Chapter 2: Unlikely Aid
Water dripped from the roof of the cave, the droplets landing onto the shallow pool of the flooded chamber within the Stranded Graveyard with audible plops.
One such drop fell and struck the face of the Tarnished warrior that lay unconscious in the shallow pool.
The impact caused B to awaken with a sharp inhale. Her eyes fluttered open for a moment as she pushed away her tiredness.
The young woman pushed herself up into a seated position with one hand while she held her head with the other, doing her best to soothe the dull ache between her temples.
Once her migraine subsided, B opened her eyes fully to take in her surroundings.
The first and arguably most important thing she noticed was that she was as naked as a newborn. That realization caused the poor girl to let out a surprised squeak as she attempted to cover herself, despite the fact that she was completely alone at that moment.
She then noticed that she was sitting in the middle of a shallow pool of water inside what looked like a cave. All around her were what she could only assume to be ancient stone caskets with the bones of the dead strewn about.
"Oh, right." B said with a sigh once she recognized where she was.
She was still in the cave.
'I need to get out of here.' she thought as she held her head. She tried to move to stand up but groaned at the sudden stiffness in her body. 'Stiff!'
Since she wasn't in any immediate danger, the girl figured that she might as well work the kinks out of her body.
After several minutes of stretching every muscle in her body, the silver-scaled girl got on her feet and placed her hands onto her hips.
"Alright, let's get out of this place!" she said in a surprisingly enthusiastic tone despite being soaked to the bone and in an unfamiliar place.
B proceeded to make her way through the flooded chamber and enter a tunnel that was in the back.
After a few minutes, the young woman found herself back within the main chamber of the Stranded Graveyard she had originally woken up in.
Apparently, the cave she explored had just looped her back around to where she started.
The girl resisted the urge to sigh in annoyance. The least that cave could have done was lead her outside!
A few moments later, she jumped down from the ledge near the exit and walked towards the small glowing tree she had spotted earlier.
Although, now that she had a better look, it was more akin to a golden sapling than a full-on tree.
The girl then noticed something glowing at the saplings base and got down onto her knees to get a closer look.
She scooped the small item into her hand and saw that it looked to be some sort of glowing golden seed.
She gently held the seed within her palms as she stood back up. After a moment, she willed the little seed away, and it vanished into golden sparkles.
B took one last glance around the Stranded Graveyard and saw nothing else of note. With a nod, she climbed the stairs towards the exit.
Once she reached the top of the stairs and passed through the doors there, she was immediately greeted by a golden wisp of light like the one she had encountered in the tunnel before.
She walked up to the golden wisp, and much like before, it surged to life.
The silver-scaled girl sat next to the golden wisp and instantly felt rejuvenated. Any soreness that lingered from her trek through the cave vanished, leaving her feeling refreshed.
B sighed in contentment as she felt her body relax. She had begun to understand that the golden wisps seemed to have some form of restorative property to them.
After a few moments, she felt the sudden urge to start combing her fingers through her hair. She tried to resist it for only a moment before she gave in and began to run her fingers through the pale white tresses of her hair from front to back. Her claw-like nails easily parted tangles and knots, leaving the individual strands to flow freely through her fingers.
Not even her glittering black horns seemed to be an issue as dexterous fingers weaved around them with a long practiced ease.
Once she was finished, B let her now fixed hair fall freely behind her. For some reason, she could somehow feel the strands of her hair dust along the top of her scaled shoulders. She shifted her eyes upwards and could even see the pale strands beginning to edge their way into her vision from where she let them fall over her forehead.
'My hair is getting long. I wonder if I should get it cut?' she thought as she subconsciously continued to run her fingers through her hair.
B continued to run her fingers along her hair for several minutes until the fingers of her left hand ran along the length of her left horn and brushed against something that felt out of place.
Slim fingers traced along the length of the horn again until they found the out of place thing not too far from the base.
She rubbed her index finger along the surface of the obstruction and could tell from the touch that there was a thin metal band with some sort of engraving on its surface wrapped around the horn.
The young woman grabbed ahold of the band with her fingers and, with a slight twist, easily slid the band up off of her horn.
She let the band sit on her palm as she brought it down to get a better look.
The accessory wasn't particularly large, wide enough for two of her slim fingers to slip through the gap easily. The band looked to have been cast from high-quality silver, and etched onto its surface was the depiction of a dragon with a ruby set in its eye. The dragon also seemed to hold what looked like a small diamond in its claws.
B traced the etching with her finger and felt an odd sense of nostalgia bloom beneath her breast.
She brought her right hand up to her chest and felt how her heartbeat changed with the feeling.
Her pale eyes turned back to the silver band in her palm and noticed something else.
There looked to be markings on the inside of the band. Some form of inscription that she could barely see.
Curious, the girl adjusted her position next to the wisp of golden light and leaned over it just enough for it to illuminate the inside of the band.
After some fiddling and further adjustments to her position, she was able to make out what was written on the band.
The markings were words. Words that she found that she could read.
"To… my… beloved…" B read out loud to herself as she slowly twisted the ring so that she could see what was inscribed. "B... Beatrix."
That made her pause. That name felt famili-
"Ah!" the girl cried as she felt a sharp pain lance between her temples. She dropped the ring onto the ground and clutched her head in pain, screwing her eyes shut as she grit her teeth.
