//------------------------------// // Chapter 47 // Story: Friendship is Scaleless // by Limescale //------------------------------// “... and a few of the coastal outposts along Phillydelphia have reported sightings of ships, possibly merchant, possibly military. Their sails and colors don’t match that of any neighbouring nation… yet thus far there’s been no signs of an intent to beach or dock at our ports.” The royal advisor said as he reached the end of his list of daily notices. Before him, Luna restlessly shifted on her throne, staring at anything and everything in the room besides him. “That’s it, is it?” The night princess commented with a heavy sigh. The advisor rolled his scroll back to the top and read through it again at speed, making sure he hadn’t missed anything. “Commerce is running smoothly across Equestria, the treasury is full, crime statistics are negligible, no real unrest has been reported from any region… um…” Something caught the advisor’s eye. “The ambassador to Griffonstone’s birthday is coming up in a few days. Perhaps Starlight could ask her new friend if it’d be possible to arrange something nice for her?” Luna harrumphed and rose from her seat. “What about from the Crystal Empire?” She asked. The advisor read through his list and shrugged. “Princess Cadance has withdrawn from the public eye as of late, but given what happened following Flurry Heart's birth, that’s to be expected. Shining Armor says otherwise all is fine.” He replied. Luna winced as if unsettled by this rather plain bit of news. “There’s been no further sightings of Queen Chrysalis or anything?” She asked. The advisor shook his head. “Border sentries report the Badlands have remained as quiet as ever so...not yet at least?” The advisor scratched his head. “I daresay, your grace, your sister would normally be ecstatic to know things are going as well as this, more so in light of what happened with Princess Ember and so on, while both she and the Elements of Harmony have been away. You’ve done a masterful job of handling the running of our nation with little help.” Luna nodded. “Rest assured, I am likewise comforted… however, I cannot help but remember how many times we’ve experienced this state of peace and calm before, and how long it ended up lasting before another crisis erupted.” She said morosely. The advisor looked at his scroll in disbelief and sighed. “I suppose that is a valid point… though… well, forgive my speaking out of turn here, your grace, but don’t you think that’s being a bit paranoid?” He said. Luna narrowed her eyes at the stallion, then sighed and let her body relax. “Perhaps. We shall just have to see.” She walked back to her throne and sat down. “You can tell the guards outside that court will be commencing shortly.” The advisor bowed and trotted out of the throne room. “Getting to intimidate a few rich idiots over their petty needs will probably help soothe my nerves.” Luna replied quietly to herself while calling up a communication portal. “Starlight, have you been having any luck in your search of Twilight’s castle?” Through the portal, the pink unicorn delicately knocked aside a large mountain of scrolls and straightened her dishevelled mane. “Heh, I wish. Only reason I’m able to find anything in here is thanks to Gretel being so compulsive about organization. Don’t know how the heck Twilight gets anything done with the state of mess!” Starlight sighed. Behind her a cute bespectacled griffon female flew by, setting down a neat stack of papers with one talon while expertly sweeping up the floor with the broom in her other. “It looks like she and Seath were conducting several studies into their respective skills. There’s plenty of notes on magic, sorcery, souls, something about eating moss, of course… Gretel popped into view again and handed Starlight a scroll. “Oh there’s also this… if you’re interested in something to frame and hang on the wall.” Starlight levitated the plans for creating the Moonlight Butterfly into view. Luna looked up to where the real life version was quietly perched like a loyal sentry atop her throne, bathing itself in the light of her moon coming in through the window. “There’s a ton of stuff that’ll be valuable for the Royal Archives, but nothing so far that really sheds any light on what might be happening now, or if there’s any connection between that, the dragons, griffons...what happened with Flurry Heart and the Crystal Heart....” Starlight said while lowering the plans. Luna squinted at something in the background. “What about all those glowing etchings on the walls? Are those… words?” She asked. Starlight looked behind herself and