As the trio waited for their turn to enter Orario, Magnus's mind wandered back to the recent events. Meeting Zeus and Hermes in that remote village had been an interesting experience. They had indulged him with some information about the complex power dynamics of this peculiar world and the so-called "games of the gods." Let the deities have their fun, Magnus thought. He could deal with any troublesome ones when needed. The Ranni Familia followed no rules but their own.
Zeus and Hermes, though, had become valuable partners. They connected him with an influential figure in the city. If Magnus could strike a deal with this person, the familia would enjoy unprecedented freedom in Orario. The fewer bureaucratic hurdles, the better. In the Lands Between, after all, the blade often spoke louder than words.
But everything came with a price. The information about the contact had strings attached. Zeus had a condition: when the boy he was looking after reached Orario, Magnus had to protect, train, and guide him along the right path—whatever that was.
Magnus had reluctantly agreed. The first two tasks were straightforward, but the third required more thought. He was a Tarnished, not a fortune teller. He had no idea what the future held or what the "right path" meant. It took considerable convincing and a promise of help from the two deities before he finally agreed. Damned gods and their whims, always expecting mortals to follow vague prophecies and cryptic words.
After the guards waved them through, they found themselves wandering down Orario's main avenue, a bustling thoroughfare that sliced the city into four distinct districts. Further along, four major roads intersected these quarters, creating a vibrant crossroads. At the heart of it all, the magnificent Tower of Babel pierced the sky, its spire reaching through the clouds and dominating the city's skyline. The tower of the gods and the lid that sealed the Dungeon and held back the tide of monsters that once drowned the world.
Along the lively avenue, storefronts proudly displayed their wares to the steady stream of passersby, while traveling merchants stood by their colorful carts, waving enthusiastically to potential customers. The air buzzed with the hustle and bustle of sellers and buyers, haggling animatedly over prices. This vibrant scene was a novel experience for the Ranni Familia, which had all grown up in small communities, and Magnus, as a Tarnished, has no recollection of his past to begin with. They moved from one shop to another, marveling at strange trinkets and jewelry and sampling the tantalizing local food. The market was a hive of activity, each step bringing them closer to the Guild's headquarters. The energy of the crowd seemed to sweep them along, each moment filled with the lively chatter and the rich tapestry of city life.
Soon after, they approached the Guild's building, a three-story mansion made of thick, sturdy stones and adorned with colorful banners. The massive entryway, with its thick wooden doors, opened into a tall, spacious hall bustling with activity. Adventurers came and went, taking quests from the mission boards, consulting with their advisors, or exchanging monster crystals for Valis, the world's currency.
They chose the shortest line and soon stood in front of a red-haired girl with animal ears on her head. "Hi, I'm Rose. How can I help you today?" she greeted them. Nodding in acknowledgment, he slid a letter across the counter to her. As soon as she saw the emblem on the wax seal, her eyes widened. Excusing herself, she rushed from the counter and disappeared deeper into the Guild hall. After a while, she returned with a short, chubby elf and approached them again.
"Ranni's Familia, correct?" the elf asked. Nodding, the elf guided them to a side gate and led them to the back of the Guild. They followed him into a meeting room. As soon as they sat down, he began bombarding them with questions. Magnus indulged some, while others he ignored. Ranni sat on the side, tuning out and ignoring him completely, while Maris was forced to sit and listen to the elf's ramblings. After a short while, he relented and left to deliver the letter to the intended recipient. Another knock came, and he finally spoke what Magnus wanted to hear.
"Ouranos-sama is ready to meet you. Please follow me into the Pantheon."
Leading the way through the Guild's hallway and deep underground, the group finally stood in front of a massive double door made of thick stone slabs with intricate carvings. If he had spare time, Magnus would have loved sketching a replica and inquiring about the carvings' stories and meanings, but time was short. As the elf turned to leave, a deep voice called out to them.
"Ranni Familia. You may enter now."
The doors slowly opened by themselves, and the torches inside the chamber began igniting one after another until the room was fully illuminated. Sitting on a gigantic throne in the center of the room was the deity of the Guild, the guardian of the Dungeon, and whom Zeus referred to as "Grumpy Gramps," Ouranos the Primordial.
Just as the door closes, Ouranos releases a brief surge of Divinity, flooding the chamber with his immense power and forcing Maris, the youngest of the group, to her knees. Magnus and Ranni, however, can withstand it with ease. As soon as it came, it was gone without a trace, seemingly vanishing, sucked out of the chamber by the god. "Forgive me. It is merely a test to confirm my theory. I mean you no hostility." Holding in her thoughts, Ranni merely nodded, "Very well, 'tis forgiven, but once."
