Dark Souls 2: Rarity's Trials

Chapters

Start of an Adventure
The Fire Keepers
Learning the Basics
Forest of Fallen Giants
Searching the Ruins
Jolly Cooperation
Level Up
Heide's Tower
The Tower's Arena
Cleaning Up
Revenge
No-man's Wharf
New Discoveries
The Lost Bastille
Investigation
Continuing the Search
The Sinner
Gargoyle Hunting
Revisiting the Sinner
Facing the Pursuer
Choosing a New Path
Shaded Woods
Dangerous Enemies
Huntsman's Copse
The Chariot
The Poison Pools
New Dangers
The Baneful Queen
The Iron Keep
Smelter Demon's Surprise
The Old Iron King
Down the Gaping Hole
The Gutter
The Rotten
Back to the Shaded Ruins
Brightstone Cove
To the Castle
Finding Darkness
Storming the Castle
Looking Glass Knight
Shrine of Amana
Undead Crypt
Aldia's Keep
Dragon Aerie
Old Memories
The Dark Chasm
The First Crown
Exploring Shulva
Dragon's Sanctum
The Squalid Defenders
Visiting Brume Tower
Guardian of the Crown
Frozen Wonderland
Seeing the Unseen
The Ivory King
Guardians of the Throne
A Pleasant Surprise
Elements Collide
A Familiar Peace
Information
Passing the Doors of Pharros
Into the Depths

Start of an Adventure

Rarity let out a small sigh as she sat on one of the chairs that rested in her dining room, though she followed that up by using her magic to pour herself some tea and then levitated the cup up to her lips, where she took a few light sips from the cup before she set it back on the table. She had just finished her latest talk with Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony, who came by every couple of days to tell her, over his version of a picnic no less, about the latest adventures that her 'missing' friends had gone on. According to the stories that the draconequus told her Pinkie was supposed to be in some strange world where they used guns, vehicles, and a strange energy against their opponents, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack were busy being the daughters of a god and were fighting universe ending monsters. There was also the matter of Lyra Heartstrings and Trixie Lulamoon, who were apparently off on their own adventure in a world that was different than Equus, the world she and her friends called home.

When Discord finished his various tales he returned her to her house and left her to her own designs, where she usually returned to her work so she could catch up on whatever order she was supposed to have been working on for all the hours that she had missed. She had to drink her calming tea whenever Discord left her alone, because sometimes his tales hurt her head more than she was willing to admit, especially since she knew what her friends were doing at the moment. According to Twilight, who had the most interaction with the girls at the moment, Pinkie was off visiting her family and wouldn't be back for a few weeks, Applejack had some sort of family gathering she was attending by herself, and Rainbow had gone off to Cloudsdale for a week or two, likely visiting her parents.

On the other hoof, however, Rarity had no idea where Lyra was, as when she asked Bon Bon the candy maker had said that she hadn't seen her roommate in a couple of days, and no one had seen Trixie since the last time she had come through Ponyville.

Rarity was only being polite to Discord as she listened to his strange stories about what her friends were doing, but the stories that revolved around Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer, however, were some of the strangest she had heard yet. According to Discord the two missing unicorns, or more accurately one newly ascended alicorn and one unicorn, were in a part of the universe where they could travel between worlds, used large guns to deal with their enemies, and had a large number of exciting adventures together. Despite how accurately Discord described some of the 'locations' that Sunset and Starlight had 'visited', and he could describe them quite well, Rarity suspected that she was his only source to relieve his boredom... whenever he wasn't with Fluttershy anyway.

Of course a few days ago her reality had been shattered when Sunset and Starlight returned from their adventures, though they returned with some sort of spaceship, friends who were stranger than some of the ponies Rarity had encountered in the past, and had powers that Rarity had stopped dreaming about. Starlight could easily stand on the same level as Twilight these days, but Sunset, however, had become something more... something like a deity. Just seeing those two walking down the street, one still a pony and the other a mix of pony and what Twilight told her was a human, made her wonder if all of Discord's stories were true... and even Twilight had, somehow, become the same type of hybrid that Sunset was. At the same time, however, her own curiosity started to grow, revolving around the crystal mirror that was in Twilight's castle and the potential worlds that it could connect to now that one of it's 'anchors' had been destroyed.

Rarity wasn't big on the magical terms that Twilight used when she explained something, but what she understood was that the mirror could now be used to travel to a number of new worlds, instead of just the one that Sunset had been living on until she decided to steal Twilight's Element. For the next week, following the return of Sunset and Starlight, Rarity wondered what sort of adventure she might go on if she walked through the mirror, imagining the beauty of the world and the dresses that the royalty had to be wearing. Of course she told no one that she had fantasies of what beauty she might find on the other side of the mirror, as they would think she had gone crazy after what happened to Sunset and Starlight, but in the end her curiosity won and she started weaving together a plan so she could get at the mirror.

She waited for a week or two to pass, choosing to take a day off when Twilight, Sunset, Starlight, and Spike weren't at Twilight's castle, as she wanted to pop into the other world and explore for a few minutes without someone knowing that she had actually gone through the mirror. The opportunity was practically given to her when the group, along with Princess Luna and someone that resembled a humanoid version of Princess Celestia, departed from Ponyville and used one of the strange ships to leave the planet. Since Sweetie Belle was done for the day, and she had practically caught up on her orders, she decided to take the day off, closed the shop down, and rushed over to Twilight's castle, in a manner appropriate for someone that was in a rush.

Rarity, upon arriving at the castle, made sure to open and close the door with as little racket as possible, just in case someone else was inside the building and could have been alerted by the sound of the door opening, before she started her search for the crystal mirror. Fortunately it didn't take her too long to find the mirror in question, as when she made her way passed the ballroom she discovered that the mirror was still resting in the same place she had seen it when Twilight went to help Sunset deal with the Sirens. She found it somewhat odd that Twilight hadn't bothered to move the mirror from the library, where anyone could use it on accident, but was pleased at the same time, as that meant that she didn't have to spend hours searching for the mirror.

She looked at the crystal mirror for a moment, watching as the seemingly clear surface of the mirror shimmered for a few seconds and revealed a scene to her, where she could have sworn that she spotted who she assumed was Rainbow and Applejack as they fought some sort of pink monstrosity. A few seconds later the mirror returned to normal, as if it hadn't shown her anything, but at the same time the small showing she had been given didn't deter her from sating her curiosity at all. In fact the showing made her more excited to see what sort of world she would be sent to and what sort of culture the people of that world had... to which she sighed and pressed a hoof against the shimmering surface of the mirror for a moment.

"Hello?" a voice said, echoing through the halls outside the room that Rarity was standing in at the moment, though at the same time she recognized the voice, "Is someone there?"

Rarity froze for a moment, because she could have sworn that Discord had either followed Twilight's group out of the castle or had gone to Canterlot, where Fluttershy was taking care one of the noble's exotic pets that their staff couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. She had always told Discord that she wasn't interested in his 'stories' and that she wasn't interested in going to one of the other worlds that the rest of her friends had gone to. Instead of sticking around, and letting Discord know that she was actually interested in his tales, Rarity threw caution to the wind and charged into the crystal mirror, vanishing before she could be found out.

Discord, having been using the ballroom for something important that Twilight had asked him to work on, popped his head into the library for a moment and looked around, finding a light shimmer on the mirror's surface that was dissipating as the mirror returned to normal.

"Hmm... someone's used the mirror recently..." Discord commented, to which he let out a sigh as he realized what that meant, while at the same time pulling himself back to the ballroom, "Twilight won't be happy when she hears that someone else entered the mirror."

He would check the crystal mirror later with his magic, to see who had entered the mirror and determine which world, in the vastness of their universe, they had been taken to... after he received a lecture from Princess Twilight about allowing someone else to use the 'broken' mirror.

Rarity moaned as feeling returned to her body, as she hadn't expected traveling through the crystal mirror to hurt so much or even knock her out in the process, because based on what Discord had told her this sort of thing didn't happen to the others that had used the mirror. Parts of her body, from what she was feeling at the moment, refused to obey her commands and she was left sitting, in a strange position no less, against what she assumed was some sort of stone or marble pillar. It took a few minutes for her to get her eyes to open, though when she did she found herself in some sort of strange underground like area with several stone pillars connecting the ground and the ceiling, while at the same time she noticed a large crack in the distance that was allowing a decent amount of light into the area she was in.

Once her eyes had gotten used to the light, and she was aware of the fact that her surroundings seemed very dark and depressing, she finally looked down at her body and noticed that it had, by some unknown means, transformed since the moment she passed through the crystal mirror. Her body structure had gone from her usual pony form and transformed into the same strange hybrid body that Princess Celestia and Twilight had been sporting since the return of Sunset Shimmer, as she now appeared to be a cross between a human and a pony. From what she could tell her skin color was the same and her tail was where it belonged, though her hind legs had the structure of a pony and ended in hooves while her front legs, however, had been changed into what Twilight had called arms and hands, with five fingers on each of her new hands. A few seconds later her ears twitched, indicating that they were on the top of her head, just like what she had seen with Twilight's new form, but she desperately wished that she had a mirror so she could see what she looked like in her transformed state.

A few moments later she heard a second moan, one that was coming from behind where she was sitting, to which she slowly turned her head to the left and found that the pillar she was resting on was attached to some sort of ancient shrine... only the basin that should be in the middle of the structure was missing. In its place rested someone that was wearing some sort of traveling gear, as the person in question appeared to be wearing something that was mean for a journey through the countryside and not meant for battle. Parts of the clothing seemed ready to come apart, as if they had been hastily put together for whatever journey the person had gone through, but her expert eye could tell that it was close to coming undone.

What disturbed Rarity was the fact that the person's skin, what little of it she could see thanks to the majority of the clothing covering the vast majority of the person's body, was a sickly shade of green... almost like the person's skin was rotting and they wanted to cover it while they sought a cure.

Rarity was sick to her stomach by just the sight of what she was seeing, and what her mind was suggesting that it might be, but before she could actually do anything she noticed that the person's body was starting to move, as one of the hands pulled back towards the body and started to pick the person up. She watched as the person pulled themselves to their full height, though it took a few seconds for the person, who she was assuming had to be male based on some of the muscles she could see under the tattered clothing he was wearing, to notice the area that was resting around them. From what little Rarity could see, thanks to all of the clothing the man was wearing, she had to assume that he seemed confused about where he was... which was what she was feeling at the moment.

"Where... in the world am I?" the man asked, though his voice allowed Rarity to identify his gender, indicating that she had been right with her guess, but at the same time she knew that the man likely had no idea that she was even there.

"I have no idea where we are," Rarity admitted, causing the man to look to his right and notice that she was sitting there, though she still made no attempt to pull herself from where she was sitting, "All I know is that the two of us, by our own methods, did something that knocked us out and brought us here... to wherever here is."

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe we have met each other before today," the man said, though at the same time Rarity determined that he was cautious when he encountered strangers, which meant that something must have happened to him before he arrived in this underground place, "Who are you exactly?"

"My name is Rarity, and I hail from Equestria." Rarity replied, though even as she spoke she could tell that some of her words were confusing the man, but at the same time he didn't say anything to counter what she had told him, "And what is your name?"

"Edric... my name is Edric." the man stated, but Rarity could tell that his eyes were no longer on her, as it appeared that he was staring off into the distance, as if he was searching for some sort of building or structure, "I think there might be a structure up ahead somewhere... shall we go take a look and see what we find?"

Rarity glanced down at her legs for a moment, as she had absolutely no idea how to walk in this form, but at the same time she didn't want to stay behind and do nothing, especially with all the effort she put into making sure she had a chance to access the crystal mirror. She let out a sigh as she gently placed her new hands on the ground in front of her, which was a strange sensation that she had never experienced before, and gently eased herself onto her hooves, to the best of her ability. She also used the pillar behind her to stabilize herself, as she was definitely weak on these new legs of hers, but after a few moments she was standing at her full height, which was just about equal to Edric's height.

When she tried to walk, however, she immediately tumbled towards the ground, though Edric grabbed her before she could actually hit the ground and wrapped her left arm around his head while using his right arm to hold onto the right side of her new body. She guessed that he was being friendly and was helping out someone that was clearly confused, which she appreciated from the bottom of her heart, before the two of them slowly walked up the hill that was in front of the small gazebo that they had found themselves on. Rarity knew that, in time, she could master the art of walking with her new legs and not fall to the ground like she had just done, as she suspected that Edric wouldn't be there to help her every time it happened, as he had likely come to this place for a different reason than she did.

She had absolutely no idea where she was, or which of the numerous worlds she had been transported to, but she was sure that she could make this situation work out for her... and have nothing horrible happen to her in the time she spent visiting this new world.

The Fire Keepers

As Rarity and Edric slowly walked up the hill that was in front of them, mostly because Rarity was unfamiliar with her new body and had no idea how to walk properly, they both spotted something moving in the grass ahead of them, causing them to pause for a moment. As the movements continued Rarity wished that they had something to defend themselves with, as she had didn't even consider bringing any weapons through the crystal mirror with her, and she had no idea where to find one short of robbing one of Princess Celestia's guards. Plus she couldn't access her magic at the moment, which meant that something in this world was interfering with her natural magic, as she was positive that she still had her horn because Twilight still had hers in her hybrid form.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as whatever creature was lurking around them decided to make itself known, to which she and Edric watched as some sort of black furred animal, which looked like a cross between a lemur and a dog, jumped out of the slightly tall grass and looked at them. After a few more seconds Rarity heard the sounds of something else moving in the grass around them, to which she slowly looked around and spotted three more sets of eyes staring at them, which meant that the creature in front of them wasn't alone. The poor creature stared at them for a few seconds, as if it was trying to determine whether they were friends or foes, before it yipped and backed away into the shadows, leading the other three to follow the silent command and disappeared as well.

"Edric," Rarity said, to which she noticed that her companion was doing the same thing she was, glancing around to make sure that those creatures weren't coming back to attack them, "do you have any idea what those beasts were?"

"No, I've never seen their like before in my entire life." Edric replied, though that was followed by him pulling her forward, indicating that they were continuing their journey towards the structure that he thought he had seen, "Hopefully that's the last we see of them."

Rarity nodded as she looked at what laid ahead of them, because when Edric mentioned that he might have seen a structure she had been praying for him to be right, but now that she could see the structure in question, however, it reminded her of Twilight's first house in Ponyville. The structure in front of them appeared to be a house that had been built into the trunk of a large tree, complete with a small bridge for them to walk over, so they didn't have to cross a running stream, and a ramp for them to reach the door. When they reached the door, however, Edric insisted on being the one to open it, to which Rarity sighed and let him do what he wanted... though when the door was open, and they both walked inside, they were a little surprised by what they found.

The found four ladies, three of which were clearly much older than Rarity was while the fourth was much younger than the other three, resting in the room that they had walked into. The three elderly ladies were wearing red robes, which covered the majority of their bodies, and were sitting in some wooden chairs, while the fourth lady was standing on the right side of the room, almost appearing to be someone that was supposed to take care of someone else. Rarity quickly determined that the three elderly ladies were important, which was why they had someone that was supposed to be watching over them, but she said nothing as she and Edric walked closer to the table... which was when Edric gently let go of her arm so she could steady herself with the table in front of them.

"Heh heh heh…" one of the old ladies, one of the two that were sitting near the table, said, though at the same time Rarity suspected that they were going to be tough ladies to talk to, "What seems to be the ruckus?"

"Ooh, my! Your face." the other lady at the table said, her head turning in Edric's direction, which told Rarity that there was definitely something wrong with her companion like she originally believed, "The face of the curse."

"It's an Undead and its companion." the third lady, the one resting near the fireplace, stated, though at the same time it sounded like she didn't care too much for what was going on, "A pair of Undead have come to play. They all end up here, all the ones like you. You spoke to that kind old dear, didn't you?"

Rarity was completely lost by what the elderly lady near the fireplace was talking about, because she had mentioned that a pair of 'Undead' had come forward, when in reality Rarity knew that the only one like that had to be Edric, based on what she had seen earlier. When she opened her mouth to say something, however, Edric held a hand up for a moment so he could hear the elderly ladies speak, indicating that this was important, to which Rarity nodded and focused her attention on the elderly ladies as well.

"You're finished." the elderly lady near the fireplace stated, though at the same time it was clear that she was either finished talking or she wanted one of the others to speak up again.

"You'll go Hollow." the second lady spoke up, causing Rarity and Edric to turn towards her again, while at the same time the helping lady brought over something for her to drink, "Yes, you will become one of them. Hollows prey upon men, feast upon their souls. This is the fate of the cursed."

Rarity didn't like she was hearing, because the thought of someone preying on the souls of others made her remember what Tirek had done, as he had sucked out the magic from ponies and empowered himself in the process. She knew that it wasn't the same thing, but it was the best comparison she had at the moment, though at the same time she could tell that Edric wasn't liking the news that he was being given either.

"What is your name?" the first lady asked, causing both Rarity and Edric to turn towards her, as she had been silent the entire time, before they looked at each other and nodded.

"My name is Edric," Edric replied, noticing that all three of the elderly ladies were silent, as if they were waiting for both of them to talk before they started chuckling again.

"And I am Rarity," Rarity added, though she found it odd that when all three of the elderly ladies laughed, as they started doing so after she said her name, they did so in perfect harmony.

"At least the two of you know your own names." the first lady replied, once she and her sisters, for that was what Rarity assumed they were, had stopped laughing, though she followed that up by reaching into her robe and pulled something out, "Here's your reward for sharing. It's a Human Effigy. Take a closer look… Who do you think it's supposed to be? Think back, deep into your past."

"Is... is it an effigy of myself?" Edric asked, though he sounded a little uncertain as he stared at the item he had been handed, though Rarity could see why he was uncertain, as the thing he was holding appeared to be a number of metal bands arranged to resemble the upper part of a person's body.

"Yes, it's an effigy of you." the first lady said, apparently pleased by what Edric had said, though at the same time Rarity had to wonder what was so special about the item anyway.

She immediately got her answer, as Edric's body glowed for a moment as the upper part of his clothing melted away before her eyes, revealing the rotten skin and sickly nature of his body, before whatever magic was at work quickly restored his body to a healthy, and not rotting, state. Rarity watched as Edric's clothing morphed into a set of what she guessed was leather armor, while at the same time his boots and gloves morphed in shape until they matched the armor he was now wearing. His hood pulled back and revealed his rugged, yet slightly beautiful, facial features that had been restored like the rest of his body, before his hood morphed into a helmet of some kind and settled down on his head, making Edric look like a warrior.

The look even came complete with a small shield that appeared to be made out of some sort of metal, likely iron by Rarity's guess, and a sword of some kind, though it took Rarity a moment to realize that the blade had been snapped in half at some point in time.

"And what about you dear?" the first lady commented, holding a second effigy out towards Rarity, who gently took it in her hands and glanced down at it for a moment, "What do you see when you look into the effigy?"

For a moment Rarity thought about answering that she would have seen her old self, her pony self, when she glanced down at the effigy, but that was where she was wrong, as a few seconds later her body started to glow as well. The strange magic that had changed Edric's attire worked on her as well, transforming her ragged robes, which she had ignored when she first woke up, into a black robe that flowed down towards her knees before they cut off. Whatever she had been wearing over the lower part of her body transformed as well, becoming what she assumed was a pair of trousers, before two weapons formed in her hands; a small dagger in her right hand and a wooden staff of some kind in her left hand. A few moments later she felt something unlock in her mind, almost as if she was being granted some sort of knowledge, and she realized that she had been given a spell to use for while she was in this world... something called a 'Soul Arrow'.

A few seconds later, when the glowing stopped, she realized that she looked like one of those sorcerers, or in her case a sorceress, from one of those games that Spike liked to play when he was alone in Twilight's castle... before she shook her head and looked at the group once more.

"All people come here for the same reason." the first lady stated, patiently waiting for Rarity and Edric to finish being molded by whatever magic that had been at work, and transformed their clothing in such a manner, before she bothered talking again, "To break the curse."

"You're no different, I should think?" the second lady added, though that was followed by what appeared to be a hint of sadness, as if she didn't believe in either of them, "Hmm… doesn't stand a chance."

"Well, you never know!" the elderly lady near the fireplace said, causing all of them to laugh for a few moments, before they all became serious once more, "Go through the door and trot along to the kingdom."

"But remember, hold on to your souls." the first lady added, though at the word 'souls' Rarity knew that she was definitely missing something, and she was sure that Edric knew what the ladies were talking about, "They're all that keep you from going Hollow. Oh, I'll fool you no longer… You'll lose your souls… All of them. Over and over again."

Rarity turned towards Edric for a moment, trying to understand what insanity she had gotten herself into, but before she could say anything Edric beckoned for her to follow him as he walked towards the other door that was on the opposite side of the room. As he walked away, however, Rarity found an immediate use for the staff that she had been given, to which she used it as a walking stick as she carefully made her way over to the second door, though when she arrived Edric opened the door and allowed her to walk outside first. As the two of them walked outside, however, Rarity discovered what appeared to be some sort of sign that gave them some information, which meant that she had stumbled into a quest on a completely different world.

"Let's see here," Edric commented, bending down to read the sign for a moment, while at the same time Rarity pulled back to politely close the door that they had opened, before she returned to her companion's side, "It says 'Bonfires are places of respite' and that we may 'also light torches at them'."

The 'bonfire' was actually a pile of bones and ash that had a sword of some kind stuck in the middle of it, as the tip of the sword seemed to be piercing the pile, though when Edric held a hand towards the blade a fire ignited from the middle of the pile and lit up the area a tiny bit. Rarity was a little freaked out about the bonfire, because she had actually never seen anything like it before, but Edric seemed to be a little relaxed at the moment, which worried her considering what the elderly ladies told them.

"Edric, can I ask you a question?" Rarity said, though at the same time she gently sat down on the rock that was near the bonfire, while her companion turned his head and looked at her, "What did that lady mean when she said that we were 'Undead'? I only woke up in this world a few minutes ago and there's no way that something killed me, so what did they mean whey they used that term?"

"It means that we were branded by the symbol of the curse," Edric replied, sounding a little bit surprised by Rarity's question, as if he had expected her to know this, before he removed his helm, pulled off part of his armor, and showed his left shoulder to Rarity.

Rarity stared at Edric's shoulder for a moment, noticing a terrifying mark on his skin, one that appeared to be a swirling mass of darkness that was gathered around a central point, though at the same time the dark tendrils didn't touch the tip of his shoulder or the side of his body. After a few seconds Edric pulled his armor back up and made sure that it was in place, before he slipped his helm back on and fastened it back into place, making it look like he had never taken it off to begin with.

"That was the mark of the curse," Edric explained, letting out a sigh for a moment, meaning that there was more to the curse than what Rarity knew, which she silently realized was nothing, "It first showed up some time ago and I tried to ignore it, but eventually some raiders attacked the village and forced me and the others to defend ourselves. We managed to repel them, but at the same time one of them scored a lucky blow and managed to fell me... and that was when I discovered, for myself, the full nature of the curse. I died in that battle, and the other villagers saw it before their eyes, but at the same time I came back and lost a piece of myself to the curse, until I stopped caring about everyone around me.

My wife eventually gave me an ultimatum; either find a cure for the curse, or she and my daughter were going to leave and find somewhere else to live... which finally snapped me back to reality and I started my journey to come to this forsaken place. There's supposed to be a cure for the curse in this land, though I have no idea how one is supposed to get the cure and figured that someone would explain things to me."

"Edric... I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you," Rarity said, as she was still shocked by the appearance of the twisted mark on her companion's shoulder, and the eerie feeling she got when she looked at it, but that still didn't explain why the elderly ladies had said the same thing about her, "but I don't have a mark like that anywhere on my body. I don't understand why those ladies would label me as an Undead as well."

"Well, there's only one way to tell for sure," Edric replied, to which he got onto his feet and walked over to her, where he placed a hand on her shoulder, almost as if he was trying to calm her down, "Do you mind if I take a look at your shoulder? Its the only way to be sure you have the mark... or determine that the old ladies temporarily lost their minds."

Rarity was a little shocked by how forward Edric was about wanting to look at her shoulder, but she quickly determined that it was the only way to determine if she had the mark or not. She wasn't feeling the emotional numbness that Edric had mentioned, which eventually lead to his wife delivering her ultimatum, or anything else that her companion had told her about, but she eventually sighed and nodded her head. A few seconds later Edric gently moved the neck of her robe and pulled it down just a bit so he could see her shoulder, in the same manner that he had shown her his own shoulder. Rarity stopped breathing for a few moments, if she wasn't already, as she waited for her companion to give her the news about her condition... and whether she was going to become like him.

A few more seconds passed before Edric gently returned the part of her robe to where it had been before he had pulled it down, to which she watched as her companion sat back down at the bonfire with a frown on his face.

"Edric... what's wrong?" Rarity asked, though at the same time she could actually hear the fear in her voice, because despite the fact that she didn't know anything about the curse that plagued Edric she still dreaded having the affliction herself.

"Rarity... I'm sorry, but you have the mark as well," Edric replied, though at the same time Rarity's eyes went wide, because this was something that she didn't want to happen to her, "the elderly ladies were right... you are Undead, just like me."

Rarity was devastated, because she wasn't entirely sure what being Undead entailed and not knowing anything about her new affliction terrified her to no end. When she determined that she was going to enter the crystal mirror, and go on a slight adventure, this wasn't what she had in mind at all, though now that she was cursed she had no choice but to stay and find the same cure that Edric was searching for. Based on what the elderly ladies had said she and Edric would need to gather souls to prevent themselves from going 'hollow', but it chilled her to her bones to consider killing someone and take their essence to keep herself sane. Sure, she had fought against the Changelings during Princess Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding, but she had only knocked them unconscious... but this was something different and she had no idea if she could bring herself to kill someone else, even if it was to save herself.

At that moment she had no idea if she had what it took to survive in this strange and dark world that she had found herself in... and she was worried that she was going to die so many times due to her inexperience, before she even had a chance to find the cure that Edric had told her about.

Learning the Basics

Rarity stared at the bonfire that Edric was sitting in front of for a few moments, not sure what to make of her current situation as one of the cursed Undead that apparently wandered the mysterious land she had found herself in. According to what her companion said he had noticed the symbol of the curse appear on his shoulder some time before he actually died, which must have been why his skin had started to rot bit by bit. As far as she could tell she was still whole, as in she hadn't died and hadn't started progressing towards becoming a Hollow, which had to be what nearly happened to Edric before he came to the area they were in. Unfortunately she knew that her inexperience would cost her, which meant that part of her fate was to take on the same appearance that her companion had been wearing when they first encountered each other... though she was thankful for having the fortune to not see what Edric had looked like when he woke up earlier.

A few moments later, however, Edric got up and walked over to the cart that was resting near the bonfire, to which he gently moved it out of the way and picked up two items; a torch and a strange white substance that coiled around his hand, which made Rarity think that it was a soul of some kind.

"Is... is that a soul?" Rarity asked, as she had very little experience in this sort of thing, save for Tirek stealing her magic some time ago, but that wasn't relevant to their current situation.

"I think so," Edric replied, though instead of doing anything with it he simply opened the pack that he was carrying and storied the items inside it, before he closed it and looked at Rarity, "I have absolutely no idea what to do with a random soul that was laying on the ground, but something tells me that we'll figure that out in the near future. Now come on, we had best get our journey started and get out of this area."

Rarity wasn't too keen on starting their journey, especially since she was son inexperienced in this sort of thing, but she also didn't want her companion to depart from the area and leave her stranded here with no one to talk to. After another few seconds she let out a sigh and pulled herself back onto her new legs, allowing her hooves to touch the ground once more, before nodding to Edric. Together the two of them approached the opening in the wall, which was halfway between where the bonfire and the cart was located, and ventured into unknown territory, to which Edric drew his sword and Rarity tightened her grip on her staff.

They only had to take a couple of steps before they found themselves in a new part of the area they had awoken in, though the area around them seemed to be made out of large trees, with several openings that were surrounded by fog, and walkways that appeared to be made out of stone. Rarity also spotted several scones that they could light and bring some extra light to the area they were in, though Edric was the one with the torch and it was his decision if he wanted to use the torch so soon after finding it. She and Edric walked a few more steps forward before they investigated the fog on their left, which was acting like some sort of gate or door and only dissipated when the duo had placed their hands on it.

Since they had just opened up another path to take they decided to see what dangers awaited them, to which Edric walked in front and Rarity stayed in the back... though not a few seconds later they found some signs that gave a brief description on how to attack, along with two hollows for them to practice on. Edric, having some experience with a weapon, was able to dispatch his opponent in seconds, though it took Rarity longer than that to deal with the enemy that was in front of her. She had absolutely no idea how to command this world's version of magic, which was the only thing that she was really good at, until she eventually focused on the spell she had learned minutes ago and thrust her staff forward... to which a blue ball of magic, which almost resembled an arrow, shot forward and blasted the hollow into the nearby wall.

Rarity and Edric stared at the defeated hollow that she had blasted, as she was surprised that the creature could have been so easily defeated, but then she determined that this had to be a training ground of some kind, for people like her and Edric, and that the enemies were this weak on purpose for them to master their skills before they moved onto the area that was beyond this one. She stood there for a moment, still a little shocked that she had actually killed something, before the defeated hollows turned to dust before their eyes, though at the same time she felt something stir inside her for a few seconds before settling down. It was a curious feeling, making her wonder if these training enemies had some soul fragments that she and Edric might be able to collect, as they had been told to hold onto their souls, but at first she had thought that the elderly ladies were referring to their own souls and not ones they collected... until she finally shook her head and decided not to think about it at the moment.

Since she didn't know anything about this world, and what the elderly ladies actually meant, she figured that it was better to learn the basics that the area was teaching them before she got left behind.

The next few signs they found detailed the importance of locking onto your enemies, which they both excelled at, dashing around an area, which caused Rarity to fall face first into the ground, and scoring valuable hits by attacking an enemy's back. Once they had gotten those down, even if it was just a tiny bit of practice, they moved onward and found that the area they were in was much larger than they had first thought, where Rarity noticed two large creatures walking in the water beneath them. They were massive, at least twice the size of both her and Edric, and their skin color resembled a grey stone of some kind, while at the same time Rarity noticed that they had one eye and carried no weapons... though she already didn't want to tangle with them.

"Edric, do you have any idea what those creatures are?" Rarity commented, pointing down at the pair of creatures that were walking in the water, while at the same time spotting a path that apparently lead right to them.

"Not really," Edric replied, taking a moment to study the creatures that had been brought to his attention, as he wanted to be sure he had some information on them in case they encountered more of the in the future, before something came to mind, "I'm not one hundred percent sure on this, but maybe they're ogres... and they'll likely squish us flat if we're not careful."

"Right..." Rarity said, taking one last look down at the two ogres, if that was what they really were, before she followed Edric up the path that was on their left, allowing them to see whatever lessons remained for them to learn.

They encountered another enemy that was intended for them to practice the backstabbing ability on, which Edric performed so they could reach the upper part of the path they were on, to which they found a body that had a dagger, much like the one Rarity was carrying, resting next to it. Edric insisted that Rarity at least take the second dagger with her, because they had no idea what sort of gear they would need in the future and he was sure that, at some point in time, they would discover a shop that she could sell it to. Rarity, deciding not to waste valuable resources, picked up the dagger and stored it in her own pack, which she hadn't noticed until this point in time, because she had been too focused on learning about her new affliction and what it had done to her companion.

With the second dagger in hand the duo turned around and walked through another opening, where they discovered a sign that told them how to roll and a second one that, for some reason, told them how they were able to switch between the weapon they were carrying and one that was on their belts. In order to practice the second one Rarity handed Edric the second dagger they had acquired and watched him sheath his sword in order to draw the dagger, before returning to his original weapon. Edric then handed Rarity the sword, which caused her to bend over a tiny bit, and had her practice for a few moments before he took it back, so they could focus on the two hollows that were patiently waiting in the area around them.

When the hollows were taken care of they spent a few minutes rolling around, which Edric was able to perfectly perform after his fifth attempt, though Rarity was still having problems and by her tenth attempt she called it off so they could continue moving forward.

They followed the path to their left for a few seconds, as it brought them to a tunnel that wasn't much higher than the area they had been in, before they approached a sign that taught them how to backstep, which was basically them jumping a step or two backwards. Rarity determined that this ability was useful for taking out certain opponent, as in they could jump back and allow the attacker's weapon to hit the ground in front of them, allowing her or Edric to jump forward and land a blow that would win them the fight. Edric seemed to agree with her statement, though they were given the opportunity to practice the ability with another hollow that appeared to be alone... until Rarity noticed that there was an archer at the back of the room.

As Edric focused on taking out the warrior hollow, and commanded all of its attention, Rarity did her best to avoid the archer's arrows as she used two of her Soul Arrows to take the archer down, opening the way forward once their opponents had been eliminated.

"So, how does it feel to take a life?" Edric asked, though at the same time he approached another corpse, which had been there when they entered the room, and made sure to grab anything useful that might have been left behind.

"I feel terrible." Rarity admitted, staring down at the archer that she had taken out, which evaporated like all of the other enemies they had taken out so far, before she turned to her companion, "I know that these enemies are hollows, and that they'll stop at nothing to kill us, but they were once people that were searching for the same cure that we're looking for... only they failed in their mission. A part of me is happy that we have freed them from this fate, while the other part of me is terrified of this fate happening to me and is horrified that I'm fighting them... and killing them I might add."

"You still have your humanity, which is why you feel this way," Edric explained, though as he spoke he pulled a crystal from the corpse he had been looting and turned to face his companion, "Trust me, it isn't easy to take a life. I was forced to take several of them during the attack on my village, but that was in self defense and the fact that if I didn't do something my family was going to die before my eyes. Rarity... do you have any family?"

"Y... Yes." Rarity replied, somewhat shocked by the question, though at the same time she only worried about her younger sister, who was likely scared out of her mind by now, "My parents and my younger sister."

"Then keep your family as your focal point," Edric said, a smile appearing on his face and he placed a hand on her shoulder, though something told Rarity that she knew exactly what he was going to say to her, "Thinking about my family got me through the attack on my village and drove me to come here... so let your family drive you to overcome your fears and push you towards finding the cure."

Rarity had never considering thinking like that, especially since she had never been in a position like this before in her entire life, but she couldn't fault her companion's logic, as she knew that his family had been the reason he was here, so he could cure himself and go home. She pictured Sweetie Belle in her mind for a moment, and all the fond memories that she had of her younger sister, and mentally promised herself that she would find the cure and a way home, before sighing and looking up at her companion.

"Its weak at the moment, but I can see the determination in your eyes," Edric said, to which he approached the fog door that was blocking their path and placed a hand on it, "Come on, let's see what else those elderly ladies wanted us to learn before we find our way out of here."

Rarity nodded and followed Edric through the fog door, to which they found themselves on a ledge of some kind and that a nest resting near where they had walked out of the room they had been in, while at the same time Rarity found a ladder that would allow them to descend back towards the walkway they had been walking on earlier. Of course Edric had to kick the ladder to make it connect back to the path they had been walking on, but it was worth it considering that they were allowed to return to the location of the first fog door. Once they were back on the lowest walkway they continued walking forward, until they stopped at the fog door on their right and opened it up, finding another area for them to explore, and likely more lessons to learn before they walked out into the dangerous world.

The first pair of signs they discovered in the new area detailed how to use a weapon in a two-handed manner, which Edric decided to use while Rarity simply watched him cut the two hollows apart, as she had no intentions to use a weapon in such a manner. The next room they walked into had a sign that detailed the art of a dash jump, which Edric used to jump over the gap in front of them and loot an Amber Herb from the corpse that he and Rarity could see from where they had been standing. He then returned to Rarity, allowing her to practice the skill as well for a few moments, before they turned towards the sign and spotted a ladder that lead them up to an area that had three signs; one that detailed how to parry an opponent's attack, one that detailed how to do a plunging attack, and another that detailed how to do a guard break, which Rarity assumed had to do with a shield.

Once they had the information in mind Edric jumped into the area below them and slammed his sword into the opponent that was down there, knocking him to the floor for a few seconds, though while he was stunned Edric beckoned for Rarity to join him and caught her when she jumped down. The moment Rarity touched the floor she turned her attention to an enemy that was hiding to the side and turned her staff on it, blasting the hollow into the wall while her companion dealt with the hollow he had landed on. With the enemies taken care of they spotted a door, a wooden one, resting in the hole that Rarity had spotted the hollow in, though when they opened the door they found a corpse that had a red of orb of some kind... one that was cracked, as Rarity noticed the condition as Edric held it for a few seconds.

The moment they were done in this training area, which was very short in Rarity's opinion, they passed through the next fog door and walked out onto another walkway, which required them to drop down onto the walkway below them so they could move onto what appeared to be the third and final training area... though they walked back to the bonfire to take a quick break before they moved forward.

After a few minutes of rest they got up and made their way to the third training area, with its fog door, where they discovered a large tree that looked like it would be rather easy to knock down, a sign sitting next to it, and an archer that wanted to hurt them. Rarity, however, used her Soul Arrow and put the archer down, allowing Edric to make sure that the sign was detailing how to knock things down, like the tree next to them, before he actually pushed the tree down and created a walkway for them. They spotted a hole that would take them to the area below them, where a fog door was located, to which they jumped down and were attacked by the enemies that were in there, which happened to be another archer and a warrior.

Rarity, once again, focused on the ranged attacker while Edric dealt with the warrior, though once their enemies were taken care of they found a short ladder that allowed them to reach the area where the fog door was located, which brought them to the area that one of the ogres were in. Edric, instead of engaging the ogre, walked up the path to the left of the area they had walked out of and knocked over another tree, allowing them to walk back onto the main walkway once more. Rarity followed him and inquired why he didn't want to fight the ogres, not that she wanted to fight them either, and he said that he knew that they weren't ready for such an opponent, especially since she was still so inexperienced with her new body and skills.

They moved over the new bridge that Edric had created and they returned to the main walkway, which brought them to what appeared to be a passage in the rock wall that they had been heading towards... though when they reached the end of the passage they were surprised by what they found. As they walked out of the passage, and let the bright sunlight touch their faces, both Rarity and Edric glanced down the path in front of them and spotted a town of sorts resting in front of them. When they reached the entrance of the town, however, they found that it was decaying before their eyes, as one of the buildings seemed to have a busted roof of sorts, while at the same time noticing that there was a monument resting on the edge of the town.

Edric and Rarity walked into the town and took stock of what they could see, which included what appeared to be a large hole in the ground, a small well that had a rock on it, four buildings that resembled houses, though the one with the small well looked like mansion and less like a house, and a bonfire resting near the cliff on their right. The first thing they did was activate the inactive bonfire, giving them a place to relax in the future, before they spotted a lady, wearing a green cape and hood with what Rarity guessed was some sort of priestess clothes. The lady didn't seem to notice them until they were literally right beside her, though when they stopped next to her, and Edric started to open his mouth, the lady turned to them and observed them for a few seconds.

"Are one of you… the next monarch?" the lady asked, causing Edric and Rarity to look at each other, because this was the first time they had heard that line, before they glanced back at the person they were listening to, "Or… Merely the pawns of fate? Bearers of the curse… I will remain by your side. Till this frail hope shatters… Take these with you. May they ease your journey."

That was followed by the lady pulling out two flasks that contained a yellow-orange colored liquid inside them, though Rarity and Edric took them and attached them to their belts, despite the fact that they weren't sure what the flasks were for just yet.

"Go on, and see the King." the lady continued, her hands returning to where they had been a few seconds ago, before she pulled the flasks out, though she was still looking at the two of them, "He who made Drangleic what it once was; he who peered at the essence of the soul... King Vendrick."

"Okay, so how do we see King Vendrick?" Rarity asked, because based on everything she had seen so far she knew that gaining an audience with someone as important as the king was going to be a nearly impossible journey, especially since they had no idea where the king was located.

"Seek misery... for misery will lead you to greater, stronger souls." the lady replied, while at the same time Rarity mentally moaned to herself, because this was definitely starting to sound impossible, "Neither of you will never meet the King while your souls are so frail and pallid."

"And what souls are we looking for exactly?" Edric inquired, knowing that the more they learned about their quest, which the elderly ladies told them nothing about, the more they would be able to determine where they needed to go first and what supplies they would need for the journey.

"Seek those whose names are unutterable, the four endowed with immense souls." the lady explained, though at the same time the fact that she couldn't tell them who they were looking for annoyed Rarity a little bit, because it meant that they would be killing a large number of enemies before they found their targets, "Their souls will serve as beacons. Once you have found them, return here to me. So that hope will not fade away."

Rarity let out a sigh as she and Edric returned to the bonfire, though before she took a seat Edric briefly mentioned that he wanted to talk with the shopkeepers before they started planning their first move, to which she simply nodded and followed him around the small town. The first house they came to was clearly the home of a blacksmith, as Edric recognized the structure almost immediately, but the smith was apparently locked outside of his house and told them that he had no idea where the key was located. That annoyed both Edric and Rarity a little bit, mainly because Edric was hoping to get a better weapon than his broken sword, but in the end they accepted that fact and headed to what appeared to be the armourer's shop... where they found nothing to replace Edric's starting armor.

