Flynn
RL87 - 30 VIG - 14 MND - 34 END - 36 STR - 14 DEX - 22 INT - 9 FTH - 7 ARC
Flynn
Millicent and I said our farewells to Tragoth as we headed towards a large archway on the far end of the room where we'd fought the wyrm, the latter remaining here to ensure that the place stays free of any infestations, dragon or otherwise. There wasn't much left to the tunnel, our journey already taking us up near to the top. We walked up a short staircase, stood on an elevator, and began ascending further to the top.
"Thank you for coming with me, Flynn. I may be an adept swordsman, but I am missing an arm, my sword arm…there is only so much I can do without it."
"Millicent." I paused, reflecting on the fight we'd just had, and the journey it took to get us there. "I've not met many individuals that I would say are a better blademaster, myself included. One arm or two…your senses are otherworldly, and your precision with that blade is impeccable. Don't tell yourself otherwise. I didn't even know that you were right-handed up until now…I don't think anyone could have known."
The elevator came to a stop, the bright light of the plateau pouring down on us for the first time. The Erdtree stretched out overhead to a point that it practically filled the sky, its luminescent glow even more potent this high up. "Your words are kind Flynn, but I suppose I should get to what I was going to ask. My mother…she too suffers the same affliction as me, arm and all. There is a castle in these lands that forged her a prosthetic replacement, allowing her to fight unimpeded. I've heard rumor that there may be another prosthetic in that castle. Since you said you had no immediate plans, I - "
"Say no more. I want to help you, Millicent…whatever that might mean." Millicent and I walked out into a vale that was…overrun with wagons? It didn't make sense to my mind, but my eyes saw what they saw - thirty-something of the large wagons we'd seen pulled by trolls, all tossed at odd angles. A couple creatures were patrolling the area, large hulking things wielding a greataxe. They peered into one of the carts, throwing some things out before grunting and turning away, clearly uninterested. "Well…I certainly wasn't expecting this."
"Indeed. I don't imagine those creatures could have done this, they're simply capitalizing on something else's actions. Be wary…it might still be around."
The two of us headed up the center, wary not to incite the attention of either of the prowling creatures. I got a better glance at them…it looked familiar, in a distant sort of way. Strange pustules were covering their body, extending directly outwards for an inch or two before flattening off with a bright red sore. Some of them even looked cracked which was…odd. "Do you know what happened to them? They look diseased."
"Some might consider it that…I am not one such person. Those were once twisted horns, deemed to be a curse brought to them by the Erdtree. Many of their kind went through excruciating pain to shear those horns off, trying to gain good graces with the society of old. It is an unforgivable act, what they did to themselves at the hands of superstition, but that is long in the past."
Horns…that explained the familiarity. Hewg had horns protruding from his body, and had the same ashen colored flesh that these creatureshad. Margit, as well…it had been ages since Resa and I had fought him, but I distinctly remembered the twisting horns on his face and tail. "So if someone of them do have horns, what does that mean?"
"That they didn't care enough to fix it…or simply accepted their banishment without fuss."
"Banishment?"
Millicent nodded, the two of us starting to clear the piles of carts. "They were considered cursed, rejects, failures - nothing permitted within the Golden Order. I don't know where they were banished, just that they were. Now, with the shattering behind us and the status quo well and truly sent sideways, I wouldn't be surprised if those shunned have escaped their captivity and now walk these parts."
"That's…I can't believe it."
"The Golden Order has shown flaws since long before the Shattering. Now, those flaws are far more apparent - but they have always been there." As soon as she finished speaking I saw Millicent's head twitch. "I hear something…unusual. Be on alert."
I tightened my grip on my sword, ready for a fight. Our walking slowed, Millicent's head on a swivel as she listened around for what it could have been - it was only when she looked towards the sky that her eyes widened. "By the gods…I didn't know they were…"
What came screaming out from the sky was a dragon…but far different than anything else we'd encountered. The dragon of the lake and the dragon protecting the academy key were, well, dragons…at least in the sense that I'd come to recognize them. The one that we fought deep in Ainsel was dragon…like, perhaps. This…this felt somehow more draconic than a dragon.
Two sets of wings emerged proudly from its back, the undersides colored a brilliant golden hue. Everything else was a stony white, and in fact its scales even resembled stone in places - and in others felt almost skeletal in nature. Its head was all sharp and narrow lines, two horns protruding from it that crackled with an angry red lightning. That same lightning extended two its arms, legs, tail, and back…if the dragon we'd fought underground used lightning, this terrifying creature embodied it.