Images began to flash through her mind as she tried to fight through the pain. People and places that she didn't recognize, and yet filled her with both familiarity and longing. And each one in coincidence with a different voice, all speaking the same word.
The same name.
Beatrix…
Beatrix…
Beatrix…
Beatrix!
The young woman's eyes snapped open as the pain vanished, and the images and voices vanished, leaving naught but a dull ache in their wake.
She let out a shaky breath as she pushed herself back up to being seated upright. When had she curled up on her side?
The girl hissed in discomfort as she held her aching skull.
After several moments, the pain subsided again, allowing her to think.
"Beatrix… that… That's my name." she said in a hoarse whisper.
She remembered! Granted, it wasn't much, but it was still something that she could cling to!
Never did she think that such a small piece of jewelry would help her regain a part of her identity.
She stopped at that.
'Wait… where is it?!' B… Beatrix thought as a surge of panic went through her.
She lifted her head from her hand and was able to spot the ring laying on the stone floor a few feet away.
A soft sigh of relief left her lips as she felt her tension ease.
The scaled girl crawled on her hands and knees over towards where the accessory sat and scooped it up into her palms.
She looked down at the ring for a moment before she closed her fingers and held it to her chest.
Beatrix closed her eyes with a small but grateful smile. As fragmented as they were, the memories she had managed to regain gave her the impression that this ring and the person who gave it to her meant the world to her. And for that reason alone, she will never part with it.
The young woman rose to her feet and returned to the small wisp of golden light.
Like every other time, as soon as she sat down by the light, her aches and pains vanished, leaving her feeling refreshed.
She then spent the next several minutes looking over the ring, taking great care to wipe away any dust or dirt that might have gotten onto it.
Once the girl was certain that she had wiped it clean, he tenderly ran her thumb over the dragon engraved on its surface.
Her thoughts turned to the person who gave her the ring. She only remembered a brief instance of them, hair as pale as hers, skin that was nearly as white as Alabaster, and gorgeous crimson eyes.
This ring was a symbol. Of a promise made between her and them. Perhaps even the love they had for each other.
So she will wear it proudly until the day they meet again, whenever that may be.
Beatrix closed her eyes and pressed her lips against the ring, directly onto the dragon.
With great care, she slid the ring back into its proper place on her left horn.
She made one last adjustment with her fingers to make sure that the engraving was visible and let her hand fall to her side.
She then sat by the light for several minutes as she stared at it in a comfortable silence, trying to process the other memories she had unlocked.
'My name is Beatrix… Brightscale? Yes, that's right. And I come from… a place I can't quite remember. But I think it's very far away. Also, I think I was on a journey of sorts. I must have traveled to this strange land for… something. But what?' she thought as she repeatedly tapped her temple in an attempt to get her thoughts in order.
The girl concentrated harder but gave up after a minute when that action bore no fruit.
'I'll worry about this later.' The young woman sighed in defeat and looked at her surroundings. 'I should get out of this place.' she thought as she stood up and stretched her limbs.
She was very much beginning to miss the sky.
Beatrix walked away from the warmth of the golden light and entered an adjacent chamber with an odd circular platform on the ground within a stone dias.
She slowly stepped onto the platform and looked up.
The chamber extended high up by several stories, with the ceiling barely visible in the dim lighting.
However, as she was, at that moment, distracted, she failed to notice a small raised portion in the center of the platform.
Pain lanced through Beatrix's leg as several of the toes of her left foot collided with the raised stone.
She let out a squeal of both agony and surprise as she raised the pained extremity and clutched it in her hands while also trying to maintain her balance by hopping on her right foot.
Once the pain subsided and she made sure that nothing was broken, the silver-scaled girl placed her foot back down with a hiss and looked at what she had unintentionally struck.
It was a raised circular stone slab within the center of the platform. Upon closer inspection, there looked like there was a narrow gap between the slab and the rest of the platform.
Stricken by curiosity, Beatrix tentatively placed a foot onto the slab.
Nothing happened.
With a tilt of her head and a slight downturn of her lips, she shifted her weight and stepped onto the slab fully.
Now, under the force of her full body weight, the stone slab gave way and sank into the platform with a loud click.
After a moment, the sound of grinding stone and ancient mechanisms activating for the first time in centuries was heard echoing through the chamber as the platform beneath her shook and began to move.
To the girl's astonishment, the platform began to raise itself up through the chamber.
As it turned out, the platform was actually an elevator!
Beatrix marveled at how such a seemingly advanced lift system was implemented into a structure that may have been thousands of years old.
Before she knew it, the elevator had reached the top of its ascent, lifting her into a new, much smaller chamber located high above the previous one.
The room itself was rather unremarkable, merely more ancient stonework covered in years of dust and cobwebs.
The only keynote feature within the room was what looked like a heavy stone door.
Beatrix walked towards the door, though she stopped when she heard a loud click.
She looked back to see the circular slab had risen back out of the platform, ready to be used to activate the ancient lift once more.
The young woman turned her sights back to the door and briskly walked up to it.
She examined it for several moments and felt a brief surge of panic when there didn't look to be a way to push it open.
But after a moment, she noticed that there were two small gaps at the bottom of the stone door, just big enough for someone to fit their hands into.
'I'm going to have to lift this up, aren't I?' she thought to herself with a grimace. She could already feel her muscles protesting at the idea.