Edric had no interest in the third shop, allowing Rarity to walk inside the building and look around while he returned to the bonfire, indicating that he wanted to think about what they knew before they started planning where they needed to go first. As she walked into the shop, however, she found that the owner was nowhere to be seen and that there was a cat laying on the table, who glanced up at her as she walked into the building.

"Oh… Undead, are we?" a voice said, though as Rarity looked around the room she was in the cat got up and sat on the table, causing Rarity to turn towards it for a moment.

"Um, yes, I guess I an one of the cursed Undead." Rarity replied, still not liking the fact that she was cursed with the same affliction that Edric had, while at the same time she turned towards the table and locked her eyes with the cat, "You are the one that talked just now, aren't you?"

"I did, though instead of calling me a cat you may call me Shalquoir." the cat replied, though while Rarity was a little shocked by the fact that the cat was talking, the tone of the cat's voice told her that the feline was female, "Enchanté."

"Its nice to meet you as well," Rarity said, because she assumed that Shalquoir had said something to the effect of 'nice to meet you', but she wasn't a hundred percent sure that she was correct in her thinking, "My name is Rarity."

"So, Rarity, did you come looking for something specific?" Shalquoir asked, indicating that she was actually the shopkeeper, though at this point Rarity wasn't too surprised by that, because she was sure that someone on this world would be shocked when they heard that a pony ran a shop... if she ever told anyone about the world she was actually from.

"My companion and I just arrived in town and I was curious as to what you were selling." Rarity answered, as that was the truth, because even if Edric didn't care what was being sold here she figured that having the knowledge of what was here would help them in the future.

"I sell four items; Homeward Bones, Alluring Skulls, Prism Stones, and Lloyd's Talismans," Shalquoir replied, to which Rarity saw an image of each item appear beside the cat, as if she was using some sort of magic to reveal her wares, "as well as some special rings that are quite expensive... especially for a fresh Undead."

"Oh, then I'll come by later when I have more of the required funds and purchase something then," Rarity stated, as she had no idea how the money system worked in this world and had no idea how much each of the items cost, though she was pleased to find that Shalquoir wasn't offended by her statement.

"As you wish," Shalquoir said, to which the images disappeared with a flick of her tail, though she also seemed focused on something that Rarity was completely unaware of at the moment, "You have an otherworldly smell about you... and it smells quite wonderful. My dear Rarity, feel free to stop by whenever you like... even if you aren't buying anything."

Rarity had no idea what Shalquoir was talking about, as she was sure that she didn't smell at the moment, but there was something about the cat's statement that made her wonder if she might know more than she was telling her. She also thanked Shalquoir for the invitation to visit her house, even if she wasn't coming to buy anything, before she politely excused herself and headed back to the bonfire. Her thoughts turned from Shalquoir and landed upon the quest that she and Edric were about to embark on, where they were likely going to travel the whole of Drangleic, which had to be the kingdom they were in, and found four beings that possessed souls that were different than what the other creatures possessed... four souls that would allow them to see King Vendrick, once they figured out where he was located.

She and Edric had been handed a seemingly impossible quest that would take an insane amount of time to fulfill, even if they managed to find the four nameless beings that they were searching for... and she was beginning to wish that she hadn't stepped through the crystal mirror.

Forest of Fallen Giants

When Rarity returned to the bonfire she found Edric sitting on one of the rocks, apparently thinking about something that he had either been told while she was talking with Shalquoir, or something that they had been told by the lady that was wearing the green cape and hood. She found a spot to sit down and took it almost immediately, because she had no idea when her companion wanted to move out of the small town that they were in and wanted to be sure that she had some rest before they departed. At the same time she recalled that she hadn't seen Edric eat anything so far, but when she considered that not much time had passed since they had both woke up in this world, which must have been only ten to twenty minutes max, she realized that it might be because it wasn't time for a meal.

Oddly enough when she thought abut food she didn't hear her stomach growl or anything, because she knew that she hadn't had anything to eat before she had entered the crystal mirror, which only made her worry about her condition... and her companion seemed to notice the worry on her face.

"You don't have to worry about eating anything," Edric commented, though not a few seconds later he glanced away from her and started staring at the bonfire once more, while at the same time feeling Rarity's gaze turn towards him for a moment, "we Undead don't need to eat anything to survive. I picked up that piece of knowledge while I was on my journey to the ruins that eventually brought me to the area we both woke up in, as well as one or two other points that I'll have to share with you later on."

"Oh... how delightful," Rarity replied, somewhat shamed of herself for not realizing that by being Undead her entire life had been changed, as she should have realized that she wouldn't need to eat anything, before she let out a sigh.

"So, what did Shalquoir have for sale?" Edric asked, causing Rarity to turn her gaze towards him once more, though this time she was shocked that he knew the cat's name, before he shrugged and beckoned to the lady that was still standing near the cliff, "The Emerald Herald, the lady by the cliff, mentioned that Shalquoir might have some useful items and suggested that one of us should visit her, when we had the chance anyway."

"I see." Rarty said, to which she wondered why the Emerald Herald wouldn't tell them that bit of information when they were originally talking to her, before deciding that it wasn't important, "I'm not sure what they all do, but right now she's selling some Homeward Bones, Alluring Skulls, Prism Stones, and Lloyd's Talismans."

"We'll have to see what they do in the future," Edric replied, which made sense to Rarity, especially since he was sort of new to this world that they had found themselves in, before pointing at the ruins that rested to the right of where he was sitting, "Lenigrast, the blacksmith we talked to earlier, mentioned that the last place he remembered seeing his key, or where he assumed it had last been seen, was inside the Forest of Fallen Giants. He also told me, or rather us, to be careful if we decided to head into the forest, because he's heard that there are hollows inside the forest... and something worse."

"Maybe one of the four souls resides in the forest?" Rarity suggested, though at the same time she wished that were true, because it would be nice to have one of the four souls residing nearby, where they could easily claim it and be on their way to the next soul.

"Its a possibility that we cannot ignore." Edric said, to which he pulled himself to his feet and picked up his sword, before he turned to his companion, "Come, we had best get started on our quest... and hopefully I can find a replacement for this broken sword."

Rarity sighed as she got back on her hooves, dusted off the lower part of her robes, and picked up her staff, before she turned to her companion and followed him towards the ruined archways that would apparently take them to a forest where giants fell. It didn't take them long before they were walking inside a hallway that would have belonged inside a castle or a fortress, leading Rarity to wonder what had happened to this world, before they walked into a much smaller passage, took a turn on their left and another on the immediate right, and stopped in front of a wooden gate. At first Edric started to wonder how they were going to open the gate up, though not a few seconds later Rarity turned his attention to the large wooden lever that needed to be pulled out of the wall... though when they did that the wooden gate slowly rose up before their eyes.

When the wooden gate was high enough Rarity and Edric walked through the opening and went down another short passage, before they entered an underground area of sorts. As they crossed the bridge that was in front of them Rarity spotted a plank bridge leading down towards a river, where she spotted a chest that happened to be resting on a small rock that was large enough for someone to stand on. Edric walked down there and pried open the chest, to which he pulled out one of the effigy's that they had been handed by the elderly ladies, though he simply stored it in his bag before they followed the path they were on. Not a few seconds later they walked out of the cave area they had been in and entered the actual forest, though as they walked away from the cave they kept their weapons, and magic in Rarity's case, at the ready.

Sure enough when they walked into a small clearing they found two hollows waiting for them, so while Edric dispatched one of them with his sword, after using his shield to block an attack, Rarity used her new magic and called upon two arrows that dealt with her opponent. As their enemies fell Rarity spotted a corpse on the other side of the stream that they were standing near, and that it seemed to be holding onto something, to which she carefully walked over to where the body was resting and pulled the gemstone, a Lifegem based on what Edric had told her, from its hands. She also noticed that there was a path to the left of where the body was, to which she beckoned for Edric to join her, only for the two of them to discover that the path lead to a circular clearing that had a bonfire resting in the middle of it... one that they both agreed to light the moment they saw it.

As they lit the bonfire, however, two more hollows decided to attack them, one staying at the back of the pack in order to hurt them from afar, so while Edric dealt with the closer enemy Rarity blasted the one in the back with her magic. Once their enemies had been taken care of, and they both agreed that they didn't need to rest after just starting their journey through the forest, they returned to the path they had been on and moved forward once more. They approached a fallen tree that would allow someone to cross the stream, without getting their feet wet anyway, though at the same time they spotted an archer defending the path that was behind him... though as Rarity fired a few more arrows at the hollow Edric found another enemy to take care of, one who had been hiding behind some rocks and intended to surprise them.

Rarity spotted an item in the stream, pressed up against some rocks, though as she retrieved it, because it could be important to their mission, Edric came down on the hollow that had been trying to sneak up on her, killing it while she acquired another soul... though when they returned to where the archer had been standing Edric insisted on being the first one to use the ladder, so he could tell her if the coast was clear or not. Rarity decided to let him have his way, though when he was some distance up the ladder she started following him, because the moment he reached the area above them she heard him swinging his sword. A few moments later Rarity climbed into the area that her companion was fighting in she found him beset by several hollows, to which she used some of her magic to target the ones at the back of the pack... while at the same time being extra careful to avoid the arrows from the archer that was firing down at them.

Once the two of them head dealt with the hollows on their level, and they were positive that all of them had been taken care of, Rarity fired another blast at the archer and took him out... before she and Edric turned towards the knight that was apparently ignoring everyone, while at the same time sitting in front of the tree that was in the middle of the area they were standing in.

"Maybe we should leave this knight to his rest," Rarity commented, looking at the nearby fog door that was likely the path that they needed to take, while at the same time having her magic at the ready in case Edric wanted to tangle with the knight, "but if you want to speak with him, and wake him up, then I'll be ready to back you up."

Edric stared at the knight for a moment, as if he was considering waking up the knight and seeing if he was hostile or not, but after a few seconds he shook his head and beckoned for Rarity to follow him, to which they headed in the opposite direction of the fog door. At first Rarity was confused by that decision, as she would have expected Edric to want to head into the fog to see what was ahead of them, though she followed him towards an opening in the wall and found a ladder heading up towards another area. Edric, once again, as the first person to climb up the ladder, though when he reached a certain point Rarity started climbing up after them, to which the two of them found themselves on an old staircase that had two hollows guarding it.

They quickly dispatched the hollows and continued investigating the area they had discovered, to which Rarity realized that this was the area that the archer had been standing on before she shot him down... though with a little exploration they found two more lost souls and a shortsword, which Edric gladly exchanged for his broken sword.

Since the area they had discovered was incredibly small, and those were the only items they could find, they returned to the ladder and climbed back down into the larger area they had been fighting in, to which Rarity got the answer to the question she had asked. Edric determined that, because of the gear that the two of them were currently wearing at the moment, neither of them stood a chance at beating a knight that was wearing a full suit of armor, even if they used their current attack style to their advantage. As such the two of them approached the fog door, which disappeared as Rarity and Edric placed their hands upon it, before they found two new paths waiting for them, one in front of where they were standing and the second to their immediate left.

Oddly enough the path in front of them actually lead them to a hole in a wall, allowing them to spy on two enemies that were in a room they would pass by if they took the other path... and neither of the hollows seemed to notice that Rarity and Edric were staring at them. The two of them shared a look with each other before they smiled, because this was an opportunity they couldn't pass us, to which Edric leapt into the room and bashed the closest hollow with his shield, knocking it into the wall before he put it down. Rarity, on the other hand, focused her magic on the enemy on the other side of the room, though at the same time she realized that she was starting to run a tad bit low on the charges she could cast... unless she found some way to recharge her abilities pretty soon.

Once they dealt with the enemies that were inside the room, and picked up the wooden bolts that were behind one of the remaining cupboards, they walked out of the room and Edric took out the hollow that was staring at the passage they could have chosen to go down first. As they followed the path in front of them they noticed a hollow, one more armored than the other ones they had fought so far, charging at them, to which Rarity jumped backwards as Edric managed to block the incoming attack with his small shield. A few seconds later, as the warrior hollow staggered backwards, Edric braced his weapon and drive it into their enemy's heart, dealing massive damage in the process while dropping the hollow to the ground... and then the hollow went still, telling Rarity that her companion had succeeded in beating their opponent.

The moment the hollow was taken care of they continued up the hallway that they were in, passing by a hole in the wall on their left, though as they walked up the steps, and headed towards the roof of the building they were in, Rarity spotted a hollow standing on a beam above them. At the top of the steps stood two more hollows that had their swords at the ready, though as Edric focused his attention on them, and Rarity focused on the one she had spotted, she watched the hollow throw a bomb of some kind that hit the wall behind them, exploding upon impact. Rarity then called upon her magic and blasted the hollow in the chest, before turning around and giving Edric some assistance by using her dagger to attack the one of the two enemies in the back.

Together the two of them managed to defeat the enemies that had been attacking them, to which Edric praised Rarity's quick thinking to switch to her weapon, where she admitted that she had done it because she was running low on charges she could use, before they looked around the area they were in. They took a moment to investigate the rest of the roof, because Rarity had spotted another hollow standing near something, to which she and Edric took out the hollow that she had seen. Once the enemy was taken care of they investigated the corpse that the hollow had been guarding, which turned out to be a buckler shield that Edric collected, before they returned to the top of the steps they had walked up... where they noticed a small ladder that allowed them to progress once more.

As they walked around the area they had climbed up to, however, they found that there was a large set of iron doors on their right, which meant that something interesting was definitely behind it, to which Edric and Rarity pressed their hands against it and pushed with all their might... to which they pushed the doors open and discovered a bonfire, as well as a lady that was carrying a large amount of items with her, which told Rarity that she was a merchant of some kind. The two shared a look between themselves for a moment, as they were a little surprised to see someone like the lady out here, especially with all of the dangers out here, but they were happy to see a friendly face... to which they quickly lit the bonfire before they walked over to where the lady was sitting.

When they stopped in front of the lady, however, she simply looked up at them and offered them a smile, making her appear to be friendly, though at the same time they didn't lower their guard.

"By something... anything..." the lady said, to which she raised a hand and pulled out a small list of some kind, to which she presented it to the duo, though Rarity suspected that the items on her list were what she had in stock, "Come, now… Help an old woman… And buy something…"

Rarity and Edric looked at the list that the lady had given them, finding that there were four weapons available for purchase; a broken sword that resembled the one that Edric was carrying, a hand axe that could be a viable replacement, a wooden club, and a fist type weapon called the caestus. The armor that the lady was selling happened to be an entire set of traveling merchant clothing, which the two of them determined that they didn't need at the moment and moved onto the next set of items on the list. They also discovered that the lady was selling more human effigy's, lifegems, herbs, and throwing knives... though that was when Rarity noticed two odd items; something called a Pharros' Lockstone and a key that had Lenigrast's name on it.

The two of them quickly decided that taking Lenigrast's key was something that they needed and asked how much it was, to which they finally earned how to tell how many souls they had collected so far... and surprised both of them by finding that they had the same amount at the moment. Rarity quickly determined that the two of them earned the same amount of soul points when they defeated enemies, though their numbers would change when they bought something. Edric decided to purchase the key, as it would help them out in the future, and decided to save the rest of his souls for the future, after they talked with the Emerald Herald again. Rarity, on the other hand, found another spell that she didn't have, a basic healing spell that would be worth purchasing now... even if she needed a chime, whatever that was, in order to cast the spell.

In Rarity's mind she was being prepared for anything, because the more magic she learned the more she could adapt to any situation that she and Edric found themselves in... though she mentally moaned at the fact that she realized that she was slowly becoming more like Twilight.

"We never did catch your name." Edric commented, taking a seat by the bonfire, allowing him and Rarity a moment to relax before they continued exploring the ruins that they had discovered.

"My name is Melentia. Are the two of you strangers to this land?" the lady responded, giving them an answer before asking her own question, though at the same time both Edric and Rarity nodded their heads, causing Melentia to sigh, "All we get is strangers these days. Everybody's gone and run off! Drangleic's been a pile o' rubble since the war fought long, long ago... when the Giants crossed the sea. Seemed like the battles would never end. Poor folk like myself had nary a place to sleep... that's why I keep all me things right with me. You may travel light, but methinks the two of you each bear a different burden then what I am referring to."

Rarity wasn't so surprised to hear that Melentia could tell that she and Edric had their own burdens, especially with the curse that was plaguing them at the moment, but she and Edric simply nodded their heads as they listened to what the merchant had to tell them.

"You see these trees?" Melentia asked, beckoning to the tree that happened to be partly growing in the chamber they were in, to which the two nodded again, "They say these trees grew from the remains of the Giants. From each carcass sprouted new life, growing into what you see now. But you know what they also say... don't believe what an old hag says!"

At the moment Rarity was sure that the whole tale about trees sprouting from the bodies of dead giants was a rumor and a fairy tale, meant to scare children or terrify travelers a little bit, but she paid it no mind. After a minute or two of resting at the bonfire, where Rarity found that simply resting here restored her ability to cast her Soul Arrow spell, she and Edric spotted a hole that had a ladder for them to take. It seemed strange for a hole to be positioned there, with a ladder in it, but they simply decided that it was best not to worry about it and climbed into the ruined area that was beneath where the bonfire was located.

As they touched the floor, however, they found some enemies in the area, though one of the seemingly dead corpses picked itself up and charged at them, but before it could get too far Edric made sure to block its attack and take it out. Rarity focused her energies on firing a few magic arrows at the enemies that were crossing the bridge in front of them, though when their foes were taken care of they noticed that they could choose between crossing the bridge or taking a passage on the left. The two quickly determined that they should check the passage, just in case there was something in the room they could use, before they discovered that there was another path that they could take... along with a massive tree root that lead up to an area that passed by the chamber where the bonfire was in.

Of course when they walked into the room, and found that the door on their right was locked, they were attacked by another hollow that had been playing dead, to which the two of them used their skills to take the hollow down before they walked outside the room they were in.

They carefully climbed the large root that they had been staring at, noticing that there was another area on their right they could also explore at some point, before they found themselves on the walkway. The instant they stepped onto the walkway, however, they were attacked by a hollow that was clearly waiting for someone to come up there, to which Edric blocked the incoming attack and thrust his weapon into the hollow's chest. While he did that Rarity carefully walked ahead of him, using her magic to shoot at the target that was standing beside a ladder, though at the same time she had to wonder what was so important about the area above them that required someone to guard the ladder.

"Is something wrong?" Edric asked, causing Rarity to turn around for a moment, where she found that he was just fine and that the hollow he had been fighting was down on the floor.

"I was just wondering why one of the hollows decided to guard this ladder." Rarity replied, because it was something odd, as Princess Celestia had her guards protecting either herself, her sister, or valuable artifacts, so a random ladder, going to an empty area, made no sense.

"Only one way to find out," Edric said, to which he grabbed onto the ladder and started climbing, though once he was on the top of it he helped Rarity up there as well.

When the two of them stepped onto the top of the area they had climbed up to, and discovered that there was nothing up there save for a rather flat floor, Edric also had to wonder what the purpose of the ladder and the guard was. Not a few minutes later a large bird, an eagle or a falcon of some kind, flew over their heads and started flying around the ruins, but at the same time Rarity realized that the bird was carrying someone in its claws. The knight, for that was who the bird had to be carrying, was a rather large and imposing person, as when the bird came back around the knight was dropped into the area in front of them... allowing Rarity and Edric to observe their opponent. The knight was wearing a black suit of armor, one that Rarity assumed was rather heavy, while wielding a massive sword in his right hand while carrying a large shield in his left hand.

For a moment Rarity remembered the knight that they had decided to leave alone, as he had been heavily armed as well, and noticed that there were some more weapons on this knight's back, much smaller ones she mentally added, and worried that they might have encountered a dangerous opponent.

"Edric... what's the plan?" Rarity asked, though at the same time she couldn't help but shake in fear, because this knight looked more imposing than anyone they had fought so far and she wanted her companion's input on what they should do before he attacked them.

"I'll... I'll draw his attention and attack him when an opening presents itself," Edric replied, though his tone indicated that he had never fought someone like the knight in front of them and had no idea what to do, which made Rarity worry about their chances now, "you should stay away from him and strike his back with every spell you can muster... maybe we'll take him out before something terrible happens."

Rarity nodded her head in agreement, because it sounded like a sound strategy in the face of such a knight, though not a few seconds later she could have sworn that the knight turned his, or her, head to look at her, almost as if she was being studied. She and Edric slowly separated themselves from each other, keeping their eyes on the knight, though after several steps the knight tightened his grip on his massive sword, indicating that something was about to happen. Not a few seconds later the large knight dashed across the floor and thrust his large sword forward... though a few seconds later Rarity soon found herself impaled by the large sword that the knight had been carrying, to which she coughed up some blood as she was lifted into the air and was forced to gaze down at the knight.

"RARITY!" Edric shouted, though as he advanced towards their opponent, however, the large knight swung his other hand back towards him and slammed his shield into Edric's face, knocking him backwards and causing him to collide with the edge of the area they were in.

Rarity watched all of this and weakly raised her staff, intending on using one spell before the knight did anything more to her, but before she could actually do anything the knight thrust his sword forward once more and tossed her off of it... to which she went flying over the edge of the area they were in and struck the ground. She simply laid there for a few seconds, as the shock of being stabbed in the chest like that had rattled her to her core, though all she could do was bleed out as the world went dark around her.

Author's Note

Whose ready for Rarity to start dying a lot more?

Searching the Ruins

Rarity moaned as she rolled to her side for a moment, trying to put her strange dream to rest and move onto much more pleasant dreams, when she heard another moan in the area around her, though the voice was one that she immediately recognized. She slowly opened her eyes and found that she was in one of the rooms that she and Edric had discovered while they were searching the ruined fortress, or rather the room that had a bonfire resting near the large hole in the floor, which had a ladder that took them deeper into the fortress. She gently pulled herself into a sitting position and noticed that the merchant lady she and Edric had been talking to earlier must have moved on, because she was no longer there, before she spotted the resting form of her companion resting on the other side of the bonfire. What shocked her was that Edric's skin color had reverted to the rotting color she had seen when they had first met each other... and that his body had become a little more corpse like since she had last seen him.

"Edric?" Rarity asked, causing her companion to stir and slowly pick himself up off the floor, though that was followed by him opening his eyes and looking down at his body once more, "What happened to you?"

"Its the curse," Edric replied, letting out a sigh as he looked at his skin for a few seconds, indicating that he didn't like being in this position again, especially within an hour or two of being restored to his original form thanks to those elderly ladies the two of them had encountered, "When someone with the curse dies they become more Hollowed, like those three elderly ladies explained to us in their own manner, and they become like this... though the more they die the closer they get to losing themselves. What surprises me is that you're taking this so well."

Rarity opened her mouth, to ask what Edric was talking about, but then she noticed the same rotten coloration, which was on Edric's arms and body at the moment, happened to be resting on her own right arm. Her mind went into a panic as she glanced all over her body, finding that parts of her body had become a little rotten and more corpse like, making her look like Edric. A few moments later she remembered what had happened to her, as that terrifying knight they had encountered had stabbed her in the chest, lifted her into the air, and tossed her off the area they were in like she was a piece of trash... and then she remembered her life ending for a moment, before she woke up here.

"I... I died..." Rarity said, looking at her body and finding that she wasn't hungry and that she didn't need to breath, making her even more terrified of her condition, "but I'm alive... and I've lost my former beauty!"

"Rarity, I'm sure that in whatever land you come from beauty is an important aspect of life," Edric commented, though his tone indicated that he knew that she was going to freak out and was trying to prevent that from even happening, especially since there was more for them to do before the curse claimed them, "but right now we had better get moving, because I'm sure that the knight we fought, and died to no less, is still wandering the ruins... and besides, we can always talk with Melentia and buy a effigy in the future, to restore ourselves to our former forms."

Rarity stopped just short of freaking out about her appearance, which she was well known for back in Ponyville, and recalled what happened to Edric when he was given the effigy when the approached the three elderly ladies, where his hollowed state was reverted back to how he had looked before his first death. She realized that he was right, because if either of them drew too close to falling into the madness of being a hollow they could always use one of the effigies that several of the merchants sold. She was also mentally freaking out over the fact that she had died, because it had been so sudden and the knight didn't even give her a chance to defend herself before he cut her down... or rather tossed her off the area they had been standing in.

Now that she knew how easy it was for an experienced knight to take her down, in one well placed hit no less, she was incredibly thankful to have someone like Edric with her, because if she had been doing this on her own she was sure that she would have died more times than just the one time... and she shuddered when she considered that she could have been a hollow by this point if her companion wasn't with her.

"So... are you ready to move on?" Edric inquired, snapping Rarity out of her thoughts for a moment and caused her to look at her companion, who was currently standing near the hole they had climbed down a few minutes ago.

Rarity sighed as she collected her staff, which happened to be resting near her, and followed Edric back towards the hole they had climbed down, to which they repeated the movements and descended back down into the area they had been walking in earlier. It was then that she discovered that the enemies they had slain, before encountering the terrifying knight, had been restored after they had awoken at the bonfire, meaning that enemies either returned to life when she and Edric died, or they returned to life by them resting at the bonfire. Rarity already disliked this world, due to the curse suddenly latching onto her and dooming her to an existence as an Undead, but enemies returning to life after the two of them died meant that they needed to stay alive at all costs... even if that might be a little hard, with opponents as strong at that one knight no less.

Thanks to the fact that they knew the route to where the terrifying black armored knight had ambushed them, and the layout of the hollows that stood in their path, Rarity and Edric were able to make their way back to the raised fighting area without any complications. When the two of them climbed back up to the area where they 'fought' the knight Rarity noticed two things; one, the knight was nowhere to be seen and it appeared that he wasn't interested in them anymore, and two, there was a glowing green orb on their right... which happened to be resting above what appeared to be a bloodstain of some kind. That peaked her interest, because on the walkway that was behind them she had noticed a light purple colored orb that was floating above another bloodstain, which, if memory served, was where she had landed after the knight had tossed her off the area they were in.

She briefly wondered what the significance of the two strange colored orbs were, but even as she started to consider what they could do she noticed that Edric was starting to move and talk, to which she focused on him once more.

"That was where I died." Edric stated, to which he walked over towards the bloodstain and stared at it, though at the same time Rarity watched as the green orb surged into his body and disappeared, "When that knight impaled you I ran at him, intending to release you before he could do any further harm, but all he did was slam his shield into my face and knock me backwards. After he tossed you off the edge he cornered me here and crushed me with his massive sword, like he wanted to split me in half or something... and then I woke up to the sound of you talking. It also appears that the souls we have collected remain in the location that we died in, contained in these strange colored orbs, which means we won't have to worry about permanently losing them."

The moment Edric said that Rarity jumped down to the walkway they had been on a few seconds ago and walked over to the light purple orb, though when she touched it she felt the souls she had acquired before her death come rushing back into her body. It made her somewhat happy that such a terrible world could be so forgiving, at least in the aspect of keeping her souls around like this, but something told her that if they had died, before recovering their souls, these orbs would have been lost. She believed that this was the meaning behind what the three elderly ladies had said, about them losing their souls, but at least there was a way for them to recover what they had lost... before they were permanently lost.

As she mentally rejoiced over having her souls back, however, she spotted a hollow standing up on the walkway above her, at the edge of where they 'fought' the large knight, and noticed that it was holding some sort of bomb in its right hand... to which she leveled her staff with the hollow and blasted it in the chest, knocking it on its back. Of course she failed to account for the hollow actually dropping the bomb, as it rolled towards some barrels that were near the wall that was close to where Rarity was standing. Instead of being near the wall Rarity ducked behind one of the wooden barriers, though she happened to be in time, because a few seconds later the bomb exploded and she heard the sound of a wall collapsing, meaning the barrels the bomb had landed by had to have been filled with something explosive.

When she pulled her head up to survey the damage, however, she found a large hole in the wall that the barrels had been resting in front of, though on the other side of the wall was the room the bonfire was resting in... meaning that Rarity had, accidentally, created a shortcut for them to use in the future.

"Talk about a lucky break." Rarity commented, taking a moment to brush herself off before she actually looked at the damage she had caused, though a part of her told her not to worry about damaging the ruined fortress.

"I'll say," Edric said, walking up beside Rarity, as he had seen the blast and never even considered that there might be an easier way to get to where they were standing from the bonfire they were staring at, before he shook his head, "Come on, I see a ladder nearby and its bound to lead us to something that helps our quest."

As they walked down the stairs on their right, however, they found two more enemies waiting to attack them, to which they fell back into the routine of Edric holding their attention while Rarity stood a bit behind him and fired at their foes with her magic. Once the enemies had been taken care of they walked over to the ladder and climbed down into the area that rested below them, though as they reached the bottom Rarity noticed that they could either go to their left, to their right, or walk towards the man that was resting near an open gate. As they walked forward, however, Edric quickly spotted something and pulled Rarity back, to which they watched as a hollow walked out of the chamber on their right and was impaled by what appeared to be a large wooden bolt with a metallic head.

Not a few seconds later three more hollows, apparently slightly smarter than the one that had just died, walked out of the chamber and came at the duo, to which Rarity started loosing spells as Edric held their attention, though he also cut one of them down when the opportunity presented itself. The instant their enemies had been defeated the duo walked into the chamber and found several ballista pointed in their direction, though it appeared that without their operators they were completely useless. Since the area was clear of enemies, and they were sure of that, they found two sets of items waiting for them; one happened to be a piece of paper detailing another spell, a Great Soul Arrow that Edric let Rarity take, while the second item was a blue wooden shield and another random soul.

With the items collected, and the area checked for any additional items that could benefit them in the future, the duo walked out of the chamber and pondered which direction to head in next... though that was before they both decided that they might as well see what was up with the man that was sitting near an open gate.

"Hello there. I can see that the two of you are traveling together in these treacherous times." the man said, though at the same time Rarity and Edric knew that he was referring to something that they knew nothing about, though that didn't stop the man from continuing, "Well, I'm sure that the two of you have a very good reason for being together. Oh, hogwash, who am I to judge? My name is Pate."

"My name is Edric," Edric replied, beckoning to himself for a moment, before turning and placing a hand on Rarity's shoulder, causing Pate to raise an eyebrow for a moment, which made Rarity wonder what the man was looking at, "and this is my companion Rarity. What brings you here, to the Forest of Fallen Giants?"

"I journey hither and thither… on a sort of… treasure hunt, you might call it." Pate answered, though the fact that he had hesitated when he mentioned that he was on a treasure hunt of some kind had Rarity worried, as she knew that bandits could lie well and lead people to their deaths, "Be careful out there. There's talk of unsavory bandits who prey upon travelers like the two of you."

"Don't worry, we're always careful." Rarity said, though at the same time she realized that it wasn't a complete truth, because they had foolishly attacked an opponent that neither of them were actually prepared to face and had died as a consequence, "Though something tells me you were referring to being careful about the area in front of us."

"Oh yes, you be cautious if you go any farther." Pate said, his tone saying that he was agreeing with her, though at the same time Rarity couldn't help but wonder if there was more to him than what they were seeing, "There's treasure in there, for certain, but the entrance locks from behind. I saw the same design earlier, and it's the same contraption, I'm sure. I was with this warrior, you see, and he insisted that he go inside first. The rather brusque fellow tried to swipe the loot for himself, but it trapped him inside."

Rarity watched as Pate let out a sigh, as if something was troubling him, before he reached into his pocket and pulled something out, something that looked like a ring of some kind, which only made her wonder if it was a family heirloom or if he had been given it by someone.

"I still have the gent's ring... I do hope he wasn't harmed." Pate commented, though this time he sounded distracted, but that was quickly followed by him pocketing the ring again and staring at the duo, "I'll leave this one to you. I'm worried about what might be inside."

Rarity and Edric glanced at each other before they walked through the open gate, which immediately closed behind them the moment they were a few steps inside the area that Pate was apparently guarding. Three hollows, two warriors and one archer, rose to attack the duo, so while Edric dealt with the warrior hollows Rarity blasted the archers with her magic. It took them a few moments to beat their enemies, especially since Rarity had to dodge one of the warriors until Edric could get its attention, but in the end they were able to advance towards the open door and see what else awaited them inside this part of the ruined fortress.

When they passed through the doorway they discovered that there was a passage to their left and that there appeared to be no enemies at the moment, but that didn't stop Edric from raising his shield as they walked towards the other side of the chamber they were in. When they reached the halfway point they were attacked by two hollows that charged out from where they were hiding, to which they repeated the method they had been using so far and easily overcame the attack. That was before a third spear wielding hollow appeared in front of them and managed to wound Edric by piercing his chest, but their foe was quickly vanquished as Rarity blasted it with her Soul Arrow... before she turned her attention to her companion and his wound.

"Does it hurt?" Rarity asked, though it was at moments like this that she cursed the fact that she didn't actually know how to treat such a wound, even if it was something like this, "How do I fix this type of wound?"

"It hurts a tiny bit." Edric replied, though he actually chuckled for a moment, but Rarity knew that it had to do with the fact that she knew nothing about the curse that plagued them, "Just because we're Undead doesn't mean we don't feel pain... that comes later, when we're reduced to the hollow state, like those soldiers we've been fighting. Instead we have a higher pain resistance before we break, but you don't have to worry about healing the wound for me."

Rarity wondered why Edric would say something like that, though that was when her companion pulled out the flask that the Emerald Herald had given him, and she had one as well, before he downed the contents of the bottle. Rarity watched as the flask went dark for a moment, indicating that it was spent, before the wound and his armor healed right up, as if he hadn't been hit at all. Rarity was simply amazed that a flask, containing some unknown elixir, could heal a body so well in such a short about of time and repair the armor the person was wearing in the process... to which she mentally sighed as she realized that she might have been able to spare herself the agony of death and her new look, but then she recalled the shock and pushed that thought from her mind.

"I know that lady said these flasks would help us on our journey, but I never imagined they would work in such a manner," Edric said, getting back onto his feet and stretched for a moment, to which he beckoned for Rarity to follow him once more, "Let's get out of here, before something more terrifying comes looking for us."

Rarity nodded her understanding and focused her attention on the path they had been following, because it appeared that there might be more enemies for them to deal with, though when they turned the corner they found an archer at the top of the stairs they would eventually be at the top of. In addition to the archer there was a warrior that wanted to inflict pain on the two of them with his spear, to which Edric blocked the incoming attack and sliced through his opponent's defenses while Rarity shot down the archer. When those two were defeated another warrior came charging down the stairs, only to die at the hands of Edric's sword and a spell hitting him in the chest... before the two of them moved forward once more.

The duo turned around the corner and found that there was a doorway leading outside, though as they walked through it they found themselves on a walkway that let them look down at Pate... who Rarity was a little annoyed with, because the man had said there was something inside the area they had walked through and they found nothing. She and Edric noticed that the walkway they were walking on was cracked and missing a massive chunk of it, meaning that they couldn't move to the other side of the walkway, so they jumped down into the indent and jumped down to where Pate was sitting... who seemed somewhat surprised to see them again.

"Well, I see the two of you managed to escape." Pate commented, though Rarity and Edric simply stared at him for a few seconds, as this time they weren't completely sure whether he was a liar or a very poor adventurer, "I hope that brave warrior didn't come a cropper either. Be careful out there... oh, before I forget, you should also take this."

What Pate pulled out of his pocket was some sort of white stone, one that Rarity could tell had some magical properties, despite the fact that she wasn't very knowledgeable in terms of magic. Edric, on the other hand, took the white stone and held it up, where the two of them noticed that there was a small cloth of some kind wrapped around the area near Edric's hand.

"That allows Undead to call out for help to one another, across the fissures between worlds." Pate explained, though the way he spoke told Rarity that he must have given the white stone out to some of the other Undead that had come to this world, "If the two of you ever need some additional assistance, well, somebody might just lend you a hand... or you could always leave a sign and help someone else out."

Edric and Rarity stared at each other for a few seconds, wondering if the stone could do what pate said it could or not, before they said farewell and departed from where he was sitting, though even as they walked away Rarity still didn't trust him. Despite the fact that she didn't trust Pate she had to admit that the concept of using a white stone, and apparently leave a sign on the ground, to travel to another version of this world was something she had never considered, especially with the crystal mirror she had walked through. She actually wondered how the white stone worked and wondered if Edric wanted to test it out at some point in the future, because she figured that being summoned to other worlds might allow them to better understand the area they were in and get some warning on potential dangers... and maybe learn about creatures like that knight that had killed them both.

Rarity shuddered as she thought about that knight and silently hoped that she and Edric never saw him again, that he had his fill of battle after killing them... though she knew that only time would tell and that she wasn't looking forward to seeing what the future held in store for them.

Jolly Cooperation

As Rarity and Edric walked away from where Pate was sitting, Rarity found herself focusing less on the knight that had killed them and found that her attention was on the strange white stone that they had been given. They had been told that the stone would allow them to leave signs for other Undead to see, where they might be called upon by someone and offer them their assistance, or they might be able to call upon additional allies if they needed help on something. Pate didn't explain everything he knew about the white stone, or maybe he couldn't tell them everything if he actually didn't know anything else, but Rarity assumed that, in time, she and Edric would understand the importance of the white stone. She could also tell that her companion was thinking about the stone as well, because Edric was being a little silent at the moment, but she followed his lead anyway.

The two of them retraced their steps towards the ladder they had climbed down, returned to the walkway that wrapped around the area the terrifying knight had been in, before they turned towards the hole in the wall and approached the bonfire... where Edric sat down in front of the fire, to which Rarity followed his lead and sat across from him.

"So, what's our next move?" Rarity asked, though at the same time she pulled out the spell page she had discovered earlier and took a look at it, finding that by simply reading the words she understood how to use the spell in battle, granting her a second spell to use while they were in combat.

"I'm thinking that we leave a sign near the bonfire and see what happens," Edric replied, to which he held up the white stone they had been given and studied it, though it was plainly clear that the two of them were interested in what the stone could do, "If a few minutes pass, and none of the other Undead have reached out for aid, we'll get up and resume our quest for the four Great Souls that the Emerald Herald asked us to find."

For a moment Rarity had to wonder what sort of creatures were guarding the four Great Souls, because if they were anything like the knight they had fallen to then the two of them were in for a world of pain, though she could tell that Edric was wondering the same thing. She silently wished that the Emerald Herald could have told them something, anything, about one of the creatures that were guarding the souls they needed, because it would have been nice to have a little warning about them before they discovered where they were hiding. A few seconds later Rarity heard the sound of Edric moving, to which she lifted her head up and watched as her companion pressed the white stone close to the floor... though when he started writing she noticed a strange set of words appear just above the floor, covered in a glowing aura of some kind.

It took her a moment to realize that she was staring at the sign that Edric had created, one that would allow the other Undead to summon the two of them, though not a few seconds later her companion returned to the bonfire... where they would wait for a few minutes before they determined whether using it again would be beneficial to them or not. Rarity decided to spend her time getting used to the idea that she had two spells now, instead of just one, and silently debated when she should use the smaller Soul Arrows and when she should use the Great Soul Arrows, as the Great ones had a more limited usage at the moment. After some time she could tell that Edric was getting ready to get up and erase the sign, so they could move on with their own quest, though as he stood up, however, Rarity felt a slight magical tug and quickly discovered that she wasn't the only one who had felt that.

The two of them closed their eyes as the world around them faded away for a few seconds, though when they opened their eyes again they found themselves rising out of where Edric had placed the sign on the ground... though the two of them were now merely phantoms of their former selves, and they happened to be surrounded by a white glow. It took Rarity and Edric a moment to understand that this is what happened when an Undead was summoned from their world and was pulled into the world of another Undead. With that in mind they found that the Undead that had summoned them was actually a warrior like Edric, only this one was female and she seemed ready to take care of business... and Rarity could see that the warrior had slightly red colored hair.

When Rarity opened her mouth, to say hello to the other warrior, she found that she couldn't open her mouth, meaning that phantoms were't supposed to talk and discovered that Edric had quickly discovered the same thing... which meant that they had no way of warning the female warrior about anything, or anyone, that she might encounter.

"Listen up, the two of you are going to help me search this ruin for any powerful creatures," the female warrior said, surprising Rarity by the fact that they could hear the lady talk, while at the same time not being able to say anything to her in return, "hopefully one of those enemies will be carrying one of the four Great Souls I was tasked with finding. Come on, let's move out and get the show on the road."

Rarity and Edric, unable to actually verbally reply to the female warrior, simply nodded their heads and followed her lead, even though her first action was to activate the bonfire and restock her flask, which she had apparently used before finding this place. Once that was done she turned to the ladder and immediately started to climb down it, to which Rarity and Edric followed after her before the enemies below them managed to do any lasting harm. Considering that they were following the same path once more, and that they already knew what to expect, Edric walked along side the female warrior while Rarity walked behind them, allowing her to focus her spells on enemies that were coming up behind them or were trying to attack them from afar.

As they touched the floor the seemingly dead corpses rose from their slumber and attacked the group, which was what Rarity and Edric were expecting, though at the same time they discovered that their new leader wasn't too shaken by the discovery. They then turned into the chamber on their left, dispatched the hollow that was guarding the area, and passed through the fog door that would allow them to access the area that Rarity and Edric had bene through already. The female warrior didn't seem too interested in the enemies on their right and preferred to pass them, though Rarity made a mental note to check that area out at some point, just in case they had missed something important.

