//------------------------------//
// New Discoveries 
// Story: Dark Souls 2: Rarity's Trials 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

Rarity and Edric didn't move until the ghost ship came to a complete stop and its crew started moving around the deck, indicating that they would be busy and wouldn't notice them as they moved around the area, which meant that the cursed crewmen wouldn't be warning anyone about them. Instead of backtracking through where they had been so far the duo climbed down to the rooftop that was in front of them, where Edric picked up another Lifegem and a bone of some sort, one that he determined had some sort of value. They then carefully climbed down to the level beneath them and noticed an opening they could go through, to which they raised their weapons and walked through it, where they found nothing but some stairs that would take them to the floor beneath them.

Edric carefully led the way down the stairs and stopped when he reached the first landing, as there were two more Darkwellers waiting for someone to arrive and engage them in battle, though when Rarity noticed them she decided to take matters into her own hands. By that she summoned a pair of Lightning Spears and tossed them into the Darkweller that was in front of the stairs, while Edric took the opportunity that presented itself and ambushed the other foe that had no idea they were under attack. The moment the two Darkwellers were defeated Rarity and Edric moved forward, where they pulled open the door that was in front of them and moved out into the walkway that was in front of them, while at the same time getting a good view of the ship they had called into the dock.

They turned to their right and found a stone ramp that took them down to an area that was below them, though instead of following it even further down they approached a building and discovered a door that they could push open, which allowed them to see that there was nothing on the level they were standing on. As Edric walked up the stairs, however, he found another hollowed warrior that needed to be dealt with, though as he did that Rarity stared at the wall that was in front of the entrance for a few seconds. There was something about the wall that seemed strange to her, to which she walked forward and pressed her hand against the stone wall... though she did have to take a step back when a section of the wall pushed itself back a tiny bit and moved into the ceiling, revealing a hidden area with two chests.

She walked into the hidden room and walked up to the wooden chest, which she discovered a trio of firebombs waiting inside it, though when she turned towards the steel one she noticed Edric standing in the doorway.

"I see that you found a hidden area," Edric commented, to which he stared at the steel chest, knowing that there had to be something inside that might help them in the future, "Did you find anything useful in the wooden chest?"

"Only three firebombs... which we don't use," Rarity replied, though she was silently relieved that Edric wasn't angry or annoyed that she had started searching the area without him.

"Well, its best that we have them in case we need actually them for something," Edric said, though that was followed by him walking up to the steel chest and gently pulled the lid up, to which he discovered a metallic rock that was much larger than the one they had discovered earlier.

With the treasure of the hidden area in hand the duo returned to the stairs that Edric had walked up and headed to the second level of the building they were in, where they discovered another set of stairs that took them up to a third story. When they walked up to the third story they found two doorways they could walk through, as the one on their left appeared to take them outside while the one in front of them would bring them to a shortcut of sorts, in case they died and didn't want to backtrack through everything they had just gone through. It didn't take them long to determine that unlocking the shortcut would prove to be a benefit for them, as it might also allow them to access the bonfire much quicker, to which they approached the small wooden gate and pulled a nearby lever... which forced the gate to move into the ceiling and open the way for them.

As they walked through the opening they had unlocked they discovered a hollowed archer and a hollowed warrior, where the warrior walked off the edge of the walkway that they were on and started walking the area below them, though the archer started to pull an arrow out and aimed at them. Edric, seeing the archer make a move, bashed his shield into the hollow's chest and stopped the action before it could be carried out, though while he took care of the archer Rarity gathered her magic and tossed a few Soul Arrows at the hollowed warrior that was walking in the area below them. She didn't want the hollow to find a way back up to where they were standing and ambush them while they were preoccupied with another group of enemies.

The duo walked into the building on their right and found another hollowed warrior standing near a wooden chest, to which Edric made sure to drag the hollow away from the chest before engaging it, as he didn't want to break the chest on accident during their fight. At the same time, however, he beckoned to Rarity in a way that told her to move on, to which she approached the chest that Edric's for must have been guarding and pried open the lid, where she discovered some sort of powder and another Titanite Shard. A few seconds later she turned around and raised her staff to do something to the warrior that her companion was fight, to which she discovered that Edric had finished off the hollow shortly after she had opened the chest... though they walked down the stairs that were in the room and entered the floor beneath them.

