A/N: Is this late? Yes. Do I have anything to say that I haven't already said before in this fics A/Ns or in the ones of New Surroundings? No, other than some port timing with certain events. Will there be another chapter before the end of the month? This one I can promise I feel this time. And so it will be. Now back to the action.
Beta: Genatools (In Spirit)
Chapter 15: Tis Fate that we Should Meet.
"Mmm? Augh!" Lautrec had been mulling with his own thoughts, considering some options, right until he heard the footsteps of several people coming from the stairs that led to the elevator. He turned and saw who they were, but his nose warned him of an entirely different issue.
"Seems like you got farther than I thought you would… or farther than I would go," Lautrec said under his breath as he addressed the party of five that came from the elevator.
"Do pardon us, it's been an arduous journey… Ah, I never got the chance to introduce myself to you the last time we met. I am-" Siegmeyer began.
"I do not care. Nor will I greet you when you smell like that. Your armor is also covered in filth. Please, do not get any closer." Lautrec backed away as Siegmeyer tried to greet him.
"I… I suppose this could be left for another moment." Siegmeyer nodded. He would admit that his armor was in need of some cleaning. He himself might need it as well.
"Hey, Anastacia. Are you doing okay?" Oscar knelt down close to Anastacia and her cage. There was no other way to put it, it was little more than just a hole. She however seemed to perk up at his voice, if only to stare at Oscar and immediately wrinkle her nose.
"Heh, I know… We all know. We are gonna get ourselves cleaned somehow, and then I'll come and talk to you." Oscar assured her.
"Please do that so that I don't have to smell you anymore," Lautrec said from the sidelines. The group looked at each other and decided to move ahead.
"Has something happened around here while we have been gone?" Beatrice asked Lautrec.
"Huh? Nothing important. That old man and that sorcerer are still up there, exchanging ideas, and they seem to be keeping that priestess company… Didn't expect someone like her to last, or any of them for that matter." Lautrec commented as he tried to cover his nose through his helmet. Tring to see if just covering it with his hands could keep the stench away.
"Ah, didn't know Firelink Shrine had this many people. Hmm, so many people in this cursed land are oddly reassuring. Perhaps I should come through here before going to the Depths. Hmm." Solaire wondered.
"Whatever you say. Now if you don't mind, I would rather not speak until you are at least smelling decent. Please grant me that courtesy." Lautrec said to them.
"Hmm, fair enough Si Lautrec." Oscar nodded his head to say goodbye, and he and the rest of the group walked up the stairs to the bonfire. Lautrec however, kept staring at Oscar as he walked away.
"Mmmm…" He noticed he knew the Firekeeper, on some personal level as well. If that was the case, then it could be complicated for him. Perhaps even troublesome.
The party climbed the stairs and were met with Firelink Shrine, pretty much the same as it had been when the Trio had left, as for Solaire and SIegmeyer… they knew of the safe heaven but it did look more lively than any other place they had been in Lordran.
"Oh, you seem to have- By the gods!" The Crestfallen Warrior jumped and covered his nose. "I see you reached that dreaded place. The stench! Do yourselves and everyone else a favor and stay as far as you can!"
"We'll be doing that… you've been down there. Would the water at the ruined temple be enough?" Oscar asked the Crestfallen Warrior.
"I don't know. It probably should, if nothing else it would at least lessen that smell. Won't be enough, take a bath, wash the armor and then scrub it with the grass and moss of the cemetery, that would probably be the most you can do. Just don't attract any more skeletons." The Crestfallen Warrior instructed as he covered his nose.
"Skeletons?" Siegmeyer inquired.
"It's fine… we just need to enter the grounds of the cemetery itself, and we won't have any trouble," Beatrice assured them.
"...Very well then. I will trust you. Heh, would be almost foolish after how we've wasted each other's back so far. And you seem to always have sage advice. Hah hah hah!" Siegmeyer gave a hearty laugh.
"Better be careful Sir Siegmeyer. You can never be too trusting." Beatrice quipped.
"Heh, heh. There is some truth to that." Siegmeyer admitted.
"We shall be going to the ruins then… probably better than the aqueduct, knowing where it leads and where it comes from," Oscar spoke.
"Then please go ahead and do it!" The Crestfallen Warrior almost demanded.
"Right away your highness… mmm?" Oscar turned to the others and noticed that Eskar was missing. A quick glance and he noticed that he was by the bonfire, seemingly focused on something right beside it. The group then noticed that it was a fresh set of clothes.
"Wait… where did you…?" Oscar, Siegmeyer, and Solaire looked a bit confused, right until Eskar unfolded more sets of clothes from thin air in a flash of yellow bright light and crystals.
"I… didn't know you had… you could have done that from the beginning?" Oscar wondered.
"Why would I change in the middle of a swamp or somewhere that isn't safe. If I had changed down there then I would have just gotten more clothing sullied." Eskar responded.
"...That's true." Oscar agreed after the quick explanation.
"I do not know how long it would take for me to clean… this." Eskar gestured to his own stained, disheveled, and nauseous-smelling clothes. "I would rather have something I can change to."
"Hmm… say. Do you perhaps have more clothing with you?" Solaire wondered.
"I do…" Eskar thought for a second and he unfolded different pieces of clothing one by one. "I do not know if these will fit you, or if they would be to your liking."
"As long as we can cover ourselves, they will be fine," Oscar reassured him, and with the others nodding and eager at the idea of having some clothes that were clean. The five of them walked towards the ruins to clean themselves up, but not before running into Laurentius, Griggs, and Rhea.
"Oh, it is you. I'm glad to see that-" Rhea began to approach them, and immediately she covered her nose and took a couple of steps back. "B-by… by the gods..." She did her best to suppress the sickening feeling that assaulted her senses.
" Lady Rhea… I... believe it best that we talk after all of us have washed this filth." Oscar said to her.
