Chapter 11 — Old Enemies
Alden's POV
How did he find me? I screamed in my mind as the Pursuer floated towards me, he raised his ultra-great sword in the air and swooped down towards me, trying to cut me in two.
I rolled to the right, the Pursuer's sword destroying the ground below, I swung my Lord Sword towards the Pursuer, but he blocked it with his shield, the Pursuer then pulled his sword back and plunged it into the opening on the side of his shield, I jumped back, the Pursuer's sword just pierced the air.
"Who is this guy?" Godwyn asked beside me.
"The Pursuer, a being responsible for hunting the undead." I replied.
"So he hunts those who live in death?"
"No! He hunts a specific type of undead."
"What type?"
"Cursed undead, like me."
The pursuer's sword started to glow blue, swinging his sword a wave of blue energy came towards me, I rolled to the left, but the pursuer didn't stop, blow after blow, several waves of energy came towards me, I started to run around courtyard of the castle and jumped behind some tombstones, the pursuer kept firing, taking pieces of the tombstone.
"You've fought this guy before, haven't you? How do we finish him, and with we, I mean you!" Godwyn said as he also took cover behind the tombstones, which didn't help much as his body was much larger than a normal human.
"First of all, there are several pursuers, but the one with the quiver full of weapons on his back is their leader, the smaller ones don't carry the quiver. Second, if I remember correctly, the Pursuer is resistant against darkness, so my abyss magic won't do much against him."
"What is he weak against exactly?" Godwyn asked, a piece of the headstone flying by the side of his head.
"It is weak to lightning, can be poisoned, and has low resistance to soul sorcery and pyromancy."
"Do you have any soul or lightning spells?"
"Yes, but my Sunset Staff and Chime of Want are not the best for that kind of sorcery."
"Better than nothing."
"I agree."
I equipped my Ring of Knowledge to increase my intelligence and Dragon Crest Ring (+2) to increase the duration of my spells, jumped off the tombstone and cast Crystal Soul Spear, the rings on my staff began to spin with blue magic energy, a large projectile made of crystallized souls flew towards the pursuer hitting him squarely in the chest.
Then I cast Crystal Souls Mass, five orbs of crystallized souls appeared above me, I started to run towards the Pursuer, while running I dragged my staff by the blade of my sword and cast Crystal Magic Weapon, my sword was enveloped by magic and sharp crystals covered its blade.
As I approached the Pursuer I slashed him vertically across his chest, the Crystal Masses shot out from above me and hit the Pursuer in his face and chest, but the Pursuer recovered from my barrage of attacks and hit me in the side of my head with his shield, then he hit me in the face with the front of his shield throwing me away.
I ended up colliding with my back on a tombstone, when I recovered from the blow I saw the Pursued floating towards me at great speed, his sword was pulled back and his shield protected his body. When the pursuer approached I rolled to the right, the pursuer's sword ended up stuck in the tombstone, as I walked away I cast Sunlight Spear with my chime, the spear hit the pursuer in the side of his body.
With a great sign of strength the pursuer ripped the sword from the tombstone swinging it towards me, I jumped back, dodging the chunks of stone, the red glow on the pursuer's helm intensified, the pursuer charged once more, I cast Heavenly Thunder, lightning fell from the sky and struck the courtyard, but the Pursuer deftly dodged the lightning floating around them.
When the Pursuer approached, he tried to cut me with his sword, I managed to dodge the blow, then the Pursuer tried to crush me with his shield, I also managed to dodge, but I could not dodge the third blow, with a spinning attack the Pursuer managed to cut me in my chest.
"Are you okay?!" Godwyn asked.
"Yes! Don't worry, this is nothing, I've already fought the Pursuer several times."
I walked away from the Pursuer and used the bell to summon the Jellyfish's Ashes, I expect it to act like the ones in the cemetery, and the jellyfish did just that, it started spitting poison at the Pursuer.
I drank a flask of cerulean tears to restore my spells and cast Sacred Oath increasing my attack and defense, then cast a Sunlight Spear and threw it at the pursuer, the pursuer managed to block the miracle with his shield, but he was still being hit by the jellyfish venom.
