently. Could it be that he already knew about Nanya's impeachment of me for selling iron ore privately, and he took the initiative to admit his mistake?
"You mean the matter of selling the iron ore to the Rich? That matter has been resolved, and there will be no more trouble in the future. You can sort out the account books of the mine and wait for the notice from Lord Danger."
I explained to Lund in detail what we had agreed to do in the meeting, that the Falkreath Council would purchase the iron ore, and told him to strive for more than 50% profit. Although as far as I know, the profit of the mine is much more than this, but since the opponent in the negotiation is the Nanya steward, even with the help of the old fox, I am afraid we will not get any advantage.
"This... I didn't expect this matter to be so serious. I'm going to sort out the account books at the mine now... But what I want to tell you is that the boy that Miss Cindy sent here is said to be your adopted son. He..."
I wanted to comfort Lund and tell him to just try his best and not to put too much pressure on himself, but the topic suddenly turned to Vikmond.
"What happened to Vikmond?"
"I lost him..."
"lost?!"
How could such a big living person be lost!
Lund told me that more than a month ago, Cindy sent a boy to the Blood Throne, told him that this was my adopted son, and then left in a hurry. At that time, Bryce had completed the basic training of fighting and went to Helgen Town to join Riya. There was only Lucia, a child, in the fortress, and the girl was busy checking the accounts every day, so naturally she had no time and energy to take care of Vikmond. Lund saw that the child was dull and introverted, and was unhappy all day long. Thinking that there were many people of his age in Helgen Town, he arranged for Jakir to take him there to stay for a few days to adjust his mood.
Unfortunately, the two had only lived there for a few days when a giant dragon arrived. The town of Helgen was destroyed by Alduin, and the tragic scene at that time was still vivid in their minds. The houses rebuilt now were all made of wood. If they were hit by a dragon's breath, wouldn't it be terrible? In addition, the lord's wife was here to take care of her baby. What if something went wrong? Dad organized the troops to be ready for battle. Jakir was also recruited temporarily because he was very skilled. Fortunately, the giant beast was just passing by and did not launch an attack. Three days later, the town slowly returned to peace.
However, Jakir was not at peace because he could not find Vikmond anywhere. They had rented a room in an inn, and the little boy stayed at home very much, hardly ever leaving the house, let alone making any friends. It was also because he had been too honest these days that Jakir dared to leave him alone in his residence. When the old cat came back, he found that all the valuables he had left in the room were gone, and the bed was cold. It was obvious that Vikmond had slipped away in the chaos.
Jakir was scared to death. He had not achieved anything in Skyrim, and he had lost the adopted son of his savior and employer. Especially since this man was said to be able to cook a terrible dish called Dragon Tiger Fight. His father did send a few people to help him search around the town, but unfortunately they found nothing. Firstly, the dragon appeared, and he was busy reporting to the Council of Falkreath, arranging to send Rigel there, and strengthening the defense of Helgen Town. It was impossible for him to arrange his most capable subordinates to play hide-and-seek with children. Secondly, Vikirmund was too much of a homebody, and the people in the town had almost no impression of him. Even Jakir himself was not sure if he could recognize him in the wild.
After another three days of delay, the desperate old cat returned to the Blood Throne and reported the matter to Lund. Lund sent several people to the north of Riverwood Town, the east of Ivarstead Town, and the west of Falkreath City to inquire, but they did not get any useful information. No one even saw the child who looked like Vikmond. At this point, all the clues were cut off, and Lund could only wait to apologize to me.
The more I listened, the more panicked I became. Vikmond was only eight or nine years old, wandering alone in the wilderness of Skyrim. He might be lucky if he met a bad guy. If he was targeted by a wild beast, he would be dead.
"Search! Send more people out to look for him! If he's alive, we must find him. If he's dead, we must find his body!"
I slammed the table and pointed at Lund.
"Lund, Lund! What can I say to you? I tell you, if anything happens to Vikmond, you are the only one I will hold responsible!"
Little Lucia, who was hiding behind me, was so frightened that she was trembling. Lund quickly turned around, whispered a few words of comfort, and led her out. I felt my legs go weak, and I sat down on the chair, but I saw Eric and Angie push the door open.