As the dragon came screeching to a halt, its mouth opened up in a gout of fire, bathing the grass in flames as well as Millicent and myself. There was no time to react, no chance to run - only the all-consuming pain of fire rushing past me. As the gout came to an end, I looked back at the wagons behind us. "We're going to need cover. Out in the open, we don't stand a chance."
Millicent nodded, gritting her teeth as too endured the heat of the flames. "Agreed…force it to stay on the ground as much as we can. This is an ancient, ancient dragon Flynn…I didn't know they even existed in this day and age."
Millicent and I rushed backwards, each darting behind a different wagon before reaching for our flasks, easing the pain. Again, I popped open my crystalline flask - against a foe this threatening, it would be foolish not to.
The dragon approached on all fours, each footstep sending a reverberation through the ground as it lurked closer. Another blast of flames came billowing by, the wagons our only safety from the burning onslaught. I needed my shield…once this was done, I'd have to go back to Hewg to fetch it.
A moment after the fire ended, I saw the dragons head approach the cart Millicent had ducked behind, a row of razor-sharp teeth glaring down at her. One swipe from its hooked claw was all it took to send the cart tumbling to the side, exposing her for a lunging bite. It was her reflexes alone that saved her, narrowly tumbling to the side to avoid being snatched up. Still, it meant that these wagons were only so safe…the dragon clearly wasn't impeded by it.
Running wasn't an option - there was only open space ahead of us, and it could easily catch up if it wanted. We had to kill this thing…an ancient dragon. With a shake of my head and a sigh of resignment I charged forth from cover, holding up my staff as I sent glintstone after glintstone towards it during my approach. Each one did little more than bounce off its flesh…but every bit counted. I came in with a hearty swing, cracking against its arm with all the force I could wmuster, hearing the sound of scales crunching under the weight. A quick swipe of that claw was all it took to make me back off, that swipe being echoed a moment later by a rippling explosion of lightning.
Millicent came in from the other side, her prowess with the blade at work as she once again found the tiniest weaknesses in its stony flesh, striking at them with honed precision. However, it was all short-lived - all the dragon had to do was swing claw, tail, or bite at us to force a retreat, and then a short gout of fire was enough to force us even further back, behind another cart. Progress was slow…and my flask was growing lighter and lighter.
After weathering another gout of flame, both Millicent and I came rushing back in for another round of attacks - but what we saw was something wholly terrifying. The dragon had reared back, one hand raised behind its opposite shoulder as if it was priming to swing a weapon - and indeed, a weapon was swung. Raw, thunderous red lightning materialized in its grasp in the form of a massive glaive, easily the size of one of the carts - maybe even larger. Both of us took a step back as that glaive was swung in a wide arc at the ground…but that was only the beginning of the devastation. Ripples of lightning raced across the ground, knocking carts high into the sky…but more unfortunately, me.
I flew through the air, crashing down onto the ground a moment later. When I did, the impact alone was enough to send my vision reeling, to say nothing of the pain that lingered from the lightning. I heard Millicent call out my name, the sound muffled by the pained ringing in my ears. I called out that I was okay…but I wasn't sure that I was. I groaned, struggling to my feet as I tried to steady my vision, only succeeding after I found something to hold onto. That blow was…devastating.
I downed even more of my flask, only a few drops left at the bottom at this point, and the slow trickle from my crystalline flask did nothing against the devastating impacts this thing could inflict. It felt like we'd barely even put a scratch in it at this point…trying to completely subdue it might as well be impossible. I briefly thought of an upside to that - it would bring Resa back to me, wherever she was. A dragon as attuned to lightning as this was bound to be of some interest to her.
I shook that thought from my head…I couldn't give up quite yet. I ran back up to the dragon, a gout of fire aimed at where Millicent was hiding giving me a free chance to engage once again. I raised my blade up, slamming it against the same arm once more as more scales cracked beneath the weight. It raked its claw at me, lightning erupting in its wake - I backed up once more, giving it space.
I saw Millicent running towards the beast, full sprint with her blade at the ready. I kept it distracted, going for another light strike towards its arm to draw its attention, letting my companion come in for a surprise strike. Millicent launched herself into the air moments before reaching the creature, blade raised up and primed to embed itself in the creature.
The blade sunk in.
The dragon howled in pain.
The dragon…vanished?"
I processed that again. Where once there was a dragon was now…nothing. It hadn't been slain - that much was clear. It was like when Resa and I had fought that dragon in the three sisters, except rather than disappearing in a cascade of glintstone, it was simply…gone.