"T-that would be best. I would wait for thee until then. Rhea did her best to respond, Laurentius quickly coming over and gently guiding Rhea away from the party. Or more precisely their smell.
"We will be here… but look, do not worry. It is not that bad." Laurentius tried to assure them.
"Not that bad?! I can smell it from here!" Griggs spoke up. "Has your nose been rendered useless by the Great Swamp?"
"I would not say useless. But, I'll admit, there are some smells I don't notice anymore." Laurentius responded.
"Goodness." Griggs looked at Laurentius in exasperated surprise.
"Do not worry, we'll tackle this dilemma right now," Siegmeyer told them. "I say we better get started, it could take a while to clean all of this armor. It is quite a heft. Hah hah hah hah." Siegmeyer laughed.
"I hope it won't be too difficult. To have my armor, and my symbol and dedication to the sun pungent with the smell of that swamp for days or more would be quite unamusing." Solaire chimed in.
"That would be a nice way of saying it. Heh." Oscar chuckled.
"Let's try and get this over with soon then. Shall we?" Beatrice asked, the other nodding as they entered the ruins.
"This might not be much water, but it seems to be doing the trick. It's not much different from getting rid of mud." Siegmeyer spoke.
"I suppose it could be much worse," Oscar said as he did his best to scrub his armor with a piece of cloth.
The grime and the stains were thankfully easy to get rid of, most of the heavy waste that had stuck them had fallen off during their fights and on their way up, and now what remained was mostly smaller pieces that had managed to stick to parts of their clothing. It was still troublesome, however, as the smell was not as easy to get rid of from their armor and clothing. They themselves had also been covered by some amounts of grime and waste, but the green moss around the ruins seemed to be enough for the moment to scrub the waste and part of the smell away.
"It will take a while, but I do believe we are making progress." Solaire furiously scrubbed at a piece of grime that didn't seem to leave part of his greaves.
"I wouldn't mind finding a river with running water at this instant, or maybe some wood ashes. Never thought that in this quest for the Bells I would be worried about something like this." Oscar took a moment to reflect on his journey. As an Undead, food and other basic necessities weren't an issue, and getting dirty wasn't an issue either. But he never thought he would be knee-deep in a place as disgusting as Blighttown. That is when another issue came to his head.
"We are going to have to go back. The Bell is still unrung." He said to the others.
"But now we won't have to go through the Depths. And the road to that hive should be far easier now as well. If we have to go back we should be able to not be there for long. Mmm… What could be the chances that I find my very own sun down there?" Solaire began to wonder. "Would I be alright living down there if my sun happened to be there as well?"
"... I would recommend searching other places first. I would imagine your sun would be in a more pleasant place. You would need to have a lot of moss just to survive down there. And we are gonna need a lot of moss." Eskar said as he leaned against one of the pillars.
Eskar was already in his new set of clothes, the same set of clothes he had when he entered the Fold and then when he arrived in Darkroot Garden. He cleaned himself quickly, washed his mask and boots, and put on the new set of clothes leaving the matter of cleaning his other clothes, and cleaning foul-stained cotton, for another time. Right now, however, he was busy acting as a guard and an assistant for Beatrice.
Beatrice herself was behind the pillar. It was the most simple way for all of them to wash at the same time and not disrespect each other's modesty. But Beatrice had an added issue. Unlike the rest of them, she hadn't had armor over her clothes, partially protecting them from the dregs of Blighttown, or even an extra set of clothing. Her dress and clothes were all she had. Added to that that she was a woman and had more of herself to cover, it resulted in her being more undisposed than the others. While washing herself she needed some small assistance in getting cloth and the green moss that they were using to scrub themselves clean. Since Eskar was the one that was procuring the clothing, he unfolded and handed the pieces of cloth to her, and took the chance to hand her the green moss as well. And so he remained by the pillar for whenever she needed something, and in a way to make sure nothing or no one would disturb her.
"We might have enough time to both buy and harvest moss. Cleaning these clothes will take at least a day or two." Beatrice said from behind the pillar.
"If everything goes well…" Eskar added.
"They would need some time and fresh air in order for the stench to go away. Though like Sir Oscar said, wood ashes or something similar to it might do us some good. It would be a shame to have survived Blighttown only for its parasites to stick and grow on us. Hah hah hah hah." Solaire laughed. The others however shuddered, even if the sentiment was understood, the thought of the parasites or whatever other vermin resided on Blighttown's swamp residing on them on their clothes was enough for them to try and scrub their armor and themselves harder.
"I can give all of you clothes to wear in the meanwhile, but I do not think it would be as effective as your armor," Eskar said to the others.
"What you have given us so far is fine. These pants may not be my style, but they'll suffice for now. Hah hah hah." Siegmeyer laughed.
Eskar had given them only what they needed to cover themselves, ready for them to wear once they were done washing themselves. It was a simple collection of shirts and pants that came from Towerpoint and the Tear, alongside an overtop that seemed good enough to grant some additional coverage. All of them were pretty similar to the pants and linen shirts that they used under their armor. He hadn't bothered with shoes for the moment, but if need be he could unfold something for them. He had collected a large wardrobe during his time in Adal after all.
"If we are gonna make sure that they are clean and with no trace of that filth, then we'll need something to aid in the cleaning. Or to at least help and get rid of this gunk." Beatrice said from behind the pillar.
"Hmm… What about the blacksmith? Andre. He might have something that could help. Some tools at least." Oscar offered an idea.
"It's possible… going in that direction there's also Darkroot. And we can harvest some more moss there, it could be useful to scrub these and make sure all the poisons and toxins get rid of." Beatrice suggested.
"That's a good idea. We should go ahead and go collect that moss!" Siegmeyer said enthusiastically.
"We would need to face those foliage monsters to get the moss. And you would have to be extra careful without your armor." Eskar told him.