The Pursuer then placed the shield in front of his body and the tip of his sword in the opening of the shield and floated towards me, as he approached the pursuer tried to pierce me several times with his sword, jumping back I managed to dodge the blow, the Pursuer was then surrounded by a green cloud, a sign that he had been poisoned.
Let's get it over with, I drank from my flask of wondrous physique, my strength and power of charged attacks were increased, I cast Sunlight Blade surrounding my sword with lightning and used the ash of war determination, I held the sword in front of my face and it was surrounded by a white aura. So I ran towards the Pursuer.
The Pursuer seeing me swung his sword releasing a wave of energy, I rolled left, he sent another wave then I rolled right, the Pursuer then pulled his sword back, the blue glow getting stronger, I knew what he intended to do, if that blow hits me I'll be cursed and the Pursuer will get stronger, I can't let that happen.
As I ran I aimed my bell at the Pursuer and cast Emit Force, the Pursuer thrust his sword forward when I got close enough, but the projectile released by the miracle hit the Pursuer first, breaking his balance and throwing his sword hand back, which eventually gave me time to charge my sword strike and pierce his chest where I assumed his heart should be.
The pursuer grabbed the blade of my sword with both hands trying to remove it; I pushed the sword deeper into his chest, black smoke gushing from his wound like a geyser. I stared at the Pursuer in his helmet; the red light stared back at me.
Suddenly a shrill whistle came from the pursuer's helm and echoed through the Stormveil, I heard a flap of wings, a great shadow passed over me and the Pursuer, as I looked up I saw the great hawk that carried the pursuer coming towards me with claws outstretched, seeing this I ripped my sword from the Pursuer's chest and leapt away, the hawk's talons encircled the pursuer and carried him away.
I took out my staff and ran after the water while casting several Crystal Soul Spears, but they were already too far away. I stood in front of the cliff of Stormveil's courtyard watching the hawk take the Pursuer away, Godwyn appeared beside me.
"He is dead?" Godwyn asked.
"No, it's never that easy to take out the Pursuer. He will return."
Godwyn and I started walking toward Stormveil's throne room.
"So how did you two meet?"
"The Pursuer and I have met several times around Drangleic, his job is to hunt cursed undead for all eternity so he can atone for his sins." Said to Godwyn.
"And what is a cursed undead?" Godwyn asked me.
"Sorry if this sounds rude, but I'd rather not talk about it."
"I see, no problem at all, just let me know when you feel ready." Godwyn said as he placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Thanks." I said to Godwyn as I smiled.
We arrived at the throne room; upon entering we heard a voice.
"He already left?" It was Gostoc; he was hiding behind the throne.
"Yes. I made him run away." I said to Gostoc.
"Thank heavens, that damn dark knight has been prowling the castle for hours, he seems to be looking for something." Gostoc said in relief as he stepped out from behind the throne.
"Better watch out, I managed to fend off the Pursuer, but he's not dead."
Gostoc gulped, "Thanks for the warning, if you'll excuse me I have my duties at the castle to take care of. So many corpses lying around." Gostoc said as he walked out of the throne room.
"Who was he?" Godwyn asked me.
"Gostoc, he helped me get into the castle undetected, without his help it would have been harder to get to Godrick."
"So Godrick is dead? A pity, but I think it's for the best, it's sad to see how low a direct descendant of the Golden Lineage has fallen."
TIMESKIP
Alden's POV
We leave Stormveil and arrive at an area with a large lake full of ruins surrounded by cliffs.
"So this is Liurnia?" I asked Godwyn.
"Yes, but unlike how I remember it, this place is slowly sinking. There seems to be no one ruling these lands."
"Is Rennala who rules these lands?"
"If my memory serves me, then yes."
"I have to gather the great runes, and according to the information they gave me, Rennala is at Raya Lucaria's academy and she has a great rune, if we go there we can solve two problems at once."
"Hm! I agree with your plan, but if we find Rennala, I ask you not to harm her, I have met her in person a few times, and she is a reasonable and kind woman."
"I will try, but I can't promise anything if she tries to attack me."
