With the dragon dealt with, and both it's heart and Runes were added to Tirek's power, he and Blaidd came up with a new target to deal with, they were going to head into the Weeping Peninsula and see what sort of powerful foes they might find to add to his power. As such they warped back over to the Grace that was near Darriwil's prison before he found that his companion had something else in mind, he had him get on Torrent and use the nearby circular area that was like a windy cannon to launch himself into the air. His target was the ruins to their left, which he was able to land on the outskirts of as he discovered that it was just more of the fallen cube shaped structures he had seen previously, before he turned and found that Blaidd simply jumped into the air and used the coffin ledges to reach him. It was rather impressive when he thought about it, that his companion was able to jump with such power and accuracy, getting up to where he was in a matter of a few seconds, and once they were together again Tirek faced the enemies that were in the area.
It was just a couple of Soldiers, Hollows, and even a Brute or two, a decent mix of foes for them to deal with, where he and his companion wasted no time in attacking them, allowing Tirek to collect more Runes as his foes collapsed in defeat, even if the amount paled in comparison to a powerful foe.
"So tell me something: why are we here?" Tirek asked, where he jumped backwards for a moment, avoiding the blade of a Brute, as Blaidd charged into battle and slashed at the figure, freezing him with his blade's enchantment, which seemed to have no end to the amount of power it could put out.
"I believe I mentioned something earlier about a scroll resting around here," Blaidd answered, though he gracefully leapt to the side and slashed at a Brute, cutting the figure in half before he could do anything to defend himself, all while taking a moment to observe Tirek as he cut his own foe down and blasted another with his magic, "it should have some spells for you to add to your collection, allowing you to do more in battle... once we deliver it to a person who can use it, and I'm sure I know of someone who can help you out."
"So get the scroll, find the teacher, and offer them a gift for some new spells. Got it." Tirek said, where he blasted the last of the Hollows down before discovering something interesting, there were two more on top of the cubes, using spells on him and Blaidd, causing him to rush over to the right one as his companion took the left side.
Of course he had to use Torrent to leap over to the top of the cube, allowing him to crush the Hollow sorcerer that was up there, but as his foe fell Tirek found what they were looking for, a pristine scroll that was blue colored in some places, one that had to be what they were here for. With that in hand he quickly regrouped with Blaidd and showed him the item that they had come for, where he checked the map for a moment and pointed out a ruin that overlooked the Mistwood, which was where he heard the instructor was resting. Once he knew of their next destination the pair rode out of the ruins that Blaidd had brought them to, taking care of the last Brute with ease as they passed by him, before seeking the path to the ruin that held the person they were looking for. It didn't take them too long to reach the ruin in question, where Tirek and his companion found some odd flower monsters that spewed out poison, though Blaidd stood back as he let the smaller ones be taken out by Tirek, before he slashed the larger one to pieces.
With that done they found the path leading down into the depths of the ruins and Tirek discovered a mist wall, where he braced himself for a powerful foe and entered it, only to find a tall figure, taller than Blaidd, wearing a helm that looked like a pumpkin. He had no idea why this particular powerful foe was wearing a metallic pumpkin head, along with no real armor with a ragged robe forming a cape and some cover around his waist, plus he had a large flail as his weapon, which Tirek planned on avoiding. This time around he really didn't need Blaidd's help with the Pumpkin Head, he moved around the arena quickly, even though it was a box shaped chamber, and attacked his foe's backside with his meager spells, as he had a feeling that the figure would just tank them if they came from the front. He didn't know why he thought this would be the key to defeating his foe, but it worked far more than he thought it would and found that Blaidd didn't even need to step in, rather he watched as Tirek damaged his foe on his own, having progressed greatly in such a short period of time, much to his amazement.
In the end he was able to crush the Pumpkin Head with ease, allowing him to collect it's Runes before opening the door as Blaidd stood off to the side, not wanting to be involved with the lessons no doubt, allowing him to find a female figure with sorcerer robes on, and a strange stone helm over her head.
The instructor, Sellen, was surprised that someone had found her and was more surprised that Tirek wanted to learn from her, where he pocketed several new spells after handing over the scroll Blaidd had insisted they pick up first, though he was pleased with the new additions to his arsenal. He obtained Glintstone Stars, Crystal Barrage, Scholar's Armament, and Scholar's Shield with ease, though after giving her the scroll he obtained a few more spells, such as the Glintblade Phalax and the Carian Slicer. Sure, he had to become Sellen's apprentice to even get the new additions to his arsenal, a fact he had to bear with since he needed more than just the spells he started with, but once those were in his possession he and Blaidd left Sellen to whatever work she had been doing previously. He did make sure to activate the Grace that was now outside her chamber, just in case he found more scrolls during his travels, before he and Blaidd departed from the ruins and returned to the Grace near Darriwil's prison, giving him a chance to use the last of his Runes before they moved onto their next destination.