I looked towards Millicent, seeing an equally confused expression on her face. "I do not know if the ancient dragons are capable of projecting themselves elsewhere. I have no other way to explain what just happened…this is most curious."
"You think that wasn't the real thing?"
She shook her head. "Most certainly not. We are strong warriors, Flynn, but you and I alone are no match for an ancient dragon unless it was heavily weakened. What we just witnessed was either a test of our mettle…or a predator toying with its prey."
I let those words sink in for a moment…to think that simply toying with us had created a nearly life-threatening fight truly showed how powerful that creature was. "Do you think it will come back?"
"I have no way to know, but we best move if it does intend to. I'd rather not be around when it makes its return."
"Good point. Let's forge ahead…hopefully we can find some place to rest soon."
Millicent and I continued up the trail, passing by a few more upended carts before entering a low ravine. I saw the rubble of something to my left, something that I actually identified this time - a golem, like the one guarding Godrick's Divine tower. The hand, the back, all of it a charred and blackened shell of what it once was. That truly showed how powerful that dragon was…those golems were capable of equally powerful strikes, and it had been so thoroughly destroyed I couldn't even locate most of the components.
We kept going along the ravine, eventually reaching the end as the stone walls descended to the ground, giving way to a nice clearing. Ahead was the capital…it simply had to be. Large illusory banners floated in the sky like when we'd fought Radahn, but my attention was drawn further back, towards a monumental structure in the distance. Large tower walls stretched high to the sky. It was difficult to discern features, what with the Erdtree now even more omnipresent than before. It looked as if the base of the Erdtree was close, not far behind the capital's outer walls. That was my ultimate destination - to reach the Erdtree and finish our promise to Melina.
"Magnificent, isn't it? Even though it stands as a testament to the Golden Order, I can't help but admire the sheer grandeur of Leyndell." Millicent stepped towards the edge of the clearing, looking out over it. "My journey doesn't lead me there…but based on your reaction, this is your first time here. You should go past the outer walls and see the capital proper…it truly is a sight."
"In time…once Resa and I are back together. For now though, I'm happy to follow your journey, wherever it might lead."
"Well then, we'd be heading north." Millicent stepped closer towards the edge, only a few feet from a sheer dropoff. A large valley extended out in front of us, running north to south. "The castle is just at the end of this valley, from what I've been told. I see there's a grace nearby…let's rest and recover from that fight before we continue on."
Millicent and I walked towards the grace, positioned just outside a collection of crumbling ruins. "Actually…there's something I need to do first. Are you familiar with the Roundtable Hold?"
"I am aware of it, but not personally a member. If you have business to attend to, I can wait here. Travel is…better with company." The words were said with a smile, Millicent lying down on the soft grass and staring up into the Erdtree-filled sky. "I haven't had a proper chance to rest since I started on my journey. My time with Tragoth was…well, taxing to say the least. The man is a more-than-competent fighter, but…"
"Slightly lacking elsewhere?"
A soft chuckle escaped Millicent's lips. "A bit of a brusque way of putting it, but yes. Run your errands, Flynn…I'll be here."
I nodded, focusing on the Roundtable Hold in my mind as I was whisked there, finding myself in the familiar chambers. I made my way toward Hewg, hoping that the blacksmith had finished the repairs on my shield. He was hard at work, hammer banging against a blade as he brought the metal to a deadly point…but this time, I could hear him muttering something under his breath, the same short phrase over and over.
"Hewg…it's me again, Flynn. Have you - "
I was immediately interrupted by the blacksmith looking at me, his mutterings becoming louder. "I've got something I'm supposed to give you, Flynn. From your sister." He placed his hammer down, moving behind him to fetch my shield…but also several other things. He plopped the lot down in front of me, continuing on. "Anything else for you?"
I scanned the lot of it all - my shield, but also a staff, a scroll, and a small talisman. I briefly thought about having Hewg return a message to my sister, but opted against it - if he'd been focusing on remembering those simple words since my sister met him, his memory must be well and truly slipping at this point. "No, Hewg…the shield was all I was coming for. Thank you."
"All in a day's work…now I've got to keep working, if you don't mind."
"Sure Hewg…thanks again." I picked everything up, moving back to the center table. On the way, I eyed my halberd, still sitting next to Radahn's blades where I'd left it. I'd grown much stronger since I'd started my journey…I could only wonder…
I picked up the weapon, feeling a familiar heft in my hands - but less than before. Tentatively, I held it in just one hand, gripping it light some sort of bizarre spear. The weapon was a bit too front-heavy to hold like that, so I slung it over my shoulder, testing the weight. I could definitely move it around one-handed - what once was a burden was now quite manageable.
