Alistair :"One day, I was born. So I decided to make it everybody else's problem."
Miquella :"Yeah, sounds about right."
--------------------------
Melina greeted slowly, careful to not alert him. And relief took her as his surprise disappeared, replaced with a small smile. Actually, he would have appreciated it if she just appeared when he reached here, instead of waiting till nighttime. Thank goodness he had found some jerkies with the soldiers he had killed to keep him sated.
"Oh, hello, Melina. How may I help you?" Earning himself a praise from the younger looking, but much older demigod in his mind :"Good job, Alistair. Being polite will always benefit you. Especially with first impressions."
He didn't respond, but the gentle shiver of the lake under Miquella's feet made him aware of Alistair's happiness at being praised. A lunatic he may be, but he loved praises. And cuddles. But those had to wait, unfortunately.
Melina didn't seem to want to chat around. Instead, she got straight to the point :"Have you heard of the Finger Maidens? They serve the Two Fingers, offering guidance, and aid, to the Tarnished. But you, I am afraid, are maidenless."
Alistair's face twitched again, while Miquella quickly stopped the laughter that was threatening to break out after the water shivered in another manner. It was interesting, how he could feel what the water his feet were submerged in felt.
Melina noticed his annoyed look, but continued nonetheless :"I can play the role of maiden.
Turning runes into strength. To aid you in your search for the Elden Ring. You need only take me with you. To the foot of the Erdtree."
"A Finger Maiden in exchange for escorting you to the Erdtree, huh?" He pretended to think about it, before turning to her :"I would be happy to accept the deal, but I need to warn you, it will take a very long time, since I'm not going to make my way straight towards there. Even now, I'm not going to enter the castle right away, but go and get stronger first. Is that alright?"
Melina nodded calmly, face relaxed and unreadable :"I don't have any problems with that. The stronger you are, the smoother the journey will be. I only need you to accept this deal and take me with you."
He smiled brightly :"Sure thing, of course I accept!" Causing a small, brief smile to cross her pretty face as she nodded :"Then it's settled. Summon me by grace to turn runes into strength. Ahh, another matter. I bequeath to you this ring."
She held up a whistle in the shape of a ring for him :"Use it to traverse great distances. It will summon a spectral steed named Torrent. Torrent has chosen you. Treat him with respect."
"Wow, I get a Finger Maiden AND a ghost horse? This is a pretty good contract." He smirked as he took it :"And don't worry, I'll definitely take care of him."
Melina nodded in acknowledgement :"I am glad to hear that. Currently, you lack the runes for me to strengthen you. Once you have enough, you can summon me to increase your strength."
"Understood. I hope we have a pleasant cooperation." They nodded together, before she stood up :"Then I shall leave you to rest."
He raised an eyebrow :"What happened to traveling together?"
"Need not worry. I will always be with you. Simply not in a physical form, but as a spirit. Farewell for now, and good day to you." And she disappeared into thin air just like how she had appeared first.
"She is... an interesting one." Miquella hummed, making Alistair smile :"She's just not one for dilly dallying. Just straight to the point."
"Hmm, I suppose that's a good thing. What now? You said you wouldn't go into the castle right away, so what will you be doing? Oh, by the way, I saw a map fragment from up that forest, you should get that while we're here."
"Don't worry, I will. Maps are very crucial, after all. But for now, we need to meet a certain someone first."
"Who?"
"You'll see."
Miquella watched curiously as a holographic screen appeared in front of Alistair :"Hm? What is this?"
"This is the system's version of the map. As you can see, it doesn't have anything now, but it'll grow as we get map fragments."
"Ooh, that's handy. What are these marks then? And why is this one different from the rest?"
"Oh, these are the Sites of Grace we've opened, and this is the location I'm currently at. See this arrow on my mark? It indicates which direction I'm facing."
Miquella smiled :"Ooh, then it's really handy! Then we can easily find our way! Even someone like me who hasn't learned how to read maps won't face a problem with this!"
"Hehehehe, right? This is why I love game maps. So easy to use. But anyway, let's go meet that person, since she'll give a few useful things for free. I'll just choose the Church of Elleh Site of Grace..." As he clicked on it, a pop-up notification appeared :"Accept... Oh." And he suddenly found himself in the Church of Elleh Site of Grace.
"Well, that was sudden." He mumbled, before another voice spoke up :"Oh, so that's one of the benefits for those who can still see grace." He turned to a broken wall, and saw a blue woman with four hands, with a spectral face next to her literal doll face but one eye sealed, and wearing white robes and a hat of a magician.
Ranni the Witch. He raised an eyebrow. It was interesting to see one of the main characters of the world. Not that he liked her very much. In fact, he didn't like her at all because of Godwyn's murder, which triggered the shattering itself. She was the one responsible for all the pain and suffering in the Lands Between.
He swallowed down his frustration. Better not make an enemy from a powerful mage like her, when he wasn't strong enough yet. But what made him curious was the silence that Miquella took, and the cold, chilling feeling he felt in his mind. His silence was one of aggression. And aggression so intense it made him shiver. He needed to ask him about it later.
