She knelt behind a small outcrop of rock, peaking out between the various jagged edges. The misty spray of salted water caressed her face. Before her was the same shoreline she had awoken upon, half-dead, soaked to the bone, clutching a broken plank from a now sunken ship. The lingering memories were unpleasant, but what wasn't anymore?
A shuffle and the light pitter-patter of feet sounded behind her. She heard fast paced breathing, as something awkwardly skittered out from the cavern entrance. Her eyes narrowed on the dilapidated ruins atop a small island in the distance; a league, at most. She turned to face the other presence.
"This is where we part ways." The rat-looking human erratically nodded, quickly scrambling off to the right towards higher ground. She watched; her gaze fixated on the figure.
What the hell was his name?
She shrugged, turning back to face her current goal. She had enough of a problem keeping herself alive, let alone someone else. Funny though, his strange features had caused her no shock; she had seen enough bizarre shit at this point.
The waves beat against the shoreline; she would be unable to swim such a distance. Even if the waters were calm, she would not risk it; what lurked beneath the inky blackness in this cursed land was something she had no desire to meet.
She scanned the area, noting the various pieces of waterlogged wood and rope scattered throughout. It could be possible to construct a crude raft. She glanced up to the sky; it was high noon. She would need to make a fire and begin drying out larger pieces of wood. It would take a day or two, maybe more.
Any hostiles she had encountered were easily disposed of, which consisted mostly of reanimated corpses and hair-covered brutes, with less intelligence than a fly. She was not a warrior, by any means, but she had received basic combat training as an adolescent, which was definitely coming in handy as of late.
She kicked a plank then suddenly yelped as one of the brutes attempted a surprise attack from behind some nearby rubble. She dipped, jerking her body to the side, sliding across the rough sand. Her left hand grasped a small dagger and she swung upwards, slicing through the muscles and tendons of her attacker's arm. It shrieked, foul mucus flying from its mouth full of rotted teeth. She pushed off the ground, barely missing a blow from its fist. She hooked her shotel around its hip, pushing herself in the opposite direction, letting the weight of her body help carve the blade through its torso. Blood splattered over her backside, and she felt chunks of gore catch in her hair.
Dropping her weapons, she fell on her knees, attempting to catch her breath. Her head swung around to look at the carnage behind her. Organs covered the ground, blood branching out in little tributaries through the sane. The large, dead eyes of the brute, wide open, staring right at her.
This…this was hell.
Her hands ran themselves down the top of her thighs, her fingers feelings the small nicks and lumps of the material. She had stumbled across a decent set of brownish leathers. Stumbled? Taking them off a rotting corpse wouldn't necessarily be called 'stumbling'. The awful scent of death still lingered, but the set had kept her insides intact more than once. Her hands moved upwards, feeling along the frayed opening that ran vertically along her torso. A miscalculated dodge. One that had sent her into the cold embrace of death.
But alas, death was denied. She dragged the dead corpse towards the shore edge, kicking it towards the approaching tide. Around her were a couple of dried twigs, and she began picking them up and piling them at the cave entrance. There was a flattened area inside, where one of the floating, golden shards levitated in silence. It was where she had discovered rat-boy, although beaten to a pulp. Deeper within had been a colony of the hunched back, hairy brutes, erupting into shrieks once she threw a lit fire pot through a hole in the floor. They were easy to cut down, picking them off one by one from the shadows, her blades doing most of the work.
The big guy though…not so easy.
It was her first experience "dying", since she had been "blessed with grace". Her sights were focused on the large brute, making sure to quickly sprint in the opposite direction of the giant club crashing down. She had missed one of the smaller vermin, tucked in the crevices of the stone walls. As her body twisted to land a precise strike, the sneaky bastard leapt forward, running a rusty broadsword into her side.
She had vivid memories of what happened next. The inability to breathe, a wetness pouring out of her mouth as she gurgled, a sense of overwhelming panic. Then…nothingness. She floated, all worries and cares falling to the side. Her sense of self dissipated into a void reclaiming that which was part of it, a long, long time ago…
But no, that's not what happened.