I set my stone greatsword down where the halberd had once been, retrieving my cleaver from the trove of weapons as well. Cleaver, halberd, shield, and staff - none of it was flashy, but that was fine - it didn't need to be.
Before leaving, I looked at Resa had left for me - most notably, the staff. Magic was strictly forbidden in the Hold, so to find out whether my current level of understanding was enough to wield the staff was a question I couldn't answer. I looked along the staff's length - the tip of it was sharp, almost like a blade. That made sense to me - she'd gone into a Carian Tower, after all. I could only assume that the staff was crafted by Carian sorcerers, for Carian sorcerers - perhaps that meant it had an innate synergy with their incantations. Even if I couldn't wield it adequately now…it was worth striving towards. I left my current staff there, along with everything else - it'd be there if I needed it.
As I left, another thought flitted through my head - why had Resa left this for me? I knew she was mad - and from her point of view, I understood why. I was…holding her back from doing the right thing, or something like that. Perhaps she was starting to come around that what I was saying was right - that Ranni was manipulating her, using her. Maybe this was a bit of a peace offering - a 'sorry' for when we did inevitably reunite. I knew it would be inevitable…I could see through Ranni, in a way that she couldn't…and I knew that the truth would come to light sooner or later.
I left, leaving that thought hanging inconclusively in the air. For now, I had a purpose - to help Millicent get back in fighting shape, arm and all.
I returned to the little clearing on the plateau where I'd just been - when I arrived Millicent was still lying on the ground, a gentle curl to her lips as basked in the glittering rays of the Erdtree. She looked so peaceful, so serene…it was hard to believe that same woman also had the rot roiling inside of her, gnawing and attacking her every waking moment.
I looked at the scroll that Resa had left for me…it felt like a crime to rouse Millicent from her rest, and it had been so, so long since I'd even attempted to decipher the scrolls that Sellen had assigned to me. Now, I had even one more…a growing backlog. A short study break wouldn't hurt…it didn't seem like either of us were in any rush.
I read the title of this new scroll - 'Magic Downpour'. That much was clear, at least…and I could tell by the script that it was of Carian make. I'd picked up a couple tips and tricks on just how the Carians had written their sorceries from Sellen earlier, but it had been quite a while…and truth be told, I was rusty. I continued scrutinizing the texts, but it just…it wasn't clicking.
I bunched my fists, frustrated. The last thing I wanted to do was return to Sellen empty-handed, and yet it felt like I didn't have much of an option at this point. I'd been gone a long while, and I hadn't done anything she'd tasked me to do. It all just felt so…so…complicated.
I glanced at the staff that Resa had left me as well - perhaps I couldn't interpret the scrolls, but I could at least test to see if I could use the staff. I held it in my hands, feeling the unfamiliar wood. It was rougher, less worked - the previous staff I'd been using was almost manufactured in its design, but this was clearly rougher, more individual. A pointed glintstone gem was embedded into the top, the wood almost warping and distorting to grant it admittance, rather than a finely-made inset piece. I liked it…it was more rugged, more worn.
I held the staff up, performing the simplest of all sorceries that I knew. A small bead of glintstone began materializing, but flickered and flashed…rather than flying forwards it simply fell to the ground, expended. I resisted the urge to curse, only because Millicent was resting right nearby - I wanted to be quiet. I tried again, focusing harder this time, visualizing every aspect of the sorcery. Again, it formed - and this time it managed to fly a few feet before once again sputtering out, dropping lifelessly to the ground. Well fine…perhaps I wouldn't be casting sorceries again anytime soon, but that was only encouragement to get better. I had to be close…I had to be. The sorceries were forming, were traveling…they just didn't have the push to make it all the way.
I finally looked over at the pendant left to me by Resa. That was the most interesting - in our travels, talismans, pendants, rings, and the like often conferred boons, but it was often difficult to determine what that boon was. I looked over the small item, examining it - and immediately understood why she'd passed it my way. It looked much like the talisman that Millicent had given Resa, except that it depicted a sorcerer looking up to the night sky, rather than two swordsmen. I didn't know the full details of what that talisman did, but Resa did. If this was of similar function - she must have known I'd be well suited for it.
