Chapter 17 - Exploring Liurnia Part 2

"So Godwyn, what is this thing?" I asked, dodging a blow from the monster. 

The impact causing a tremor, cracking the earth and raising a dust cloud.

The wooden thing looked like a tree stump with arms, legs, no head, and carrying a large staff.

"This is an Erdtree Avatar; they emerged at the time of the shattering of the Elden Ring to defend the offspring of the Erdtree, also known as Lesser Erdtrees." Godwyn responded, watching the fight.

"Are you serious?!? What was your mother thinking when she shattered the Elden Ring? The more I roam the Lands Between, the more problems caused by her I encounter." I exclaimed, throwing a Chaos Fireball at the Avatar.

The fireball crossed the clearing and hit the Avatar, exploding and covering the monster's body in fire and lava, starting a fire in the affected area right after. 

The thing let out a strange pained noise and backed away, leaving a trail of embers in the air.

"I wonder the same." Godwyn replied thoughtfully.

A blue moon passed over me and hit the Avatar in the chest, creating a blue magic explosion, and then Rennala fired a series of crystals at the Avatar, each one creating a breaking wood sound as it pierced the Avatar's body.

The Avatar let out an angry growl before jumping towards us. I jumped back, getting out of its reach, upon seeing the large form falling. The resulting impact released a wave of holy energy as the Avatar hit the ground. 

With the Rosus Axe in my hand, I used its ash of war. I raised the ax and three ghostly skeletons appeared around the Avatar, striking it with swords and leaving three large cuts on its body. 

Upon rising, the Avatar raised its staff and slammed it against the ground, creating an explosion of holy energy.

Small golden dots appeared above the Avatar, these dots shot towards Rennala and me. We stared at each other and nodded. We ran in opposite directions, circling the Avatar, Rennala to the left and I to the right.

The dots, now similar to spears, tried to hit us as we ran. I heard the sound of them hitting the ground behind me.

While running, I pointed my flame at the Avatar and snapped my fingers, a fire orb surged in front of the Avatar and spun.

BOOM!

The orb detonated in a great flaming explosion, simultaneously, Rennala left crystals masses floating in her path. These masses exploded right after, sending a shower of sharp crystals toward the Avatar, piercing its body and shattering the wood.

Rennala and I met behind the Avatar and cast our spells, magic accumulated at the end of Rennala's staff and I ignited my flame, charging my next pyromancy.

Simultaneously, Rennala and I unleashed our attacks.

A powerful magic beam and a fire spiral, hit the Avatar, burning and destroying its body, sending shattered wood everywhere. Then, Avatar disappeared into souls and runes, leaving behind three crystal tears.

I kept it in my bag.

"HAHA! I haven't had this much fun in a while!" Rennala laughed, standing beside me.

"I didn't expect you to find fun in battle." I replied, walking away from the smaller Erdtree.

"I'm not the type of queen who dress in fancy, gawky clothes, and become a helpless maiden at the first sign of danger. When you invaded my lands, I went to the front lines to face you." Rennala said, swinging her staff back and forth, leaving small magic trails in the air.

"I am sorry about that." I replied, pretending to be who Rennala believed.

"Don't worry, if we hadn't fought, we might never have met." Rennala smiled.

Damn it! I feel bad for Rennala. I wonder if there is any way to cure her.

"PPSSHH! Godwyn!" I called the ghost of the demigod.

"Yes?" The ghost answered.

"In your vast knowledge of the Lands Between, is there any equipment, item, or magic capable of healing Rennala?"

Godwyn crossed his arms, looking up.

"Hm… Nothing comes to mind, I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but I can't think of anything. And you? Is there anything in that magic bag of yours that might help?"

"Perhaps… I have an idea, but the necessary conditions haven't been met yet."

"Care to explain?"

"Let's say it's a powerful magic item, but as I said before, the necessary conditions haven't been met yet. Moreover, if news of what this item does get out, all of the Lands Between will come after us. I prefer to use it as a last resort."

