ARC II:
CHAPTER 2: THE FALSE LORD OF ALL THAT IS GOLDEN
LIMGRAVE, FORT HAIGHT
"Disgraceful! Absolutely disgraceful! The state of this Fort! What those thugs did to this place!" Kenneth ranted his disappointment with the Fort's current state after the occupation of Godrick's men. The Fort was left in a state of disarray and disorder that was a far cry from when Haight bannermen still controlled the place.
"The level of incompetence that was put into maintaining the Fort in their control! It's just-! By Godfrey! What an utter embarrassment to his bloodlines!" His rant continues while soldiers and workers under his service worked to clean up and re-establish the Fort into an active fortress.
Lordan was still around, following Kenneth to get details of how he intends to overthrow Godrick as Lord of Limgrave. He had stayed to secure the rest of the Fort before sending word to Kenneth with a messager bird, he then waited for three days before Kenneth appeared at the Fort with a small garrison of at least 50 men at his back.
So here he was, following Kenneth around to Fort while he rants on about the state of the Fort. A rant that had lasted for at least an hour with Kenneth pointing out every single little detail that he finds fault with, with the most obvious being the armory door that Alexander had ripped out earlier.
Lordan could not remember how many times he rolled his eyes today, he lost count but it was definitely a new record for him. All the things Kenneth mentioned were minor problems that seem to be major in the noble's eyes.
For fuck's sake... He was going to lose it if he heard another hour of the ranting. Eventually, Kenneth walked around the entire Fort and finally finished his rants, shifting his focus back to Lordan after remembering Lordan's quest for Stormveil Castle.
"I suppose you must realize by now, yes, the sorry state of my fort? Oh, indeed, it is a foul fate for a land, to be without a ruler. One must be found, with haste. And not that Awful Godrick."
The one part of the sentence made Lordan confused, Kenneth was supposed to be the next Lord in line for that role. "Must be found? What do you mean? You're the one that will replace Godrick, right?"
Kenneth stops at the assumption Lordan makes. "Me? Oh goodness, no! I haven't the proper authority to take over the reign of Stormveil. It must be someone of great strength and mind. No one but a true and stalwart Lord of the proper lineage can take the reigns of Limgrave. I, Kenneth Haight, despite my noble lineage, cannot inherit the throne of Stormveil or Limgrave."
The statement was a mental kick to the guts for Lordan. Not only did he spend the time to clear the Fort of enemies with great effort, but he also had to deal with the invader and Patches. And now he is being told by the man who was supposed to be the next lord of the region that he will not be the one. All his efforts seemed to go down the gutter with that one line.
Are you kidding me? He can't do it? Damn it, Gideon! You send me on a goose chase!
Lordan places his palm over his helmet face, thinking of all the other things he could have done instead. Anger starts building up in him due to the trouble he had to went through to take back this Fort. "You couldn't have said that earlier?! Do you know the trouble I had to went through to take out the Fort! ALONE?!" His voice was raised to surprise Kenneth, prompting the noble to step back shocked.
The other men around the Fort looked on and went about their business when they saw that Lordan was on the verge of an outburst. They did not want to interfere as they were well aware of what Lordan was capable of in a fight.
Kenneth steels himself and prepared an apology for his mix-up, clearly, he had not been honest with Lordan. "Yes... I may have left that detail and allowed you to pursue this endeavor under false pretenses, but I fully intend to ensure that Limgrave is secured and safe as I previously said. I will not allow the region to be given away in its current state." Kenneth then offers a sincere bow to Lordan. "I apologize, Lordan. You have done me a service and I have not been returning the flavor, please do forgive me. It was a wrong decision."
Lordan starts to calm down with deep breaths and sighs from the apology that Kenneth gave. Although he was upset, he knew that Kenneth did it because he was out of options. "Fine... Whatever. You have the Fort and you want to take down Godrick. Just like me. So we a plan, fast or I'm going to lose it." At the moment, the two shared a goal and wanted the Lord of Stormveil disposed of. So Lordan decides to put aside his frustration of being used, for now.
Kenneth agreed fully and thinks up a plan. "Exactly! As it stands, Godrick is a menace to everyone in the region. Therefore, it is imperative that he be forced out of Stormveil and his men put to the sword." Kenneth then gestures to Lordan to follow him.
The two men walk to a room in the Fort that resembles a meeting room with a war table that has a map of Limgrave with several markers in the form of miniature banners. Kenneth searches for something on the nearby rack while Lordan examines the war after removing his helmet for a better view.
"Now where did I put the scrolls of the castle layout... Ah! There it is!" Kenneth finds the items he is looking for and lays them out on the table. They were maps of Stormveil Castle, each scroll depicted a layout of one of the castle's levels. "Here is a completed layout of the Castle, from top to bottom. Everything we need to know on how to effectively lay siege to the castle is here."
Lordan looks to the layout and starts forming a route in his head, noting how to travel within the castle to reach Godrick. He then notices a giant flaw in planning a siege. "Kenneth. The castle is seated on a cliff and the entrance om a single bridge. We can't effectively have a siege if we don't have the places to station siege equipment." He points out an obvious oversight that the noble failed to see.
"Ah... Blast it, You are right! And to think I was going to order my men to move catapults to Stormveil." Kenneth shakes his head at his own failure to see Stormveil's current position which makes it a difficult place to mount a full-on assault. He tries to think of an alternate way to plan a siege while Lordan was still looking on at the layout, ideas slowly forming in his head.
Lordan then traces his finger along the layout of the courtyard, thinking of the route to the throne room where Godrick was most likely at. He then matches the layout with another that shows the sides of the castle and how the interior interconnects. An idea formulates in his head and he finally knows how to break apart the castle's defenses, from the inside. "Kenneth, look here. At the route to the throne room from the main gate."
"Yes? It's a straight and direct path with no stops. What about it?"
"Let's just say... If an army were to march through the main gate and rush to surround the throne room while the others attack the castle interiors along the way... Would that effectively mean we could win the castle without a prolonged siege?"
Kenneth looks at the route to the throne room that Lordan pointed out and sees the logic of his plan. "Yes, it could work, If we force ourselves into the castle in a straight shot. But there is a high chance that many defenses are set up along the route. Godrick may be a coward, but he is a coward that preserves his own hide very well."
Lordan had predicted this as well, there is no way an obvious route to the castle's throne room would not be defended to the fullest. The main purpose of defenses that would be set up there was to ensure no army would be able to cross the path at all. The biggest flaw of those defenses on the route lies in one thing, however.
How do they defend against someone already inside?
"So how about I enter the castle first? From the side." Lordan points out a depiction of what seems to be a cliff face that leads to the side of the castle's interior. "A single person could force them to pay attention elsewhere. I could also scout the castle and open the gate. Then, signal your forces to attack when the defenses are lowered or weakened."
Kenneth ponders the idea and sees the advantage it has. "Yes... Yes! If Godrick is alerted that an intruder has invaded the castle, he will force his men to reposition. Taking away manpower from the defenses, allowing us to push hard and swift!"
Lordan then marks his own map on the side of the castle to locate the possible entrance to the side. "Alright. Then it's settled. I break into the castle, make some noise, sound a signal for you to attack then..."
"You confront Godrick and take his great rune. While allowing us control of the Castle and the region itself." Kenneth finished the sentence for Lordan which earns him a nod. "I must say lad, you have a mind for war tactics! Where did you learn all this?"
"I didn't. My master made me read 'Sun Zu Bing Fa' over fifty times. It was filled with stuff that talked about this."
Kenneth then takes out a war horn to pass to Lordan, an instrument that is used to signal out from large distances. "Here, use this to signal us when the gate is up and the guards in the castle have lowered the defenses to the point where things are easy for us. I will be here to raise an army with my remaining men and soldiers who defected from Godrick's service."
Lordan takes the horn and offers a suggestion. "You could also try getting those Kaiden mercs in on the fight. Overheard some of them saying they weren't being paid by Godrick. You could tell them to... Take payment directly, if you catch my meaning."
"An idea I can work with. I could also try convincing some of the Demi-humans to join us... And Gideon's own men could help out." Kenneth lists more men that could join the fight.
Gideon's men... He did say that he had a person inside. Nepheli Loux. His daughter.
Lordan notes down on the side of his map marking the woman that was currently in the castle, thinking she could join his efforts to overthrow the castle. "Well, that's it then. We both know what to do and how to do it. We just need to prepare, carefully."
"Yes. I will begin the mustering of forces. I will have it done within five-no four days." Kenneth corrects himself as he calculated the time required to muster his forces. Lordan takes the scrolls of the Castle's layout and starts leaving for the Roundtable Hold.
Lordan then remembered something before he leaves the room. He removes one of the extra enchanted bags he was holding that he took from Patches. "Oh yeah... Here, take this Kenneth. It should have everything valuable that was at the Fort and then some."
Kenneth takes the bag with a confused look as he did not know why the Fort items would be stored there. He takes the bag and places it on the side. "I see... May I ask why they are all in this bag?"
"There was a thief, I took care of him and got the bag."
"Ah. He was killed then? "
"Nope. I let him go. After I took all his valuables." That was the condition Lordan gave Patches when he begged for a chance to live, give up all his items on the spot, including his clothes. It was an offer Patches could not refuse, as he was surrounded by three warriors that were above his skill to trick.
Kenneth accepts the explanation and sees Lordan off. They reach the Fort's exit and Kenneth offers his goodbyes. "Again, Lordan. I am sorry to have lifted your hopes. The Great Kenneth Haight issues his sincerest apology. But for now, we must focus on the defeat of Godrick, the man is too far gone and must be put down for the sake of the region."