I looked over the other trinkets I was wearing. One was the stone jar, a reward for defeating our illusory selves out front of that coliseum. I knew that eased the burdens of my gear, a boundary I was frequently pushing - I couldn't afford to lose it. Next was the depiction of the warrior holding the curved blade…I hadn't quite pieced together what that did, in all honesty. Finally, there was the Carian crest, a gift to me from Iji for…entering Ranni's service. I knew that its effects were invaluable, lessening the burden of performing my Ashes of War. Still…was that something I wanted to be tied to? Clearly I'd forsaken Ranni's service at this point, did that matter? I'd done what was asked of me, and nothing more - and there would be nothing more. Ranni herself had even said we'd completed our service - that alone was enough to convince me to keep the crest on, its effects simply too valuable to lose over an internal squabble. I unclipped the curved blade from my belt, putting this medallion on instead. Perhaps I'd figure out what this one did in time.
I walked back over to Millicent, ready to rouse her from her rest - but my eyes glanced at the still-unfurled sorceric scroll lying on the ground, and what my eyes saw didn't make sense. Or rather, it did make sense, all of it - and that was what confused me more than anything else. Whereas previously the scroll of Magic Downpour had been an indecipherable mess of confused words and cryptic symbols, now it read like a simple and straightforward how-to guide. The letters were still the same, but now, for some reason, it all made sense. I looked down at my belt, a burgeoning theory growing in my mind. I unclipped the medallion from my waist, looking back at the scroll - the effects weren't instantaneous, but over the next thirty seconds the words once again became an indecipherable mess. I chuckled…Resa had no idea just how useful this gift was.
I put the medallion back on, feverishly unrolling all of the many scrolls that I'd accumulated and had yet to decipher. I read through each one, the words all transcribing themselves for me as I went line by line. All of it made sense, all of it - even scrolls that I knew I'd no hope of understanding before now laid themselves bare before me, their secrets revealed. I'd have to get this medallion back to Sellen - if she was still trying to decipher the scroll from Rennala that I'd given her, perhaps this would be the breakthrough she needed. Not now though - right now, I needed to test all the new tools at my disposal.
Could I, though…that was one question that still needed answering. I held up the Carian staff once more, again casting a simple glintstone shard from it. This time, the sorcery worked - the bead of glintstone formed and hurtled far across the valley, soaring until the magic naturally dissipated with time. I stifled a sound of excitement at the understanding that this was the medallion's doing too. That was good…that meant it would be easy to determine whether any of the sorceries I'd just read were truly out of my reach, and not a product of my incapability with the staff.
First, Magic Downpour. I concentrated on the texts, visualizing the correct entities in my mind as I performed the sorcery flawlessly. A swell of deep blue energy emerged from my staff, floating up into the air a fair bit above me. It lingered there, for a moment, occasionally firing a barrage of smaller glintstone bolts back at the ground. It reminded me of a pyromancy I'd wielded back in the days of Lothric with a similar effect - that one had been great for controlling the field of battle, either forcing my foes away from a certain area, or simply throwing it directly above me and catching everyone in the crossfire - I was quite a fan of that.
Next, Star Shower - this seemed like a more refined, more efficient version of the Glintstone Stars that I'd already been using. Instead of firing three stars, it fired six, one after the other as they sailed through the sky. The drain on my reserves felt about twice that of what I was previously doing - that meant it'd be stronger in a pinch, but during an extended battle not much would change.
Next, Loretta's Greatbow…as I'd read through this one, and remembering our fight with the horsewoman herself, I knew that I would like it. I leaned back, a massive bow forming where my staff was as a powerful, thrumming arrow formed in my other hand. I drew that hand back, the bow growing larger and larger, so massive that I had to turn it sideways…and then I let the arrow fly. It rocketed through the air, soaring high overhead in a gentle arc. It traveled much, much further than the glintstone stars or shards, nearly making it all the way across the valley before the magic finally gave way. I grinned - Resa wouldn't be the only one dropping creatures from the sky anymore.
Next, Glintblade Phalanx…as I'd read through this one the words had made sense, and yet their implementation had remained…confusing. It had spoken of forming swords that would home in on enemies, but…I simply cast the sorcery, figuring it out for myself. As I did, glintstone emerged from my staff, materializing in the shape of swords much like my Carian slicer. Unlike the slicer though, they hovered around me - one above my head, and two on each side. They remained there, moving with me as I walked, turning with me as I turned. I reached out and poked one, curious, only to have the sword crumple under a simple touch. Sadly, I didn't have any enemies around to understand the full extent of the sorcery but…it seemed curious.