But since there was clearly no other way out, she had no choice but to try and lift the door up.
So, with a deep sigh, Beatrix knelt down in front of the door and slipped her hands into the gaps.
She then adjusted her position and began attempting to lift the door.
The girl strained for several moments as the ancient stone that had laid undisturbed for who knew how long fought to remain so.
After several moments, she had to stop to catch her breath.
It then took another two attempts before she finally started to see some progress.
She felt the door begin to slowly raise up off the ground and heard the sound of the old stone groaning in protest.
But once it began to move, Beatrix found that she was able to lift the door up to her waist with relative ease. She figured that there must have been a counterweight attached to it in some way.
The young woman readjusted her hold on the door and lifted it further until it was just below her chin.
She then moved her body to be under the door and, with one last grunt, heaved the bottom of the door up above her head. The ancient stone door continued to raise itself until it completely slid up into the wall above where it remained.
Beatrix let out a huff of satisfaction as she stared up at where the door now rested whilst she placed her hands on her hips.
She then shifted her gaze towards what lay beyond the doorway and was immediately assaulted by a bright light.
The silver-scaled girl flinched and raised a hand to shield her eyes from the harsh brightness.
After a few moments, however, her vision was able to adjust to the glow, and she could not help but gasp at the sight.
White Mask Varré stood atop a grassy outcropping before the entrance of the Fringefolk Hero's Grave. He had been camped out on this knoll for some time, waiting for a warrior bold enough to try and claim a shard of the Elden Ring.
He had chosen this spot due to its placement between the shore of southern Limgrave and road that led further inland. It offered him a perfect vantage point for any poor unfortunate souls for him to approach.
Not for any particularly malicious reasons. Merely to offer them a helpful tip or two, really.
Like that band of Tarnished from the other day. They were a rather serious bunch. The guards of some girl, a noble of some far-off land. They were each and all Tarnished, even the girl. And they were all here for the same reason, to lay claim to the great runes and restore the Elden Ring.
So he pointed them in the direction of Castle Stormveil, and off they went.
He was certain they were able to get through Stormgate by this point. Hopefully, he'll receive word of Godrick's death soon enough.
Once that happens, he'll try to see if he could recruit any of them to the cause.
Yes, that would be grand.
But he'd best not get ahead of himself. All good things come with time. And Varré was nothing if not patient.
Now, if only he had something to alleviate his boredom.
"I knew I should have brought a book with me." the man said with a sigh as he shook his head.
After a few minutes of silence, he heard what sounded like a soft rumble coming from behind him.
He turned around to face the ancient mausoleum and saw that the old door was being lifted up from the inside.
Now that was a surprise. The Fringefolk Hero's Grave had not been disturbed since The Shattering. So, the fact that someone was attempting to leave the place was unexpected.
Perhaps the grace of gold had resurrected someone that had long since been laid to rest?
It would not have been the first time. But what struck his curiosity was that to his knowledge, no one of particular importance was ever buried within that crypt.
He watched as the door opened, slowly at first, the old stone resisting after having been undisturbed for an age. But it soon relented and ascended much more smoothly.
The person who opened the door lingered for several moments, no doubt in an attempt to let their eyes adjust to the light before they tentatively stepped beyond the threshold and stopped to take in their surroundings.
Now, under proper lighting Varré could better see just who it was that had been called by grace.
Oh!
'Curiouser and curiouser.' the man thought as he tilted his head slightly in puzzlement.
At first glance, it looked as though a Misbegotten had broken into the grave and had found its way out.
A simple man would have killed it on sight for trespassing upon such a sacred site. But White Mask Varré was no simple man, so he took a second glance.
And that glance proved quite illuminating indeed.
While this creature did share traits with the Misbegotten, it most decidedly was not one.
A Misbegotten was an unsightly creature, a mishmash of parts and limbs of various creatures merged into a single miserable thing.
Some had fur, others were scaled like lizards, and some had feathers with fully developed wings.
And yet the traits this creature had, while similar, were distinct from the likes of them.
It had scales like a Misbegotten, but they glistened like polished silver. Claws tipped its fingers and toes, yet looked well cared for. Even a long tail was attached to its back, yet it was thick and muscular.
Despite those similarities, it was the notable differences that truly made him discard the notion that this was some form of Misbegotten.
This creature looked uncannily human. It stood and walked upright, though seemed to rest its weight on the balls of its feet as opposed to its flats or heels. Its arms and legs were proportioned with its torso much like a human's, but were covered in scales.
Another keynote feature was that any flesh that was not covered by scales was pitch black in color. Its face, along with the entire front of its body from bellow its collar to its crotch and part of its inner thighs, were free of scales. Which brought up two rather important details. Firstly, the creature was clearly a female, if the prominent breasts and total lack of anything hanging between the legs was enough of an indication. Secondly, they were completely bare of any form of clothing, save for a few odd accessories.
Such a sight wasn't particularly uncommon within the Lands Between. Varré had once seen an unfortunate group of wretches run about with nothing but clubs in their hands, howling like beasts as they fought tooth and nail for whatever reason. They were no better than the animals they hunted, really.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand.