When Rarity reached the last step she noticed three hollowed warriors resting at some tables, though oddly enough none of them had raised their heads to investigate the noise they were generating... to which she and Edric raised their weapons as they approached the first table. Edric attacked the lone hollow that was standing in front of them, while at the same time Rarity used her spells to damage the two hollows that were sitting at the other table, who were clearly annoyed by what she was doing. Thanks to their coordination Rarity and Edric were able to clear out their enemies without them receiving any damage in return, though once the coast was clear Rarity had them pause so they could search for anything that they could use in the future... and discovered a steel chest in the process.

Edric opened the chest and discovered a suit of armor, accompanied by an axe, resting inside it, to which he smiled at the possibility of replacing the armor the Fire Keepers had given him when they started this quest, though at the same time he knew that he needed something better than what they had found.

Not even a few seconds after Edric changed into his new armor a hollowed warrior and his undead dog walked into the building, to which the warrior noticed Rarity and Edric standing near the chest and growled at them. Rarity, seeing that they had been discovered, raised her hand and blasted the unfortunate dog as Edric advanced on the warrior, though he did avoid the doorway, as he heard an arrow hit the wall. That meant that there was an archer outside the building they were in and their foe was eager for a fight, though they both had to wonder if he was going to waste his arrows or if the first one had been a warning shot. It didn't take them long to deal with the warrior and his dog, though once they were down for the count they peaked out from their hiding spots and noticed that the archer wasn't paying that much attention to the doorway at the moment.

Since their opponent wasn't paying attention to the door, or was pretending to ignore the doorway, Rarity and Edric charged out of the room they were in and separated from each other, to which Edric used his sword and shield to demand the attention of the hollow. That allowed Rarity to circle around to the archer's blind spot and struck it from behind with a well placed spell, which was followed by Edric driving his blade into the hollow's chest and ending its undead life. From there they walked up some wooden stairs, that the archer had been guarding, and found some sort of indent in the ground, one that looked like a horrified face... and the area that could be called the mouth looked like a square hole that something could be put into.

"I wonder if this is what we're supposed to use one of those Lockstones on," Edric commented, pulling out the white square stone that he had purchased from the general goods merchant in Majula, though as he prepared to use it Rarity kept her eyes open for any enemies that might try to interrupt them.

Edric slipped the Lockstone into the hole and braced himself, to which they heard the sound of something moving and noticed that some light was entering the area around them, though that was immediately followed by most of the cave being revealed as a large source of light turned on. Rarity looked above them and found the source of the light hanging above their heads, in a brazier of some kind, though instead of paying too much attention to it she and Edric pressed onward into the area below them. As they carefully climbed down the wooden structures in front of them, however, they found a corpse that had a soul floating near it, along with a trio of smooth stones. Once they had gathered the items that the body had they carefully down to the walkway below them and checked for enemies before they moved on... though that was before they noticed that they were back near the beginning of the wharf.

Instead of moving onward, and searching for a way to get around the blockage that was preventing them from accessing the dock, the duo returned to the bonfire and took a few moments to rest, allowing Rarity to get back all of her spell charges while at the same time knowing that their enemies would have come back once they left the same cave they were in at the moment.

Once they had gotten their energy back the duo walked back out into the wharf and started retracing their steps, as they approached the area that had the hollow that jumped off the roof, where they repeated the tactics they had used earlier to get the job done once again. After that they climbed up the stone stairs once more, though instead of heading to the top they turned to the right and attacked the two hollows, and their undead dog, from behind, completely surprising them in the process. The moment that group of enemies were taken care of they retraced their steps to the shortcut they had unlocked, where they walked through the doorway that they didn't investigate earlier, which allowed them to access another building that they hadn't been inside yet. After they climbed down to the area in question they approached the building and opened the door, where they found two hollows resting against a table, to which they caught them off guard and defeated them without any real difficulty.