"Ah, no worries, I'm still a skilled warrior even without my armor. That armor means everything to me, but if there's no other way, I'm not shy to fight without it. You yourself don't use armor after all. I must say, your bravery in doing so is inspiring. You have my admiration, Sir Eskar." Siegmeyer said.
"Heh… It's just the way I and my people had to adapt. A lot of us prefer to stay mobile, or simply don't have the means to get quality armor." Eskar explained. Thinking about the ways of the Absolvers made him reminisce. His people mostly cleaned clothes the same way as in Lordran it seemed, but he probably should have tried and learned a method to clean clothes with Essence, fragments could be used to repair clothing, but not unsully them. He could have also gotten some of that soap he heard that was in Uring. But alas, it wasn't the case… but thinking of the ways his people cleaned clothes did give him an idea.
"Maybe there's another way… What about Laurentius? He comes from a swamp right? He must know how to clean clothing." Eskar said.
"There's a joke that says people of the Great Swamp don't bathe. But you are right they must have a way to clean up. We should probably ask him." Oscar agreed.
"I reckon I could do that. It's been some time since I've been able to look at the sun. Staying here while conversing with others will give me a good chance to do so." Solaire happily mused.
"Seems we know what to do. Then we should go ahead and get dressed if we are clean. We can leave our clothes and armor here for now. If necessary… are you fine guarding this place so that no thief comes to try and steal our belongings, Sir Solaire?" Beatrice asked from behind the pillar.
"Oh, of course, I would be. They are my belongings too after all. Hah hah hah hah." Solaire laughed.
"We should go ahead and get dressed then," Oscar said. All of them agreed and began to dress up with the clothes that Eskar had given them.
Solaire, Oscar, and Siegmyer had been given a combination of worker or trapper pants with shirts from Towerpoint of different colors. Eskar unfolded some boots for them and they were practically set. In the end, it felt familiar for them, they looked almost as if they decided to visit a tavern without their armor to loosen up after a long day. It looked almost similar to the clothes they wore under their armor. The garments were a bit more slim and soft though, but overall, they were quite comfortable.
"Aah." Siegmeyer sighed at the feeling of clean clothes. "You were right, they are not exactly for my size, but they are baggy enough, and will be more than enough. You have my thanks." He did a small bow towards Eskar.
"You are welcome, Sir Siegmeyer. I'm glad you seem to be comfortable in them." Eskar said.
"Perhaps it is the feeling of them being fresh compared to our older clothes, but they are indeed fine clothes… if a bit light. We are dressed, we'll go ahead and speak with Laurentius and the others, give Lady Beatrice space to dress." Oscar said.
"You have my deepest gratitude," Beatrice said from behind the pillar. "I will do my best to be swift."
"Do not fret. Use whatever time you need." Solaire said with a hearty laugh, walking out of the ruins and Siegmyer and Oscar following close behind.
"I'll stay here, make sure no skeleton or anyone else catches you... unprepared." Eskar said to Beatrice.
"Good. I would rather not have a situation of the sort… Eskar, thank you." Beatrice said as she began to get dressed.
"There's no need to thank me," Eskar responded.
"There is. I feel you deserve it. For this and many other things." Beatrice said.
"Hmm… thanks." Eskar chuckled.
"Heh, you are welcome." Beatrice laughed.
Eskar continued to lean against the pillar while he waited for Beatrice. He had actually put a bit more thought than he let on on the clothes he unfolded for his allies. He wanted to give them something they were both used to and that would be comfortable for them… for Beatrice however, he did have to think a little bit harder. He didn't have anything that resembled her dress or that even had the same shade of color. But he settled on something that he thought was the most similar. The Guide's Lieutenant's Overtop and Trousers were of fine make and resembled a long yet practical robe that extended all the way to one's calves, he also had given her a Guide Witness shirt and Silan boots. The grey-purple robe was the closest he had to her dress, and they had their own charm, the white trousers were simple but practical, and the Guide's shirt was comfortable and soft, woven with geometric patterns that were a staple in Towerpoint.
"Do you believe it suits me?" Eskar's attention was diverted from his own musings as Beatrice spoke. He turned to the side and saw Beatrice in the attire he had given her. She looked like someone from Adal, and it certainly was something new to see her without her hat. Her short auburn hair flowing more freely.
"... It might not be your coat and dress. But… I believe it does." Eskar answered.
"Hmm…" Beatrice smirked. "You chose it, and I thank you. It does feel comfortable if a bit thin compared to my dress, just like Sir Oscar said about his clothes. I do feel the cold air a bit more… is it the same for you?" Beatrice wondered.
"It never bothered me much. Towerpoint was always a cold place, far above in the mountains. But these tunics usually were more than enough for me, and others as well." Eskar responded.
"Mmm… The cold air is refreshing." Beatrice admitted. "It will more than do." She nodded to Eskar. Eskar returned the gesture and then silently both began to walk side by side in the direction that the other had gone.
"Are the cuffs part of the attire as well?" Beatrice asked Eskar, showing him some black gold-trimmed Forest Dweller gloves, though they were more like cuffs that extended a bit on the back of the palm.
"No. But I thought they might be to your liking, for the time being at least." Eskar answered.
"Really?... Is there a reason as to why they are made like this?" Beatrice questioned.
"Supposedly, the Forest Callers use them so that small animals can stand on when they call to them. But that's not why I chose them… I chose them because I always found them… elegant, compared to other gloves or cuffs I have. Not my style, but I thought it might suit you." Eskar explained.
"Heh…" Beatrice chuckled. "I'm not exactly an elegant woman, my dress and coat have more rugged patches than you might think. Not all of them match. And not everyone I've met has been fond of its look… but… Eskar." Beatrice turned to him.
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"You are welcome."