An intrusive light had appeared, changing from white to a golden hue. She scrambled in the nothingness, struggling to move the opposite direction, anything to get away from It. The next thing she could remember was best described as the most perverse violation one could endure. Her soul was outright molested, some cosmic nightmare's "tongue" slurping whatever it could from her. She saw glimpses of utter horror…
She had awoken, screaming her guts out in front of rat-boy, her shrieking terror echoing throughout the silent cavern. The poor sap had pissed his pants.
She finished scrounging for kindling, using a small portion of flintstone to set a fire blazed. The warmth washed over her, as she let her back fall against the cave wall, the coldness seeping through her ripped tunic. She had taken off her armor, allowing herself some small reprieve from the constant welts caused by too-tightly buckled straps. The downside to scrounging off dead bodies; the fit was usually terrible.
The fire blazed in front of her, the pile of soaked logs remaining soaked. Her muscles ached, and she rolled her neck, feeling a series of snaps and crackles. She let her head languidly lay to the side, observing the floating shard.
"No wonder someone shattered that shit." She snorted, amused by her own comment.
"Many would call that kind of thinking blasphemous."
Her head snapped to the entrance of the cave, the sudden intrusion sending panic throughout her entire body. Before her stood…stood…
"Forgive me, I meant no intrusion." The figure bowed. "I am merely a fellow Tarnished, as yourself, exploring these Lands for secrets yet to be told." He nodded to the orbiting shard. "The Guidance of Grace? Do you still see it?"
Lea squinted her eyes and blinked, her arm resuming its draped position over a bent knee. This guy was a loon, no doubt. He wore some sort of jester-inspired jacket with idiotic boots, the kind where the toes curl upwards. Impractical for even the smallest of brawls. He may still be a threat, but if he had wanted to kill her, he would have already, she sufficed.
That hat is ridiculous.
"You mean the gold dust emanating in one direction?" She pointed to where the stream of gold disappeared into the darkness. "Unfortunately, yes."
He nodded, the floppy edges of his giant hat twitching in rhythm. There was a large gem hanging to his right off the inner rim. Once again, it was possibly the dumbest design for travel ware she had ever seen. The strange man took a seat near her on a large, flat stone. Her eyes trailed along the staff he held onto, adorned with large, greenish-blue gems.
"Rogier's the name." She glanced back up to peer at the face under the giant hat. Large, light blue eyes stared back. He leaned forward, a smirk forming on his lips "A sorcerer, as you may have guessed."
Not exactly.
Lea closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the cold stone behind her again. She took a deep breathe, releasing it slowly.
"Lea." She opened her eyes, staring at the shadows dancing on the ceiling. "What brings you to this luxurious seaside grotto?"
A delightful laugh filled the air, causing her to smile, something which she had done very little of since her crash landing. She tilted her head to see the glistening blue eyes surrounded by the creases of laugh lines. A charming, white smile followed suit. This caused her to grin even further until she regained her senses.
It helped to look at the boots.
"A chill in the night had me seeking shelter. Lo and behold, I stumble across a fire and the possibility of enjoyable conversation." Lea smiled again, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. The man definitely had a pleasant personality. Rogier spoke again. "What, may I ask, are you doing by these waters?"
Lea nodded towards the cave entrance behind him. "I'm seeking those ruins on the island nearby." Rogier raised an eyebrow, he obviously wasn't expecting her answer. She waved her hand at him dismissively. "It's intriguing, nothing more. I'm curious to what might be there. Besides…" she motioned towards the golden shard, "it's in the opposite direction of where this thing wants me to go."
Rogier slowly shook his head up and down, his eyes staring off into the blackness of the cave. He looked at the damp wooden planks near the fire. His eyebrows furrowed.
"You know this cave has an exit to that island, right?"
Lea's mouth fell open. She leaned forward, both hands on her bent knees. "You have got to be fucking kidding me…"
"This winding cavern spawls underneath the inlet of the sea." He motioned towards the damp wood. "Besides, I would recommend staying out of the water, even with a raft. You would be too tempting not to eat." He stuck his hand out, wiggling fingers covered in white cream cloth. She cautiously placed hers in his, feeling the sudden rush of gravity has she was quickly brought to her feet. His grin never broke, eventually dropping her hand and giving her a friendly pat on her shoulder. Lea turned, bending over to pick up her ill-fitted armor. A nice, musky scent of rowa fruit surrounded her. She noticed Rogier leaning in close, looking down at her tattered leathers.
