Intelligence Reports and an Old Knight

Kale, who had witnessed the Tarnished kill the Tree Sentinel with his own eyes, could hardly believe it. As far as he knew, no matter how glorious their pasts had been, all other Tarnished returned to this shattered land equally weak. Yet there was clearly something different about this one.

Even if the Tree Sentinel had gone mad, defeating him was no easy feat, let alone finishing him off the way the Tarnished had. Kale recalled a rumor, a legend that circulated throughout the Lands Between.

The unfettered White Wolf, the unstoppable Warrior. Legend had it that he had joined the campaigns in the earliest days of the Erdtree's rise. After he was banished alongside the other Tarnished, his name had been buried with them.

"How could it be... According to the rumors I heard, wasn't the White Wolf War-ghost..." Kale's mind was a jumble. Ever since the Tarnished had been banished from the Lands Between, people had regarded them with contempt. Many had forgotten that Godfrey, the first Elden Lord who had dominated an entire age, had also been a Tarnished.

That contempt for the Tarnished seemed to have been deliberately cultivated by someone. What their purpose was, no one knew.

"Will you buy this set of heavy golden armor?" Metal clanged against metal as the Tarnished dumped the Tree Sentinel's armor in front of Kale.

"Well... I'd love to, but I couldn't sell it. Who could possibly fit into armor this huge?" What a joke. Most of the wandering merchant's customers were Tarnished, since they were at least relatively sane...

"What a waste." The Tarnished tapped the sturdy armor. Ordinary armor could be reforged, but the craftsmanship of this set was exceptional. He wondered whether he could find anyone with that level of skill. If not, it really would be nothing more than scrap metal. But if he could... he had a rather bold idea.

"Never mind. Whatever happens to this armor, it's time I moved on." The Tarnished turned to leave, but Kale called him back and handed him two envelopes.

"What are these?"

"Two intelligence reports. Have a look."

"Now that's strange. Since when did a merchant start handing out charity?"

"Heh, don't be ridiculous. You're clearly no ordinary Tarnished, so you've caught my interest. Besides, you're one of the few people I can actually talk to."

"To be honest, these reports wouldn't fetch much anyway. Better to give them to you than let them rot in my hands. That way, you'll owe me a favor, too." Kale's tightly wrapped face covering concealed his mouth, but his eyes curved into crescents, making his smile plain enough.

"Now that's more like my idea of a merchant. Fine, I'll accept the favor." The Tarnished knew perfectly well that Kale had an ulterior motive, but he still took the envelopes and pulled out one of the reports to read.

It concerned the Flask of Wondrous Physick, a marvelous vessel in which various Crystal Tears could be mixed to produce all sorts of effects. It was the work of the Golden Tree Priest, a Physicker, and according to the report, one apparently remained at the Third Church of Marika.

"Oh? Wondrous Physick? I know that stuff. It's a rare treasure." In the past, only members of the golden lineage had possessed a Flask of Wondrous Physick. Ordinary people had no right to one. He had once owned one himself, thanks to his close relationship with that old barbarian.

Come to think of it, he was practically half a member of the golden lineage himself.

"Let's see the other one..." The Tarnished opened the second envelope. This report was brief, saying only that someone was hiding in the Waypoint Ruins beside a road in Limgrave.

"Huh?" The corner of the Tarnished's mouth twitched. "This counts as intelligence? What, is this person someone extraordinary?"

"How would I know? I wasn't the one who found them. You know how most people have gone mad these days. There's no need to take every strange thing they say seriously, and there's certainly no shortage of rumors."

"Well, it won't hurt to remember it. I'll investigate when I have time." Limgrave, though... That must mean this region. Wasn't it called Stormhill before? The land where Stormveil Castle stood.

There was something interesting about this place, too. It had been the last major region of his campaigns.

After saying farewell to Kale, the Tarnished roamed Limgrave using his memories of the past. With guidance to follow, he was not lost; he was hunting for treasure. The Lands Between were vast, with countless caves to explore. If he wanted to enter the Erdtree, there would be no shortage of enemies in his path. He needed to become even stronger than before, and rare treasures were essential to that end.