As they searched the area the duo found a steel chest that contained some sort of yellow shard in it, one that they both agreed had to be important for their continued survival in this world... though before they left the building Rarity noticed that the wall near them looked like it had been patched recently. Edric, upon seeing the odd coloration that his companion had noticed, pulled out the mace he had picked up when he acquired Rarity's chime and struck the wall a few times, shattering it and revealing a small indent that had a few corpses, another chest, and some small creature that had a blue gem growing out of its back. Edric, taking a chance, brought down his weapon on the small creature and killed it before it could run away, where he found a small Titanite Shard and a Large Titanite Shard, though he still had no idea what they were supposed to do with them.

Rarity discovered that the corpses had been holding onto a pair of souls, another Lifegem, and another soul like object, though once she had finished picking up everything she turned to the chest and watched as Edric opened it, to which they discovered another ring inside it... which meant that they would be paying Shalquoir another visit.

Once they had gathered all the treasure in this hidden area they walked out of the building they were in and pressed onward, toward the path that would take them back to the bonfire, before Rarity had them stop when she noticed a set of stairs, etched into the stone, that allowed them to access an area below them. As they walked down the stairs, however, they noticed a large hole on their left and found at least one Darkweller standing inside the darkness, though as Rarity observed it she noticed that the creature didn't step into the light. That told her that the massive light they had turned on was actually going to be a benefit to them, as it appeared that these enemies feared the light, something that Edric seemed to understand when she pointed it out to him.

Since the two Darkwellers were ignoring them, and Rarity was sure there were only two because she saw the second one move closer to the wall to get away from the light, the duo decided to ignore them as well, as it appeared that there was nothing they needed inside the area the Darkwellers called home.

From there they walked up to the dock and started following the path that was in front of them, while at the same time Rarity spotted an Effigy and a Lifegem on a boat that was lodged into the ground with its side pointing towards the cave's ceiling. Instead of risking anything, namely her safety in case this was designed as an ambush by a watery creature they hadn't encountered yet, Rarity gently lifted the items up with her magic and brought them over to her, where she was thankful that she could still use her telekinesis, though she generally wanted to save that for times when there was no other way to progress onward. As they followed the dock a pair of hollows pulled themselves up onto the wooden walkway and advanced towards them, though Rarity and Edric were prepared for their ambush and prepared for battle.

Since the battle was two on two Rarity and Edric simply relied on their earlier tactic and victory quickly smiled on them, though they kept their guard up as they followed the walkway towards the ghost ship... though as they walked up some stairs the duo found a man sitting on the dock, though he appeared to be staring into the distance, looking at some sort of keep that they could see the structure of. When they approached the man, however, he turned around and stared at them, though at the same time Rarity was sure that the man was actually looking at her... and maybe through her very being at the same time.

"Hmm…I sense power…" the man eventually said, though at the same time Rarity didn't know what he was looking at, or if he was like some of the other people they had met and would offer his services in defeating the powerful creatures that stood in their way, "Very well. From this day, you shall be my new pupil. I am Carhillion. Carhillion of the Fold to be precise. Surely you've heard the name? Now, now, do not be afraid. Let us explore the limits of sorcery."

"Its a pleasure to meet you, Carhillion. I am Rarity, and this is my friend Edric," Rarity replied, though while she could tell that the man was uninterested in her companion, which made some sense considering that he seemed to be focused solely on her, she was slightly interested in what he was talking about, "What are you doing all the way out here, inside a place called No-man's Wharf?"

"The forces of magic, and souls, lie dormant in this land." Carhillion explained, though his tone indicated that he was talking as if he was speaking to a novice, which Rarity assumed that she was considering that she didn't know a lot about how the magic of this land worked, "It is a fitting place to hone my sorceries. I suspect that I may even conjure up new spells here. Sorcery is yet a mystery, even to me. Use scrolls to unleash the power of sorceries, but the power of each scroll is reliant on that of its owner. The untrained cannot wield a scroll to its proper potential. Never forget, young pupil… There are no shortcuts to mastery."