shrugged. “Yeah, little messages that keep disappearing and reappearing at regular intervals. I think they’re related to this text Twilight wrote concerning soap stones.” Starlight held up another scroll. “I… well, if I may just confess something, I’m kind of tempted to try a few of these little experiments they were apparently doing. Just, see for myself what our dear Princess of Friendship has been getting up to with her new teacher, while we’ve been dealing with what have you.” Luna snorted and reclined back in her throne. “Do what you must, just exercise caution, Starlight. We don’t know what might be unveiled from delving into Seath’s own practices…” The lunar princess’ face fell. “Which in turn gives me more cause to worry about how many months it’s been since we’ve last heard anything from my sister, or Twilight and her friends about what they’ve found in Lordran…” Starlight’s gaze fell to another sheet of parchment. “I… actually might know why that is… I’ll need a bit of time to just try and decipher Twilight’s rather nonsensical notes here first.” The unicorn rolled her eyes. “Let us keep going through what’s here. I’ll report back when I have more to go on.” Starlight turned as Gretel landed with a rag and a bottle of cleaner and began vigorously wiping at the soapstone etchings. “Gretel, please, we already established that won't work! They’re just going to reappear again!” The unicorn sighed. The griffon smiled and gave an undaunted shrug. “There’s still all manner of dust and damp and who knows what on these walls. A clean graffiti covered surface is a happy graffiti covered surface.” She chirped cheerily. Starlight turned and narrowed her eyes at Luna’s bemused expression. “Hey, you’re the one that told me to go be all friendly with them! Try to see if I could be a goodwill ambassador and help their nation!” The unicorn stated. Luna nodded softly. “Indeed I did, and thank you for doing that, Starlight. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got nobles to deal with now.” She chuckled weakly. Starlight shared her annoyance. “Good luck!” The unicorn replied. *** “Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Discord!... SPIKE!” Rarity exclaimed, running forward and hugging each of her friends in turn, and then giving a big, heartfelt kiss to the little dragon. “You made it all here alive and well. Oh this is marvellous!” Twilight nodded and smiled. Applejack did her best to copy the action. “We made it as best we could… for the most part.” The alicorn sighed as Seath, the Chosen Undead and Priscilla entered the antechamber of the Archives. “Still a relief to see you likewise made it here in one piece.” “Yeah, surprisingly. Once Mr. Laurentius got that great bowl of fire working how he wanted it to, he whisked us all here no sweat!” Rainbow Dash said as she trotted in, looking well rested and a lot more chipper than before. “Hardest part was what we had to do to reach where he was. Ugh, note for the future everyone, if you run into that Frampt creep again, and he offers to ‘warp’ you, don’t let him. It’s… ergh… it’s not at all pleasant!” Rarity shared the look of disgust, but then brushed her mane and smiled. “Well, you’ll be pleased to know this place is an utter dream. Oh the grandeur, the deluxe accommodations, the books!” Rarity giggled cutely. “You may wish to prepare yourself, Twilight darling. What lies beyond the door behind me… well, for you it’ll probably be like heaven on Equestria!” Seath sighed as he took in the scope of his castle, feeling a mix of comfort and disgust at being home again. “Thine trek through mine archives hath proven less destructive than I feared…” He said while looking down at the Chosen Undead. “Yet… dare I inquire as to the absence of the armored boar that t’was charged with guarding the front entrance?” The Chosen Undead paused, then slowly looked up at the great white dragon. “It wouldn’t let me pass, I had no choice but to act as expected.” She said flatly. “It didn’t suffer long if that’s what you’re worried about.” Seath looked to the two channelers currently dropping a portcullis down across the archway leading to the Archive’s entry tunnel. “I hear naught of the scrapes and thumps of crystal golems, nor crystal hollow wandering the halls…” The dragon mused. The Chosen Undead nodded slowly. “I cleared a great many of them out as well in my efforts to reach you.” She stated in a more cautious tone. “I helped with that too, actually. Bit of spring cleaning after we all got here.” Siegmeyer stepped out, comically wearing an apron over his armor. “Also found you’ve got quite a vast kitchen down there on the lower levels