The creature was of slender frame, curvaceous even. While he was not the type to waste energy on such things, he ran some calculations in his head and could surmise that her bust, while certainly not the largest set he had ever seen, was larger than average. Her waist dipped slightly before swelling back out into wide hips. And her skin was free of any blemish and looked soft to the touch. Such would suggest that she had perhaps once lived a lavish lifestyle, likely as a part of some noble household?
Lastly, her face was remarkably child-like, with wide expressive eyes, a small pointed nose, plush lips that seemed almost set in a natural pout, and slightly rounded cheeks and jaw. Pale white hair fell from her head and dusted the top of her shoulders. And a pair of black horns flowed elegantly over the top of her head before they veered away at the tips.
All in all, this creature was very unusual. On the surface, she appeared meek and defenseless.
But in the Lands Between, appearances can be deceiving.
Varré's many years as a war surgeon during The Shattering had given him quite the discerning eye. One that allowed him to gauge a warrior's proffered means of combat just by observing the way their muscles moved. And it was that very eye that allowed him to spy the well sculpted musculature that was hidden just below the surface.
He could tell from the way her muscles flexed and relaxed as she shifted her weight that this creature was a trained warrior. No doubt, very skilled with weapons of decent heft. And if the thickness of her thighs and calves were any indication, then she was a very swift and evasive fighter as well. Perhaps very good at jumping as well?
He was certain that this creature would be quite deadly if she was properly equipped.
Perhaps she might be of use?
But to see if she was, then he would have to speak with her.
He just needed to grab her attention.
Beatrix stepped out onto the ground outside of the ancient building and couldn't help but be in awe at the sights around her.
From the building at her back to the field before her. The feel of the grass beneath her feet. The smell of the air flowing through her nose. Even the sound of a gentle breeze hitting her ear instilled a sense of comfort she wasn't aware that she needed.
More than once were her eyes drawn to the massive golden tree in the distance. What she saw of it before did not compare to what she saw now. It towered high in the sky. It was higher than even the truly massive mountain that sat behind it.
She stared at the tree, transfixed by its almost divine glow for what felt like ages. Yet eventually, her eyes fell away from the tree to spy something within the short distance in front of her.
She saw a familiar trail of golden light coalescing atop a grassy knoll just off of the side of the trail.
Excitement bubbled in her chest, and she quickly made her way towards the light.
She stopped before the light and reached out to it, causing the small wisp to burst into life. She felt a comforting wave of warmth run across her body, but before she could take a seat by the light, she saw something that she honestly should have noticed sooner.
There, standing but a few feet away, was a man garbed mostly in white, with an eerie white mask on his face.
She stood frozen in place, arms slack at her sides, staring at the stranger with wide eyes for close to a minute.
Luckily, a stray breeze was enough to knock her back to her senses.
Instead of doing something sensible like summoning the club she had been using up to this point, Beatrix chose to cross her arms over her chest to hide her breasts and twisted her body slightly to hide a certain other part of her body from view. She tried to say something to the man, but all that left her throat was a flustered squeak. She could feel her face grow hot under his intense gaze.
The masked man simply continued to stare at her, seemingly unbothered by her nudity. After a moment, he tilted his head thoughtfully before he made a beckoning gesture with his hand.
The silver-scaled girl was surprised by that. She turned her head to glance behind her in the hopes that the man was simply calling someone else.
No such luck.
She felt her face grow hotter and slouched her posture in an attempt to hide more of herself as she contemplated going over to the man. So, against her better judgment, she approached the masked man.
But instead of walking normally, she elected to awkwardly sidestep towards him.
Varré watched the odd creature shuffle towards him whilst attempting to hide the more intimate parts of her body from view. It was a rather futile effort, but it was nice to see that she at least understood the concept of modesty.
He eyed her silently, taking a closer look at her features as she squirmed in discomfort.
From such a close distance, he was able to pick out some of the finer details. Like how the scales covering the majority of her body were much smaller and more tightly packed together than he initially thought.
The scales that covered the length of her limbs were almond shaped and looked fairly flexible, whilst the scales that covered the entirety of her back were much larger and thicker, congealed together into thick segmented plates.
While the shape was much like dragon scales, their texture looked smooth to the touch and layered like snake skin. A deceptively potent natural armor. If the metallic, almost iridescent shine of the scales was any indication, then it would take an exceptionally sharpened blade to cut through such scales.
'How interesting.' Varré thought with an intrigued humm before his eyes roved up to the creature's face.
The first thing his eyes went to were the horns. Aside from the rings that fit on each horn, they also seemed to have microscopic specs of the same metallic substance that made up her scales dotting the surface, causing them to glitter with a similar prismatic sheen to her scales.
Her hair was such a pure shade of white that it seemed to have a glow all its own. Albeit one without the same prismatic effect her scales had.
He saw her turn her head towards him with a nervous expression on her face.
He saw that the exposed skin of said face and the rest of her body wasn't nearly as dark as he initially thought. She seemed to have a bluish undertone to her complexion thanks to how the light interacted with her flesh. Her lips, the skin under her eyes, and several smaller details were all tinged a very dark blue.
Her ears extended outwards and ended in prominent points. It reminded the man of the ears of the Alabaster and Onyx Lords.
And then there were her eyes. Wide and innocent, they had a pale off-white base color. But the way they caught the light resulted in them having a prismatic glitter to them, like that of masterfully cut diamonds.
But most importantly, there was a distinct golden tinge to those eyes. That alone was all the proof he needed.