As they walked onto the upper walkway, however, dread started to fill Rarity as she noticed that the female warrior was staring at the same ladder she had been staring at earlier, the one that had gotten her and Edric killed, though she immediately started waving her hands in an effort to stop the other warrior from going up there. Not even a few seconds later Edric stopped her and shook his head, indicating that they had no control over where their leader wanted to go and that they were simply here for the ride. Rarity eventually decided that her companion was right and watched as the female warrior climbed up the ladder, though that was followed by the large bird swooping into the area and dropping the knight into the area he preferred to fight in.

"Come on up you two," their leader said, though Rarity could tell that the female warrior was more interested in the knight than the two people she had summoned, "this is going to be an interesting fight."

Rarity mentally moaned as she climbed the ladder and stood on the warrior's left, though as she looked at the large knight all she could remember was how quickly he had moved, in all that armor no less, and how quickly he had put her down. When Edric had decided to use the white stone this wasn't what she had in mind, because right now she knew that they had no chance at beating this particular knight in battle, not without more training and some quicker reflexes. Edric climbed up the ladder and stood beside on the warrior's right, though once he was in place both he and Rarity moved to the side, finding that the knight was more focused on the female warrior than the two of them.

When the large knight charged forward and brought his weapon down on the female warrior, however, the warrior saw it coming and jumped to the right, allowing the blade to collide with the floor for a moment... though it was that exact moment that they were waiting for, as the warrior and Edric attacked the knight's backside with their weapons as Rarity used the Great Soul Arrow to do some extra damage. Before Rarity could even begin to hope for a victory the knight got up and turned towards his opponents, to which he raised his left arm into the air and slammed the shield on the ground, smacking the female warrior into the ground. Edric charged forward to attack the knight, and get him off their leader, but the knight gripped his shield and slammed it into Edric's own shield, knocking him backwards for a moment, though that was quickly followed by the knight bringing the edge of his blade own on where Edric was standing... cutting a diagonal gash into his phantom body.

Rarity continued to fire more spells into the knight's back, knowing that sooner or later he was going to get annoyed and come after her, which meant that the moment she was the knight's focus she was going to die, but that didn't stop her from trying to beat him. Unfortunately the fight didn't go on for much longer, as the female warrior foolishly attacked the knight while he was focused on Edric, right after missing another attack, so she was then turned into the knight's focus... which resulted in the knight delivering a deep diagonal gash to the warrior's chest, before piercing her heart in the same fashion that Rarity had suffered. All Rarity and Edric could do was watch as the life faded from the female warrior's eyes, before the knight tossed her to the ground like a piece of trash, though with their leader dead the two of them were released from this world and everything went black again.

Not a few seconds later they found themselves standing near their bonfire, back in their original slightly dead looking bodies, to which they sat down again and stared at the fire, allowing themselves to relax as they recovered from what they had just seen.

"Well, that was... enlightening," Rarity commented, though at the same time she felt sorry for the female warrior that had called upon their aid, because if she hadn't challenged the knight they might have actually discovered something useful so they could move on in this area.

"It was definitely an interesting experience," Edric said, though he repeated his earlier movements, to which he left another sign and returned to the bonfire, before he looked up at Rarity, "We'll try this white stone out a few more times and see if we can go anywhere else in this ruin, otherwise we'll stop relying on others and search the area for ourselves."

"Hopefully the next person doesn't decide to fight that terrible knight," Rarity replied, knowing that the lure of the ladder being guarded by a hollow would be too much for some people to bare, meaning that they would want to see why that was even happening, and then death would come for them.

The duo barely had a minute of relaxation before they were summoned again, though this time their leader was a male mage that clearly had the same idea as the female warrior from earlier, find great opponents and take them out. As they followed their new leader Rarity and Edric discovered that they still gained soul points from the enemies they helped take out and didn't lose any when they failed to help out whoever had summoned them, allowing them to increase how many souls they each had. Based on what they discovered Rarity determined that they could potentially die while helping someone and not lose any of the souls they had acquired, though succeeding in their 'duty' would likely give them some sort of reward.

As the mage lead the way the duo determined that he wouldn't care about the ladder and that they would be able to avoid it completely... though their hopes were dashed as the mage climbed the ladder, let the knight drop into the arena, and faced him without waiting for the two of them to join him. As a result Rarity and Edric eventually returned to their bonfire, as the mage had been crushed by the terrifying knight before they had a chance to even help him out, to which Rarity sighed as she watched Edric place the sign down once more. She was beginning to suspect that this was a bad idea, as they were getting nowhere fast and they were simply wasting time, but Edric determined that there had to be another Undead out there that wouldn't listen to the siren song of that blasted ladder... to which Rarity simply sat next to the bonfire and waited to see what happened next.

The next person that summoned them was someone that looked like a wanderer of some kind, or at least they did in Rarity's eyes thanks to the armor the person was wearing, though their third leader was carrying two blades with her. Fortunately this leader seemed to be much smarter than the previous two, as she was clever enough to ignore the ladder, meaning that she had either come this way before and restored herself in order to see the signs, or this was her first time through the area and she didn't care much for the empty area. Unfortunately their adventure came to a sudden stop when one of the bomb throwing hollows tossed a bomb behind the wanderer, which happened to land near all the explosive crates, and blew her to pieces... causing Rarity and Edric to sigh as they returned to their world once more.

"I guess that wanderer didn't bother resting at the bonfire before she summoned us," Rarity said, as that was the only reason the poor person would have been torn apart by the explosion, which meant that she wasn't rested enough and had missed the bomb thrower.

"I would have to agree with you," Edric said, nodding his head in agreement, though at the same time he placed the sign on the ground once more before he returned to the bonfire, "We'll try this one more time, though if the same thing happens, and our leader dies within a few minutes of us being summoned, we'll resume our own quest and try this again in a different area."

Only a minute passed before they were summoned again, though when they appeared near the bonfire of their new leader, however, they discovered that the person that had called upon them was the female warrior from earlier, who must have restored her humanity or something to use their sign again.

"Listen, I know we got off on the wrong foot earlier, but I've found out something interesting," the female warrior said, to which both Rarity and Edric raised their eyebrows, because that was all they could do at the moment, "that knight we were fighting doesn't appear in the area that the bird drops him off in, meaning that we can go back there and not have to worry about fighting him again. We're free to explore the rest of the ruins and find the other strong creatures that call this place home... and I intend to take one of them down."

Rarity and Edric nodded and followed their leader, to which she lead them through the opening in the wall behind her, which meant that she had used the explosives to open the shortcut, where she and Edric focused on the enemies on the level below them while Rarity threw a Soul Arrow at the bomb thrower and took him out. Once the group of foes had been taken care of they approached the ladder and went down into the lower area, where the female warrior apparently knew about the ballista that were in the chamber on their right, though she did wait for the hollows to launch their volley before attacking them in return. When they cleared that area out they turned towards the pathway that Rarity and Edric hadn't gone down, which happened to be the path that had a large armored enemy standing in their way... along with two archers staring down at them.

As the warrior and Edric engaged the armored enemy Rarity stood back and focused her fire on the archers, who actually noticed her and tried to put her down with their arrows and bombs, but in the end she managed to shoot the two of them down and turn her attention to their true enemy... though she was in time to see the two warriors finish off the armored enemy.

The moment the armored enemy was taken care of the group walked through the doorway that he had been guarding and found themselves in a large corridor, which had part of one wall collapsed, though at the same time they began searching for the next path they needed to take. They turned to the left of the door they had walked through and found two hollows guarding a door, which meant that they had found the way forward, to which their leader and Edric held the attention of their enemies while Rarity shot at them. When the two enemies were laying dead on the ground they advanced into the chamber that they had been guarding, where they wandered around the immediate area. Rarity, who walked into a small room on the right, found a hollow that was pretending to be dead and little else, though when she rejoined the others she discovered that they had found an elevator of sorts that could taken them down into the depths of the ruined fortress.

The three of them stood around the center of the elevator and rode it down to wherever it was taking them, though when it stopped they found themselves at the end of a passage that would take them right up to a fog door, to which they carefully approached the mysterious area... where they took out another hollow, who was hidden in a locked doorway to their left, before they stopped in front of the fog door.

When they walked through the fog door, however, Rarity's eyes widened as she looked at the creature that was resting in front of them, because it was a large creature that had a gray skin color and appeared to be hunched over at the moment. The creature, which Rarity was sure had to be one of the giants that they had heard rumors about, had a large number of swords sticking out of his back, indicating that whoever he had been fighting had pierced the giant's body with every bladed weapon they possessed. The giant's chest was also pierced by a large stone pillar, while one of its arms was trapped under some rubble and the other was stuck on a large spike of some sort... though as the trio approached the giant it's head started to move, to which Rarity discovered that its head was round and consisted of a large hole, one that screamed at them when it noticed that they were there.

The moment the giant screamed it pulled itself back and shattered the pillar that it was impaled on, leaving a good chuck sticking out of its back, before it tugged on its right arm and pulled it out of the rubble. Once that arm was free the giant focused on freeing his left hand, to which the creature simply yanked its hand in its direction and freed it almost immediately... though once it was free the giant charged at the trio.

Instead of allowing the giant to hit them the trio separated from each other, though while the leader and Edric focused on dodging the giant's hands, while at the same time hacking at it's feet, Rarity put some distance between them and used her spells. She decided to target the giant's head, though she purposely waited for the creature to be standing still before she cast one of her Great Soul Arrows at it, which might have annoyed it... but she found it hard to read a creature's emotions when they had no face. They all had to be careful when the giant chose to jump backwards and refocus on who it wanted to kill first, though Rarity had to sweat when it targeted her, causing her to jump away before it could actually hurt her.

At one point the giant stood still and started tugging on his left arm, though when he pulled his arm free, and started using it like a club, the trio carefully analyzed the situation before they continued their attack... repeating the same movements they had gone through earlier. Since there were three of them, and the giant could only focus on one of them at a time, they were able to do some serious damage to the giant without anyone actually getting hurt for once. The fight came to a rather sudden end when the giant staggered for a moment, which wasn't one of his movements, before he collapsed on the ground and stopped moving... and Rarity confirmed that for herself, after she and Edric got some souls for their efforts.

"How that's what I'm talking about!" the female warrior said, thrusting her sword into the air for a moment, though that was before she collected the giant's soul and what appeared to be a key of some sort, to which she turned towards the duo, "Thanks for your assistance. If the two of you ever need assistance with your quest, and something tells me you might depending on what else is ahead of us, then feel free to call upon me for assistance... oh, and my name is Lucille, so you know which sign to look out for."

Rarity and Edric nodded their heads before they faded out of Lucille's world, though a few moments later they reappeared near their bonfire with a smile on both of their faces, as they had found a decent warrior in Lucille and had been rewarded for their work. One of those perks, besides the souls they earned, was they had been restored to how they had been before that large knight had killed them, telling Rarity that a possible way to reverse their hollowing would be to offer their assistance to another Undead until they had returned to normal. Rarity was overjoyed to be back to normal, or as normal as she could be thanks to the curse that she was afflicted with, but at least she knew that the effects of hollowing were easier to reverse than she originally believed.

Despite that knowledge, and the location of another creature they could take out, Rarity knew that sooner or later they would have to face that knight again... and she wasn't looking forward to that, especially after what happened the first time they had encountered each other.

Level Up

"Well, that was definitely quite the experience." Rarity commented, though as she and Edric sat at their bonfire she looked at her arms, and whatever else of her body she could see at the moment, and found that her usual color had been restored, "Not only did we held Lucille out, but we also gained quite the number of souls and our humanity was restored."

"I'll admit that I was not expecting to be summoned by her for a second time," Edric admitted, because the first time Lucille had summoned them she was slain by that knight that had killed the two of them and he would have expected her to give up at some point, but he was glad to find out that she was still fighting, "We also got a token of some kind, for actually completing our duty, but we should focus on taking out that giant and seeing what that key goes to."

Rarity remembered seeing the key that Lucille had picked up, as it was quite hard for her to miss, and had to wonder what door it went to, and what happened to be resting behind that door. She was sure that some sort of enemy or treasure would be the reward once they figured out which door to unlock, though a part of her hoped that they didn't unlock a door that brought them to that terrifying knight. She could also tell that Edric had to be thinking about what they had just gone through, as if he was recalling the fight they had with the trapped giant and was making sure that he knew how to avoid its attacks. He was getting himself ready for the upcoming fight, because now that they knew where the giant was located it was only a matter of time until they were standing outside his lair... and then they would take him out, just like they did with Lucille.

After a few more minutes of rest Edric decided that it was time for them to resume their quest and headed towards the hole in the wall, though as he walked out of their sanctuary, and focused on the enemies on the level below them, Rarity followed after him and threw a Soul Arrow at the bomb thrower. It took them a few seconds to eliminate this group of foes, allowing them to approach the ladder and climb down into the lower area, where they patiently waited for the ballista to launch their volley before attacking the stunned hollows that resided in the chamber. When they cleared that area out they turned towards the pathway behind them and spotted the large armored enemy that had been blocking Lucille's path... though as Edric engaged the warrior Rarity focused on the two archers that were staring down at them.

Thanks to their prior knowledge of the area, and the fact that they knew how their enemies were going to attack them, Rarity and Edric were able to take are of both the armored warrior and the archers, allowing them to moved towards the doorway that they had spotted in Lucille's world.

They walked through the doorway that the armored warrior had been guarding and found themselves in the large corridor that Lucille had showed them, though this time around they also noticed another path on their right that they could take if they so desired. Instead of going to the right, and seeing what else was waiting for them, they both turned to the left of the doorway and spotted the door that the two hollows were guarding, to which they approached their enemies and dealt with them before they had a chance to fight back. Once that was done Rarity and Edric walked into the chamber that the hollows had been guarding, though this time around Rarity ignored the small room on the right, because all she had found in there was a hollow and nothing else. They wasted no time in approaching the elevator that they had discovered in Lucille's world, the one that would take them down into the depths of the ruined fortress... where they would find the forgotten giant.

They stood around the center of the elevator for a few seconds before it made its descent, taking them to the passage that would allow them to walk right up to a fog door, though as they walked forward they took out the hollow that was hidden in the locked doorway to their left... before they stopped in front of the fog door and prepared themselves.

Once they were both ready, and their weapons were prepared, they both walked through the fog door and stared at the gray skinned giant that was hunched over at the moment, which Rarity decided wasn't the best posture for anyone, but there was little she could do for the creature. They took a moment to take in all the damage that had been caused to the giant's body, which had no doubt been caused in a battle that was likely forgotten by the people of Drangleic, before they approached their foe. A few seconds later the giant's head started to move, which the two of them had been expecting thanks to their knowledge of what was to come, before the giant started to scream at them when it noticed that they were approaching him.

That was followed by the giant shattering the pillar that it was impaled on, leaving a good chuck sticking out of its back and the front of its chest, before it violently tugged on its right arm and pulled it out of the rubble that had buried its hand. Once it's right arm was free the giant focused on freeing his left hand, to which the creature simply yanked its hand in the direction of its body and freed its hand... though once that was done both Rarity and Edric braced themselves as the giant charged at them.

Rarity and Edric followed the same attack pattern they had used back in Lucille's world, to which they separated from each other and made sure that they were on opposite sides of the giant, where Edric focused on dodging the giant's hands while making himself into the largest threat available at the moment. Rarity put some distance between herself and the giant, which was why Edric was acting like bait at the moment, before she signaled to her companion and started using her spells on the giant's legs. She had determined from watching how Edric and Lucille had fought the creature, that attacking its legs might have done more damage than striking at its oddly shaped head, which was why she was attacking it in this manner. Of course they still had to be careful when the giant chose to jump backwards, though since there was only her and Edric this time around Rarity was a little shocked when the giant chose to continue chasing Edric, allowing her to focus her power into channeling more spells.

At one point the giant stood still and started tugging on its left arm, to which Rarity and Edric watched it pull its arm off and started using it like a club, though they continued to repeat the same movements they had been using since they started this fight. Rarity had expected that with there being only two opponents the giant would have focused on them equally, though instead she found that the giant preferred to attack Edric and ignored her completely, which only made this fight a lot easier for Rarity. Thanks to the giant's tactics, or lack of them in some cases, they eventually caused it to stagger for a few seconds, to which the duo watched as the giant collapsed on the ground and stopped moving... to which Rarity happily cheered over their victory, while at the same time they gathered the same souls that Lucille had gained when they helped her beat the giant.

While she cheered in her mind, however, Edric collected the key that Lucille had grabbed, though they both knew that they would soon find out where the key went and what secrets it unlocked.

"So how many souls did we get from that guy?" Rarity asked, because while she was still getting used to this world, and how the soul system worked, she was sure that Edric might have an answer to her question.

"Besides his actual soul... I think somewhere around ten thousand points for both of us," Edric replied, though when he turned and looked at his companion, however, he found that she was completely shocked by what he had just told her, "What's wrong?"

"T... ten thousand souls?!" Rarity exclaimed, as she had never expected such a creature to possess so many souls, which meant that the giant must have killed quite a lot of people before being reduced to this state, "What are we going to do with all of these souls?"

"Well, let's head back to Majula and see what the Emerald Herald has to say about what we've accomplished," Edric stated, knowing that there was a quick way to determine whether they had collected one of the four Great Souls or not, before something came to mind, "Though we should rest at the bonfire before we do anything else... there's something I feel like trying before we head through the forest again."

Rarity had to wonder what her companion was thinking about, before she nodded her head and followed him back to where the elevator was waiting, to which they took it back up to the area that it had been waiting at originally. Once the elevator stopped they walked off of it and spotted something that they had missed, as to their immediate right was a door that they could open without needing a special key. On the other side of the door rested the ladder they had climbed down several times, to which they climbed back up to where the bonfire was resting and sat around it for a few moments, allowing their bodies to recover from what they had just gone through. After they had rested Rarity got up to leave, but Edric shook his head and beckoned for her to kneel by the bonfire, though when she did so Edric focused on something and the world around them seemed to disappear, leaving them and the bonfire in a sea of darkness... before they reappeared in Majula, around its bonfire no less.

Rarity looked around in confusion for a moment, as it almost appeared that they had used a teleportation spell of some kind, though Edric was smiling at her, indicating that his trick had worked.

"I had heard that these special bonfires allow the Undead to travel from one to another," Edric explained, though at the same time he picked himself up and stretched his arms, while Rarity did the same thing as she stared at him, "and honestly I wasn't expecting it to work out quite so well, but at least this save us time if we wanted to travel from one location to another... like from the forest to some other part of Drangleic."

"A little warning would have been appreciated," Rarity said, though as she spoke she sighed and spotted the Emerald Herald sitting nearby, almost like she was ignoring them, before she beckoned to her, "Let's see if we've made any progress in our quest."

"Bearers of the curse, it is good to see you again." the Emerald Herald said, to which she got up and faced the duo, almost as if she had been listening to them and had gotten up the moment they approached her, "What may I assist you with at the moment?"

"We killed a powerful creature while we were in the Forest of Fallen Giants," Edric explained, though at the same time he withdrew the soul essence that the giant had left behind, which indicated that it was a powerful creature since it left something like this behind, "and we were wondering if this was one of the four souls that you had tasked us with locating."

"That is the soul of a powerful creature, that cannot be denied," the Emerald Herald said, to at the same time she shook her head as she stared at the duo, though the motion told them more than words could, "but it is not one of the four Great Souls that you need to acquire. I also sense that the both of you have acquired a fair number of souls since the last time we saw each other."

"We got a fair number of them when we killed the powerful creature that dropped that soul," Rarity replied, though as she spoke Edric put the soul of the giant back in his pack, before she turned her full attention to the Emerald Herald, "only we have no idea what to spend them on, save for healing items and lost keys."

"I can help you in that regard," the Emerald Herald stated, to which both Rarity and Edric looked at her with surprise on their faces, though at the same time she actually smiled at them for a moment, "Since you have learned that you can trade souls for goods, judging by how we have a new merchant in Majula, allow me to share with you another purpose that the souls you have acquired can serve. I can harness the power of the souls that you have acquired to boost a certain aspect of your choice, whether that aspect is Vigor, Endurance, Vitality, Adaptability, Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Faith, and Attunement."

"Um... can you explain what these 'aspects' are?" Edric asked, though at the same time Rarity nodded, because she was already lost thanks to everything that she had learned so far and all of these aspects just added to her confusion.

"Certainly," the Emerald Herald said, to which she took a seat for a moment, before looking up at the duo as they stared at her in turn, "Vigor increases the amount of health you have, meaning that you can take more hits and survive longer in combat, as long as your smart about the battles your in. Endurance also increases your health, but at the same time it increases your stamina, allowing you to do more attacks, and raise your physical defense. Vitality increases health and physical defense, like the last two, but it also allows you to increase your equipment load, which will become apparent to you at some point in the future. Adaptability will, unlike the previously mentioned aspects, increase your resistances to the elements, curses, and poisons, while at the same time increasing your agility.

Strength and Dexterity do the same thing, increasing your attack damage, but depending on which type of weapon your interested in investing your time into mastering will determine which one of them you'll want to pick. Intelligence increases the damage you can deal with magic, fire, and dark type spells, while at the same time raising your resistance to damage from those elements and increasing your casting speed. Faith does pretty much the same thing, only it focuses on boosting your damage and resistance for fire, lightning, and dark type spells, increases cast speed, and raises your resistance to petrification. Attunement increases casting speed and your agility, though all three of those aspects will also raise your health as well, much like the physical aspects."

Rarity could tell that Edric, as a warrior, was likely going to go for Vigor, Vitality, and Strength, because he was the tank of their group and he would be demanding the attention of their foes almost all the time. She thought about what she could choose and realized that she would likely choose Intelligence, Faith, and Attunement, allowing her to increase the power of her spells as well as her resistances to the same elements. It was an interesting system, one that actually reminded her of the various games that she overheard Spike talking about when Twilight wasn't around, but she was pleased that she quickly determined which aspects she should invest points into. She also had to wonder where she could find the other types of spells, since all she had would be classified in the 'magic' type of category, but determined that she would find them in the future.

Edric, deciding to be the first one to use the points he had acquired, knelt in front of the Emerald Herald and the lady focused her unique power on Edric, to which Rarity watched her companion for a few seconds, but she didn't see any noticeable changes occur. After a few seconds the Emerald Herald lowered her hand and nodded to Edric, who stood up and walked a few steps backwards, allowing Rarity to take his place and see what she could do with the various aspects that they had been told about. From what she could tell she could, based on the Emerald Herald's unique power, she had enough soul points to increase an aspect ten times, to which she determined to use four of those 'points' on Intelligence, three on Faith, and the last three on Attunement. Her thought process was that because Edric was the warrior, and stood at the front of the group, she should focus her efforts on increasing the power of all of her spells... even those that she hadn't acquired yet.

Once she was done she discovered that Edric was already talking with the blacksmith, no doubt informing him that they had found the key to his shop and was inquiring as to how long it would be before they could begin enlisting his services and improve their armor. While he did that Rarity walked over to Shalquoir's shop, where she found the strange cat resting on the table again, almost as if she hadn't moved during the time Rarity and Edric had been inside the ruined fortress. The sound of her hooves walking on the floor, however, caused the cat's ears to twitch and she opened her eyes, to which she noticed Rarity was inside the building again, where she yawned and picked herself up.

"Ah, my favorite otherworldly customer has returned," Shalquoir commented, a smile, or what Rarity assumed was a smile, appearing on her face a few moments later, "and it appears that you and your companion have killed the 'Last' Giant. Congratulations on taking out your first powerful opponent, though he won't be the last one you'll face."

"Yes, Edric and I are sure that we'll face more like him on our quest," Rarity said, though it took her a few seconds to realize something very important, to which she raised an eyebrow at Shalquoir for a moment, "Wait... how in the world did you know that we took out that giant, especially since you weren't there?"

"Oh, I have my ways of knowing when a powerful creature has been taken out." Shalquoir replied, to which she raised a paw to her mouth and shook her head, almost in a laughing fashion, before turning serious once more, "but I'm guessing you came here for more than idle chit-chat. You came for a second opinion on where to go after beating that giant, instead of hunting for that knight that slaughtered you and several of the other Undead that summoned you two. I can tell you that the Pursuer is still lurking around the ruins you were just in, looking for you and Edric, but near my house is another path that will take you to Heide's Tower of Flame... where you'll find two more powerful creatures and a surprise."

"Really?" Rarity said, though at the same time she was a tad bit surprised to hear that Shalquoir knew the knight's name, though she determined that being called a 'Pursuer' was fitting for the knight, "Well, I'm sure that Edric will be happy to know that there's another path for us to take, besides remaining in the ruined fortress and crossing paths with that... Pursuer knight."

"Sooner or later you'll have to face your fears," Shalquoir commented, though at the same time the smile from earlier returned, once again making Rarity wonder what the cat knew and what she was withholding from her, "though when that days comes... well, let's just say you'll be surprised by what happens."

Rarity nodded as she bid Shalquoir farewell for the moment and headed back outside, knowing that there was something strange about the cat, something that she couldn't put her finger on. Apparently Shalquoir knew what was happening in the world around her, without her even leaving her house by the looks of it, and could easily name enemies they have fought and locations they could go to next. She was fortunate to have befriended the cat, if she could call it that, because her advice may be invaluable in the future... and she was sure that some of those rings she was selling would come in handy at some point in the future.

Rarity sighed as she returned to the bonfire and informed Edric of the fact that the second path existed, to which she told him about the fact that Shalquoir was willing to share the information with her... to which Edric decided that they could use a change of scenery and determined that Heide's Tower of Flame would be an interesting place to check out. Rarity only hoped that they didn't find someone like the Pursuer in the new location, otherwise they were going to have a hard time getting anywhere close to one of the four Great Souls... and whoever was holding them at the moment.

Heide's Tower

Rarity and Edric sat around the bonfire for a few more minutes, to relax from their travels and take stock of the weapons and armor they had at the moment, where Rarity noticed that her companion was a little upset over not having something better to protect himself with. Rarity, being the magic user, was perfectly fine with what she was wearing, especially since this appeared to be the best robe she could get at the moment, along with the fact that she didn't have any of the tools she usually used to make new dresses. What she was concerned about was the fact that she actually couldn't cast the Heal spell she had picked up from Melentia, which made her wonder where she could find one of those chimes that would allow her to actually cast the spell.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed that Edric was getting up and was preparing to move once more, though when she made the effort to get back on her hooves, however, he motioned for her to remain sitting.

"There's something nearby I want to check out before we venture into Heide's Tower of Flame," Edric said, though he did beckon up the hill that they had walked down when they first entered Majula, to which Rarity knew that he wouldn't be gone long, "I'll be back in a few minutes, and then we can see what surprise Shalquoir was talking about."

Rarity nodded and watched as her companion walked over to the base of the hill they had walked down and retraced their footsteps until he disappeared from her sight, leaving her alone with the Emerald Herald, who actually seemed a little interested in what Edric was talking about. Rarity then stared in the direction that Edric had done in and swore that she saw him jumping off the edge of the cliff, causing her to worry that she would have to do the rest of the quest on her own. A few more moments passed before she spotted Edric's armored head poke up near the tunnel they took to reach the forest they had been in about twenty minutes ago... though it appeared that he might have found something to make the trip worth it.

When Edric returned to the bonfire, however, he had three new items to show her; a set of binoculars, a mace that could be used with one hand, and a golden item that seemed like a rod of some kind with several pieces branching out from one of the ends of it.

"I found a chime for you to use," Edric commented, beckoning to the golden object for a few seconds, to which Rarity gently took the item and looked over it for a few seconds, "I honestly have no idea how you're supposed to use it, but at least how you have the item necessary to use that Heal spell you picked up earlier."

Rarity stared at the item as Edric inspected the mace and the binoculars, no doubt making sure that they were in working condition and that he hadn't wasted his time, but from what she could tell he was more pleased with finding something that allowed her to use the healing spell. From what she could tell all she had to do was channel the power of the spell into the chime and then release the power, though according to the page she had purchased from Melentia she would also have to get in a kneeling position to make the spell work. She decided that she would determine figure out how to use the spell in the future, no doubt when they actually needed the spell, though she stopped focusing on the chime as Edric picked up the other items and started walking away from the bonfire.

Since it became clear that they were done resting Rarity pulled herself back onto her hooves and followed after her companion, to which they headed in the direction of Shalquoir's shop and spotted the opening in the rock wall that she had been told about, one that looked similar to the opening they had walked through to head towards the forest. They walked down the stairs that they discovered on the other side of the opening, though as they walked downwards both Rarity and Edric kept their weapons at the ready. They had no idea where their enemies were located, or if there were any this close to Majula, but that didn't stop them from being cautious... though at the bottom of the stairs they discovered a contraption that didn't work, which meant that they had to follow the path of their right and ignore the path that was on their left.

They followed the path they had chosen and walked down the staircase that they had discovered, though after some time they stopped beside a metal chest, where they discovered another shield inside the chest, though once they had it in their possession they continued down the path once more. They came to another stop when they reached the end of the path, where they discovered an area that had water on the lowest part of the ground and a gate blocking their way, which meant that there had to be a lever of some kind around them. Of course when Rarity thought about the switch that was needed for the gate she immediately spotted one of the wall in front of them, to which she walked towards it and used her spare hand to grab onto it.

She glanced back at Edric, to be sure that he was ready for whatever happened, though when he nodded she pulled the switch with all her might... to which the gate opened before their eyes, causing Rarity to let out a sigh as she followed Edric towards whatever the gate had been guarding.

They walked passed the gate and stepped up the stairs that were on their left, though when they found nothing on the level above them they jumped back down into the water, which reached their ankles, and followed the tunnel to the other end of the passage. When they reached the end, and found a doorway that would allow them to progress onward, they also spotted a corpse nearby, one that was holding a broken sword of some kind and another soul, to which they grabbed the items and walked through the doorway. The duo then followed the passage they were in, and walked up a set of stairs, before stepping outside and stopping when they noticed that they were in an area that was vastly different from the forest ruins they had been in earlier.

Rarity and Edric stared up at the large tower that was some distance in front of them, one that had lights on in literally every hole that they could see, until they rested their eyes on the lower section of the tower and noticed that it contained some sort of arena. They then looked to their right and their left, where they found a large number of ruined structures scattered everywhere, along with a few select buildings that were still intact, which meant that they would actually spend a short amount of time in this area before they moved onto the next area they needed to explore. Rarity also spotted a bonfire ahead of them, though this one rested to the right of where a massive knight, as least twice as tall as the two of them, stood guard over the entrance to the rest of the area.

Of course this particular knight was wearing a suit of armor that covered all of its body, which happened to be bronze colored, and was wielding a large weapon, just like the greatsword that the Pursuer had been using, and a large circular shield, though at the same time Rarity suspected that this guy would be easier to fight than the troublesome knight that killed them.

The two of them walked over the ruined walkway and approached the area that the ancient looking knight was standing in, though as they did so Rarity stepped back and prepared her magic while Edric walked forword and demanded the knight's attention. As Edric approached the knight, however, his opponent lifted his weapon into the air and brought it down on where he was standing, though Edric managed to jump to the side and avoid the attack entirely, causing Rarity to let out a sigh of relief. Edric then forced the large knight to turn towards him and completely turned him around, exposing his back to Rarity in the process, who smiled as she started loosing Soul Arrows at their opponent, though while that happened Edric attacked the knight after another swing came his way.

Thanks to their teamwork they managed to fell the knight in a matter of seconds, though even as they relaxed a little bit Rarity knew that there would be more of these knights in the area ahead of them... to which she and Edric walked down the stairs on their right and activated the bonfire, before they turned around and resumed their trek through the area they were in. They walked up the stairs that were in front of them and found another ancient knight, this one wielding a large two handed mace, blocking the way forward, to which Rarity and Edric employed the same tactic they had used to defeat the first knight they had encountered. It was a tad bit harder to defeat this particular knight, especially with his chosen weapon and the speed at which he attacked them, but in the end the duo emerged victorious... and they were rewarded with some sort of bone dust for their efforts, which Edric claimed was important.

They paused for a moment, to inspect the corpse that was hanging over the railing, where they discovered another soul and a Human Effigy, though once they had those items in hand they walked up the stairs and found another small area with another large knight blocking their way. Fortunately the knights only seemed interested in fighting Edric, which made sense to Rarity considering that he was a warrior as well, though at the same time it allowed her to hit their opponents in their backs and weaken them. When the knight was defeated, however, they both paused as a contraption rose out of a small hole that the knight had been guarding the entire time... though after a few seconds of debate Edric pulled the lever and stood beside Rarity for a moment.

A few seconds later they watched as the area that they assumed was some sort of arena gained more ground for people to walk and fight on, as the lever made a ring, which looked identical to the rest of the arena, rise out of the water and stop when it was level with the top of the actual fighting area.

With that done the duo followed the pathway on their left and approached the somewhat ruined building that was in front of them, though when they entered the building they noticed three more ancient knights standing guard and waiting for intruders to enter their domain. Fortunately the closest one to them was more interested in them than his partners were, allowing Rarity and Edric to fall back and pull the guy out onto the walkway they had used a few seconds ago, where they could put their new tactic into action once more. It didn't take them too long to defeat the first of the ancient knights, though once he was down for good, and his body had fallen off the side and crashed into the water below them, the duo walked back into the building and determined which of their enemies they would fight next.

Unfortunately their decision was made for them, as the moment they entered the building for a second time both of the remaining knights came at them, forcing Rarity and Edric to separate from each other and come up with their own plans to deal with their opponent. Edric chose the direct approach, which involved standing in the area around his opponent, dodging whatever attacks came at him, and attacking whatever opening he could find before the ancient knight could fix his defenses. Rarity, on the other hand, had to do her best to avoid the large greatsword that her opponent was carrying, which actually cut off a good portion of her tail because of how careless she was, to which she growled and made her way to her opponent's backside... where she pumped his back full of Soul Arrows and dropped him to the floor.

Once the deed was done, and both of their enemies had been taken care of, the two relaxed for a moment, though while they did that Rarity checked out the condition of her tail... where she let out a sigh of relieve as she realized that she was only missing a some of her tail and that none of the bone had been wounded in the process.

"Is something wrong?" Edric asked, as he had noticed that Rarity was busy staring at her tail, which he was still shocked to discover that she had, and that she seemed annoyed about something.

"Only that my ruffian of an opponent cut a part of my darling tail off," Rarity replied, though she finally let go of her tail and stared at her companion, knowing that he would never know, or understand, why she was both annoyed and upset over what had just happened, "Come on, let's see if we can't find a way out of here and locate the next area... I'm already getting tired of the condition that this area is in."

Before they moved onto the next part of this area, however, Edric stepped up to the nearby lever that had revealed itself and pulled it, to which the duo watched as more flooring was added to the arena area, as another ring had burst out of the water and connected to the fighting stage. With that done the duo considered their options and eventually determined to check out the path on their left, which appeared to lead right to some large building that may or may not have answers for them. In front of them stood two more ancient knights, though the one on the left walked forward and chose to fight them alone, which ended up costing their opponent his life as the duo made quick work out of him... allowing them to turn their attention on the other ancient knight, who started walking towards them the moment his ally had been taken out.

Once their enemies were defeated, and the area was clear for the moment, the duo walked up the stairs that were in front of them and made their way to the walkway that was above them, where they discovered another ancient warrior that was guarding another lever. Fortunately their tactic of Edric being the center of attention and Rarity attacking from behind worked out well, though when the knight fell, and they pulled the lever, they lowered a large bridge down into position, where it connected to the platform they walk standing on. The large bridge essentially allowed them to walk up to the front entrance of one of the buildings they had been staring at when they entered this area... though this one looked like a church of some kind and had a fog door at the building's entrance.

To their immediate left rested another corpse, which had a Lifegem that Edric picked up, with a chest that stood near the corpse, though inside the chest they discovered another Human Effigy and a ring... one that Edric determined was a Ring of Binding, though even he wasn't sure what the ring did, which made Rarity suggest that they could ask Shalquoir about it when they returned to Majula.

"You sure do like that cat," Edric commented, noticing that Rarity generally went to Shalquoir for information or advice, which was why they were here and not in the forest ruins, and that she generally came back with something interesting or important to tell him.

"I can't help the fact that an omnipotent cat likes me and is willing to give me advice," Rarity replied, knowing that she should have been shocked by the fact that Shalquoir liked her, especially since the cat might be a deity or something, but her life in Equus had taught her otherwise, "but we should be focusing on that fog door... and the powerful creature that's likely waiting for us on the other side."

Edric nodded and the two of them approached the fog door, though as they walked through to the other side, however, they discovered that their opponent was another heavily armored knight, much like the Pursuer, only Rarity noticed that this knight's armor looked more like it was copying the look of a intimidating dragon... and the knight was carrying a deadly looking spear in his right hand. Based on the knight's armor, and how it looked, Rarity could only determine that the man or woman had been a dragon slayer at some point in their life... and that she was correct in feeling some fear when she gazed at the knight. Edric seemed uncertain of their chances as well, which made Rarity somewhat pleased to find that she wasn't the only one feeling this way, but they had gotten themselves into this mess and they either needed to kill the knight or die to him.

Rarity really didn't want to die again, especially since she and Edric had been restored to their normal forms, but before they could decide on what to do the dragon slaying knight started walking towards them... though before they could actually move the knight dashed forward and drove the tip of his spear into Rarity's chest, piercing her left lung. The knight lifted her into the air for a moment, as if it was studying her, before it spun around and threw her into one of the pillars that littered the room, though at the same time it opened itself to one of Edric's attacks. Rarity coughed up blood for a moment as she tried to pick herself up off the floor, because despite the fact that Edric said that they don't feel pain she knew that the wound would normally hurt... though while the Old Dragonslayer was busy, however, she pulled out the flask she had been given and downed the contents, to which her wound healed and she instantly felt better.

Once that had happened, however, she got back up and started throwing spells at the Old Dragonslayer's back, hoping to draw its attention away from Edric before something terrible happened to him... though that was before the Old Dragonslayer leapt into the air, slammed the tip of it's spear into Edric's shield, and staggered him for a moment. Rarity fired a Great Soul Arrow into the Old Dragonslayer's back and hoped for the best, though the knight still ignored her as it drove the tip of it's spear into Edric's chest until it came out his back side. Instead of tossing Edric to the side, however, the Old Dragonslayer pulled its spear out of Edric and grabbed his head with its spare arm, to which it threw Edric into another pillar... to which Rarity watched as it collapsed on top of her companion, who stopped moving.

Rarity's eyes widened as she realized that this was the exact opposite of the Pursuer fight, as she had died first and Edric had followed her, though now it was Edric dying first and she was bound to follow him... though she growled as she unleashed arrow after arrow at her opponent, before she felt the tingle of the Dragonslayer's spear puncturing her once more. She staggered off of the spear, allowing her blood to drip onto the ground, before she gripped her staff and struck her opponent in the side, though even as she did that she realized that her attack had no effect on her opponent. A few seconds later the Dragonslayer headbutted her, where parts of its helm cut into her forehead, before it thrust its spear into her heart with enough force to send her flying into the wall behind her.

Rarity remained there, pinned against the wall for a few seconds, before the Dragonslayer gripped the end of its spear and pulled it out of here, where she fell against the floor and laid in a pool of her own blood... under the world faded away, just like when the Pursuer had killed her. A few moments passed before she reappeared in the area around the bonfire she and Edric had ignited earlier, though she didn't have to look down at her arms to know that they had taken on the rotting appearance they had taken when the Pursuer had killed her. She let out a sigh as she leaned against the rock wall behind her, because it appeared that empowering themselves hadn't done much to actually help them... and that they were going to need some more practice before they could beat someone like the Old Dragonslayer they just encountered.

The Tower's Arena

"One of the downsides to dying is that all of the enemies we fought have come back to life as well," Edric commented, having returned from his very brief scouting mission of the area, as if he went passed the wall that they were hiding behind the first ancient warrior they fought would come after him, "from what I can tell every warrior we killed has returned to life and are still patrolling the areas they were standing in when we first encountered them."

Rarity opened her mouth to say something, to mention that another downside was that their natural beauty was taken from them and that they looked like corpses that had only started to rot, but then she decided not to and kept her mouth shut. Edric had already been through this sort of thing before, if how they had met was anything to go by, and his story told her that he had been through a lot since he had been cursed, so her mentioning their natural looks wasn't really going to help them at all. Instead she wondered how they were going to best the Old Dragonslayer, because he was almost as fast as the Pursuer and hit with the same amount of strength, though even then she knew that the new knight they had encountered wanted some sport before he finished the job... which was why he took his time with them before finally dealing the finishing blows.

It was at that point that Rarity let out a sigh as she leaned back against her rock, because right now there was nowhere else left to go and she determined that the only paths forward rested behind both the Pursuer and the Old Dragonslayer... and neither of them had had even wounded their foes when they fought each other.

"The Old Dragonslayer is too fast for us to defeat, at least for the moment," Rarity spoke up, noticing that Edric was looking in her direction, though he appeared to be curious about what she was talking about, "He's strong and he's fast, exactly like you would expect from someone that might have spent some of their days hunting down dragons and killing them. If we're to have any hope of defeating him, and progressing through this area, we'll no doubt need to place our sign down and offer our aid to whoever is in this area, in one of the other worlds anyway."