while I was corralling the rabble. If anyone’s got an appetite, I’ll have a spot of supper ready for us soon. Least I can do in the absence of your pink friend with the culinary knack.” “Pink friend? Absence?” Twilight’s ears rose in alarm. The glee promptly vanished from Rarity’s face. “Yes, uh… Pinkie and Trixie chose to pursue Gravelord Nito down into the catacombs. He mentioned some dreadful business about other poor souls being trapped down there and they decided to mount a rescue effort.” The unicorn smiled awkwardly. “Miss Aurelia saw to it they were well prepared before they departed though!” The Chosen Undead nodded, while Siegmeyer tapped his cuirass with a gauntlet fist. “And both proved themselves to be quite the valorous types during our trek through Darkroot. I’ve no doubt they’ll be able to hold their own!” He said with deliberately heavy cheer and bravado. Twilight sighed uneasily. “Well regardless, maybe they can uncover something else in this debacle. Our… ahem… meeting with the Dark Sun Gwyndolin turned up yet more twists that we need to discuss.” She said while pressing a hoof to her face. Rarity widened her eyes in alarm. “Dear me! I trust he wasn’t too much of a rough customer!” She replied… noticing the way her friends’ expressions varied between sickened from Twilight, fearful from Spike, and smouldering rage from Applejack. “Was he?” The farm pony looked to the armor plate covering her flank. A sense of pain and loss overcame her as she lowered her head. “That monster’s where he can’t hurt no one anymore… cept he ain’t that way on our account. Something else got him… and may now be coming for us…” Applejack cringed and rubbed her eyes. “Mind if Ah take ya up on supper, Mr. Siegmeyer? Right now, jest... Ah could use some comfort food.” Siegmeyer duly stepped aside for the downtrodden mare. “Absolutely, m’lady, just right this way.” He gestured down the hall and followed behind her. Rainbow stared at their departure in uncertainty. “Uh… well, while I’m glad you got rid of a menace… are you absolutely sure he’s gone?” The pegasus reached for her saddlebags, drawing out the Book of the Guilty given to her by Oswald the Pardoner. “I felt this thing shaking against my flank a little while ago. Flipped it open and found words were writing themselves across the page.” Rainbow held open a section where a few sentences were glowing like fresh fire on the page, similar to the messages left by the orange soapstone. Twilight gingerly stepped forward and read them slowly. “The Lords of Cinder doth stir from the ashes of ages to come. Stand ready to hunt the guilty. Thine time shalt be soon.” The alicorn read, noting a black charcoal print underneath that resembled a crow with its wings spread wide. She looked up to see Rainbow had a most confused expression on her face. “That mean anything to you?” The pegasus asked. Twilight sighed and shrugged. “I wish it did. Right now I can only assume it’s one more piece of this damned puzzle that likewise makes no sense.” Twilight sighed and collapsed on her haunches. “That’s why I think we need to put our heads together on what’s happened so far. Or at least I need some time to just take a break and think.” Rainbow turned to look behind her and snapped the book closed. “Well the good news is you won’t be short on resources to help with that. There’s, like, books galore in this place, filling every wall from ceiling to floor!” Rainbow snickered while looking at Seath. “Might want to watch her, you could lose this egghead here if she gets too involved with her reading!” Seath moved to cram his giant body through the doorway, standing up and staring at the familiar infinite sea of literature that lay beyond. “Such is a state of mind I oft strove for… to forget all strife in the midst of mine research. Lose myself in this realm where only intelligence and the drive to increase it doth reign supreme.” The dragon sighed, while taking some comfort that his archives at least looked as spotless as ever. If nothing else, the sense that here, in these hallowed walls, neither time nor death could affect anything, was a welcome reprieve. Priscilla seemed likewise awed as she stepped into the wonderworld of books. “Yet such a realm is where terrors upon terrors were made possible… by thine madness and the obedience of thine servants… or so I was told.” The crossbreed idly leaned against her scythe as she picked a few titles out from the shelves. “Now that I stand here in the midst of it… seeing what never I imagined mine eyes would see… truly father, t’was thine insanity yet more lies of thine detractors?” Seath closed his eyes as his head