"You know, there is a merchant I've stumbled across with a decent assortment of armory." His eyebrows furrowed. "It might be worthwhile to pay him a visit."
After she strapped herself in the best she could, the began the steep decent into the brute cave. Rogier proved to be delightful company. He was also useful; not once did she need to waste materials on a torch. His scepter shot a bright, bluish globe which followed him as they moved forward. She had heard of sorcerers before, yes, but she had never been in the company of one. Nor had she witnessed any of the various spells in their arsenal.
It was fascinating.
He made light conversation the entire journey, sprouting off about his homeland and his initial arrival to the Lands Between. He was a "Tarnished", like her, but had lost the favor of Grace some time ago. He spent his remaining time discovering the secrets the Lands held. Occasionally, he would mention something regarding the shattering, and how his next journey would take him to deep within Stormveil Castle. Lea often found herself nodding her head, humming in agreement when he would turn towards her.
There had been a few of the hairy, hunch-backed denizens still left. She watched as shards of blue crystal plummeted into their chest cavities, impaling the frenzied beasts to the stone walls. It was impressive, to say the least. "Demi-humans", he called them. She wasn't sure what that exactly meant but also didn't care enough to ask.
They arrived on the island as dawn broke. It was just as her jester companion had said, the cavern exited out a small outcrop on the other side of the rapid waters. She had been so close before but had become disorientated stumbling around dark passageways the first time.
I also died, so there was that.
The island was a sight for sore eyes. Beautiful patches of flowers waivered in the breeze that rolled off the sea. The sun's rays reflected off the water's surface, giving the entire horizon an ethereal feel. They began their trek up the large incline, an old, beaten down path still barely visible.
This must have been abandoned centuries ago…but why?
The ruins were in much the same state as the location Kale operated out of. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She was positive the Shattering occurred in more recent times, but all around her, all the old castles and churches were dilapidated, almost beyond recognition. Her companion's idle chatter snapped her out of her thoughts.
"This was once a great site of communion, in the distant past."
Lea raised an eyebrow, glancing to companion. "Communion? I thought the capital city would be that place since the Gods resided there."
Rogier gave her one of his charming smiles. "Not of the Golden Order, my friend."
They turned towards the archway of the ruins. Lea skittered to a stop, her eyes the size of saucers. Before her laid a colossal beast that looked almost like the long, fabled…
"Dragons. Once revered for their power and near immortality." He glanced around, noting the statues in various stages of disarray, each one relieved of its crown. "Their significance began to dwindle long before the Order was established, however."
Lea stepped up to the large, gray beast. It appeared to be made of stone. She ran her finger along a scale, sharply pulling back when she felt stinging. She looked at her finger, now bleeding.
Still sharp.
She stared at the dead beast in front of her, her eyes large and out of focus. "What happened?" She said it almost as a whisper.
Rogier thumped his staff on the ground. "No one knows. Dragons do still exist, as I am sure you have had the misfortune to cross paths with the most recent resident of Limgrave, have you not?" As if on cue, the distant roar of a dragon echoed across the waters towards the island. "However, they aren't exactly known to be friendly."
Lea stepped up to a pedestal, surrounded by smaller dragon statues, albeit their heads were missing. On top of the pedestal was an offering bowl, tinged with decay over time, the edges cracked and uneven. Her fingers ran along a dark stain inside the bowl. She pulled her hand away, noticing a thick, red ichor, not entirely dried. Her eyebrows raised in confusion.
Rogier leaned in, his blue eyes even bigger. "Oh…interesting." He glanced back towards the mainland; squinting in thought. "That explains…"
"Explains what?" She wiped the sticky ichor on her pants, bending down to grab some dirt to help the process. She felt a hand grasp her upper arm gently.
"We shouldn't linger. Come, let's head back." He glanced at her newly stained pants. "You need new attire, anyway."
They began the decent down the large hill, Lea falling a bit behind the sorcerer, as she kept turning her head back to the ruin. She did not protest Rogier's urgency to leave, she had felt it too. They were being watched.