As Ouranos nodded in acknowledgment, he spoke again, "Ranni Familia, hmm. It seems my vision was true after all." Magnus's attention snapped back to the god, having just helped Maris to her feet. "What dost thou mean by that? And what doth this vision of thine entail?" Ranni asked.
Letting out a long sigh, Ouranos continued, "You are foreign. Strangers. Aliens to this realm. That you will bring change into this land, whatever that may be. Good or bad, I do not know. Those visions reveal little, bound as we are by our rules." A pause. "Lady Ranni...is not bound by our rules, which makes her dangerous. Tell me, Ranni familia, why should I let you into Orario, and what do you seek here?" Magnus interjected, "You have read the letter, haven't you?" A nod followed. "Then you know what we seek and what we can offer: full autonomy for the familia, backed by the Guild, in exchange for handling the dirty and dangerous jobs. Zeus and Hermes vouch for my abilities, and I intend to uphold their trust."
"While that's an intriguing offer, what guarantee do I have that you won't exploit the Guild and leave us hanging? How do you intend to address that?" Magnus answered firmly, "We offer no guarantees beyond our commitment to reciprocity. Our service for yours, nothing more, nothing less." Another tense silence followed before Ouranos spoke decisively, "Very well. Zeus and Hermes have spoken highly of your abilities, and I intend to verify them. You have your deal." As they turned to leave, Ouranos spoke again. "Before you depart, may I know where you hail from?"
"We're travelers from beyond the fogs, hailing from the Lands Between."
As they exited the chamber, they were pleasantly surprised to see Rose, rather than the grumpy elf, waiting to lead them back to the Guild. The journey was silent, and she guided them to a private meeting room to finalize their paperwork. Magnus handled most of it while Ranni roamed the nearby bookshelves, and Maris listened in. Establishing their familia was a tedious affair, but Rose's guidance made the process smooth. However, even she was taken aback during the process.
"A level ten? This is unheard of. The highest level ever recorded is only nine, held by the captain of the Hera Familia. This is incredible..." She paused before continuing, "But this presents a dilemma. I'm unsure how to rank your familia. Normally, a familia with a level ten would be at S rank, but yours has only two members: a level one and a level ten. I'm considering placing your familia at B or C rank."
Hearing this, Magnus interjected, "Can you explain the benefits of each rank?" Rose's explanation was straightforward enough., "Lower-ranked familias pay fewer fees and usually have no obligations to the Guild, but they also receive less support. Higher-ranked familias can be requested by the Guild to perform certain tasks, like subjugating monsters or gathering materials in dangerous areas. However, they receive greater rewards and support. During expeditions, they also get more detailed maps from the Guild in exchange for reporting their findings in the Dungeon. The specifics vary for each familia, but that's the general idea." "So a normal familia would rise through the ranks as they grow, right? If so, we would like to do the same."
As Rose finished up the paperwork, she moved on to the next subject, adventuring and dungeon diving, an essential subject given that they had registered as an exploration familia. Maris listened attentively to Rose, occasionally noting something in the small notebook she just purchased outside. Ranni sometimes chimes in with a question that, unfortunately, Rose does not know the answer to. Still, the information given is already interesting enough.
In his head, multiple theories about the Dungeon's origins float around, ranging from a banished god to the possibility that the world is hollow and the Dungeon is the path inside, and multiple other absurd theories. But now is not the time for that, so he pushed them to the back of his mind. For now, the meeting is near its conclusion, with Rose being assigned as the Ranni familia dungeon advisor, mainly for Maris's sake because he would rather take the document back and read it in the seclusion of his home. Speaking of home, they still need to find a place to stay the night, so he'll probably ask Rose for a recommendation later.
He'll have to sell some of his possessions, maybe even take out a loan to get a house for the familia, perhaps even a manor if they are to expand in the future. Something reminiscent of the Carian Manor or the Lunar Estate would give Ranni a semblance of her former home. But what to sell is the question...Most things in his possession would be useless to the people of this world, and others would just be too dangerous to leave in another's hand, except maybe...the Smithing Stones. He did stock up on quite a lot of those before he left the Lands Between, quite a lot, actually. He slaughtered everything in Mohgwyn Palace, after all. And maybe those Gravel Stones, if they can figure out something to do with them. But that's for tomorrow, now, a place to rest for the night.