tendrils and wings fell under a familiar and dreaded weight. Pain etched its way across his face as he folded his arms and grimaced. “Rest assured, Priscilla, if thou desires truth, I will tell thee as I told mine student.” He turned and nodded to Twilight Sparkle. “But a duty of critical importance doth beckon me first. Please, may I attend to it so that all business may be said to be settled.” Priscilla nodded as Seath gently rested his hand on her shoulder. “And mind thee, if thou yet be the saving grace thine mother hoped for, prepare and armor thine mind for what shalt be revealed. No cause for secrecy hath I, and no blunting of truth’s sharp edge shalt I enact for thine sake.” He said in a quieter, almost fearful voice. Priscilla looked to Twilight, studying the way the alicorn looked at her teacher with a sense of quiet relief and admiration that he wasn’t going to back down from the challenge of admitting who he truly was. “Thou states she hath already faced this truth, and not left thine side. If this be fact, then I swear to thee father, I will hear thee out in full.” The crossbreed replied, feeling her heart grow heavy at how Seath just wilted away from her, drawing back, as if ashamed to be in her presence. “Channelers, tend to our guests as best can be. I will speak privately with the Chosen Undead for a moment.” Seath gestured to the warrior to follow him over behind one of the bookcases. Cautiously she did so, cocking her head at how exhausted and utterly beaten the dragon looked. What a contrast he now presented, compared to the rage fueled monster that previously attacked her in the crystal cave deep beneath the Archives. “Of thee I now seek to know one thing: thou hath butchered and slaughtered hollow and monsters across Lordran in their hundreds. By now, endless legions hath fallen to thine blade in one manner or another, hath they not?” The dragon quietly demanded. The Chosen Undead nodded slowly. “Yet, thou claims to have met Priscilla before we were met, and thou did not do as was commanded by our Great Lord Gwyn’s doctrine, if for no other reason than she is the utmost form of heathen.” The Chosen Undead stepped back as Seath lowered his face, staring down with smouldering disdain in his ruby red eyes. Okay, that was a bit more like the monster she’d originally fought before… “Thou will tell me, why didst thou spare mine daughter? Against all logic and command of the highest power?” Seath intoned. The female furrowed her brow, not sure if this was some sort of trick. “I had little desire to remain in the Painted World, let alone fight any more of its inhabitants the first time around. When I first encountered her, I expected she would do as all others did and try to oppose me, yet she didn’t.” Seath’s gaze narrowed. Undaunted, the Chosen Undead calmly shouldered her greatsword. “She told me of how I could leave, then stood aside to let me pass. Yes, I could have attacked her, like I have all others, but again, those others left me no choice. She did, so I chose to repay her for showing me mercy.” Seath growled menacingly. “E’en the greatest of monsters might spare a soul. Such means not that there is some good in their heart. Thou hast spared sorcerers, warriors, pyromancers and priests, yet twas that because thou art pure and good, or because they offer thee services and tools to aid in thine quest?” The dragon challenged. “If they go hollow, or can offer thee nothing more, wouldst thou do unto them the same as any other enemy?” The Chosen Undead now did have to take a step back, her eyes averting, as if admitting guilt. Seath held his tongue as she nevertheless seemed to give his question serious thought. “If I had no choice, as has often been the case, then yes.” She said. Seath exhaled a thin mist of crystalline vapor. “Yet thou let mine daughter live, when she hath nothing to offer thee.” He intoned. The Chosen Undead shook her head. “That’s… not entirely true. The fact that she, a crossbreed, had been allowed to live in the midst of Anor Londo, something I could never have anticipated, that gave me hope. That somewhere in the midst of these lands… amidst the gods’ dominion, there was someone who accepted those that all others would deem offensive and blasphemous. That maybe my parents were right on that score, if only in a very small measure.” Seath blinked away some of the anger from his eyes. Again he noted the way his former enemy stood, her giant blade resting tactfully on her shoulder, her knees bent in preparation to launch herself out of harm’s way, her free arm hanging down, ready to either draw a weapon from her belt, or perhaps hurl a pyromancy