She still found it surprising that the natives of this world referred to the other timelines as other worlds, which made sense considering that the people they helped were completely different depending on who touched their sign. She was sure that Twilight would have loved to study this world, its strange magic, and the strangeness that came with the curse that she and Edric were inflicted with.

"I see we have determined the gender of the mysterious Old Dragonslayer," Edric said, though at the same time he sat across from Rarity, where he held the white stone they had used in the forest ruin in his left hand, "I'm all for seeing if there's anyone else in this area, in one of the other worlds, but if we don't find anyone we'll have to try our hand at beating the Old Dragonslayer on our own."

Rarity nodded and Edric set their sign on the ground, though they barely had to wait even a minute before they were called into the world of another Undead, but when they arrived in the other world as phantoms they had no idea where the Undead that summoned them was located. Rarity determined that the Undead in question must have run passed their sign, activated it without even looking at it, and continued on his merry way with the belief that whoever he summoned would act as reinforcements. With that in mind they charged up the steps that they had been sitting next to and immediately found the Undead that had summoned them, who appeared to be another warrior by the looks of his armor, but before they could even help him the ancient warrior he was fighting cleaved him in half.

Rarity and Edric watched as the two sides of the warrior separated from each other as they collapsed on the ground, to which the duo let out a sigh of defeat as they were deported back to their world... where they said nothing on what they had just seen and Edric simply etched the sign back into the ground.

The next world they were called to had a much smarter Undead, as she had stayed in the area around the bonfire to ensure that her backup was with her every step of the way, though once Rarity and Edric arrived they bowed a tiny bit before they followed their leader. They had to contend with the ancient warrior that was standing in the area by the bonfire, who easily fell when three people were attacking it, before they followed the path and repeated the process with the other ancient knights that they came across. One thing that Rarity noticed their leader failed to account for was the fact that there were levers to pull, as when the first one rose from the floor Rarity went and stood next to it, to symbolize its importance, but the leader went on forward and ignored her completely.

They then walked into the ruined building where three ancient warriors were gathered together, which the leader foolishly though they could all take on and made sure to annoy all three of them, but much to Rarity's surprise the three of them were able to take on and defeat the three ancient warriors.

Once their enemies were dead Edric tried his hand at announcing the importance of the lever that was brought up, but once more they discovered that the leader had no interest in pulling the levers, to which they sighed as they followed the female warrior towards the church that the Old Dragonslayer was waiting inside. Rarity and Edric fought the remaining ancient knights alongside the warrior that continued to charge ahead of them, making them wonder if she even knew what was waiting inside the church. The answer had to be no, as the bridge to access the church was still raised, but that didn't seem to deter the warrior from leaving them behind to fight the two ancient knights... though thanks to their experience in fighting these guys, however, they were able to finish their foes off and run after their leader.

They barely caught up with the female warrior as the bridge lowered into place, where she charged forward and completely neglected to check the chest that was on the immediate left, though both Rarity and Edric were used to this and simply followed her through the fog door. When they walked through the other side they discovered that their leader was stunned by what their opponent was wearing, though she failed to regain her focus in time, as when the Old Dragonslayer charged at them he thrust his spear forward... though while Rarity and Edric rolled to the side, however, their leader was impaled almost immediately. Unfortunately for the duo the fight didn't last much longer, as their opponent focused solely on the female warrior and killed her within moments of the battle starting... sending them back to their own world once more.

The duo rested beside the bonfire once more and wondered if they should continue to send their sign out to the other worlds, because so far the Undead that have been summoning them keep getting killed by charging at an enemy without their backup or get too stunned by a powerful foe and die in a few hits. The third time Edric put their sign on the ground they were summoned almost immediately, just like the first person that had called upon them, though this time they were helping out another sorcerer. What really caught the duo off guard was the fact that this sorcerer happened to be slightly older than the other Undead that they had helped out and was currently sitting on one of the nearby rocks... reading one of the spell pages he had acquired from one of the other merchants.

"Ah, good evening my esteemed colleagues," the sorcerer said, though at the same time he put the page he was studying away and stood on his feet, to which he walked over to the duo and shook their hands, "I am Saru the White, and today I would like to share an adventure with the two of you. Come, let us be off."

Rarity and Edric were kind of shocked to find someone like Saru among the various worlds that they could have been called to, but what pleased Rarity was when they discovered that their new leader was more intelligent than the other Undead that had summoned them in the last hour. That was because the sorcerer took his time in understanding the opponents they faced and offered them an idea on how to attack, in such a way that would allow them to coordinate their attacks and bring their foes down quickly. What really made Saru an interesting ally was that he dodged his enemy's movements and watched what Rarity and Edric did, meaning that he was able to study his opponent and take some hints from what his allies were doing... and he also pulled the first lever that revealed itself, much to Rarity's joy.

Saru's spells might have been the same as Rarity's current set, but he only used them when necessary and used the sword that he had picked up, the same one that they had found in the forest area, to deal damage to their enemies, though at the same time he was impressed with the skills that Rarity possessed.

When they reached the ruined building, where the three ancient knights were located, Saru had them wait as he made the first knight follow after him, though once they were outside the trio engaged the knight and easily brought it down before it could hurt any of them. They then moved into the building and engaged the remaining two ancient knights, though while Edric faced his own opponent Rarity aided Saru in fighting the other enemy, where the two groups actually took down the knights without sustaining any damage. With the knights defeated, and the second lever revealed, Saru made sure to pull it as well, allowing the next piece of the arena to move into position... though instead of heading towards the church, where the Old Dragonslayer was waiting, Saru headed towards the other opening that Rarity and Edric hadn't been down yet.

The three of them walked out onto the walkway in front of them and followed the path that they had chosen this time around, where Rarity found it was odd that there weren't any enemies around, but then they glanced down at the area below them and found a single ancient knight guarding a fog door. Rarity had to wonder if there was another powerful creature in this area, one that was hopefully not as powerful as the Old Dragonslayer, but she determined that she and Edric would soon find out. Since the battle was three on one they managed to finish off the ancient knight in a matter of seconds, as he couldn't target more than one of them at any given time and they used that against their opponent, though once the battle was over Saru had them stop so he could loot a nearby chest... to which he returned to them with whatever was inside the chest.

"Prepare yourselves friends," Saru commented, though at the same time he touched the fog door with his left hand, indicating that he was preparing to head through the fog, "I sense a foul presence on the other side of this fog."

On the other side of the fog door Rarity and Edric discovered another armored knight, whose armor was almost crimson colored and was carrying a large halberd with a shield, though at the same time Rarity was relieved, because she wasn't terrified of this knight as she was of the Pursuer and the Old Dragonslayer. Edric charged forward and demanded the knight's attention while allowing Rarity and Saru to circle behind the knight, where they could either launch their spells at him or study his movements and come up with a plan of attack. As the knight brought the axe down on where Edric was standing, however, Rarity smiled as her friend actually rolled out of the way and avoided the attack before hacking into their opponent's side.

Rarity, noticing that the knight's back was exposed, readied her staff and fired a Great Soul Arrow at his back, though at the same time an identical spell surged through the air and slammed into the knight's back at the same time as her attack hit her target.

Fortunately Rarity didn't feel any of the fear or the terror that she felt when she and Edric fought the other two knights, as this opponent actually didn't care about her and Saru, allowing them to strike at his back with all of their might. It was almost like dying a second time had allowed Edric to better understand that dodging an attack was important in battle, something that he clearly hadn't known during the battle with the Pursuer or the battle with the Old Dragonslayer, though Rarity was pleased to find that her companion was already improving. A few moments later Edric drove the tip of his sword into the chest piece of the knight, which came out the other side of his armor and clearly struck his heart, if the blood was anything to consider... though to be sure that the knight was dead Rarity and Saru threw another volley of spells at their opponent, to which Rarity smiled when Edric pulled his blade out and the body fell to the ground without getting back up at all.

With their opponent defeated, and his body resting on the ground, Rarity and Edric gained a portion of souls that was appropriate for them helping someone out, while Saru took in the large amount of souls that was the reward for beating this knight, along with his soul.

"Good show my friends," Saru said, though as he said that he tapped his staff against the floor for a moment, while his gaze was locked on Rarity and Edric, "I see that you two make for a extraordinary team, and that anyone that summons you for aid will no doubt sing praises of your deeds. Hopefully we cross paths again in the future, while striving to complete our own goals."

Rarity and Edric nodded their heads before the world faded around them, to which they waited for a few moments before they reappeared around their bonfire with their rotting skin looking like it had been before the Old Dragonslayer had killed them. Instead of putting down their sign and trying again, and finding another person to aid, they touched the bonfire and used its power to teleport themselves back to Majula, where they could use the souls they had gathered so far to empower themselves a little more and purchase any odds and ends... and maybe figure out what that ring they discovered earlier actually was. Rarity was also interested in seeing what Shalquoir had to say about the opponents they had fought so far, just in case the powerful cat had any advice to offer them.

Cleaning Up

When they arrived in Majula, and reappeared around the bonfire, Edric stated that he was going to fix up his weapon at Lenigrast's shop before he bothered seeing what else he could empower with all the souls he had collected so far. Rarity, upon hearing that, considered speaking with the Emerald Herald first and getting her level up out of the way, but instead of doing that she asked her companion for the ring they had discovered. Edric didn't even have to ask why she was asking for the ring, as they had already agreed on asking Shalquoir what the properties of it were, to which he reached into his pouch, pulled out the ring in question, and handed it over to Rarity. Once that was done he headed to the smith's shop and started speaking with the large man, who had been preparing his forge for something he was working on, to which Rarity walked over towards the large hole in the ground and entered Shalquoir's shop.

The moment she walked into the shop she found that Shalquoir was sitting at her desk, no doubt making notes about what she's sold and when her next shipment was coming in, if that sort of thing happened in this world, before she noticed that she had company. That was followed by the cat putting away her writing materials, where Rarity didn't bother asking how a cat could use them to begin with since she had a headache when she first attempted to figure out why Pinkie was so weird, before she hopped onto the table and stared at Rarity.

"It is good to see you again Rarity," Shalquoir said, though at the same time she seemed to sense something different in the air, which was likely what she had done when Rarity and Edric had returned after defeating the Last Giant, "I see that you have helped someone defeat the Dragonrider, yet you and your lovely companion fell victim to the Old Dragonslayer... and that you have some questions for me."

"Yes, Edric and I found this ring while we were exploring Heide's Tower of Flame," Rarity replied, knowing that there wasn't any point in asking how the cat even knew the names of the powerful creatures they had faced, or how she knew that they fell to the Old Dragonslayer, or the fact that they helped someone defeat one of those two creatures, to which she pulled the ring out and set it in front of Shalquoir, "Edric determined, just by looking at this ring, that it is a Ring of Binding... though neither of us have any idea what it actually does."

"That's understandable, as not many Undead have the brain to consider asking someone what a ring does," Shalquoir commented, indirectly indicating that she had likely helped other Undead in the past, or in the other worlds, and that she got pretty lonely because no one stopped to talk with her, which might be why she was so fond of Rarity, "Allow me to explain something that the elderly Fire Keepers might have neglected to tell you; when you die, and hollow a bit more inside, you tend to lose a bit of your health, making it easier for your enemies to kill you and weaken you even further. Normally that effect stops when you reach the halfway mark, but with this Ring of Binding you'd halt that effect much sooner, saving the life of whoever was wearing it... if you ran into some enemies that were constantly killing you anyway."

"How interesting," Rarity said, as she had not been aware that dying multiple times in a row, which hadn't happened to her or Edric yet, would severely hurt their chances at survival in such a way, which made her glad that they had found this ring now, "Edric will be very happy when he hears what this ring does, after I explain what the Fire Keepers neglected to tell us anyway."

"You know, I have to stand by my decision that you are one of the strangest Undead I have ever seen," Shalquoir stated, causing Rarity to look at her once more, to which the cat actually got up from where she was sitting and walked over to the edge of the table, before placing a paw on where the Old Dragonslayer had pierced Rarity's lung, "Almost all of the Undead don't feel pain after they die the first time, making them into seemingly heartless warriors that take the pain and continue with their quest. You, on the other hand, were in a great deal of pain when that greatsword pierced your body... and that pain returned when a spear struck you not too long ago. From what I have heard, and from what I have seen, there is one thing you must learn to improve your chances of surviving in this harsh world; how to dodge attacks."

Rarity stared at Shalquoir for a moment, wondering why the cat would even think that she needed such a skill, but when she remembered that the cat was touching one of the areas that she had been hurt in, however, she knew that dodging was a necessary skill in this world. Maybe she could have beaten the Old Dragonslayer if she had been quicker and actually dodged the attacks instead of simply taking them, but for now it was best to shelve that thought entirely and focus on what she had been told. She knew that Edric would be more than willing to share his knowledge with her, and she could practice the skill if they were summoned to help other Undead in their quest, to which she nodded her head and watched as a faint smile appeared on Shalquoir's face.

"Its good to see that you agree with me," Shalquoir said, to which she lifted her paw from Rarity's chest and returned to where she had been sitting the entire time, which was followed by her pushing the Ring of Binding back towards Rarity, who collected the ring and returned it to her pouch, "Now then, is there anything else I can help you with at the moment?"

"No, though I expect that I'll be back at some point in the future." Rarity replied, knowing that her statement had to be true, because she always came to Shalquoir when she and Edric needed help in figuring something out, be it the next destination or the properties of a new ring.

"I look forward to your next visit." Shalquoir said, because even though Rarity didn't buy anything when she visited she found it refreshing to give an Undead the knowledge they needed to move on with their quest, especially since she didn't have the chance to do so with all of the other Undead that had come before her and Edric.

Rarity nodded and headed back to where the bonfire was resting, where she discovered that Edric was already waiting for her return, though before doing anything else she made sure to use the majority of the souls that she still possessed at the moment. It took her a few seconds to empower herself further, though when she was done she made sure to turn to Edric and explained the situation with the Ring of Binding, telling him everything that Shalquoir told her. Edric seemed surprised that they discovered such a ring so soon, as he expected to discover it later on in their quest, though while he was a little annoyed with the Fire Keepers he knew that they didn't tell them everything to make them learn everything on their own... or get help from someone like Shalquoir.

Once they were done in Majula, and they had next to no souls left anymore, the two of them gathered around the bonfire and vanished from the area they were in, though not a few moments later they reappeared around the bonfire that they had discovered in Heide's Tower of Flame. They spent a few moments making sure nothing happening to them, not that they expected anything to happen when they used a bonfire, before they moved out and began the journey towards the ruined building that served as the fork in the road between where the Old Dragonslayer and the Dragonrider happened to be waiting for them. Fortunately the first two enemies that they fought, who happened to prefer to fight separately, were easy to take care of thanks to the fact that they had defeated them multiple times earlier that day... either in their own world or the worlds of the other Undead.

Sure enough Rarity and Edric were able to take out the first two ancient knights without too much difficulty, which was thanks to all their experience fighting these guys, before they moved onto the other ancient knight that was standing by the first switch they had flipped earlier. When they reached the ruined building they had chosen to go to, however, they repeated the process they had used earlier and lured out the first ancient knight, where Edric commanded their enemy's attention while Rarity circled around to his back and fired spells at him. Together they brought down the ancient knight before they moved onto the other two enemies that were waiting for them, to which they separated from each other and made sure their chosen opponents stayed far apart from each other.

The moment those two opponents were taken care of the duo stood there for a moment and considered the options that were in front of them, though in the end they decided that they might as well take out the Dragonrider first, because he was the easier fight than the Old Dragonslayer. They followed the path that was in front of them and made sure to take out the ancient knight that was standing in front of the Dragonrider's domain, but once their enemy was defeated, however, Rarity spotted a chest nearby and carefully walked over the small walkway that was in front of her. When she opened the chest she was surprised to find that the 'treasure' was a trio of green colored blossoms, but instead of wondering what they did she returned to Edric and they entered the fog door... where they spotted the Dragonrider waiting for their arrival.

Edric, as per their normal strategy, charged at their opponent and dodged the heavy attack that was coming his way, which involved rolling under the large weapon and appearing near his side. Rarity, waiting until the knight turned towards her companion, moved towards his back and started firing spells into his back, though without a third person to aid them the knight actually turned on her a few seconds later. As the knight swung at her, however, Rarity remembered what Shalquoir had told her and let her desire to life drive her forward, to which she rolled to the side as the head of the weapon collided with the ground where she had been standing a few seconds ago. When she got onto her hooves again Rarity turned around and blasted the Dragonrider in the face, causing the knight to stagger for a moment... which Edric used to his advantage as he cut into the side of their opponent's armor.

What slightly annoyed Rarity this time was that the Dragonrider insisted on chasing her down so he could end her life first, though at the same time she was thankful for the change to test her ability to dodge and avoid taking damage. Edric seemed to wonder what she was doing, especially since she avoided casting spells until she was actually behind their opponent, though when he realized what she was doing he smiled and nodded his encouragement. Since the only attack the knight had was swinging his large weapon around, and doing absolutely nothing with his shield, the duo was able to actually avoid taking any damage while they avoided his attacks and delivered their own blows to him in return... until one final blast from Rarity sent the Dragonrider to the ground, where he succumbed to his wounds and died.

with the Dragonrider slain, and the way forward opened, Rarity and Edric carefully walked through the new opening, ascended the staircase that was to the right of where they were standing, and walked up to the upper level of where they were standing. There they discovered that there was a bonfire waiting for them, allowing them a somewhat easier access to the Old Dragonslayer if they decided to fight him again in the future... and they also found a lady, in what appeared to be robes of some kind, sitting down and staring out at the water in front of them. Edric activated the bonfire before they approached the lady, because he suspected that this person was a merchant that would move to Majula after they talked with her.

"Are you from these parts?" the lady asked, to which both Rarity and Edric shook their heads, indicating that they were not from this area, which seemed to sadden the lady for a few seconds before she smiled at them, "My name is Licia. I have come to spread the art of miracles, a practice of which I am a disciple. I can see that you are well suited to comprehend their wondrous power. But the cost of it? That's for your heart to decide."

Rarity knew that Licia was talking to her, since she was the one that was using miracles and spells while she and Edric were in battle, though she eagerly asked the lady what type of spells she had for sale, as she needed something to spend the souls that the Dragonrider had given her. She found a trio of spells that she liked, the Medium Heal, Force, and Lightning Spear spells to be exact, to which she gladly exchanged some of her hard earned souls for the spells that would allow her and Edric to survive more fights in the future. Once she was done purchasing spells, however, she inquired what Licia was even doing here, especially since the area she was in was right above the chamber that a powerful creature had been resting in for an unknown amount of time.

"I'd heard awful rumours about this place, and I'm afraid they were all true." Licia replied, not even shocked by the nature of Rarity's question, to which she offered her a truthful answer, "The king, gone. The earth, ravaged. The burden on the people weighs heavy. I fear that by now, they may have scarce room in their hearts for miracles..."

"But you must have a reason for coming all the way out here." Edric commented, as he was slightly curious as to why the lady was sitting here to begin with, especially since she could have gone to Majula or another major city.

"Why did I come here? Well…" Licia said, looking like she wanted to avoid answering the question altogether, to which she let out a sigh and stared at them once more, "Do I need any other reason, than to spread the gospel of miracles? My preceptor always said this art should be shared with the world. And such is my only wish... though sometimes I fight the urge to pack up and go back home. It is, well… I must do this. And being out here all alone only makes this a more fitting test of my fortitude."

"Then why did you pick Heide's Tower of Flame?" Rarity asked, as while she could see the reason behind some of what the lady had told them, she knew that choosing this particular area was exceptionally dangerous considering that there were two powerful creatures that called this place home.

"I expected this cathedral to be bustling, but there's hardly a soul to be found here." Licia answered, to which she offered the duo a shrug, something that told them that she really didn't have a better reason for picking this place for her destination, "Without any goings-on, I'll have to move soon. To a place I could gull the… Sorry, help the gullible by teaching the good word."

Rarity sighed as she and Edric returned to the bonfire and sat down around it, because they had a choice to make; either they continue forward and see what the building in front of them contained, or they head back to the Old Dragonslayer and put that fight behind them. Rarity was eager to show the knight that had killed them what she had learned since they last fought each other, to which she smiled as she imagined throwing a Lightning Spear into their enemy's face as payback. At the same time she would follow Edric's lead, but personally she wanted to get back at that knight and the Pursuer at some point in the future... as she felt uneasy about leaving certain enemies behind.

Revenge

"It appears that we are at a crossroads," Edric commented, glancing over at Rarity, whose gaze had been on the church building that a certain knight was resting in, though she looked back at him when he started speaking, "either we fight the Old Dragonslayer again, or we head down the path that is in front of us and come back to fight him when we're much stronger than we are now."

"Frankly, I'd love to fight him now, but I know that doing so is a terrible decision," Rarity replied, knowing that a part of her wanted to defeat the Old Dragonslayer and figure out what he was guarding, but the other part of her knew what they should be doing, "Let's move forward and see if we can't find a new location to explore... something tells me that this is all we'll be seeing of Heide's Tower of Flame."

"Honestly, I thought that with these new spells of yours, or charms or whatever their called, you would want to fight that knight again," Edric said, though he smiled as he spoke, indicating that he was pleasantly surprised by her sudden change of mind, regarding the knight anyway.

"We can come back and fight him later," Rarity stated, though at the same time she got up from where she was sitting and looked at the path that was in front of them, the one that they had unlocked after defeating the Dragonrider, "at the very least exploring the area in front of us will give me the chance to experience using a new set of abilities... I'm interested in seeing how powerful these new spells and miracles are."

Edric nodded and stood up as well, to which the two of them walked down the stairs that were on the other side of the walkway they had walked up to reach this bonfire, where they found a small bridge that connected the tower to the building they had been staring at. Once they walked inside the building they found a staircase that lead them deeper into the building, before they followed a short passage that revealed a small area that an ancient knight was standing in, who turned and advanced at them almost immediately. Edric charged forward and forced the knight to turn towards him, though at the same time it gave Rarity the opportunity to test something out... to which Rarity pulled out her chime, held it up for a moment, and watched as a bolt of lightning sprung to life above her hand.

Once the Lightning Spear was above her had, however, Rarity gripped the spear and hurled it at the ancient knight's back, to which she watched as it actually pierced the armor for a moment and caused the knight to stagger for a few seconds, allowing Edric to finish their opponent off. Rarity stood there for a moment, looking down at the chime and the damaged that the spear had caused to their opponent, as she was shocked by what had happened.

"I think I'll save that for when we actually need it," Rarity commented, though at the same time she smiled, because she could already imagine the damage she could do to the Old Dragonslayer and the Pursuer.

Edric nodded and poked his head around the corner that they had been walking towards, until they were spotted by the ancient knight, where he spotted another knight that started advancing on them immediately. Edric waited for the knight to raise his arm, and his large sword, before jumping backwards and allowing their opponent's attack to miss him while Rarity blasted the knight's chest. Rarity restrained herself from using the Lightning Spear against such an opponent, though instead she made sure to use the Great Soul Arrow to deal damage, even though it didn't pack the same punch as the spear did. Together the two of them brought down the knight and wandered into the area that he had been guarding, where they discovered a small cache of items; another soul, one larger than the other souls they had picked up off of random corpses, a halberd, another effigy, and a potion that was labeled 'Dark Troches'... though Rarity suspected that neither of them were even going to touch the potion, unless they knew its effects.

Once they finished searching the small area, and were sure that they had grabbed everything that was available to them, they turned around and returned to the area where they fought the first knight, where they discovered another passage that had some stairs that they could walk down. When they reached the lower level they found another knight standing in their way, though Rarity and Edric used the tactic they developed against the other knights and quickly brought an end to the fight before it really even started. They then walked out into the circular walkway that was in front of them and turned to the left, where they came to a dead end a few seconds later, to which they turned around and headed back towards the other side of the path they could have taken. Rarity spotted another knight standing in their path, to which she allowed Edric to step forward and gather the knight's attention, though she waited for a few more seconds before loosing a pair of arrows into the knight's chest.

With her attack staggering the knight Edric took the opportunity and finished him off, though they found that the knight had been guarding a small passage that brought them to some sort of elevator... to which they stepped onto the platform and lowered themselves into whatever area existed beneath the building they had been walking through. When the elevator stopped at its destination they found a path in front of them, one that had some water resting above the walkway, to which they carefully walked forward and looked out for any enemies that were in the area. They quickly found another ancient knight guarding an opening, which had to be the way forward, to which the duo separated from each other and used their tactic once more. Rarity still found it amazing that their tactic, involving Edric commanding their opponent's attention while she fired spells from afar, was able to topple so many skilled enemies... though something told her that their tactic wouldn't last much longer.

Unfortunately the area that the knight was guarding was a dead end, leading them to explore the rest of the walkway until they found a tunnel in the wall, to which they walked through it and entered a cave... one that had a bonfire resting in it, while at the same time Rarity spotted someone standing near it. Edric smiled for a moment as he approached the bonfire and lit it, filling the area with some light, while at the same time ignoring the lady that Rarity was staring at. Rarity, on the other hand, approached the lady with the intent on figuring out what someone like her was doing here, because she had a weapon and it appeared that she was here for some reason.

"What is it?" the lady asked, though at the same time she lifted her head up, giving Rarity the chance to see that she was wearing some sort of mask over her face, "I don't know you or your companion, and neither of you know me. Things are better that way."

"That reminds me of a friend of mine that said something to that effect," Rarity replied, recalling how Twilight had acted when they first met each other, how she had no interests in being friends with anyone, before she and the others became friends with Twilight, "My name is Rarity, and you are?"

"You are an odd one." the lady commented, though her tone either indicated that she was a little annoyed or a little surprised by what Rarity told her, "Normally, people keep a safe distance when they see this mask. But you… very well, I am called Lucatiel and I hail from the land of Mirrah, to the far east, across the mountains. They say Drangleic brims with powerful souls, and so I came to claim my share. But what a strange place… even the rumors did not prepare me."

"I have to agree with you on that," Rarity said, though at the same time she had no idea what sort of rumors Lucatiel was even talking about, but at the moment she didn't care enough to ask about them, "I, too, was also not prepared for what this land contains."

"You are an odd one, indeed." Lucatiel stated, though while she spoke Rarity had the feeling that the lady was staring at her, no doubt trying to determine what was wrong with her, "I've always made a point of avoiding people while you, on the other hand, have made a point of engaging me. I can see that you and your companion are mid-journey. If you require more assistance, I will help you. I come from Mirrah, a land of knights, so my sword is always ready. Don't hesitate to call upon me. Whatever happens, I won't be missed…"

Rarity nodded and watched as Lucatiel removed herself from the wall she had been leaning on and departed from the cave, using the path that they had walked down not a few moments ago, before she let out a sigh and joined Edric by the bonfire. She was a little depressed over what Lucatiel had said, that if something were to happen to her she wouldn't be missed, and that made her think about how Sweetie Belle was doing after she discovered that she was no longer there. She was sure that there was someone in Mirrah that would miss Lucatiel, if they weren't doing so already, and wondered if there was a way to help the lady out... though she eventually sighed and pushed the thought away, just like she did with all of the other depressing thoughts that were bothering her lately.

"Can't say that I'm surprised to meet someone all the way out here," Edric commented, to which Rarity nodded her head, as they were both a little shocked to have found another ally of sorts hanging out in a cave, before they both picked themselves up, "Well then, let's see what's at the end of the other tunnel."

Together the duo walked over to the other tunnel and followed it for a few seconds, though when they reached the end they discovered a large cave that had been hollowed out, as there was room for a large ship to dock and a large number of buildings that were resting around the entire cave. Rarity could tell that this was some sort of pirates den, if the land of Drangleic even had pirates to begin with, and that this would be the perfect base for such a group, despite the fact that there weren't a lot a lights in the area. There were enough lights for them to see a path they could follow, though at the same time the main lantern seemed to be dark, meaning that there had to be some way to turn it on... to which Edric informed her that they should back away for now and retreat to Majula.

Rarity had no idea what Edric was talking about, but since she didn't know any better she decided to go along with her companion's suggestion and returned to the bonfire... though when they reappeared in their new destination she found that they were above the chamber that the Dragonrider had been standing in.

"What are we doing back here?" Rarity asked, though at the same time she followed Edric down the stairs as they retraced their steps back to the ruined building, while taking out the ancient knight that was guarding the doorway that they had to walk through, "I thought you wanted to go back to Majula."

"And we will... but I decided to make a change to our original plan," Edric said, to which he beckoned his head to the church building, though that was followed by Rarity's eyes widening in surprise, "I don't know if we're strong enough to take out the Pursuer, but we should try our hand at killing the Old Dragonslayer, just so we don't have to come back to this place in the future."

Rarity nodded and followed Edric through the area that they had been fighting through earlier, though this time she conserved her new spells for later, that way she could actually give the Old Dragonrider a Lightning Spear to the face and see how he liked being impaled. That was also another thing that sort of shocked Rarity, the fact that the more time she spent in Drangleic, fighting for her life no less, the more eager she became for fighting someone, though it was a slow and gradual change that she had noticed. Sure, when the Changelings attacked Canterlot she had fought to defend herself and her friends, but the Changelings weren't out to kill them, merely capture them so Queen Chrysalis could take over... though now she was actually fighting for her life and she had, accidentally, awoken some hidden desire to fight.

Part of her wanted to blame Discord, because it was his fault for making her curiosity rise every time he told her a story about the others, while another part of her actually wanted to thank Discord for awakening this side of her... leaving her very confused as to who she should feel towards the Spirit of Disharmony.

Fortunately the duo were able to make their way towards the church without being hurt by the other ancient knights, once more surprising Rarity by the fact that the tactic they had come up with worked like a charm, before they walked up towards the fog door. They stood there for a moment, looking for any signs that would allow them to call upon someone for assistance, namely either Lucille, Saru the White, or Lucatiel... but, sadly, there weren't any signs resting on the ground, which meant that the other Undead had either given up or they had already bested the knight in their own worlds. Once they determined that they would not be getting any assistance from anyone else, and that it was going to be the two of them, they carefully walked through the fog door... where they found the Old Dragonslayer standing where he usually stood, who turned to face them the moment they walked into the church.

This time around, however, neither Edric or Rarity were scared of their opponent, who actually tilted his head to the side for a moment, as if he had been expecting them to quake in fear as he approached them. Once the Old Dragonslayer reached the middle of the church, and crossed half the distance between them, Edric walked forward while Rarity moved to the side, as they were determined to use their earlier tactic to their advantage. Rarity noticed something unusual about this fight and the fights they had been in earlier, the Old Dragonslayer was ignoring her and was going after Edric, leaving her to her own devices. Since the opportunity pretty much landed in her lap, and the knight was choosing to chase her friend and fight him, Rarity pulled out her chime and held it up with her palm facing the ceiling... to which a Lightning Spear phased into existence above her open hand.

Rarity waited for a moment, which happened to be when the Old Dragonslayer swung his spear forward and missed Edric, who happened to dodge by rolling backwards, before she gripped her own spear and hurled it at her target, which struck the old Dragonslayer in the back and caused him to stagger for a moment. When the knight regained himself, however, he turned around and stared in Rarity's direction, indicating that he knew that she was the true threat, but at the same time Rarity grinned as she summoned another spear, which struck the knight in the stomach area. Edric took the opportunity to hack into the knight's back a few times, though before the Old Dragonslayer could attack him, however, he moved out of the way and retreated.

Rarity then used the remaining Lightning Spears that she could use at the moment to stagger the Old Dragonslayer, though as she did so she had to avoid the attacks that came in her direction, where she received a few light cuts, from her opponent's spear and the sharp pieces of rock that erupted whenever he hit the ground. When she loosed the final Lightning Spear, and watched the Old Dragonslayer stagger again, she thought that she was done for and that all of the souls she had gathered since they last fought the knight were going to be wasted... though that was before Edric pierced the knight's chest with his sword, right in the heart if her memory was correct.

As the knight went still Rarity took a seat on the ground, because she had been expecting the knight to finish them off, but she was pretty pleased that they were able to take out the Old Dragonslayer, claim both his soul and an odd ring that he was carrying, and open the way to whatever the knight was guarding. Though while she was happy to claim revenge on this particular knight, however, she knew that she and Edric would need to face the Pursuer again in the future... and put him down as well, before they moved on with their quest.

No-man's Wharf

After recovering the blade of a Heide Knight, and determining that they still weren't ready to deal with the Pursuer, Rarity and Edric retraced their steps to the bonfire they had teleported to and knelt before the mysterious flame, allowing themselves a brief chance to heal their wounds before they started the next leg of their journey. Since they hadn't taken out any powerful creatures, not since the defeat of the Old Dragonslayer, they agreed that now wasn't the time to return to Majula and focused on their true destination. A few seconds passed before the world around the duo shifted, to which they moved from the forest they had been walking in a few seconds ago and arrived in a small cave, one that actually connected to a much larger cavern. The moment they were both sure that they had appeared at their intended destination, and found that they were alone, the two of them stopped kneeling before the bonfire and headed towards the pathway that would take them to No-man's Wharf.

It took them a few seconds to make sure that they were ready to begin their search of the wharf, especially since they didn't drink any of their Estus or shatter any Lifegems in their battle wiht the Heide Knight, so they were able to leave the bonfire behind without having to head back to Majula for additional supplies.

As the duo walked down the walkway in front of them Edric spotted a hollow on their left, one that was pretending to be dead in the hopes of catching him and Rarity off guard, to which he plunged his sword into the hollow's back and killed it before it could come after them. At the same time, however, another hollow started firing arrows at them, arrows that appeared to have flaming tips to do additional damage, though as they walked across the wooden walkway Rarity replied in kind by firing a Soul Arrow or two at the archer. It didn't take her long to deal with the archer from where she was standing, though at the same time Edric clashed with another hollowed warrior, their blades meeting each others a few times, before finding a weakness in his opponent's defenses and cut the hollow down.

From there Rarity and Edric approached what appeared to be a shack of some kind, where Rarity discovered that the majority of the buildings they could see at the moment were missing a main door, and walked into the building, though Edric also cut down the hollowed warrior that was starting to get up off the floor. Rarity noticed a second hollowed warrior getting up and shot him down with a pair of Soul Arrows, though once the deed was done they turned towards the stairs and carefully climbed it, since they had no idea if more enemies were waiting for them. When the duo reached the second floor they discovered a chest on their immediate right, though when they opened it Rarity discovered that their prize was a stone, about the size of her hand... though it was unlike anything she had seen before today. Even Edric, who was native to this world, seemed a little shocked by their discovery, though he pocketed the stone and they exited the building through the doorway on the second floor.

That meant that they had to deal with a hollowed archer that was standing on the roof of the first floor, which overlooked the walkway they had used to get to the building, but their opponent proved to be an easy kill since it hadn't noticed them coming its way... and they collected the soul that happened to be resting in front of it.

Once the pair returned to the wooden walkway they turned to the left and approached the group of shacks that were in front of them, though Edric took a moment to walk into the water on their left and collected two items, another soul and a Lifegem. As they approached the buildings, however, three hollowed warriors stepped out from their hiding places, or rather two did and a third jumped off a roof to join his comrades, before the three of them approached the duo with their weapons drawn. Rarity noticed that two of their enemies appeared to be ordinary hollows, ones that happened to be dressed up in pirate or sailor gear, while the one that jumped off the roof was a little larger than his companions and he seemed to be a captain... to which she told Edric to be careful as she loosed a pair of Soul Arrows at the hollow that stayed at the back of the pack.

As Rarity did that Edric raised his shield and blocked the incoming attacks, finding that the hollowed captain was definitely much tougher than the hollow that was fighting at his side, though he was thankful for Rarity aiming at the smaller hollow and taking it down before it did any damage. That allowed him to focus his efforts on defeating the hollowed captain, to which the two of them exchanged blows for a few seconds, and Edric happened to get a light cut on his right arm, before Edric put his opponent down. Once the hollowed captain was dead, and they were sure that no more enemies were coming their way at the moment, Rarity pulled out her chime and approached him... though before she got too close he waved a hand in a dismissing manner.

"Let's save that for later, when we truly need it," Edric commented, though at the same time he waved his injured arm around for a few seconds, indicating that it was fine and that he wasn't bothered by it at all, "a little cut isn't going to spell the end of me... and its best that we save the healing spells for when we're serious injured."

"If that is what you desire." Rarity replied, to which she silently put the chime away and tapped her staff on the ground, indicating that she was ready to go and that she was eager to get through this place as quickly as they could.

Edric nodded and walked into the shack on the right of the stone stairs, where he discovered that there was nothing of interest in the building and returned to where Rarity was standing, though when he noticed that she was staring at something he turned his head and found that she was staring at a small cave of sorts. Inside the cave he spotted some movement, though as he raised his shield a creature, one that was twice as large as they were and had long arms with sharp claws at the end, came moving towards them. Since they could easily determine that the creature was out to get them, however, Rarity and Edric moved back towards the torch in the middle of the buildings, where they found that the creature disliked the light.

Rarity used that to their advantage as she loosed a few Soul Arrows into the creature, before determining that a Greater Soul Arrow would finish the job, though once the creature was dead the duo walked into its cave to see if it had anything they could use... where they discovered a corpse that had ten iron arrows resting near it. When they investigated the other building, however, they discovered another corpse that was holding onto a container that contained some sort of dark resin, though they simply collected it and moved back towards the stairs.

As they walked up the stairs, however, they noticed something throwing large rocks at them, to which they walked onto the path on their right and found another large hollowed warrior coming their way, though this time he was accompanied by a dead dog of some kind. Fortunately the duo were able to deal with the enemies that they had discovered, with Edirc taking a light cut to his left leg as Rarity put the dog to rest, before they both charged up the rest of the stairs and barreled into the hollowed warrior that was throwing large stones at them. As they hit the ground Edric raised his shield and blocked the attack that was coming his way, while Rarity focused her magic and loosed some more arrows into her chosen foe.

When those enemies fell Rarity and Edric had to deal with another hollowed warrior and his dog, which emerged from one of the buildings behind them, but they easily put down their foes and turned towards the building with the light coming from it... where they discovered another hollowed warrior waiting for them. Instead of wasting time, however, Rarity gathered her magic and loosed a Great Soul Arrow into the hollow's chest, knocking it into the nearby wall and killing it almost instantly. From there they walked down the stairs that were on their left and followed it for a few seconds, to which they discovered that they had reached the roof that the one hollow had jumped off of, though that was followed by them heading back up the stairs and walking away from that building.

They followed the path forward and found another set of stairs that they could walk up, though before they did so Edric decided to light the torch they had picked up at the beginning of their journey and carried it with him, to which they walked up the stairs and continued forward. That was quickly followed by the duo discovering a pair of the dark skinned creatures that they had fought down by the cave, though as they approached them, however, Rarity discovered that their foes were terrified of light. With that information in hand they engaged the creatures, to which Edric focused on the one that had backed himself into a corner while Rarity loosed a few spells at the one that was further away from them, though it wasn't long before they were successful in their endeavor.

The duo then walked along the path in front of them, encountering another Darkdweller, that's what Rarity decided to call them since they preferred to be in the dark and absolutely hated the light, that was standing in front of a cave... though once it attacked them both Rarity and Edric defended themselves, besting the creature in a matter of seconds. Before they even considered heading into the cave Edric noticed another set of items resting near the edge of the cliff that was behind them, to which he walked over and claimed them, finding that he had picked up another soul and another page that contained a new spell.

"Emit Force?" Rarity commented, looking at the page that Edric had handed her, as while she hadn't used the Force spell she had purchased earlier, not yet anyway, she could see some benefit to using this one as well, to which she smiled at Edric for a moment, "I wasn't aware that we would be finding another spell in this place, though with this added to my list of spells I'm a little more dangerous than I was an hour ago."

"Not to mention that you've got a weapon to defend yourself with now," Edric said, beckoning to the sword that Rarity was carrying, one that he knew that she would draw if her life depended on it, "though we're far from finished with this place. Come on, let's keep moving before the torch goes out and we're ambushed by those dark skinned creatures."

The duo then walked into the building that the one Darkdweller had been standing in front of a few minutes ago, though when they found a door Edric had Rarity stand back before he gripped the handle, to which he pulled it back and revealed that two of the Darkwellers were inside the other room. Once they realized that enemies were in the area both Edric and Rarity backed up, to which Rarity set her staff on the floor for a moment, pulled out her chime, and focused her power on the new spell... to which she raised her chime and her empty hand until they were nearly touching, which was followed by her pushing her hands forward without breaking the form that her hands were in. A projectile of energy raced towards the closest Darkweller and struck it in the head, where it emitted enough force to stun them for a second or two.

Rarity repeated the process once more, though this time around Edric was waiting near the door and only charged into the room while the duo of enemies were stunned. As he cut into the closest target to the door Rarity collected her staff and moved into the room as well, though she moved to the back and started firing some arrows at her targets, while Edric focused on keeping the attention of their enemies. With their combined might they were able to take care of their foes and walked up the stairs that were in the room, where they walked up to the second story and discovered two more Darkwellers waiting for them. Rarity determined that it was best to just repeat the process they had done through and Edric agreed with her, though that was shortly followed by them besting their foes in combat... allowing them to open the door and progress onward once again.