As they walked to the inn Rose recommended, the smell of something extraordinary captured their sense of smell, drawing them to a nondescript food stall tucked in along the crowded street. And when the trio lay their eyes on the source of the aroma, it was indeed something out of this world. A row of perfectly grilled steak skewers, the meat marbled with thin lines of fat that have rendered down to create a beautiful, caramelized crust. The rich, smoky aroma immediately makes their mouth water, blending the scent of seared beef with sweet, charred onions and peppers and a hint of fragrant garlic and herbs. Up close, they can hear the satisfying sizzle as the steak meets the hot grates, with occasional pops and crackles as fat drips onto the coals. The cook behind the stall is a large woman covering her face with a neck gaiter. She looked at them and asked, "You want some?". "We'll take a dozen." Leaving the woman to count her valis, the trio enjoyed their delicious meal before heading to a good night's rest.
The following day, Magnus leaves the inn alone, letting Ranni stay behind to finish the books that she bought and giving Maris some time to explore the city alone while he takes care of their familia financials. A quick visit to the Guild gets him the location of the best smithing familia in the city, according to Rose, the Hephaestus familia. He had seen some of their items in their Northwest shop. They're good, but nothing exceptional. Rose told him that's just the generic type because most high-ranking adventurers have their weapons custom-made by one of the two main smithing familias, the other being the Goibniu familia. He'll probably check them out later.
As he stumbles into the Hephaestus familia workshop and is greeted by a receptionist, he hands over the recommendation letter he strong-armed Rose into writing. Giving it a read, the receptionist handed it back to him and shouted to someone inside, "Tsubaki, come out here. Someone is here to meet Lady Hephaestus." From the depths of the workshop, a thick, coarse voice boomed back, carrying an edge of authority, "Alright, coming!" Soon after, a tall and muscular woman stepped out of the workshop, her skin tanned and charred by smoke and soot. She had long black hair tied in a high ponytail and blood-red eyes, with one of them covered by an eyepatch. "So, you want to meet Lady Hephaestus, huh? What's the occasion?". Handing her the letter, which she only spared a glance, and motioned him to follow her in. They walked through multiple forges, each worked by a member of the familia, making weapons and tools in various shapes and sizes, from daggers to greatswords and maces, but not a single colossal weapon in sight. Tsubaki then leads him into what looks like an office, with Lady Hephaestus looking through various paperwork.
"Tsubaki, I put do not disturb on the door. I'm busy right now." She let out with a tired voice. "Sorry, but this guy wanted to meet you, and he has an introduction letter from the Guild." Looking up from her stack of paperwork, Hephaestus scrutinizes him with her single eye, asking the obvious question, "First off, who are you? And what brings you here today?" "I'm Magnus. Captain of the Ranni familia. It's a pleasure to meet you. As for why I'm here, I've been told that the Hephaestus familia is the best smithing familia in the city, and I accidentally have some exotic material that I'm sure you haven't worked with before. And I'm sure you wanted to get your hand on a sample."
"Show me." She requested as she cleared out a part of her desk, with Tsubaki looking on curiously. "Is she allowed in here?" He asked. "She's my assistant and soon-to-be Captain of the familia. She can stay." Getting the confirmation, he proceeds to lay out the items, a few Normal and Somber Smithing Stones, raising the two's eyebrows, a few Gravel Stones, both Normal and Sharp, and finally, the star of the show, the Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, and the Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. At this, their eyes go wide as if they can sense the power emanating from the hidden treasure of Farum Azula.
"These two are Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, Smithing stone made by polishing a golden Gravel Stone. They're a scale of the Ancient Dragonlord, of which the seat of power is said to lie beyond time. The stone lightly twists time, allowing the creation of a weapon capable of slaying a god, a power that I can personally testify to." Ah, the fear in those eyes. Rose had told him that killing a god is taboo in this realm, even if the god is not actually dead, just sent back to their realm, Tenkai. Something about eternal torment in the afterlife. Alas, fear is not very useful in this negotiation, so he'll have to calm them down. "Do not worry, I mean you no harm. These two are merely a demonstration. I have no intention to leave them in another's hand." They do not trust my words. No matter, I'll play with their pride as a blacksmith. Let's see if they took the bait. "You can see it for yourself." Pulling the weapon he carried on his back out of its scabbard and laying it on the table, he spoke to them. "Feast your eyes. This is the Dark Moon Greatsword, a weapon gifted to me by my beloved and elevated to its peak by my close friend, Smithing Master Hewg. 'If you remain loyal to your calling, then no matter what you do, no matter what happens to me, I will never cease to smith your weapons. Until you have one to slay a god.' That's what he said, and oh, did he deliver. The real question is, can you do the same?"