Finally, intentionally saving the best for last, Carian Piercer. It had read in a similar vein as Carian slicer, though utilizing the blade in a different fashion. I pulled my staff back, visualizing the blade at the end of my staff. A blade indeed formed - a lot more blade than I had anticipated. If the slicer was akin to a shortsword, this was akin to a greatsword, or even longer. The blade had little to no weight to it, meaning that when I stepped forward in a deep thrusting lunge, it was as easy as moving the staff forward. However, that massive sword was swept along too, persisting only for that single lunge. The reach that it had was incredible - even more than my massive halberd, and it likely even rivaled the Ash of war on my cleaver, though manifesting as a lunging strike rather than a downward chop. The applications were clear as day - I saw myself using it quite a bit.
That was all of them…five no sorceries to add to my repertoire - or rather replace my repertoire. I'd have to go find more Memory Stones - when I'd started down this journey of studying sorceries, I never envisioned that I'd have a need for more of them just like Resa. And yet, here I was…all thanks to that medallion.
I walked back over to Millicent, unable to contain the smile on my face. I knelt down beside her, taking a brief respite as I let my reserves restore after my experimentation. I reached out a hand, gently tapping Millicent on the shoulder. "Hey…are you awake?"
She chuckled, stretching her arms up over her head and letting out a yawn. "After all that moving around you did, I daresay it'd be hard not to. Whatever you were doing though, it sounded productive, so I didn't mind letting you continue."
"Oh, I…sorry, I didn't realize."
Millicent shook her head, moving to sit upright once again. "Like I said, it wasn't a bother - I got all the rest I was looking for. Would you at least care to share what you were doing? The noises I heard were…puzzling, to say the least."
"I was practicing new sorceries…Resa had apparently left me some things for when I returned to the Hold, and I gave them a try."
"Hmm." Millicent gave a brief spark of surprise, and then it was gone. "Seems you two aren't on as bad of terms as you thought, if she's thinking that much of you."
"I…yeah, I hope so. I'll have to find her something now, too…if we come across something anyways."
"I can be of use in that regard. Your sister and I prefer similar weapons - if there is something I'd be interested in, no doubt she would too. Anyways, if you're done experimenting with these new sorceries, I think we can make it to the castle by nightfall. It ought to be easier to slip in undetected and search for that prosthesis under the cover of night. I don't think the two of us are fitted for a full-scale invasion, lest we draw the ire of the commander of the castle. I know your gear doesn't exactly bless you for infiltration missions, but…so long as you do better than Tragoth, I'll be content." She gave a knowing smile at that, a laugh coming a second later.
"I…I won't make any promises, but I think that should be doable."
"I'd certainly hope. Come on - let's get going."
Millicent stood up, brushing the grass off her back - and with that, we were off. I followed Millicent's lead, her understanding of the area far better than my own, expectedly. We went down the hill towards the center of the valley, approaching an encampment much like Resa and I had seen all over the place. We angled to skirt around it, but not before I caught sight of the regalia one of the troops donned. Their tunic was a golden-yellow, a stylized depiction of the Erdtree embossed in white on their center. It felt fitting…if the capital was that close to the Erdtree, I had no doubt it was a core part of the culture in these lands.
We angled to the left, heading north through the valley. The path was…surprisingly quiet, honestly. We passed through a small marsh, a few crabs scattered about that didn't pose us much harm. Up ahead were crags - large, towering crags that jutted into the sky, all angled toward the west. I followed the direction, seeing that it led to a caldera, of sorts.
"Is that…Volcano Manor?" I remembered the story that Gideon had given me of Rykard - the blasphemer, one of the more vile of the remaining demigods. I knew that he and Volcano manor were somewhere in this area…but not exactly where.
"Mount Gelmir, yes. It's a treacherous area, and highly well defended. You're forced to travel all the way up and around the mountain to reach the Manor itself, so I've been told. I've never been up there myself."
"Hmm. Okay" I left the thought at that, but in my mind, I considered it. I wasn't willing to go to the Capital and finally deliver Melina, not without Resa. I also knew that I'd said I explicitly didn't want to leave a trail of blood in my wake…but foul people deserved punishment. Rykard deserved punishment…presumably, anyways. So what if it led to another shard of the Elden Ring or another Great Rune…that wasn't the point.
"You look like something's on your mind, Flynn. Care to share?"
"Oh, just…considering options on where to go and what to see."
"You can't possibly be considering joining Volcano Manor, could you?" Millicent looked at me, shock filling her expression. "They're…they're murderers, Flynn. Hunters, killers. You're a far better person than that."
"No, no…please, don't get the wrong idea. I was more thinking of…changing the status quo, to put it lightly."
"Oh." Millicent's eyes widened. "Oh. You're talking about…storming the gates?"