Rarity suspected that this guy might have a screw loose, like some of the other people that they had encountered so far, but at the same time she did take a look at some of the spells he had to offer, where she discovered an interesting spell called Soul Spear Barrage. She had no idea what the attack was supposed to be, but she did consider that it would be like firing multiple arrows at the same time, which meant that it would be useful in dealing with a persistent enemy... or maybe with the Pursuer, if they ever went back to fight him again. Once she was done talking with Carhillion, and had gotten a new spell to try out in the future, she and Edric retraced their steps to the part of the dock where the ship was actually docked... where they discovered that the crew was already waiting for their arrival.

When they first stepped onto the deck they noticed two hollowed archers and two hollowed warriors waiting for them, so while Edric dealt with the warriors Rarity used some of her Soul Arrows to deal with the archers, though she had to make sure she avoided their arrows at the same time. Since there were only four enemies to deal with, surprising Rarity by the fact that there weren't more rushing up from below to deal with them once they heard the noise, she and Edric were able to clear the deck without any problems. Once their foes were defeated they carefully walked down into the depths of the ship, searching for anything or anyone that might still be aboard the vessel... to which they discovered a fog door blocking their way.

"I was wondering if this area had a powerful creature that was hiding from us," Rarity commented, though at the same time she steeled herself, because they were going to have to fight whatever was behind the fog door if they wanted to get closer to finding one of the four Great Souls, "and it appears that I have an answer to that thought."

A few moments later they walked through the fog door and found out that their opponent was some sort of creature that walked on two legs, but instead of one upper body it had two upper bodies, complete with two arms and heads apiece, meaning that the creature could wield four weapons at the same time and keep an eye on what was in front of it while seeing what was behind it. The side of the creature that was already staring at them swung at the duo, causing them to separate from each other, though they also had to avoid the attacks from the sword wielding side of the creature, which made fighting this even harder. Edric had to carefully watch their opponent and dodge its attacks, picking and choosing when to deliver his own attacks in kind, while Rarity put some distance between her and their opponent so she could fire spells from a distance.

One thing they discovered, however, was that this creature didn't like Rarity very much, meaning that it didn't like her magic and intended to focus on her, but at the same time it opened itself to some of Edric's attacks. Sure enough the creature came towards her, though at the same time she actually smiled as she used her Soul Spear Barrage on her target, to which a cluster of soul bolts surged forward and slammed into the chest of her opponent. Rarity was slowly understanding that many of the powerful creatures in this land disliked magic as a whole, as one Lightning Spear was enough to actually pierce the creature's chest a little bit... though the second barrage, combined with Edric's attacks, dealt the finishing blow.

"I... expected more," Rarity commented, looking at the ruined creature that was in front of them, because she had thought that some of these creatures would be resistant to magic... but it appeared that constantly empowering her magical abilities made it easier to defeat certain opponents.

"Well, now that we've taken care of this creature, we had best see what else we can do with this ship," Edric said, though at the same time he sounded disappointed, indicated that he was also expecting more from the creature they had just put down.

Together the two of them walked into the room that the creature had been guarding, where they discovered a ladder that, when climbed up, revealed a decent sized room that had some sort of switch and a steel chest. The chest contained two items, some sort of flame that Rarity could detect a level of magic in, meaning that it had to be the catalyst for another type of magic, to which Edric handed it to her. He also handed over another piece of parchment that contained a Fireball spell, though Rarity would have to look into it before she started using it as well. From there they approached the strange device and investigated it, to which they heard the sound of a bell ringing and immediately returned to the top deck... where they noticed that the ship was moving out towards the open water, or more accurately the fortress they had seen Carhillion staring at.

As they departed from No-man's Wharf, however, Rarity had the feeling that they might be heading towards where one of the four Great Souls were located... though she suspected that the soul's guardian was going to be even stronger than anything she and Edric had fought so far, and that they were likely going to die at some point in the near future.