"Well, the item is yours, so it's up to you, but this thing isn't going to blow up in our faces, is it?"

"I don't think so."

"That isn't comforting."

"Tell me dear, where did you learn to use fire like that? If I remember correctly, you hated everything to do with the fire giants." Rennala asked, interrupting my conversation with Godwyn.

"This is called pyromancy, the art of manipulating flames through the self, it is said that pyromancy was created by the daughter of a goddess known as the old witch, and the art was shared from pyromancer to pyromancer."

"I'm glad you're looking for new types of magic, you always said golden order this, two fingers that. How did you become a pyromancer?"

"I found a severed hand in a chest on a ship, when I touched the severed hand, the pyromantic flame passed to me and my hand caught fire."

"It must have been scary."

"A little, I almost set the ship on fire, accidentally casting pyromancy while trying to put out the flame."

"It reminds me of when I cast my first spell, once I fired my first shard of glinstone; I thought I could take on anything that came my way."

"You did better than me; it took me a while to stop accidentally setting things on fire."

"Hey Alden, do you mind telling me more about the Old Witch later?" Godwyn asked.

"No, but only if you tell me more about Rosus."

"Why the sudden interest?"

"Rosus leading the dead through the catacombs reminds me of the Old Dead and the Undead Crypt in Drangleic."

"Now I'm interested, it sounds like an exciting story."

"Of course… Of course, it was… It was quite a journey." I said, remembering the Shrine of Amana, Demon of Song, and the number of times I was crushed by Velstadt's hammer.

With everything done here, I called Torrent and Rennala returned to her moon, and together we rode away.

-XXXXXX-

"So this is the place Hewg spoke of." I said, stopping in front of the entrance to a mine.

"Yes, this tunnel is used for the academy's crystal mining." Rennala replied, stopping beside me.

"What are we waiting for? Let's hunt for some treasure." Godwyn spoke, walking toward the mine.

We entered the mine and reached a wooden elevator, stepping on the pressure plate, the elevator went down. We collected materials along the way until we reached a chasm with wooden platforms on the edges. 

I approached the edge of the chasm and looked down.

"It is quite a fall." I said, crossing the platform with careful steps.

CRACK!

My right foot went through the old wooden floor, but luckily, I didn't fall and quickly pulled my foot out of the hole right after.

"It's not safe, but I think if we go slowly, one at a time, we can get across safely." I said to Rennala.

"Or we can try it my way." Rennala smiled, holding me in her arms and running towards the chasm.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

Rennala jumped across the abyss towards the tunnel on the other side, it looked like we wouldn't make it, until Rennala "stepped" on the air, propelling us up and crossing the chasm.

Meanwhile, Godwyn simply walked on air, traversing the chasm as if it were ground.

"That… That was exciting." I said nervously to Rennala as she put me down.

"I'm glad you liked it; now let's find more stones for the forge." Rennala said, grabbing my arm and pulling me deeper into the tunnel.

"Look at that, you don't seem to mind having the Queen of the Full Moon holding you in her arms." The demigod spoke.

"Shut up Godwyn!"

"Did you say something dear?"

"No…"

We reached another elevator. Approaching the edge of the elevator shaft, I saw gleaming stones at the ledges that ran along the walls. Rennala stopped beside me and looked down too.

"Leave it to me." Rennala said, grabbing me by the back of my armor and jumping down.

Instead of a free fall, Rennala floated calmly towards the ground, we went from ledge to ledge collecting materials. We kept going down until we reached the bottom of the mine, entering a tunnel with a wall of golden fog.

We crossed the fog and found ourselves in a circular cave with a strange crystal creature, holding a crystal ring in each hand.

"A crystalian." Rennala said upon seeing the thing.

"Do you know what this is?"

"Yes, inorganic but living beings. They hold fast to the ideals of the primeval current and as such are revered guests of sorcerers, unfortunately for him; I am not one of those sorcerers."

