Dark Souls 2: Rarity's Trials

by Blackdrag-rose

To the Castle

Rarity and Edric returned to Majula feeling better about themselves than they had since they first started this quest, because they had at long last claimed the four Great Souls necessary to open the way to Drangleic Castle, where King Vendrick was waiting for them and likely held the cure for their affliction. It had take them some time to gather the necessary strength to fight down all of the powerful creatures that had stood in their way, everything from the Last Giant to the Baneful Queen and the dreadful Pursuer that really hated their guts, but they had arrived at the milestone mark at last. The two of them had bested the Lost Sinner, the Old Iron King, the Rotten, and the Duke's Dear Freja, gathered each of the four Great Souls they had been guarding for who knew how long, and finally gained everything they needed to see the King and either bring an end to this quest, or start the second leg of their journey.

Despite the fact that Edric was serious about this whole thing, if the look on his face was any indication, Rarity felt like smiling, because soon she and Edric would know if there was a way to cure themselves of the Curse and how they would have to go about that... though at the same time the two of them approached the Emerald Herald, who smiled at them once they stopped in front of her.

"You the of you are blessed with a myriad of souls." the Emerald Herald said, though this time around she definitely sounded pleased with what they had done, meaning that they were one of the few Undead who had actually gathered the four Great Souls and made it this far, "Bearers of the Curse, make your way to the castle."

The duo nodded and went about making sure that they had their gear ready for the journey that was in front of them, though while Edric checked his armor and empowered his strength, like usual, Rarity walked over to Shalquoir's store and found the cat sitting in the middle of the table. At a second glance it appeared that the cat was actually waiting for her to return, because there were three strange items sitting in front of her, though Rarity could tell that all of them had some sort of power, almost as if they were keys.

"Congratulations on gathering all four Great Souls," Shalquoir said, though a smile appeared on her face, indicating that she was very pleased by how well Rarity and Edric had done since they first stepped into Majula, "I bet you and Edric are eager to see the King and find out how to free yourselves from the Curse."

"That we are... and we couldn't have done it without you guiding us to each of the Guardians," Rarity replied, as she knew that it would have taken her and Edric longer to find their targets had Shalquoir not pointed them in the right direction from the moment they proved themselves against the Lost Sinner.

"I'm honored to help such talented and powerful Undead such as yourselves," Shalquoir stated, though at the same time she waved a paw to the three items that were sitting in front of her, the very items that Rarity had been staring at since she walked into the store, "I have three presents to give to you and Edric; the first is a Dragon Talon, one that's different from all the other dragon talons that you might find, because this opens the path to Shulva. The second item is a Heavy Iron Key that's partly a key and partly a piece of iron, allowing access to Brume Tower, while the third item is a Frozen Flower that grants entry to the Frozen Eleum Loyce. After you have met with the King, and heard what he has to tell you about curing yourself, you will begin to see why I am gifting these items to you and Edric."

"I see." Rarity said, because it almost sounded like she and Edric needed to go to three unique places and gather three unique items, but she decided to see what happened after they met with the King and packed the three 'keys' into her pack, so they would be ready for when they needed them.

"I also have something for you," Shalquoir continued, to which she walked over to the side of the table and jumped onto the ground for a moment, though when she returned a few moments later she was carrying a book that she handed over to Rarity, who wasn't about to question how a cat could carrying all these things without hands, "That is a spellbook that contains every Sorcery, Pyromancy, Miracle, and Hex spell that you currently don't possess, so all you have to do is hold it close to your own spellbook and merge the two into a singular being. Now I know you're strong already, but there are some spells in that tome that might still be beyond your capabilities at the moment, so I want you to think hard before you use a spell that might be too much for you."

"Shalquoir... I cannot thank you enough for such a gift, nor can I ever hope to repay you for everything you have done for me and Edric." Rarity stated, as she was sure that the cat was doing this because she felt that the two of them were the best Undead that could do whatever was coming next and was arming them accordingly.

"It's fine Rarity, your friendship and safety is more than enough for me," Shalquoir said, though she turned serious once more, indicating that it was almost time for Rarity to join Edric on the journey towards the castle, "Just be careful when you reach Drangleic Castle, because that's where you'll meet Darkdiver Grandahl for the third and final time... and then you'll have to see if you can best the Dark Chasm and the Darklurker that dwells inside it."

The moment Shalquoir spoke the name 'Darklurker' Rarity already knew what she was referring to, because she recalled the creature the stone doors had been warning her about, but now she was beginning to wonder if the doors had actually been calling out to her since she was using Dark Magic. She supposed that it made sense, because one reason that Felkin liked her so much was because of the darkness that she commanded when she used Dark Magic, which was nowhere near Sombra's level if she was being honest. She was sure that if Sombra had been sent to this world, instead of being destroyed by the Crystal Heart, he would have slaughtered his way through all these creatures until covering the land in his shadow... to which she pushed that thought aside and bid Shalquoir farewell, after thanking her for the information she had given her.

Once she was outside the store she walked over to the Emerald Herald and spent the souls she had gathered so far, before realizing that in the margin of one of the new spells she had received as a note telling her about the bonfire that rested near three different paths... to which she smiled as she and Edric departed once she was done.

The moment the two of them appeared near the bonfire, where the three paths were located, Rarity walked up to the upper level and picked the path that was opposite of the one where the fog was moving, explaining that the middle path didn't seem right to her. From there Edric insisted on being at the front of the group and determining which path they would take if they came to a fork in the road, where he pulled his sword out and cut down the hollow that was trying to approach him from behind. Since it appeared that Edric didn't actually need her help this time around, since these hollows were significantly weaker than they were, Edric also insisted on Rarity hanging back and watching how a real warrior dealt with his enemies... to which she watched in interest as her companion actually dodged attacks that would have hurt him and dealt critical wounds to his enemies, or outright killing them in one shot.