"Oh... Night has fallen." The Tarnished looked up at the sky. The once-golden clouds were now shrouded in darkness. "There's still day and night... Looks like things aren't too bad." He casually picked a berry from a bush and put it in his mouth. A sour, astringent taste spread over his tongue.

"No... Maybe they are. These taste much worse than they used to." The Tarnished clicked his tongue in displeasure, but he still finished the remaining berries rather than waste them.

The darkness did not hinder the Tarnished's vision. Standing on a cliff, he gazed toward the shore. The waves were beautiful at night... but the Land Octopuses nearby spoiled the view.

"There sure are a lot of them... Hmm?" While the Tarnished was enjoying the view, he suddenly sensed movement in the grass behind him. A goat burst out and charged straight at him.

"Huh?" The Tarnished sidestepped and kicked the goat off the cliff in one smooth motion. Its scream barely lasted before it hit the ground and fell silent. "What's wrong with you... Are Tarnished really that unpopular, or have all the creatures in the Lands Between gone this mad?"

How pathetic. A founding veteran who had helped forge a dynasty had become someone everyone wanted to attack. "Was this your doing, Marika... How ruthless." The Tarnished shook his head slightly.

He took a path around the other side of the cliff and descended to the boundless sea. As soon as he approached the shore, the sleeping Land Octopuses of all sizes woke and crawled toward him, their tentacles flailing.

The Tarnished ignored them and looked toward where the goat had fallen. He had noticed earlier that, given its size and the height of the cliff, it should not have hit the ground so quickly. It must have landed on an outcrop partway down. "Could there be a cave?"

Sensing a large octopus approaching from behind, the Tarnished turned and kicked it onto its back, then drove his longsword straight into its mouth. Ink sprayed everywhere. The creature's tentacles writhed in agony before it went still, and the other Land Octopuses immediately began to retreat.

"Instinct is still hard to change." Against beasts like these, taking out the leader was the most effective deterrent.

The Land Octopuses all withdrew. Without lingering, the Tarnished went to where the goat had fallen. Sure enough, there was a cave entrance. It was no ancient cavern, though, probably only a few decades old. There were signs of deliberate excavation, but it did not look like a mine. It seemed more like the dwelling of some cave-dwelling creatures.

Not far from the cave, a column of air surged up from the ground.

"I wonder what's inside." The Tarnished leaped up, caught hold of a rock jutting from the wall, and easily reached the entrance.

"Oh?" The Tarnished sensed living creatures inside the cave. His guess had apparently been right. This was some kind of creature's nest.

Just as he was about to enter, a brilliant golden sign appeared beneath his feet. It was a sign left by a golden Furled Finger who had come to help others.

"Old Knight Istvan...?" The name sounded familiar. The Tarnished spread his hand over the sign. Sensing his touch, it began to flicker, and before long, a golden figure appeared in front of him.

It was a man wearing scale armor and wielding a large curved sword.

"Oh... You're a Tarnished, too, aren't you? It's been so long... I'm glad to meet you, my friend. You can call me Istvan." The man named Istvan warmly extended his hand.

"Ah, it's you. I recognize you." The Tarnished returned the greeting. Seeing him in person had jogged his memory. This man had also been part of the Expeditionary Army, though they had rarely crossed paths. He had only heard that Istvan was a capable fighter and treated others kindly.

"Could you be a comrade from those days, too...? This is... I never thought I'd meet an old comrade here." Istvan was a little excited. So far, every Tarnished he had met in the Lands Between had belonged to a younger generation. Encountering someone from his own era was truly rare.

"You seem to have been back in the Lands Between for a while. I only returned recently." The Tarnished intended to talk with him a little longer. Although they had barely known each other, and he had often worn a mask, leaving many in the army unaware of his true face, none of that prevented them from talking.