The crystalian threw its ring towards us, Rennala and I jumped out of the way dodging it. 

As the ring returned, the crystalian jumped in our direction and fell towards me, spinning with its crystal ring.

I rolled out of the way and drew my Uchigatana. I slashed the crystalian neck, only for the sword to bounce off its body, with a sound like breaking glass, leaving cracks in its body and ripping out small crystal fragments.

I don't have time for that! I lit my flame and pointed it at the crystalian, casting Flame Swathe repeatedly. The crystalian found itself surrounded by floating fireballs, before it could react, the fireballs spun quickly and exploded in a sea of flames.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

With each explosion, chunks of the crystalian body shattered and flew away like glass, until the crystalian exploded into several crystal shards and in its place was a small metallic ball.

"That must be the bell Hewg spoke of." I said, holding the small object in front of my face.

"Well, now there are only three more to go, this day has been productive, but the crystalian so close to the academy bothers me." Rennala smiled, hugging me.

That was strange; out of the corner of my eye, I saw Godwyn laughing.

With everything done here, we left the mine and returned to Liurnia. I think now we only have to find Renna and then return to the Round Table.

-XXXXXX-

We rode until we came across a strange individual sitting in front of an anvil, a troll wearing a helmet and reading a book.

"Hello!" I waved at the troll without getting off Torrent.

"Well, look at that. We don't get many visitors. I assume you are a tarnished. What brings you here? Oh, forgive me. It's hardly my place to ask. I'm Iji. A blacksmith who once served Carian royalty. An old man who refuses to retire his rusty hammer. So here I am, still silently plying my trade, in this spot. Perhaps you want a display. Those bones are old but still capable."

"Hello, Iji." Rennala said, stepping out of her moon and waving at the troll.

"Lady Rennala?!?" Iji quickly stood up and bowed.

Rennala approached Iji with a nervous smile, and tried to calm the old troll down.

"That's not necessary, Iji, we've known each other for years, you've been serving my family diligently."

"Your words are kind, Lady Rennala. However, if I may ask, what are you doing here, outside the academy? Last I heard you were secluded in the library." Iji said, getting up.

"That is true, but I was brought out of my melancholy thanks to my darling."

Rennala pulled me off Torrent and placed me in front of Iji as she hugged my arm.

"Darling?!?" Iji exclaimed surprised.

I could feel his eyes staring at me behind his helmet.

"Yes, we're spending some time together, and traveling around Liurnia, I don't like the things I've seen. Tell me Iji, what happened to our land?"

Iji sighed audibly. 

"A lot has happened Lady Rennala, alliances, vows, and oaths have been broken as if they meant nothing, the sorcerers controlling Raya Lucaria, the Cuckoo knights attacking the manor, and what little is left of Liurnia sinking into the lakes. I don't know if it would be possible to recover our home, even with your return."

I felt Rennala crushing my arm as a supernatural wind blew out of nowhere. Looking down, I saw small crystals forming at Rennala's feet, her face was serious, with her forehead furrowed and lips together.

"Changing the subject, I'm after a woman named Renna; she seems to be further ahead. What can you tell me about the area?" I asked Iji, trying to avoid making the situation worse.

"Brave Tarnished. A word of warning. This territory belonged to Lady Rennala. Her mansion is not far beyond this point. When the Raya Lucaria Academy turned against the Carians, the Cuckoo Knights descended upon this stretch. After leveling it, they continued to the mansion. The Carians were taken by surprise, but their strength was undiminished, and they repulsed the onslaught of the knights... Conjuring an enchanted trap that remains potent to this day. That's why I say, Tarnished. Do not approach the path. Unless you wish to lie with the corpses of the unwary Cuckoo Knights."

The wind got stronger and I felt that my arm would break in two. You aren't helping Iji.

