Raiders of the Lost Treasure

When I mentioned the Grafted Blade Greatsword, Castellan Edgar looked a little surprised. "How did you know about that?"

"Ah, well, that?" I thought for a moment and made up a lie. "It's an unusual greatsword pieced together from lots of blades, right? On my way here, I happened to see a powerful, large Misbegotten waving it around, so I remembered it."

"A large Misbegotten?" Edgar looked thoughtful. "Where is he now?"

"I think I saw him heading toward the back of Castle Morne..."

At that, Edgar looked troubled again. "The b-back?"

Curious, I asked, "What's wrong, Castellan?"

"You don't understand, Tarnished. The rear of Castle Morne was used as a prison, and it was also where the Misbegotten lived. They've now occupied all the passages through the castle. With the men we have left, getting there won't be easy." Edgar explained the biggest obstacle.

But what did any of that matter to a Tarnished like me, who practically had a full-map cheat?

"Don't worry. I've already found another route. All I need now is help defeating that fellow." I thumped my chest.

"Oh?" Edgar's weary eyes brightened a little, though suspicion lingered. After all, he was the castellan. What route through Castle Morne could he possibly not know about?

I offered an excuse. "I watched the route that Misbegotten took when he left. I figured we humans should be able to use it too."

"If that's true, I'd gladly help!"

Enough talk. It was time to put it to the test.

Let's go!

Before leaving, I caught a few Smoldering Butterflies above the bonfire, then followed Edgar down from the tower.

The soldiers below were still struggling to hold out. The moment one of them saw him, he shouted while fending off a Misbegotten, "Lord Edgar, please leave at once! You're their ultimate target! We..."

"Graaar!"

Before he could finish, a dark shape suddenly flew up from beneath the castle wall.

It was a Winged Misbegotten. It drew its shortbow, ready to shoot Edgar.

But I'm not letting you attack.

Whoosh!

A Kukri struck first, hitting its head dead-on and sending it tumbling back into the abyss.

Edgar took the opportunity to shout, "Brothers, Castle Morne has already fallen! You're free to abandon your posts and find your own way out! Words cannot express my gratitude for how long you've fought!"

"Lord Edgar, what are you saying?"

"As castellan, I must recover Morne's treasure-the Grafted Blade Greatsword-and return it to our lord. That will be my final fulfillment of my duty." Edgar gestured toward me. "This brother knows where the greatsword is. I ask you to lend us your strength once more! Come with us!"

The remaining soldiers answered almost without hesitation. "We'll follow the castellan to the death!"

"At this point, there's nothing more to say, Castellan! Let's go!"

It seemed Edgar had always been well loved by his men.

But as for the Misbegotten... entrenched class conflict wasn't something I could change just by flapping my lips.

For a moment, the exhausted soldiers seemed to get a shot of adrenaline, their spirits rising once more.

The Misbegotten on this stretch of wall, however, looked rather stunned.

Their prolonged failure to break through had already left them visibly exhausted. Now the balance had shifted completely, and they began shrinking back. Even I couldn't help feeling a tiny bit of sympathy.

"Brother Tarnished, I haven't asked your name yet." Edgar thrust his spear, sending a Misbegotten flying as he spoke to me.

"Zero. Just call me Zero."

Wait, I've already been promoted to brother? That's a surprise.

With Edgar and me joining the fight, the Misbegotten on the wall were soon dealt with. Their cries, however, drew the attention of the ones in the courtyard that I had shaken off earlier.

They clamored and rushed toward us.

"Brother Zero, sorry for the trouble, but please lead the way!" Edgar waved his hand. "Brothers, hurry and follow Zero!"

After the melee, only a handful of soldiers remained on the wall. Apparently, they were today's treasure-raiding party.

Knowing the way well, I ran to the end of the east wall and climbed over the parapet.

All of Castle Morne had been built against the coastal cliffs. The wind howled, carrying the damp smell of salt.

I pointed at a small island near the shore. "That Misbegotten is on the island."

Castellan Edgar gazed down the cliff with concern. The sea cliffs here formed a series of steps, each drop about two or three stories high.

"Don't worry." I patted Edgar's shoulder. "You jump, I jump."

"Brother Zero, what does that mean?" Edgar looked utterly confused.

"What it means..." As I spoke, I circled behind him. "...is that if you don't jump, I'll kick you down!"

"Aaaah-!"

Edgar let out a decidedly undignified scream as he was forced off the cliff.

I followed right after him, leaping down.

My feet tingled from the impact, but I was otherwise fine.

Seeing Edgar get up, I hurried to explain before he could lose his temper. "Your soldiers were hesitating too. If you don't set an example as castellan, I doubt they'll listen to me."

Edgar looked utterly speechless. He raised his head and called to the soldiers, "Come down! It's safe!"

Seeing that, the soldiers jumped down one after another.