"Then, I must begin my search post-haste. For a true and stalwart Lord of the proper lineage to take the reigns of Limgrave. And once the dust is settled, know that I and the new lord of Limgrave will support your bid to take the Throne as Elden Lord."
Lordan nods uncaringly at the vow as the mantle of Elden Lord was something he was still reluctant to take. "Sure... If it happens of course... " That's a Big if.
He summons Torrent and mounts up, riding away at great speed while Kenneth looks on. Kenneth returns to the Fort and begins forming plans in his mind, counting the number of men he can muster with all the forces that would support them in his mind.
He thoughts then when back to Lordan, the Tarnished warrior who assisted him and volunteered to break into Stormveil. Although Lordan seems uncaring to the idea of lordship, Kenneth knew that he may have found the proper candidate that would be suitable for the mantle of Elden Lord. Because unlike the majority of the Tarnished that roamed the lands in the past and present, Lordan had one thing that separates him from the rest.
He was willing to fight for the sake of others over himself. Even if he doesn't show or admit it.
STORMVEIL CASTLE, MAINGATE
Five days had passed since Lordan had left Fort Haight, he had stayed at the hold and prepared himself by upgrading his weapons and reinforcing his armor. He also spend time going through the maps of the castle layout that Kenneth provided to plan a route and positions to attack, positions that he suspected may have defenses set up to deter an invasion.
Once he had everything he required, Lordan made his way to Stormhill and traveled to a location where Kenneth told him to go. It was the gathering place of the forces that were ready to take the castle once Lordan had given the signal. The majority of the soldiers had set up camp to prepare their weapons and armor with all of the additional forces that joined the fight.
He went around the camp to investigate the army that was going to invade the castle. The majority of the forces under the army were of Kenneth's own men and former soldiers of Godrick, which include knights and infantry that defected once they believed their Lord had gone astray. There were also many bands of Kaiden Mercenaries that seek to plunder the castle due to their anger against Godrick who did not pay them fairly and a few tribes of Demi-humans who are here to seek revenge on Godrick for his endless raids against their kind.
He also sees some of Gideon's men at the camp, members of the Roundtable Hold. They were the few dozens of Tarnished who remain alive despite losing grace. They were warriors from every part of the world with some from the past, present, and even future that were all called by the light of grace to the lands between.
Some of the warriors among this group were under the lead of Nepheli Loux, warriors from the badlands that were there to assist the battle out of loyalty to their leader.
Once Lordan had met with the commanders of the army, he made his way back to the tunnel that leads to the castle. He approaches the bridge carefully, stopping in the middle of it to observe the battlements of the castle above. A part of him was dreading the reappearance of Margit, he hoped that he was not going to meet the Omen again at the same spot he defeated him for the first time. He waits for a few moments while hovering a hand over his weapon bag to draw any weapon at his disposal.
After a short few minutes of fear, Lordan lets out a breath of relief as no sign indicated that Margit was going to make a reappearance. He moves on to the castle and touches the site of grace near the gate that was currently lowered to deny entry.
Lordan then moves close to the gate and peeks into the opening to get a sensing of the resistance they will be facing. He peeks from one of the openings while staying close to the wall on the side for cover.
Just as he suspected, the entire entrance was fortified with siege weapons and barricades with dozens of men at the ready. Ballistas were placed around the sides and manned with archers at the operator's sides, shield barricades with holes that have men behind them, and plenty of soldiers with red hoods and cloaks armed to the teeth with spears and axes.
If the entrance itself was already armed to the teeth, there was no doubt the rest of the route to the throne room would be the same. All these defenses to protect one feeble man.
Damn. They overcompensated. Godrick is definitely the cowardly sort.
He stops his observation and moves to the side entrance of the castle. It was the entrance that most servants, maids, and slaves would use as they were not allowed to enter via the main gate.
Lordan enters the castle and sees a man with pale skin standing by the side. He looks around and speaks up for Lordan to come over quickly and quietly. "Hey. You. Come here, quietly..."
Lordan looks around the room and moves to converse with the man while keeping a hand near his weapon bag to prepare for any surprises. He gets close and speaks to the man who seemed like a servant for the castle and was missing an arm, indicating that he was punished for the crime of thievery. "Don't shout out. I will drop you before they hear." Lordan issues his warning to ensure that the man wasn't a rat that will alert the guards, drawing a sword from his bag to indicate his seriousness.
The man raises his hand as a sign of surrender to indicate his peaceful intent. "No! No! Nothing like that! I want to help. My name's Gostoc, I am the gatekeeper." The man continued raising his hands while Lordan pointed his sword at his neck.
Lordan eventually lowers his sword once he confirmed Gostoc meant no harm, for now. The servant breaths in relive as Lordan becomes neutral. "You're Tarnished, aren't you? Here to take Godrick's head? About time the old bugger got his due."
Gostoc looks around again before he continues, worried that someone else may be listening. "I would advise against taking the main gate into the castle. It's tightly guarded by hardened old hands. All of them are waiting for an invasion to come, a long time coming if you asked me." He then points to an opening in the room that looks to be old damage to the walls from siege equipment. "Try the opening right here. The guards don't know about it yet. You'll breach the castle undetected, just like that lady and wizard before you."
"Lady and wizard? There are people here already?" Gostoc mentioned two other people that were already within the Castle. Lordan knew of Nepheli being in the castle but the wizard was a mystery to him. "How long have they been in there?"
"A few days now. The lady came first before the wizard. She is a feisty and exotic one, the woman. You will like her." Gostoc laughs to himself upon thinking of Nepheli. Perverted and sickening thoughts came to his mind of the women warrior and the things he would do to her. "Ohhhh... How wonderous she would look without those clothes. Hehehehe..." He laughs again after whispering, which annoyed Lordan as he overhears the words.
Lordan then moves to the opening to see that it has an open ledge that was wide enough to walk to the side of the Castle which consists of several small island pathways, it confirmed his theory of a side entrance to the castle via the cliffsides. He then moves back to Gostoc, intending to enquire about his role as the gatekeeper. "The main gate. Can you get it open? There's gonna be an invasion coming. If you want Godrick's head to be spiked, an army marching in here is the best bet for that to happen."
The news of an army coming to invade the castle causes concern to Gostoc, he thinks for a moment of the events that will occur once the invading army tears through the castle. "An invasion?! That-that would mean... They will come in and kill everyone?!" A small panic rises in his thoughts as he was terrified of being targeted. "That would mean people in the castle will be killed, with their things still in their pockets... Oh... Oh hohoho, I see..." Ideas on how to take advantage of the chaos during the invasion pop up in his mind, he already had a few marks in mind.
Lordan was annoyed once again by the gatekeeper's implied intent to loot from the dead during the chaos of the invasion. He didn't want to waste any more time on this man and wanted to move on. "So can you do it or not? Get the gate open?" He asks a bit louder with a small tone of anger in his voice.
Gostoc snaps back to attention as he realizes Lordan getting impatient with him. "Oh! Yes, of course! I will have them open the gate, while you enter from the side. Quietly, of course. Don't want the guards to come marching through this room."
Lordan accepts the help from Gostoc but knows he cannot trust the gatekeeper that easily, he would need to watch his back as Gostoc knows the route he was taking from the side and could follow him if he wanted to. "Fine. Get that gate open and make sure it stays that way until I sabotage the gate's mechanism. If I find out you betray me in any way, I will lob off the other hand. And then some." Lordan points his sword towards Gostoc's crouch, threatening to cut off a specific part a man needs.
"Of course! Of course! No worries from me. I wish you luck in killing that miserable old bastard." Gostoc assured Lordan that no mischief would come from him, as he had already tried it with the woman warrior and the wizard but failed as they survived his antics. He moves to the entrance that leads to the gate to ensure no one had overheard their conversation. Once he checked that no one had noticed him taking to Lordan he gives a signal to let Lordan leave. "Alright. Off you go! Before someone sees you!"
Lordan leaves through the opening and walks along the path on the side of the castle's wall, carefully avoiding falling down below.
"THE GATE! OPEN THE GATE!"
A shout can be heard from Gostoc as he shouts out to the other gatekeepers to open up the castle's gates. It was then followed by the sound of metal chains pulling a heavy object and the ratting of metal as the castle's gate opens.
With the issue of the gate partially solved, Lordan made his way around the side of the castle while fending off some guard eagles and soon find an opening to the castle. He draws an additional dagger to dual wield with his sword as he sees some guards stationed at the side entrance.
He would need to take them out as quietly and quickly as possible to find the gate's controls while causing some damage to the castle's defenses along the way.
STORMVEIL CASTLE, THE GREAT HALL
Lordan thrusts his entire sword into the chest of his opponent after parrying him with his dagger, lifting him up a little before slamming him down to the ground to kill him.
He looks around the corridor and checks for any more guards around, hoping that no alarm was raised to alert the entire castle. He had been lucky so far to meet little resistance in the guards and knights that gave him a bit of trouble, sticking to the interiors of the castle to keep out of view from the larger force that was standing by outside.
He had been making good progress by sabotaging the gate's system, forcing it to stay open. He had also been luring away men from the main defense force by quietly killing them in hidden and out of the place areas, slowly chipping away at the manpower that defended the castle.
Lordan made his way down a stairway to what appeared to be the castle's kitchen that was merged with a dining hall. He steps into the kitchen and starts hearing two voices speaking to each other.