at him while he was distracted with evading her sword. Yes, he recognized all aspects of her pose… remembering them from another being who was held in high regard by the gods. Could it be? Surely not! No servant of Gwyn would ever be so insane! And yet… he was one such servant… and he was…. Seath drew his head back, his face collapsing into the tired expression of before. “Thou saw hope in that which all would see as abomination?” He asked. The Chosen Undead nodded. “She’s not the only one who’s faced prejudice simply for existing.” The warrior replied. Seath exhaled slowly and moved out from behind the bookcase. “Channeler, hath the great grey wolf Sif accompanied our guests?” He asked to one of his sorcerers. “She has, Grand Duke. Quite to our surprise, too. We weren’t aware she’d ever returned from guarding the grave of Artorias in Darkroot.” The six eyed helmeted human replied. Seath snorted ambivalently. “Show the Chosen Undead to her, then escort them both to mine lab. The wolf carries an item of vital importance in her body.” Seath turned to the female warrior. “Vowed hath I to see if it can be extracted in a way that shall not cause her death.” The channeler nodded and gestured for the Chosen Undead to follow them. She remained looking up at Seath in cautious hope. “I cannot promise success… but in accordance with thine own effort to spare and rescue Priscilla… for that, I am bound to make the attempt.” Seath replied. The Chosen Undead looked shocked, though slowly she let her body sag in relief, lowering her sword to the ground and relaxing her stance. “Okay… thank you.” She followed the channeler into the labyrinth of books. Twilight trotted up and gently rubbed her teacher’s side. “Thank you as well, Seath. You’re doing the right thing.” She assured, even as Seath grumbled in annoyance. “Time and fate, as always, shalt pass judgement on that. For now, follow and prepare to assist me, mine student.” The alicorn nodded and hurried behind Seath as he headed down a different hallway. “And while they’re doing that, who’s up for a nice hot bath? There’s an absolutely lovely geothermal spring out back. Just what I needed to wash off all the dirt and distress of our travels, and bring the gloss out of my coat again!” Rarity gushed before winking to Spike. “And if you’re feeling hungry, my little Spikey-Wikey, it looks like Seath was cultivating a huge cavern of crystal in one of the courtyards, too!” Spike’s eyes went wide and his stomach promptly growled like a starving mountain lion, reminding the dragon he hadn’t eaten since leaving Firelink Shrine. Rarity tsked cutely and levitated the dragon onto her back. “I thought as much. Come along darling, we have a few things we need to discuss while I mend the damage to your outfit and accessorize it with this.” The unicorn held up a star shaped medallion. “Apparently, we all need to be wearing one while we’re here, so the guard detail of this place doesn’t attack us on sight.” One of the channelers nearby nodded sagely. “It’s the sole reason you weren’t devoured by the maneater clams while bathing in their breeding pool.” The sorcerer lamented while drawing two additional medallions from his robe and handing them to Discord. “There’s an infirmary in the west wing if your maiden there needs medical attention. You may have to get past a few traps, crystal golems, serpent soldiers, and hollows along the way. I highly doubt that onion headed buffoon was able to clear them all out.” Discord looked strangely pleased to hear there were still more dangers to be encountered in the archives. “Well at least it sounds like I won’t be bored here then. Come on Fluttershy, let’s get you back to full health!” The chaos god gently cradled the wounded mare to his chest and swept himself out of the library area with a renewed spring in his step. Fluttershy squirmed and pressed a hoof to his chest. *** “Now then, for this process, some lesser known writings of mine shall be required.” Seath cracked his knuckles, then immersed both his hands in a large basin of heated water. “Ne’er did I expect to one day be charged with separating an aspect of a soul from the soul itself… but ne’er could I justify not investigating the finer details of such an art.” Twilight nodded silently, her head tilted as far back as her neck would allow to take in the high rising cases of books, the virtual endless sea of literature all finely organized and archived in but one room of the white dragon’s domain. To think of what she’d seen just walking down the hallway, that more chambers filled with similarly vast wealths of knowledge lay waiting at every turn… it was indeed quite