Culling Of The Cuckoo

Watching the interaction between the Demi-Humans and his men was quite a sight. Initially, it was a tense standoff, the Demi-Humans snarling and baring their teeth. However, with a small bark and order from Gilka, their attitude shifted entirely, and they began fawning over his soldiers.

The whelps and Mighty variants spoke little, communicating in broken speech, resorting to gestures and snarls, while the Chiefs stayed back, hesitant, watching their kind jump and explore the small camp his soldiers had set up.

"They seem to get along well," Godrick grinned under his helmet, while Gilka sighed, leaning on her sceptre.

"Night is coming, my Lord. I doubt they shall be as amicable then," she muttered, frowning at a Demi-Human Chief sulking in the corner. "Although your blessing will help me rein in their madness, I am uncertain."

"I will slaughter any who dare lay a hand upon my soldiers," he warned Gilka. "I pray they retain a shred of the intellect thou hast beaten into them."

"It was necessary then," Gilka retorted, staring down at Godrick. "They were to be beast-like, lest the Black ones stole their minds as they did mine."

"Who were the Black ones?" he replied, countering her question with one of his own.

A look of dread overtook her expression.

"I wish to speak of this another time," she mumbled. "I beseech you, grant me this meagre courtesy."

"So be it," Godrick shook his head and turned to the chaos before him.

"Earnan!" he boomed, and his Commander immediately snapped to attention.

"My Lord!" he saluted Godrick, ignoring the whelp that was attempting to chew on his armoured ankle.

"Thou shalt oversee the order and education of the Demi-Humans," Godrick proclaimed as Gilka's loud snort brought the Demi-Humans to attention. "I wish to behold not savages, but soldiers when we reach Stormveil."

"It shall be done," Earnan saluted once more as he slipped into his duties as a Commander. With Gilka ordering her tribe to treat Earnan as someone second only to herself, the Demi-Humans were more than happy to follow the Knight Commander's orders. He divided the two-hundred-strong force into smaller contingents, each with a soldier serving as its captain.

While his forces took time to organize and prepare for their descent, Godrick rode past the two Golems and onto the absurdly massive lift, whose origin escaped even him. He was followed by Gilka, who seemed to take in everything with intense curiosity. The air around it seemed to hum with a faint resonance as if the very earth itself whispered secrets of the past.

'Was it the Titans once again?' he mused to himself as the sounds of his forces faded behind him. 'The Old Gods...just who were they?'

At the base of the lift, twin warrior statues lay dormant, carved into enormous pillars that stretched toward the heavens, awaiting the reunion of the long-separated medallion halves that would awaken their dormant power. Two braziers at their sides were overshadowed by the long, intricately crafted torches that were placed on the pillars.

Their flames were not ordinary, that Godrick was sure of. They seemed ghostly, feeding on heat instead of spreading it.

[Observe]

[Sentry Torch: Torch was given to protectors of the Erdtree. Its flames are bestowed with a special incantation which allows the bearer to see assassins cloaked in veils. Furnished on behalf of the Erdtree and the Grace-Given Lord such that a Night of Black Knives will never come again.]

Godrick's eyes lit up as he grabbed the giant torch and ripped it from its stand.

"Change of plans," he muttered, and Gilka looked at him with mild surprise.

"Will we not be going to Stormveil?" she tilted her head.

"Fret not, we shall," he said, shaking his head as he admired the ghostly flames. "We need only make a small detour."

***

"Brace yourselves!" Godrick boomed as his forces neatly arranged themselves on the Grand Lift of Dectus, not exceeding its capacity in the slightest. Horses neighed nervously, while the Demi-Humans chattered among themselves, ruminating over the short lesson Earnan had given them. Golden leaves continued to flutter past their vision as they prepared to descend into an area devoid of protection from the Golden City.

It mattered not, for they were under Godrick the Golden, Blessed of the Ancient Dragons.

Godrick pulled out the two halves of the Medallion from his many pockets and brought them together—a loud click and a golden glow from the gem in its centre indicated their union.