"Hm! I don't like it, but I can't disagree, the situation in the Lands Between is serious, if everything could be resolved with diplomacy we wouldn't be in this situation."
"It's never that easy, is it?"
"If it was easy, then it wouldn't be fun." Godwyn said as he chuckled.
We approached a Grace place that was on the edge of a cliff overlooking Liurnia, I touched Grace, in the place I found someone familiar, and it was Boc.
"Hey Boc!" I yelled as I waved.
"Good see you! Master. Do you remember me? Boc, the demi-human. You helped me earlier and got my sewing needle back. Please master. Allow me to serve you as your tailor. I can't do anything from scratch, but… I'm happy to make adjustments to your clothes." Boc said as he approached me.
Make adjustments to my clothes? I looked down at my robes, admittedly ripped and burned in places; I haven't stopped to tend to my gear.
"Of course Boc, I see no problem with that."
"Master, I was wondering… Have you ever… made adjustments to your costume? I, well, I'd rather you let me do the work when possible, please. I don't ask for anything in return, you know, and, well... I'm your personal couturier after all!" Boc said as he studied my robes.
"Well, if that's what you want to do." I removed my robes and handed them to Boc.
"Thank you master, I promise I won't let you down!" Boc said as he walked away, grabbed his sewing kit and started working on my robes.
I sat down, removed my imp helm and felt the cold Liurnia air touch my face, I stared out over the landscape with Godwyn at my side.
"The resemblance is disturbing." Godwyn said as he glared at me.
"What do you mean?"
"You look a lot like Radagon, a little younger and with short hair."
"I've been told that before. Hm! Radagon, tell me, what was he like?"
"Tough question, I rarely met him in person; he was only in the capital to speak with my mother and father about the progress of the war in Liurnia. But from what little I know, he was a man of few words, but there was gentleness behind his seriousness, by the looks of it he was a great father and husband to his family."
"I find it strange that I look like him, it's like I'm living on someone's reputation."
"Don't worry about it, I believe Radagon wouldn't mind."
"I hope. And where is Radagon now?"
"No one knows, he disappeared the same day my mother shattered the Elden Ring."
"Strange, but this isn't the first time I've heard of monarchs mysteriously disappearing. What else can you say about him?"
"Well, not much to say, he had long red hair, yellow eyes, defined muscles. You have too much muscle for a sorcerer, you know?" Godwyn said as he looked me up and down.
"I wasn't always like this, when I arrived in Drangleic I was skinny as a stick, this is the result of getting stronger during my journey."
"If you start walking around shirtless and showing off your muscles like Radagon, you'll have a lot of maidens falling at your feet." Godwyn said as he chuckled and patted me on the shoulder.
"What do you mean by that?"
"HAHA HA! Funny story, one of the things Radagon was known for was his habit of going shirtless everywhere, no matter the weather or temperature, whether it was the heat of Mount Gelmir, or the freezing cold of the Mountain Tops, he was always shirtless showing off his muscles. This attracted several maidens, which ended up making Rennala furious, according to the Queen of the Full Moon, only she could admire and touch those muscles; she tried to force Radagon to wear a shirt, but never succeeded."
"Great, I look like an exhibitionist."
"HAHAHA!" Godwyn just laughed.
Boc then came towards me "Here master, your robes are like new."
"Thanks Boc." I put on my robes and helmet soon after.
"If you allow me, I will retire, please call me if you need further adjustments to your outfit." Boc said as he bowed.
"Okay Boc, you did a good job."
"That servant is happy with your kind words, master." Boc said then walked away.
"Congratulations, you have your first follower." Godwyn said as he watched Boc walk away.
"Hm! I feel weird about it; no one has ever called me master before."
"It's better to get used to it, the more achievements you acquire, and the more people will follow you."
"I hope not, I'm not that impressive." He said as he called Torrent, I stroked Torrent on his head.
"Good to see you again Torrent." Said while stroking Torrent, he neighed in response; I mounted Torrent and rode towards the lakes.
"You underestimate yourself too much." Godwyn said with a sigh.