"Traitors! Is this how they thank me after everything I've done for Raya Lucaria?!? Let's go to the mansion now!" Rennala exclaimed, pulling me away.

With every step Rennala took, pieces of crystals came out of the ground.

"Rennala, wait!" I screamed, escaping her grip.

"Honey, what's the matter?"

"There's something I'd like to talk about with Iji. Are you the blacksmith Blaid mentioned?"

"Blaidd did it, didn't he? A rather rare occurrence for such a reclusive soul. Maybe he sensed something unusual about you. Anyway, if you are friendly with Blaidd, then you are welcome to request my services."

"What kind of smiting do you specialize in?"

"The smiting with somber stones. If you wish, I have some for sale."

I think I have some somber stones. Certain weapons I have can't be upgraded normally.

"Could you upgrade these weapons, please?" I said, handing over the Ornate Blades, Golden Halberd, and Godrick's Axe.

"Hm… Quality weapons, all related to the golden order, since Lady Rennala appears to trust you, I won't question where you got it. But answer me one question, tarnished."

"Ask it."

"Are you and Lady Rennala courting each other?"

"According to her, yes." I said emotionlessly.

"Hm… I see, welcome to the family, I just wonder how Ranni will react." Iji replied hesitantly.

"I hope she has a heart attack and dies, and when my roots reach her, we'll have a long talk to make up for the lost time." Godwyn muttered.

"Never mind let me work." Iji shrugged.

While Iji upgraded my weapons, I touched a nearby grace and sat there next to Rennala. Rennala sat with one hand hugging her knees as she held her staff in front of her face.

"Rennala, I'm not exactly good with this stuff, but do you want to talk about it?" I asked worriedly.

"When I was young, I was just an astrologer, while walking at night, watching the stars, I met the Full Moon." Rennala spoke without taking her eyes off her staff.

"I don't understand. How do you "meet" the full moon? Was it not always in the sky?"

"That's what I thought until the moon spoke to me and granted me unimaginable knowledge, with that, impressed the sorcerers of Raya Lucaria and joined the academy. I quickly grew in power and influence, until I became the leader of the institution, bringing changes that displeased some, but I never imagined it would get to this point."

"These changes must have been drastic to generate betrayal at the first opportunity."

"You could say so; I banished one of the main studies in the academy, the study of the Primeval Current."

"Never heard of it."

"It doesn't surprise me, despite the many sorcerers studying it, the Primeval Current is something vague and mysterious, and all we know is that it is related to magic, glinstone, and stars. The few who have caught a glimpse of the current gained unimaginable power in exchange for mutating, or for the more obsessed, ascending their bodies, but the experiments required to reach that point are abominable."

"You know, I once knew a scholar, he was looking for a cure for a curse, he succeeded at one point, becoming immortal and managing to escape the influence of the world, but to get to that point he performed several horrible experiments, many of the monsters that I faced were the fruits of these experiments, some of my most powerful sorceries were created by this scholar, but I can't hate him, after all, he helped me."

"I don't know what curse you're talking about, but this scholar seems like a controversial figure."

"It's a good word to describe him, neutral too, he watches people who interest him and gives little nudges in the right direction, or maybe he just does it to see what happens. Who knows? He liked to speak in riddles and metaphors. But I'm getting off-topic, continue your story."

"The experiments involved merging several corpses, in the end, they would become a mass of mages and stone, barely able to perceive the world around them, there must still be a few of them roaming around. Many didn't like my changes. The knights of Cuckoo aren't loyal to me, but to Raya Lucaria, apparently they kept themselves silent, just waiting for the right moment to attack."

"Hm… The concept of loyalty is strange to me, I knew a man named Captain Drummond, his grandfather, and father served a king named Vendrick for generations. Even in the face of death in a fight against a giant, he maintained his loyalty to the king and kingdom; he could have fled but decided to fight. If I recall correctly, his final words were 'My blade may break, my arrows may fall, but my will, will never be broken. Those who live by the sword will die by it, and I, Drummond, will not go down without drawing mine!'"