"Well." She made a good point - I was just one person taking on an entire castle - a well defended castle, by the sound of things. "I could go under the guise of joining them - gain entry, hopefully make it to the Manor unimpeded. I - I wouldn't do anything for them, believe me. But it might make it a bit easier to poke around a bit if they think I'm one of their own."
"That's a dangerous path you wish to walk, Flynn. I can see scenarios where it goes in your favor…and more where it doesn't. They won't simply let a fresh recruit wander about the entire castle. They'd want you to prove yourself first, most assuredly. It's…it's not you. Not the you that you've shown me."
"Then I'll find another way. Worst case scenario I join them and then do nothing - they'd think I didn't have the stomach for it, in all likelihood. You have my word, Millicent - whatever it is that they do, I won't be a part of it."
"Your word is your bond - I shall hold you to it, next we meet."
At this point we'd passed the crags, crested a hill and were now descending towards the castle. Compared to Leyndell, it was a far more manageable scale. A single tower erupted from the center, far higher than anything else within the low walls. The one notable feature about it was its moat - though not one in the classical sense. A poisonous swamp completely encircled the outer wall, making any sort of approach taxing and dangerous.
"See those rocks on the right? They're butted up against the castle walls; that's our way in. Move fast through the poison - if it only gets on your boots, the effects should be minimal."
I nodded, following Millicent towards the rocks in question. It was getting dark - nightfall wasn't quite here, but would be soon. Millicent and I trudged through the poisonous muck, moving as fast as we could - thankfully, there didn't seem to be any enemies around to spot us quite yet. We eventually made it to the rocks, climbing up - only to immediately come face to face with two…well I wasn't quite sure what. It looked clearly undead, but it was covered in maggots and reeked of poison, much like similar creatures in Caelid had reeked with rot. We dispatched them quickly, me with my cleaver and Millicent with her blade. Just around the corner was a grace - I set it alight, looking around.
The poison wasn't just contained to the outside - past the walls and further in was yet more poison, covering nearly all of the ground. What little ground was bare rock was home to the denizens of this place - humanoid-like creatures that crawled on four…no, six legs. To try and skirt around them would mean, well…that succumbing to poison was all but a certainty.
Millicent assessed the situation, sighing. "I hadn't heard about this…it certainly puts a wrinkle in our plans. How confident are you in dispatching them from here?"
I sat back, thinking…it was certainly a possibility. Lorreta's bow had more than enough reach - the only question was whether it would kill them. "I can try. Won't that draw their attention though?"
"Possibly, but we've no other option. If it goes poorly, we just make a break for it."
"Always a solid backup plan." I chuckled, grabbing my staff. "Let's see how this goes."
I stepped towards the low wall, pulling a few bricks together to give me enough height to see and reach over it. I cast the sorcery, the bow forming in one hand, the arrow in another. I pulled it back, power brimming in my fingertips. The bow pulsed and then swelled, strengthening…and then, I simply had to aim it. I let loose, the arrow soaring through the air and careening into one of the creatures. It was sent flying backwards several feet…but then, it twitched.
It reached for a bell along its coat, giving it a ring, that action alerting everything - and soon, several more bells were being rung. "This is where we run, right?"
"Yeah…we run now."
Before I leapt from the ledge, I cast another sorcery as five blades hovered around me. It would keep something off of me, at the minimum - and then, I jumped. Millicent was already ahead of me - and more so with every passing second, a feature she shared with Resa. I ran as fast as I could, ignoring everything around me as I heard more bells ringing. None of that mattered, not right now. I continued sprinting as I saw Millicent turn a corner, briefly disappearing.
I caught up to where she'd left, watching her cut down one of the creatures that had been hiding just around the bend, right next to a ladder. "Up here…probably. I'm not exactly sure where this prosthesis is. Probably a storehouse."
The two of us climbed, leaving behind the swamps and getting back on the castle's inner ramparts. Here, everything was quiet…whatever commotion we'd caused, it hadn't made its way up here. We walked forward, seeing another large swamp ahead of us with the castle deeper on the other side. Thankfully, this time there seemed to be a way around it in the form of rooftops. Several buildings had seemingly sunk into the swamp itself, their roofs now low enough that we could reach them. It seemed plausible, at least.
As I went to leap onto the first rooftop, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Hold on…look over there." My eyes followed her hand, pointing off a lone building on the left of the larger tower. "Let's check in there first. Past the outer walls, but not too far inside as to be highly important - perfect place for a storehouse."