Beatrix stood in front of the strange man for what felt like forever as he moved his eyes over her entire body.
She tightened her arms around her chest and squirmed under his gaze.
After several more moments of very uncomfortable silence, she turned her head to somewhat face the man and voice her displeasure at being examined.
Her complaints were caught in her throat before she could even part her lips.
Now that she was standing so closely, she could see that the clothes he was wearing were covered in small red stains. Even his mask had tiny flecks of red scattered across its surface.
But that wasn't what made her freeze. No, it was the moment her eyes met his.
His eyes were bloodshot and were an unnatural shade of red. There was something within those eyes that put her on edge.
She felt a shiver roll down her spine.
Before long, the masked man spoke.
"Oh yes… Tarnished, are we?" he asked rhetorically as he began to rub his palms in a scheming fashion. "Come to the Lands Between for the Elden Ring, hmm?" he tilted his head slightly.
Elden Ring? She remembered that being mentioned in the message she had read before. But what did it mean?
Beatrix opened her mouth to reply, only for the man to cut her off with a chuckle.
"Of course you have. No shame in it." he said with some amusement in his tone.
It was quick to vanish.
The man shook his head. "Unfortunately for you, however, you are maidenless." He said in a matter of fact tone.
The young woman felt like she should be offended by such a remark.
Her expression must have given her away because the man replied again.
"Oh, now there's no need to pout. I merely stated an observation. You're more than free to brave the wilds of the Lands Between on your own." He said as he gestured to the expanse of land behind him.
Beatrix looked past the man towards land behind him and felt herself grow nervous again.
The masked man spoke again.
"But you see, without guidance, without the strength of runes, and without an invitation to the Roundtable Hold… You are fated, it seems, to die in obscurity." he said with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
The girl felt herself pale at the thought and hugged herself much more tightly.
"Luckily for you, however, there is one shining ray of hope for even the maidenless." she could hear the grin in his tone. "Me. Varré. Take care to listen."
That got him her undivided attention.
"Are you familiar with grace? The golden light that gives life to you Tarnished." the man, Varré said as he gestured to the wisp of golden light behind her.
Beatrix turned her head to look back towards the golden light behind her.
"You may also behold its golden rays, pointing in a particular direction at times. That is the guidance of grace. The path that a Tarnished must travel." said Varré.
After he mentioned that, she noticed a thin beam of golden light rising up from the grace and extending out into a specific direction until it tapered off into nothing.
"Mm, indeed. Grace's guidance holds the answers. It will lead you Tarnished to the path you are meant to follow."
Beatrix let out a soft gasp at that. If that was true, then there was a chance that following the light could lead her to remembering more of her past! The thought excited her enough so that even her tail began to wag like a dog's.
"Even if it leads you to your grave."
Just like that, her excitement died an ugly death. She snapped her head towards Varré and stared at him in shock.
After a moment Varré spoke again. "Grace's guidance will reveal the path forward, most certainly." he then pointed out towards what looked like a castle in the distance. "To Castle Stormveil, over on the cliff. The home of the decrepit demigod, Godrick the Grafted."
Beatrix looked past him towards the distant castle.
The giant stone structure stood ominously in the background, the sky above it cast with an unsettling pall.
The sight did not help ease her nerves.
Varré looked back at her and nodded.
She met his gaze.
"It's time you set off, I should think. To Castle Stormveil, on the cliff, where grace would guide you. If you seek the Elden Ring, maidenless as you are." he said as he made a gesture for her to get going.
Beatrix couldn't help but let out an indignant huff at that last jab. She threw a glare at the masked man before she fully turned away from him and marched off.
She walked down the hill away from the Fringefolk Hero's Grave at a brisk pace, keen to get as far away from that strange man as she could.
As she walked, Beatrix looked back at her encounter with the stranger.
When she first saw him, she had initially wrapped her arms around her chest to protect her modesty. But as he spoke to her, she grew increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze.
She saw how his eyes roved over her body, taking in every detail. But his gaze was not lecherous, far from it. He had looked at her with a sort of detached curiosity, like she was but some wriggling worm that had caught his interest.
She had the pervasive feeling that there was a part of Varré that wanted to cut her open and see how her body worked. The only reason that he didn't was because she was apparently something called a Tarnished.
The thought sent a shiver down her spine.
'If I ever meet that man again, it'll be too soon!' The hybrid thought as she tightened her hold on herself.
With that thought, she trudged away from the ancient crypt and the masked man.
It'd been a short while since Beatrix had started her trek.
The path that led away from the hero's grave had terminated into a small but spacious field of grass.
As she walked, she could feel the tension that had built up during her encounter with Varré had begun to fade.
The girl couldn't help but revel in how the world seemed to welcome her pressence.
There was a gentle breeze that blew past her, and despite the slight chill it carried, she could smell the salty brine of a nearby shore mixed in with it. The rays of the sun peeked through the golden boughs of the massive tree, bathing her in a gentle warmth. The sounds of birds singing and little critters scampering about filled her ears. Even the way the verdant blades of the field tickled her feet instilled a kind of calm in her that she had not been able to feel since she had awakened in this strange land.
It was enough to make her stop in the middle of the field and simply bask in the serenity of nature around her.
Beatrix uncovered her bosom and raised her arms up over her head, stretching the muscles in both limbs and in her back to help loosen them after having held that rather awkward position for some time.