"He must have been a wonderful man." Rennala smiled sadly.

"He certainly was. A pity that our meeting was brief. I met those who gave up, those who fought until the end, and those who kept fighting. I wish I asked these people what made them fight in the first place."

"Don't worry darling, someday you'll get your answer."

"I hope, in your case, as Iji said, there are still knights loyal to you, when we enter the mansion maybe you can gather them and from there decide what to do with Liurnia."

"Will they consider me a capable leader?" Rennala asked hesitantly.

"They fought to defend the manor even though they were outnumbered, if they didn't believe you, they would have abandoned this place a long time ago."

"Oh! You always know what to say to make me feel better. Come here, give me a hug." Rennala said, opening her arms.

"Your weapons are ready." Iji spoke, interrupting Rennala.

Rennala gave Iji an irritated look; the troll looked away in fright.

We got up and approached the blacksmith; I put the weapons in my bag and called Torrent.

"Anything else I should know, Iji?"

"I explained the danger. From the enchanted, trap that remains in the Carian Royal Manor. Whatever you do, stay away from this deadly trap. But I see that won't stop you, so please protect Lady Rennala."

"I can take care of myself Iji, but still, thank you. Until we meet again."

"Farewell Lady Rennala, may the stars protect you."

Therefore, Rennala and I rode towards the mansion. After a few minutes, we saw the great stonewall ahead.

"What kind of trap do you think the knights set?" Godwyn asked, floating beside me.

"I don't know I hope they're not poison-spitting statues." I shuddered at the memory of those damn pieces of stone.

I heard something approaching, and suddenly, great magic projectiles fell from the sky, knocking down trees, destroying rocks, and opening holes in the ground. I pulled Torrent's reins to the left, Rennala in her moon following me.

"We just found out what the trap is!" I screamed, pulling Torrent to the right, dodging another wave of spells.

We approached the mansion, and another rain of spells fell in front of us, I pulled Torrent's reins so that it stopped before we were hit.

"HA!" 

With a flick of the reins, Torrent shot forward again.

"Don't you have anything that can help us?" Godwyn asked.

I thought for a minute. 

"Actually I do!" I removed my chime from my belt and cast Profound Still. 

An abyssal darkness circle formed around me, this circle expanded and took effect, accompanying me as I rode.

The trap activated again, when the spells cut through the air, falling towards me, they dissipated as they approached. 

I shook Torrent's reins to make it go faster. The mansion was closer, and more spells fell towards us, but thanks to my hexes, they dissipated into blue particles.

Eventually, we reached the mansion gate, just in time for the hexes to wear off, I touched the grace at the mansion gate and Rennala emerged from her moon.

"So that was the trap. Large magic projectiles that fall repeatedly and quickly towards the enemy, catching them by surprise, except if the enemy are mounted or are prepared for a violent magical attack. I must admit, I am proud of my knights." Rennala spoke, watching the manor's entrance.

"I'm more used to fireballs falling from the sky."

"Why would fireballs fall from the sky?" Godwyn asked.

"To hit the giants walking on the walls." I answered the demigod as the three of us entered the mansion.

The interior of the manor was composed of a large garden with a light mist covering the area, statues adorned the gray tiled path, and on both sides, there were large gray stone constructions that formed arches above us.

"Where is everyone? I expected an army of knights to come after us when they realized we'd made it in." I asked, walking down the tiled path.

"My knights must be waiting for the right moment; after all, they were outnumbered during the attack. Fighting conventionally would be suicide." Rennala replied, looking around.

"Something is wrong, this place is quiet and I feel like I'm being watched." Godwyn spoke, surveying the place.

As I looked around, I saw something moving in the stone arches above us, and then something fell in front of us raising a dust cloud.

When the cloud dissipated, I saw something that would belong to Aldia's Keep. The thing looked like a large spider made of gigantic fingers. The thing crawled towards us with its fingers moving frantically.