"That was a risky move, Rogier. It could have taken an arm off if you stayed a moment longer." A female voice speaks to another, a man based on the name she speaks.
The man groans as the woman puts pressure on his wound to stop the bleeding. "Well... At the time, it seemed like the logical option. But now... Yes, I could have been more careful. But we won, so... Big risk got us a big reward." He speaks with regret in his tone, considering options that could have spared him from injuries.
Lordan moves to the nearby wall to take cover. He prepares his katana and prepares himself for a fight against two possible foes. He takes a deep breath and moves out of cover to expose himself to the pair.
He sees the dining hall section of the room stained with blood that most likely came from the creature that resembles the Grafted Eater he first fought, except this one was grafted with all human parts and limbs. The creature lies dead with several of its limbs cut off and its body damaged by slashes and burns.
In front of the creature was the man who was seated and injured with a woman by his side to aid his injuries, they looked bloody and injured from the fight with the grafted creature with the woman more coated in blood than the man.
Lordan stares at the sight of the aftermath of a fight that was between the duo and the creature. He observed their clothing and assumed them to be the woman and wizard that Gostoc spoke of that came in earlier than him.
His presence soon catches the attention of the woman who stands to her feet swiftly and draws two axes to form a battle stance in front of the wizard. Lordan raises his katana in defense and holds up a hand to indicate his neutral intent. "I'm friendly! I'm here to fight Godrick! Just like both of you."
The woman slowly lowers her axes while keeping her guard up to ensure there were no tricks played. She soon holster her axes while Lordan did the same. "Well, who do we have here? Tarnished, are you? Clearly not one of Godrick's lot." She observed Lordan from head to toe and slowly recognized his armor and identified him. "You must be Lordan, I presume."
"Yeah, I am. And you must be Nepheli Loux, right?" Lordan presumes her name and inspects her appearance. She was dressed in the garb of a Badlands Warrior and had tanned skin while her body was built and defined like a fighter but still preserved her feminine features clearly, very clearly. She was a beautiful woman despite her rough and weathered look.
Lordan could not help but look up and down at her appearance due to her attire being very minimal which exposed most of her upper body. His focus shifted to her defined mid-diff and her chest which was well sized, the blood that covered her body helped make them look more appealing.
"Yes, I am. Daughter to Gideon. Foster Daughter. I'm here by decree of my father. To take down Godrick, he said you were coming..." Nepheli stops her words as she observed Lordan staring at her, at two specific areas which men normally look, not that she cared of course. She snaps her finger and clears her throat to catch his attention. "Eyes up here, hungry wolf."
"Huh? I... Uhhhh... Um..." Lordan shakes his head and refocused on Nepheli, looking at her face instead to avoid looking inappropriately. He feels a tightness in his pants and tries to move a little to ease the discomfort. His actions catch the attention of Nepheli who smirks at the display while looking down at his crotch, seeing his standing state again with interest. "Uhhh... Sorry. My bad."
She shakes her head and chuckles at his apology, clearly amused. "It's fine. Most men have the same reaction. None of them pretty like you though." A hint of flirtation was in her voice as she turns around to introduce the wizard. "This is a sorcerer I met along the way. Here for another reason though."
The wizard or sorcerer gets to his feet and offers a hand to Lordan. "Ah, nice to meet you. The pleasure's mine. Rogier's the name. A sorcerer, as she said."
Lordan shakes the hand and offers his name as well. "Lordan, a mercenary by trade." He lets go and moves to inspect the body of the Grafted creature that was killed by the both of them. He sees the body that was grotesquely mixed with many human bodies and limbs, with the head of a child that served as its main head. "What the fuck is this thing?"
"Ah. Yes. This... thing found us while we traveled along the castle." Nepheli explains while stretching her arms to ease some soreness from the swinging of her axes. "Gave us some trouble and almost torn off Rogier's arm. A bit of a bother, to be honest." She speaks of the creature with an annoyed tone as it got in their way and wasted some time to kill it.
Roger moves to Lordan's side to explain the creature they just killed. "It's a Grafted Scion. A grotesque mass of grafted bodies made by the grafters under Godrick's service. Most of them were prisoners, smallfolk, and other tarnished captured and reused to make... These things." He finished his explanations with a disturbed tone, uncomfortable with the usage of grafting to create such monsters. It was a form of magic that many outlawed and condemned in the lands.
Lordan inspects the Scion closer, observing all the parts and bodies that were used to create the creature. Disgust and anger filled him as he observed the bodies and limbs of children being used as part of the grafting result. There were many lines that one, even mercenaries should not cross in the wars they fought.
Children were the absolute line that he would not tolerate. That many do not tolerate.
"Son of bitch..." He makes his anger known to both of them, who shared similar sentiments to the Lord of Stormveil. "Godrick did this? Fucker..."
"Yes. How utterly repellant this is..." Nepheli nods at his assumption. "This "grafting" of Godrick's ill befits a Lord, especially one with Godfrey's blood. He's tainted the very winds."
"It's more than that, he committed a blasphemous act. The usage of the dead for such acts of magic is a sin. The Golden Order would not tolerate this." Rogier explains the act further. "Lord Godrick would have been brought to justice if the Golden Order were still in power. Or perhaps the Abyss Walkers would have hunted him." He mentioned the group of warriors who delivered retribution to those who defiled the dead, warriors who followed Radegan's visage and fighting style as they believed him the second coming of Artorias.
"Lord Godrick? He is no lord. He is a bastard who deserves death, nothing more." Nepheli spits upon the mentioning of Godrick's name, resentful against his acts against the weak. She herself was a victim of such acts when she was an infant so many years ago. Any event that reminds her of the day created great anger in her.
"Agreed, which is why I'm here." Lordan gets to his feet and fills himself with resolve to avenge the victims of Godrick. "There's an army outside to raid the castle, once the defenses are weakened. They will take the castle, and I will take his head." Lordan looks to the pair, thinking that they may be of help in the planned siege. "Don't suppose you guys one to pitch in? Could use a few warriors by my side."
Nepheli shrugs and prepares to offer her help. "If you intend to challenge Godrick, I ask you take me with you. The winds run could with his deeds. I'm certain father would permit me to aid the fight, especially with you." She then looks to Rogier, who is here for a different purpose. "What about you sorcerer? You joining in?"
Rogier shakes his head and reluctantly rejected the call to help. "I can't, I'm afraid. I'm looking for a little something, here in the castle. When I'm not hot-footing it from the troops, that is. I have been told it's in the lower sections of the castle. So... I'm not exactly going the same way. Sorry." He looks to Lordan and feels some magical energy emitting from him. " Still, I'm privy to a few magical battle arts, Lordan. Would you care to learn what I know? As a fellow Tarnished, once guided by grace, I'd love to still help you out, if it please."
Lordan nods as he could use more spells to earn an advantage in battle, he was also interested in incantations which will be his next skill to start using once he became comfortable with spells.
Rogier shares his knowledge for at least an hour while Nepheli looks around to ensure they would not be interrupted. The pair finished their session and Lordan starts telling his plan to Nepheli while Rogier listens on the side. "Alright, the plan is simple. We gonna make as much noise as possible to draw men away from the main route that's from the gate to the throne room. Once the army comes in, they will start the raid on all interiors of the castle, taking over it eventually. Letting us take on Godrick without resistance."
Nepheli thinks about the plan with a hand on her chin. "Yes... Could work. There are a few places where we could do some damage to attract their attention. We should do it at multiple places at once, forcing them to spread out thin." The idea of splitting up was brought up, an idea Lordan was hesitant to do but was sure Nepheli could take care of herself.
"I also have a few places in mind for an act of sabotage." Rogier comes in to add his support despite not being in the plan. "I could, perhaps, sabotage them along the way? Allowing the two of you to cover more ground. The castle is a big place."
Lordan nods and prepares to move out. "Alright, then. We got our roles to play and places to be. We move in and hit hard, without being cornered of course." It was a risk for each of them to carry out the actions alone, as any one of them could be surrounded on short notice should the guards converge on a single location.
"Right. Once we are done, we should regroup somewhere safe." Nepheli thinks of a spot that she and Rogier passed earlier. "There is a chapel in the inner grounds, the roof of the building will be safe from prying eyes and give us a view high up."
With their plan made and routes chosen, the three Tarnished went their separate ways to sabotage the castle for the coming siege. Lordan takes a path to what he believes to be the armory, which he plans to resupply some items and set it on fire to create a distraction.
After a few hours and locations that Lordan sabotaged, the castle was in complete chaos from the many alarms that were raised in multiple locations. The castle's guards and men scramble between finding the intruders within their walls and putting out the multiple fires that were started at key locations such as the armory, stables, and barracks.
Lordan scales the chapel by jumping down the side of the castle's battlements, landing on the roof safely. He looks around to ensure no one was in pursuit of him like earlier, when he was almost cornered by a patrol of knights looking for the intruders out of the castle.
He looks down from the roof while keeping hidden in a prone position, observing the soldiers scramble in different directions while leaving their defensive positions to the throne room. The plan was working to a certain extent, but still not enough to ease the burden of the coming army.
A little more ought to do it. But where should I hit?
He continued to watch the commotion from above and soon hears an impact on the roof that was behind him, causing him to draw his katana out of the instinct of an attacker. He eases himself upon seeing it to be Nepheli, covered in more blood and some ash that was probably from being near the fires she started. She settled near him in a lying position and lets out a breath of relief.
