Chapter Three - Into The Depths

The lantern strapped to Freomund's belt was, by and large, the only source of light they had in these dank tunnels. Other than that there was little to see beyond darkness and the monstrous shapes that loomed within. Granted, for Malenia not being able to rely on her sense of sight was par for the course. Perhaps that was why she had no trouble navigating the labyrinthine passageways - or cutting down the enemies who prowled them - while Freomund stumbled about blindly, the sputtering glow cast by his lantern doing absolutely nothing to alleviate the crushing lack of visibility.

Speaking of which…

"Gods damn it!"

Freomund clutched his shin with a hiss.

"What kind of fool leaves a boulder in the middle of a drainage pipe?!"

"The same kind of fool that would willingly serve a self-proclaimed Lord of Blood," Malenia replied, her voice practically deafening in the enclosed space.

She'd inquired about Mohg near the beginning of their trek, as she wanted to have some idea of what they were going up against, and from what the Elden Lord had told her, her distant relative had started some kind of underground (literally, in this case) blood cult and set himself up as its god. At least until such time as her brother should rise up to take control that is.

'Not that his insane followers care for such minor technicalities,' Malenia mused as she cleaved an imp in twain with an idle flick of her blade. 'I imagine whoever ends up leading this pathetic excuse of a dynasty is of no consequence to them, so long as they can continue to indulge in their twisted little fantasies.'

Malenia's jaw clenched at the thought of her dearest Miquella being twisted into the same kind of vile abomination as Mohg, to say nothing of the Lord of Blood's intention to take him as his consort, the disgusting fiend. Why the mere fact he'd been kidnapped in the first place was enough to send her into a murderous rage, the likes of which she doubted even Freomund could stop, although it did occur to her just then that she hadn't actually seen him in action as of yet…

With that her thoughts went off into a spiral once more, albeit a welcome one, as literally anything was better than thinking about that bastard of an Omen.

While the heaviness of Freomund's steps and the clanking of plate mail that accompanied them clued Malenia in on the fact that he prefered a solid defense over a quick and risky offense, she hadn't really gotten the chance to determine his skills or preferences when it came to battle beyond that. Then again, she'd had yet to hear him so much as unsheathe a sword in the brief time they'd traveled together. Did he not use one perhaps? Or maybe he took after the Carian's with their staves and glintstone sorceries.

Say what you will about their history. If there's one thing Malenia knew for certain it's that the knights of House Caria were far deadlier than most gave them credit for. They'd managed to give the Order a run for its money after all, and at the very height of its power no less, even if said resistance was greatly bolstered by the aid of Raya Lucaria. On that note though her companion did appear to have a passing knowledge of incantations, if his display in the Forbidden Lands was anything to go by, which only lended further credence to the idea that he didn't fight with implements of the more mundane variety. Granted, she was making quite a number of assumptions about him, and in a vacuum at that, so perhaps it would be best if she simply dro-

At first Malenia didn't know what had happened. One moment she was trudging along through grime and filth, and the next she was sitting in it, all while the horrid sound of steel grinding against steel rang out somewhere in front of her. It was then that her mind finally caught up. Malenia realized she must have been so immersed in her thoughts that she'd failed to notice the approach of an enemy as they'd exited the pipe, and Freomund - taking note of this - must have pulled her out of harm's way at the last second before engaging whatever had attacked them himself.

Despite the speed with which the encounter had occurred, the only thing Malenia could think at that very moment was…

'Huh. I guess he uses a sword after all.'

I-X-I

Freomund had spotted the ogre well before Malenia. Leaping into action just before it could get a hit in with its oversized club, he'd rushed forward to pull her back before engaging the beast himself. And, though he bore two greatswords upon his back, the one he brought to bear this time was the Sacred Relic Sword. The final remnants of a god who should have lived a life eternal, but was broken by the weight of their own folly. A god who failed to realize that a house divided against itself cannot stand.

The Tarnished and ogre stared each other down for a time, though the ogre's strength gradually faltered, and the beast was forced to yield to him in the end. Pinning its club to the stone beneath their feet, Freomund proceeded to decapitate the creature in a single swipe. That problem dealt with, he quickly wiped the blood from his blade before returning it to its sheath and going to check on Malenia.

"You alright?" he asked as he helped her to her feet.

She nodded.

"Yes, although it seems I am one step further into your debt, my friend."

He gave her a friendly laugh.

"Think nothing of it. Now, let us continue. We have a lot of ground left to cover yet."

The two would continue their long march - crawling through what felt like miles upon miles of pipes, each filled to the brim with skeletal slimes and other monstrosities - before finally coming to a lift and, after a brief ride, emerging into the vast subterranean expanse of the Shunning-Grounds themselves. Just across the way from the Cathedral of the Forsaken specifically, which loomed ominously in the distance.

"This is it," Freomund said as they began their approach. "Mohg lies just ahead."

There was a long pause then, and the Draconian cast a sideways glance at his demigod companion.

"You ready?"

The Blade of Miquella responded with a nod that was as resolute as it was curt.

"More than you could possibly know."

Expression hardening, Malenia gripped the hilt of her sword just a little tighter, before setting off for the decrepit edifice in which her brother had been forced to reside. Following closely behind, Freomund retrieved the other blade from its sheath as he went. A blade that, despite being a mere shadow of its former self, was still as proficient as ever when it came to delivering destined death.

Such was the power of Maliketh's blade.

Author's Note: Okay, so I finished this at around 2:03 AM, and I just don't have the energy currently to write a whole fight scene on top of all the description I've already given. Plus it feels kind of long-winded of me to do so. As such, the boss fight will take place in chapter four. Unfortunately that means you'll have to deal with the anticipation for just a bit longer. Oh and before I forget, I haven't actually gone to fight Mohg yet in the actual game, so the general layout of the area beyond the sewers and the cathedral is somewhat vague to me even with the wiki as a guide - and that reflects in the text.

Finally, I hope I'm getting the characterization right. It's really hard to tell given how little of Malenia's personality we get to see in-game, mostly on account of us player having no choice but to get our asses kicked every time we meet her.

As if the waterfall of Scarlet Rot wasn't already frustrating enough...

Anyway, that's all from me for now. To all those who have followed and favorited this story of mine thus far, I thank you. Honestly I didn't expect such a good turnout for something I wrote on a whim while sleep deprived, but I'm glad to have been proven wrong.