There was an icy, weird feel to the air that made him frown. It wasn't the normal chilliness of the night. Looking back to see if Kale had noticed her presence, he found him and his horse fast asleep. Seeming to have suddenly just fainted. No doubt the doing of Ranni.
"This way, Tarnished. May I have a word?" Ranni called for him, and he stepped towards her :"Hello, miss. Do you need something?"
"A pleasure to meet thee, Tarnished.
I am the witch Renna. I'd heard tell of a Tarnished hurtling about atop a spectral steed. And upon looking into the matter, the talk, I surmise, is of thee."
'I just got him though. Hmm, she's probably talking about Melina then. She did travel with Torrent before, after all.'
"Thou'rt possessed of the power, no? To call forth the spectral steed named Torrent." Asked Ranni. Alistair nodded :"I can call the spectral steed."
"Ah. As I had hoped. I was entrusted this, for thee. By Torrent's former master. 'Tis a bell for calling forth spirits." She gave him a silver bell and a grey box, seeming to be filled with ashes.
'Ooh, so this is how spirit ashes are stored. Interesting, since we never got to see how we carry literally ashes around.'
[Spirit Calling Bell
Lone Wolf Ashes]
He grabbed them gently before she continued :"Summon them with it, from ash unreturned to the Erdtree. The spirits will obey thine command but briefly, as they recall battles past. Now it is thine. To do with as thou wishest."
"Oh, thanks a lot. I'm sure they'll be useful." He smiled as he nodded :"Forgive mine intrusion, Tarnished. I doubt we shall again meet. But all the same, learn well the Lands Between. How long will it be, I wonder... before the Tarnished tire of obeisance to the Two Fingers?" And just like that, she turned to ashes and disappeared.
He looked back to see the merchant still asleep. So, not interrupting his rest, Alistair just teleported to the Gatefront, where he rested in front of the Site of Grace again. But he voiced his curiosity about Miquella's reaction :"Hey, Miquella?"
"Hm?" He didn't seem to be in a good mood, but didn't point his frustration at him :"You seemed to get mad when we saw Ranni. Why's that?"
Miquella was silent, before sighing :"It's because of what she did. Her unforgivable sin. Murdering Godwyn. Back then, Godwyn, my elder brother, was the only real family Malenia and I had. He deserved his reputation, Godwyn the Golden.
Even when we were both found to be cursed, when "mother" barely talked to me only when I requested official meetings which went ignored most of the time, and when she basically forgot she had a daughter when it was discovered that Malenia was cursed with Scarlet Rot, he was the only one really there for us.
He loved us unconditionally. Cared for us and pampered us endlessly. He was the one who taught me the basics of politics, and also the one who taught Malenia swordsmanship. More than Queen Marika or Radagon, he could be the one to be said to have raised us.
He really had a heart of gold. Heh, do you wanna know a secret? Nobody knows this except me, not even Malenia, because I accidentally discovered it and promised Godwyn I wouldn't reveal it, but I'll tell you. When Morgott and Mohg were imprisoned in the sewers, their existence was hidden.
Nobody in the outside world knew that Queen Marika had given birth to two Omens. She made sure to keep it hidden back then. But Godwyn didn't abandon his younger twin brothers. He would always go to the sewers in secret, taking large amounts of food and medicine with him to take care of them.
I only found out by accident when I was young and followed him when I found him snooping around. Then I became an accomplice. But I wasn't worried. I loved helping people. And knowing I could help our own brothers brought me great joy.
He truly was someone I could call family. No, I was proud of calling him my brother. Unlike my mother, who was literally a god, but would only bring me sadness, I was proud and happy of saying Godwyn the Golden is my elder brother. So when he died, more than anybody else, even more than Malenia, it broke me the most. I cried, cried and cried until I thought I would go blind back then.
His voice was filled with quietened rage as he clenched his fists, not worried about his nails digging into his palms and drawing out blood :"I swore I would kill Ranni when I found out she was the mastermind. Beside my goal of curing my sister and I of our curses when I became a god, taking revenge was the most important goal right next to it.
I want to create the Age of Compassion, where love is all and everybody is loved and loves. But no love will grace that bitch who murdered my dear brother, a saint recognized by all, for a selfish reason like hers. Alistair, I want you to promise me something.
Please, I beg of you, I implore you, you're my only hope mow. Help me fulfill my revenge. Help me in making the wench who murdered my brother in cold blood, yet refused to let him rest in peace, giving him a fate worse than death, pay for all her sins. Please, promise me that."
He could understand his rage. The pain of losing a sibling, especially one like Godwyn, would bring anyone the rage of the world. He didn't like Ranni anyway, and it wasn't like he needed to fulfill her quest now to get stuff he needed.
He nodded solemnly :"I promise. And don't worry, I promise to help as much as I can in giving Godwyn a proper death."
"Thanks, partner." He could hear Miquella's relieved smile :"Thank you so much."