"I do actually know something that could come in help. It's a pyromancy I have. Normally you can only use it on yourself, but with a bit of practice, some other masters and shamans have been able to use it to make clothes and some other objects clean. By dunking them in the water we can make them steam and sweat, cleaning them from the inside out and getting rid of diseases." Laurentius excitedly explained.
"Sweat… does that mean you are going to use flash sweat?" Beatrice inquired.
"Yes! Precisely!" Laurentius perked up.
"How can one make clothes and armor sweat?" Eskar questioned.
"It's not exactly making them sweat. The pyromancy it's forcing part of the water in it to heat and turn to steam. When you use flash sweat you are covering yourself in this aura of hot water, but it is also heating you up so that you sweat as well. Is part of the spell in fact, it does use water to work… Did you know that we have a lot of water inside of us?" Laurentius asked.
"So with the clothes, if they are soaking. It would use that water." Beatrice realized.
"And covered in this flash of water. It will wash it and dry it from the inside. It's been very useful for us. Allowing us to live in some parts of the swamp where there wasn't much clean water or a flowing river." Laurentius said.
"Hmm… I must admit. It's fascinating." Griggs admitted as he brought a hand to his chin.
"It is marvelous isn't it." Laurentius beamed. " course, if you want to use more traditional means to clean your clothes, I-I… I won't force you to-"
"I believe we'll appreciate your assistance, Laurentius. We want them to be clean from whatever filth was down in Blighttown, and we can see you know a thing or two." Oscar stopped Laurentius from keeping on rambling apologies.
"Oh, truly? Well, that's just fantastic!" Laurentius smiled.
"I didn't know that pyromancies could do something of that sort. It is not something I expected from… magic known for flames." Rhea mused.
"Well, pyromancy is… surprisingly intricate. I-I didn't create the spell… but I do know that it's an example of how we can control the flames. Not by changing its nature, but by showing a different side of it. To alter something in that way one must be in tune with nature itself, and one's own nature as well." Laurentius explained.
"In tune with nature…? How do you… achieve something like that? Do you pray to nature itself? Or perhaps to the flame?... Do pyromancers worship any gods?" Rhea asked him.
"Uh…" Laurentius scratched the back of his head. "I cannot speak for every pyromancer, but I'm sure some of them do. We do revere the Witch of Izalith, and her daughters; she was amongst the ones that found the Lord Souls, alongside Gwyn himself. But… My best way to describe it is that… pyromancy is magic that requires you to look inward, into part of your own soul, but into your body and feeling as well. Think then of sorceries… I think Griggs here could explain it better… they focus on projecting one's soul outwards, instead of looking inwards."
"It's not exactly like that… but yes. We study the essence of our souls and then use that knowledge to manifest them. I guess it explains why most sorceries resemble arrows or spears, or even effects that might seem more arcane. It's magic nonetheless… and miracles aren't much different." Griggs explained.
"Miracles are produced by our faith. It manifests the strongest when thoust believe in the tales of the gods and their actions. Mmm… perhaps it could be described as reaching outwards with a prayer, and focusing that back into oneself. Perhaps it's not that different from sorcery… perhaps both reach outwards in a way. Though I've heard a lot of sorcerers and scholars tend to be arrogant and conceited… and even cranky." Rhea said.
"Heh… well, I believe you've heard right. Veinheim has a reputation for a reason." Griggs chuckled, Rhea laughing alongside him.
From the sidelines, the party watched as the pyromancer, the priestess, and the sorcerer lost themselves in conversation. It was safe to say that had been how they had spent their time together in FIrelink Shrine.
"Oh… right. You asked for my help. I'm so sorry. Though I can help… you might still want to get something to help with the cleaning if you can get it. Getting rid of nasty and poisonous filth requires a bit more work." Laurentius said to them.
"Ah yes, Lady Beatrice here suggested we could try and aid that with some moss. Purple and blooming moss." Siegmeyer spoke.
"Ah… yes that would help. It would certainly aid in getting rid of any poisonous or toxic remains. It can even help make a fresh coat that can keep fresh moss air inside the clothes. It would help you if you have to go back down there, making it harder for nauseating toxins to affect you." Laurentius nodded at their idea.
"That… would be marvelous." Oscar liked the sound of the poison and toxins not affecting them.
"Of course, that's better done once the clothes are starting to dry. You would probably still want something more classic to clean them. Wood ash could do… or perhaps even some oils. Some of them can kill diseases and vermin. We don't find many in the Great Swamp, but when we do, they do wonders." Laurentius suggested.
"Where could we find wood ash or oils?" Eskar wondered.
"The Undead Burg is right next to us. Perhaps some houses may still have something valuable." Solaire suggested.
"The merchant. He must have something… if he hasn't gone Hollow." Beatrice worked out their best bet on the Undead Burg.
"He should probably have his Humanity still. I remember where he is… I can go in that direction." Solaire said.
"If that's the case I shall accompany you." Siegmeyer declared.
"Are you both fine going without your armors?" Eskar worried slightly for both of them.
"We should be fine. Our weapons remain sharp, we have plenty of Estus, and I felt myself getting stronger thanks to all the souls we've gathered on our journey." Oscar set as he spun one of his arms to stretch it. He had already used some of those souls to become significantly stronger than the first time he had reached Burg with Beatrice and Eskar. "And as Siegmeyer has said, you and also Beatrice have faced the same dangers as us without armor."
"As long as we are vigilant, watch each other's backs, and the Hollows remain senseless. We shall prevail." Siegmeyr declared.
"We should be able to handle a short trek through the Burg if nothing else," Oscar said as he placed his hand on his hips. He was confident.
"Very well. If that's the case then Eskar and I can go visit Andre and scour Darkroot Garden for moss. We've spent a lot of time there. We know by now where those living foliages like to hide." Beatrice said, Eskar nodded next to her. Even now he still remembered the exact spot where the Demonic Foliages liked to borrow themselves.