From what she could tell Edric had really been practicing his style since he acquired the sword he was carrying, because he knew when to dodge or block an enemy attack and he knew when to strike back, showing off that he was a warrior that wasn't to be messed with... especially since he either cut his foes down in one to two strikes.

Rarity, who was doing nothing at the moment, merely followed after Edric and kept her eyes open, calling out where enemies were located and what treasures she might have found lying on the ground, if there were any, before they climbed down the hill in front of them and found a sentry, like the one that was guarding the ship to the Lost Bastille, guarding the path that they needed to take. Edric, still wanting to show off his strength to Rarity, walked ahead alone and challenged the creature to a fight, where Rarity watched as her companion actually dodged the attacks that were coming at him and only attacked when an opening had been revealed. As she watched Rarity determined that Edric had grown into a fine warrior since the start of their journey, only now he was trying to show her that she didn't have to take all of the burden upon herself and be the main focus of everything they fought.

She smiled as Edric finished off the sentry and opened the way for them to continue, though before they got moving she placed a hand on his shoulder and offered him a smile, one that told him that she understood that he could fight without her having to constantly hover over him... to which he nodded and they continued onward together once more.

Since the main road, which they would have taken in a normal situation, was blocked by rubble the duo was forced to use a side path, though Edric also collected the crescent axe and shield that happened to be on the ground before he and Rarity walked up the worn stone path. It took them a few moments before they reached the top of the path, where they found a shrine like structure that happened to have a door that was shut, but at the same time Rarity knew that this was where they were supposed to be. The two of them stood there for a few moments, studying the structure and finding that there was no way around it, so Rarity stepped forward and watched as the door literally opened down the middle and allowed her and Edric to pass on through it. She did pause for a moment to examine the strange shrine in the middle of the structure, as she hadn't seen one like it before today, before she and Edric walked out the other side and followed the path in front of them... which brought them to the other side of the main road, just passed the rubble.

As they followed the path they spotted another Heide knight, this one carrying a lance, sitting by the side of the road, but this time around neither of them felt like fighting someone that was being peaceful towards them and continued onward as they made their way towards the castle. From there they reached a tunnel that they had to walk through, where they climbed some stairs partway through the area and kept their guards up, because experience told them that there might be enemies lurking around the corner. A few moments later they actually exited the tunnel and walked out into a darker area of the forest they had been in earlier, only this time it was raining and was likely getting close to night, or whatever passed for night on this world as Rarity thought.

Along the way they encountered three hollowed soldiers patrolling an area that they had been guarding while they were alive, to which Edric charged forward and fought the one in front of them while Rarity called some Dark Orbs into existence and hurled them at her targets. Fortunately their foes were weak against magic, something that Rarity constantly wondered about since there were four schools of magic in this world, before she sighed and simply determined that questioning why so many enemies they fought were weak against magic wasn't something she should be doing. At the very least that was something Twilight could ask, if she ever found this planet on her own, to which Rarity returned her focus to the path in front of her and followed Edric as he continued towards whatever was at the end of the road... which Rarity hoped was Drangleic Castle.

That was before they turned the corner and gazed upon the large and imposing castle, which seemed slightly creepy in the light that was being given off at the moment, that had to be the place from which King Vendrick ruled over the crumbling kingdom that was Drangleic. The only thing connecting where they were to the castle was a single bridge, wide enough for carriages to ride on, while the castle itself seemed to rest on a single large section of earth that happened to be sturdy enough to support the weight of the entire castle, unlike how the Iron Keep seemed to be slowly sinking into the area around it. Rarity and Edric stood there for a few minutes, taking in the sight of the place that had been their goal since they started this quest, before they finally stirred themselves and got moving once more, as they knew that there would be time to stare later, especially since they were supposed to be meeting with the King at some point in the near future... until they stopped below the arch, on their side of the bridge, and found the Emerald Herald waiting.

Rarity had absolutely no idea how she had managed to get here ahead of them, but at the same time Edric wanted to know what was going on and tapped the Emerald Herald on the shoulder.

"This castle is isolated." the Emerald Herald stated, which was something that both Rarity and Edric knew since the only road connecting the castle to the rest of the land happened to be blocked by a decent amount of rubble, but they said nothing as they waited for the lady to finish speaking, "But nonetheless, the two of you must forge on. To bring an end to your journey… and mine. End your journey… and mine."

The Emerald Herald's words caused Rarity to consider what she and Edric had been through so far, about the journey so far, and she recalled some strange words from the fiery creature they had encountered after defeating Freja and claiming the last Great Soul. She still didn't know a whole lot about this land and it's mysterious curse, but since she guessed that the strange creature had asked if they were either going to save the world or destroy it, in it's own manner of speaking anyway, she had to assume that the Emerald Herald was trying to save it. What she did know, however, was that she and Edric could only get the real answers from King Vendrick or, if that option totally failed and he couldn't help them, there was always Shalquoir... to which Rarity chuckled as she and Edric walked forward, because it was going to be interesting to hear, from a King no less, what they needed to do to stop the Curse.

There was also the matter of Darkdiver Grandahl, who was supposed to be lurking somewhere inside the castle, but Rarity pushed him to the back of her mind and focused on the task at hand, finding the King and inquiring about the cure for this Curse... and help him with whatever he needed, just like they did for the Emerald Herald.

Comments

[zachary12]

nice wrok

[Randablitz]

"One day Fire will fade, and Dark will become a curse. Men will be free from death. Dark will again be ours, and in our crude shape we can bury the false legends of yore."- King Vendrick