TIMESKIP
I didn't ride far, further ahead I found another church in ruins, I decided to enter the church to see if I could find something useful, inside there was a man sitting on a wooden bench, when I approached I ended up catching his attention.
"You're tarnished, aren't you? So maybe you can part with some runes? Believe it or not, I studied glintstone sorcery at Raya Lucaria's Academy. For a small donation, I would be happy to share my knowledge."
Hm! I will not pass up the chance to acquire new spells "Here you go." I said as I handed the man some runes.
"Well, bless you, bless you. You are a true saint. My name is Thops. Assuming you're interested, I can teach you sorceries, as promised. Only none of them are particularly great…" Thops said sadly.
"Don't worry about it Thops, it doesn't matter if the spell is big or small, they are all useful in some way. By the way, my name is Alden."
"Thank you good sir." Thops said with a bit of glee in his voice.
I took a look at the spells Thops had at his disposal, none of them were something that interested me, and some of these spells were either something I already knew how to do or had learned from Sellen.
"I'm sorry, friend. I fear my meager sorceries are no match for your generosity. Oh right. I can tell you what I know about this place. That should help a little. Did you see that structure to the north, towering over the water?"
"Yes."
"This is Raya Lucaria's Academy, where we study glintstone sorceries. It's just that their doors have been closed for some time, after they declared that they would not interfere with the Shattering, the academy placed repellent seals on the east gate leading to the Capital and the south gate leading here. As you might have guessed, the seals are still active, making entry to the academy impossible without a glowing stone key. And so I'm stuck here. An inexperienced sorcerer with little chance of acquiring a key. When they released the seals, I had just left and now I have been uprooted from my place of learning."
Thops said as he looked down.
"Thanks for the information Thops, but now I'll have to figure out how to get into Raya Lucaria, I have business there."
"Why don't you find a glintstone key? Without one, you can't get through the academy and you'll never make it to the Capitol. And if you find an extra glintstone key, maybe… After tying up all your loose ends, would you consider donating it to me? I know that. I don't have an iota of talent for sorcery. But still, my place is in academia…"
"I thank you for everything Thops, I will look for the key and if I find it, I will give it to you when I finish everything I have to do."
"Seriously, thank you sir, bless you."
"And Thops…"
"Yes?"
"Don't say you're talentless, we all have something we're good at or not, but if you want to continue studying sorcery, a good teacher can help. There is a woman named Sellen in Limgrave, perhaps she can teach you."
This seemed to surprise Thops, as he rose from his hunched position and looked at me in surprise.
"Did you learn from Sellen? Well, that's something. Sellen was well known. The most promising sorceress in the history of the academy. I followed her to school, but there might as well have been an ocean between us. But Sellen was expelled from the academy. Accused of unthinkable treatment by certain sorcerers, under the name of Graven Witch. I still don't believe the accusations. The illustrious Sellen would never accomplish such things…"
"Hey Thops, you said you didn't have a talent for Glinstone sorceries, didn't you? How about learning a new kind of sorcery?"
"A new kind? What kind of sorcery?" Thops asked me curiously.
"A type of sorcery never seen before, sorceries of the soul." I said as I took some sheets of paper out of my bag, on those sheets there were some spells.
Soul Arrow, Great Soul Arrow, Heavy Soul Arrow, Great Heavy Soul Arrow.
"Here it is." I said as he handed the papers to Thops.
Thops started to read what was written on the papers "This… This is…"
I didn't let Thops finish, I gave him a smile, took the Sacred Tear that was in the church, called Torrent and rode away, as I walked away I heard Thops scream.
"THANKS! THANKS! I PROMISE I WON'T LET YOU DOWN TEACHER ALDEN!"
Looking back, I saw Thops waving at me through the church door.
"You did something good today, I'm proud of you" Godwyn said as he walked up to me.
"I have done nothing."
"You promised to help him, and you even helped him regain some of his resolve, I believe that cannot be called 'nothing'." Godwyn said as he smiled.
"I just gave him something new to learn, he might have some talent with soul sorceries."
"You know that you are now responsible for making sure that talent flourishes, don't you? After all, Thops now considers you his teacher."
"Wait! What?!"
