Elden Ring: The Deaths of Tirek

by Blackdrag-rose

Journey Underground

"Intriguing... perhaps fate has brought about this reunion." Ranni commented, where Tirek could tell that she was silently debating what to do with him, no doubt surprised by his statement when he finally found her hiding spot, and he could tell that she was using a bit of magic to do something that wasn't directed at him, "I stole Death long ago, creating an infamous night in the process, and now search for the dark path... I wish to upend everything and rid the world of what came before. Tell me, does that interest you?"

"My Lady, I am all about dark paths. The knowledge you have given me changes nothing." Tirek replied, though he stayed in his kneeling state for a time, since it was the proper thing to do when one was pledging one's self to someone else, and he could see that Ranni was taking in his words and attitude, his conviction to join her.

"Good. Then we shall proceed with haste: there is a half-wolven warrior in my service by the name of Blaidd, and I wish for you to aid him in his mission." Ranni said, something that caused Tirek to smile, as he knew the warrior in question, in fact he was sure Blaidd had conversed with her before they went their separate ways in Limgrave, "I have called for him to greet you, and he should be on one of the floors below us... he will tell you everything you need to know, in searching for the city of Nokron. In addition to Blaidd I have called for Iji, my war counselor, and Seluvis, a preceptor of the magical arts, to come greet you as well, as a new addition to our group... take from them whatever advantages you can get, as there is no telling what the future might hold."

Tirek nodded his head for a moment before heading back down to the lift that brought him back down to where the Grace was located, where he found a phantom image of the Troll smith he had walked by, Iji according to Ranni, though after that he found a phantom version of Blaidd on the floor below that.

"Ah, Tirek, it's good to see you again friend." Blaidd stated, where it looked like Ranni had a spell that allowed one to project their consciousness to another location when someone used a charm or something to call on them, making him wonder when he'd gain the right to obtain his charm or marking from her.

"I'm glad to see you again as well." Tirek said, which was the truth, he had grown fond of traveling with the wolfen warrior during his time in Limgrave and now he was being assigned to help him, meaning they could travel together once more as they served the same mistress, something that would help him prepare for the future, "So, I hear we're looking for a place called Nokron?"

"Aye, an Eternal City. It is said that it's located just under Limgrave." Blaidd replied, causing Tirek to raise an eyebrow for a moment as he learned that piece of information, though he assumed there was more for him to learn before he was able to actually help the wolfen warrior out in his assigned mission, "Now, there's a well in the forest you met me in, one that should allow me to pick up the road to Nokron... we should meet up below ground and go from there."

"Okay, it might take me a bit to find this 'well', but I'll be there as fast as I can." Tirek stated, as he didn't recall seeing such a structure in the Mistwood when he was there, though to be fair he had sought out Blaidd as soon as he knew that he was somewhere in that forest, and had a feeling that such a statement might cause his friend to help him out.

Sure enough Blaidd pinpointed the exact place of the well on his map, allowing him to depart so he could get ready, but before Tirek left he spoke to Seluvis, who annoyed him instantly, and Iji, who apologized for not realizing his intent when they spoke, before he checked in with his Mistress. Ranni revealed that her doll body was not without limitations and that she would be falling asleep soon, after placing one last spell on her portion of the tower to ensure no harm came to her while she did so, and that she was expecting great things from Tirek. With that in mind, and his Mistress wishing him well in his quest, Tirek departed from the tower and returned to the edge of the Mistwood, where he found that the power to warp between spots like this to be incredibly useful, so he didn't have to waste time riding Torrent over familiar ground. As soon as he was sure the coast was clear Tirek moved out into the area by utilizing his steed, hoping to avoid the bears of the area, before he spotted Blaidd off in the distance and turned in his direction, finding that he was leading him to what looked like a round structure.

It was none other than the well itself, an empty area that had a platform in the middle, a lift that they used to head down into the earth, only for Tirek to discover that it went far deeper than he was expecting and that there happened to be a city at some point, which they went by without stopping. Blaidd explained that the lift didn't reach the city, in fact the lift was too far away for anyone to do anything, so they were exploring an underground area for a way up to Nokron, since he was convinced there was a warp gate down here that lead up there. His previous search had been interrupted by the fact that Darriwil had betrayed them and it was his duty to hunt him down, reminding Tirek of what happened to those who swore to serve Ranni and ended up betraying her. In the end they reached the bottom of the shaft and Tirek found that it was like an underground ruin of sorts, with stone monsters that were rather hard, according to Blaidd anyway, though as the lift came to a stop Tirek let his friend lead the way.

Sure enough he found that there were a number of the earthen figures, in fact he couldn't even think of a name for them since it was hard to tell what they were, but fortunately Blaidd knew how to get forward and did so without delay, avoiding the figures in question before stopping at a lift that raised them up a little. From there they followed a short river up to an area that seemed to be the sacred grounds of some sort of people, along with a gathering site for the people to worship in, as there were a number of unlit pillars resting before it. Once he had a new Grace spot activated, the second so far as he had passed one when they entered the area, Blaidd picked up on his previous search and they started to move around the rest of the area, only to find phantom barbarians appearing from thin air to attack them. Such a thing allowed Tirek to see that Blaidd's skills were the same as before, he rushed through the space between them and their foes before cutting them into pieces, allowing him to focus on blasting some of the archers with his magic.

In addition to the Barbarians he discovered a few Crabs and even balls of lightning that were annoying to deal with, along with a few pillars that looked like they could be lit up at some point, which he ignored since he was more interested in the search for the way into Nokron. There was one gateway that lead to the other side of the ruin, not up into the city like they wanted, while the second and last one seemed to be connected to an upper area, still not the secret city, that had a lake of sorts and a giant creature that looked to be a cross between a Troll and a dragon. It was, however, a powerful creature and he took great pleasure in waking it up from it's slumber, blasting it with his power while Blaidd wrecked it with his own attacks, and while it was stronger than some of the other foes he had encountered the two of them were enough to bring it down in no time at all.

While Tirek was pleased to be soaking in all sorts of Runes, so he could power himself up later on whenever they rested at the Graces that were scattered around the area, he discovered that there was no way into Nokron and that meant there was a secret path they had to find, they just had to be patient as they searched for it.

Comments

[GeneraLeeDiscord]

Wait so Elden rings first big MLP story is hosting the uncommon metal centaur? Ok