On the other side of the door they found two things, a guy that was wearing a lot of armor that made it impossible to see his actual face, besides the beard he was growing, and two chests that were on the opposite side of the room... though one chest was made of steel and the other was made out of wood. The duo decided to approach the man that was sitting in the corner of the room, though it appeared that he was also drinking something before they stopped in front of him.

"Who you?" the man asked, pointing a finger at Rarity for a moment before shifting his finger to Edric, though that was then followed by him lowering his finger and staring at them, if he was staring at them anyway.

"My name is Rarity," Rarity replied, gesturing to herself for a moment, before waving her hand to Edric, who waved a hand in greeting, "and this is my companion Edric. Who are you?"

"I Gavlan." the man stated, tapping his chest for a moment, though that was before he glanced at the two of them for a few seconds, but at the same time Rarity had flashbacks to Trixie when she visited Ponyville, "Gavlan wheel? Gavlan deal. Gavlan want soul. Many many soul. What you want? With Gavlan, you wheel? You deal!"

From what Rarity could tell Gavlan was a merchant, one that apparently took pleasure in referring to himself in the third person like he was, but at the same time she and Edric quickly told the man that they would come back when they needed to buy or sell anything. As they walked away from Gavlan they turned to the two chests in front of them, where Edric suggested that they check the steel one out first, though when they pulled the lid up the duo discovered that a greatsword rested inside it... something that Edric collected, just in case either of them needed it in the future. When they turned towards the wooden chest on their right, however, Edric had Rarity back away from it, because he didn't trust that both of them would have something useful inside it.

Rarity backed away and watched as Edric opened the chest, though as he did so some a green gas emitted from the chest, causing Edric to leap backwards to avoid being hurt by what was clearly poison... to which they waited for the gas to disappear before collecting their treasure, which was two Silver Talismans.

They returned to the first floor and exited the building they were in, to which they headed towards the next building and discovered a hollowed warrior guarding a set of stairs, though as Rarity walked up to the second floor she blasted another hollow into the wall with her spells. Once their enemies were taken care of they walked through the doorway on the second floor and discovered a set of wooden stairs that brought them to what Rarity suspected was a bell of sorts, though they were happy to find that there were no enemies in the area at the moment. They stopped in front of the bell and Edric pulled the lever, to which they heard the bell chime for a few moments... though that was before they noticed a large ship, one that Rarity suspected was along the lines of a ghost ship, silently moved into the dock and came to a stop after a few seconds of moving.

Rarity suspected that the ship would take them somewhere important, though only after they killed the cursed crewmen that were walking on the top deck... though something told her that there was a powerful creature on the ship, somewhere, and she really wasn't looking forward to fighting whatever creature that was, but it was going to be a necessary to find one of the four Great Souls and progress in their quest to cure themselves of their curse.

New Discoveries

Rarity and Edric didn't move until the ghost ship came to a complete stop and its crew started moving around the deck, indicating that they would be busy and wouldn't notice them as they moved around the area, which meant that the cursed crewmen wouldn't be warning anyone about them. Instead of backtracking through where they had been so far the duo climbed down to the rooftop that was in front of them, where Edric picked up another Lifegem and a bone of some sort, one that he determined had some sort of value. They then carefully climbed down to the level beneath them and noticed an opening they could go through, to which they raised their weapons and walked through it, where they found nothing but some stairs that would take them to the floor beneath them.

Edric carefully led the way down the stairs and stopped when he reached the first landing, as there were two more Darkwellers waiting for someone to arrive and engage them in battle, though when Rarity noticed them she decided to take matters into her own hands. By that she summoned a pair of Lightning Spears and tossed them into the Darkweller that was in front of the stairs, while Edric took the opportunity that presented itself and ambushed the other foe that had no idea they were under attack. The moment the two Darkwellers were defeated Rarity and Edric moved forward, where they pulled open the door that was in front of them and moved out into the walkway that was in front of them, while at the same time getting a good view of the ship they had called into the dock.

They turned to their right and found a stone ramp that took them down to an area that was below them, though instead of following it even further down they approached a building and discovered a door that they could push open, which allowed them to see that there was nothing on the level they were standing on. As Edric walked up the stairs, however, he found another hollowed warrior that needed to be dealt with, though as he did that Rarity stared at the wall that was in front of the entrance for a few seconds. There was something about the wall that seemed strange to her, to which she walked forward and pressed her hand against the stone wall... though she did have to take a step back when a section of the wall pushed itself back a tiny bit and moved into the ceiling, revealing a hidden area with two chests.

She walked into the hidden room and walked up to the wooden chest, which she discovered a trio of firebombs waiting inside it, though when she turned towards the steel one she noticed Edric standing in the doorway.

"I see that you found a hidden area," Edric commented, to which he stared at the steel chest, knowing that there had to be something inside that might help them in the future, "Did you find anything useful in the wooden chest?"

"Only three firebombs... which we don't use," Rarity replied, though she was silently relieved that Edric wasn't angry or annoyed that she had started searching the area without him.

"Well, its best that we have them in case we need actually them for something," Edric said, though that was followed by him walking up to the steel chest and gently pulled the lid up, to which he discovered a metallic rock that was much larger than the one they had discovered earlier.

With the treasure of the hidden area in hand the duo returned to the stairs that Edric had walked up and headed to the second level of the building they were in, where they discovered another set of stairs that took them up to a third story. When they walked up to the third story they found two doorways they could walk through, as the one on their left appeared to take them outside while the one in front of them would bring them to a shortcut of sorts, in case they died and didn't want to backtrack through everything they had just gone through. It didn't take them long to determine that unlocking the shortcut would prove to be a benefit for them, as it might also allow them to access the bonfire much quicker, to which they approached the small wooden gate and pulled a nearby lever... which forced the gate to move into the ceiling and open the way for them.

As they walked through the opening they had unlocked they discovered a hollowed archer and a hollowed warrior, where the warrior walked off the edge of the walkway that they were on and started walking the area below them, though the archer started to pull an arrow out and aimed at them. Edric, seeing the archer make a move, bashed his shield into the hollow's chest and stopped the action before it could be carried out, though while he took care of the archer Rarity gathered her magic and tossed a few Soul Arrows at the hollowed warrior that was walking in the area below them. She didn't want the hollow to find a way back up to where they were standing and ambush them while they were preoccupied with another group of enemies.

The duo walked into the building on their right and found another hollowed warrior standing near a wooden chest, to which Edric made sure to drag the hollow away from the chest before engaging it, as he didn't want to break the chest on accident during their fight. At the same time, however, he beckoned to Rarity in a way that told her to move on, to which she approached the chest that Edric's for must have been guarding and pried open the lid, where she discovered some sort of powder and another Titanite Shard. A few seconds later she turned around and raised her staff to do something to the warrior that her companion was fight, to which she discovered that Edric had finished off the hollow shortly after she had opened the chest... though they walked down the stairs that were in the room and entered the floor beneath them.

When Rarity reached the last step she noticed three hollowed warriors resting at some tables, though oddly enough none of them had raised their heads to investigate the noise they were generating... to which she and Edric raised their weapons as they approached the first table. Edric attacked the lone hollow that was standing in front of them, while at the same time Rarity used her spells to damage the two hollows that were sitting at the other table, who were clearly annoyed by what she was doing. Thanks to their coordination Rarity and Edric were able to clear out their enemies without them receiving any damage in return, though once the coast was clear Rarity had them pause so they could search for anything that they could use in the future... and discovered a steel chest in the process.

Edric opened the chest and discovered a suit of armor, accompanied by an axe, resting inside it, to which he smiled at the possibility of replacing the armor the Fire Keepers had given him when they started this quest, though at the same time he knew that he needed something better than what they had found.

Not even a few seconds after Edric changed into his new armor a hollowed warrior and his undead dog walked into the building, to which the warrior noticed Rarity and Edric standing near the chest and growled at them. Rarity, seeing that they had been discovered, raised her hand and blasted the unfortunate dog as Edric advanced on the warrior, though he did avoid the doorway, as he heard an arrow hit the wall. That meant that there was an archer outside the building they were in and their foe was eager for a fight, though they both had to wonder if he was going to waste his arrows or if the first one had been a warning shot. It didn't take them long to deal with the warrior and his dog, though once they were down for the count they peaked out from their hiding spots and noticed that the archer wasn't paying that much attention to the doorway at the moment.

Since their opponent wasn't paying attention to the door, or was pretending to ignore the doorway, Rarity and Edric charged out of the room they were in and separated from each other, to which Edric used his sword and shield to demand the attention of the hollow. That allowed Rarity to circle around to the archer's blind spot and struck it from behind with a well placed spell, which was followed by Edric driving his blade into the hollow's chest and ending its undead life. From there they walked up some wooden stairs, that the archer had been guarding, and found some sort of indent in the ground, one that looked like a horrified face... and the area that could be called the mouth looked like a square hole that something could be put into.

"I wonder if this is what we're supposed to use one of those Lockstones on," Edric commented, pulling out the white square stone that he had purchased from the general goods merchant in Majula, though as he prepared to use it Rarity kept her eyes open for any enemies that might try to interrupt them.

Edric slipped the Lockstone into the hole and braced himself, to which they heard the sound of something moving and noticed that some light was entering the area around them, though that was immediately followed by most of the cave being revealed as a large source of light turned on. Rarity looked above them and found the source of the light hanging above their heads, in a brazier of some kind, though instead of paying too much attention to it she and Edric pressed onward into the area below them. As they carefully climbed down the wooden structures in front of them, however, they found a corpse that had a soul floating near it, along with a trio of smooth stones. Once they had gathered the items that the body had they carefully down to the walkway below them and checked for enemies before they moved on... though that was before they noticed that they were back near the beginning of the wharf.

Instead of moving onward, and searching for a way to get around the blockage that was preventing them from accessing the dock, the duo returned to the bonfire and took a few moments to rest, allowing Rarity to get back all of her spell charges while at the same time knowing that their enemies would have come back once they left the same cave they were in at the moment.

Once they had gotten their energy back the duo walked back out into the wharf and started retracing their steps, as they approached the area that had the hollow that jumped off the roof, where they repeated the tactics they had used earlier to get the job done once again. After that they climbed up the stone stairs once more, though instead of heading to the top they turned to the right and attacked the two hollows, and their undead dog, from behind, completely surprising them in the process. The moment that group of enemies were taken care of they retraced their steps to the shortcut they had unlocked, where they walked through the doorway that they didn't investigate earlier, which allowed them to access another building that they hadn't been inside yet. After they climbed down to the area in question they approached the building and opened the door, where they found two hollows resting against a table, to which they caught them off guard and defeated them without any real difficulty.

As they searched the area the duo found a steel chest that contained some sort of yellow shard in it, one that they both agreed had to be important for their continued survival in this world... though before they left the building Rarity noticed that the wall near them looked like it had been patched recently. Edric, upon seeing the odd coloration that his companion had noticed, pulled out the mace he had picked up when he acquired Rarity's chime and struck the wall a few times, shattering it and revealing a small indent that had a few corpses, another chest, and some small creature that had a blue gem growing out of its back. Edric, taking a chance, brought down his weapon on the small creature and killed it before it could run away, where he found a small Titanite Shard and a Large Titanite Shard, though he still had no idea what they were supposed to do with them.

Rarity discovered that the corpses had been holding onto a pair of souls, another Lifegem, and another soul like object, though once she had finished picking up everything she turned to the chest and watched as Edric opened it, to which they discovered another ring inside it... which meant that they would be paying Shalquoir another visit.

Once they had gathered all the treasure in this hidden area they walked out of the building they were in and pressed onward, toward the path that would take them back to the bonfire, before Rarity had them stop when she noticed a set of stairs, etched into the stone, that allowed them to access an area below them. As they walked down the stairs, however, they noticed a large hole on their left and found at least one Darkweller standing inside the darkness, though as Rarity observed it she noticed that the creature didn't step into the light. That told her that the massive light they had turned on was actually going to be a benefit to them, as it appeared that these enemies feared the light, something that Edric seemed to understand when she pointed it out to him.

Since the two Darkwellers were ignoring them, and Rarity was sure there were only two because she saw the second one move closer to the wall to get away from the light, the duo decided to ignore them as well, as it appeared that there was nothing they needed inside the area the Darkwellers called home.

From there they walked up to the dock and started following the path that was in front of them, while at the same time Rarity spotted an Effigy and a Lifegem on a boat that was lodged into the ground with its side pointing towards the cave's ceiling. Instead of risking anything, namely her safety in case this was designed as an ambush by a watery creature they hadn't encountered yet, Rarity gently lifted the items up with her magic and brought them over to her, where she was thankful that she could still use her telekinesis, though she generally wanted to save that for times when there was no other way to progress onward. As they followed the dock a pair of hollows pulled themselves up onto the wooden walkway and advanced towards them, though Rarity and Edric were prepared for their ambush and prepared for battle.

Since the battle was two on two Rarity and Edric simply relied on their earlier tactic and victory quickly smiled on them, though they kept their guard up as they followed the walkway towards the ghost ship... though as they walked up some stairs the duo found a man sitting on the dock, though he appeared to be staring into the distance, looking at some sort of keep that they could see the structure of. When they approached the man, however, he turned around and stared at them, though at the same time Rarity was sure that the man was actually looking at her... and maybe through her very being at the same time.

"Hmm…I sense power…" the man eventually said, though at the same time Rarity didn't know what he was looking at, or if he was like some of the other people they had met and would offer his services in defeating the powerful creatures that stood in their way, "Very well. From this day, you shall be my new pupil. I am Carhillion. Carhillion of the Fold to be precise. Surely you've heard the name? Now, now, do not be afraid. Let us explore the limits of sorcery."

"Its a pleasure to meet you, Carhillion. I am Rarity, and this is my friend Edric," Rarity replied, though while she could tell that the man was uninterested in her companion, which made some sense considering that he seemed to be focused solely on her, she was slightly interested in what he was talking about, "What are you doing all the way out here, inside a place called No-man's Wharf?"

"The forces of magic, and souls, lie dormant in this land." Carhillion explained, though his tone indicated that he was talking as if he was speaking to a novice, which Rarity assumed that she was considering that she didn't know a lot about how the magic of this land worked, "It is a fitting place to hone my sorceries. I suspect that I may even conjure up new spells here. Sorcery is yet a mystery, even to me. Use scrolls to unleash the power of sorceries, but the power of each scroll is reliant on that of its owner. The untrained cannot wield a scroll to its proper potential. Never forget, young pupil… There are no shortcuts to mastery."

Rarity suspected that this guy might have a screw loose, like some of the other people that they had encountered so far, but at the same time she did take a look at some of the spells he had to offer, where she discovered an interesting spell called Soul Spear Barrage. She had no idea what the attack was supposed to be, but she did consider that it would be like firing multiple arrows at the same time, which meant that it would be useful in dealing with a persistent enemy... or maybe with the Pursuer, if they ever went back to fight him again. Once she was done talking with Carhillion, and had gotten a new spell to try out in the future, she and Edric retraced their steps to the part of the dock where the ship was actually docked... where they discovered that the crew was already waiting for their arrival.

When they first stepped onto the deck they noticed two hollowed archers and two hollowed warriors waiting for them, so while Edric dealt with the warriors Rarity used some of her Soul Arrows to deal with the archers, though she had to make sure she avoided their arrows at the same time. Since there were only four enemies to deal with, surprising Rarity by the fact that there weren't more rushing up from below to deal with them once they heard the noise, she and Edric were able to clear the deck without any problems. Once their foes were defeated they carefully walked down into the depths of the ship, searching for anything or anyone that might still be aboard the vessel... to which they discovered a fog door blocking their way.

"I was wondering if this area had a powerful creature that was hiding from us," Rarity commented, though at the same time she steeled herself, because they were going to have to fight whatever was behind the fog door if they wanted to get closer to finding one of the four Great Souls, "and it appears that I have an answer to that thought."

A few moments later they walked through the fog door and found out that their opponent was some sort of creature that walked on two legs, but instead of one upper body it had two upper bodies, complete with two arms and heads apiece, meaning that the creature could wield four weapons at the same time and keep an eye on what was in front of it while seeing what was behind it. The side of the creature that was already staring at them swung at the duo, causing them to separate from each other, though they also had to avoid the attacks from the sword wielding side of the creature, which made fighting this even harder. Edric had to carefully watch their opponent and dodge its attacks, picking and choosing when to deliver his own attacks in kind, while Rarity put some distance between her and their opponent so she could fire spells from a distance.

One thing they discovered, however, was that this creature didn't like Rarity very much, meaning that it didn't like her magic and intended to focus on her, but at the same time it opened itself to some of Edric's attacks. Sure enough the creature came towards her, though at the same time she actually smiled as she used her Soul Spear Barrage on her target, to which a cluster of soul bolts surged forward and slammed into the chest of her opponent. Rarity was slowly understanding that many of the powerful creatures in this land disliked magic as a whole, as one Lightning Spear was enough to actually pierce the creature's chest a little bit... though the second barrage, combined with Edric's attacks, dealt the finishing blow.

"I... expected more," Rarity commented, looking at the ruined creature that was in front of them, because she had thought that some of these creatures would be resistant to magic... but it appeared that constantly empowering her magical abilities made it easier to defeat certain opponents.

"Well, now that we've taken care of this creature, we had best see what else we can do with this ship," Edric said, though at the same time he sounded disappointed, indicated that he was also expecting more from the creature they had just put down.

Together the two of them walked into the room that the creature had been guarding, where they discovered a ladder that, when climbed up, revealed a decent sized room that had some sort of switch and a steel chest. The chest contained two items, some sort of flame that Rarity could detect a level of magic in, meaning that it had to be the catalyst for another type of magic, to which Edric handed it to her. He also handed over another piece of parchment that contained a Fireball spell, though Rarity would have to look into it before she started using it as well. From there they approached the strange device and investigated it, to which they heard the sound of a bell ringing and immediately returned to the top deck... where they noticed that the ship was moving out towards the open water, or more accurately the fortress they had seen Carhillion staring at.

As they departed from No-man's Wharf, however, Rarity had the feeling that they might be heading towards where one of the four Great Souls were located... though she suspected that the soul's guardian was going to be even stronger than anything she and Edric had fought so far, and that they were likely going to die at some point in the near future.

The Lost Bastille

It took some time for the ghost ship to arrive at its destination, the mysterious fortress that Rarity and Edric had been staring at since they had departed from No-man's Wharf, though when it did they simply walked onto the small dock in front of them and looked up at the stone walls that were above them. It appeared that the only way forward was to head into the castle passage that was resting in front of where the dock ended, as there was no way for them to scale the cliffs that were above them, not that Rarity thought that they could climb the cliffs to begin with. One thing she would have expected to see was some guards patrolling the front of the entrance, though she didn't see anyone guarding the entrance and that made her extremely worried.

"Edric, keep your guard up," Rarity commented, though at the same time she tapped her staff on the wooden dock for a moment, while also making sure that she would be ready to fire a spell if someone showed up to fight them, "No one is guarding the entrance in front of us... which tells me that we might be walking into a trap of some kind."

"If you say so," Edric replied, though while he trusted Rarity's judgement he suspected that she might be a little too paranoid about where enemies were located, but he did hold his weapon out in the off chance that she was right.

Together the two of them carefully walked down the rest of the dock and approached the entrance they had spotted, watching for enemies as they made their way towards their target, though once they passed through the entrance they noticed a large metal cage resting in the middle of the chamber they had found. The two of them looked around the rest of the area they were in, finding that there was a lever that likely called the cage down to this level if it wasn't here when they arrived. Since there wasn't anything else in the area they carefully climbed into the cage and pressed the pressure plate that was in the middle of the cage, which closed the door behind them and started lifting into the air, meaning that the mechanics were still operational.

They eventually came to a stop after a few minutes, in an area that had what appeared to be some cells, though when the door opened they discovered a corpse in one cell that was holding another soul and a Lifegem. Once they had collected those items Rarity spotted the way out and beckoned for Edric to join her, though as they walked out of the small area they had rode up to she discovered that they were in a hallway with several more cells lining each side of the walls. What shocked her was that the people who had been condemned to live in those cells appeared to have been charred, as if something had burned them while they were in a varying degree of poses... and she was slightly horrified that someone would willingly do this to the inmates that called this place home.

After a few moments of walking up the stairs in front of them, and Rarity doing her best to ignore the cells that were around them, before they walked out of the passage and discovered a walkway that belonged to some sort of castle or fortress. One thing that Rarity discovered was that the immediate wall on their right was slightly broken, as there wasn't anything to prevent one of them from falling off and either hitting the ground or hitting sharp rocks that were resting under the water. They followed the pathway in front of them until they found another Heide Knight, who seemed out of place like the one the two of them had encountered in the forest earlier in their journey, though this one also ignored them and allowed the duo to do whatever they wanted... to which they spotted a ladder that would take them into the fortress and decided to take a chance.

Rarity remained on the level where the Heide Knight was resting, so she could have a better vantage point of what might be resting at the bottom of the stairs, while Edric carefully climbed down to the lower level, though once he was finished climbing she followed after him. When she joined him at the bottom, however, an undead dog walked into the small area they were in an growled at them, though as it started to leap at them Rarity switched to her chime and emitted a force from her body that knocked the dog backwards. The beast staggered for a moment before Edric charged out and cut it down, though once that deed was done he turned back to find that Rarity was okay, to which he smiled at her quick thinking in using whatever spell she had used to push the dog backwards.

"So that's what the Force spell does," Rarity commented, looking at her chime for a few seconds before switching her gaze to the body of the undead dog, which was starting to disappear like most of the enemies she and Edric had fought so far, "Interesting... I'll have to remember that spell in case this ever happens again."

"Its always nice to have some knowledge on what a spell does," Edric said, knowing that Rarity would be on the lookout for any additional spells that she could add to her growing arsenal, because he was sure that they would be needing a fair number of them by the time they found one of the four Great Souls.

Rarity nodded and together they followed the path that was on their left, as it appeared to be the only way to go, though after a few steps they had to take care of another undead dog that came charging at them. As Edric dealt with that foe, which was easy to kill as he down it with one swing of his sword, Rarity spotted another dog standing in front of a gate they needed to pass through. Instead of getting close, however, she lifted her chime up and gathered the same force she had used to knock the first undead dog backwards, though this time she cast it out as a blast of energy that knocked her target into the gate. That allowed Edric to walk forward and put the poor cursed dog out of its misery, though once they had regrouped they found that the key to opening the gate was literally to their right... to which they prepared themselves in case something attacked them from behind.

They were right to be prepared for an attack, as a large warrior walked up behind them and tried to hit them with his large weapon, though Edric gladly took the fight to him as Rarity focused on the pair of undead dogs that had been waiting on the other side of the gate. Fortunately the warrior was rather easy for Edric to take down, as it took him a few swings of his sword and dodging a few attacks before his opponent rested against the floor, to which he turned around and watched as Rarity blasted another dog into the wall with her Emit Force spell, the same one they had picked up in No-man's Wharf. He was amused that she could wield the power as accurately as she could, because when they first met he thought that she looked like someone that didn't trust their own skills with magic... and yet here she was, using her powers to great effect against common enemies and powerful creatures.

He was also sure that there was something inside Rarity that he hadn't seen yet, something that was begging for release, but he had absolutely no idea if Rarity even knew about it and, if she did, had no idea when she was going to release that power... but he simply shelved the thought and followed after his companion.

As the two of them turned the corner they found that the wall on their left had a decent sized crack in it, meaning that it might be breakable if they applied the necessary catalyst to the wall, at the same time noticing a door in front of them, one that happened to be locked from their side. On their right rested some stairs that would take them to a higher point of the fortress, though at the top of the stairs stood another warrior, one that hadn't noticed their presence yet and Rarity intended on keeping it that way. When they both stepped onto the stairs, however, the warrior snapped his head around and kicked the small barrel that was in front of him, sending it down to where the duo was standing. Rarity, knowing that the barrel had to be filled with something dangerous, pulled Edric back behind towards the gate and let the barrel pass by where they were hiding... to which it struck the cracked wall and blew an opening into it.

With the barrel out of the way the duo emerged from their hiding spot and charged up the stairs once more, though this time Edric went on the defense as Rarity loosed a few Soul Arrows at their target, bringing it down before it could actually do anything to them. When they looked back at the hole they had made, however, they discovered that a bonfire had been hidden by the wall and that whoever had built this place wanted to make it difficult for someone to find that one without having access to explosives. The two of them smiled at each other as they walked back down to where the bonfire was located, to which they paused for a quick rest before they teleported back to Majula, as they had some souls to spend and some information to get from Shalquoir.

When they got back to Majula a few seconds later, once again amazing Rarity by how quickly she and Edric could move thanks to those bonfires, Edric approached the Emerald Herald and went about empowering his body, though partway through the process he stopped and headed over to the blacksmith. Before Rarity could ask him what he was doing he simply said that he wanted to ask the man about those stones they had found and what they were useful for, which only made her wonder why they didn't just ask Shalquoir the question since they were heading her way anyway. The cat seemed to know the answer to every question they could possibly ask her, which meant that she was incredibly useful to their mission... while at the same time making Rarity wonder why none of the Undead that were questing in the other worlds bothered to talk to her.

Now that she thought about it she knew that Shalquoir had seemed a little sad when she made the comment that no one liked to talk with her, save for the Emerald Herald, but she was sure that her visits were improving her mood and was making her forget about the other Undead that shunned her.

Once Edric was finished with the blacksmith he told Rarity that the Titanite Shards they had come across, the small one and the large one, were actually useful for upgrading weapons and armor, meaning that it would be in their best interest to collect them so Edric's armor and weapons were in good condition every time they got into a fight. She thought about it for a moment and agreed with him, that securing more of these strange Titanite Shards would be useful for the enemies they encountered in the future. After that they turned towards the large hole that was in the middle of Majula and headed towards Shalquoir's shop, where this time they found the cat resting on the middle of the table, though once again the sounds of Rarity's hooves woke Shalquoir up... to which they waited until she was sitting in front of them, just like all the other times they had been here.

One thing Rarity noticed, before they even spoke a word to the cat, was that there was something new in the shop, and that something happened to be a miniature stature of Discord, in his 'singing' pose that was entirely carved out of a single piece of stone... and that its open mouth seemed to be pointed in her direction.

"It is good to see that the two of you are alright," Shalquoir said, nodding her head to the pair in turn, who repeated the gesture so they didn't upset her, especially since Rarity had no idea what sort of power the cat actually possessed, "So, what items do you have for me to look at today?"

"Just these," Edric replied, pulling out the ring that they had acquired back in No-man's Wharf and set it on the table, while at the same time gently removing the soul he had taken from the strange creature they had fought aboard the ghost ship, before setting it down as well.

"Most interesting," Shalquoir commented, looking at the ring for a few seconds, showing that she definitely had an great deal of knowledge when it came to the various rings that existed in this world, before she turned her gaze towards the duo, "this is a Royal Soldier's Ring. These rings were granted to warriors who distinguished themselves in the service of King Vendrick, who favored simple warriors that staked their every battle on strength alone. These rings are supposed to allow the wearer to carry more without suffering some serious side effects, such as a loss of stamina, having a shorter distance to roll than normal, and losing quite a bit of speed. Most of these rings were either taken by the King or were destroyed in some manner, but I know that there are at least three of them in existence... and this is one of them, despite it possessing the lowest amount of power between the three rings."

"Still, its better than nothing," Rarity said, though at the same time she was sure that Edric could definitely use the ring, if only to prevent him from experiencing the side effects of having too much loot on him, before she turned towards the soul, "What about this soul?"

"This would be the soul of the creature that's known as the Flexile Sentry," Shalquoir replied, though as she spoke Rarity could have sworn that she heard something interesting in the cat's voice, something that made her think that they might be close to one of their targets, "According to what I know this creature was a merciless creature whose purpose was to punish the Undead that were being ferried over to the Lost Bastille... which means that you two have discovered that location and found a bonfire to travel back here."

"That's good to hear," Rarity said, to which she connected the fortress to the name she and Edric had just been told, before something else came to mind, "What's so special about that place? You seem rather happy that we uncovered its location and can go back there."

"Because it means that you are close to finding one of the four guardians," Shalquoir answered, though that not only brought a smile to her face, but also to the faces of Rarity and Edric, "the Lost Sinner to be exact. All you need to do is challenge and beat two more powerful creatures, the Ruin Sentinels and the Belfry Gargoyles, before you can reach the Sinner's Rise. Once you have beaten those two creatures, and defeated the guardian, you'll both be one step closer to completing your quest."

Rarity was happy, because they were so close to finding one of the four Great Souls they needed to complete the quest that the Emerald Herald and all that stood in their way were two creatures and the guardian. She was sure that they could pull this off, especially with their skills in overcoming the other enemies, but they also needed to be careful before their overconfidence caused their downfall. Besides, that statue of Discord, something that she recognized and Edric didn't, informed her that the Spirit of Chaos had to have come to this planet at some point in time, to which she reflected to be mindful of who was around her in case he came looking for her.

She intended giving Discord a piece of her mind once she returned to Equus... provided she managed to stay alive that long and complete the mission she and Edric were on.

Investigation

Once Rarity and Edric were done talking with Shalquoir, and had collected the items that Edric had set on the table, they headed back to the bonfire that the Emerald Herald was sitting near, where Rarity approached her and started using up the souls she had gathered along the way. Based on what she had seen so far the enemies they encountered were weak against the magic she had been using since her arrival in this world, which meant that the more she empowered the attributes that strengthened her magic the quicker they could finish off their enemies. It didn't take her long to finish empowering her attributes, though when she did step away from the Emerald Herald she joined Edric by the bonfire for a few seconds, where they knelt by the fire and teleported back towards the bonfire they had discovered in the Lost Bastille.

When they arrived at their destination, however, they had to deal with the small group of undead dogs that were standing near the bonfire, though as Edric did that Rarity focused on blasting the knight that was standing at the top of the stairs that were in front of them. Another pack of dogs emerged from behind the enemy that Rarity was focusing on, though she smiled as she blasted the barrel that she had ignored for the last few seconds, which exploded and took out all three enemies that were at the top of the stairs. A few moments later Edric returned to her side and they walked up the stairs, though once they reached the top they noticed another knight standing on the walkway that they needed to walk on, but they both noticed a barrel that he was standing near... to which Rarity waited for a few seconds, mostly for Edric to grab the knight's attention, before blasting the barrel when he was close enough, knocking him off the walkway.

"I can't believe that he fell for that." Rarity commented, though at the same time she looked over the edge and found the knight impaled on one of the sharp rocks that appeared to rest all around this fortress.

"Neither can I, though it makes our mission easier," Edric said, though he smiled as he followed the path that was in front of them, while noticing a makeshift walkway that could take them to an iron door.

Instead of heading towards the door that was in front of them, and the small tower that it was connected to, they walked over the makeshift walkway and approached the iron door, though as the duo approached it they heard the sound of hollow soldiers on the other side. When they opened the door they found a fair number of enemies gathering around them, on the level below them and to their left, to which they decided to back away and pull their enemies out of the building they were in. As Edric held their attention Rarity backed away to a safe distance and used the Emit Force spell to hit the side of the soldiers that were charging towards her friend, damaging every single one of them in the process, making it easier for Edric to cut them down.

When Edric finished off the last of their enemies, and collected the Lifegems that had been dropped in the process, they walked into the building, though they immediately retreated when a pair of zombies charged at them and threw themselves at the ground. Rarity was fortunate that they had retreated when they did, as it appeared that their enemies emitted a blast wave when they struck the ground in the way they had done, though once they were safe Rarity opened fire on the zombies and weakened them. Edric, of course, jumped back and avoided the zombies when they hit the ground, though that was followed by him cutting them down and allowing them to walk back into the building... where they intended on going down the path that the zombies had come from.

That brought them to a gate that required them to pull the lever that was to the right of them, though when the gate opened the hollowed soldier that was in front of them turned around and retreated into one of the other cells that were resting along the walkway. It appeared that the soldier tried to get them to walk down the walkway and flank them from behind, though Edric was able to figure out the attack and cut down the soldier before he could attack them. Once the enemy was taken care of they walked down the rest of the hallway and approached another fog door, though they were surprised to find that they might have found one of the two creatures Shalquoir had told them about.

"Are you ready for this Rarity?" Edric asked, though at the same time he made sure that his sword and shield were at the ready, because if this was one of the two powerful creatures they needed to be careful.

"Not really," Rarity admitted, as she hadn't been ready to fight any of the other powerful creatures that they had encountered so far, but she had a decent track record with all of them, "but I really don't have much of a choice. Let's pass through this fog and see what's on the other side."

Edric nodded as they both touched the fog door and pushed their way through it, to which they jumped down onto a platform that was beneath them, though as they looked around the chamber they were in they spotted three skinny knights, dressed in bronze colored armor, standing around the area. The weapon that the sentinel was carrying looked like one that had to be wielded in two hands, though their enemies could carry such a weapon with only one hand, thus leaving their left hand open to carry a shield. The sentinel that was to their immediate left raised its weapon into the air and brought it down on where they were standing, to which Rarity and Edric jumped backwards and avoided the attack, though at the same time Rarity noticed that the other two sentinels were already advancing towards them.

Rarity, knowing that her companion could easily deal with this sentinel on his own, switched to her chime and targeted the sentinel that was on the other walkway that was across from where she was standing, to which she called a Lightning Spear into existence and threw it at her target. What surprised her was that when the spear struck her target the sentinel staggered for a moment, indicating that these guys had to be weak against lightning based attacks, because it turned towards her and stared at her for a few seconds. She was sure that the sentinel was mad at her, if such a thing was even possible, but before she could determine whether that was true or not one of the first sentinel's attacks forced her to dodge, where she slipped off the edge of the area she was walking on and crashed on the floor beneath her.

"Next time, pay attention to the environment," Rarity told herself, as this hadn't been a problem during the fights with the other powerful creatures, before she noticed one of the sentinels coming her way, "Oh dear..."

That was followed by the sentinel, the one that was approaching her, twisting its weapon around and using the end end of its head to stab her in the chest, though this time around Rarity refused to let a small wound be the end of her, to which she coughed as she held her chime up. Before the sentinel had a chance to flee Rarity called another spear into existence and fired it, point blank no less, into the chest of her target, blowing a hole into her target as the sentinel went flying into the wall on the opposite side of the room. As Rarity got back up, however, she noticed the sentinel that Edric had been fighting fell off the walkway they had been fighting on, though a few seconds later the sentinel didn't move at all, indicating that Edric had taken it out on her own.

Rarity grinned as she recalled how to use the Medium Heal spell she had picked up earlier, to which she not only healed the wounds that had been inflicted on her body, but also repaired the damage that had been done to Edric, though that was followed by the two of them staring at the wounded sentinel that had stayed away from the fight. Rarity held her hand out and called another spear into existence, knowing that if she got a decent shot she could easily end this fight, though she nodded to Edric and let him run forward instead. The sentinel foolishly chose to pay attention to Edric, to which the two of them carefully attacked the other and dodged whatever attacks were coming their way, though Edric smiled as he kept an eye on what his companion was doing.

A few moments later, where Edric pushed his opponent's attack backwards, Rarity threw the spear and it pierced the sentinel's chest, to which it turned its head around for a few seconds before collapsing on the ground... though that was followed by the duo getting back together.

"That was slightly disappointing," Rarity commented, though at the same time she held still while she and Edric collected the amount of souls that would allow them to empower themselves further, while also collecting the soul of the sentinels, "I had no idea that these guys were weak to lightning... and now I actually wish that I had used a different attack before falling back on my Lightning Spear."

"Hopefully we don't meet something that's immune to your lighting spear," Edric replied, though as he spoke he turned towards the only open doorway that they would walk through, to which he beckoned for Rarity to follow, "though now that we have taken that creature out we're on step closer to finding this Lost Sinner that Shalquoir mentioned."

The two of them approached the doorway and walked up the stairs that they found, though a few seconds later they discovered that they had stepped onto the walkway that was on the other side of the hole in the wall that they had walked through earlier. Since there was no way for them to get back to the hole in the wall, not without finding a bonfire and teleporting back to the first one they found, to which they walked through the small hallway that they had discovered and found something interesting; a decent sized chamber with a bonfire. Rarity chuckled as she sat near the bonfire for a moment, because she was eager for a little rest before they got started on their search for the Belfry Gargoyles, the last powerful creature standing between them and the Lost Sinner.

Rarity was overjoyed to be making such good progress on their journey, though despite the fact that they were surviving all of these fights she knew that sooner or later her luck was going to run out... and then she was sure that they were going to die multiple times when they found tougher opponents to fight.

Continuing the Search

The first thing Rartiy and Edric did after resting at the bonfire they had discovered, and finding that enemies didn't come out and attack them, was to access the teleport function of the flames and moved back to Majula, where they could use up the souls they had acquired so far and possibly upgrade Edric's gear some more. Sure, they were only able to empower one or two skills this time, though that told Rarity that to really increase their powers they needed more souls, which seemed to connect with what they had been told so far. At the same time Edric discovered that he didn't need to actually upgrade his weapon and shield while they were there, so when he was done with the blacksmith the duo returned to the bonfire and jumped back over to the Lost Bastille... though upon their arrival they immediately began searching for the next route they needed to take.

What they decided to do, between climbing down the ladder and using the stairs that were nearby, was walk over to the stairs that rested on the other side of the room, passed through the passage that was in front of them, and opened a door to reveal another walkway they could use to access another part of the ancient fortress. When they walked out of the passage they found a hollowed warrior approaching them from the left, to which Edric raised his shield and blocked the attack, before driving his blade into his opponent's chest. The warrior refused to die from such a simple wound and continued his attack, causing Edric to defend himself as he pulled back, though Rarity surprised him by knocking the warrior back with her Force spell... which allowed them to take their opponent out together.

From there they entered the small tower that was right behind them and moved towards the other entrance that it had, where they repeated the same tactic they used against the previous hollowed warrior on the warrior that happened to be waiting outside the second entrance. Once they had dealt with him the two of them walked back into the tower and climbed the stairs that they had ignored when they first entered the structure, though after a few seconds they arrived in a chamber that looked like a wine cellar. There was one of the zombie like enemies hanging around in this chamber, one that was easily defeated because it didn't notice that they were there until Edric stabbed it in the chest, though as Rarity approached the iron gate she heard Edric open a door behind them... but when she asked about it he said that it led right to a wall that had a person's skeleton embedded in the stone, to which they focused on the gate she had walked up to.

As they pulled the lever that would open the gate Rarity spotted that there was a second gate blocking their way, though beyond that she noticed a trio of the zombie enemies patiently waiting for the gate to open... to which she pulled out her chime and started channeling her energy through it. When the gates were open, and the zombies finally noticed that they were gone, Rarity opened fire and loosed one of her Emit Force spells at the closest enemy, before using a second one to knock out the zombie next to the first one. Since she didn't have time to fire a third blast, and take out the last zombie, she and Edric jumped backwards as the zombie threw itself at the floor, though once the smoke cleared Edric moved forward and cut their opponent down... allowing them to enter the area it and it's friends had been guarding.

Rarity noticed that the chamber the trio of zombies had been guarding happened to have what appeared to be clay statues, or this world's equivalent to them, resting in the middle of the room, though as they passed by them one of them broke and revealed the zombie that had been trapped inside it. Edric quickly put the zombie down, without breaking any more of the statues, though once the deed had been done they walked up the nearby set of stairs and walked up to another floor that had two zombies sitting on the ground. For a moment Rarity thought that they looked depressed, that they had lost the will to live with their undead states, to which she and Edric quickly took them down before they could get up and attack them... to which Rarity looked over at her companion.

"Hopefully neither of us end up like those two," Rarity commented, though at the same time she could only imagine the horrors that awaited someone that gave up on their quest, just like those two zombies had done.

"If either of us reach that point we'd be better off killing each other," Edric replied, though his tone indicated that he despised that idea with a passion, to which Rarity nodded as he beckoned to the stairs that rested nearby.

When they walked up the stairs they found four more zombies, these ones looking like they wanted to fight someone, standing around the floor that they had discovered, to which they immediately retreated to a point where Rarity could fire off several of her Emit Force charges without getting hurt in return. Once they had finished off all of their enemies the duo walked back up the stairs and explored what little of the chamber they could explore, as there happened to be a statue of a person, reminding Rarity of Discord's seemingly lifelike statue for a moment, resting between them and the next bonfire... preventing them from resting and forcing them to move on with their quest.

The cell next to the one with the bonfire was locked, which meant that they must have missed a path they could hae taken, to which Rarity nearly slapped her forehead when she saw a lever resting on the wall near the iron gate they had ignored when they returned to the floor beneath them. With the gate out of the way they were able to walk out onto a walkway that was really large enough for one person to walk ahead of another one, so Edric took up position in the front and raised his shield as Rarity walked behind him. It was fortunate that they had planned this out, as the moment they reached the halfway point, between the building they had been searching and the one in front of them, hollowed archers started loosing arrows at them... though they only seemed to be aiming and Edric at the moment.