"True, now that you've given Thops a taste of a new kind of sorcery, he'll want to learn more. Better not let him down."
But what have I done? I? A teacher? All I wanted was to cheer Thops up a bit, now I have to face the consequences of my actions. Leaving these thoughts behind, I continued riding towards the lake, let's see if we could find the key.
TIMESKIP
While riding I took another scroll of spells, this time I was near a tombstone in a cemetery next to the church, I touched Grace that was on the shore of the lake, further ahead I found another tombstone with bright letters and a piece of map stuck in it, I took it the piece of the map and joined it to my current map with a quick cast of Repair.
"What happened to Liurnia?" Godwyn asked.
"Is this place different from how you remembered it?"
"Yes a lot."
I started to look around, this place was full of ruins and trees sinking into the lake, blue crystals came out from under the earth, fireflies glowed around us, a light mist covered the lake, an occasional creature tried to attack me, but Torrent it was too fast for them.
This place has certainly seen better days, but it's not that bad compared to what I've seen.
Suddenly Godwyn put a hand on my shoulder "Stop!"
"What's it?!"
"Ahead lays one of the most dangerous creatures in the Lands Between, a powerful, merciless creature with an insatiable bloodlust." Godwyn said as he pointed forward.
"What creature?" I asked as I prepared my staff and sword.
"The crayfish!" Godwyn said with seriousness in his voice.
"What?"
Godwyn then grabbed me by the shoulders and tried to shake me, but it obviously didn't work.
"The crawfish Alden! A creature whose attack possesses inhuman range and accuracy, several mighty warriors have lost their lives to these things."
I looked further ahead and saw a giant lobster over there, it doesn't look that bad.
"Come on, it's just a giant lobster, I've had worse." I said as I approached the lobster.
"Alden, no!" Godwyn screamed.
"HA!" I shook Torrent's reins and rode towards the Crawfish.
But I didn't get very far since I was hit by a powerful jet of water that took me off Torrent and made me fly away, I fell backwards on the ground, when I lifted my head I saw that the Crayfish had turned to me and shot again, I rolled to the right dodging the shot, the water shot opened a hole in the place where I was previously.
"I warned you!" Godwyn screamed.
"Not now Godwyn!"
Let's see, the crayfish is in the water, which means that lightning is the best option now, I cast Great Spear of Lightning with my bell and shot the crayfish, apparently the creature was not fast, since it was hit by the miracle, lightning ran across the surface of the water.
I got ready, the creature was going to shoot again, the jet of water came, this time I rolled to the left and cast another Lightning Spear in a row, once again the Crawfish was hit.
As a final miracle, I cast Fragmented Lightning Spear, threw the lightning above the crayfish, the lightning exploded creating a sacred circle and then it rained lightning on top of the crayfish, soon the creature was dead.
When I finished, I saw Godwyn with a smile on his face.
"What?" I asked.
"Say it." Godwyn answered.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Say it."
"Fine! I should have listened to you!"
"See. Was it really that hard?"
"Whatever."
I called Torrent and started riding.
TIMESKIP
Hi! Its a little cold in here, isn't it? My mistress sent me on an errand… But I was accosted by a bandit, and now I'm in trouble. May I ask you to lend a hand perhaps? That bandit got away with a precious necklace. I need someone to retrieve it. Just… He's also a Tarnished. If you have any qualms about confronting your own, I'll find another..."
The girl in front of me spoke; she was blonde, wore a green dress and was bent forward.
I looked at Godwyn beside me; he was staring at the girl as he walked around her.
"Of course, I see no problem with that." I said to the girl.
"Oops, thanks honey. What a blessing to have found each other like this. The bandit must be resting in an abandoned house on the way… Please, I need the necklace back." The girl said to me with a smile on her face.
"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to retrieve your necklace." I said as walked away from the girl.
"I wish you the best of luck, brave Tarnished."
I turned away from the girl and called Torrent, and as I rode I noticed that Godwyn was strangely silent.
"Is there a problem Godwyn?"
"That girl. I don't know why, but I get a sense of familiarity when I see her."
"A relative of yours perhaps?"