"What is this thing?" I asked, jumping out of the creature's grasp.

"A finger creeper, beings created via an ancient act of blasphemy!" Godwyn exclaimed.

"I don't know, but they have no place in my manor!" Rennala snapped firing spells at the spider.

"Alden, use your flame, these things are weak to fire!" Godwyn warned.

I lit my flame and threw a Chaos Fireball at the spider, the thing thrashed and rolled across the floor trying to put out the flames, as its flesh burned. Rennala sent crystals towards the spider, each one of them piercing the flesh with a squirt of blood.

The spider, amid its panic, shot a purple orb from the ring on its finger, the orb stopped in front of us. 

I had enough experience to know that I should get away. I grabbed Rennala by the arm and pulled her away from the attack as the orb exploded, releasing a shock wave.

Rennala pointed her staff at the spider and cast a shower of crystals, each one ripping chunks of flesh off the spider, severing its fingers, and turning it into a bloody mess on the floor, then the spider disappeared in runes.

Rennala looked disgusted at the place where the spider disappeared.

"Are you well?" I asked the queen.

"It's the first time I've encountered these things and I already hate them."

"The feeling is mutual."

Our fight drew the attention of other spiders in the garden, as an army of these things descended the small hill where the mansion stood.

"I think I better summon some spirits." I said, ringing my bell and summoning the spirits of the Soldiers of Godrick. 

One soldier shot the spiders with a crossbow while another smashed the spiders with hammer blows.

"Equally." Rennala replied, kneeling and creating a magic sigil on the ground.

Then three large spirit wolves appeared and charged toward the spiders, biting their fingers with ferocity.

"I'll just stand here and watch… I can't do much… other than moral support." Godwyn spoke sadly.

I cast Flaming Weapon, covering my Uchigatana with flames and advanced toward the spiders with Rennala at my side.

A smaller spider crawled quickly and jumped towards me with its fingers extended.

With a horizontal slash, I cut the spider in two, the two flaming halves fell writhing on the ground. 

Two smaller spiders jumped at me, but the soldier's crossbow dart and a crystal cast by Rennala stopped these spiders.

A bigger spider tried to wrap Rennala and me in its fingers. I pointed my flame at it and cast Fire Whip; a spiral of scalding fire came out of my hand and enveloped the spider, covering its body in flames. 

The soldier with the hammer advanced and hit the spider repeatedly; I could hear the sound of breaking bones with each blow.

Another smaller spider tried to fight, but the wolves summoned by Rennala leaped at the spider with ferocity, amid snarling, the wolves pinned the spider down. Each bites ripping off a piece of flesh. 

Rennala pointed her staff at the spider and advanced. A great magic rapier rose from Rennala staff, piercing the spider. The spider struggled, trying to free itself from its attackers, but it was in vain.

We walked up the hill, and using the ash of war, I sent a blade of blood into a group of smaller spiders; the cut generated a spray of blood as it hit each spider.

Rennala conjured crystal masses that exploded, turning more spiders into pieces of flesh on the ground. 

Our spirits also helped, the soldiers worked together, the hammer smashed the spiders with powerful blows, bones were broken with ease, and simultaneously, the soldier with the crossbow supported his ally, shooting at the spiders that arrived through blind spots.

The wolves raced among the spiders, delivering bites to get their attention, and besting the spider with their speed and teamwork.

With little delay, we reached the top of the garden, our spirits dissipated and we entered the manor.

There we climbed a set of wooden stairs and arrived at a type of church. I touched the grace there and we advanced over a long stone bridge.

As we walked, a group of spirits stood in our way; they were a stronger shade of blue than the ones we summoned.

"Knights of Raya Lucaria." Rennala spoke, watching the spirits.

"So that's what happened to the knights who attacked the manor. They were turned into spirits to defend the place."

"A deserved fate for these traitors." Rennala replied.