"You good?" Lordan inquiries while seeing her breath loudly from fatigue. Nepheli takes a few moments and takes out her blue flask to sip and recover her focus.
Nepheli turns on her front to adopt the same prone position as Lordan beside him. "Yes. A few knights gave me chase. Had to cut them down and run due to larger group behind them." She looks down below as well to see the activities of the castle's guards. "Looks like we have kicked the hornet's nest. Everyone is up in arms now, looking for us."
Lordan nods in agreement while thinking of their next course of action. Their sabotages have been creating the effect he wanted but were still not enough to lower the overall defenses that will threaten the army's success to take the castle. "We did good, but not enough. There's still a whole bunch of them manning those ballistas and firespewers. If the army marches through here, more than half are gonna be ganked."
Nepheli then pats Lordan to get him to look in another direction. "Don't worry. Rogier got something big. Any minute now."
"Well, whatever it is, it better be-" His sentence was cut off after an explosion goes off in the distance, shaking the entire castle grounds. The explosion came from the basement of the castle and smoke can be seen coming from the direction the duo faced.
"Big... Enough." The sight left Lordan speechless as the majority castle's forces begin running in the direction of the explosion, all of them shouting words of panic and urgency. "What the hells was that?!"
"Black power storage, beneath the castle. Fools stored them all in one place. Rogier had the idea to blow it up to create a distraction for our exit." Nepheli smirks at the display of chaos, her theory of the black power cache being important to the castle was proven right due to the amount of men who rush to the scene, abandoning their pose to help negate the damage caused by the explosion.
The both of them look on for several more moments as the defensive positions of the soldiers soon became more vacant, leaving the route from the main gate to the throne room of the castle lightly guarded with lesser manpower. It was now time to enact the plan with the signal.
Lordan takes out the warhorn given by Kenneth and they move slowly to a higher position on the chapel's roof while staying at an angle to avoid being seen from by those below. He takes a standing position and looks around once more to ensure no one was looking at him. "Well... Here goes. You ready?" He asks Nepheli once more to prepare her for the execution of the plan.
"Yeah, let's do it. It's about time this castle falls."
With her approval, Lordan raises the horn upwards and takes a deep breath to prepare himself for a huge blow into the horn. He places his mouth on the mouthpiece and lets out all his breath within two blows.
VMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. VMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
The horn echos loudly twice in the air to cover the entire castle and some distance outside, causing some of the soldiers to look up at the source despite not seeing Lordan. Silence fall around the castle for a time as all of Godrick's forces turned their attention to the direction of the main gate which was left wide open with few guards on station.
Lordan and Nepheli stayed low and move away from the chapel's roof to jump to the battlements to get a view of the main from above. Sounds of galloping can be heard coming towards the castle while shouts from the soldiers below echo with instructions to return to their positions for a siege.
Both of them view from a distance as cavalry comprising of hundred of Kenneth's forces and Kaiden Mercenaries rush out of the tunnel at full speed on their horses. They rushed into the castle like an endless stream of horses for a few minutes that was followed by the sounds of swords clashing and men screaming from pain and fury. Once the cavalry had all entered the castle more forces emerged from the tunnel in the form of infantry, foot soldiers, and any other fighters on foot. All of them shout their warcries as they enter the castle to join the fray.
Lordan and Nepheli watch from above as a battle between Godrick's forces and the army that came to usurp him wages below. The cavalry advanced swiftly throughout the outdoor grounds of the castle, taking out anyone and running through them with ease. The remaining infantry from both sides clashed brutally, no quarter or mercy was to be given. Godrick's forces all advanced in the direction of the main gate to battle the invaders and attempt to return to their defensive equipment.
Nepheli looks on as adrenaline builds up within her from the sight of the battle, it had been a long time since she took part in the siege of a fortress. "Right. I going down there." She gets her axes ready and gave them a twirl each.
"What? Why? We are here for Godrick." Lordan asked with a disapproving tone on the idea, not wanting to waste time on the battle due to the great rune he wants to claim from the demi-god.
Nepheli scoffed at his question. "And miss out on this? Nope. Godrick can wait and hide while we take out the fodder. Nothing more suitable for practice, fun, and runes than a group of ill-trained soldiers."
"Fun? You think sieges are fun?"
"Of course they are. Nothing more satisfying than a battle to win and the spoils that come along with it." Nepheli thinks about what the castle has to offer once the battle was won. Her thoughts were on a place she could enjoy rather than an item or loot to plunder. "I heard Godrick's got a personal bathhouse with a huge pool of heated water in his main building. I might take a dip in it once we're done with the man. Don't suppose you are interested in joining me? We could let off some steam and... Then some." She makes a suggestive proposal to Lordan and he reddens underneath his helmet as he understands the meaning of her words.
"Uhhh... No thanks. I'm... Clean enough."
"Pity. We could have had some fun." She notices Lordan's hesitation to join the battle and teases him with a flirt. "Come on wolf. Show a lady a good time, would you?"
Lordan laughs shortly at the tease and returns the favor. "Oh? I didn't realize I was talking to a lady. That explains your good looks." He replies with a playful flirt as well, making Nepheli blush a little despite her rough demeanor.
"I will take that as a compliment. Don't tell Melina though." She teases him back on his obvious signs of affection for his maiden, issuing a wink as well to further reinforce it. "Alright. Let's go kill someone who deserves it."
They both make their way down the battlements and move to join the battle in the courtyard. Once reaching the first level, they prepared themselves and look for an opening to enter the battle.
With an opening found, the duo makes their presence known and start cutting down some of the castle's defenders by flanking them as they join the chaos of battle.
STORMVEIL CASTLE, SECLUDED CELL
"Be proud. You were a fine warrior. Your only mistake was your choice of master. Let the winds lift you, to a higher place." Nepheli speaks a silent prayer for the knight captain that she had just killed, a fine warrior who showed honor by ensuring the smallfolk that his lord imprisoned were freed when the invasion started.
Lordan waves his katana to swing off all the blood that was currently stained on it. He inspects the blade once more and used the clothed part of his sleeve to clean the remaining blood residue before keeping the katana.
He turns around to touch the grace that was in the cell they currently resided in, feeling his body heal and recover focus from its warmth. He looks to Nepheli to see her still kneeling on a leg beside the fallen knight. "We can bury him later. Right now, we gonna move. The battle is not won yet." He offers her a hand to stand on her feet, which she grabbed and pull herself up swiftly.
"You are right. I'm being distracted." She closed her eyes and sighed, a slight regret filled her for killing the captain. She shakes her head to refocus on the task at hand. "We are close now. Prepare yourself, Lordan. Godrick's known to be the weakest Demi-god to still exist. But he is still a Demi-god, still a being of great power in possession of a rune."
Lordan shrugs at her words while he prepares his equipment for their fight. "Well. If he breaths, demi-god or not, he can be killed." He settles for his katana, curved greatsword, a medium shield and sword combination, and his staff for spells that Sellen and Rogier taught him.
The duo make their way through the cells towards the throne room where Godrick is supposed to reside, fighting can still be heard from outside as the last of Godrick's forces slowly diminished in numbers from the overwhelming invasion.
Upon approaching the corridor to the throne room, a group of Kaiden Mercenaries was seen looting the bodies of several soldiers that they killed. The group gets to their feet and gets into defensive stances which Lordan and Nepheil follow suit.
"Ты с Годриком? или против него?" One of the mercs speak a foreign language towards the pair with a rough accent which was directed toward Nepheil who was standing in front.
"Excuse me?" She replied to the group with confusion about their words but was interrupted when Lordan steps forward slowly to approach the group.
"Против. и казна там, если вам нужна ваша оплата." Lordan replied to them with the same language, causing the group to lower their weapons slightly and look in the direction that Lordan gestured.
"А. Спасибо друг. Удачи Господу, волк." The group nods toward Lordan as thanks as they move off to their intended location. "Идем! Давай возьмем акции, которыми он владел!"
Nepheil looks on with wonder and amazement at Lordan's handling of the situation, unaware that he was able to speak the same tongue as the northern mercenaries. "Not bad, Lordan. Didn't know you could speak like them."
Lordan shrugs as he explains the mercenaries' intentions. "They are Kaiden Mercs from the far northeast of the known world. Most of them speak Rus as their main language. They were looking for their payment." He smirks a bit from a memory of one of his travels with Vargram. "Me and my master traveled to their lands once. The Russos make the best alcohol ever. Vodka, they called it." A part of Lordan misses the burning taste of the drink that was mixed with hardened snow in a small cup that one downs in a single gulp.
They make their way to the exit of the castle grounds that lead to the throne room, the two of them draw their weapons as they move out to the open, with Nepheil and her axes, and Lordan with his sword and shield combination.
The path to the throne room was a garden littered with gravestones of all the former nobles that once ruled the castle. In the middle of this path lies the body of a dead dragon, impaled to a pillar and rotting away with maggots and flies hovering over it. It was being kept there as a figure of worship for the current lord of the castle.
In front of the dragon's body was a giant and grotesque being that moves closer to its corpse, he wears a cloak with the castle's banner and had white pale skin and hair. He was a sickly old man that was grafted with the bodies, limbs, and parts of the warriors and Tarnished that were captured for the purpose of grafting.
"Mighty Dragon, thou'rt a trueborn heir." The grafted man speaks to the body while caressing the face of the dragon. "Lend me thy strength, o kindred. Deliver me unto greater heights." He speaks with a delusional voice as he prays to the dragon for strength to be granted.
