Roundtable Hold

"I have a presumptuous favor to ask." Zhao Si scratched his head, unsure how to begin. They had only just met and barely knew each other, so he felt rather embarrassed asking the man to do something for him.

Blaidd? simply said, "Go ahead."

Those two simple words warmed Zhao Si's heart. Blaidd? really was a knight worthy of the name.

"Could I become your apprentice? I mean, I'd like to follow you and learn from you." Hope shone in Zhao Si's eyes, but inwardly, he was nervous, afraid of being rejected. His less-than-successful life before this had left him timid and insecure.

Blaidd? answered without much deliberation. "All right. Once we reach Roundtable Hold, I imagine we'll be comrades. If that is the Fingers' will and cannot be defied, then naturally, I'd like my comrades to be as strong as possible. You're so candid about your weakness that I'm willing to teach you a few combat techniques. How much you learn will be up to you."

At that moment, Zhao Si nearly burst into tears. He was even more excited than when he had met the Finger Maiden. Becoming stronger was something he had to do himself. To survive in a world where the strong preyed on the weak, he would need fighting strength of his own. Even if he never became Elden Lord, he at least needed the power to protect himself during The Shattering and the apocalyptic times that followed.

Blaidd? really did seem to be a lawful good knight, the sort with light and justice in his heart, willing to help someone as weak as Zhao Si. Perhaps this was a little warmth in a cruel world.

"That's wonderful, Master! I promise I'll study hard!" Zhao Si thumped his chest to show his commitment.

Blaidd? waved a hand. "You don't need to call me Master. I don't take apprentices. Let's just be friends."

"Friends? That's even better." Zhao Si slapped his thigh happily. "You're my first friend here, Master Blaidd?."

"Uh..." Blaidd? was speechless for a moment. As the worldly "White Wolf Warrior," he knew perfectly well that there were plenty of strange people in this world, and no shortage of Tarnished who weren't right in the head.

There were also plenty whose ambitions far exceeded their abilities, or who fanatically believed in one thing or another. He simply assumed Zhao Si's extreme weakness had made his personality a little odd and given him a habit of saying strange things. That was much better than those murderous lunatics who flew into a frenzy at the drop of a hat.

Nothing else unusual happened along the way. The carriage drawn by enslaved giants rode smoothly, and boredom lulled Zhao Si into sleep. His dreams were full of bizarre things: his former life, the Erdtree, all sorts of people flashing through his mind-and all sorts of regrets.

Life was already full of regrets. That was why, when people immersed themselves in a game and gave themselves wholeheartedly to its story, they often hoped the NPCs who treated the protagonist kindly would get a decent ending. But most NPCs in the Souls series met bad ends, and those regrets were just as heartbreaking.

Why not try to save those NPCs and let them find happiness?

The thought took shape in Zhao Si's dreams. Every tragedy had its reasons; none happened out of nowhere. Some people might pursue their goals until they crossed a true taboo and could no longer be brought back. Others simply suffered undeserved calamities, powerless to fight against the backdrop of a dying world, and met miserable ends.

The former might be difficult to save. A few words and the defeat of a powerful enemy would not necessarily solve their problems.

The latter would be a little simpler. All it would take was caution and a flexible approach.

Deep within his dream, Zhao Si saw a faint, flickering flame.

"Ah, Tarnished. You have finally come." A woman's voice sounded from within the flame.

"Who are you?" Zhao Si watched the flame drift toward him and warily drew back.

Fire was always a little suspect. It was intensely aggressive, liable to burn everything down at any moment, and utterly uncontrollable.

The flame gave Zhao Si no chance to escape. A pale, slender arm reached out from within it and seized his wrist. A scorching sensation shot into Zhao Si's brain. The agonizing pain made him scream and struggle violently.

"No, don't!"

Thud!

His head struck the carriage wall, jolting him awake. He squinted and rubbed his head. As his sleeve slipped down, he saw something horrifying-a burn mark on his wrist.

The charred mark was shaped like a human hand. It did not hurt now, nor was there any burnt smell. There was only a patch of black, as though embers still lingered within it. He hurriedly covered his wrist with his sleeve again and resolved to find a pair of gauntlets at Roundtable Hold. He could not let anyone see the burn.

"Hey, time to get off!"

Already standing at the carriage door, Blaidd? turned back and called to him. "Still half asleep?"

Only then did Zhao Si come to his senses. He hurried after Blaidd? and climbed out.

He had no chance to see the grandeur of Leyndell, because the carriage had delivered them straight to the vicinity of Roundtable Hold. Yet he still saw the Erdtree, which defied description. Words such as "enormous" or "blotting out the sky" seemed utterly inadequate.

The sight of the Erdtree radiating golden light made Zhao Si feel his heart open a little.

Was this the view the Elden Lord saw from up there?

The main entrance of Leyndell's Roundtable Hold stood wide open, welcoming the Tarnished. They climbed the steps and entered, and the hall's interior came into view.

The Roundtable Hold at the great Site of Grace was probably a one-to-one replica of the Roundtable Hold in Leyndell.

The entrance hall consisted of a single broad corridor, lined on either side with closed doors.

"Looks like the second floor is where it matters." Blaidd? found a wooden staircase leading upstairs and took Zhao Si with him.

Zhao Si had offered to carry Blaidd?'s shield and twinblade, but Blaidd? had refused.

His reason was, "A proper warrior never lets his weapons leave his side."

When they reached the second floor, a wave of familiarity washed over Zhao Si. Blacksmith Hewg's spot was currently vacant. He did not know when that hardworking Demi-Human blacksmith, with his sharp tongue and soft heart, had been imprisoned in Roundtable Hold. As for the young spirit tuner Roderika, he did not even know where she was right now.

Fia's room, however, had its door open. When Zhao Si curiously poked his head inside, he actually found the Deathbed Companion there, wearing a long black dress.

"Did you need something?" Fia asked, lifting her head slightly.

Zhao Si blushed. "N-no, nothing. Sorry to bother you."

"If you're a newly arrived Tarnished, you can report to Sir Gideon Ofnir first. The honored Fingers appointed him as our leader, responsible for overseeing the Tarnished here." Fia spoke very gently.

Her soft voice put Zhao Si at ease.

He nearly blurted out, Hug lady, please give me a hug.

Fortunately, Blaidd? grabbed him by the collar, offered his thanks, and dragged him away before he could embarrass himself.

"I know you get excited when you see someone like yourself, but you still need to keep it under control. This place isn't like other places," Blaidd? instructed him.

"Sorry." Zhao Si felt

embarrassed as he apologized.

"No need to apologize." Blaidd? offered no further reprimand.

At the center of Roundtable Hold stood the great round table bristling with weapons. Sir Gideon Ofnir, sitting quietly in a chair and wearing armor decorated with "ears," had already spotted them.

"Welcome, welcome." Though his words were welcoming, his voice was low and his tone flat, without a trace of pleasure.

These walking tin cans all hid their faces behind armor, making it impossible to see either their features or their expressions. It was genuinely difficult to tell whether their words were sincere.

I need to get myself a helmet too. I won't even take it off to sleep!

Zhao Si felt he had far too many things to do.

Gideon rose. "Come. Let us first have an audience with the honored Fingers."

At those words, Zhao Si's heart leaped into his throat. There was only one reason: he feared the Two Fingers would detect something abnormal about him. Before the Elden Ring was shattered, the Two Fingers might not have been omniscient and omnipotent, but they were certainly nothing like the half-dead beings of the apocalyptic era.

If they deemed him a heretic, the consequences would be unthinkable.