"Then that's what we shall do." Oscar nodded. Gathering his sword and shield and going alongside Siegmyer towards the Burg while Eskar and Beatrice went towards the elevator that led to the Undead Parish.
"I'm going to remain here. Guarding our equipment. If you would lie, we could get started now with your pyromancies." Solaire said to Laurentius.
"Ah, sure. No problem at all." Laurentius said, quickly following Solaire to the ruins.
"Tell me… does the sun shine on the Great Swamp?" Solaire asked Laurentius.
"Uh… uh… well yes?"
Eskar and Beatrice rode up the elevator to the Undead Parish. The Undead Balder Knights still remained watching over the abandoned site, but they could be ignored, their attention focused solely on watching the entrance of the Parish, not the inside. Or whoever passed by for that matter. The Undead Hollow soldiers that watched the exit that led to Andre's workshop was another matter, but they were dealt with swiftly. Eskar rushed in first and stabbed through one Hollow, killing it and quickly kicking it to the ground with a powerful roundhouse kick to pull his sword out and spin around to behead another Hollow with a precise two-handed slash. Beatrice covered him as a pair of Hollow Crossbowmen tried to fire at him, ending them with quick casts of great soul arrows to their chests.
With the Hollows lying motionless and with their souls pillaged, they went forwards to meet with Andre. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, the blacksmith was surprised to see them, was soon eager to welcome them.
"Well, hello again. You seem to be in one piece… I see that too that you had a change in wardrobe. Has any armor been broken and tarnished? I could fix that." Andre jumped at the opportunity if their armor and clothes had been damaged.
"Not tarnished in the way you might imply." Eskar was the first to respond.
"We traveled through the Depths and then through Blighttown, once we reached the poisonous swamp… we had to return, we did not have enough moss to continue forward. We returned and we had to wash ourselves and change clothing. Our previous clothes and armor are still sullied though… despite our attempts to wash them."
"Ooooh, right. I assume filth and other things have gotten stuck inside them. And from Blighttown… eugh..." Andre shuddered.
"We are doing our best to clean them. We are lucky though, there's currently a pyromancer of the Great Swamp that knows how to clean clothes sullied in similar ways." Beatrice told.
"A pyromancer? Never met many of those before… It is strange. With Lordran in the way it is now, you would think there would be nothing but Hollows left. Yet here you are, telling me how you've met other people still, and worried about washing clothes as if it was just a normal day. Hah hah hah!" Andre laughed.
"Still… a good thing you found someone to help. Not many people can clean stuff like that, and I doubt there's much left that can help cleaning around here. Heh heh."
"That's actually why we came here," Eskar said.
"Mmm?" Andre raised an eyebrow.
"Even if he can help us, we still need something to help clean them. Wood ash or some oil perhaps. We were wondering if perhaps you would have any you would be willing to part with?" Beatrice asked Andre.
"... Eeh… I might have something stored around here I could spare. Let me have a look." Andre said as he stood up from his anvil and began to rummage through his stock. "Do you desperately need it? Or you think you'll be able to clean it without it?"
"We might be able, but any advice or even tools that you can aid us with could be useful," Eskar said.
"If that's the case I think I know what you'll probably need," Andre said as he gathered some tools in a box and then placed it on top of his anvil. "This here is an Armor Smithbox, it has all the things one would need to work and temper armor. But I also added some extra tools for ye."
"Extra tools?" Beatrice asked.
"Aye, brushes. The best way to get rid of mud in armor and clothes is with a tick and hard brush. Scrub the stained part with it, apply some muscle, and it will eventually get rid of it. With armor it's straightforward, but with clothes, you might want to brush from both sides of the cloth. These along with the other tools and some repair powder I have should help." Andre explained.
"Repair powder can help with stench?" Beatrice asked.
"I've found it does, there's also a little bottle of lemon oil. All of those together, and with the aid of your pyromancer should have your armors and clothes clean in no time. Heh heh."
"Do we owe you souls for these items?" Eskar asked him.
"Well, I usually have a price for this box and the Weapon Smithbox. But I won't charge you for the extra things, if you pay the price for the box it will be enough." Andre responded.
"That should be fine. How many souls for the box?" Beatrice began to form souls on the palm of her hand.
"Two thousand souls is the price I put for each of the boxes," Andre responded. Beatrice and Eskar looked at each other. A tilt of one of their heads, a shrug, and a nod were all they needed for silent conversation and agreement.
"If that's the case, we will take the Weapon SMithbox as well," Eskar said to Andre as he formed souls in his palm as well.
"Heh. Very well then," Andre responded. He took their souls and handed over the boxes. "Remember to use mostly the brushes. Other than that, I believe you and your pyromancer friend might know a thing or two about cleaning. You should know what to do… and what not to do. Hah hah hah."
"We do. Thanks for the supplies, Andre. They will be most helpful." Beatrice thanked him with a small bow.
"It is my pleasure. I don't want either of you to suffer an untimely end… And I hope you can keep going without turning into Undead. It is my hope at least." Andre responded. Even though they knew it was not exactly a reasonable thing to wish for. Much like wishing to not die on a risky and dangerous journey… wishing to not turn into an Undead… it was something that was hard to wish for or promise when it was a very real possibility. At least for Beatrice.
"We'll do our best," Eskar spoke.
"Hmm, that's all we can do eh? Well, either way. I wish good fortune." Andre said.
"Thank you, Andre." Beatrice as both she and Eskar began to walk towards the Darkroot Garden.
"Eh? Wait, you are going to Darkroot?" Andre wondered.
"We do need to gather more moss for when we return to Blighttown," Beatrice told him.
"Ah, ah yes. Well if that's the case you can leave the boxes. You don't wanna have to worry about carrying those while hunting trees. Heh heh heh." Andre laughed. "Don't worry, I'll keep them safe for you once you return."