The man turns towards Lordan and Nepheil with little concern, as if not caring for their presence. He turns his entire body and holds two greataxes with his attached arms that were stronger than a normal person due to them being mixed with the arms of the strongest warriors the grafters could find.
"...Well. A lowly Tarnished, woman... And a stray wolf... playing as lords."
Lordan and Nepheil take their battle stances to prepare for their battle against their first demi-god, a battle that both of them had both dreaded and awaited for when they were branded Tarnished. "Do we look like we are playing? We came for your head, Godrick. You old and sad sadistic fuck." Lordan taunted and raises his shield and sword.
"Aye. Thee cameth to die and beest damn'd. For thou art both unworthy of the mantle. Both art but pests to be crushed." Godrick moves his cloak back to reveal more grafted arms that take the great axes and point them downwards.
He takes the axes and slams them to the ground which creates debris and shakes the ground. "I command thee, KNEEL! I am the lord of all that is golden!" He raises his great axes and begins to move towards them with killing intent. "Lowly Tarnished! Both of thee! Thou'rt unfit even to graft! Thee shall beest meat for the dogs, and the wild bitch mine own slave for pleasure!"
Lordan and Nepheil charge Godrick and begin their fight against the bastard demi-god. To claim the great rune, at long last.
Godrick the Grafted
Godrick takes a leap forward as they advanced to slam the ground in the middle of the both of them with his great axes, creating a strong impact that stops the duo dead in their tracks. He then swings his greataxes towards Lordan who blocks with his shield, staggering from each hit due to Godrick's inhuman strength from grafting.
Nepheli goes low and delivers attacks swiftly with her axes to Godrick's lower body, darkened blood spills from each wound as the grafted body of Godrick protects his real one through the body armor created by the flesh. Godrick turns around with a swing that knocks her back but Nepheli managed to stay balanced from the attack.
Lordan goes in for his own assault as Godrick was turned away from him. He delivers slashes and stabs with his longsword to little effect as the grafted body was effective at protecting Godrick from actual harm. He tries to angle his attacks towards Godrick's head but was deterred as Godrick once again refocused his attention towards him, swinging his greataxes wildly to throw Lordan off balanced.
Lordan guard breaks from the constant assault and was left open. Nepheli then interrupted Godrick from furthering his attacks by carving into his arms that held his greataxes, allowing Lordan to recover and join her in a two way attack.
Godrick fends them off for a few moments and swings his greataxes in a circular motion to create a heavy gust of wind that staggered both of his opponents. He then rolls away in a heavy and clumsy motion to create distance between his opponents, following up by hurling two wind attacks that came from his greataxes.
The attacks knock Lordan and Nepheli to the ground as it was difficult to dodge in time. The two of them get to their feet and sip on their flasks before charging the demi-god again.
Godrick sees the pair coming in fast and points his greataxes downwards, the golden axe glows a faint of gold at its top. "KNEEL! KNEELLLLLLLL!" He shouts out his wordS and slams the tip of the greataxe to the ground.
The slam creates a small earthquake that stops the both of them as they tried to stay balanced. A second slam was delivered and another earthquake created kicks up dust and debris which hurt Lordan and Nepheli as they felt the painful force of the slams emit through the ground. Godrick delivers a third slam that erupted the floor around them and sends them up in the air for a few moments before landing hard.
They struggle to get on their feet, prompting Godrick to move toward Nepheil. He strikes his greataxes downwards to where she was but Nepheil dodges back in time to avoid it. Godrick starts his wild strikes against the warrior as she moves back while deflecting the strikes with her dual axes, tiring from each impact as his strength of Godrick was overwhelming.
Lordan gets to his feet and sees the attack on his partner, he switches to his katana and staff. Using the spells Rogier taught, Lordan summoned a magic greatsword with the staff and swings it down to the back of Godrick. The demi-god grunts in pain from the slash as it strikes a weak point of his actual body.
He just winched in pain... He has a weak spot!
His thoughts were interrupted as Godrick delivers a sweeping strike that knocks both Lordan and Nepheil down at his front and back. Godrick then proceeds to attack Lordan where he was lying with a downwards strike.
Lordan blocks the attack by raising his weapons to stop the greataxes before it lands, stopping just before the axes carved his head in. He pushes up with all his might and manages to push Godrick's axes off and get to his feet. The clash between the two continued as Lordan deflects attacks with his katana while casting glintstones at multiple points of Godrick's body to figure out his weak spot.
One of the glintstones strikes Godrick on a point near his body and he cries out softly in pain and annoyance. Lordan could see the faint outline of a smaller body within the grafted mass of bodies that indicates that he had just struck a spot on Godrick's real body.
"ARGH! How dareth thee striketh a god! Thou shal-" Godrick's words were interrupted as Nepheil jumped on his back and strikes down on his shoulder. He cries out more as she struck his actual body at another spot. Godrick then grabs Nepheil and throws her towards Lordan, he catches her and falls back from the impact of her landing on him.
Godrick summons another wind attack to push them away from him as he rolls back to recover from the damage. Distance was created between them as Godrick approaches them to renew his assault.
Both Lordan and Nepheil sip on their flask a few times to recover from the fight as Lordan seeks to tell Nepheil his discovery. "Nepheil! We gonna strike his real body! it's on the front, the outline near his head!"
Nepheil sees the outline of the body Lordan spoke of and nods at his assessment. "Right! We attack him from two sides! Go in fast and pull out when he attacks anyone of us! Then we swap!" Nepheil shouts her warcry and taunts Godrick to get his attention while running toward him. "FALL TO ME! YOU INCESTUOUS BORN BASTARD! COME ON!"
The taunt manages to rile up Godrick as he leaps up in the air towards Nepheil, slamming down his greataxes upon landing but misses her as she dodges in time. Godrick unleashes a furry of strikes that swing wildly to try and strike Nepheil as she backsteps with great pace.
Lordan runs to the flank of Godrick and prepares his curved greatsword to replace his katana. He casts a few glintstones towards Godrick to get him to turn around for his next attack, a backflip upper slash using the bloodhound's ability. The attack slices upwards to another point where Godrick's real body was attached to hurt him further.
Godrick winches back from the attack as Nepheil rush him in front to deliver more blows to his real body, she follows up with a lighting attack from her axes that stunned and hurt Godrick. Nepheil dodges to the side as Lordan dashes in for a downwards slash with his curved greatsword that creates another wound near his real body.
Lordan retreats by casting his magic slicer sword to fend off Godrick as he backsteps, joining Nepheil's side. He sips on his blue flask and continues with Nepheil on their plan. The duo attacks Godrick again, getting in hits on his real body by taking turns to dodge and attack to throw off the demi-god's focus.
Godrick was now getting overwhelmed by the duo and slammed his greataxes to the ground to create earthquakes again, forcing Lordan and Nepheil to retreat by jumping back before the ground erupts like last time. He retreats by rolling and delivers wind attacks to push them away from him.
Godrick breathed heavily as he had sustained damage from the attacks, inspecting his left arm. It had been damaged from the fight and was no longer usable. Godrick screams with fury and brings down his greataxes to carve the grafted hand, blood spills from the wound as cries out in pain to rip the hand off and throws it towards Lordan.
Lordan dodges the thrown arm and looks on with disgust alongside Nepheil as they watched Godrick perform self-harm to himself. "What. The. Fuck."
Godrick raises his now severed arm to the sky and looks at the dragon's body in desperation. He approaches the dragon and says a few words to the body. "Ahh, truest of dragons. Lend me thy strength..."
"Nnngh!" He rams the stump of his severed hand into the dragon's neck and cries out as the grafting process of his body begins to bind the entire head of the dragon to his left arm.
Lordan and Nepheil look on as Godrick rips the entire head of the dragon from its neck, it was now a part of his arm. The head starts twitching and moving on its own as it was being reanimated by the grafting magic that Godrick.
"Is he going to-" Nepheil asks as realization dawns on her on what Godrick was doing. "This is bad. VERY BAD."
"Ah, Fuck." Lordan remarks as his mindset were the same as hers, they were in trouble.
The dragon's head fully comes to life and spews out fire from its mouth. Godrick raises his new dragon arm and it breathes fire to the sky, renewing his strength to continue the fight.
"FOREFATHERS, ONE AND ALL! BEAR WITNESS!"
Godrick The Lord Of Tainted Gold
Godrick brings down his dragon arm and points it to the both of them and it spews a column of fire towards them. Lordan dashes towards Nepheil to tackle her down to avoid the incoming fire. They get to their feet after Godrick ceases the flames and starts moving toward them.
"Now what?!" Lordan shouts to talk as the noise from the dragon's head creates noise that deafens their hearing.
"Stick to the plan! But avoid the head! We are almost there!" Nepheil gets to her feet and Lordan follows along to renew their assault.
They reach Godrick and try to deliver attacks to his real body but was deterred by his new arm, the dragon head was far more swift and dangerous compared to his greataxes. The both of them were forced to dodge constantly as the head swiped and attempts to bite them as they move near, it was far too fast for them to avoid and attack at the same time.
Damn it! The arm needs to go! Or we are FUCKED!
Lordan tries to attack the dragon head directly but was knocked down hard by a swipe delivered by Godrick. Godrick then refocused his attention on Nepheil with a combination of swipes with his greataxes and dragon arm.
Nepheil dodges and deflects all of the attacks she could handle before her stamina runs out, causing her to stagger. She was then knocked to the ground by a thrust from Godrick's greataxe, he follows up with a slam downwards which she avoids just before it lands.