When they entered the building in front of them, and got out of the archers' range, they were surprised by a warrior jumping down to fight them, though Edric quickly dispatched their foe and allowed them to move on towards the opening on the wall to their right... provided they avoid the ruined center of the room that they were in, as it looked like a pretty nasty fall if they were pushed over the edge. Once they were outside the building again they discovered that they could go either to the left or to the right, though they decided to see what was above them and climbed the ladder that was to their immediate right... where they found a bonfire at the top, as well as what appeared to be a large gargoyle in the distance, flapping its wings and flying around part of the fortress they hadn't been in yet.

"If I had to guess on what that creature is, I'd say that its one the Belfry Gargoyles that Shalquoir told us about," Rarity commented, staring at the creature as it flew around the area it was guarding, while at the same time wondering how she and Edric were going to get over there.

"I'd say that you're right in your thinking," Edric replied, as he knew that Rarity and Shalquoir had some sort of bond going on and that talking with the cat was increasing Rarity's ability to point things about, something that she had been good at before talking with the mysterious being, before he activated the bonfire, "Come on, we still need to find the way to the Lost Sinner and standing around will get us nowhere."

They returned to the ladder and climbed back down to the level they had been on earlier, to which they followed the other path and killed the hollowed warriors that were in our way, before entering the floor beneath the entrance and found an elevator waiting for them. The two of them shared a look with each other before they climbed onto the elevator platform and lowered themselves into the abyss below them, where they eventually reached an area that appeared to be underground in some fashion. When they climbed off the platform, however, the elevator rose back into the air and trapped them down here, which meant that they needed to find a bonfire or die to the creatures that called this place home before they could leave.

Since they had no choice in the matter they carefully approached the area in front of them and found that they would have to wade through some water before they reached the other side of the chamber they were in, while at the same time finding a large creature of some kind that was clearly not happy to see them. The aberration charged at them almost immediately, though when Rarity stuck it with a Lightning Spear she discovered that it was only phased by her attack and not absolutely damaged like she had done to the other enemies she had used the spell against. Now that she had discovered that lightning wasn't going to work against such a creature she jumped backwards and let Edric focus on the enemy in front of them... though that was before she noticed a few more aberrations approaching them from the opening she was standing near.

Rarity sighed and threw an Emit Force charge into the face of her target, but at the same time she knew that with three of these enemies, who shrugged off the lightning like it was nothing, they were going to be hard pressed to defeat them without dying in the process. That was, of course, followed by one of the aberrations slamming into her when she dodged the attack of the one she had been focusing on, which also involved pinning her down against the floor with its large tail. Before she even had a chance to get back up the aberration raised its hands into the air and crushed her under the water, though as she faded away she could hear the sounds of Edric fighting the other two aberrations... before she completely faded away and her body disappeared from where she had died.

As she woke up near the bonfire that they had found at the top of the building the archers had been guarding, however, she simply sat against the wall and waited for Edric to return, while at the same time frowning at her decaying skin and the rotting color that accompanied it.

"I hope we finish this quest soon," Rarity said, mostly talking to herself this time around, since Edric hadn't appeared near the bonfire yet, though at the same time she sighed as she glanced up at the sky above her, "because I'm getting tired of dying and assuming this form over and over again."

Unfortunately she knew that death was a part of this world and that she was going to have to suffer a lot more before she and Edric reached their end goal... though at the same time she hoped that she could survive that long without going completely insane from dying so many times.

The Sinner

Rarity waited for a few moments, which meant that she was patiently sitting by the bonfire and resting as she waited to see whether or not Edric would appear near where she was sitting, while at the same time recalling what had happened down in the area they had discovered. She knew for a fact that there were three aberrations inside the slightly submerged area, as the two of them had been able to successfully kill one of them without any incident, only for her to fall when one of the other two used their tail to crush her. For a moment she actually considered whether or not there were any other enemies in that area, besides the ones they had seen, though a few seconds later she discarded the thought and knew that there had to be one or two more waiting for them.

Not a few moments later, however, she watched as Edric faded into existence around the bonfire, looking more dead than he had been when they went down into the area they had discovered, to which he sighed and sat down on the opposite side of the bonfire.

"There's more than the aberrations inside that area," Edric commented, knowing that Rarity was going to ask him some questions and decided to get them out of the way, especially since he had seen something else before he had been killed, before they resumed their journey, "from what I could tell there's also a zombie or two down there, lurking in the water near wherever the aberrations are hiding, so if we go back down there we'll have to be more careful. I also noticed a door that would allow us to get out of there, in case we decided not to deal with any of those enemies, but we'll come to a decision on that once we're back down there."

"Are you sure that you want to go back down there? Especially after what just happened?" Rarity asked, though at the same time she beckoned to the gargoyle that was still flying around the area, as she recalled what they had been told before they came back to this area, "Shalquoir told us that the road to the Lost Sinner would take us through two powerful creatures, the Ruined Sentinels and the Belfry Gargoyles. We've killed the sentinels, but so far the only thing we know about the gargoyles is that one is constantly flying around the area and we have no idea where to fight it. Shouldn't we spend our time searching for the location that the gargoyle calls its nest?"

"She said that there was more than one gargoyle, but I've only seen the one so far," Edric replied, to which he shook his head for a few seconds, before glancing at the elevator that would allow them to access the chamber they had been in earlier, "No, we should continue along the path we have chosen and see where it takes us... and maybe we'll find the Lost Sinner without having to find and fight those gargoyles."

Rarity didn't feel too good about going behind what Shalquoir had told them, as she hadn't steered her and Edric wrong so far, and she knew that the cat had likely told them to defeat both the sentinels and the gargoyles in order to prepare them for their fight with the Lost Sinner. Since her companion seemed sure that this was the way to go, despite the fact that those aberrations were going to be waiting for them, Rarity decided to go along with his decision and see where they went. Once Edric had determined that they were going to be heading back down to the chamber that the aberrations called home, so they could retrieve their souls and investigate the area further, the two of them got up and climbed down the nearby ladder.

Of course they had to fight their way through the enemies that had come back to life after them dying and resting at the bonfire, but since they knew the movements of the hollowed soldiers both Rarity and Edric were able to quickly maneuver around the undead warriors and made their way back down to the elevator. When they arrived at the elevator they carefully stepped onto the platform and rode it back down into the area they had died in a few minutes ago, though this time around they were going to be keep their guards up and not get surprised. The moment the elevator stopped they climbed off it and let it rise back into the air, to which Edric beckoned for Rarity to stay put and walked out into the open area for a few seconds... though not a few seconds later he ran back towards her as the first aberration charged after him.

Edric jumped backwards to avoid the aberration's claws, and avoid getting cut in half in the process, though at the same time Rarity started launching Soul Arrows into her target, intending to save the greater ones and her other spells for the other enemies or a powerful creature. Experience told her that she should be careful with her spells, especially since there might not be a bonfire between the one they rested at and whatever was in front of them, though she was happy to see that the aberration easily fell to the combined power of her spells and Edric's attacks from behind. The moment the first aberration was dead the two of them advanced into the chamber in front of them, though when they reached the two small rooms, with one on their left and one on their right, the other two aberrations noticed them and emerged from their hiding places.

Rarity and Edric fell back as the two aberrations came after them, though at the same time Rarity called upon some of her power and threw a Lightning Spear at her target, clearly annoying the creature as she spotted Edric slashing at his opponent before backing away. Now that they knew about the tails that the aberrations possessed, and that avoiding them was one of the keys to surviving this fight, the two of them avoided their opponents and their various attacks, before both of them delivered the final attack that knocked their opponents out completely. The instant the aberrations, their main worry in this area, were taken care of they carefully walked forward for a couple of steps, though when Rarity stopped she fired a Emit Force spell at a zombie that was waiting at the base of some stairs, stunning it long enough for Edric to finish it off.

Once that was done the two of them separated and climbed one of the two sets of stairs that they had discovered, Edric taking the one on the left while Rarity took the one on the right, before they continued along their set paths and each took out another zombie that were positioning themselves to hurt them from above, had they been walking in the water. At the end of their respective walkways sat a door, though they each quickly discovered that their respective doors were shut and that they wouldn't budge, to which they returned to the walkway that was partly covered with water and approached the main gate they had seen earlier. Edric carefully pulled the lever that would open the gate as Rarity kept watch for any enemies that tried to attack them from behind, though once the gate was open the two of them walked through it and left the area they had been in behind for now.

The two of them stepped out onto a narrow walkway that apparently connected the area they had been in with some sort of building, though the walkway allowed them to cross over the water that had been located in the small cove they had found themselves in. At the end of the walkway rested another fog door, indicating that they had found another powerful creature of some kind, to which the two of them prepared themselves as they approached the door and walked through it. As they walked into the area that the fog door was connected to they discovered a barely lit area and spotted two small torches on the other side of the chamber, though that was before Rarity spotted someone, a lady by the structure of the body that was in front of them, who raised her head to look at them.

Rarity could tell that the lady was wearing some sort of iron mask that made it impossible to actually see her face, while at the same time she was wearing some sort of robe and ragged clothing, though that was before she spotted some sort of scorpion creature move into one of the mask's eye holes. A few seconds later the lady, no doubt the Lost Sinner, moved her hands to her face as she shook in pain for a few seconds, though that was before she picked herself up and carefully picked up the two handed sword that had been resting in front of her, revealing that her hands were bound close together by a wooden block. The Lost Sinner barely waited before she swung her arms and used the force of her swing to dispel the torches, shrouding herself in the darkness that had been resting around the chamber, effectively making it harder for Rarity and Edric to see their opponent.

A few seconds passed before the Lost Sinner disappeared from where she had been standing, or had slipped into the shadows as Rarity considered what they had seen a few seconds ago, before she heard the sound of something moving through the air and jumped backwards. Of course her reaction was still a tad bit slow, though she was able to avoid the majority of the damage of the Lost Sinner's attack, as there was a light gash on her stomach area, though she knew that she could easily heal the wound with a healing spell or her flask. Instead of doing that Rarity focused her energy into an Emit Force spell and threw it forward, intending to hit her target before she had a chance to dodge, but she heard the sound of her attack hitting the wall and the sound of someone hitting the floor.

Rarity looked around and found that she couldn't see Edric at all, indicating that fighting in the dark like this was one of the worst things they could have decided to do, before she heard the sound of her companion grunting in pain, to which she turned towards the sound and charged forward. She had to stop herself and retreat a few seconds later as she heard the Lost Sinner coming at her once more, though this time around it appeared that their opponent was already using them against each other, wounding one of them to make the other do something stupid so she could hurt them. Rarity was sure that the Lost Sinner had been coming up with a plan like this for quite a long time, but while she wanted to praise the lady for her skills she knew that her opponent needed to be taken care of if they wanted to get closer to completing their quest.

A few seconds later the tip of a sword pierced the shadows the struck Rarity in the chest, indicating that this was a thrust attack of some kind, though she coughed up some blood as she pulled herself away from her opponent, who continued to chase her and completely ignored Edric. That was, however, until Rarity stumbled over something and found that the Lost Sinner had already killed Edric, using the shadows to her advantage to avoid being seen until it was too late for either of them to stop her from killing them. The Lost Sinner used that opportunity to cut another gash into her back, causing her to stagger for a moment, before her sword pierced Rarity's heart, just like the Pursuer had done.

As Rarity felt her life fade again, a feeling that she hated with a passion, she knew that she and Edric were ill prepared to fight someone like the Lost Sinner... and she hoped that he would listen to her when they reappeared at the bonfire in the next couple of minutes, as she was sure that defeating the gargoyles would give them the key to defeating this foe.

Gargoyle Hunting

Rarity moaned as she, once again, found herself standing by the bonfire that she and Edric had found above the area that the Lost Sinner was in, though this time around she was determined to ignore the fact that they had found their target and begin the search for the Belfry Gargoyles. Shalquoir had made it clear that they should take out the sentinels and the gargoyles before they even considered fighting the Lost Sinner, though now she was sure that they would find some sort of clue to defeat the Lost Sinner once they brought down the gargoyles. As she thought about the creatures, however, she cast her glance over the nearby wall and found the same gargoyle flying over the section of the Lost Bastille that had to be near its nest, which was what she and Edric needed to find if they wanted to beat their true target.

A few seconds later she turned her head towards the area that the undead archers were usually standing in and watched as Edric cut the three hollowed enemies down, no doubt taking out his anger or frustration on them... to which she simply waited for him to finish before she bothered talking.

"So, we know where the Lost Sinner is located and know how to get down there," Rarity commented, hoping that Edric would listen to her, because if he wanted to go down into the depths and fight their target again he would be doing so on his own, because Rarity knew that they were under prepared for such a fight, "the only problem is that the entire area we were fighting in was shrouded in shadows, making it impossible for us to see our opponent and block her attacks. We need to find a way to relight the area, so that way we can see our opponent and fight on equal footing... and I have the feeling that finding the gargoyles will allow us to do that."

"I'm still not convinced that finding the gargoyles is the best course of action," Edric said, to which he walked away from the bonfire and headed towards the ladder, though before he climbed down the stairs he turned towards Rarity for a few seconds, "I want to investigate the area around the entrance of the Lost Sinner's lair for a few minutes, though we can use one of those Homeward Bones we picked up to get back to this bonfire so we don't have to fight the Sinner again."

Rarity sighed and followed after her companion, knowing that they were wasting time with the area they had just cleared out before the Lost Sinner had killed them, but she decided that she might as well humor her companion in the off chance that they actually found something that might help them out. They carefully made their way back down to the elevator and climbed onto it, where they rode it down into the watery area that the aberrations called home, who Rarity wasn't too keen on fighting again. When they reached their intended destination, however, Rarity also spotted a level on the left side of where they were standing, which meant that once they finished searching this area they could summon the elevator and head back up to where it was normally sitting.

Once they climbed off the elevator they employed their normal tactic, where Edric beckoned the first aberration out of its hiding place and pulled it towards the area they were standing in, to which Rarity ambushed it with her spells and opened it to Edric's attacks. The moment it was down they moved out of their hiding place and headed towards the area that one of the other two aberrations were hiding in, to which they attacked the creature from behind and distracted it so it couldn't make any noises to summon the other aberration. Fortunately they were more than prepared to deal with the aberration and its attacks, as they repeated the process they went through before hand and sure enough victory was theirs... allowing them to move onto the third and final aberration.

The moment the final aberration was dead, however, they moved onto the zombies that called this area home, as they knew that the zombies could inflict major damage if they were left alone, though the instant the last zombie was dead Edric sheathed his sword and started searching for anything useful in the area before the Lost Sinner's lair. While he searched the upper area, what little of it that he could get into thanks to some of the doors being locked, Rarity carefully looked through the ruined cells that were on the lower floor. It was there that she discovered a pair of items resting in one of the cells that she had been looking through, a soul of someone that had died down here and another lockstone, meaning that they could unlock something if they found one of the locks to put it into.

"Hey Edric," Rarity called out, to which she walked out of the cell that she had been searching for the last few seconds and held up the lockstone, though at the same time Edric emerged from the cell he had been inside and looked down at her, "What are the chances that we'll find someplace to use this lockstone somewhere inside the Lost Bastille?"

"Very likely," Edric said, though at the same time he climbed down the nearby set of stairs and walked over to her, to which he stared at the stone for a few seconds, "though that means that we'll need to keep an eye out for the location we can use this in."

Rarity nodded and stashed the lockstone in her pouch, though once it was safely stored away they retraced their steps to the elevator and pulled the lever, to which they waited for a few minutes for the elevator to come back down before they rode it back up to the area it was usually resting. The moment the elevator came to a stop they retraced their path back to where the ladder was located, though instead of climbing it they walked back into the building and headed towards the walkway that would allow them to walk back over to the building that one of the bonfires they had discovered was located in, the one that had a statue blocking the entrance. It took them a few moments to reach the building, where they had to engage the various zombies that had returned to the room in front of them, though they were careful in dealing with them before they headed back down the stairs that led to this area.

They carefully retraced their steps and killed all of the enemies that were in front of them, as carefully as they had done when they passed through this area the first time around, before they found their way back to the bonfire they discovered after defeating the sentinels... where Rarity spotted a ladder leading to an area that was below where the two of them were standing. When they climbed down into the area below them they found an undead hound waiting for them, though it was rather easy for Edric to cut him down and allow them to explore the area around them, to which they stopped searching a few seconds later when they spotted a slot for the lockstone to go into. Rarity wondered how the two of them could have missed such a thing, but instead of questioning it she pulled the lockstone out of her pouch and slipped it into the slot... to which a glowing face, in the same image of the slot, appeared on the wall to their right.

The two of them stared at the glowing face for a few seconds before Edric struck the stone, to which the stone faded away and a doorway appeared in front of them, one that had a walkway in front of them and led to a door... though above them Rarity spotted something that looked like a bell of some kind. Edric walked up to the door in front of them and opened it, to which they discovered a large pile of bodies, of what appeared to be some sort of short creature, on the left of the entrance. To their right sat another short creature, which Rarity was sure was either a gnome or dwarf, though he appeared to be chuckling and simply stopped for a moment when the two of them approached him.

"Undead! Undead!" the creature exclaimed, staring at the two of them for a few seconds, though both Rarity and Edric were a little worried about the level of excitement they could hear in his voice, "Keep your hands off our bell, the great Bell of Alken! The bell belongs! To the Princess, it do! Stay back, or we slice! Slice you to bits! Me and my chams, we wont be miffed! Stay back, or you're pieces! Tiniest pieces!"

"Yeah, let's ignore this guy," Rarity said, to which she and Edric walked passed the strange creature and made their way towards a set of wooden stairs, one that appeared to lead up to a second floor and possibly a third floor.

As they walked through the area, however, Rarity felt a shift in the energy in the air and wondered what could be happening in the area around them, though when they reached the area above them she noticed a specter, a gray colored one, standing between them and the stairs that would allow them to carry on. The specter was dressed up in armor, just like Edric was, though he was carrying a large two handed sword that reminded Rarity of the blade that the Pursuer used in their fight. The warrior charged at them and tried to hit them with the massive sword, though Rarity and Edric separated from each other and forced the blade into the flooring, to which Rarity opened fire on their enemy's backside while Edric cut into the open slots between his armor pieces.

While they did that, however, Rarity could determine that this guy might have been allied with the strange creature that had been talking to them earlier, though that didn't stop her and Edric from tearing apart their opponent and moving onto the next floor. They had to fight an ink colored version of the creature they had found near the entrance of the area, though it took them a few moments to deal with their next enemy before they found a fog door that was covered by an iron gate, preventing them from moving forward. A few seconds later they found a ladder that led to another level, to which Rarity and Edric grabbed onto the sides and started their ascent, though Edric went first and Rarity could see him engaging something the moment he got to the top. Rarity arrived at the top shortly after he did, though she found more of the ink colored enemies waiting for them, but she smiled as she realized that they were chasing after her companion and found a lever that was unguarded... to which she ran over towards it and moved it, which in turn caused the bell to ring for a few seconds and allowed her to hear the sound of the gate below them opening.

The moment she heard that sound she called out to Edric and climbed down the ladder that they had used to get up here, though when she reached the bottom she smiled as she noticed the gate was open, meaning that they could move forward... to which she waited for a few seconds before Edric joined to, which was followed by them walking through the fog door and entered the area that had to be the nest of the gargoyles. When they walked onto the roof area that the gargoyles might be located on, however, both of them noticed that there were eight statues, four on the left and four on the right, waiting for them. The gargoyle on their immediate left, the very first one, came to life and climbed off his pedestal, to which he charged at them and took the attack that Edric was throwing at it, while at the same time Rarity backed away... and noticed that a second gargoyle, the third from the right side, had come to life as well.

Rarity, noticing that the second gargoyle was turning towards her, rapidly switched to her chime and summoned a Lightning Spear, to which she threw it into the gargoyle's chest before she threw herself to the side, only to get a scratch on her left side in the process. She mentally cursed at her opponent before she looked at the gargoyle, which was staggering from the smoldering hole where one of its lungs would be, telling her that she had found yet another enemy that was weak against lightning based attacks. For a moment she actually considered not using the Lightning Spear for the rest of the battle, as she was getting tired of finding enemies that were weak to lightning based attacks, but she then shook her head and focused on the battle once more. There would be time for her to change to a different spell when she and Edric fought the Lost Sinner again, though she intended to use this weakness to her advantage once more... to which she picked herself up and faced her target once more.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Edric hacking away at the gargoyle that was focusing on him, to which she smiled and focused on her target, slamming another Lightning Spear into her opponent and causing it to stagger once more. Instead of using a third spear, and wasting charges in case more of the gargoyles woke up, she drew the Heide sword that they had picked up from that knight earlier and drove it into the area that had to be the gargoyle's heart, where she watched as the light in its eyes faded away before she withdrew the blade. Since nothing else seemed to be happening at the moment, and none of the other gargoyles seemed to be waking up yet, she ran over to where Edric was and leapt onto the back of his opponent... to which she drove her sword into its back, forcing it to drop to the ground and allowed her to roll off as two more statues started to wake up.

"They're weak against lightning, just like the sentinels," Rarity commented, seeing the first gargoyle, the second on the right, open its eyes, while the second gargoyle, the third on the left side, slowly did the same thing, though she let the lightning crackle around her hand for a moment, "let me throw a spear or two into each of them, then you can swoop in and finish them off."

Edric seemed surprised to find yet another enemy that was weak against lightning, something that Rarity shared, before nodding and beckoned to the gargoyle on the left side, to which Rarity smiled and threw her already forming spear into her target's chest. That action caused both gargoyles to fully awaken from their slumber, though the one that she had targeted staggered for a few seconds, allowing her to turn her attention to the second gargoyle and wound it as well, to which Edric struck the first gargoyle with his sword. Rarity mentally chuckled as she threw a few more spells into the second gargoyle, chipping away at its health for a few seconds, before the two of them actually finished off their enemies at the same time... though they remained on their guard in case a fifth gargoyle awoke from its slumber.

That was followed by the fourth gargoyle on the left side of the roof awakening from its slumber and landed on the roof, though Edric pulled back for a second and allowed Rarity to slam a Lightning Spear into its chest, causing it to stagger backwards before he charged forward and finished it off. Once the gargoyle collapsed on the roof, however, the duo remained on their guard as they waited for one of the three remaining statues came to life, but after a few minutes they discovered that nothing was happening and they were allowed to move on once more. With the gargoyles apparently defeated, and the others inactive, Rarity and Edric walked into the building in front of them and followed the stairs down to an area where an iron chest was located, one that contained a new ring they knew nothing about.

At the end of the walkway in front of them rested another bonfire, to which they rested for a few seconds before they started searching for something that would help them defeat the Lost Sinner, though that involved climbing down the nearby ladder and dealing with a pack of undead hounds that were down in the area below them. Edric was more than enough to deal with the hounds, allowing Rarity to search the area and locate another lost soul, some sort of sword, and a key that she felt was extremely important. She smiled as she held up the key for a few seconds, because she may have just found the item that would turn the tide against the Lost Sinner... and then the two of them would be one step closer to completing their goal of acquiring the four Great Souls.

Revisiting the Sinner

The first thing Rarity and Edric did, after defeating the Belfry Gargoyles and acquiring a key that Rarity swore was important, was return to the bonfire they find found after defeating the second powerful creature that Shalquoir had told them about and teleported back to Majula. There the two of them used the souls they had gathered to empower their bodies, purchase some Lifegems from the vendor they had encountered in the Forest of Fallen Giants, and did what they could to improve Edric's gear. Rarity remembered that Shalquoir had mentioned that another suit of armor rested behind where the Pursuer was hiding, back in the forest, and wondered if they should even consider trying to get the armor... after they take out the Lost Sinner and recover the soul that the Emerald Herald told them to gather.

While they were relaxing for a few minutes, however, Rarity voiced her idea to Edric, as she was curious as to whether he would want to get the armor before fighting the Lost Sinner or rather he would want to wait until they defeated their current target before they went back to the forest and searched for the Pursuer's hiding place.

"I don't think we should bother with the Pursuer and the armor that Shalquoir said that he's guarding," Edric said, though at the same time he crossed his arms and stared at Rarity, who raised an eyebrow at him in return, especially after what had happened when they fought the Lost Sinner for the first time, "If you are right that this key is the item we need to defeat the Lost Sinner, however that is supposed to happen, then we won't need anything else to aid us in defeating our opponent. We should be able to walk into the fighting area, use the key in whatever manner we're supposed to, and then we should be able to win the battle and claim the soul that the Lost Sinner is holding."

Rarity had to resist the urge to tell Edric that his current armor wasn't cutting it at the moment, as part of the reason he had died so quickly during their fight with the Lost Sinner was because his armor was quickly becoming obsolete in the face of their enemies. Sure, she was sure that the armor Shalquoir had told them about was better than what he was wearing, but it would also quickly become obsolete and they would be searching for a new armor set for him to wear and provide him with extra protection. The longer Edric stayed alive the more their enemies would focus on him, meaning that Rarity could move in with her spells and deal additional damage to their foes, but it appeared that he was going to resist her suggestions until they defeated the Lost Sinner.

For a moment she wondered what she had done to be paired with someone that was so resistant to her suggestions, but then she remembered that it was because of her desire to see other worlds that had brought this terrible fate upon her, to which she mentally sighed and focused on her companion.

"Very well then, we won't hunt down the Pursuer." Rarity replied, though at the same time she was thankful for that, because while she had gained the desire to do battle with their enemies she still wasn't looking forward to the eventual final confrontation with the one knight she hated, "Shall we return to the bonfire and see what this key goes to?"

Edric nodded and together the two of the returned to the bonfire that was sitting near where the Emerald Herald was sitting and knelt before the flames, to which they both focused their minds and selected the area that rested near the location of the elevator that would take them to the Lost Sinner. Not a few seconds later they disappeared from Majula and reappeared in the Lost Bastille, to which they turned their attention back to the reborn archers that rested near the bonfire and removed the hollowed archers. Once they were done with that Edric climbed down the ladder while Rarity made sure that no one tried to attack him from behind, though the coast was clear when he reached the bottom and she quickly followed him down to the area above where the elevator was resting. They then quickly made their way towards the elevator and climbed onto it, where they silently rode the contraption down to the area that the aberrations were guarding... though this time around they already knew how to defeat their opponents.

Edric taunted one of the aberrations into abandoning the others and caused it to come after them, where he and Rarity unleashed their various skills against their opponent and defeated it in a manner of seconds, though once that was done they repeated the process on the second and third aberration. Once the aberrations were defeated, and the area was cleared of enemies once the zombies swiftly followed them, Rarity and Edric walked over the walkway in front of them and made their way towards the Lost Sinner's prison. When they reached the entrance of the Lost Sinner's prison the two of them stopped and Rarity pulled out the key they had acquired, to which she looked around the area for a spot for them to use it in... where she spotted two doors on either side of the entrance of the Lost Sinner's prison.

"See someplace to use that key?" Edric asked, as he had seen that look in Rarity's eyes before and knew that she must have figured something out, though at the same time he didn't see anything.

"Maybe," Rarity replied, to which she turned to the left and walked up the curved walkway that was in front of her, though when she reached the door she slipped the key inside the lock and turned it, where she smiled as the door opened in front of her eyes.

In front of her rested some sort of scone or wall ornament, one that looked like it contained oil, to which she walked back to where her companion was standing and asked if their torch was still lit, which was something that she expected him to say no to once he pulled it out. Oddly enough she discovered that the torch was still on fire, though it appeared that it only activated when Edric was using it and went out when he put it back inside his pouch, to which he handed it over to Rarity. With the torch in hand Rarity returned to the container she had discovered and gently held the torch near it, where the oil ignited and filled the entire small passage with flames, though instead of returning to Edric she headed towards the other door and ignited the other container.

When she returned to Edric she handed him the torch and watched as the flame went out as he stored it inside his bag, though she shook her head and decided that it wasn't worth the time to consider how such a thing was possible... to which the two of them turned towards the fog door and walked into the Lost Sinner's prison. What Rarity noticed, the moment they walked into the prison, was that there were two large braziers near the ceiling of the prison, lighting up the entire area and getting rid of the shadows that the Lost Sinner had used to kill them earlier. The Lost Sinner turned towards them and stared at them as she raised her two handed sword, though this time around they could see her movements and separated from each other, forcing their opponent to pick who she wanted to face first.

Rarity was banking on the Lost Sinner picking Edric, as that appeared to be what all of the other powerful creatures wanted to do the moment they started a fight, and was relieved to see the Lost Sinner following the pattern that she had established in her mind. Instead of using her Lightning Spear, as she was growing tired of finding enemies that were weak to lightning, Rarity focused on some of the other spells she had learned so far and started casting Soul Arrows, both the smaller ones and the larger ones, while making sure that nothing she did caused the Lost Sinner to turn her attention towards her. The last thing she wanted was for a large weapon to find its home in her chest, as she was growing tired of her enemies killing her by stabbing her with large two handed swords, which was another reason why she kept her distance from the Lost Sinner... just in case the undead creature targeted her next.

Thanks to the cuffs that the Lost Sinner was wearing, no doubt put there by whoever had imprisoned her in this cell, Edric was able to dodge the majority of his opponent's attacks, because now that he could see them coming he could actually react and avoid them to the best of his ability. Of course there were instances where the Lost Sinner was slightly faster than him and he would still get a light gash on his body where the sword cut into him, but for the most part he was able to avoid the attacks and take less damage. Despite the fact that Rarity wasn't using the Lightning Spear, which was likely one of her highest damaging spells in her limited arsenal, Edric saw her pulled out the Soul Spear Barrage when she got close to the Lost Sinner for a few seconds, forcing her opponent to take all of the spears to her back before she retreated to the other side of the chamber.

At one point the Lost Sinner grew annoyed with Edric and changed targets, as she decided to go after Rarity next, to which Rarity gulped and hoped that all the damage they could do would cause the Lost Sinner to fall to the ground before she was harmed in some way. As the Lost Sinner swung her two handed sword at Rarity, with the express purpose of taking her head clean off, Rarity steeled herself and unsheathed her sword, to which she raised it up and tried to block the attack with her own weapon. The resulting shock of her weapon meeting the Lost Sinner's weapon caused a crack to appear in the blade of her sword, while at the same time the force of her swing knocked Rarity back a few steps.. but that was when Rarity decided to change her mind and threw a Lightning Spear into the Lost Sinner's chest.

This time around Rarity knew that their opponent wasn't weak to lightning, as the Lost Sinner stared at her for a few seconds while taking stock of the wounds that were scattered across her body, before she dropped her two handed sword and collapsed on the ground... to which Rarity sighed as a soul, larger than the ones they had acquired from the other powerful creatures, escaped the Lost Sinner's body and surged though her body before settling inside Edric's body.

"That... that was a Great Soul!" Rarity exclaimed, understanding what they had just done, to which the two of them smiled as they realized what had happened, "Edric, we're one step closer to our goal!"

"Indeed," Edric agreed, though the happy expression on his face indicated that he was very pleased with what they had done, while at the same time he glanced at Rarity's sword, "though we may want to repair your sword before we start the search for the other three Great Souls."

"Edric, who cares about my sword?" Rarity asked, though at the same time she couldn't be upset, as she was too happy about what they were able to accomplish, to which she noticed the door the Lost Sinner had been standing in front of when they first arrived was now open, "Come on, let's see what else the Lost Sinner was guarding."

As they walked down the stairs that were behind the previously shut door, and left behind the chamber that the Lost Sinner had been locked away inside, they paused only once as they spotted an iron chest to their left, to which they pulled the lid up and found two items inside, a branch of some kind and a mushroom. Rarity had to admit that the two items definitely weren't worth the effort to fight the Lost Sinner, but she was willing to overlook that disappointment as she took some joy in the fact that they had succeeded in acquiring one of the four Great Souls. They then walked into the chamber ahead of them and spotted a bonfire in the middle of the large square area, though this one was snapped in half and Rarity suspected that it would provide a one way trip back to Majula.

Together the two of them lit the bonfire and focused their minds, to which they returned to Majula with a look of joy in their eyes, as they were one step closer to completing their quest... though they had absolutely no idea where to go next so they could find the remaining three Great Souls. Rarity, on the other hand, knew that Shalquoir would be willing to point them in the right direction, though they could talk with her once they finished resting after what they had just been through in the Lost Bastille.

Facing the Pursuer

The first thing that Rarity and Edric did, after defeating the Lost Sinner and claiming the Great Soul that she had been holding onto, was return to Majula with their heads held high, because they were one step closer to completing their quest and saving themselves. The moment they returned to the small city, and smiled at the people that were around them, before either of them approached the Emerald Herald, who actually gave them a small smile in return. That told Rarity that she must have known about their success in acquiring one of the four Great Souls, thus confirming that they were one step closer to completing their quest.

"The two of you have acquired the soul of an Old One." the Emerald Herald commented, though her tone definitely told Rarity that she was pleased with them, especially since it involved fighting a lot of powerful creatures before they could find their first target, "That is more than most Undead can say. You should visit Shalquoir and ask her your questions, as I'm sure that she's more than willing to help you... that's also more than she does for the other Undead that come through Majula."

"Yeah, because most of the other Undead ignore her shop altogether," Rarity said, remembering what the cat had told her when she talked to her, though at the same time she shook her head and knew that Shalquoir would be glad to hear about their process.

The Emerald Herald nodded her head and beckoned for the duo to continue, to which Edric knelt before her and used the souls he had acquired from the Lost Sinner to empower his body, though once he was done Rarity moved forward and did the same thing. Rarity knew that the two of them were going to fight much stronger opponents in the future, especially since some of their enemies were pretty strong already, so she focused on the task at hand, though when they were done she led the way back to Shalquoir's shop. When they entered the building, however, Rarity found that Shalquoir was already sitting in the middle of the table and was staring at the doorway, though once they stepped into the shop a smile, or what she assumed was a smile, appeared on the cat's face.

"I believe congratulations are in order," Shalquoir commented, to which she smiled at the duo for a few seconds, even though Edric was already pulling out some of the items they had acquired from the Lost Bastille, so she could tell them what they had found, "the two of you managed to find the Lost Sinner, overcame the Belfry Gargoyles, and acquired one of the four Great Souls by defeating the Lost Sinner in battle. You know, when I first saw the two of you I knew that you were destined for great things, though acquiring one of the four Great Souls verifies what I originally thought about the two of you."

"I'm glad that we've confirmed your suspicions," Edric said, though at the same time he set the last item down on the table in front of Shalquoir, while Rarity moved to the side and looked at the items for a few seconds, "though before we ask where we need to go next, I have some items that we know nothing about... and I was wondering if you could tell us what they were."

"Of course. Anything for the two of you," Shalquoir replied, though at the same time Rarity had the feeling that the cat was referring to her, especially since she was the first Undead, in a long time, to actually care about her shop, before she glanced at the items and pawed at the ring, "This is the Southern Ritual Band, generally worn by people who cast spells to increase the number of available spells they can use at any given moment, but given the fact that you can use every spell in your arsenal, instead of relying on three or four at a time, its sort of useless to you. Now, you might think that this branch is an ordinary branch, but in reality its a Fragrant Branch of Yore, capable of curing the petrification of whoever your target happens to be."

"And the mushroom?" Edric asked, though he was slightly disappointed that the ring was useless to them at the moment, at least it was useless for Rarity, before staring at the mushroom in question.

"Its an Elizabeth Mushroom, capable of healing wounds when consumed," Shalquoir answered, though she did smile when she stared at it, meaning that she had likely eaten a few in the past or had sold them at one point in time, "but, now that I had identified your items, I believe that its time that we get to the main reason you came here."

"Yes, we need to know who holds the other three Great Souls," Rarity said, to which Shalquoir turned towards her for a moment, though at the same time it was clear that they were on the same wavelength once more, "and where the three of them are located."

"The three remaining Great Souls are held by the Old Iron King, the Rotten, and the Duke's Dear Freja," Shalquoir stated, noticing that Rarity and Edric were nodding, despite the fact that they were interested in figuring out where their next targets were located, "The Old Iron King is located somewhere in the Iron Keep, though to get to him you'll have to overcome a creature called the Smelter Demon before you can get to him. The Rotten lies deep beneath the Grave of Saints and the Gutter, in a region called Black Gulch, though you'll have to kill a few additional creatures before you can reach him. The Duke's Dear Freja, the last of your three remaining targets, lies in Brightstone Cove Tseldora, though you'll have to fight quite a few enemies before you can even reach her and acquire the final Great Soul."

"Considering the order that you listed them in, am I correct in assuming that the Old Iron King is the first one we should be searching for?" Edric inquired, because after everything that Shalquoir had told them about, and had been right about, he was willing to put his full trust in what the cat told them.

"I would suggest that you head for the Old Iron King first," Shalquoir said, though at the same time her tail whipped back and forth, telling Rarity that she was likely thinking about something that only she understood, "but its up to the two of you to determine which of the three Great Souls to go for first."

Edric nodded his head and walked back out into Majula, no doubt heading to one of the other shops so he could see what they had to offer and repair some of the cracks in his armor, which they really needed to replace, though at the same time Rarity stayed back and stared at Shalquoir.

"Despite your victory you are still plagued by a single opponent," Shalquoir commented, to which she turned her head towards Rarity, who nodded her head in understanding, as she already knew who the cat was referring to, "Rarity, thanks to your victory over the Lost Sinner you no longer need to worry about the Pursuer and can leave him alone in the Forest of Fallen Giants. The choice is yours now, you can either forget about him entirely and move on with your quest, or head back to the ruins and hunt him down. I cannot tell you which is the proper path, as this is something that you need to decide on for yourself."

Rarity wondered if facing the Pursuer at this point in time, after finding and recovering one of the four Great Souls, was even something that needed to be done, because based on what Shalquoir had said, as it almost sounded like the all-seeing cat was suggesting that the path forward rested somewhere else in this world. At the same time, however, she knew that leaving the Pursuer behind would make her worry, as there was no telling whether or not the person would chase them to the ends of this world and disrupt their quest even more. As much as she hated to admit it, but the Pursuer needed to die before she and Edric could begin their search for the remaining three Great Souls... to which she bid Shalquoir farewell and departed from the shop.

She walked over to the bonfire and waited for a few minutes, to which Edric returned to her side and they knelt beside the bonfire, though when they reappeared in their next destination Edric looked around in confusion, because they were back in the forest ruins and not where he had been planning on going.

"Why did we come back here?" Edric said, to which he turned towards his companion, who was already heading towards the large hole in the wall that they had created earlier.

"We're here to kill the Pursuer and claim whatever armor he's guarding," Rarity replied, though at the same time she waved her staff and blasted the grenade throwing hollow away from where he was standing, causing him to blow himself up in the process, "then we can start the search for the other Great Souls."

Edric was honestly surprised that Rarity wanted to come back here and fight the Pursuer again, as if she had a death wish, but he figured that since they had beaten the Lost Sinner, and claimed the first Great Soul, that they now possessed the necessary power to defeat this particular opponent. He also assumed that Rarity was tired of thinking about the Pursuer and wanted him out of her mind, and in order to do that they needed to kill the creature that had killed them the first time around. Sure, he wanted to be rid of the Pursuer as well, though he believed that they should have started their search for the other Great Souls, but he simply sighed and followed Rarity through the ruins once more.

They headed towards the ladder that would take them down to the area that they needed to go through, where they dealt with the hollow guarding the stairs and the other hollows that were on the lower area, who patiently waited for them to arrive before emerging from the hole in the wall. When those hollows were dead, mostly by being cut down by Edric's sword, they walked towards the small area where the armored warrior was being guarded by two archers, to which Rarity focused on the ranged enemies while Edric took out the warrior. From there they entered the ruined hallway area, where they could see the ocean and the ruined statue, before approaching the door that was near the stairs on their right and discovering that it could be unlocked with one of the keys they had discovered in the ruins the last time they were here.

Once the door was open they had to fight another pair of hollowed warriors that were in their way, though Edric showed them the strength of a true warrior and dealt with them, to which he and Rarity walked up the stairs and moved into an area that had a fog door in front of them... which caused him to turn towards his companion for a moment.

"I'm pretty sure that the Pursuer is behind that door," Edric said, though neither of them knew if that was true or if they had found the resting place of another powerful creature, as none of the other Undead that they had helped had come this way, "Are you absolutely sure that we need to do this?"

"Yes... I am sure." Rarity replied, to which she walked forward and pressed her hand against the fog door, though as she stepped through it Edric sighed and followed after her.

The two of them walked through the fog door and stopped in their tracks when a familiar large sword struck the floor a fair distance in front of them, to which they turned their heads towards the sky and watched as the eagle from earlier flew over their heads and dropped the Pursuer into the area they were standing in. The Pursuer landed on the ground in front of them, behind his large sword in reality, and glared at them as he stood up, which was followed by him pulling his weapon from the floor and floated into the air a little bit. Rarity could tell that the Pursuer was studying them, as if silently debating which person to go after once the fight started, though this time around she intended on bringing him down so they could finally be rid of this enemy.