We dropped down another level and reached the flat roof of a building by Castle Morne's rear outer wall.

"Look!" A soldier pointed toward the top of the outer wall. Along that narrow walkway, ordinary Misbegotten lay prostrate, trembling for some unknown reason.

I warned them, "Be careful, everyone. Don't make any noise."

They nodded and followed my route, first jumping onto a wooden platform halfway down the building, then dropping to the ground below.

Come to think of it, that corpse on the wooden platform should have a Stonesword Key for breaking the imp statues' seals. With everyone watching, I can't exactly rummage through it. Guess I'll have to give it up.

Well, it's not a big deal.

Even on a first playthrough, you'd have extras if you collected them all.

Edgar silently pointed at the Misbegotten, who looked as though they were groveling for mercy. Understanding his intent, the soldiers crept forward and killed them with single blows before they could react.

"Ah... h-help me." A feeble groan came from the room beside us. Edgar looked over and hurried inside.

Inside a cylindrical iron cage, an old man, thin as a skeleton, lay at death's door.

"Old Hopper!" Edgar rushed forward and forced the cage open with a blade lying nearby.

But the old man was already delirious, mumbling, "...I-I'm a noble. If those bastards eat me, I'll never return to the tree... No, I won't suffer that fate. Don't defile me..."

"Hopper! You're safe now, Old Hopper."

Edgar's calls seemed to restore a sliver of awareness. "L-Lord Castellan?... It-it was that wretch..."

With that, Old Hopper closed his eyes for good.

"Old Hopper..." Edgar sighed helplessly.

Suddenly, I noticed something wrong. I rushed forward, raised my wooden shield, and knocked aside the dark shape falling toward Edgar.

A Depraved Perfumer Slime. I nearly forgot this thing was stuck to the ceiling.

In the game, it would suddenly engulf the Tarnished's entire head while they picked up the items in the room. It wouldn't kill you, but just imagining something that looked so slimy and foul-smelling hugging your face was disgusting.

"Thank you, Brother Zero." Edgar still looked deeply sorrowful.

All I could do was comfort him. "At least the old gentleman was at peace before he passed. He knew he'd escaped the fate he feared most... We should finish what we came to do as soon as possible."

"Yes." Edgar nodded, carried the old man's body out of the room, and threw him off the cliff. "Return to the tree in peace, Old Hopper. You won't be defiled."

Meanwhile, the remaining soldiers had actually cleared every Misbegotten from the wall. Even the Scaly Misbegotten lay motionless on the ground.

Pretty impressive.

I remember there being a talisman on the watchtower here.

Using the excuse of checking the route ahead, I climbed up and quietly pocketed the Twinblade Talisman-it strengthened the final strike of a chain of attacks... better than nothing.

"Next, we'll start jumping down from here." After descending the watchtower, I stood at a gap in the wall and pointed at the tower roof below.

Edgar immediately said warily, "I'll jump on my own this time. No need to worry."

With that, he took the lead and jumped straight down.

To keep the roof tiles from breaking and collapsing in the real world, I told the others to land in different spots.

We kept going down, jump after jump.

When we finally reached the roof of another tall tower, I pointed at a beam inside. "Careful, everyone. You have to land on the beam. If you drop straight to the bottom, you'll die."

Well, difficulty-wise, this was nothing compared with the Frenzied Flame platforming section.

I jumped down first and steadied myself on the lone beam. A born warrior indeed. The Tarnished has great balance too.

Creak...

Then Edgar jumped down as well. The wood beneath our feet trembled slightly, and the beam made an odd noise.

A question suddenly occurred to me. "Edgar, have you ever repaired these beams?"

"Repaired them? Uh, to be honest, Brother Zero, at this height, repairs aren't exactly easy for us. We leave everything inside the prison to the Misbegotten."

Hearing that, I hurriedly looked up and shouted at the soldiers about to jump. "Stop! One at a time!"

But it was already too late.

These impatient idiots-was that already the last one?

We're screwed!

Crack-!

"Aaaaaah-!"

Unexpected, yet perfectly understandable: the beam snapped!

The whole group plummeted, pelting the hard floor like falling rain.

"My back!" So this was what it felt like when Spider-Man hit the ground after a failed web swing.

My whole body hurt so much that I didn't want to move, but something seemed to be licking my foot... Fuck, that hurts! The bastard bit me!

It wasn't just rats. A lone Misbegotten still trembling in the corner of the cell also raised its head in bewilderment.

-Enemy attack!

Left with no choice, everyone forced themselves to their feet. Fortunately, strength in numbers meant we still subdued this section of the prison easily.

"Roar-roar-!"

Vaguely, we heard one resounding roar after another coming from outside the door.

The roars were filled with rage and pain.

Supporting one another, we left the prison and looked toward a stone gate on the shore.

Beyond it lay the Isle of Wailing, home to Castle Morne's final boss-the Leonine Misbegotten.