We advanced across the bridge, dispatching the spirits. One of them tried to cut me, I stepped to the left, letting the blow pass and I cut the spirit in its neck, beheading it. 

I cast a Chaos Fireball at a spirit that approached, even with his body covered in lava; he advanced until he could no longer withstand the damage and disappeared in souls and runes.

Rennala threw her staff towards the spirits. The staff flew across the bridge, throwing the spirits into a deadly fall, when the staff came back; Rennala cast her rapier spell again and impaled two spirits on the blade.

"I don't remember you using that spell before."

"I decided to try something new." Rennala smiled.

"Mind teaching me later?"

"I would love it."

We fought until we approached a long staircase as a group of spirits approached us. 

I slammed my flame on the ground and cast Fire Snake, the ground shook and opened as a line of flaming pillars emerged from it and advanced towards the spirits, incinerating them.

With everything done, we went up the staircase and entered a room with a wooden elevator, stepping on the pressure plate the elevator went up. 

When we left the elevator, we found ourselves in a messy room. Books and broken furniture scattered around, torn and destroyed decorations, all in ruins in the end.

Rennala walked across the room and sighed audibly as she looked around.

"What happened to our home?" Rennala said sadly, as she grabbed a book from a shelf and flipped through it. 

Tossing the book aside, crystals burst from its pages until the book exploded into pieces of paper. Rennala didn't seem to notice.

"How… How did it get to this point?" Rennala asked herself, running her hand across a table. 

However, the pressure applied by her finger was such that the table cracked.

"Ranni, Radhan, and Rykard. Where are they? Are they safe? Did they manage to protect themselves from the traitors?"

The unnatural wind returned, and with each step Rennala took, crystals spurt from the ground.

"It's not your fault; a lot has happened due to the shattering, with the chaos, many took the opportunity to pursue their goals. Whether they were good or bad is another story, but if you want to change the current state of Liurnia, we need to move forward." I said, grabbed Rennala's arm. 

"Thank you." Rennala nodded calmly.

Leaving the room, we reached another part of the garden; we crossed it until we reached another staircase. 

In addition, there was a wounded troll waiting for us on the top of the stairs. The troll wore a knight's helmet, blue robes similar to those of the Carian knights and held a large sword.

Seeing us, the troll advanced with hurried steps. 

Suddenly Rennala jumped in front of me and held out her hand.

"Stop!"

Seeing who was in front of him, the troll stopped abruptly, his feet skidding across the floor, leaving marks on the stairs. The troll stopped in front of Rennala and stared at her for a few seconds before kneeling.

"Look at you. You're the last one here, aren't you?" Rennala asked, putting her hand on the troll's wrist.

The troll nodded.

"You've done a good job, but I need you to do something for me. You can do it?"

The troll nodded again.

"I need you to spread a message across Liurnia, that Rennala of the Full Moon has returned and that all knights and sorcerers loyal to the Carian Royalty must assemble here at the manor. Can you do this for me, my brave knight?"

The troll nodded and got up; with heavy steps, he waved to me and went down the stairs to complete his mission.

"He thinks you're a Carian knight." Rennala spoke, watching the troll walk away.

"And is that a good thing?"

"He was happy to see one of his friends."

"Hm… Allies by oath and friends. Why do I feel like I'm missing something?"

With our path clear, we went up the stairs and through a gate until we reach a kind of pool or lake with chairs around it.

The gate behind us closed and something appeared in the center of the pool, it was the spirit of a person riding a horse, this person wore silver armor, a kite shield, and held a scythe.

"Loretta? No, just a spirit, you are not the real one." Rennala said, pointing her staff at the spirit.

"Do you know her?"

"A knight who swore allegiance to my family, but that's not her, I can feel it, the real Loretta still lives."

"If she is not your knight, then I won't have to hold back." 

Taking advantage of Loretta being surrounded by water, I raised my chime and cast Great Lightning Spear.