Thankfully, the path to get there was highly straightforward, a simple walk clockwise around the rampart. More of the strange poisoned undead were lying in wait, but Millicent's uncanny senses clocked them long before they leaped from cover. She led the way, cutting down each one in turn before it could so much as lay a finger on her.
The rampart opened up at the end, a larger platform just in front of the building - but also one enemy. Its armor was a sort of bronzy-gold, with wings coming from the side of its helmet and a flowing red cape behind it. It was knelt on the ground, a straight sword in one hand and a large spear in the other. Resa and I had seen them in the swamps of Caelid before, roaming around.
"We have to be in the right place…that is one of my mother's knights. What it's doing here is beyond me, but…it has to mean something. I hate having to strike it down…but if it believes it defends an artifact of my mother, it will defend that to its final breath."
As if on cue, the knight rose from its kneeling position, lowering its spear and holding its sword in a defensive posture. "Come around and flank it…I'll keep it preoccupied." I stowed my staff, instead reaching for my shield as I entered an equally defensive posture. The knight lunged at me, its spear glancing off my shield as Millicent came around from the side, beginning to strike it in retaliation.
The knight was quick to fall, the combined efforts of Millicent and myself too much for it to hope to overcome, however, that success felt bittersweet - it was simply an honorable knight, doing its duty and protecting its leader. Sure, such deaths happened all the time in the name of war, but…this wasn't war. Millicent and I shared a quiet moment as we simply looked down at the fallen foe, acknowledging what we'd done - but after that was done, we moved on to whatever might be inside.
Interestingly, the room wasn't much of a storehouse at all - unless it was meant to store statues. The entire room was filled with them - singles, pairs, groups as well as men and women. They were tall - the shortest ones were around my height, with the tallest ones being vastly larger than the door that we'd entered through, a fact I found curious. However, all of that was cast aside when Millicent spotted a lone chest in the back of the room. She made her way over to it, kneeling down and raising the lid. Inside was the prosthesis…and what a creation it was.
I wasn't particularly familiar with prostheses, but I assumed they'd be limiting compared to another arm…this certainly wasn't. It had all the normal joins one would expect on an arm, including each knuckle on each of five articulated fingers. The metal seemed to be a golden alloy of some sort, though one that was quite tough and durable by the looks of things. Millicent smiled, holding it up and turning it around. "I…never thought I'd have something like this for myself. Here…I could use some help putting it on."
I walked over, holding the arm up to Millicent's shoulder while she did most of the work. How it worked, I wasn't quite sure - Millicent fastened some straps and buckles that made sure it was securely attached, but nothing that seemed like it would give her the ability to manipulate any of the joints. And yet, she did. After fiddling with it for a bit I observed as the fingers moved, followed by wrist, elbow, and shoulder, each one moving without a hint of sound, the sign of well-oiled metal.
"It…will take some getting used to, but that is a problem for another day. Come - there was a grace on the opposite side of the inner swamp, passed those rooftops. I don't imagine stealth is much of a concern at this point - feel free to fall onto those rooftops with as little grace as you want." A coy smile accompanied the words, but we both knew that they were true.
We made our way back, leaping across the rooftops towards the grace. As expected, I was as inelegant as could be, a stark contrast to Millicent's deft, almost silent movements. Still, none of that mattered - even if we did alert something to our presence, we'd already made it across the gap before anything could be done about it. From there, the grace was only a few steps away. Millicent went up and lit it. "Let's leave. We've done what we came here for…let's not cause any more disruption."
The two of us independently left the castle, whisking ourselves away back to the clearing where we'd been resting. When I arrived Millicent was sitting down by the grace, a content smile on her face.
"So…I believe I owe you thanks for accompanying me. Perhaps it could have been a solo expedition, but we didn't know that at the start. Your backup was appreciated, Flynn."
"Well…I'm glad to have helped. Now that you've got that prosthesis, what's next for you?"
"Hmm…I think a fair bit of wandering, truthfully. I can't get into the capital, but I need to if I'm to continue my journey back home. It's been quite some time since I've seen the Plateau…I wouldn't mind revisiting some old locations I used to visit. What about you?"
I looked to the north, the craggy spires of Mount Gelmir even more visible from this far away. "I've made up my mind. I'm going to the Manor…and I'll hope for the best once I'm there."
Millicent didn't seem surprised by my words…if anything, there was a hint of sadness. "I said it once, but do be careful, Flynn. I know you're capable, but…it's dangerous there."
"I can't make that promise, Millicent. I've incited change a couple times before…I've never done so while being careful. I will protect myself as best as I can, but…something has to be done about that pit of vipers."