Eskar and Beatrice looked at each other and nodded. If there was someone that they felt they could trust to a certain degree. It was Andre.
"Very well," Beatrice said as both she and Eskar left the boxes close to Andre. "This shouldn't take too long, we should be back relatively quickly."
"Of course. After ringing the Bell and taking care of the Titanite fellow I can say you are pretty hardy. Still, be careful, and happy hunting." Andre said to them as he returned to his work.
Eskar and Beatrice walked down the stairs and began to walk through the room that the Titanite Demon had inhabited. Both of them talking and thinking of the best way to go on about harvesting moss from the Demonic Foliage and how best to do so, on top of searching the area for any other piece of moss they could use.
"If it's just for moss, perhaps we should avoid those near those stone knights," Eskar suggested.
"Perhaps… but we were already apt at facing them. You were capable even when you first arrived. Now… we are both far stronger. I thought you would be more inclined to try and face them to test yourself." Beatrice said.
"I'll admit. Igen. It has crossed my mind. But I rather not leave the others waiting for too long." Eskar told her.
"Mmm. It's true. We should then focus on doing so as quickly as possible, ambushing their clusters one by one. We can take them on quickly with simple spells and your faster strikes. Then if the stone knights bother us, we should be able to take them quickly as well. They are surrounded by the Foliage monsters, so perhaps facing them isn't too out of the way of our best interests." Beatrice planned out.
"Perhaps…" Eskar felt eager. Even if the trip to Blighttown had been exhausting, the quick bath they had all taken had felt refreshing. And now he was ready for another fight… and testing how far they had come against old enemies was very tempting.
"We should go ahead and get started then." He said with confidence to Beatrice. She herself smirked.
"We should see how fast we can-" She was eager for another challenge as well, but they both quickly turned as they heard heavy footsteps coming from the direction of the entrance of Darkroot Garden.
What they saw puzzled them. Marching towards them was no other than the same Havel Knight that they had faced at the tower and on the Depths. It was difficult to say if it was truly the same Havel Knight, but with the absence of them seeing any more Havel Knight, or two of them at the same time for that matter, they had to assume it was the same one.
"How is it possible? How is he here in the-" Beatrice said as she and Eskar backed away slightly.
"I do not know," Eskar responded as he assumed a fighting stance. Both of them had been eager for a challenge. But neither had hoped for the knight that had almost killed them.
The knight stared at them while continuing his march for a few seconds, staring at them with his shield hanging lazily at his side, and his Dragon Tooth being supported on his shoulder. As began to get closer the Havel Knight seemed to slowly raise his pace, until eventually, he was sprinting at them with killer intent. With his shield raised, and with his Dragon Tooth ready to strike.
"We won't be able to reason with him!" Eskar yelled. Both he and Beatrice rolling and dodging in different directions as the Havel Knight tried to squash them with a downwards swing of the Dragon Tooth.
The Havel Knight pressed the advantage and immediately tried to take out Beatrice before she could make any distance between them. Chasing her and forcing her to jump back as he charged at her with a large diagonal swing and then followed up with a horizontal one.
"Ne!" (No!) Eskar yelled as he charged the Havel Knight with a sliding kick. Hitting him right at the ankle and forcing him to stop his assault. He also took advantage of his stagger and jumped from his position to deliver an orange glowing jumping elbow to his shoulder. The strength of the attack was enough to break the Havel Knight's posture.
Eskar wanted to continue his assault. He drew his longsword and attempted to drive through the Havel Knight's back. But just as he was about to pierce through a segment in his armor, the Havel Knight pushed the sword out of the way with a backhand of his shield. Eskar jumped back to avoid a downwards swing and quickly focused on defending himself from the follow-up. As the Havel Knight attempted to squash Eskar down, he sidestepped the first attack, avoiding it completely and closing the range between them. The Havel Knight tried to make a horizontal swing, but Eskar was close enough to stop his momentum with a Faejin parry and lock his weapon in place for a short moment. At that moment Eskar landed a punch to his gut, a knee to his ribs, and then tried to bring his sword down on the Havel Knight's helmet. But instead, he blocked the sword strike and pushed Eskar a couple of meters with a powerful bash of his shield.
Eskar skidded backwards, the Havel Knight rushing after him. But before he could get in range of Eskar, he was pelted by a soul mass and a great heavy soul arrow on the back. Eskar had done his job in distracting the Havel Knight and giving Beatrice room to cast her spells. It was their best chance at battling this foe, but they still had to be careful. A single hit from that great hammer could shatter either of them and leave them both for death.
The Havel Knight turned towards Beatrice and blocked the full power from a soul spear as best he could with his shield. Even if some of the magic had passed through, his armor and shield were in part made to resist some amount of sorcery. And so, he powered through and attempted to move towards Beatrice. But as soon as he did he was attacked in a flurry of kicks and slashes from Eskar. Eskar clashed against the Havel Knight's shield with his sword, attempting to hook strikes around the shield, but overall doing a good job of keeping the knight distracted. After clashing against the shield with a horizontal two-handed slash, Eskar went in with an orange glowing back kick that pushed the Havel Knight back, then kept on the assault with an orange glowing pushed-back elbow that broke his guard, leaving him open to a diagonal two-handed cut to his torso, a vertical rising slash to hit chin, and a spinning hook kick to his head.
The Havel Knight felt the effect of the attack and stumbled back, but recovered immediately with a horizontal swing, one Eskar rolled under. The Havel Knight was ready to follow up with a second attack and hit Eskar right at the end of his roll. But before he could fully raise his Dragon tooth, he got blasted with a soul spear and pelted on the back with a fire orb. The Havel Knight turned towards Beatrice and shielded himself from a pair of soul arrows as he tried to charge towards her once again, but as he did so, Eskar was once again ready to charge at him. The Havel Knight was ready, however, and he swung his great hammer instinctively to keep Eskar away while he used his shield to block Beatrice's spells from the other direction.