"What kind of trouble did Lund cause to make my brother Locke so angry? Don't leave. Come on, tell me what's going on. You two, just go do what you need to do. Let's talk for a while."
Eric waved his hand with a playful smile, and asked Helgi, who was following behind him, to take the trembling Lucia away, and then drove Lydia and Hayou away. Lydia glanced at me, and when she saw me nod, she said nothing more, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Lund was pushed into a chair by Eric, and had to bite the bullet and repeat what he had just said.
"That's all? Just for such a small matter, you, Locke, slammed the table and glared?"
I raised my face from my hands.
"What do you mean, that's all? The child's parents died because of me. I was planning to raise him well and make up for it. But..."
Eric's smile remained unchanged.
"Locke, calm down. This isn't a difficult task. Leave it to me. The Companions have contacts in every territory. They are all local experts. It's much more reliable to ask them to help find people than to wander around like this. Lund, please ask the kitchen to prepare some side dishes. I brought a few bottles of good wine from Helgen. Let's drink some, brothers. It will be my wedding wine for you."
Angie said she was going to get some wine and followed Lund out, leaving Eric and I alone in the room.
Eric's face turned cold, and he punched me to the ground. He took a step forward, pointed at my face, and scolded me in a low voice.
"What are you staring at? Damn it! You bastard, you get into trouble outside and come back to vent your anger on your brothers. You're so arrogant! Lund is hiding in this godforsaken place, what could he know? I tell you, Rocker, I'm saving your face. When Lund comes back, you apologize honestly, or I'll beat you up in front of him!"
The door opened and Levi stuck her head in. Eric bent down and pulled me up.
"Can you be more careful? Why did you sit on the ground?"
I smiled bitterly, waved my hand, and coaxed Lai Mei, who looked suspicious, out.
Not long after, Angie came back with a box of wine, and someone brought in smoked venison and a few dishes of pickled vegetables. Lund took two small purses and stuffed them into Eric's hands.
"Locke and I were unable to attend your wedding with Miss Angie. This is a gift from both of us."
Eric thanked him and handed the purse to Angie. The four of us sat down and toasted to celebrate the couple's marriage. I then filled everyone's glasses, raised my glasses, and bowed to Lund.
"Lund, I'm sorry. I lost my mind just now and said something stupid. Don't take it to heart."
Eric's punch woke me up. Lund is a loyal and trustworthy person. Besides, he has been managing my family business in the Bloody Throne, and he is really too busy. Vikmond is a worrying person. In addition, the helper I left for him is a tiger man who is notoriously unreliable. With so many factors put together, it would be strange if nothing went wrong. After thinking this through, I didn't make a fuss and apologized immediately. Lund stood up in a hurry, clinked glasses with me, and drank it all in one gulp. Eric laughed and held our hands.
"That's right. Locke, I'm not telling you as your brother, you're a smart person, how come you can't figure this out? What's the name of your adopted son? He's only been with you for a few days? Lund and I grew up together, so who's close to us? Do I need to tell you who's close to us? And from the fact that this kid sneaked away, we can tell that he and you are not on the same page. You just said that his parents died because of you, does this kid know that?"
I remembered that I was outside the city and my voice was quite loud. Vikmond must have heard it, so he nodded. Everyone in the room looked serious.
"This is difficult to handle. The revenge for my parents must be paid with the Blood Eagle punishment. How did you get into such a big trouble?"
Blood Eagle Punishment...
In Locker's memory, this was a torture that existed in Nord legends, and in most cases it was used on sworn enemies or traitors. The victim's ribs would be torn apart, shaped like open bloody wings, hence the name "Blood Eagle". The pain caused by this punishment was probably no less than that of lingchi, waist beheading, and burning with fire, and in order to prevent the victim from dying during the punishment, necromancers or doctors would often participate to keep the victim alive as long as possible until the flame of life was exhausted.
It's not surprising that Nords are barbaric and cruel, and they can come up with something like this. Of course, I never thought that one day I would have something to do with it.