"Hm! Perhaps." Godwyn said with a distant look.
Our conversation was interrupted by a flutter of wings, when we looked up we saw a monstrous bird coming towards us, I pulled Torrent's reins to the right, dodging the bird, I turned Torrent around and watched the creature.
It was a skeletal creature, with humanoid hands and feet, its head was a mixture of a human and bird skull, wings protruded from its back, in one of its hands it carried a fire poker.
"Do you know what this thing is?"
"A deathbird, one of the beings who administered death in the Lands Between before the Erdtree came into being. They are servants of an outer god of unknown name."
"Next time we have a moment to rest, I'll want a history lesson about the Lands Between, its creatures, and those Outer Gods."
"Considering it will get harder as we go on this journey, I think it's a good idea."
"I'm glad you agree."
"KKKYYYAAAHHH!" The bird let out a screeching sound and flew towards me.
"Any advice on how to fight this thing?"
"They are weak to holy attacks."
"I need an efficient way to deal holy damage from a distance; I can't rely on Ornate Swords' ash of war. Maybe Corhyn can teach me some?"
I equipped the Golden Halberd in my right hand and used its Golden Vow ash of war, increasing my attack and decreasing the damage I take.
"HA!" I shook Torrent's reins and rode towards the deathbird.
The bird made a long gliding leap to close the distance then swung his poker and I pulled Torrent to the left, dodging the blow and slicing the bird across the right side of its body. The bird raised its left fist and slammed it against the ground, creating a shock wave, it wasn't enough to knock me off Torrent, but it did some damage.
I decided to try out some of the new sorceries I acquired, I started charging magic into my staff, the rings started to spin with blue energy, so I cast Glinstone Stars, three large glintstone projectiles came out of my staff and flew towards the bird, the hitting on the right side of his body in the torso.
The bird then turned to me and pulled its poker back, assuming a fencing stance the bird threw its poker forward, seeing this I cast Shockwave with my staff, a transparent sphere flew towards the deathbird.
Upon being hit by the spell, a shock wave was released and caused the bird to be pushed back; it did no damage, but left the bird open for an attack.
"HA!" Torrent darted forward, I aimed the halberd towards the deathbird's chest, and the metal tip at the end of the halberd pierced its body.
"KKKYYYAAAHHH!"
With a cry of pain, the deathbird grabbed its poker in its left hand, leapt to its feet, and slammed it down hard on the ground, causing a shock wave.
This time the blow ended up knocking me off Torrent, then the deathbird pulled its head back and tried to pierce me with its beak, I rolled to the left letting the bird hit the ground.
Before he recovered, I cast Great Soul Sword, a great sword made of souls appeared on my staff, I approached the bird and slashed it from left to right with the sword, then slashed it with the halberd.
The deathbird, upon receiving these wounds, took a deep breath and let out a deafening scream.
"KKKYYYAAAHHH!"
My ears started to hurt with that infernal noise, I felt there was something wrong in my body, that scream was doing something to me.
"Alden, he's trying to infect you with Death Blight! Finish him off!" Godwyn screamed.
I don't know what Death Blight is, but if Godwyn is worried then so should I be. I pointed my staff at the deathbird and began charging a spell. Magic accumulated in my staff, so I cast Crystal Soul Spear, the charged spear flew towards the deathbird and hit it on its head, with a burst of magic, the deathbird's head was blown off, and I received runes and souls, in the place where the bird was there was a talisman.
I picked it up and hung it on my robes; it was a talisman with a red feather.
"That was close; it would have been a problem if the death plague had taken effect." Godwyn said as he approached me, he was wiping the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief.
"What is Death Blight?"
"As the name says, it is blight, if you are affected by it you die instantly. The higher your vitality, the greater your resistance against the plague, you got a talisman that increases your resistance against the plague in the cave where we are."
"That thing stinks!"
"Hey! That talisman is part of me! Are you saying I stink?"
"Maybe I am." Said with a smile, I called Torrent and kept riding.
"Come back here and say that one more time!" Godwyn yelled as he chased me.
TIMESKIP
Alden's POV
We continued riding until we reached an old hut, we touched Grace who was close, in front of the hut there was a man wearing a metal mask, he was cooking prawn in a pan.