The fight continued as Eskar and Beatrice moved in a circle, always moving to maintain the Havel Knight at an equal distance between them, but more importantly to keep him away from Beatrice at all times. The Havel Knight grew somewhat accustomed to their tactics and knew what to do to block their offensive… that didn't however that he necessarily succeeded. Attacks from opposite directions were always a problem, and both his opponents were capable of adapting to the situation and find some ways to either outmaneuver him, or to break through his defenses with their combined might. One of those ways for example was Eskar faking out the Havel Knight, charging in, tempting the knight to attack, and then casting a great soul arrow instead of a normal attack while maintaining his distance once his guard was down. Another thing they did was Beatrice using the fact that her fire orbs were affected by gravity. She tossed them into the air and then pressured the Havel Knight with either a soul arrow or a soul mass, allowing the fire orb to land on his head, or forcing the Havel Knight to endure the sorceries while he blocked the pyromancy. And if neither hit, it gave Eskar a chance to strike from a different angle.
Even if Eskar and Beatrice were doing a good job of keeping the Havel Knight at bay and bypassing his defenses, they still were at risk. They had to continuously put more effort to hit the Havel Knight, the more they did so, the more thin they extended themselves. He was becoming used to their tricks, and every time they struck he used the chance to retaliate in some way. Either forcing Eskar back or steadily moving towards Beatrice and turning to try and corner her against a wall. His chance to strike finally came when he forced Eskar back.
The Havel Knight made a mad sprint for Beatrice as Esakr jumped back to avoid a smash of the Dragoon Tooth. He had turned so quickly that Beatrice had not expected it. She desperately casted a soul mass and a soul spear to dissuade the knight, but the knight decided to take risk and run through the spell to hit her. Beatrice narrowly rolled out of the way of the attack, but found her way obstructed by a piece of rubble.
The Havel Knight was about to smash his Dragon Tooth into her when Eskar used his Gravity Tension Art and forced him to one knee, stopping his attack and rushing the knight with a flying spinning roundhouse kick to his head. He followed up the attack with a combustion and did a Faejin parry to stop the knight as it tried to retaliate with an attack. Eskar circled around the knight and gave Beatrice a chance to move away. But he was forced to take on the Havel Knight at close quarters.
He managed to endure and stop the Havel's Knight momentum through five different attacks, either doing a quick Faejin sidestep and avoiding the attacks, or using a Faejin parry to stop the attack and counter with a quick punch or kick. Beatrice fired soul arrows and pyromancies while Eskar distracted the knight, resulting in the knight trying to focus back on her. It would mean perhaps that they could return to them flanking from either side, but the Havel Knight had a trick up his sleeve. They hadn't recovered completely from the knight's previous assault, and they were still close enough for him to reach either with a sudden sprinting lunge, and it was exactly what he did. The Knight turned towards Beatrice and jumped with a speed and power one would not expect from someone so heavily armored.
Beatrice's eyes widened and she jumped back, landing on her backside as the shockwave pushed her further back. Eskar jumped into the fray ready to tackle the knight, but the knight had expected it, and as Eskar jumped at him with a swing of his longsword, the Havel Knight turned and met Eskar's attack with a massive swing. One that sent Eskar flying back.
Beatrice used the chance to land a soul spear at the back of the Havel Knight's head, but it only served to anger the knight. He was about to smash her down on the spot, but Eskar jumped again into the action with surprising speed, charging in with a flying knee to the knight's ribs and then clashing against his shield with three powerful two-handed swings of his blade. The attacks gave an opportunity for Beatrice to land some spells at an angle, the knight tried to focus back on her, but Eskar interfered and struck his arm, making him miss as Beatrice rolled on the ground and behind Eskar.
As Eskar clashed his blade against the shield, he was able to break through the guard of the knight with a surprise low spinning back heel to his foot, and using the chance to land a rising slash and thrust. But the knight powered through, hitting Eskar with a headbutt, stunning him, and leaving him open to a swing of the Dragon Tooth. Eskar braced himself and held his sword ready to block the attack as best he could… The result was him flying backwards and losing his grip on his sword. With Beatrice behind him, they crashed into each other, Beatrice going with him several meters back from the Havel Knight as they were sent flying back.
"Eskar!?" Beatrice worried. Eskar had blocked the attack, but he had still been heavily injured, his arms taking a heavy blow. Even so, both of them quickly got up to continue fighting. The Havel Knight seemed undeterred as well. No matter how much they hurt him, he didn't seem to tire. And they had landed several blade slices, kicks, and spells on him… far more than any other foe would normally take. The Havel Knight immediately began to charge at them… but it stopped when it felt a presence behind him, and Eskar and Beatrice saw a figure charging towards the stone armored knight.
"Huaaa!" Was the battle cry they heard as they saw Andre charge the Havel Knight and send him flying towards them with a powerful dropkick. As the Havel Knight flew towards them, Eskar was the first to react with a spinning hook kick. He aimed as best he could and managed to hit the Havel Knight on the shoulder, sending him to the ground. Once prone, Beatrice blasted him with a fire orb and with a soul spear, sending him further back.
Both of them stepped away from the Havel Knight and looked towards their unexpected ally.
"Andre?!" Beatrice was beyond surprised.
"Aye Miss. I heard the ruckus and decided to come 'ere. I don't care who you are, but while I'm around I won't sit back and let some Hollow attack my fellows." Andre said as the Havel Knight began to stir and stand up once again.
"He's ready for more still…" Eskar took a deep breath and focused himself on the Healing Tension Art.