breathtaking. “Thou shalt find these titles amidst the western section. If the remnants of mine… madness hath rendered them inaccessible, thine hooves should prove adequate to correct the problem.” Seath dried his hands and reached for a scroll and quill. “Thou shalt also avail thyself of the medallions in the chest by the fireplace, if thou dost not wish to again lose thine life while here. For the same reason, be mindful of the chain beside it. There exist horrors who prey upon souls too gripped by avarice to care for the dangers that lay waiting in plain sight.” Seath wrote down several book titles, pausing only when he realized he’d been talking to absolute silence for the past few minutes. “Twilight?” The dragon turned, seeing her still staring in slack jawed awe at all the books around her. He followed her gaze in confusion. His lab was as clean and ordered as his channelers could hope to make it, yes, but even so, everywhere there was still evidence of the times he’d abandoned any pretense of scientific investigation and had simply made use of the chamber to torture those who’d been kidnapped and forcefully brought to his archives. All across the books were large patches of crystal from his many insane rants. By the fireplace were the catalysts, apparatus, and various cutting implements that he’d used to render many a maiden’s flesh into nightmarish works of pain and suffering. Across the floor, the embroidered carpets and washed cobblestone could not hide the stains of blood and ashes from his experiments. And yet Twilight, one of the most virtuous and morally upright souls Seath had ever known, just took it all in like it was a thing of beauty. “Truly, mine student, is thine eye so enthralled to what surrounds thee?” The dragon queried as he approached the alicorn. “Is it a hunger to indulge thyself in mine writings that leadeth thine mouth to water in a manner so uncouth?” Twilight’s ears snapped to attention. Her cheeks slowed turned a darker shade of purple as she touched her mouth and found that, yes, she was drooling like it was her birthday and Pinkie Pie had just presented her with a giant cake topped with all her favorite fruits and ice cream flavors. “Oh… oh my! Uh, sorry!” She squeaked. The sorcerer cap was levitated off her head and brought to clean up her mouth. At the same time Twilight also took note of the state of her outfit and realized it was high time she either got it laundered, or asked if Rarity could make her something new to wear. “Well, you saw what I was trying to do with the library of my castle in Ponyville. This… Faust, this just makes my efforts seem pathetic with its majesty!” Seath arched an eyebrow, then again did a quick survey of his lab. Memories of the horrors he’d conducted continued to flood his mind, yet the dragon could do little except snort in apathy. It was too late to be having regrets about the past… probably too late to atone for it, either… “Thou deems this... majestic?” He asked, watching as Twilight extended a hoof to brush across the spines of the books on the lowest shelf. “Is it so hard to believe? You know how insatiable my thirst for knowledge is, Seath, how much I love to read, how quickly I’ve taken your lessons to heart, how much I still want to know more….” Twilight pulled out a book with a fancy foreign title "Le Desir de Vivre". She arched her own eyebrow upon recognizing the language used was a slightly more archaic version of the modern Prench dialect, not to mention the author went by the decidedly non-fantasy sounding name of ‘Paul Acker’. “And if I were to show thee what hath been spawned from such knowledge? The torture chambers and jail cells on the lowest floors of these archives? The monstrosities thou knowest I to have created? The remnants of captured maidens who no doubt still sit weeping in the very pit of their caged hells?” Seath said, his tone turning more sinister. Twilight looked up at him with mild surprise, then down at the book in her hoof. With a resigned sigh she slid it into her saddlebags and turned to face her teacher. “You read my accounts of the alicorn amulet, right? And the history of Luna’s time as Nightmare Moon? The hell that was Discord’s tyrannical reign over Equestria? Starlight Glimmer’s little police state? Come on Seath, we’ve been over this before!” She said. “Yes your world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows like mine is, but as I’m discovering, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re all that different in the end. Lordran and Equestria both have their dark secrets, just as they also have their great potential.” Twilight now turned to