Lordan gets to his feet after some time and sees Godrick prepare his dragon arm for an attack. He rushes to his feet and charges toward Nepheil, intending to help her avoid the attack.
"NEPHEIL! MOVE!"
He pushes her out of the way of Godrick's attack and was caught in the jaws of the dragon arm. Fire starts spewing from the head while Lordan was in its grip, he screams in pain as Godrick burns him in his grip.
Lordan tries to free himself but was too late as Godrick slams him down and uses his dragon head to begin incinerating him. He screams out as the fires start killing him by burning him alive.
"Lordan?! LORDAN!" Nepheil looks on helplessly as his body burns in the jaws of the dragon's head, while Godrick laughs at his victory.
"Great Godfrey! Did'st thou witness?!"
DEATH
"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! HUGHHHHHHH?! FUCKKKKKKKK! AHHHHHHHHHH!" Lordan shouts out as he awakens at the grace located in the cells, the grace he touched earlier to recover. He clutches and pats his body as if he was still on fire, remembering the feeling of burning alive just moments ago.
Nepheli looks on as Lordan was in a panicked state at the grace and breathed hard with uneven breaths while tossing around on the floor. She rushed to his side, fully aware of what just happened in his point of view. "Lordan? Lordan! Calm down. Breath, just breath, nice and slow." She holds him still to stop his panic.
Lordan counts within his head as a way to relax himself, taking a few moments to calm down while laying on his back. "I... Shit. That was fucked up..." He gets up to his feet with Nepheli's help and looks down at himself to once more confirmed that he is not currently on fire.
Nepheli gives him time before asking about what he just experienced. "How bad was it? We both die?"
Lordan pats himself a few more times out of instinct and answers her question. "Just me. I... Got burned alive."
"Burned alive? Godrick used fire magic?"
Lordan shakes his head at her guess. "No, he used a dragon head as his arm."
"A dragon head... For an arm." Nepheli thinks about the information Lordan provided. "Then we take out the head first. Anything else I need to know? Any weaknesses?"
Lordan nods at her assessment. "Yeah. His real body can be seen in an outline, it's grafted to a mass of bodies. We can hurt him badly if we attack it instead of his grafted flesh, it will save us time too."
"I see..." Nepheli takes note of the newfound information and has it idea in her head. "I have a plan then. We can discuss it on the way. Or do you need a break first, Lordan?" She suggested as she was currently worried about his mental state of mind.
Lordan shakes his head and moves to leave the cell. "No. I wanna kill him. NOW." He speaks with anger about the fact that Godrick had constantly used Nepheli as bait in the fight, a cowardly move to throw him off. He reaches for his enchanted bag and takes out his one-handed hand ballista and keeps it in his weapon bag, intending to use it later against Godrick.
Nepheli wanted to speak out to make him take a break before their battle against Godrick but decided against it as she knows that he was currently too angry to listen. She follows Lordan as they made their way to the throne room, again from Lordan's point of view.
Godrick raises his now severed arm to the sky and looks at the dragon's body in desperation. He approaches the dragon and says a few words to the body. "Ahh, truest of dragons. Lend me thy strength..."
Lordan looks at the sight and instantly takes out his hand ballista, loading it with explosive bolts. He aimed it towards the head of the dragon carcass and fires out a bolt straight to the jaw of the dragon head.
Godrick looks on as the bolt lands on the jaw of the dragon's head. "What-" An explosion goes off in front of him, causing Godrick to stagger back while blocking his view of the bright explosion. "NO! NO STOP-" Another bolt fires straight into the neck of the dragon, causing another explosion that separates the dragon's head from its body.
Godrick sees what remains of the head that he was going to use, it was now mutilated to the point of no return with its jaw and brain blown off. Lordan's attack on the head had rendered it completely unusable for the grafting process.
Nepheli grins at the side of Lordan as she sees their discussed plan playing out in their flavor. "Nice shot, wolf. Now he's just another grafted monster to kill."
"And with one hand." Lordan felt proud of their plan as they had tricked Godrick into severing his hand for nothing. They had used the lord's desperation to win against him. "Now, the rest is up to you Nepheli. I will get his attention." Lordan keeps his remaining weapons and switches to his curved greatsword for the next part of their plan, the bloodhound's ability was an important part of it.
Both of them charged toward Godrick at different sides to execute their strategy, each taking a different side to give him a harder time. Godrick snaps out of his shocked state and refocused on his intention to kill them with only his greataxes in one hand. "NAY MATTER! GODFREY GRANT ME STRENGTH!"
Godrick swings his greataxes as Lordan runs towards him, the attack phrases through Lordan as he used the bloodhound's ability to dash through the attacks. He swings his greataxes wildly in all directions he could at any gace of Lordan's form, trying to get a hit on the man who dashes through all his attacks.
"BE STILL! I COMMAND THEE TO" His words were interrupted as slashes from Nepheli's axes hurt his real body. She quickly dodges away before Godrick could react as Lordan delivers attacks while dashing to keep the focus on him, allowing Nepheli to come in to attack and pull out when Lordan takes over.
Godrick tries his best to ignore the constant attacks and refocus his attention to Nepheli, knowing that Lordan would jump in the way to save her from harm. "Come here, you little bitch! When I tear those rags off, I'm going to fuck you se-" His words stops mid-way as Lordan performs a backflip slash upwards to hurt him gravely.
"DON'T. BE. RUDE!" Lordan spits out while dashing in between his attacks and issuing his own. The both of them continue back and forth on Godrick as he slowly becomes weakened, the pain from their attacks were slowly building up as his real body was the constant target for these attacks.
In an act of desperation, Godrick slams his greataxes down to create an earthquake that staggers both of them, allowing him to roll away. He raises his greataxes and charges straight to Lordan to deliver his best killing blow. "NOW! THEE DIES!"
Nepheli rushes to Lordan's side and braces for the attack, both adopting a battle stance with their weapons raised. Lordan looks to Nepheli as she nods, their final play was coming.
Godrick brings down his greataxes while two of them swing theirs with all their might.
CLANG!
Both Lordan and Nepheli deliver a deflecting blow to the greataxes of Godrick at the same time as he swings it down, staggering him so hard with the combined force as he lets go of his greataxes and steps back to maintain his balance. The greataxes fly backwards and stick into the walls behind him, too high up for him to retrieve.
"HOW DARE THEE! BOTH OF YOU! I AM THE LORD OF ALL THAT IS GOL-"
Lordan shouts in rage and runs at full speed, tossing his curved greatsword aside. He reaches Godrick and delivers an uppercut to his face to knock him back before jumping up to climb on his back. Lordan then grips Godrick by the head and starts pulling upwards with all his might.
"WHAT?! NO! GET OFF ME! GET OFF!" Godrick moves around in erratic motions as he attempts to shake Lordan off, his grafted arm was not able to reach his back as Lordan angles himself to avoid being grabbed.
Nepheli runs to Godrick's front and begins carving into the outlines of the grafted body, an outline that indicates the true shape of Godrick's body that controls the grafted one. Godrick attempts to fend them off and move away but could not as Nepheli constantly slashes his legs to limit his movement.
Their plan was now in motion, to rip Godrick from his grafted body. A process that will effectively kill him.
"NO! STOP! YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO ME! I AM A DEMI-GOD!"
The sounds of flesh ripping can be heard as Lordan pulls up harder, with Nepheli slowly carving away at Godrick's body. Blood begins to spill violently from the ripping, staining both Lordan and Nepheli.
"NO! NO! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP ITTTTTTT!"
Godrick falls to the ground as his grafted body begins to lose control due to him currently being ripped apart from it. He struggles all he can in Lordan's grip to no avail. More ripping sounds were heard as his end draws near.
"I WILL GIVE YOU ANYTHING! PLEASE! PLEASE! MERCY!"
He screams in pain as he slowly starts separating from the grafted body, blood from both him and the grafted body spills out more as Lordan continues to rip him out.
"NOOOOOOO! PLEASE! NOOOOOOO!"
The ripping sounds becomes more violent as Lordan was almost done with his execution. He grips on harder and prepares one final pull with a warcry.
" GODFREY! HELP MEEEEEEEEEE! "
With one more hard pull, Lordan rips Godrick's original body out of the grafted one fully, blood splatters more on both him and Nepheli after the final pull. He jumps off the grafted body as it falls to the ground, now nothing but a fleshly husk.
"Mercy? No. YOU GET YOU FUCKING DESERVE!"
Lordan throws what remains of Godrick to the ground. He lands violently and lies on his front. Unable to move due to his missing arms and leg from his grafting acts.
Lordan and Nepheli stand side by side as they wait for a few moments to look at the defeated lord, wondering if he had any more tricks.
"...I am Lord of all that is Golden... ...And one day, we'll return together... ...To our home, bathed in rays of gold..."
The both of them stand victorious as Godrick was now completely defeated.
Lordan had now completed his first step to the Elden Ring. The first labour of his quest.
He had killed a Demi-god.
LEGEND FELLED
ᛏᚺᛖ ᛒᚨᛊᛏᚨᚱᛞ ᚷᛟᛞ
Countless runes start rising from the grafted body of Godrick and fly towards Lordan, giving him the strength that Godrick stole from the bodies of those that he grafted. Lordan takes a moment to feel the rush of runes enter his body, it was the largest amount of runes that he had ever gained from a single enemy.