She let her arms fall to her sides and breathed deep the clean sea-tinged air.
Feeling energized by the purity of the land around her, the girl marched on with a much surer step. A smile had even managed to appear on her face.
After a few minutes of walking, the young woman saw that she was approaching an old dirt road. The road seemed to run up the slope of a small hill with small trees and shrubbery on either side. There were also tall wooden poles that towered above the road.
Her eyes followed one of the poles up to its top and saw…
Oh!
"There are corpses hanging from the top of those poles…" she murmured to herself as she looked at the crucified body that hung from atop the pole, her eyes wide and her smile now looking quite strained. "That's… nice." she said as she slowly turned her head away from the pole to look down at the ground. "I'll just pretend I didn't see that." she said as she continued her march forward, albeit with a much stiffer posture.
After a few moments, she was able to recover from her shock and shift her focus back to the road in front of her.
As she stepped onto the path, she heard an odd rhythmic sound that was steadily growing louder.
It sounded like hooves clopping along the dirt.
She cast her gaze further along the road and saw someone riding a horse as they crested over the top of the hill.
It appeared that this person was a man clad in a suit of golden armor, with the helm of the armor bearing a comb that resembled tree branches. In his right hand was a long golden halberd, and in his left was a massive circular golden shield designed to resemble the roots of a tree spreading out from the center.
His horse was equally draped in golden armor.
Most importantly, the knight and his horse were gigantic! The legs of the horse alone were as long as she was tall.
Beatrix swallowed some of the saliva on her tongue as anxiety grew in her stomach.
She felt the urge to dive into the nearby shrubbery and wait for the knight to pass by. But due to how short the path on the hill was, she would not have been able to hide before he noticed her.
So she had little choice but to continue forward and walk by the knight.
'Keep calm, Beatrix! Maybe if you come across as completely harmless, then he might not swing his giant weapon at your head!' she thought in an attempt to instill some confidence into herself.
So she continued onward, hoping that luck would favor her enough that she would not have to fight for her life.
To help sell the idea that she meant no harm, the girl elected to hide her breasts with her right arm, covered her crotch with her left, and even made sure to slouch her posture and dip her head down as a show of submission.
She hoped it would be enough.
Beatrix felt her tension grow with each moment, with every step feeling like it lasted an eternity.
She heard the horse snort near her ear as she came close enough that she could easily reach out and touch it.
The hybrid grew a slight bit more confident that her plan would work once she reached the knight's leg without incident.
Just as it looked like everything would go well, she heard the soft sound of metallic plates sliding against one another right before the head of the knight's massive golden halberd stopped before her face.
Beatrix gasped softly and took a step back.
With a nervous gulp, she cast her gaze up towards the knight, who now looked down at her from atop his steed.
There was a tense moment of silence as the two stared at one another.
The young woman knew that she was in trouble. She was certain that the knight would simply not let her pass by him just like that.
There was a distinct possibility that a battle would ensue. Beatrix hoped that she could reason with the man and convince him to let her pass.
So she swallowed her nerves and spoke.
"H-hello there, sir. Lovely day, isn't it?" she asked nervously. She grinned at the knight in what she hoped was a convincingly friendly manner.
The knight did not respond and simply continued to look down at the hybrid.
Beatrix shuffled her feet nervously. "I guess you're wondering why I'm wandering out here all alone… and naked…
"To be honest, I wish I knew the answer to that too!" the girl said with an awkward chuckle. "I just sort of woke up here with nothing on me, literally. It's honestly really embarrassing!" she said as she turned her gaze away from the golden knight and looked down towards the dirt on the ground in the opposite direction. She squirmed in place as she attempted to keep the more intimate portions of her body hidden.
"So as you can guess," she looked back at the knight. "I'm lost, and I have no idea where to go!"
The giant warrior continued to stare at the girl below him. It was a strange thing, with traits of all sorts of creatures found within the Lands Between.
Horns like an Omen, scales like a dragon, even a tail like a Misbegotten. And yet it stood like a human, had the form of a woman, and a child-like face. But one look into its eyes was enough for him to know exactly what he had encountered.
"Thou art one of them. Tarnished." The golden knight spoke with a deep but worn voice, as though it was seldom used.
Beatrix was caught by surprise by the statement.
"I… guess so?" she replied with a tilt of her head. She still did not know what that meant.
The knight inclined his head slightly. "Why have ye come here? To seek the great runes of the Elden Ring?" he asked in a firmer voice.
"The what of the what?" the girl asked as she tilted her head further, her confusion evident.
"It is under the command of King Morgott, the Grace Given that no Tarnished be permitted to lay claim to a great rune. Even thee." The man said as he twisted his halberd so that the edge of the ax head was near the girl's neck.
Beatrix squeaked in shock at the hostile gesture and took another step back.
"L-look, I think there's been a misunderstanding here!" she said as she pulled her hands away from her body and held them up by her head with the palms facing forward in a submissive gesture. This had the side effect of leaving her body completely exposed to the armored man's gaze. "I don't know anything about these so-called Great Runes or this Elden Ring you mentioned! I-in fact, I don't remember much of anything at all, really!" she stammered in an attempt to show that she was not a threat. "I just want to find a safe place so I can rest, get something to eat, and most importantly, find some clothes! I don't intend to look for any these great runes!"