I fired the miracle toward Loretta, but the knight jumped out of the way, even though, Loretta was electrocuted. As upon hitting the water, my miracle sent lightning waves across its surface.

Loretta rode towards me, raising her scythe and swinging it sideways, I rolled out of the way; the scythe sliced through the water and created small ripples in the pool. 

The second strike, I blocked with my Uchigatana.

The third one never arrived; as a large glinstone shard hit Loretta in the chest, pushing her back. 

With this opening, I cast Electrify Armament, covering my Uchigatana with lightning and ran towards Loretta, slashing her on the hip. Then I circled her horse, slashing her across her body.

Loretta swung the scythe over her head and tried to cut me, I crouched down, letting the blow pass over my head. 

With a neigh, Loretta's horse got up on its hind legs and tried to trample me with its front legs, I rolled out of the way, and as the blow splashed, water everywhere as it hit the ground.

Before Loretta could continue her attack, Rennala's staff flew and hit Loretta in the side of her helm, with a bell-like noise. 

The staff returned to Rennala's hand, and the Queen of the Full Moon created another magic rapier and advanced towards Loretta.

Loretta jumped out of the way, but Rennala didn't stop her attack, swinging the staff in her hands. Rennala cast a magic sword at the end of her staff and delivered several swift slashes across Loretta's body.

Loretta blocked some of the blows with her shield and scythe, mitigating some of the damage. 

In an opening, Loretta leaped away and swung her scythe above her head, magic covered the scythe, and five magic swords appeared above Loretta, darting towards Rennala right after.

As the swords closed in, Rennala swung her staff, dispelling the spell, conjuring three swords and hurling it toward Loretta.

Loretta was taken by surprise, being hit by all the swords. Loretta did a series of backward leaps, getting away from us. Then Loretta raised her shield, a magical sigil appearing in the air above her.

Loretta jumped, a magical great arrow forming in her hands, simultaneously Rennala accumulated magic at the end of her staff.

I rushed toward Rennala as I cast a miracle, lightning gathered around my chime and electricity rushed through the water as the powerful miracle formed.

When Loretta's spell and my miracle were ready, we launched our attacks; Loretta's great magic arrow collided with my Sunlight Spear. 

With an explosion of magic and lightning that shook the area, a jet of water and smoke was created, as the smoke dissipated, I saw Loretta raising her shield again.

A powerful magic beam flew above me and hit Loretta. She tried to block with her shield, but she didn't have the same level of fury as the Pursuer, so she was pushed back by the spell.

I raised my chime and cast an incantation, a lightning bolt shot upwards, this bolt returned soon after, hitting Loretta on top of her helmet. 

This caused Loretta to lower her shield, exposing her to Rennala's spell, with no energy to continue, the spirit disappeared into runes.

Loretta left two things on the ground, a spell and an ash of war. I kept boot in my bag.

"Looks like its over." I said, approaching Rennala.

"Yes, but I wonder where the real Loretta is."

"Well, that was a beautiful show." Godwyn spoke, appeared beside side.

"Where the hell have you been?" I asked the demigod.

"I was watching the romance and drama between you and the queen."

"You say it as if I planned to have some kind of romance with her."

"I know you're not the type of person to take advantage of others' vulnerability, but it's still fun to tease you." Godwyn smiled.

I ignored the ghost and approached Rennala.

"Do you need healing or something?"

"No, but I appreciate your concern. How about we move on, you need to find the woman called Renna, don't you?"

"You're right, so let's move on."

We left the mansion, walked up a hill until we heard a flapping of wings, and saw a large shadow appear above us.

Please no!

A dragon landed in front of us and roared furiously.

Sighing, I cast a Sunlight Spear. Looking to the side, I saw Rennala casting a spell; Godwyn was rooting for us, not being able to do much now.

I looked back at the dragon and saw it gathering fire in its mouth.

I can't have a few minutes of peace, can I?

END OF THE CHAPTER