Nepheli lets out a sigh of relief and starts wiping herself with her hands to clear the blood that stained her body and clothes, with her face first to clear her vision. "Yup. Definitely using his bathhouse..." She makes a remark on what she told Lordan earlier about the spoils she would enjoy.
The both of them walk towards where Godrick lies, he was still alive but on the verge of death. They surrounded him as they figure out the best way to deal with him.
"You... The both of you... Please... Spare... Me..." He begs in desperation, using his face to very slowly moving himself forward.
His begging earns him a kick in his torso from Nepheli. "Spare you? Like how you spared the children? The women? The warriors whom you captured?" More kicks come his way as Nepheli was frustrated by his request. "What happened to you is NOTHING compared to the horrors you brought upon your own people."
"Please... I am... Lord... I cannot... I don't want... To die..." Lordan stops Nepheli from her kicking, intending to end Godrick once and for all, in the quickest and most painful way possible.
"No. You are no lord. You weren't a Demi-god. You aren't even a man." Lordan steps closer to Godrick, flipping him on his back. "You are a rat. Running away while putting everything and everyone between you and danger to save yourself."
Lordan raises his foot and stamps down on Godrick's throat, Godrick coughs out blood from the impact. "But do you know what's the most pathetic part about what I just said?" He rubs his feet against his throat to inflict more pain on Godrick, intending to make his last moments the worst of his life.
"Rats... Were far more fucking troublesome than you."
Lordan shifted his body weight forward and puts pressure on Godrick's throat, choking him to death. He weakly struggles in the chokehold and slowly starts to lose his will to live, the image of Lordan stamping down on his throat was the last thing he sees before his vision starts fading into darkness.
Godrick died as he lived, weak and miserable.
Lordan delivers a final stamp to the throat, a crack can be heard as Lordan dislocated his neck to ensure his death. "You reap what you sow..." He steps back from the corpse of Godrick as a ring of light starts to emerge from his torso.
Lordan stares with wonder as the rings of light fully form itself and floated in front of him, it forms a giant circle with smaller ones within it. An instinct within makes him reach out to the base of the ring, it resonates to his hand's proximity.
Lordan then closes his fist sharply and the ring impoles in from the action, golden dust from the ring flows into his body as he experienced a power that he never felt before, the power that not even the runes he turned into strength could feel.
Power beyond mortal imagination.
SHARD ABSORBED
ᚷᛟᛞᚹᛁᚾ ᚷᛟᛚᛞᛖᚾ ᚺᚨᛚᚢᛖᛞ ᚱᚢᚾᛖ
Lordan falls to his knee as the great rune enters his body, a presence was felt within his mind as the great power that he just received almost overwhelmed him. Nepheli rushed to his side and supported him as he falls back to the ground.
"Lordan. Are you... How do feel?" She asked him as he sweats for the event that just happened, his breaths heavy and his eyes blank. She started to worry as she did not understand the effects of absorbing a great rune. "Lordan, come on. Talk to me."
Lordan clutches his head in pain as voices could be heard from within his mind, voices that he does not recognise. A unique voice among the rest can be heard that sounded demonic, talking to him directly as if it was aware of his presence.
TAKE THE RUNES.
MY EMPYREAN.
TAKE THEM ALL.
FROM YOUR KINDRED.
TEAR THE HEAVENS...
ASUNDER.
ASUNDER.
ASUNDER.
He grips his head tight and closes his eyes hard as the voice loops the same word over and over. It goes on for awhile and slowly fades to nothing. An image of a great black wolf with red eyes formed in his head, it looms behind a man dressed in clad black jagged armor wearing a wolf-shaped helmet with a giant sword on his back. It was an image Lordan sworn his could have seen before but did not know where or when he did.
The voices and images fade, with Nepheli's voice becoming clear again. She had been calling him for some time with no response. "LORDAN! LORDAN! SNAP OUT OF IT!" She shakes him for a while as he slowly becomes aware again.
Lordan shakes his head and fully regains himself, getting to his feet and removing his helmet to receive more fresh air. He looks to Nepheli who stared at him with great worry.
"I... I'm fine. I'm fine." He takes a moment to get his bearings in order. He performs his breathing exercises again and slowly but surely becomes normal again.
Nepheil sighs and lets him go. "I hope so. You have been muttering to yourself on the floor for almost ten minutes."
"Ten... Minutes? What...?" The amount of time that Nepheli mentioned scares him, it had only been a few seconds in his perspective. "What... What did I say?"
"The same thing again and again. Empyrean."
Empyrean? What's that? The news of him using the word left him confused, it was a word he never heard or known of before this incident. "Well, I guess we should-"
"HAHAHAHA! WELL DONE, FRIEND! BOTH OF YOU, WELL DONE!" He was interrupted as Gostoc appeared from the entrance and cheered at the sight of Godrick's dead body. He moves to it and gives it a few kicks out of spite and anger. "Take it! Take it all! Not so high and mighty now are you?!"
"What a pathetic excuse for a Lord you were. Craven to the bone. Pushing me about like that. And after all that grafting? Where did that get you? Look down on me, would you? Godrick? You filthy slug. Feel it! Feel it! Feel my bloody wrath!" He stamps down with all his might to deliver weak stomps on the head of Godrick. Repeating the actions over and over.
Both Nepheli and Lordan look on as the gatekeeper let's his anger loose on the corpse of Godrick, or at least what remains of it. "Should we stop him?" Nepheli asks while looking at Lordan.
"Leave him be, they deserve each other." Lordan responded with a tired tone, exhausted from the fight and choses to ignore Gostoc. He takes out his blue flask and sips down all the remaining uses to regain his focus and stamina. "So now what?"
"The battle outside is still ongoing, but they can handle it." Nepheli looks to the throne room of Godrick, her intent on using his private facilities still in her mind. "As for me, I'm taking that bath in his bathhouse. He owes him for all this blood." She looks down herself to see all the blood of Godrick staining her entire body and clothes. "Sure you don't want it to join?"
"I'm good, thanks."
"Had to try." She shrugs at his rejection and offers him instructions on what to do next. "Well, since you have claimed the great rune. Its time for your next step, Lordan. As father instructed me to tell you."
"Which is?" He became curious at the information that Nepheli provided from Gideon. Although Lordan did not like the man, he still admits that Gideon had been helping him in his own way.
"Return to the Roundtable Hold, and make your audience with the Two Fingers. As a shard bearer, you have earned that right."
Lordan nods and starts to make plans for his next move. " Right. Thanks, Nepheli. You have been a great help." He offers his hand and she shakes it with a firm grip. "We should probably wait till the army is done and join the clean-up."
"I would leave it to them, clean up is not exactly our job or expertise."
"True. But we still need an excuse to not join them." Lordan sighs and thinks of the only way he can avoid the duties in the aftermath of battle. "Alright... I think I will join you... But no... Any of that... You take one side of the pool and I take the other. And I will... Face the other way." You make his conditions known as he did not want to disappoint Melina by engaging in sexual acts with Nepheli, as much as the dirty part of his mind wanted to.
"As you wish. Besides, it wouldn't have meant anything. It's only for fun." Nepheli walks towards the building with the throne room to search for the bathhouse she mentioned while Lordan follows from behind. "And you are worried about seeing me naked. You should know that by doing that, I would be returning the flavor."
Lordan stops midway from what she said to process the meaning. "What... What does that mean?"
"It means... I have seen bigger."
Lordan was left stunned as he starts to comprehend what Nepheli said, making her laugh at the display of his dismay.
"Wait... What?!"
1997 YEARS BEFORE THE SHATTERING
"Stop moving, goat. I'm almost done." Rags attempts to reach the last patches of dirt with his moist cloth, trying to get Torrent clean before the day ends. "You and her decided it would be a good idea to ride through that swamp, so this is the result."
Torrent huffs in annoyance as Rags had been cleaning it for hours using the water from the stream that they were camped beside. The lack of grace for Rags meant that all sites were now useless to him. Therefore, he and Marika would no longer be resting near them. It was a blessing in disguise as the sites of grace were now an indirect danger to them, due to the Dragon Order using the sites to search for Numen traveling to Leyndell.
Marika watches on at the campsite, resting near the fire while reading a book that Renna gave to her for their travels. She sees Torrent unwilling to let Rags finish his cleanup. It was an amusing sight, to see him struggle on such a simple task, despite the fact he was able to take on a small army single-handedly.
"Alright, enough! Just stop winching for a sec-" Torrent ignores his request and makes a swift turn that splashes water upwards, getting Rags wet again. "You little furry SHIT!" Torrent trots away from Rags without care, forcing him to follow as he wanted to finish his cleanup. "GET BACK HERE!"
She laughs quietly at the sight and finds it endearing. Although Rags had been receptive to Torrent at first, she knew that they were getting on well. Remembering the times that Rags went out of his way to ensure Torrent was fed and cleaned properly. He cared for the spectral steed, even if he refuses to admit it.
Rags sigh loud enough for her to hear and he blows his whistle, making Torrent fade into blue mist. He moves back to the campfire and takes a seat on Marika's opposite side. "That... Goat. Will be the death of me..."
Marika frowns while holding her book down to stare at Rags with annoyance. "He's not a goat. And you are being mean."
"Being mean? I'm trying to clean him up, that's being mean?"
"If your cleanup forces him to stand at a spot of chilling water for three hours... Then yes. That's unreasonable." She stated her fact and rolls her eyes. Rags followed suit as he found it ridiculous that she would side with a goat over him.
"I wouldn't have to do that if someone didn't choose to ride through that swamp..."