"Aye… but I say he's pretty beaten up. All that armor won't save him from what you've laid into him forever, and not from what we will do. Now, how about I show you how Andre of Astora gets the job done eh?" Andre said as he cocked his fists.
The Havel Knight approached them slowly at first, but he quickly began to sprint towards them as if injuries meant nothing, imagine his surprise and that of Esakar and Beatrice as Andre rushed towards the knight and broke through his posture with a forwards kick and sent his head rocking backwards with a powerful punch. Eskar quickly joined in and stopped the Havel Knight from raising his Dragon Tooth, jumping on his knee and climbing to his shoulder, and punching downwards with an Earthquake Tension Art. It forced the knight to knee, right into a front kick from Andre, followed by two punches and an elbow from Eskar, another jab from Andre, and then a combination of three kicks from Eskar, his wounds healing with every strike he landed.
As the Havel Knight was pummeled, it tried to counterattack. But Eskar stopped his attempt with a Faejin parry while Andre landed an uppercut to his chin. As it stumbled back, it was then surprised as Beatrice had taken the time Andre and Eskar had been pummeling him to prepare six spells at once. Once she had a good angle on him, she blasted him with a soul mass, a soul spear, a fire orb, and three great soul arrows. All the spells hit right after the other, shredding the Havel Knight and leaving him open for Eskar and Andre to keep on the offensive.
Eskar went in with a combustion spell, then used his other hand to land a point-blank soul arrow, and then spun around to hit the Havel Knight with a spinning jumping back kick. The attack was powerful enough to send the knight stumbling back several steps, and to his surprise, gave Andre room to do run up into a second dropkick, one that knocked the knight flat on his back. Eskar finished the Havel Knight by unfolding Rysrin's sword and leaping on the Havel Knight, driving the blade through his neck.
Soon enough, the Havel Knight disappeared into souls.
"Kua… Gah…" Eskar panted as they had defeated the knight yet again. And once again, it had felt like an uphill battle, even if they had had the advantage.
"T-that… that one was not like others… he continued to fight until the end. Never seen no man wear that much heavy armor like it was nothing" Andre panted.
"Still… he's been defeated, again. We owe you Andre, yet again." Beatrice said as she turned to Andre.
"Just doing what I felt was right. Heh heh." Andre seemed to blush as he scratched the back of his head.
"It was rather impressive… you strike and punch with the strength of a bear." Eskar complimented him. Even if he also had been able to punch the Havel Knight and pushed him back. He didn't have the raw strength of Andre, who was able to break the knight's poise in a couple of punches. Then again, it was no surprise that Andre was that strong… The man was a giant, that fact hidden from them while he was sitting down. But it was clear he had the size and strength to perform the feats he had just shown.
"Eh, it's part of my job. I have built quite a muscle over the years. But I would have been gone if you hadn't stopped his hammer. You are strong and skilled as well… I'm sure you two would've been able to get that bastard."
"Still, thank you for assisting us," Beatrice said.
"Well… it was my pleasure. Though… I may be a bit eager, I'll admit Would rush to my death if I was a fighter. Heh heh… Well, that's why my job is to smith your armor and weapons. Are you two well?" Andre asked them. Beatrice turned and approached Eskar, she notice his wounds had healed. He nodded towards her to confirm he was doing fine.
"We are," Beatrice responded to Andre.
"Well, if that's the case. My own duty calls. Your boxes will be ready once you are done searching for moss in the garden." Andre said as he turned towards the stairs that led to his workshop, stopping halfway. "It was an honor to fight with ye." He said to them.
"Heh… the honor is ours." Eskar did a martial bow to Andre. The blacksmith nodded and went back to his workshop.
"... I must say. I'm impressed." Beatrice admitted as she watched Andre climb the stairs.
"I am as well," Eskar said. In his mind, he was wondering if he should try and replicate the move that Andre had done. It was never too late to try and create a new move for his deck. Especially now that the Guides had no influence on him anymore. It was strange how the Masks of Moral could limit the capabilities of their users… or at least suppress part of their minds. But now… he was ready to experiment and create new combinations of moves he hadn't been able to before. And for him, it was honestly exciting.
"The Demonic Foliage should be easier than that knight. Correct?" Eskar asked Beatrice.
"Yes. it should be indeed." Beatrice nodded with a smile. And so both of them entered Darkroot Garden.
Beatrice had been indeed right. Facing the Demonic Foliage was far easier in comparison. So much so in fact that Eskar was able to break them apart with his more powerful sword slashes, similarly so with his strongest unarmed strikes. Beatrice also had an easier time, being able to defeat many of the Demonic Foliage with normal soul arrows instead of great ones.
They had done well enough that they were confident in splitting up while remaining relatively close to each other.
As of now they had found plenty of moss and killed many of the plant forms that tried to attack, killing them before they could even attempt to attack them. They were focused, but that meant they let their guard down. Eskar was bus plucking pieces of Purple Moss from a fallen Demonic Foliage when he felt something. A quiet set of steps seemed to be calmly walking towards them.
As the footsteps got in range of him, he spun around drawing his longsword and unfolding Rysrin's sword, taking a related stance and facing whatever was approaching him. He nearly dropped the blades once he saw who it was.
"C'est un találkozni egy másik Abszolút." (It's a pleasure to meet another Absolver.) Said a person clad in armor and robes he could recognize as one of his own. One of his people.
A/N: Cliffhanger? Yes. Sorry about that… but not really. Once again sore for the delay. Now as a fun fact I must clarify. As of the game, Andre can actually defeat Havel and just break through his poise. It's amazing. If you have doubts, look up BonfireVN and search for "Andre vs Havel… the rock has serious competition. But that is the normal Havel. The Havel in this fic… you should be able to guess by now he's not normal.
Anyways. Hope you enjoyed the reading. Follow, favorite, and review if you so desire. ANd I hope to see you in the next chapter. Have a good day everyone!