"What are you looking at? Are you trying to start something, man?" The man said to see me.
"I'm here looking for a necklace." I said as I approached.
"Oh, that necklace you're looking for, isn't it? Hmm, well… Show me what you're worth and I'll consider parting ways with him. I'm not in love with it or anything." The man said as he stirred the prawns in the pan.
I sighed "How much do you want for the necklace?"
"You are perceptive, boss. First you give me the runes. And don't try anything, either."
I approached and handed the runes to the man, then he handed me the necklace.
"Oh, so you've met the girl, have you? All right, well, forget the details of the matter, but it's not my fault that she's stupid enough to be lied to, is it? Anyway, she's not right in the head. Lucky she didn't die on the damn side of the road, I guess." The man then went back to stirring the prawns.
I watched with curiosity, I've never seen anyone cook before.
"Oh, holy shit, what is it now? Oh, I see. Do you want some prawn? It's yours if you can pay me. I might be persuaded to sell some if you have the runes."
I think it doesn't hurt. Maybe I can taste the prawn.
"Here it is." I said as I handed over the runes, the man then handed me a boiled prawn.
I started to eat the prawn; I was disappointed to not taste it.
"Marika tits, you must be hungry."
"Not much." I said between bites.
"You're a Tarnished too, aren't you? Can you see then? The guidance of grace, I mean. I can't see anymore. It makes no sense anyway, why some nameless idiot like me should be called to the Lands Between. Cruel and bloody joke, you ask me. Maybe something went wrong with that. Maybe... it's been broken for a long time. The Erdtree, I'm telling you."
"Yes, I can see Grace, but I don't care much about it, I only started to see it recently. I can't say it was bad meeting you, but I must leave."
"Hey! The feeling is mutual. I've never met anyone with a taste for prawn that I couldn't trust. We would make good friends, I think. I'll be seeing you later."
I called Torrent and started riding back to the girl.
"I wanted some prawn." Godwyn said sadly.
"Can't you create some, as you did before in the Evergaol?"
"It's not the same thing, the food I create tastes like how I remember it, not how it really is."
"At least you can taste it."
TIMESKIP
Alden's POV
We returned to the pavilion where the girl was, seeing me she gave a small smile.
Hi! Did you manage to get my necklace back?" She asked me.
"Yes. Here it is." I said as I handed over the necklace.
"Thank you, I am in your debt. Did I forget to announce myself? I am Rya, in service to Lady Tanith of Volcano Manor." Rya introduced herself.
"Hello, Rya! My name is Alden."
"Nice to meet you Alden. I'm looking for a robust stain that can join our household. You are also very brave, not just a firm hand, but a firm heart, merciless even to your own kind. Such strength is precisely what my mistress seeks. Please take this." Rya said as she handed me a paper envelope.
I broke the red wax seal and read the contents of the letter, Godwyn was also reading over my shoulder.
"Brave Tarnished; seek Altus Plateau in the Erdtree Realm. Prove yourself by taking this journey, and Volcano Mansion will fully extend your invitation. To fight, among a family of champions."
"So does that mean I'm invited to Volcano Manor, but to be welcomed I need to cross the Altus Plateau as a test?" I asked Rya as I tucked the invitation into my bag.
"Yes. Brave Tarnished; seek out Altus Plateau, the realm of the Erdtree. Most Tarnished are doomed to wander the outskirts of the Lands Between, gazing wistfully at the towering Erdtree... But you are no ordinary Tarnished. And once this is proven, Volcano Mansion will fully extend your invitation. To fight, among a family of champions." Rya answered me.
I shrugged, something to see later, I still have a lot to do in Liurnia, I was about to leave but was interrupted by Rya.
"Ohh, and… One more thing, just for you… This land of Liurnia is connected to the Altus Plateau by the Great Elevator of Dectus, beyond the High Road. But the elevator has been out of use for a long time, meaning there is no simple means of passage. Instead, you should look for the ancient ruins on the cliff. At the base of the valley, near the Grand Elevator, is an ancient tunnel. It was excavated at both ends, linking Liurnia to the Plateau of Altus. I have faith in you, a champion, through and through. Hope we can meet again." Rya said.