"It was the fastest way to leave those woods. I saved us two days."
"And then you used those two days at the tavern to bathe and wash your clothes because we fell off the goat, and into the muddy waters. Which I told you was possible..." Rags replied with words that were full of sarcasm, earning him another eye roll from Marika.
"Would you rather we smell like... the sewage for the rest of the journey?" She makes a point about the benefits of cleaning up themselves before moving on. A silence was observed as Rags tries his best to issue a rebuttal, not wanting to lose out on Marika's fact.
Rags let out a sigh as no response came. "...That's fair..." He admits her point was making sense as Marika smugly emailed at his folly. They sit in silence as both of them think about what to say next, each second passed to create an awkward atmosphere around their campsite.
Marika decides to break the tension first as she remembered something important that she needed to tell Rags, an important instruction that Renna had warned her about. She decides against telling him directly so as to not anger him unnecessarily due to the nature of what she will share. "So... How far along are we to Leyndell at this point? Torrent seems to be useful at bringing us there faster and further."
Rags looks up to the night sky as he calculated the amount of time needed to reach the capital on horseback, a very faster horse that could jump small mountains in a single leap. "If we stop taking detours... We don't bump into any of the Dragon wankers or anyone else... And we use the fastest speed the goat can go... " His fingers move as he estimated the amount. "Eight months? Ten? Maybe even seven if we force march."
Marika sighs in relief, the time taken to get to true safety was now shorter due to Renna's assistance. Her provision of Torrent and advice on the route to take made the journey shorter and safer than before. She had also been taught several incantations by Renna that will allow them to conceal the area around them from view, a useful spell that saved them from encounters the past few times.
"Still, we might take longer if something comes up." Rags state another issue dismissively and take a ration of dried meat from his enchanted bag, eating it slowly as his supper. "You should probably eat something before turning in for the night. You gotta wake up in six hours for your watch." He reminds her of their timings for the night watch, splitting it in two to fairly allocate time between them.
Marika gets to her feet and steps to Rags side at a distance. "Rags, could you help me with something? Stand up with your claymore."
"Why?" He asks with an annoyed tone.
"Just do it. Come on, you need to see something." She requests again and Rags slowly gets to his feet, claymore in hand as Marika gestures for him to stand a little further from his. He gets to his position and Marika holds out her hand with her seal to cast a spell for him to see.
A barrier of gold forms around her after she casts the incatation, a barrier that was translecent and seemed to resemble glass. "Rags, use your claymore and strike the barrier as hard as you can." She notices his hesitantion as he did not want to hurt her by accident. "Don't worry and trust me. It will hold."
Rags sighs and draws his claymore to a striking position. He angles his blade slowly to avoid striking her if the barrier actually breaks. Rags raise his sword and wait for a moment while looking at Marika to continue, a confirmation was given to him with a nod from her.
He swings his claymore down with all his might, light emits from the point of impact on the barrier.
PING!
His claymore bounces back violently as it recoils from the impact. The vibration of metal from his claymore emits in the air. Rags steps back to maintain his balance as Marika lowers the barrier, it disappears after a few seconds.
"See? It holds. It's supposed to be indestructible, based on what Renna said."
Rags keeps his claymore and shakes his head to clear his mind from the impact. "Well... It's useful I guess. So you waited till now to test it?"
Marika stays silent from his question, not knowing how he will respond to the next words she will say. "I... Already tested it. I just needed to show you how it worked." She reaches into her pocket and retrieves a crossbow bolt that was engraved with magical runes. She walks to Rags and passes him the bolt, the only one that Renna gave her as a last resort. "This is the only thing that can pierce through its layer. Use it on your crossbow when you need it."
"Ok... Why are you giving this to me?" Rags asked with concern as an assumption on the usage crosses his mind, but he still denies it. "Marika, what is this for?"
Marika looks to the ground with her eyes closed, keeping quiet for a few moments before she sighs and starts to explain. "The barrier is my last line of defense. If I'm overwhelmed, the barrier will protect me from all threats but it will also leave me trapped until I lower it willingly." She move a little closer to him to have a closer look at his face, his expression was a mix of hurt and disappointment as he was aware of what she was implying. "And that's where you come in. With the bolt and crossbow that can pierce the barrier without resistance. "
Rags frowns at her request, refusing to accept what she asked of him. "Marika... Why are you telling me this? What is the problem? There's no way I'm going to use this, no way I need to use this."
Marika shakes her head as she knew he was in denial. "Because we are being chased unrelentlessly by one of the most powerful religions of the known world, anything can happen if we are not careful. And we have been careful, but... Its still possible we might make a mistake. A mistake that will cost us everything if we lose."
"So... I need you to promise me something... "
She shifted her feet uncomfortably and let out a breath to look up back at Rags, her eyes full of resolve as she needed to ensure that he agreed to carry out her request.
"If... We are overwhelmed... If we... Get cornered and cannot escape... If we are in a fight that cannot be won, and my capture is imminent and cannot be stopped... "
She let out another sigh, knowing that her next words were not going to be pleasant for Rags to hear.
"You won't let them take me."
Rags sighs from her request. "Of course, I'm not gonna let them take you, why would I allo-" His words were stopped as Marika places her hand on his cheek, forcing him to look into her golden eyes out of instinct.
"I need you to understand and accept... What I am asking for..."
She released her hand from his cheeks and uses both of them to take his, moving them up to her neck and forcing his hands to grab it lightly. "So I need you to promise me. "
"You. Won't. Let them. Take me."
Rags grunts and quickly pulls his hand out of her grip and turns away. Marika waits for a few moments as she observed him breathing heavily, she starts to worry that she may have pushed too far.
"Rags... I..."
He walks away in the direction of the designated spot for his coming night watch, not wanting to talk any further. Marika sees him griping his right arm tightly as if holding it in pain while avoiding her view.
"Rags? Your arm... What is-"
"I'm taking the whole watch tonight. Get... Some sleep... Even if you don't need it." She could hear him speaking in a pained voice that was restaining himself. Worry starts to build up in her as she suspected that he hid an injury that both she and Renna were unaware of.
"Rags, I can-"
"Just... Go to sleep. And leave me alone for tonight."
He speaks his last words for the night and walks away clutching his arm, leaving Marika alone at the campsite. She does not try to follow as she knows it was not the right time to do so.
Forgive me... Rags...
Rags sit at his position for the last few hours, his claymore in hand to prepare himself for any threats that may appear.
He had been griping his arm for a few hours now, sipping on his red flask in intervals to endure the pain, using it up fully for the day.
With no uses left, Rags simply sat and breathed slowly to try and make himself more relaxed. The pain was slowly subsiding as the hours went by.
He starts going into his relaxed state and feels his eyes becoming heavy, fatigue was catching up to him due to all the activities he went through today. He starts closing his eyes slowly as his body demanded some sleep.
His eyes closed and only darkness filled his vision.
RAGS.
FIND ME IN THE HOLLOW EARTH.
The voice that plagued him reappears in his mind, causing him to wake up from alert. He grips his right arm again as the pain suddenly resurfaces, more unbearable than ever, forcing him to bite down as he holds in a cry of pain.
No... NO... You... What are you?!
The voice emits a small and demonic laugh at his question.
DO YOU REMEMBER?
YOUR FATHER?
THE NIGHT YOU KILLED HIM?
The voice asks at visions of him committing acts of violence and violations against Marika appear in his mind as they once did before. The same visions that appeared just now when Marika placed his hands on her throat.
What? How did... How did you know?!
The voice chuckles from his question again.
DO YOU REMEMBER?
A VOICE?
AT THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD?
TELLING YOU...
TO DO IT?
Rags's breathing slows down as he recalls exactly what the voice said. The night he never hoped to remember, the night he lose everything in a span of seconds, by his own hand.
How? HOW DO YOU KNOW?!
THAT WAS PROBABLY ME.
Rags let's out a breath that he held as he feels the presence of the voice starting to fade, disappearing completely as last time like it was never there.
He felt a sense of dread and confusion grip him as he processes what the voice said, about the time when he was a child. The day he killed his father.
How did it know about that?
Was it really there since the beginning?
He shakes his head and moves his right arm, surprised that the pain was gone completely. Rags then gets to his feet and went back to check on the campsite, worried that he may have spent too long away.
He moves close and sees Marika asleep in her bed roll, completely unaware of his troubles. He also sees Torrent sitting on its side near her, it had summoned itself to stay with Marika in his stead.
Rags move close to Torrent and gives it a pat on the head, grateful that it had watched over her. He kneels down on one leg beside Maria's sleeping form, observing her as she sleeps peacefully.
He reaches out and tucks her hair behind her ear, giving it a stroke to feel its softness. He watches her for a few minutes, thinking about her request, the thing act that he doesn't want to commit.
"I'm sorry... I might never be able to do it... But... I will... Try... "
The visions that the voice made in his head surfaced for a few seconds in his mind, prompting him to recoil his hand from Marika.
"I would never hurt you... I will never want it... I... "
I will never hurt you...
"それは彼らですか?"
"乙女と剣士が馬で旅? はい. それは彼らです."
"最終的に... わたしたちは預言者に報告するべきです."
"それから私たちは急いでいます. 私たちのエルデンの主は彼女とそれらのすべてを必要としています. リングを保持するため."
The two Reedlander warriors nod to each other and depart on their mounts from the overview that allowed them to spot their targets, intending to report their findings to their superiors. Leaving Rags and Marika unaware that they had been followed.
FIN