The knight remained silent as he stared at Beatrix.
She waited for what the armored man planned to do. Each moment was spent with the expectation that he would raise his weapon with the intent to take her head.
Eventually, the knight seemed to sigh and relax his posture somewhat.
The golden halberd dipped down slightly before he raised it up to rest in his grip.
The girl flinched and shut her eyes, expecting to feel the weapon cleave right through her.
But as the seconds passed, she realized that the knight hadn't moved to attack.
She dared to crack open one of her eyes and glanced at the armored man.
The golden knight was still looking down at her, but his posture looked slightly more relaxed.
Beatrix audibly sighed in relief, her arms falling slack to her sides.
"If thou speaketh truly, then ye must flee Limgrave. There will be no safe harbor for thee here." The knight spoke in a matter of fact tone, undercutting her relief.
"Huh?!" the girl exclaimed in shock as she snapped her gaze back towards the knight.
"We who follow the Golden Order do not look kindly upon those that dwell outside of it. Even madmen like that wretch Godrick would see ye as an affront to nature." The knight turned his head away and let out a grunt.
After a moment, he looked back at the girl and tightened his grip on his halberd. "I should kill thee where ye stand." he said, causing Beatrix to gasp and take a step back in shock.
However, before she could think to bolt away or even call her club to her hand, the man quickly lowered his halberd until the ax head rested just a hair's width above the scales on her right shoulder.
The young woman froze and shifted her gaze to the weapon, catching sight of the faint reflection of her own eyes in the metal.
"Yes, twould be a kindness that thy life be taken by the blade of a Tree Sentinel than by that of Godrick or his followers." he said before he raised his halberd.
Dread rooted her in place as she watched the head of the Tree Sentinel's halberd be lifted into the air. But just when it looked as though he would bring it back down to cleave her in two, he did something that surprised her.
He moved his halberd behind him and placed it onto some sort of holster attached to his back.
Beatrix couldn't help but stare in open confusion as the armored man coaxed his horse to move. He quickly turned his steed around and had it stop on the other side of her.
Then the Tree Sentinel simply leaned over, wrapped his thick armored hand around the back of her head, and lifted her up into the air as he straightened up again.
The hybrid let out a squeak as the knight picked her up with ease. She grabbed at the warrior's hand with her own slender fingers as her feet kicked helplessly through the air.
"Be still." The horseman said as he coaxed his horse into moving again.
Beatrix struggled in the man's grip for several moments before she gave up and hung limply in his grip.
"Do not mistake this as an act of kindness, little Tarnished." the man said as he carried her along the rail. "While it would be an act of mercy to end you now, I would find no glory in it. As a warrior of the Golden Order, I must grow ever stronger through bloody conquest and through battle," he looked up to the sky. "For that is the way of the world."
Beatrix listened as the knight spoke. She could feel that there was more he wanted to say, but she chose not to pry. It would not be wise to anger the man who could quite easily snap her neck with a flick of his wrist.
After several moments of silence, they reached the top of the small hill.
From her position, the silver-scaled girl could see what looked like an old stone building that looked to have fallen into serious disrepair if the partially collasped walls were any indication.
The knight stopped his horse and lifted her up to his eye level and turned his head towards her.
"This will be as far as I take thee." he said before he turned his gaze over towards the building ahead. "The ruins before ye is the Church of Elleh. It has not been used in the centuries since The Shattering, so ye needn't worry over Godrick's men finding thee within."
"What are they like, Godrick's men?" Beatrix asked as she flicked her eyes to her left so she could get a better look at the Erdtree Sentinel.
The golden knight was silent for a moment. "They are savage, brutal, without mercy, and worst of all… desperate. Should ye encounter their patrols, then they will not hesitate to rend thee limb from limb and give them to their master."
"Ah." the girl said with a grimace on her face. She would have to take extra care to avoid anyone aligned with that Godrick fellow.
The knight on horseback shifted his shoulders and rolled his neck. "There is a small squadron of Godrick's soldiers camped within a forest north of here. They dare not approach the church for fear of encountering myself, so thou shall find safety within for a time," he looked towards the girl. "Wait until nightfall and use the cover of darkness to sneak past the soldiers. Beyond the forest, thou shalt find a settlement near Stormgate. Avoid the settlement and travel eastward. After that, ye must brave the wilds thyself."
"Where should I go?" Beatrix asked worriedly. She was desperate for some form of direction.
The man gave it a moment of thought. "I care not where ye go. But if thou wisheth for a suggestion, then Liurnia to the north would be far safer than Limgrave." he said as he turned his gaze back to the church.
"Travel north to Liurnia, all while avoiding an army of soldiers that want me dead! Yeah… I think I can handle that." the young woman said with a bit of nervous sarcasm to her tone.
The Tree Sentinel nodded. "Good. Now prepare thyself, Tarnished." he said as he began to pull his right arm back.
"Wait… what are you doing?!" Beatrix shouted in alarm as she grabbed the knight's gloved hand with her own small hands.
"I intend to throw thee through the roof of the church. Thou would'st not be noticed by the patrol that way." The knight said nonchalantly as he shifted his position to better allow him to throw the girl.
"Isn't that a little extreme?!" she shouted as she began to kick her legs in a desperate attempt to wriggle out of the sentinel's hold. "Just set me down! I can walk the rest of the wa-aaaaaaaaaay!!!"