Before the Pursuer could start moving, and pick his target, Rarity thrust the head of her staff towards the knight and released a Greater Soul Arrow at her target, blasting him just a tiny bit backwards, though he turned his gaze towards her and seemed to glare at her. The Pursuer flew in her direction and readied his weapon, but Rarity had been expecting that to happen and immediately moved out of the way the instant her opponent started his swing, to which Edric moved in and struck the Pursuer's armored chest with his sword. Once that had happened the two of them moved behind the Pursuer and put some distance between them, as they knew that one wrong move would mean instant death, especially against an opponent like the one they were fighting.

Thanks to the reach of the Pursuer's blade, and the fact that he could close distances between him and his target in a matter of seconds, Rarity and Edric opted to remain separate from each other, because if the Pursuer targeted one of them the other could hit him while he was distracted. It was a plan that had worked to their joy against most of the powerful creatures that they had encountered so far, though even with that information in mind Rarity knew that their opponent wasn't the easiest to fool. Fortunately it appeared that, for the first minute of their fight, the Pursuer was more interested in chasing Edric, allowing Rarity to focus on picking and choosing when to cast a spell at their opponent... who was most definitely not weak to lightning based attacks.

It didn't take the Pursuer long to come up with a different plan of attack, as he swung his sword through the floor in an attempt to hit Edric, though the moment Edric dodged the attack the Pursuer let go of his weapon, while its tip was still in the floor, and reached for Edric. A few seconds later he used his now empty hand and grabbed onto Edric's head, to which he turned around and hurled Edric into the nearby wall, causing him to cough in pain and collapse on the floor for a moment. Once that was done the Pursuer claimed his weapon as Rarity blasted him in the back with a Lightning Spear, where she noticed that her attack only seemed to annoy her target in the process, as he flew after her and started swinging his sword at her.

Unfortunately Rarity still didn't have the speed or ability to accurately avoid the attack of a large weapon, not on the level that Edric had thanks to the fact that he had the training to be a warrior, so while she avoided the attacks to the best of her ability she still received a few cuts to her arms and legs. She noted that the cuts were light enough to bleed and not actually cripple her in the process, meaning that her opponent wanted a decent challenge before he cut her down and ended this fight. Rarity used a few more of the spells she had picked up so far, testing the water and seeing how they worked against such an opponent, but as she dealt less and less damage she was beginning to assume that the Pursuer's armor made it incredibly hard for someone to kill him.

After her last failed attempt to do some damage, with a Soul Spear Barrage, the Pursuer bashed her with his shield and caused her to stagger backwards, which was followed by him driving his sword right into her chest once more... before he pulled back and focused on his remaining target, while his first target fell to the ground behind him.

"Goddammit, your an annoying and overly strong opponent," Edric said, to which he coughed as he stood up and faced his opponent, though at the same time he knew that this was likely the end of their last attempt at killing this one powerful creature.

While the Pursuer approached him, however, Edric noticed that Rarity's body hadn't disappeared yet, meaning that, despite the massive wound she had received, she was somehow still alive... and, oddly enough, there appeared to be some sort of black mist starting to gather around her head.

The Emerald Herald had known that, from the moment that Rarity and Edric had returned with news of their acquisition of the first Great Soul, that they would have gone after the Pursuer once more, though she only knew this because of a certain individual told her about their decision. That was why she and Shalquoir, who usually remained in her shop at all times, were standing near the bonfire and were staring off in the direction that the Forest of Fallen Giants rested in. The cat knew that something was going to happen while Rarity and Edric fought the Pursuer, that much she could tell from what she had been hold, though she patiently waited for Shalquoir to tell her what was going on.

"Honestly, I have no idea what you see in Rarity," the Emerald Herald commented, though at the same time she could tell that Shalquoir had turned her head a tiny bit, so she could glance up at her, "She's just another Undead, one that's bound to fail like all of the others that come through Majula."

"She's a special Undead... one that's unlike all of the others that have come before her," Shalquoir said, though her tone indicated that she wasn't surprised by the Emerald Herald's statement, to which she smiled as something flickered in her eyes, "and it appears that she's starting to awaken the power that she's not aware of yet."

The Emerald Herald stared down at the cat that was standing beside her, trying to figure out why Shalquoir liked Rarity so much and how she knew so much about the mysterious Undead that had shown up with Edric, but right now it appeared that the cat was unwilling to tell her anything specific. She let out a small sigh as she waited for the two Undead to come back with more of their humanity missing, because that was the fate off all the Undead that came through Majula... and she was sure that Rarity and Edric would share their fate.

Rarity moaned as she placed her hands on the ground around her and gently picked herself up off the stones that made up the floor she had been resting on, though as she opened her eyes she found that the Pursuer was slowly advancing on where Edric was resting. She was aware of the fact that her arms and legs had several cuts on them, and the fact that there was a large stab wound on her chest from where she was stabbed, but this time around she could barely feel any of the pain. She didn't know if that was because of the fact that she was losing more of her humanity with every death she suffered or if her nerves were shot, but at the moment she had to focus on the task at hand and get Edric out of here before he died as well.

While she stood up, however, Edric something odd about her eyes, as their color had changed to a bright red color with a deep red center, while around them rested an eerie green color... with a strange vivid purple colored mist emitting from her eyes, making her look more menacing than she really was.

"I... have had... enough... OF YOU!" Rarity shouted, to which she raised her right hand into the air for a few minutes, gathering her magic while the Pursuer turned to look at her, before slamming her hand back down on the ground and igniting the magic she had been gathering.

An instant later a pillar of crystals, nearly black colored, erupted from the ground and struck the Pursuer in the chest, though as Edric watched all of this he saw the crystals pierce the warrior's armor and push him into the air. He turned his gaze towards Rarity and saw that his companion was focusing on the Pursuer, who was trying to pull himself off the crystal at the moment, before his arm went limp and he stopped moving. Rarity glared at the body of the Pursuer for a few seconds, as if she was making sure that he was dead, before she removed her hand from the floor and collapsed on the ground. She was alive, that much he was sure of, but Edric had no idea what had happened or what Rarity had did... and he resolved to ask her about it once she woke up.

Choosing a New Path

Rarity moaned for a few seconds as she forced her eyes open, though at the same time she felt an intense wave of pain course through her body at the same time, reminding her that the last fight she had been in was against the Pursuer, which brought up her anger for the warrior. When she actually managed to open her eyes, however, she found that she was sitting in the area that they had fought the Pursuer, or more like resting against one of the ruined walls, while at the same time noticing that Edric was no where in sight. The last thing she remembered was being stabbed in the chest, though as she looked down at her body she noticed that there weren't any wounds on her arms, legs, or even her chest, making her wonder what the heck had happened. Since they were where the Pursuer had been waiting for them she assumed that Edric had killed their foe while being struck down at the same time, but without the sphere of souls floating in the area she knew that her companion hadn't died... which made her wonder what she was missing.

She was also sure that the Pursuer had killed her, but she didn't feel any worse than she had when the Lost Sinner had struck her down, so she really had to wonder what had happened and why she couldn't remember anything passed being stabbed in the chest... and she hoped that Edric could tell her what she was missing, when he got back anyway.

"Rarity?" a voice said, to which Edric appeared to the left of where she was resting, though he knelt beside her and made sure that she could see him, "I'm glad to see that you're alright, especially after what happened to you."

"I'm happy to still be alive, but I'm not sure what happened," Rarity replied, though at the same time she moaned one more time, as part of her body still ached, but she knew that she could continue their quest, after she figured something important out anyway, "Can you tell me what happened? Because I'm afraid that I don't remember what happened after I got stabbed in the chest."

"I'm shocked that you don't remember what happened, but I'll explain what I can." Edric said, to which he sighed as he recalled what he had seen, before he stared Rarity in her eyes, "After you got stabbed, and the Pursuer dropped you on the ground, I thought I was done for and that we had messed up by coming after him again. Before he could reach me, however, some sort of dark mist surrounded your head for a few seconds before you got up, where I noticed that your eye color had changed and the strange mist was emitting from you eyes. You then shouted something about being tired with the Pursuer and slammed your hand against the floor, where a crystal spire of some sort pierced the Pursuer and killed him a few seconds later."

"Dark mist?" Rarity asked, because if that was what she thought it was, from Twilight's descriptions of Dark Magic, then she had something to worry about, especially after what happened to the first pony that used the magic.

"Yeah, there was this strange purple mist emitting from your eyes," Edric explained, to which he shuddered for a moment, as what he had seen had struck some fear into him, something that he wasn't used to feeling, "though your eyes took on this crimson red color, with a deeper red colored center, while your sclera turned this eerie green color. I have no idea what happened to you, but it was more than enough to take out the Pursuer and end the feud that the two of you were apparently having with each other... and I found the armor set that Shalquoir told us to collect."

Rarity was pleased that they had found the area, as it would allow Edric to survive even longer when they continued their quest, though at the same time she was shocked by what he had told her, because she almost refused to believe that such a thing was possible. She had no idea how she could have any sort of access to Dark Magic, the realm of King Sombra, and the only other pony that knew about it was Twilight, who refused to teach anyone about that type of magic, even though she had only used it a few times to save the Crystal Empire. The only thing that made sense was that her anger and hatred for the Pursuer had undone something inside her, allowing her to awaken some sort of power that had been sleeping inside her... much like how Twilight and Discord described what had happened to Sunset.

If she choose to believe what Discord had told her, about all of the displaced ponies gaining new and extraordinary powers during their travels, and even ascending to new heights, then it was possible that such a thing was possible... but that made her wonder what sort of power she was supposed to be have, as Dark Magic was something she could have done without.

Rarity glanced to the left of where she was sitting, where she noticed the large crystal spire that Edric had mentioned and spotted the corpse of the Pursuer, though while she knew that she should be feeling sorry for killing him in such a way she had to admit that she felt nothing for the warrior. She sighed as she pushed herself back into a standing position, where she swayed for a few seconds, but she was pleased to announce that she was just fine and that nothing had been permanently damaged from what happened to her. One thing she knew was that Edric would be wondering what sort of power she was using, though at the same time she figured that Shalquoir would be interested in that information as well, so she decided to tell them both instead of saying it twice.

Once she was back on her hooves, however, she and Edric retraced their steps to the closest bonfire, the same one they used to get to the ruins, before they carefully teleported themselves back to Majula and left the ruins behind... though once they arrived at their destination they found Shalquoir waiting for them, to which they followed her back to her shop and waited for her to sit down on the table.

"Your new power... what is it?" Shalquoir asked, though while she could easily ask the statue behind her what this power was, as it served as a direct contact to the creature that appeared around the shop every now and then, she liked getting the information straight from the source.

"Dark Magic," Rarity replied, to which she sighed as Edric turned towards her, though she noticed that Shalquoir raised an eyebrow at the same time, "On my home world this type of magic isn't one that is commonly used, much less even known about to most ponies, and only a select few even know how to harness the dark power. I don't know if I've always had access to Dark Magic or if this connection was forged during the battle with the Pursuer, but it appears that my hatred for the warrior allowed me to push myself and I gained a new power in the process. The change in my eyes are one of the effects of using that type of magic... and they should return to normal at some point in the future."

"Well, we should focus on finding the next Great Soul and its Guardian," Edric said, though at the same time he let out a sigh, because he had no idea what this new type of magic was going to do to their quest, "and maybe your eyes will change back to normal before we find said Guardian."

"If you head back the way you came, when you left the Fire Keepers, you'll find another passage in the rock wall," Shalquoir commented, causing the two to turn back towards her for a moment, reminding them that she knew more about this world than either of them did, "That will allow you to start your journey for the second Great Soul, provided you have the strength to repeat what happened with the Lost Sinner and the creatures that were protecting her."

Edric nodded and immediately walked out of the shop that they had been standing in, indicating that he was eager to get the next leg of their journey started, to which Rarity sighed, said farewell to Shalquoir, and followed after her companion before he got too far ahead of her. Together the two of them headed up the slope they had walked down when they had first emerged from the area that the Fire Keepers had been resting in, and where they learned the basic moves that Edric used. It didn't take them long to find the hole in the wall that their friend had mentioned, though the moment they laid eyes on it before Edric and Rarity pulled out their weapons and carefully walked forward, because there was no telling what sort of enemies were waiting for them this time around.

It didn't take them long to find a small stone walls, which looked like they had once belonged to some sort of fortress or building that had been forgotten about, though they did find a passage they could use and climbed out of the slightly covered area, where they found a ruined fortress in front of them... and there was a warrior sitting on the ground to the left of the walkway.

"Have you business with me?" the warrior asked, revealing that the person was male, though at the same time Rarity noticed that he was resting a large two handed sword over his lap, one that was light blue colored, before he beckoned to the building they had been heading towards, "The way yonder's all blocked up you see, by this god-awful statue. Heavens above, who thought it was a good idea to put it there!"

Rarity and Edric shared a glance for a few seconds before they walked into the building that was in front of them, though when they approached the statue in question, which happened to be holding onto a switch that was likely what they needed to use in order to move forward, they spotted something odd. The statue almost looked like it had been a living person at some point in time, something that Rarity knew about thanks to the cockatrice that Fluttershy had told her about, which had tried turning her to stone until she forced it back with her Stare. She had no idea what sort of creature in this world could do such a thing, but it was highly likely that such a creature existed nearby and that they had to be careful... and she already knew what they could use that Fragrant Branch of Yore on.

After a few seconds she and Edric turned around and headed back to the warrior, as she was curious as to whether that was all he had to say about the situation or if there was more he could tell them, something that Edric clearly agreed with since he was walking beside her.

"See that statue?" the warrior inquired, to which Rarity and Edric nodded their heads, as they had gotten a decent look at it and had an idea to get rid of it, and potentially save whoever was frozen in such a state, "Gives me the willies. Stare at it for long enough, it starts to look alive. Ach, it just does nae seem quite right. There are no craftsmen round these parts. Hey, the two of you don't think that a real-life person was turned to stone, do you?"

"Its quite possible that something like that happened," Rarity commented, to which Edric turned towards her and raised an eyebrow, while at the same time noticing that the man in front of them did the same thing, "Where I'm from there are creatures that are capable of turning people to stone with a glare, so it isn't hard to say that something like that might have happened to the poor dear whose statue bars our path... if that is a person and not a really talented artist showing off their skill in an unusual manner."

"Let's investigate it a little more and see what the verdict is," Edric said, to which Rarity nodded and left the slightly confused warrior behind, though that was followed by him pulling out the branch they had picked up after defeating the Lost Sinner earlier.

When they entered the building again they noticed two doors, one on the left and right of where they were standing, that led to two small rooms that had one hollow, each carrying a log or branch of some kind, wandering around aimlessly while ignoring the door. Edric, deciding that they might as well prevent their backs from being attacked, opened one door and jumped backwards, avoiding the attack that was coming his way, while at the same time giving Rarity an opportunity to blast them with an Emit Force blast. In no time the two of them had dealt with the two hollows, allowing them to approach the statue once more, though when they arrived Edric pulled out the Fragrant Branch of Yore and held it before the statue... which caused the unfortunate lady to unfreeze, turning her back to what she had looked like before she had been frozen, and forced her backwards.

Edric, thinking fast, caught her before she could hit the other wall behind where the lever was resting, though at the same time Rarity looked around to be sure that nothing dangerous reared its ugly head while they were dealing with the now unfrozen lady.

"Th-th…Thank…thank you…" the lady said, though she had to cough for a few moments, something that Rarity had been expecting due to the fact that she had been petrified for some amount of time, "I've been… petrified… hard to… speak… Oww… Give me…a moment, please!"

"Take your time," Edric replied, though at the same time he had Rarity made sure that there weren't any other creatures waiting around the area, because they only had one branch and they had used it up, so if something happened to them or the lady they would be stuck until they found another Fragrant Branch of Yore.

"I'm fine, I think. Hrgg!" the lady stated, to which she coughed for a few more seconds, indicating that she was still damaged from her ordeal, though at least she was alright, "No no no, I'm fine! Really, I am! Um, my name is Rosabeth.
Thank you so much for rescuing me."

"My name is Rarity, and this is my companion Edric," Rarity spoke up, though while the lady was surprised by her appearance, much like everyone they had encountered so far, she said nothing about her being part pony, "Its a pleasure to meet you Rosabeth. Is there anything you can tell us about yourself?"

"Well, I'm quite a hand at pyromancy." Rosabeth replied, though at the same time she rubbed the back of her head before she pulled a stone of some kind out of one of her pockets, to which she handed it over to Rarity, "So, perhaps… You could consider this my thanks? I was also attacked, and turned to stone… I think… I owe you two my life! If the two of you had not come…"

"Your clothing is ripped and tattered," Rarity said, to which she let out a sigh as she grabbed onto Rosabeth's arm, before she started pulling her in the direction of Majula, "Edric, we are returning to Majula and finding some materials to make her a better dress or robe, something that's better than the rags that she's wearing. Then, once she's properly equipped, we'll return and continue our quest."

Edric had absolutely no idea what was going on with Rarity anymore, what with the Dark Magic and the sudden desire to make a dress for someone they had just encountered, but he sighed and followed after his companion... while at the same time hoping that this didn't take too much time out of their day so they could continue their quest to find the second of the four Great Souls.

Shaded Woods

The moment Rarity, Edric, and Rosabeth returned to Majula, surprising some of the other people they knew by the fact that someone new was following them, Rarity led the way to Shalquoir's shop and found the cat sitting on the table, as per the usual. Rarity asked the cat if there were any dress making supplies in Majula, as she was likely the only one that knew that piece of information, and was surprised to hear that Shalquoir actually had a crate of supplies that had been dropped off by the previous Undead that came before her and Edric. She then quickly explained why she was asking and beckoned to Rosabeth, who waved at the cat, before asking if she could use the materials to craft the unfortunate lady a new dress and replace the rags that she was wearing at the moment. She was further surprised when Shalquoir said that she was more than welcome to use whatever materials were inside the crate, to which Rarity walked over to it and opened the lid, where she studied the materials in front of her.

The good news was that she had more than material to craft something for a human, though the downside to that was that she noticed that all the material was dull brown colored, which Rosabeth told her that she was okay with wearing once she made something from them.

From that point onward Rarity started the dressmaking process, though since she lacked access to the small machines she used back in her own boutique, as well as the mannequins that she had scattered around the shop, that meant she had to be more careful with how she went about creating Rosabeth's new dress. That process involved asking Rosabeth to aid her more than she usually had her clients help her, as she generally just took their measurements really quick and told them when to expect their dress, to which the lady agreed. Since Rarity was unfamiliar with the human body, as well as her own hybrid body, she took her time in making sure all of the measurements were accurate and the pieces of the dress connected to the right areas... which meant what would normally be a quick job took a few hours more than what she would spend on such a job.

By the time that she was finished with the dress, or as finished as the materials that Shalquoir had to give her could offer, Rarity was pleased to find that she had managed to create what appeared to be a cross between her own sorceress dress and the ruined dress that Rosabeth had been wearing, though now she wasn't wearing any rags and was quite happy with what Rarity was able to create. Rarity would have been happy having all of the tools from her boutique at her disposal, but she decided that this was the best she could create given the circumstances... to which she walked over to Edric and nodded her head. Since Rosabeth was staying in Majula, something that she had mentioned while they were working on her dress, the two of them could easily return to the ruins she had been frozen in and continue their search for the next Great Soul.

They quickly made their way back to the ruins that they had been near earlier, finding that the man that had been sitting outside the structure had disappeared, before they walked inside and approached the lever that Rosabeth had been turned into a statue in front of. When Edric pulled the lever four of the hollows they had fought earlier, each carrying their own log in one hand, dropped down from the upper area and attacked them, to which Rarity blasted one back with an Emit Force. Edric pulled himself away from the level and attacked the closest enemy, though as that one went down he and Rarity focused their attention on the other two enemies before they were sure that the area was clear... until some sort of frog like creature, with really big eyes, attacked them.

As Rarity backed away from the creature she could see that it breathed some sort of breath that she didn't like, which made her wonder if this was the type of monster that had frozen Rosabeth all those years ago, though Edric continued his attack until the creature was dead... where Rarity collected a stone of some kind before they walked through the now opened door and continued on their adventure.

On the other side of the door rested a pair of doors, one on the left and right sides of a staircase, though on a whim Rarity checked the door on the left and found a bonfire resting in the room she had discovered, which she activated so they could come back here at some point in the future. The door on the right, however, led to a small room that held a chest that contained some sort of flask shard, something that Rarity deemed to be important as she stuffed it inside her pack before she returned to Edric's side. They walked up to the upper area that the stairs took them to and walked through the door that was in front of them, where they left the structure behind and walked out onto the trail that was in front of them.

They carefully followed the path, as they both knew that this was the perfect place for their enemies to ambush them and do some real damage before they had a chance to fight back, though Rarity was pleased to find that their thoughts were correct, as another pair of the infected hollows charged at them. Neither of them did much to either of them, since Edric was able to bypass their defenses and weaken them from behind while Rarity finished them off by using the Emit Force spell once more, though once their foes were dead they collected the faded soul that one of them was carrying and moved along the path. Not a few minutes later they came to an area where more of the infected hollows were waiting, though while Edric charged forward to deal with the two in front of them Rarity focused her spells on the duo that were throwing rocks down at her friend, though once her targets were taken care of she turned her attention to the other hollows that her companion was fighting.

As Edric dealt with the rest of their current batch of enemies, however, Rarity walked up to where the rock throwing hollows had been standing and found a Pharros Lockstone resting on the ground, to which she smiled as she pocketed the item, as she was sure that they would need one of them in the near future.

Once the hollows were finished off the duo walked up the nearly slope and found three more enemies waiting for them, so while Edric dealt with the club wielding hollows Rarity focused her energy on the rock thrower that was standing near some sort of statue. The moment the three enemies had been taken care of, and they were sure that there weren't any other in the area around them, they walked into the tunnel next to where the statue was standing and dealt with another hollow that wanted them dead... though a few seconds later, when they walked into the area ahead of them, they spotted another bonfire and activated it not a few moments later.

Rarity was honestly surprised that there were two bonfires so close to each other, making her wonder if whoever had put them around this world had messed up or if there was a particular reason behind that decision, but because neither of them were tired yet they moved on once more. At the top of the stairs they noticed three paths that they could choose from, though on a whim they picked the one in front of them and walked forward, where they followed the path that they had picked and found a small patch of water that had a corpse resting near a small tree. As they walked on the ramp that they had discovered Rarity spotted something that was glittering on one of the corpse's hands, though which she, at Edric's beckoning, engaged her magic and lifted the ring from the finger, to which she noticed a red gemstone on it.

Of course she resolved to ask Shalquoir what the ring was and what it did, when they returned to Majula at some point in the future, but she simply pushed what they had done out of her mind and followed after Edric... to which they followed the rest of the path until they came to some sort of black door, one that she immediately knew was important.

"Okay, how do we get passed this obstacle?" Edric asked, because he was sure that there was something that they needed to acquire or push in order to get to the other side of the door, but he had no idea what that something was.

"I think we need to acquire the other three Great Souls before we get through this door," Rarity said, to which she beckoned for Edric to follow her, though that involved them retracing their steps back towards the new bonfire and picking the pathway on the right.

Since there was some fog in front of them, and they still had their torch, Edric put his shield away and pulled the torch out, to which the two of them walked out of the area that the bonfire was in and headed into the fog. While they walked through the fog, and made sure that they stayed near each other, Rarity could tell that there was some sort of shadowy creature following them, waiting for them to make a mistake so it could pounce on them. She didn't know if this was a skill she developed based on the adventure she was on, or something she had picked up from her access to Dark Magic, though she focused on the task at had and ignored what she was thinking about. A few more moments passed before she and Edric noticed a wooden face, horrified beyond belief, staring at them from one of the nearby trees, though Rarity took a chance and sent a wave of magic at the tree... to which the face moaned and she could hear the sound of something moving towards the tree.

From what she was able to tell the shadowy creatures, who were hidden by the fog itself, were drawn to the sound that the face made and determined that there had to be more of them, thus allowing them to bypass the danger that was in this area... though they had to search the entire fog, and activate several more faces, before they found the pathway that would take them away from the area they had been walking through. They carefully walked up the stairs and followed the ruined path up to what appeared to be another set of ruins, one that appeared to be lifted above where the fog area had been and allowed Edric to put the torch away. Rarity, however, could tell that this area might be home to one of the powerful creatures that they were supposed to be hunting for and wondered if they could find the Iron Keep by progressing through this area.

From there they entered the ruins and found a bonfire behind a fallen ramp, to which they activated the flames and sat near it, because they had been traveling nonstop since they left Majula and it was high time for a small break before they searched the new area they had discovered. Edric claimed that, despite the fact that they were Undead, that it would be best if they rested every now and then, allowing Rarity to regain her ability to use the maximum amount of spells she possibly could at any given time before they faced whatever terrors rested in the ruins around them. Rarity, on the other hand, was eager to get the adventure over with, though she knew that resting every now and then would allow them to increase their chances of surviving this area.

While they sat there Rarity wondered what sort of creature was silently waiting for them, like the Pursuer and the Sentinels that they had fought earlier, though at the same time she dreaded the encounter, as she was sure that someone was going to die in the process... and it was possible that it was going to be her or Edric that faced that fate.

Dangerous Enemies

After resting at the bonfire for a few minutes, so they could regain their energy from their trek through the fog area and the forest area that had been in front of it, Rarity and Edric pulled themselves onto their feet and left the area that the bonfire was located in. Instead of heading forward automatically, as one would expect them to do, they walked up the fallen stone ramp that covered the bonfire and walked up to the level above them, where they found a Lifegem resting near the edge. Once the gem was in their possession the two of them returned to the path that they had been facing and continued forward, though at a certain point they had to move quickly to avoid something that was trying to poison them, which Rarity believed happened to be some sort of large pot that rested on a level above them.

They ignored the pot and moved up into the area they had been heading towards, one that was larger than what they had been in earlier, though at the same time Rarity spotted a fair amount of enemies scattered everywhere in front of them, indicating that this was going to be a hard place to fight through.

The first opponent that they encountered was another one of the strange frog like creatures, though this one was much larger than the previous one they had fought, to which Rarity decided to use a Lightning Spear this time around and put the creature down before it could harm them. Unfortunately her attack didn't seem to do much to the creature, as it shuddered for a few seconds before turning on where they happened to be standing, to which she had to gulp as her target faced her while Edric prepared himself. At the same time, however, they found two warriors, which appeared to be lions that were granted an anthro form like Rarity was using, advancing towards where they were standing with an axe in their right hands and a decent looking shield in their left hands.

When one of the lion warriors swung its weapon at Edric, who dodged out of the way, and second one disappeared as Rarity focused on the frog like creature, though that was before the second warrior rapidly returned with more of its kind and started walking towards the duo. Rarity took a moment to count the number of enemies, finding at least six more enemies following the second warrior, though at the same time Rarity was beginning to think that this was the wrong place for them to come. Her opponent landed near her and knocked her backwards, though as she regained herself she watched as Edric was set upon by the group of lion warriors and was hacked apart before her very eyes... though that was followed by the eight of them turning their attention to her.

As much as Rarity didn't want to give into the Dark Magic that had awoken inside her, as she knew what could potentially happen to her at some point in time, but considering how fast these enemies had taken out Edric she knew that now wasn't the time for her to have second thoughts. She got onto her feet and jumped backwards, before any of the warriors could crush her as well, before she sighed and opened herself to the Dark Magic that was inside her, to which she briefly felt the dark mist return for a few seconds as she prepared herself for what was coming next. Something else she could feel was her own shadow moving behind her, spreading itself out while she readied herself, while she recalled the crystal spire that she had created to kill the Pursuer.

When the first warrior came at her Rarity swung her left hand forward and a crystal spire struck her target in its chest, lifting it into the air before it went limp and died, which caused the other warriors to charge at her with a look of anger in all of their eyes. Rarity pulled her sword out and shattered the spire she had summoned, to which she swung her arm and sent the fragments flying through the air, where they collided with the remaining seven warriors and sent them into the ground. The warriors got back up and charged at her once more, though as they approached Rarity stood still and let their attacks come at her, where she seemed to fade into a shadowy form for a few seconds, allowing her to drive her sword into the chest of her chosen opponent before backing away.

The six remaining warriors, clearly annoyed by what was happening, continued their charge and followed after her, to which Rarity used the shadows around them to maneuver around them and deliver several strikes against whichever target she decided to attack. The frog creature joined the battle a few moments later, though instead of allowing it to do anything, however, Rarity snapped her fingers and the creature was impaled by several crystal spikes, allowing her attention to remain on the enemies that were in front of her. A few more minutes passed, where she shattered the spikes that killed the frog creature and used the fragments to wound all of her remaining enemies, which allowed her to take them down without resorting to using more crystals.

When all of the lion warriors were defeated, and the frog creature was dead, Rarity sighed as she retraced her steps towards the bonfire and watched as Edric reappeared, to which she escorted him back to his souls, claimed them while the area was clear, before they headed back towards the bonfire.

"Well, that was a bust," Edric said, to which he rubbed his arm for a moment, because he wasn't expecting the enemies in this area to be this powerful, though at the same time Rarity nodded her agreement, "and I have the feeling that the rest of the enemies in this area will be the death of us more times than I'm willing to count... which means we picked the wrong path."

"We still did the right thing in saving Rosabeth," Rarity replied, knowing that the lady they had saved would be thankful for the next couple of days, though at the same time she recalled something else, "Edric, do you remember the path we took to reach Heide's Tower of Flame?"

"Yeah, I remember it," Edric said, as it was hard to forget that small passage considering that it had eventually led them to the area where the Lost Sinner had been resting, "Why do you ask?"

"I recall seeing a second passage in that area, one that we couldn't access at the time," Rarity answered, to which she smiled when she saw a look of interest appear on her companion's face, something that told her what her companion was thinking about, "I'm curious as to whether that passage is available now and, if it is, whether the area it leads to might be somewhat easier on us than what we just went up against with those lion warriors."

Edric paused for a moment, as he was curious as to whether Rarity was onto something or if it was wishful thinking on their part, but at the same time he knew that his companion had been right about a few things and decided that if she had seen another path, then she had likely seen another path. Instead of speaking he nodded his head and the two of them knelt beside the bonfire for a few seconds, to which they moved themselves back to Majula, surprising the Emerald Herald in the process. From there they got onto their feet and headed towards Shalquoir's shop, though instead of entering the building they turned towards the passage that would take them to Heide's Tower of Flame... where they stopped when they noticed Licia standing in the middle of the chamber.

"Ah, I remember you two," Licia commented, to which she offered them a smile as they stopped in front of her, though at the same time she glanced at the contraption that she was standing near, "This room is not what it seems. There are two, not one, pathways leading out of this area... and this lovely thing reveals the other pathway. However, this only runs on miracles... shall I perform one for the two of you? It will only cost two thousand souls."

Rarity, having more souls than Edric did at the moment, held out her hand and transferred the required amount of souls to Licia, because she was sure that once they killed a few more of the enemies that were in the new area she would be able to get them back with little effort. Once the transfer was complete Licia nodded and closed her eyes as she swiped her hand across the contraption, which was when she got into a prayer position on the floor as the pathway to their right was closed off by an iron gate of sorts. That was followed by the wall in front of them, opposite the direction they had entered the area through, started to move towards the entrance that would take them to Heide's Tower... until that entrance was blocked off and the other entrance, the one Rarity remembered, was wide open for them to walk through.

Once the wall stopped moving, and the gate had opened so they could pass through the pathway, Licia got onto her feet and opened her eyes, to which she offered them another smile as she turned her attention to the doorway they had walked through earlier... though at the same time Rarity and Edric approached the new pathway and walked into the unknown once more. As they walked forward the duo stopped by the corpse that was in front of them and picked up the strange water container that they discovered, where they determined to take it to Shalquoir when they next returned to Majula. They then continued along the path and were mindful of their surroundings, especially when they reached a point with a large circular hole to their right, before they finally reached the exit... where they found someone sitting in a chair, while at the same time staring at the wall that was opposite of where they were walking.

Out of curiosity Rarity approached the chair and found that the person was male, though at the same time he was wearing something over his head that prevented her from identifying his face, but while she stared at the man he turned and looked at her in turn.

"The Dark stirs…" the man commented, though his voice seemed to echo a tiny bit, but Rarity could tell that he was studying her for a few seconds, no doubt searching for something or trying to understand what he was seeing, "I see… The Dark has sparked within you… My name is Felkin. I will trade with you, and you alone. What do you need?"

Rarity quickly found that Felkin sold some sort of magic, no doubt the hexes that she had learned about when she first discovered that she was a sorceress, and that all of the spells the man sold involved what he referred to as the Dark, which only made her think of the Dark Magic she had awoken. Since she would actually use hexes with her staff, the catalyst for all of her spells so far, she didn't mind picking up something that might help her and Edric against specific enemies, as she was sure that the larger frog creature she had fought earlier was more resistant to lightning than its smaller counterpart. As such she traded some souls for the Dark Orb spell, which apparently fired a dark ball of energy at whoever her target was and either stun her opponent or break their guard if they happened to be guarding, which sounded useful considering that some of their opponents did that while they were fighting.

At the moment that appeared to be the only spell she wanted to pick up at the moment, as she was running low on souls thanks to the two thousand she had given to Licia earlier, though before she could depart from where Felkin was sitting he raised a hand and stopped her... to which he summoned a set of clothing, which happened to be some robes that matched what he was wearing with the leggings and shoes added into the mix, and floated them over to Rarity.

"A gift... for your progress..." Felkin said, though that was followed by him reaching into another dark storage area, a spell that he didn't sell, and pulled out a staff, one that appeared to be made out of some sort of metal and had several rings that rotated around the tip of the weapon, "and a staff as well."

"Felkin... thank you," Rarity said, as she honestly had no idea if this was an act of generosity or if this was simply because she met some of the man's requirements, but at the same time she knew that the staff he had given her would be put to great use in the near future.

"Come again…as you like…" Felkin commented, to which his hands returned to where they had been when she and Edric had stopped beside him, though at the same time Rarity could have sworn that she noticed a faint smile on the man's face, but she couldn't be sure of that fact, "The Dark… is always within you…"

Rarity, despite knowing that Felkin was talking about this world's Dark Magic and not her own, didn't like the reminder about the Dark Magic that was inside her body, as she reminded herself about it all the time... and yet she knew that she was going to have to use it much more often to avoid falling at the hands of their enemies. She only hoped that there weren't anymore enemies like the Pursuer, otherwise she was sure that something was going to explode over the course of that fight.

Huntsman's Copse

The first thing that Rarity and Edric did, after meeting Felkin and receiving a gift from him, was depart from the cave they had been traveling through and walked outside, where they found a bonfire waiting for them, which represented the fact that they had found a new area to explore. Edric stared out at the area around them, or more like the area that they could see from where they were standing, while at the same time giving Rarity the opportunity to slip into her new robes while his back was turned. She stared at the headpiece that she had been given for a few seconds, after slipping the robes, shoes, and gloves on, though she could already tell that she would need to modify the item before she could actually use it without piercing it with her horn.

Once she was wearing the majority of the new armor, however, she spun the new staff around and studied the weight of it, as it was slightly different than the one she had been carrying so far, before she stashed her original staff in her bag... before she tapped it against the floor and drew Edric's attention to her.

"You look more dangerous now," Edric commented, studying Rarity's new appearance for a few seconds, noting that the gear that Felkin gave her seemed to decently blend with the new coloration of her eyes and the strange mist that refused to leave her eyes alone, "If I wasn't traveling with you, and came across you on a battlefield, I would run in the opposite direction and live to fight another day."

"I don't really feel that much more dangerous," Rarity admitted, though at the same time she hoped that Edric's feeling towards her, the slight amount of fear he had for her new form, was felt by their enemies, before she glanced at the path on their right, "So, shall we get started and see what sort of powerful creatures call this place home?"

They walked up the hill that the path was taking them towards and approached the next cave entrance that was in front of them, where Edric, taking a chance, raised his sword into the air for a few seconds before bringing it down on the hollow that was faking being dead to the left of them. The hollow barely had any time to react as Edric removed it from their path, as he and Rarity were sure that he would get up the moment they entered the cave and block their escape, though now they were free to move on again. As they walked into the cave they were set upon by another hollow, one that Rarity blasted back with an Emit Force spell, though as the two of them walked along the stone path they ignored the plant in the air that was spewing poison into the air... though as they reached the other side of the cave the two of them removed the next hollow that was in their way before emerging once more.

To their immediate left, and heading nowhere, were a set of tombstones that looked like they were about to break, though on their right, and directly behind them as well, rested some ruins that they would need to fight their way through before they got anywhere fast.

Together Edric and Rarity followed the path that was in front of them, which brought them to a stone set of stairs that led them to the entrance of the ruined building that they had been staring at for a few seconds, though when they entered the building they were set upon by another hollow. As Edric dealt with the warrior hollow that was in front of them, and blocked the attack that was coming their way, Rarity dealt with the two archer hollows that were on the opposite side of the room they were in. Instead of using any of her old spells, or the ones associated with Dark Magic, she channeled the Dark Orb she had purchased and sent two flying through the air, immediately knocking one into the wall and slaying it in seconds as the second one staggered backwards. A few seconds later Rarity heard the sound of a door falling apart and Edric fighting it, indicating that it was another warrior hollow, though at the same time she used a simply Soul Arrow to take out her target.

Once the immediate enemies had been taken care of the two of them walked down into the area below them and explored it a little bit more, where they engaged the six warrior hollows that were hiding down there, leading to Edric blocking attacks and cutting his foes down while Rarity used her new staff to parry attacks and blow her foes to bits with her magical spells. The instant their enemies were taken care of the two of the climbed up some stairs and found a ladder leading them up to the roof for this part of the building, where they found two more enemies waiting for them the moment they had both climbed the ladder... though they were easy to take care of, considering that they could each take one and take them down with their own methods.

It took a few seconds for them to clear the area, though once the area was clear Rarity spotted some moss and a Lifegem, which she claimed before she followed back down to the area that they had just cleared out... before they walked over to the door that the hollow had broken.

From there Rarity and Edric walked out of the building and found a path on their right that would allow them to progress onward, to which they climbed down the ladder that they discovered and prepared themselves for whatever foes were waiting in the forest area ahead of them. Before they went too far, however, they circled around the corner and spotted a tree that Edric could easily fell by pushing it with his foot, so while he did that Rarity spotted a new bonfire and activated it as he opened a way for them to go backwards without passing through the ruined building again. They then paused for a few seconds, allowing themselves a moment to rest, before they left the area that the bonfire was in and walked towards the forest that was near the ruins.

As they walked forward they prepared themselves, as three more warrior hollows engaged them, though at the same time Rarity noticed that these enemies didn't actually wear armor and that made it much easier for her and Edric to take them out. From there they approached the stone bridge that was in front of them, but before they did that Rarity moved to the left and appeared the edge of the cliff area they were apparently walking on, where she found a soul and some sort of orange item that she knew nothing about. With those items in hand she returned to Edric and they advanced over the bridge, though at the same time they noticed another hollow, one carrying two weapons, approaching them... while Rarity also noticed some poison creatures lingering in the tops of the trees.

Rarity, seeing the enemies that could impede their progress, took a step back and focused her energies into some spells that would allow them to take care of the poison creatures, though at the same time Edric attacked the larger enemy that was coming their way. A few moments later Rarity sent her magic flying through the air and struck all of the poison creatures that there around them, allowing them to fall to the ground and fade away like all of the other enemies that they had encountered so far. That was followed by Edric taking out the hollow that was in front of them, while at the same time attracting the attention of the other large hollows that were in the area around them, which caused Rarity to spot the hollows and she blasted one of them backwards with a Lightning Spear.

Once the remaining large holows had been taken care of, as there were only two more at the moment, Rarity and Edric turned to the right of the bridge they walked across and continued up the path that they had chosen, where they came to a circular structure of some kind... one that didn't have a clear access point, so they decided to move onward.

As they walked up the next part of the hill they had to deal with the two warrior hollows that were in their way, though a few seconds later Rarity noticed a side entrance to the dome shaped building... which happened to have a lever that they immediately pulled so they could progress onward. When they walked out of the building, however, they spotted a decent sized bridge lowering into place in front of them, to which the two of them waited for a few seconds before the bridge came to a complete stop. As they walked across the bridge Rarity noticed a pyre, that acted like a light source for this area, that was made out of bodies that apparently fueled the fire and brought a terrible smell to the area, though they had to pass by the bonfire that rested in this area, as the door was locked.

Edric inquired as to why Rarity didn't use her Dark Magic to pierce the lock and get the door open, though she merely said that she shouldn't be using this type of magic for something that they could easily remedy once they figured out where the key to the door was located. In reality she was worried about the constant use would corrupt her in some manner and didn't want to use the Dark Magic unless it was really necessary, and she was sure that something like that was coming their way in the near future.

They decided to cross over the bridge that was in front of them and Edric cut down the warrior hollow that was approaching them, though at the same time Rarity summoned a Dark Orb and blasted another one off the cliff that it was walking on. Since the way in front of them was large enough for one person to comfortably walk forward they quickly agreed that Edric should take point, allowing Rarity to walk behind him and keep her eyes peeled for any additional enemies that might be in front of them or sneak up from behind them. They followed the path in front of them and fought off the hollows that were in their way, where Edric dealt with the warrior hollows that were directly in front of him while Rarity focused on blasting the archer hollows that tried to hurt Edric.