"How much do you want?" Hephaestus shouted out. "While I am indeed short on money, you're not getting your hands on them today, and if my estimation is true, not for a long, long time. After all, you have not even touched the lesser stones, which do not come for free." A sigh. Hephaestus relented. "What do you want? Name your price, and then we can negotiate."
"Pretty simple, actually, I'll sell you the lesser stones, and you make weapons with them. If you produce something that I deemed good enough, maybe, just maybe, you'll get your hands on those two. We also want to be prioritized when working with you. Do we have a deal?"
Another sigh. "How much for the lesser stones? Do we get a discount if we buy in bulk?"
.
Magnus almost jumped in joy when the negotiation ended because he had secured enough funds to last them a lifetime in exchange for nearly a thousand smithing and gravel stones of various types and qualities. Hephaestus slumped on the table, groaning, with Tsubaki consoling her, probably regretting her purchasing decision.
It was a great day indeed.
It was a quiet morning for Maris. The familia had a small breakfast together before Magnus had to leave to take care of a few things she was not privy to. But they had allowed her to spend the morning all by herself, free to explore the city, and she only needed to bring some Valis and the Spirit Calling Bell with her in case of anything. The breakfast had been a simple affair, some toast with jam, so she still had some space left in her stomach. Wandering around the city, she stopped at various food stalls, trying out the things city dwellers had for breakfast. And snack, too.
The crepes, pain perdu, and fruit yogurt were all delicious. They're a bit expensive, but Lady Ranni told her not to worry about the cost and to treat herself to something. As she continued her culinary adventures through the streets of Orario, she stumbled on a tiny stall selling some kind of snack with an enchanting aroma, luring her in. An old lady was working behind the stall, frying some of the food to a deep golden brown, making it look incredibly delicious. "What's this thing called?" She asked the old lady. "Oh, these?. You're not from around here, aren't ya. These are Jagamarukun, deep-fried mashed potatoes. These are popular around here, but people just don't eat them in the morning. Do you want one?"
As the old lady handed her a smoking hot, freshly fried Jagamarukun, she savored its aroma before taking a small bite. The crispy exterior gave way to a soft, flavorful center that melted in her mouth. "I can see why they're popular." The old lady chuckled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Glad you like it. Not everyone appreciates a good Jagamarukun right off the bat." As she finished the delicious Jagamarukun, she spotted two tiny heads looking at her from the corner of a nearby building. When she turned to look at them, they hid their head in before popping out again. Like the hungry and scared cats, she used to see in her village. So she waved them closer, almost instinctively. Maybe she should get a cat. As the children approached her, she crouched to their level, asking the obvious question. "You want some?". Surprise face. A nod.
As the two children mumbled on their Jagamarukun, she began talking to them. First, ask for their names. "I'm Ais.", "Uhm, I'm Liliruca.", said the blond and the chestnut-haired girl, respectively. "Why are you here? Where are your parents?" She looked around but couldn't seem to find anyone that looked similar to the two. "I wanted to get some Jagamarukun, but Riveria won't allow it. She said that I would get fat." Ais said absentmindedly while nibbling on her snack. Liliruca, on the other hand..."My parents had to go somewhere for a bit and left me there. I hadn't had anything for breakfast, and when I was looking at the stall, Ais popped out of nowhere. We were just watching until you came by."
So they sat there and talked briefly before Liliruca's parents returned, thanked her for taking care of their child, and led her away while the kid waved goodbye. "Thanks for buying me Jagamarukun. I must get back home before Riveria finds out, so goodbye." She waved and ran away.
It's a strange day. But a good day nonetheless.
Author Notes.
MK here. Sorry for the (extremely) long hiatus. I've been swamped the last few months. Here is your long-awaited but not-so-long chapter. I'll try to do better next time.
This chapter has a teeny tiny time skip, dealing with the Guild and a short story about Magnus and Maris. I'm trying to give Maris more screen time but can't find the right place. So I hope you can bear this with me in the foreseeable future. I still haven't had time to catch up with Astrea Records, so probably none of that yet, so I will try to continue the worldbuilding without them in the meantime. That means traveling out of Orario and more obscure mythology. If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment.
On Elden Ring's side, I haven't played Shadow of the Erdtree either, but from what I've seen, it looks dope. The new weapons and items, and oh, the lore. I've included some DLC items here, but only from the Wiki. I'll hold back on the weapons until I try them out. However, the DLC did open up many possibilities for the story, so I look forward to writing about it.
PS_1: FromSoft nerfed the DMGS. WHYYY?. Both the damage and the poise break?
Spoilers below.
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PS_2: Mogh beat the allegations. It's not "Mohglester" anymore. It's now "Miquelested".