Her protest had melted into a terrified shriek as the Erdtree Sentinel threw her high into the air.
The man watched as the young woman flew through the air for several moments before she crashed into the roofless building in the distance.
"Grow strong, little Tarnished. Should Queen Marika permit us to meet again, then I shall draw thee no quarter. Grant me a victory worthy of remembrance…" he drew his halberd and turned his horse to face the road. "Or a death."
With that, he returned to his patrol.
Kalé had not seen much business in the time since he set up his little shop in the dilapidated remains of the Church of Elleh.
It didn't surprise him, really. Not many people traveled across the Lands Between since The Shattering.
Hardly any would-be customers made it past the Erdtree Sentinel that patrolled the grounds outside of the Fringefolk Hero's Grave or even made it pass Godrick's soldiers further down the path to the nearby forest.
He wasn't bothered by the rarity. In fact, he much enjoyed the peace and quiet. Such was a rarity in recent times.
But it would be nice to get a repeat customer for once.
Hid peace was then disturbed by a sound, one that gradually grew louder by the moment.
Was that screaming he heard?
Something then crashed into the ground nearby.
The impact took him by surprise. Even his faithful donkey let out an alarmed bray at the intrusion.
After calming his mount, he shifted his gaze over to what fell.
For a moment, he thought someone had thrown a massive stone into the church, but he quickly discarded the notion when he got up from his seat by the fire and moved closer to investigate.
Imagine his surprise when he found not a stone, but a strange creature that had a passing resemblance to a Misbegotten laying face down in the dirt.
It wore not a scrap of cloth on its form, allowing him to spy the silver scales that covered the entirety of its back, arms, legs, and tail.
'Is it dead?' he idly wondered as he stared at the thing. He hoped that its unique hide would fetch a hefty sum of runes.
To solve such a conundrum, he employed the only scientific method he knew would work.
He poked at it with his walking stick.
Kalé lightly jabbed the tip of his walking stick into the creature's ribs, which resulted in a noticeable jolt from its body.
The groan that followed was a strong indication that the creature was indeed still alive.
Usually, a sane man would take the opportunity to kill something that could prove to be potentially dangerous. Kalé however, was not in the mood to kill. So he instead chose to leave the thing be.
Whether it lived or died mattered very little to him, he would make a few runes from it regardless.
So, with that in mind, the merchant sat back down by the fire and began to cook his dinner.
AN: I think that's a good place to end it for now. I would love to add more, believe me, but this was already getting long, so I decided to cut it here.
That said, this chapter took me longer than I would have liked. While I was disappointed by the overall lack of reception this story got (only a handful of follows but no reviews), I spent most of the time getting stuck and rewriting entire sections of this chapter because I couldn't get the scenes to flow into each other.
So if I can offer a tip to any aspiring writers here, always go back and read over what you wrote. Doing so will help you catch mistakes you might have missed while writing. It's especially helpful when you're stuck at a particular point and can't figure out how to transition to the next scene. You might even find that you'll have to scrap the entire scene and write something new like I had to do here several times.
That said, I intended to open the chapter with a dream sequence. In it, we would have not only learned Beatrix's name but would have also gotten a hint to her past. But nothing I wrote worked for me, so I ended up stuck until I scrapped the idea and went with what was written above. That said, I haven't ditched the idea of our protagonist learning more of her past through her dreams. I just need to work on it a little.
Anyway, I've kept you long enough. But before I roll out the previews, I just want to ask you to leave a review. It doesn't need to be in depth. A simple "nice work" would suffice. I want to hear what my readers think of this, even if you have criticism. Your words matter!
Alright, I'm done. Time for the previews!
Potential Spoilers Ahead! Thou'st been warned!
"I've come to offer you an accord." The redhead said as her single golden eye looked her over.
The silver-scaled girl blinked owlishly at the woman.
"I can't in good conscience let you go into Castle Stormveil all alone now, can I?" the Vagabond said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Come now, don't tell me you're still miffed about that whole misunderstanding." Patches said with a nervous smile as he held his hands up defensively.
"You left me with three Rune Bears, Patches. THREE!" the female Bandit shouted as she had her Great Knife pressed against the bald man's throat.
"Ah, you must be the new Tarnished I've heard about." the old man under the metal hat said with a nod.
"I suppose that I am." Beatrix said with a shrug.
You'd do well to steer clear of Agheel Lake, fledgling."
The girl looked out over the nearby lake.
"A dragon roosts there... And it's as fearsome as it is majestic." warned the old man.
Beatrix lightly bit the second knuckle of her left index finger in thought.
She couldn't just leave this poor girl out alone in the cold rain!
The silver-scaled girl did not know of any place safe enough to bring the girl, especially on short notice.
That only left her with one option. She just hoped it didn't go poorly.
Margit regarded the strange hybrid girl before him.
"Hmph, thou art of passing skill." he admitted with the smallest inkling of begrudged respect.
However, that respect will not be enough to spare her.
In his free hand, the golden construct of a Giant Crusher manifested. He felt mild enjoyment at the look of shock, then horror that appeared on her face.
"Warrior blood must truly run through thy veins, Tarnished." he said with scathing sarcasm as he poised to strike.
Margit jumped up, and then the hammer came down.
Thanks for reading!