look at the patches of crystal covering the higher shelves, remembering when Seath had subjected her own library to a similar treatment. She made a face but maintained her calm composure. “So far, from what I’ve seen, the only real contrast is how much more overshadowed the light is by the dark here, though that doesn’t mean it’s been entirely eclipsed just yet. If it had, we wouldn’t be here trying to help out a former enemy, nor would you now be reunited with your daughter… and knowing that Gwynevere didn’t betray you after all.” The alicorn stated, her voice growing heavy on the last note. Seath adjusted his glasses and looked outside one of the shuttered windows. Through the heavy metal slats, he could glimpse a small slit of the courtyard, with the ashen grey sky overhead. A scene burdened with the foreboding threat of looming darkness and storms, yet still graced by just a tiny amount of light. “Again and again I lay bare the evils of mine soul, expecting thee to decry me as demon and filth. Truly, Twilight Sparkle, why dost thou refuse to follow the example of so many before?” The dragon asked pointedly. Twilight looked up at him, not in anger, or resentment, but in sympathy. “Because I want to help you, Seath, as you’re helping me.” The alicorn responded, walking over and nuzzling against her teacher’s warm, glowing abdomen. “Because right now, reminding you that you still have at least one friend in your life is as much a cause to keep living for as any other, regardless of what that entails.” Seath’s head tendrils sank as he felt doubt well up in reaction to this statement. He turned as the doors to the lab were pushed open by two of the channelers, allowing two hollowed slaves with huge spikes of crystal erupting from multiple parts of their bodies to stumble in, the giant replica of Artorias’ greatsword balanced on their backs. “Thou shalt soon find what thine claim of friendship entails, mine student, and may thou armor thine soul for whatever fate shall visit upon us next…” Seath lowly intoned as Sif the Great Grey Wolf reluctantly stepped into the laboratory. *** “Honestly, first those blasted equines and their blatant disregard for one’s privacy, then the commotion outside, now all this mindless shaking? Can you not see there are scholars of an advanced intellect trying to work here, you cretin?” Master Logan grumbled as the Giant Blacksmith walked by his makeshift study area. “Sorry, look for new place to set up shop. Will be quiet after.” The titan replied before noticing a staircase leading down to another section of the archives. A larger crystal hollow poked its head into view, attracted by the quaking footfalls. “Well at least have the courtesy to find somewhere further down in the lower levels, where I won’t have to suffer the cacophony of constant hammer strikes. There’s a lovely spot in the prison area where I was first left to rot alongside some truly revolting squid type creatures. You and they should get on famously with each other.” Logan grumbled as he tried to re-stack all the books that had fallen over from the giant’s passage. “Hmng… worth checking. Shiny-shiny may be down there.” The Giant Blacksmith mused. The crystal hollow charged at him with its sword raised. He did Logan the courtesy of squashing it under his foot so it wouldn’t distract him further from his studies. “I go now.” “Praise be to Gwyn, and take that stench of yours with you!” The big hat wearing sorcerer sighed. “Truly, Griggs, how far have times fallen when the Grandfather of Sorcery himself will allow any manner of common rabble into these hallowed halls?” From where he was pouring his master another goblet of wine, Griggs just shrugged. “They are times desperate enough to call for desperate measures. From what I heard while passing the foyer, Twilight and Seath encountered even more new horrors after we left them in Anor Londo. A good fortune that they made it back here in one piece, if things are getting even more dire than the Dragon School’s intelligence suggested.” The younger sorcerer replied, noting the way Logan’s mood did a sudden 180. “The Grand Duke’s student finally made it here alongside him?” He asked with great interest. Grigges hesitantly nodded. “Yes, so it seems.” He said. Logan snatched the goblet out of his hand and took a drink, sighing in relief as he tasted the long aged vintage quenching his thirst. “Good fortune indeed. Well, I shall have to give her my congratulations later. Once I have finished studying this most engrossing tome on reincarnation.” The sorcerer said with a dry laugh. “Yes indeed, I shall quite enjoy matching my wits against that pony’s….”