The assault on Fort Haight, part one

Another day dawned, bright and breezy beneath a cloudless sky. As always, the Erdtree showered its boundless radiance over the Lands Between.

What lovely weather for a day out.

And on such a lovely day, what was so wrong with letting me have that glintstone staff in your hands, you old noble?

"Ah! Ah!"

On the high cliff to the right of the Bridge of Sacrifice in Limgrave, I was playing tug-of-war with a Noble Sorcerer over his Glintstone Staff atop a ruined terrace.

"Who's supposed to understand all that ah-ah-ing? Don't be stingy. Fine, sell it to me for a hundred runes, but not a rune more!" I had to admit, the old fellow was pretty strong. I had already dragged him to the ground, yet he still refused to let go of the Glintstone Staff.

"Help! A Tarnished is bullying an old sorcerer!" By then, the other Godrick Soldiers stationed nearby had spotted me and charged over with Straight Swords and Pickaxes in hand.

The blare of a War Horn mingled with the wind.

Wasn't it just a Glintstone Staff? Did they really need to make such a fuss?

Oh, crap!

A fluorescent blue spell shot straight at me, nearly hitting my head.

On the ruined terrace opposite, another Noble Sorcerer had noticed the commotion and begun his Glintstone Sniping.

I had to wrap this up fast!

Keeping one hand on the Glintstone Staff, I hurriedly drew my Straight Sword with the other and slapped the flat of the blade at the old noble's hand.

He recoiled in fright, only to take my foot to the face and go sprawling.

"If you'd been nicer from the start, you wouldn't have had to get kicked. See you!" With Teacher Sellen's task complete, I blew the Spectral Steed Whistle, summoned Torrent before the soldiers reached me, and raced toward the cliffs to the east.

Behind me, the Godrick Soldiers stamped their feet in fury. "You bastard Tarnished! Don't let us catch you here again!"

Well, all I could say was that they shouldn't be so impatient.

There was still a treasure chest in their camp that I hadn't looted. I was only passing through today. I'd come back to play another time.

I followed the mountain slope down and passed another Open-Air Cemetery.

Three or four neat rows of graves stood there, but almost all their stone slabs had been pried open-or perhaps pushed aside.

After all, according to the lore, these Stone Coffins held Tarnished who, like me, had been exiled to Fog's Bane-the Wilderness. Only after being summoned back by Marika, the Eternal Queen, had they awakened and climbed out of their graves.

Now, a few Golden Runes lay glittering atop those long-empty graves.

No reason to leave free loot behind. I picked the area clean and continued on my way.

Fort Haight was already in sight.

Farther down the slope, across a stretch of beach, a golden wisp of Graceful Light floated in a corner outside the fort.

After activating the Site of Grace, I crept toward Fort Haight, keeping close to the rocky cliff.

Strange. Fort Haight was unusually quiet today.

After all, Wolf Bro had mentioned that something had happened at Fort Haight, stirring up unrest throughout Mistwood.

As for what had happened-

In the game, Fort Haight had been occupied by a Knight Commander tainted by the Blessing of Despair. Like the Bloody Fingers, he worshipped blood. He had driven out the fort's rightful owner, Kenneth Haight, and even slaughtered a Demi-Human Queen within its territory, sparking a revolt among the Demi-Humans across the region.

Yet everything here was calm and peaceful, without a hint of chaos.

Of course, it wasn't that I wanted the world to descend into anarchy. There was a Repeating Crossbow mounted on the fort's high wall, and without the little Demi-Humans drawing its fire, even riding Torrent could get me riddled with holes if I wasn't careful.

Had someone beaten me here and sorted out the fort's troubles?

I cautiously poked my head out from behind the rock sheltering me.

Several rows of wooden barricades blocked the narrow passage leading to Fort Haight's entrance, guarding against rioters.

Inside, a Repeating Crossbow did indeed stand on a terrace along the side wall. A soldier sat on the ground behind it, leisurely eating something.

I wasn't going to figure anything out just by looking. I'd better go check.

So I worked up my courage, stepped out from behind the rock wall, and waved at the soldier on the platform. "Hey! Can you hear me? I'm a Tarnished sent by Lord Kenneth Haight to investigate! Hey!"

Hearing my call, the soldier hastily stood up.

Huh?

Something's wrong. What's he doing? Is he aiming the crossbow at me?

Whoosh-

Several bolts shot toward me in an instant.

Luckily, I reacted quickly enough to duck behind the rock face.

All right, all right. So that's how you treat guests? Don't blame me when I kick you in the ass later.

But how was I supposed to get inside?

I looked around.

Like Castle Morne, Fort Haight was surrounded by the sea on three sides. Its remaining side, however, faced the Foggy Forest.

And small figures seemed to be darting through Mistwood.

An idea struck me.

Tweet-

I blew the Spectral Steed Whistle and summoned my Spectral Steed. "Torrent, let's go!"

Torrent caught on immediately and carried me straight into Mistwood.

Let's see, let's see...

"Gah!"

There they were. But four or five Demi-Humans weren't enough to break through the fort.

There should be something even more badass around here...

Oh, found it!

I reined Torrent in and shouted at the enormous figure strolling leisurely through Mistwood. "Hey, you big dumb bear! Over here!"

"Roar?"

"Come catch me if you can!"

"ROAR-"

As expected of a Rune Bear, he wasted no time on nonsense and charged straight at me.

"Torrent, run!"

"Neigh!" Torrent promptly turned and broke into a full gallop.

Along the way, we ran into the little Demi-Humans who had been chasing me earlier.

I gave them a friendly warning. "Run! If you don't, you're going to end up as bear crap!"

"Gah?"

"ROAR-"

"Gaaah-"

The little Demi-Humans scattered in terror.

But wasn't this a little unfair, Big Brother Bear? He wouldn't even glance at them and insisted on chasing me. It wasn't like I had that cough syrup from the ad.

Though I was the one who'd provoked him, and it would be a real pain if he lost track of me.

In the blink of an eye, he had chased me out of Mistwood.

Sure enough, there were no range limits in the real world. Big Bear kept hot on my heels.

"Then let's do this! Charge toward Fort Haight!" Riding Torrent, I used Double Jump without hesitation to clear the rows of barricades in the entrance passage.

Big Bear, meanwhile, was a bulldozer. One swipe of his arm easily overturned an entire row of wooden barricades.

Perhaps scared out of his wits, the Haight Soldier on the platform actually forgot to load bolts into the Repeating Crossbow. Flailing about in panic, he could only shout, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

A whole squad of armored soldiers rushed out, followed by a Pumpkin Head Soldier wielding a Flail.

But-

"No need to thank me for this welcoming gift, everyone." I urged Torrent into another Double Jump, sailing over their heads.

Then the savage Great Rune Bear slapped the still-dumbstruck soldiers into the air with one sweep of his paw.

"ROAR-"

"Aaaaargh-"

"Who the hell brought a Rune Bear here?"

Great reactions, boys. Keep it up!

As Big Bear wreaked havoc in Fort Haight's little courtyard, the soldiers had no time to bother with me. I darted straight through the fort's doors.