"Thanks for the information Rya; I will visit the manor as soon as possible."
"I wish you a safe journey Alden." Rya said as she waved at me.
I called Torrent and started riding across the lakes again.
"We can reach the Altus Plateau through the tunnel, but it's not a good idea." Godwyn said beside me.
"And why is that?"
"That place is full of monsters, it's also where Makar decided to make his nest, I recommend going through the tunnel only if you want to collect resources or are in a hurry, if not, I recommend finding the other half of the medallion."
"And who is Makar?"
"A human who allowed himself to be consumed by the hunger of dragon hearts, he is now an incomplete dragon doomed to drag his belly along the ground for eternity."
"I'm not going to turn into an incomplete dragon, am I?"
"Only if you let yourself be consumed by the hunger for dragon hearts."
The thought disturbs me, but technically I can already transform into an incomplete dragon thanks to my dragon stone, what bothers me is whether I can return to my original form.
"Changing the subject, why didn't you make any comments about Rya?"
"What do you mean?"
"Every woman we meet you makes some comment about her appearance, that I should compliment her or something. Why not this time?"
"Rya doesn't have that maidenly air; she looks more like a little sister."
"I will never understand you Godwyn. What's the difference between a normal woman and a maiden?"
"GASPH! You still have a lot to learn." Godwyn said with a horrified sigh.
Godwyn then went into a long speech on how to tell the difference between a normal woman and a maiden. I started blocking out Godwyn's litanies until they became background noise.
I'll focus on something more important. How to find the key to Raya Lucaria.
"Hey! Are you listening to what I'm saying?" Godwyn asked.
"Yes." I replied.
"Then repeat what I just said!"
"HA!" I shook Torrent's reins and rode away.
"You should know by now that trick doesn't work! I'm stuck with you!" Godwyn said as he chased after me.
The Pursuer had recovered from his defeat, he was in a different land, with different creatures, different spells, and different weapons and most importantly, the Undead she had chased through Drangleic was no longer the same.
After several fights, the Undead had strengthened, he was no longer the same as when they faced each other for the first time, strong to the point that a fight against the Persecutor was no longer considered something almost impossible, but something easy, he had become accustomed to the Persecutor's way of acting and thinking.
This infuriated the Pursuer, he was no longer a challenge for his target, seeing this Pursuer decided to change his way of fighting a little, this land possessed strange abilities to put him in a weapon, and the Pursuer had a quiver full of them.
With the whistle the Pursuer ordered his falcon to release him, the Pursuer fell in front of a bridge, and on that bridge there was a man wearing black armor and mounted on a horse.
"Stop!" The man screamed, but the Pursuer ignored him.
Shooting at ludicrous speeds the pursuer pierced the man in his chest with his sword, yanking him from his horse, then the pursuer threw the man upwards yanking him from his sword and splitting him in two as he fell, the pursuer's armor was painted red with the man's blood, suddenly a new face appeared on the Pursuer's armor, indicating that he had claimed yet another victim.
The Pursuer kept his victim's halberd in his quiver, in the place where the man had died there was some kind of ashes, taking the ashes the pursuer took a rapier from his quiver and poured the ashes on the rapier.
Floating, the Pursuer darted forward, spinning his body, and then unleashing a flurry of jabs with the rapier, which pleased the Pursuer.
The Pursuer then sank to the ground in a cloud of darkness, searching for more ash to add to his vast collection of weapons.
END OF CHAPTER
Hello, thanks for reading this far! Just wanted to drop a few notes before you go. First of all, I know that the Pursuer's fight was short, that was intentional, I wanted to start with the concept that Alden is already so strong and has faced the Pursuer so many times, that he no longer sees it as a challenge, but like you can see, I'll change that.
The second note is just something I'm curious about as I write this chapter. In the intro to Elden Ring each Tarnished one has a painting full of symbolism representing them.
What I would like to know is your opinion on what Alden's painting would be. How do you think it would be? Leave your opinion in the comments.
Until the next chapter!