Almost immediately, the lift sprang to life with a deep, resonant groan that echoed through the surrounding land. The ancient gears and chains creaked and ground together as if shaking off centuries of dust. Slowly, the twin statues turned 90 degrees while the platform began its descent into the flooded lands of Liurnia.

The Altus Plateau, with its golden fields and majestic vistas, was left far behind, traded for the oppressive darkness and unyielding stone and root of the underworld. Far below, the dim outlines of a new landscape began to emerge—one of jagged rocks and perilous cliffs, where the land seemed to writhe and twist in eternal torment.

With a mighty groan and thump, the Lift slammed into the earth, revealing a gigantic room whose exit in the distance unveiled the broken, twisted, and flooded lands. Large roots could be seen fused into the ceiling, while an unending abyss surrounded the back and sides of the Lift. A pale white ghost could also be spotted in the corner, muttering vague phrases at the wall.

[Observe]

[Confused Echo: Remnant of a soul soaked in despair.]

"...It's there somewhere. Another path leading to the foot of the Erdtree...An ancient tunnel..." its words drifted past them, faint sounds of howling winds enveloping them.

"Does that hold any significance?" Gilka muttered next to him while Elrus pawed the ground impatiently.

"It's nothing of concern," Godrick waved the question away while riding toward the exit. "Come. The next chapter of our journey awaits."

***

Godrick and his soldiers weren't able to enjoy the new scenery for long, as they were immediately confronted by a small contingent of soldiers and Knights wearing the colors of the Cuckoo. Using the Lift hadn't exactly been stealthy.

As his forces stepped out onto a worn stone path not too dissimilar from the one on the Altus Plateau, four Knights, their weapons embalmed in magical grease, and about a hundred armoured warriors stood before him. Partisans, swords, and shields weren't the only things they held. The Knights of the Cuckoo were all equipped with magical gear courtesy of the Academy.

He immediately cast [Observe] on the Knight Commander who sat on a prodigiously decorated and armoured horse.

[Observe]

(Character Sheet

Haltrick Vernt

 Age: Fifty-four years and three

 HP: 100

 FP: 90

 Strength: 10(12)

 Dexterity: 10

 Endurance: 10

 Vigor: 10

 Mind: 11

 Intelligence: 9

 Faith: 7

 Skills:

[Partisan Mastery (Passive) Level 3: Mildly proficient with Partisans.]

[Unarmed Mastery (Passive) Level 3: Mildly proficient in unarmed combat.])

Such a force would be formidable in most parts of the Lands-Between - it was apparent that the Sorcerers of Raya Lucaria cut no costs when it came to their protection.

"Usurper!" the man bellowed, pointing his Partisan at Godrick. "Allying with mutts...disgraceful! Must you sully the gleam of gold?!"

"Tell me, how many runes will my head fetch?" Godrick prodded Haltrick, ignoring the taunt. "Talk not of my supposed crimes or dirty titles. The Cuckoo does not move for glory but for gold, that is well known. Who posted the bounty?"

The Cuckoo soldiers shifted in their armor, while the Demi-Humans snarled at them, the Chiefs licking their daggers. Earnan and his soldiers stood ready, while Gilka looked as though she couldn't wait to personally rip the head off the Cuckoo Knight Commander.

"Silence!" Vernt snarled, pulling bravado from Marika knows where. Did he not see a nine-foot-tall Demigod decked in near-mythical armour before him? The fear-stricken soldiers behind him most certainly did. "The Grace-Given is as generous as he is kind. Surrender, and an honourable death is yours."

"I tire of this posturing," Godrick sighed as he hefted his Greatspear. "It's been too long without some carnage."

Before the Cuckoo could even react, two flashes of dark gold blinded them.

(EXP 6040/2000 -> 4040/3000 -> Gained 2 stat points and 2 skill points)

(Strength: 17->19

 Dexterity: 15.6->17.6)

Elrus moved faster than Haltrick could comprehend, and so did Godrick's spear.

[Haltrick Killed +150 EXP]

"To Glory and Eternal Dominion!" Earnan bellowed and charged into battle with the Demi-Humans and their Queen.

Their entry into the land of Sorcery would be baptized with blood and gold.

***