"Yes... I never imagined the Elden Ring would shatter... I really don't know what the queen was thinking." Istvan sighed. The sight of this broken world pained him, but there was nothing he could change unless he became the Elden Lord.

"Oh, right. What should I call you, friend?"

"Me... You know we're people who have returned from the dead. Our old names and past glory aren't all that important. Just call me Tarnished. I haven't decided on a new name yet."

"I see..." Istvan nodded thoughtfully. There was truth in that. No matter how glorious their pasts had been, had they not all been banished just the same? Even King Godfrey and the Warrior, whose renown rivaled the king's, had shared that fate.

"Why did you leave your sign here?" the Tarnished asked.

"Well, some extremely violent Demi-Humans live here. They burn, kill, and plunder, and slaughter is second nature to them. Although there are no wholly good people in this age, their actions will undoubtedly throw this already shattered world into even greater chaos.

"And quite a few people have already fallen victim to them. They show no mercy even to their own kind. More importantly, they came from the Weeping Peninsula."

"What does that matter?"

"I came here on a commission from the lord of Castle Morne to deal with the threat posed by the Demi-Humans."

"Castle Morne? Oh, that little castle on the Weeping Peninsula. I didn't expect it to survive all these years."

"Yes. Its current lord is very dutiful, but also terribly rigid. A massive Misbegotten uprising has broken out in Castle Morne, and some Demi-Humans are stirring as well. Yet the lord is still holding his ground, declaring that he'll live and die with Castle Morne."

"A rare quality." The Tarnished clapped his hands in approval.

"Still, I'd say Castle Morne had that Misbegotten uprising coming. I remember those nobles abusing them quite often." Every grievance had its source, every debt its debtor. The Tarnished had little to say against the uprising.

"That's true... I can't stand the way those high-and-mighty nobles oppress the Misbegotten either, but I must say what the Misbegotten are doing now is hardly any better. Not only are Demi-Humans involved, they've even joined forces with other factions to ignite a war within Castle Morne. The scenes inside are horrific. I understand how the Misbegotten feel, but this inhuman massacre really does seem like another turn of the same cycle."

Istvan looked dejected. The people of this land seemed never to have lived in harmony... There was always war and strife, bodies strewn everywhere. Now that they had returned as Tarnished, they seemed to be despised just like the Misbegotten.

"I'm not trying to play the hero, and I don't particularly want to get tangled up in this cycle of grievances. I accepted the commission because of the Demi-Humans... Quite a few vicious ones are prowling around Castle Morne, hoping to seize the chance to commit atrocities. I simply can't accept that kind of opportunistic savagery."

"My task is only to drive off the Demi-Humans. I want to make this world a little more peaceful, as much as I can... As for the rest... we can only leave it to fate."

"I understand the situation now, but why did you come all the way here? This place is quite far from the Weeping Peninsula."

"According to my investigation, one of the Demi-Human chiefs from the Weeping Peninsula came to Limgrave. He seems to have absorbed the local tribe, and this cave is where they've settled."

"So there are two chiefs here? No wonder you left a sign."

"Hahaha, it's embarrassing to admit... I really can't fight so many Demi-Humans alone. A golden sign is really just another way of asking for help. If we wait until they march on Castle Morne, the castle might truly fall."

"Since I accepted the commission, I absolutely cannot let that happen."

"Heh, you really are a softhearted fellow." The Tarnished patted Istvan's shoulder.

"A good man... I don't believe there are any wholly good people in this age. Even our campaigns, our era, were built upon the corpses of other races... But perhaps that was a necessary part of it."

A new age always came with bloodshed. The so-called Golden Expeditionary Army had merely been fighting to secure a chance at life for themselves and their families.

"Don't dwell on it. What's in front of us matters more." The Tarnished interrupted Istvan and pointed into the cave ahead.

"Ah, right... I can't embarrass myself in front of an old comrade!" With that, the two jumped down into the cave together. Sensing unfamiliar presences, the Demi-Humans readied themselves as one. Battle was about to erupt.