Seeing that I was in a daze, Eric raised his hands in front of my eyes and waved them left and right.
"Are you OK?"
Angie slapped him, her tone full of reproach.
"You're drinking, why are you talking about those disgusting things? It's scary. Locke, ignore him. First, tell us how the child's parents died. Then we can help you think about whether there is a way to remedy the situation."
I sighed and told him about how I was involved in the investigation of the vampire king Movars in Mosal City. How we set up an ambush in the cemetery and killed Lailet; how we asked Donniel to find the vampire Alva, causing his death on the spot; and how we cooperated with Falion to kill Movars, but were suspected by the lord and eventually adopted Vikmond. The three looked at each other in bewilderment.
"No, I feel like this can't be blamed on you. If that man hadn't acted on his own and just listened to you and went to sound out the situation and hold back the couple, he wouldn't have been killed. As for that woman, you didn't know that the wizard could cure vampires. Besides, does he really know that he can cure it if he says he can? I've never heard of a vampire turning into a normal human being."
After Eric finished speaking, Angie and Lund also agreed and comforted me, saying that the death of the Donnells was not my fault. I couldn't tell them that I was a time traveler who could know the past and the future, so I could only shake my head and sigh.
"In my opinion, Locke, you shouldn't even go to see this guy. You have a big family now, how can you keep such an ungrateful person around? What do you think, Lund?"
Seeing that my mood had not improved, Eric simply persuaded me to give up Vikmond. Lund thought about it for a while and did not agree with his opinion.
"We still have to go find him. Since we all think that this matter is not Rocker's fault, we have to tell the child the truth. If he still doesn't want to stay with Rocker after knowing it, then let him do as he pleases. In the final analysis, he is also a poor man who lost his family. We can't let him fend for himself."
"Well... never mind. Since you all said so, I'll ask the contact person of the Comrades to help look for it. Let's be frank. I may not be able to find it. If there is really no news, don't use the same trick on me as you did on Lund, Rocker."
I agreed with a wry smile, and apologized to Lund again for my bad attitude. Eric was satisfied, raised his glass and invited everyone to drink. Lund was no longer embarrassed after talking about the matter. He rarely drank, and he was drunk after drinking a little, but he said that he had to go to the mine tomorrow and refused to drink anymore. Eric curled his lips and raised his finger to point at Lund.
"Look, what a good brother. Locke, I have something to say, please don't be offended. Among our brothers, you have the highest status and the largest family property. However, your position is not secure. If one day, those noble lords dislike you and want to make trouble for you, then you will have to pay all your current property..."
Angie kicked him hard under the table and smiled at me awkwardly. Eric seemed to be unaware of it and continued to talk to me.
"I was thinking, why don't we learn from old Lori, pool some money to buy a piece of land, and build our own village. Don't tie Lund up in this small fortress, let him manage our own industry. Now that you have your own power, and I am a member of the Companions, the lord and other nobles will not dare to deal with you easily."
Eric's words made sense, and Lund and I agreed, but when it came to buying land, everyone fell silent again. In order to solve the food crisis in Loristed Town, Eric emptied his family's assets and owed a lot of debts. In the end, it was his father Mulagi who sold the Ice Fruit Inn to the Companions to pay off the debts. As for me, although the mine has officially been put into operation, I can only get half of the profits. Add to that the dividends from Eddie's Helgen Inn and the rent of the Tiger Man Merchant House, as well as my salary as a horse breeder, and my monthly income can reach 5,000 Septim. As a knight, this income is considerable, but I have to support Lydia, who is also a knight, and four tiger men including Hayou, as well as Herata, Ariana, and now Masinissa and his group of Red Guards. The money I can keep is not much.
"As for buying land, although we don't have money right now, Eric, you can choose a location first. It's a good opportunity to use this time to save money. I have two things for Lund to do."
Lund took out the small notebook he carried with him and dipped the quill pen into the ink.
"As for the mine, find a reliable person to take over and slowly extricate yourself. Also, help me find out secretly if there is anyone nearby who can get Skooma."
With a snap, the pen in Lund's hand broke.