With their errand complete Tirek and Blaidd headed down the path in front of them, one that happened to lead to a short bridge between Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula, which also had a siege weapon on it to stop people from reaching the province in question. Getting around it was far too easy, as the pair separated from each other and approached it from two different directions, causing confusion in the minds of the Hollows and Soldiers that were guarding the area, to the point that no explosive bolts were fired at them. From there Tirek made sure that their enemies were wiped out, since they were in the way, before they made their way across the rest of the bridge, discovering a caravan up ahead that had been attacked, due to all the corpses that were around it. The first thing he did, however, was activate the Grace that was up on the ledge to the right of the bridge's exit, allowing him to bypass the bridge in case he died, before he walked down to the scene and found that there was one survivor, a young adult female who seemed to be blind.
Normally he would have thought that she was the one behind the dead bodies that were around her, playing at being blind to lure targets to their doom, but Blaidd seemed willing to stop, so he held himself back as they approached her, as a few minutes of talking couldn't hurt.
"Hello? Is somebody there?" the girl asked, where she turned her head a few times and confirmed that she was blind, she looked everywhere, even the sky, for someone who was right in front of her, not that Tirek overly cared since he had far more important things to do with his time, "Please, would you stop and listen to my request? If so, my name is Irina, and I have just escaped from Castle Morne, which should be to the south of here, where the servants have... rebelled, or so I'm told. As you can see, my eyesight has been weak since birth and I'm unable to see, so all I have to go on is the words of my fallen guards and the frightful howling that erupted from the castle... the very place that my father, the commander, has chosen to remain in, despite the danger."
"Let me guess, you want someone to go check on him and convince him to leave?" Tirek inquired, as it sounded more like a reasonable thing to assume someone like her would want from some random strangers, even if she couldn't see them in the first place and had no idea if they meant her harm.
"Yes. I fear for his life, especially since the servants are full of hatred for people like us," Irina replied, where Tirek had to wonder if she was talking about the Demi-Humans or the Misbegotten, both of whom hated the people of this land more and more the more he learned about what was going on in the Lands Between, though she reached into her dress, which was bloodstained, and withdrew a letter, "in fact, they spared none of the companions I escaped with... I am, as far as I can tell, the sole survivor of my group. I must ask that you take this letter to my father and convince him to leave, even if such a thing means his honor must be sullied... I just want him to be safe."
Tirek, in an uncharacteristic move, took the letter and stuffed it in his pouch as he informed her that he'd do his best to find her father, in fact he never helped anyone before, but he figured that if he did this he might find another powerful being, one that was stronger than some of the others he had seen so far. With the letter in hand he turned to the south and started to ride once more, Blaidd walking beside him as they surveyed the scene that was just ahead of them, as the force that had escorted Irina out of the castle, enough for royalty, had been slain. The culprits were the Misbegotten, who had overturned one of the wagon transports and slaughtered everyone else, to the point where one of the Trolls had just sat off to the side, like it given up on living. This gave Tirek a chance to try out his new spells, as one allowed him to make three floating shards of energy that zeroed in on his foes, another used the top of his staff as a sword, and a third let him loose a volley of crystalline shards, though all of them put a smile on his face.
Blaidd, true to form, sliced and diced his way through his foes, dropping the Misbegotten who challenged him like they were nothing, allowing them to make their way up the hill that happened to be on the other side of the ambush point, a fact that gave him a chance to see a large wall with a hole in part of it, with a Grace off to the left and one of the black riders near the hole.
"A Night's Cavalry... interesting. Why would one be here, of all places?" Blaidd commented, confirming that they were, in a way, a powerful foe based on how he addressed them, though as the knight drew his weapon the wolfen warrior did the same, causing Tirek to ready himself as well.
Tirek found that a scene from earlier repeated itself before him, as in Blaidd rushed at the Night's Cavalry and swung his blade at his foe, the two weapons clashing as he found that the frosty weapon did more damage than the Night's flail did, before he moved to join the battle. His purpose was to wear down their foes with his spells, which he could do better now thanks to his improved arsenal, and since the Night was distracted everything he cast struck him and his horse with ease, dealing massive damage within the span of a few moments. It also opened the way for Blaidd to do some serious harm to their foe, as when he was knocked off his horse the wolfen warrior rushed over to where he fell and drove his blade down into his chest, no doubt piercing his heart, but, like most creatures of this world, he got up and continued to clash with the pair. After that Tirek and Blaidd kept up the pressure, dealing damage and avoiding the Night's flail, as Tirek was sure that it was another bleed weapon, before he saw an opening that he had to take, where he jumped forward and quickly drove his dagger into their foe's wrecked chest, knocking him to the ground.
In the end their combined might ended yet another powerful foe, allowing Tirek to claim his Runes and another weapon as his prizes, to which he walked over to the nearby Grace and activated it so they could get some rest, though it made him look forward to whatever they might find inside Castle Morne.