That was another interesting fact about their enemies that Rarity had noticed, all of their foes preferred to take out Edric first, as he was the warrior and could easily stand his ground against anything they threw at him, provided his opponent wasn't someone like the Pursuer. They eventually came to a split in the path and decided to head up the path on their left, where they quickly came to an area that had three more warrior hollows that happened to be guarding a dagger of some kind. Rarity swung her staff and struck one of the hollows in the back of the head, causing it to stagger for a moment, before pressing an Emit Force against its chest and blasted it into the air, allowing it to fall into the abyss behind it... while at the same time Edric dealt with the remaining two warrior hollows.

Once that was done, and they collected the clearly poisoned dagger, the two of them returned to the split in the path and took the path that they hadn't chosen the first time, where Edric dealt with the warrior hollow in front of them while Rarity blasted the archer hollow that was firing at them. They then passed by another circular building that had two hollows waiting inside it, which meant that they had to take some time to deal with them, though once their enemies were dead Rarity picked up a key that she suspected might go to the locked door they passed by a few minutes ago. Instead of going back, and unlocking the other bonfire, the two of them pressed onward and took out the next hollow that was blocking their way... where something interesting happened; they were invaded by a red specter, who happened to be a lady that wielded a scythe of some kind.

Edric immediately went on the defense and blocked the incoming attack, where he noted some strength behind the attack, though at the same time Rarity used her magic and attacked the invader, blasting her backward and revealing an opening that Edric could exploit... though it took them a few more instances like that to take the invader out and banish her back to whatever realm or world she had come from.

Once the invader had been dealt with Rarity and Edric approached the ruins in front of them and chose the path on their right, which allowed them to pass by the waterfall and see what else awaited them... which included a fog door that indicated that they had found the home of a powerful creature. The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, as they were curious if they even had the power to take on whatever was in front of them, but with the number of spells that Rarity had access to, and the fact that they hadn't drank any of their flasks yet, Edric quickly determined that they could easily deal with the creature that called this place home. When they walked through the fog door, however, they came upon three large skeletons, dressed up as lords of some kind, that happened to be sitting upon three thrones that were made of bone... and they descended to the ground the moment they noticed that they had company.

Edric rapidly decided to claim the attention of the two of the left, meaning that Rarity had to deal with the one on the right, but something she found to be interesting was the fact that a few Soul Arrows to the chest caused the Skeleton Lord to fall to pieces... which caused some of the skeletons in the piles around them to awaken and come after her. It didn't take her long to understand that taking out one of the Lords meant that a group of at least ten skeletons would spawn in order to deal with the two of them. Something else she noticed was that the enemies she had summoned were basically the same type of enemies that she and Edric had fought so far, warriors and archers, which meant that they were rather easy for her to take down with some Soul Arrows.

The moment the coast was clear she called for Edric to take out the second Skeleton Lord, as he had been holding them off while she killed the lesser skeletons, though not a few seconds later Rarity watched as more skeletons rose from the piles and attacked her. A new type of skeleton appeared as the second Skeleton Lord died, skeletons that rode in wooden wheels, but at the same time all Rarity had to do was jump out of the way and blast her chosen target to pieces, so she played the waiting game and took them out one at a time until it was only her, Edric, and the final Skeleton Lord. Rarity noted that the remaining Skeleton Lord happened to be the one that was wielding the scythe, as the one she had targeted had been carrying a staff and the other one had been carrying a spear... though instead of focusing on Edric the final Skeleton Lord chose to come after her.

Together she and Edric brought down the final Skeleton Lord and his minions, though once all of them were dead, and nothing else happened, the two of them let out a sigh as they left the area and sat on the steps as they looked at the waterfall that was in front of them. Sure, this had been an easy creature for them to take out, but they were sure that a more powerful one was lurking somewhere else in this area... they only had to find it and take it out, after they took a slight break and regained their energy anyway.

The Chariot

Instead of heading into the passage that they unlocked after defeating the Skeleton Lords, and likely finding a new area to explore after the area that they were in, Rarity and Edric agreed to head back to the locked off bonfire, now that they had the key to open the door, and retrace their steps. The reasoning behind this was because they knew that there was a path that they had chosen to avoid earlier, one that was likely to take them right to the second powerful creature that called this area home, as Rarity was positive that there was another one for them to fight. Since they had already killed all of the hollows that rested between where the Skeleton Lords called their home and where the bonfire they wanted to awaken was located, they were allowed to relax their nerves for a few minutes, though that didn't stop Rarity from making sure that nothing tried to sneak up on them while they walked.

It took them a few minutes to reach the cell like area that the bonfire had been locked inside, though after Rarity used the key to open the door she noticed that they weren't the only people visiting the bonfire, as there was a warrior with some decent armor on, and covering his face in the process, sitting on the ground across from where the door was located... and he only looked up when he heard the sound of the door opening.

"Who are you two?" the warrior asked almost immediately, though while he made no move to arm himself yet, as that was what Rarity was expecting him to do, the two of them knew that they had to be careful before they annoyed the man more than he already was.

"My name is Rarity, and this is my companion Edric," Rarity replied, waving a hand towards herself and then towards Edric, allowing the man to know which of them was such, just in case he was confused as to who was who.

"Sorry, I thought you were that bastard for a moment." the warrior commented, to which he nodded his head for a moment, indicating that he now knew who they were, before he noticed that the door we definitely open, "You've set me free, and now I can find him. The cheeky prick... he won't know what hit him."

"Cheeky prick..." Edric mumbled, to which he and Rarity shared a glance with each other, as they had a faint idea of who the man was referring to, as when they had encountered him they both believed that there was something wrong or off about the man, "Who might you be?"

"I am Creighton, of Mirrah. I travel from land to land to hone my blade." the warrior said, to which he tapped his weapon for a moment, indicating that he wasn't afraid to use it if he needed to use it, "I've heard this land was full of danger. I thought it would suit me perfectly. I joined forces with a man on the way, but he was no more than a back-stabbing knave. He took the first chance he had to try and off me. I decided to set a trap for him here, but then I got trapped myself. I can't believe that I was so dense. Thank the stars that you came along."

"It was our pleasure to help you out," Rarity stated, though at the same time she knew that she and Edric didn't mean to save him, as they had no idea that he was even here to begin with, but at least Creighton would be able to leave this area whenever he wanted to now, "You mentioned that you allied yourself with someone sometime ago, but you never mentioned the name of this person."

"You be careful of him. Pate, I think he said." Creighton stated, though as he spoke the name both Rarity and Edric shared a quick glance with each other, as the person that betrayed him was the same one they had been thinking about since they started talking, "He wears this rather unusual ring, one that you'll know when you see it. I've seen his type before, the type that kills entirely for the pleasure of it. I'm sure I won't be his last victim. The man's better off dead, I tell you. He's a slick talker, so don't let him fool you. And don't you believe a word he says. I'll find the common footpad, and put an end to his roguery."

With that said, and his dislike for Pate renewed thanks to talking about him, Creighton got onto his feet, lifted his weapon from where he had placed it, and moved towards the doorway, where Edric moved out of the way and let him head into the unknown. The two of them watched the warrior for a few moments, watching him disappear in the distance, where they wished him well in his quest to track down Pate and kill him for what had happened earlier, before they turned their attention back to the bonfire. They chose to rest by the bonfire for a few seconds, to get their strength and energy back, before they teleported back to the second bonfire they had discovered in this particular area, the one that rested near the fallen tree that Edric had kicked down.

Of course resting at the bonfire meant that all of the enemies they had killed so far would have come back to life, and would be waiting for the perfect chance to kill the two of them, but Rarity and Edric were more than ready for whatever was waiting for them.

They crossed over the stone bridge that was near where the bonfire they selected was located and Rarity loosed a few Emit Force spells at the poison creatures that lingered in the trees, while at the same time Edric dealt with the warrior enemies that were charging at them. From there the two of them turned to the right and walked up the hill once more, though instead of heading even higher, and passing by the sealed off dome shaped building, they turned towards the second stone bridge and walked across it. The moment they crossed over to the other side of the bridge Edric dealt with the two hollows that were wandering around the area, though at the same time a larger hollow, wearing the clothing that Rarity assumed marked him as an executioner of some kind, dropped down into the area they were in... to which he started swinging his large two handed axe at them.

Fortunately the executioner seemed more interested in Rarity than Edric, to which Rarity dodged the attacks that were coming her way and loosed two minor Soul Arrows into her opponent's chest, opening his back up to Edric's rapid slashes, which caused him to fall to the ground moments later.

Once their opponent was dealt with they walked up the path near them, but this time around the two of them were more careful and stayed on their guard, because the executioner was more dangerous than the other minor enemies they had encountered so far and knew that one of them could die if they weren't careful. As they walked up the hill they both noticed that there was a path on their left, to which they agreed to move up the new path they had discovered, as they were both sure that this was the way to whatever powerful creature they had ignored earlier. A few moments later the two of them came to a flat area that would clearly bring them to a wooden bridge, which had to take them towards the powerful creature that lived in this area... and the only thing standing in their way were the four executioners that were protecting this area.

Before they moved forward, and annoyed all of the executioners, Rarity stopped Edric in his tracks as she studied how their enemies were positioned, where she determined something that would make this entire area much easier on the two of them.

"Edric, be a dear and draw the first executioner towards us," Rarity said, beckoning to the axe wielding executioner that was the closest enemy of the four, to which Edric seemed to notice what she was seeing.

Edric nodded and took a few small steps forward, though when the executioner noticed him, and started walking towards him, he immediately retreated and pulled their foe away from his friends, while at the same time Rarity prepared herself for what was going to happen. When the executioner got close to them Rarity raised her hand and sent a Lightning Spear flying through the air, piercing the hollow's chest and causing him to stagger for a few seconds, which allowed Edric to cut him down from behind. As the first executioner fell the second one, who appeared to be carrying a whip instead of an axe, approached the duo, though as that happened Rarity noticed that the other two executioners had noticed their friend's death and were coming towards them.

One thing that Rarity had to be careful of was the fact that the executioner's whip actually cut small lines into the ground around him, to which she and Edric timed their attacks so they could hit him when he was in the middle of two attacks, allowing for the maximum amount of damage before they had to back away. It took them a few more seconds to defeat the whip wielding executioner, though as he fell the other two joined the battle and attacked them, but this time around Rarity and Edric separated from each other and forced the two executioners to separate as well. They then purposely lined the two executioners up, without them knowing anyway, before Rarity threw a Lightning Spear through the first one and pierced the second one as well... to which she and Edric attacked the staggered executioners with their weapons and finished them off.

"You know, I would have hated to fight these guys without you," Edric commented, as he was beginning to see that, despite the fact that Rarity didn't have a lot of experience in being an adventurer of sorts, she had the ability to make quick plans that actually benefited them and their quest.

"I would have to agree with you on that," Rarity said, though at the same time she flexed her fingers for a few seconds, where the Dark Magic twisted around her fingers before she dispelled the magic entirely, "I mean, I could have easily killed them with the foul Dark Magic that I have awoken, but if I had fought them without that sort of magic they would have flanked me and put an end to my life... before I woke up at the bonfire again."

Edric nodded and together the two of them progressed onward, crossing over the area that the four executioners had been guarding, to which they approached the long wooden bridge and carefully walked across it, because there were parts of the bridge that were falling apart and they had to walk across some planks to continue onward. When they reached the other side of the bridge, however, they spotted a red specter of a warrior, carrying a large sword and a shield, blocking their path. Directly behind the specter rested another fog door, indicating that they had found the home of the other powerful creature that they had been searching for... and had discovered that this one was also being guarded by another guardian that wanted them dead.

The two of them found that, while the size of the warrior's blade slowed him down a little bit, he could still deliver some decent attacks that left gashes in the ground around them, but they were pleased to find that he couldn't stand against a few of Rarity's spells... though once he was down for the count, however, they paused for a few seconds before passing through the fog door. As they walked into the area they had discovered, and looked around for some enemies that would be the creature they had been searching for, Rarity discovered a large hole on their right, which prevented them from heading in that direction. That was rapidly followed by the sound of a large gate of some kind opening and the sound of some hooves charging against the floor that they were standing on, though that was when Rarity noticed some indents on the walls and pulled Edric into one of them.

A few seconds later they found that their opponent was a skeleton warlord of some kind that was riding on a chariot, though that chariot was being pulled by a two headed horse that had an aura of death surrounding it... and that the spikes on the chariot's wheels cut apart the unfortunate skeletons that were in the way.

As the chariot passed by them, and continued down the direction they had come from, Rarity and Edric emerged from their hiding spot and continued up the path in front of them, though when they saw the light of the chariot coming they dived back into a hiding spot to avoid being run over. As they advanced through the area they also took out the skeletons and necromancers that were in their way, as they didn't want to be wrecked by someone from behind, but their plan to take this one step at a time seemed to be working quite well. It didn't take them too long to reach the lever that apparently controlled the gate that the chariot had been resting behind, though once they reached it Edric pulled the lever and lowered the gate into position. Once that happened he and Rarity moved as far back as they deemed necessary and waited for the chariot to come towards them once more, though that was immediately followed by the chariot running right into the gate... to which the entire chariot, and its rider, were destroyed, though the horse hit the ground and quickly got back up, before staring at them with a look of anger in all of its eyes.

It was in that moment that Rarity discovered that the two headed horse had to be the powerful creature that they had come to kill, which was something that Edric seemed to understand as well, though that didn't stop them from keeping their guards up as they approached the beast. Rarity was right to think that they should keep their guard up, as when Edric drew close to the horse and cut into the creature the horse quickly turned around and reared its hind legs, to which it kicked him hard in the shield and knocked him into the wall. Rarity growled as she saw that happen, as Edric was in a great deal of pain due to the attack, but she lashed out in her anger and blasted the two headed horse with some Dark Magic, causing the beast to stagger and gave Edric the opportunity to heal before he entered the fight once more.

From that point onward Edric demanded the attention of the two headed horse, rolling out of the way when the beast charged at him and made sure to avoid the horse's hind legs when he was behind it, while at the same time Rarity decided to use her Lightning Spear to do massive damage and end the fight quickly. What she discovered, however, was that the spell she had chosen didn't do as much as she originally thought it did, to which she wondered which spell would end this fight quickly. After a few seconds she decided to use some of her other spells, instead of relying on her Lightning Spear, to which she picked the Soul Arrow spells and cast as many of them as she could while her companion kept the horse as busy as possible.

It took them a few more minutes of following the same pattern, while somehow avoiding all of the horse's attacks, before Rarity and Edric brought it down... though as they collected their hard won souls they knew that it was time to visit the Emerald Herald, after they found the next bonfire anyway.

The Poison Pools

After defeating the Executioner's Chariot, as Rarity decided to call the creature she and Edric had defeated, the two of them found a door that they could walk through and started up the path that they discovered a few seconds later, which looked like there might be an upper area above where the chariot had been riding. Despite the fact that experience told them that the area passed a powerful creature wouldn't have any enemies, as the last several areas like that happened to have no enemies, the two of them held their weapons out as they walked up the stairs they discovered. The room they found appeared to have a few statues, with no other path for them to take, and had a bonfire to the left of where the two of them happened to be standing... though near the bonfire stood a new person they hadn't met before.

Rarity stared at the man for a few seconds, finding that he was dressed in some sort of black robes, had wrappings around his fists and wrists, wasn't wearing any shoes, and had some sort of headpiece that was preventing them from seeing his face... though the bloodstains around him made her decide that they couldn't trust him.

"Ooh, welcome, welcome." the man said, turning to face them as they approached the bonfire, though at the same time Edric made sure that the fire had been ignited before the two of them turned towards him in turn, "Do either of you have a lust for blood?"

"Um... no." Rarity answered, because despite the fact that she and Edric were willing to clear out all of the hollows that were in their past, as well as the monsters that accompanied them at times, neither of them were what this man was searching for.

"Well, that's no fun…" the man declared, sounding very disappointed for a few seconds, though that was before he waved his hand at them and turned back towards the statue he had been staring at before they entered the area he had been standing in, "Go back home. This is no place for you."

Rarity and Edric glanced at each other for a few seconds, not understanding the man at all, but at the same time they decided not to bother trying to figure out what he was trying to do and knelt beside the bonfire, to which they teleported out of the area and headed back to Majula. The moment they returned to the town Edric knelt before the Emerald Herald and transferred the vast majority of his souls into points to further empower himself, while the rest of it he planned on using to strengthen his armor and weapon. While he did that Rarity moved to Shalquoir's shop and sent some time chatting with the godly cat, as she seemed to know more about the world they were in than anyone else she could talk to at the moment... and besides, Shalquoir seemed to enjoy Rarity's company more than the vast majority of the Undead that she had encountered over the years and the timelines.

From what Rarity could tell Shalquoir slipped between the cracks of the various worlds and assisted all of the Undead that were on the same quest that she and Edric were on, no doubt making a note of who had done what, who had dealt with which powerful creatures, and who progressed pretty far before failing in some manner. She suspected that if someone had gathered the four Great Souls, and had gotten to whatever was after meeting the King, than the world would have been saved at some point and both she and Edric wouldn't be doing this quest in the first place.

"You and Edric are doing quite well for yourselves," Shalquoir commented, to which Rarity glanced over at her for a few seconds, where she found that the cat was smiling at her once more, something that she had grown used to over the last couple of days, "not many of the Undead can claim that they found, and took down, one of the four Guardians that are guarding the Great Souls. Most of them fight their way through the various powerful creatures that call this land home, gathering powerful spells, weapons, and armor along the way, but then find that the Guardians are too much for them to handle and eventually go hollow after some time. Then there are the select few that have managed to beat one of the Guardians, like you have, and have climbed higher than you two... though so far I haven't see one of them best all four of the chosen Guardians."

"That's... not very comforting," Rarity said, as she would have expected that someone would have bested all four of the powerful Guardians that rested across the land, but this wasn't a good sign of things to come.

"If I was you... yeah, I'd be thinking the same thing right now," Shalquoir stated, though at the same time she stretched her body for a moment as she looked out the window, where she noticed someone coming towards the building, "Rarity, follow the path that you found in the chamber of the Skeleton Lords... it will help you find the second Guardian and the second Great Soul."

"Understood," Rarity replied, though she didn't bother to question what she was being told, because Shalquoir could see things and understood things that no one else could see or understand, before she bid the cat farewell and walked outside, where she noticed Edric walking towards her.

They didn't say anything to each other as she walked up to the Emerald Herald and empowered herself again, knowing that the additional firepower to her spells would make them do more damage to the enemies that they were going to come across. Once she had spent the majority of the souls that were at her disposal, just like Edric had, the two of them gathered around the bonfire and teleported back to the bonfire that Creighton had been trapped inside, where they drew their weapons and moved forward. From that point onward the two of them retraced their steps back towards the chamber that the Skeleton Lords had been resting in, though as they fought their way there again Rarity explained that Shalquoir told her they should do so if they wanted to be on the right track to the second Great Soul.

Edric was glad to hear that they had a plan of attack, as he had slightly forgotten about the doorway they had seen in the area that the Skeleton Lords had been in, though since they knew the layout of their enemies they were able to make it to their destination without much incident. Once they reached their destination Rarity spotted the path that she had spotted earlier and beckoned for Edric to follow her, to which they held their weapons at the ready as they advanced into the unknown. They walked along the pathway that they discovered and followed it for a few seconds, though they had to stop when they came to a massive gap between them and the area they needed to go to... but a few more seconds passed before Rarity noticed the long bridge that was resting above their heads, and that there was a lever to the right of them.

Rarity and Edric stared at each other for a few seconds before they both understood what they needed to do, to which Edric pulled the lever and they watched what happened next, though that meant watching the bridge lower itself down towards where they were standing... though once it was in place they crossed over it and walked towards the area that they needed to explore.

The moment they were on the other side of the bridge, and entered a small mountain pass, the two of them followed the passage that was in front of them until they reached a ladder, which allowed them to drop down into the area in front of them before they moved forward again. A few seconds later they found themselves entering a larger area that made them choose between two paths, as the one on the right would take them to a bonfire and the one on the left would allow the two of them to meet someone that they hadn't encountered before. Since they knew how important the bonfires are, and what they had used them for in the past, Rarity and Edric turned towards the bonfire, but then Rarity stopped when them when she noticed the dark green colored water in front of them.

"Poison," Rarity commented, though at the same time she grinned, as she had an excuse to use the Dark Magic to their benefit, before she placed her hand on the ground in front of the water and summoned a small crystal walkway for them to use, "I may not like Dark Magic, considering how corrupting it could potentially be, but even I have to admit that there are times where it has its uses."

Edric chuckled, because while he disliked the seemingly foul magic that Rarity had unlocked he had to admit that it had its uses in situations like this, before they walked over to the area that the bonfire was resting in and activated it... to which they reversed the direction they were heading in and walked over to the lady that was sitting on a rock.

"Are the two of you travelers?" the lady asked, though at the same time she glanced up from the rock that she was holding in her hands, indicating that she was studying it in some manner and had been interested in it before their arrival, "I am Chloanne, an orestone trader, which means that I travel about collecting rare stones and sell to make my living."

"Well met Chloanne, I am Edric," Edric said, before he waved a hand towards Rarity, who smiled and waved at the lady to convince her that she was friendly despite the dark mist that was rolling off of her eyes, "We are indeed travelers, searching the land for powerful creatures to kill and recovering powerful relics in the process."

Rarity knew that a lot of people they met had no idea what they did, or what their quest was supposed to be, but Edric's description of what they were doing wouldn't alarm Chloanne or inform her that they were doing anything wrong, just in case she thought they were up to something evil due to the darkness moving away from her eyes.

"You know what, I never planned on visiting this gods-forsaken place." Chloanne stated, to which both Rarity and Edric raised their eyebrows for a few seconds, but at the same time they had the feeling that they were going to learn exactly what the lady was talking about, "I don't know how it happened… but I just sort of ended up here. As far as I can tell I must have just wandered in and made myself at home, but, now that I'm here, I've been scouting around for rare bits."

"Rare bits..." Rarity commented, though she suspected that Chloanne was talking about the orestones that she liked to search for and sell to people, but she wondered if this world had any actual gemstones as well.

"Oh, don't look at me like that!" Chloanne lightly snapped, though at the same time Rarity held her hands up in defeat, as she had no idea what she had done that had upset the lady, but she wanted Chloanne to know that she wasn't judging her or anything like that, "Many of these stones are quite useful... for instance, certain stones are used in smithing. Ahh, now your ears prick up! I have a few extras, if you can pay my price. This is my trade, after all."

Edric decided to see exactly what she was selling and discovered that Chloanne was selling Titanite Shards, ten of them at the moment, though he shook his head and said that they would be back once they had more souls to spend, to which Chloanne nodded her head and went back to her rock... though at the same time Rarity approached her, as there was something that she wanted to ask her before they moved into the area in front of them.

"So, you said that you came to this place in search of rare stones?" Rarity asked, though at the same time Edric raised an eyebrow for a moment, as he was curious as to what she was doing at the moment, "Orestones to be exact. Can you tell us what you found in the area?"

"Yes, I came here in search of rare stones, but…" Chloanne said, though that was followed by her waving a hand towards the area behind her, where Rarity noticed what appeared to be a large windmill of sorts in the distance, "This place is nothing like I was told. All this poison, and you can't get very far inside. Don't just go haplessly wandering about. These stones, however, may look all the same, but to the trained eye each of them is unique. Some of them, as I said, are used to smith weapons and armor, some of the more unique stones provide special benefits, while some of them are extremely rare and should be used with great thrift. None of this differences are easily spotted, but I've learned quite a lot over the years."

"I see," Rarity commented, though at the same time she was interested in the other stones that Chloanne was talking about, as she was sure that some of them were going to be useful in the future, if they could find some of them.

"Drangleic… I honestly have no idea how I ended up here." Chloanne said, though that was followed by her sighing as she got onto her feet, to which she turned and stared at Rarity and Edric, "Well, I've searched every nook and cranny here. I suppose it's time to move on. Perhaps we'll meet again, if we live that long!"

Rarity had to resist the urge to moan as she and Edric walked away from Chloanne, as she had no idea what sort of enemies would be waiting for them when they reached the end of the path in front of them... though she had the terrible suspicion that there might be some sort of creature that would prove to be difficult ahead of them, and potentially kill them in the process.

New Dangers

Once Rarity and Edric were done talking with Chloanne, and had checked out the items that she had for sale, the two of them headed down the path that rested near where the lady was sitting, though at the same time they had their weapons at the ready. Prior experience told them that enemies might attack them from anywhere and might do anything to kill them, though since this was a new area they had no idea what sort of powers their enemies had or what dangers awaited around every corner. When they reached the end of the path they had been following, however, they noticed that the area in front of them, or at least the lowest part of the area, was covered in some sort of green colored mist, something that Rarity knew had to be the same poison she had built the slight bridge over earlier. At the same time she noticed a large creature of some kind, unlike everything they had seen so far, standing in the middle of the poison like a scarecrow, but she was sure that it would start moving if they got close to it.

Instead of heading into the lower area, and challenging the creature immediately, they headed to the left of the tunnel's exit and approached an item on the ground, where a skeleton pulled itself back onto its feet, picked up the weapon that was rested next to it, and attacked them. Edric raised his shield and blocked the attack before it could reach its target, before he swung his arm and let his sword break the unfortunate skeleton into a couple of pieces, though to be on the safe side he broke several of the bones to be sure that it didn't get back up while they were walking around this area. While that was happening, since Edric had the situation covered, Rarity picked up the Lifegem that they had seen before she started looking for anything that might let them pass through the area without going through the poison mist... but it appeared that they would have to do that regardless.

Edric approached the main path that would take them down into the area below them and the creature they had noticed turned and looked at them, to which it raised its hand into the air and threw a large ball of dark energy at Edric... though before it could hit him he found a dark purple colored barrier surrounding him, where he noticed Rarity channeling the magic to power the barrier. A few seconds later Rarity sucked the ball of dark energy into the barrier and shook for a moment, as she had no idea how strong the attack had been, before she stared at the tall creature and threw the attack back at the creature. The creature's eyes widened for a moment, but since there was no time for it to move the ball slammed into its chest and exploded, knocking it back into the wall behind it and caused it to collapse on the ground, where it stopped moving entirely.

"I'm glad... I stopped that," Rarity said, as that was the first time she had tried to contain a power of that magnitude since the start of this adventure, though at the same time she had to smile, as she now had a good idea as to how to use the attack the creature had used against them, "and now I have a new spell to add to my growing spellbook, though this one will take some power out of me if I'm not careful."

"I had no idea you could do that," Edric commented, though while he was impressed by Rarity's growing powers he had no idea she was able to summon a barrier that could deflect a spell like that, nor had he any idea she could copy the specifics of whatever spell touched that dark barrier of hers.

"Honestly, neither did I." Rarity admitted, though at the same time she actually wondered if Twilight had experimented with Dark Magic and, if she did, did she have any idea what sort of powers the magic of King Sombra granted a pony that resisted the darkness inside their hearts, "Though its a welcome surprise... one that we should be able to use more times in the future, so our enemies don't take us out with surprise spells like that. And I might have another use for that barrier spell I just used on a whim..."

Edric watched as Rarity came to a stop beside him and her horn started to glow, though that was followed by a thinner barrier forming around them, one that apparently stopped the poison mist from touching them when they walked down into the area in front of them. The instant they entered the poison mist Edric directed them around the area, collecting all of the faded souls that were lingering around the area, along with another knife that had some poison on it, a chunk of Titanite, and a few smooth stones, while also taking out all of the skeletons that chose to come back to attack them. Rarity, still new to channeling a shield type of magic, decided that now wasn't the time for her concentration to be on fighting and on powering the barrier, so she focused on keeping the poison at bay as Edric dismantled the skeletons.

Once Edric had collected all of the items that he could see, and found that there weren't any other ones he had to deal with, the two of them made their way out of the mist and walked up the second ramp, though once they were out of the poison mist Rarity dropped the barrier and huffed for a moment. That motion told Edric that it required a decent amount of power to fuel that type of spell... and that Rarity might only be able to do it a few times before she couldn't use it until they found a bonfire.

The moment following them walking out of the poison mist filled area was when they encountered two of the tall creatures that they had encountered earlier, to which Rarity sighed as she gathered her power for a few seconds and sent a dark ball of energy, a large one like the creatures could use, and sent it flying towards the closest enemy. The force of the blast knocked the creature backwards, allowing Edric to charge in and cut into it, though she was happy to see that the plan had worked like a charm and the creature fell to the ground. At the same time the second creature started its attack, but this time around Rarity stuck to using smaller spells, like the Soul Arrow, to distract it and caused it to look at her, which opened the way for Edric to cut into it... where they brought it down with a small light cuts on their bodies. As the creature hit the ground the slave like hollows shuffled towards them and attacked them with their clawed hands, which resulted in several cuts before they put them all down.

Rarity was fortunate that non of these enemies seemed to have any after effects to their scratches, like lingering poison or something like that, but at the same time she pulled out the lowest healing spell she had picked up at the beginning of their journey and healed their wounds... before they started looking for the path that would let them move closer to the gigantic windmill. That involved them finding two ladders along the way, where Rarity chose the first one and Edric took the second one, though at the top of her area Rarity found ten urns that she decided had to be of some use, before she noticed that Edric had found a lever that opened the way in front of them. A few seconds later they regrouped and pressed onward, where they discovered a way forward and a path to their right, though that was where a bonfire was resting and activated it... before they returned to the main walkway and exited the short tunnel they had entered.

The area they walked into appeared to have two paths for them to take, one that would take them to the windmill and another one that would likely take them in a loop of some kind, to which they both determined to explore the side path for a few minutes before they continued along the main path.

They walked up the path that they had discovered and followed it up a few steps, before they were forced to turn to the left and dropped down into a little area where a steel chest was resting, though it only had a poison colored stone and some resin that likely had some poison effect infused inside it. Instead of dropping down into the area below them, which looked like a poison filled pit that would kill them if Rarity didn't use the barrier at all, Rarity used her ability to connect with the crystals and summoned a flat platform that rose up beneath them. That allowed them to climb up to the walkway they had been on a few moments ago, where they returned to the area they had found near the bonfire and approached the other path they had discovered.

When they walked along the second path they had discovered they noticed that the new area looked like the first place they had gone through when they entered this place, though at the same time Rarity and Edric noticed two of the tall creatures moving in the area below them. Instead of worrying about them, as the two creatures didn't seem to care that they were even there, Rarity and Edric moved to the right and crossed the wooden bridge that was in their way, which was being guarded by a green skinned hollow that was carrying a large hammer. Rarity dodged the attack that was coming her way as Edric rolled under it and cut into the hollow's side, forcing it to spill some blood, before he turned around and drove his sword into his opponent's chest. Once the deed was done the two of them walked up the ramp that was in front of them and approached an opening that took them into the lowest level of the windmill... where they had to repeat what they had just done against a second hollow.

A few seconds later, when the hollow was dead, the two of them walked into the area in front of them and carefully advanced, as there was no way of telling where their enemies were and what sort of enemies would be waiting for them as they moved through the windmill.

The two of them carefully made their way around the couple of tall vases that were in their way, which had to contain some poison based on what they had been through so far, though as they walked up the ramp in front of them they encountered a creature that looked like a mushroom of some kind. Rarity soon discovered that they were designed to spew the poison that rested around the area they had just passed through, which meant that this entire area was like a poison production building of some kind, but that just made her want to get out of here all the quicker. It didn't take them long to deal with the mushroom creature, though that was before they had to battle two more of the green skinned hammer wielding hollows... who happened to be guarding a fog door, indicating that they had reached one of the two powerful creatures that called this area home.

The moment they were finished with the guardians that were protecting the powerful creature, however, the two of them took a break for a few moments to regain their strength... though when they walked through the door they found that their enemy was an ugly creature that had a face that looked like a grinning demon, while it was as large as the Pursuer was and was really fat.

"Okay, that's a demon of some kind," Rarity said, though at this point she knew that this sort of creature didn't frighten her, it merely made her consider her options before she rushed into battle, as she was sure that the beast's tail was important in some way.

"Let's kill it and find the way forward," Edric replied, as he was sure that Rarity was forming some plan in her mind, but at the same time he would distract the monster and deal as much damage as he could before they brought it down.

Before Rairty could say anything Edric charged forward and moved to the side as the demon came at him, where he swung his arm and cut into the fat that was a part of the demon's body, which definitely annoyed the creature as it rolled to the side in an attempt to flatten him. She sighed for a moment as she watched Edric jump out of the way and cut into the demon's tail in the process, before she channeled a Lightning Spear into her chime and held it to her side for a moment, as she was waiting for a good shot that wouldn't hurt her companion. Edric clearly understood what she was waiting for, as he purposely positioned the demon parallel with where she was standing, though when the demon reared itself up, to crush Edric under its body, he jumped out of the way... to which Rarity loosed the spear and pierced the area that its heart would be in, causing it to fall to the ground in pain for a few seconds before it staggered back onto its feet.

Another two minutes passed of the same type of fighting happened, making Rarity wonder why this sort of demon was even a powerful creature when it literally couldn't touch them despite the fact that Edric stopped trying to dodge and it still failed to hit him... but at the same time she suspected that it might have been in an attempt to make them lower their guard for the true enemy of this area. At the same time she suggested that they rest for a few minutes, despite the fact that they hadn't found a bonfire in the windmill, as she knew that it was best for them to be prepared for whatever was waiting further inside the area they were in, least they be done in by the next opponent they came across.

The Baneful Queen

After Rarity and Edric had rested for a few minutes, after defeating the monstrous demon creature that they had encountered, which was the first powerful creature of this area, the two of them got back onto their feet, or hooves in Rarity's case, and headed towards the passage to the left of the entrance they had used to enter this chamber. There they found some stairs that they had to walk up, though at the same time they remained on their guard considering that they were in enemy territory and it was possible that enemies were already waiting for them. When they turned the corner, however, the two of them growled as they realized that there had been a bonfire not a minute away from where the demon creature had been resting, which they would have used had they known about its existence. In the end they sighed and activated the bonfire, so they could teleport between here and somewhere else, though that was before they noticed a familiar face standing against one of the walls.

Rarity wasn't sure how Lucatiel had arrived in this area, without battling the demon she and Edric had just slain, but she was beginning to suspect that they were from two different worlds, sort of like how they had learned about leaving signs behind and appearing as phantoms in the world of whoever called upon them for assistance... though this time she was thinking that the bonfires crossed all the Undead worlds and this was why they encountered other Undead near them.

"I thought the noise I heard had to be the two of you. You two haven't changed a bit, have you?" Lucatiel said, though at the same time she chuckled for a moment, though Rarity didn't find it to be funny considering that all three of them appeared to be suffering from the Undead Curse, "The longer I am here, the more madness I discover. This is a wretched place, indeed, but not without traces of its former glory. What could have caused such degradation?"

Rarity had to admit that she had no considered why Drangleic appeared to be in a total state of ruin, though at the same time it appeared that the Emerald Herald thought that the King had something to do with it, making her wonder if the King had disappeared and that was, in turning, causing this to happen across the land. It reminded her of what happened to the castle that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had lived in a thousand years ago, in what would become the Everfree Forest, and how decayed it got once ponies stopped using it.

"Honestly, I have no idea why the land is like this," Edric commented, snapping Rarity out of her thoughts, though at the same time she was a little annoyed that she couldn't speak her mind, but she guessed it was best if people didn't know she was from an entirely different world, "but it was great seeing you again."

"Ah, before I forget, I have not thanked you for humoring me the other day." Lucatiel replied, to which she reached into her own pack and withdrew something, which she promptly handed over to Edric while Rarity looked over his shoulder for a few seconds, "That is for the two of you, though I have no idea what it is."

The fact that Lucatiel was handing over a Human Effigy, which all Undead used when they needed to restore their humanity, shocked Rarity and made her wonder if the warrior was from another world or if she actually was apart of the world she had been teleported to. One thing was for certain, with a decent amount of these effigies inside their bags she and Edric could easily restore themselves to how they had been after meeting with the Fire Keepers, while at the same time having more than enough in case they needed them in the future.

"The land of Mirrah, where I hail from, is surrounded by enemies and is constantly at war." Lucatiel commented, while at the same time surprising the duo, as they hadn't said anything that would make her tell them about this part of herself, but they stood there and listened to what she had to say, "There is only one way up in Mirrah; join the Order and prove yourself in battle. My family had little fortune and no name, so I had to carve out a piece of the world for myself… with two things. Those two things were my sword, and my loyalty to my Lord. I was raised to wield a sword from birth. Life was hard, but I never gave it a second thought. I had swift success on the battlefield, and quickly attained respectable stature. And then I… And then I came here… to…"

"Lucatiel? Are you alright?" Rarity asked, though at the same time she feared that the Undead Curse was starting to take a toll on the warrior's mind, as it appeared that she was already starting to head down the path of turning into a Hollow, something that she feared for both herself and Edric.

"Have you heard of the Undead? These poor souls affected by the curse." Lucatiel asked, completely changing the course of this conversation once again, though at the same time Rarity suspected that the warrior hadn't heard her question or was outright ignoring it, "An Undead gradually loses his humanity, until his wits degrade completely. Finally, he turns Hollow, and preys upon others. And a Hollow can never be human again. One can skirt this wicked fate only with the help of the souls found here. Assuming, of course, that the legends are true. I can only hope… that the stories and legends are. I'm sorry… to burden you with talk of my fate. I suppose I've grown weary these days."

They left Lucatiel to her own devices and headed towards the doorway in front of them, where they walked across a walkway and through another doorway, which brought them to an area that had a few gears rotating some distance in front of them. Neither of them had any idea what the gears, or the massive windmill, were supposed to be powering, but at the same time they decided that it might not concern them at all, to which they turned to the left and walked up the wooden ramp that was in front of them. They then found two hollows, dressed in what Rarity assumed was light armor and were wielding one of their weapons like they were about to stab someone with a knife, in front of them, though while Edric fought the first one Rarity used her magic to take out the second one with a Soul Arrow. As her target fell one of the green skinned hollows broke the large cauldron that was in front of it and came at her... to which Rarity simply got rid of it with a pair of Dark Orbs that slammed into its chest.

Rarity was still amazed that, after empowering herself so much, that her spells could do so much damage to her targets, while at the same time doing nothing if the target happened to be immune to the particular element she was using against them.

While Edric finished off his opponent Rarity noticed that there was a Lifegem, one that looked more powerful than the ones they had picking up so far, and decided that she might as well claim it, as she was sure that they could use it when she was out of healing spells. Once the room was clear of enemies they walked through the doorway and stopped the moment they spotted a knight, wielding a spear and a shield, standing in the doorway they needed to go through, while at the same time Rarity spotted some archers trying to fire at them. Instead of giving the archers a chance to attack them, and possibly poison them considering where they were, Rarity called upon her magic and blasted the two archers off the walkway they were on, allowing them to concentrate on the knight in front of them. Sure enough the knight approached them and raised its shield, but as it started moving from side to side Rarity immediately noticed a weak point in how the knight was moving... as it wasn't paying attention to how narrow the walkway was.

Since only one person could walk on the walkway at a time, or two if they were coming from different directions, Edirc approached the knight and beckoned him forward, though that was before the knight made the mistake of setting his foot on the side of the walkway and tumbled off the walkway... falling into the pit of poison below them.

Rarity and Edric stared at each other for a few seconds before they started laughing, as they had never seen one of their enemies do that before today, though they also walked across the now open walkway and kept their eyes peeled for other creatures and hollows that wanted them dead. When they entered the next area that was in front of them, which appeared to be an area where they could look out over the poisoned area they had just walked through, two of the light armor wearing hollows dropped down from the level above them and attacked without warning. Despite the fact that neither of them were actually ready for any enemies in this room, considering that the knight had killed himself, both of them raised their weapons and fought back against the hollows that were coming after them.

Instead of investigating the area further, and seeing what the path on their right held for them, the two of them approached the ladder on their left and climbed up it, with Edric going first, though a few seconds passed before he told Rarity that it was fine to come up to where he was. From there the two of them had to fight another light armored hollow, which fell much easier than the others did considering that there was only one hollow and two of them, before they turned to their right and found a fog door resting near a ramp. The other side of the fog door wasn't the chamber of the second powerful creature, like they were expecting it to be, rather they found another bonfire to activate... though as they returned to the ramp, however, Rarity noticed that there was a small walkway leading right to the main part of the central fan of the windmill.

From what she could tell the wood that made up the fan appeared to be close to the point where a single flame or ember would be enough to set the entire thing on fire, something that may or may not help them in the near future... to which she pulled out the Pyromancy Flame, which she got on the ship the Sentry was on, and summoned a fireball.

"Let's see what this does," Rarity said, to which she pulled her arm back for a few seconds before she swung at the wooden posts she had seen, though she was not ready for what came after the fireball made contact with the rest of the windmill's main blade.

The fireball, connecting with the cylinder that the windmill blades were attached to, was set ablaze for a few seconds as the flames reached for the main part of the windmill, while at the same time the rest of the structure followed suit. Rarity watched as the various pieces of the structure, those that happened to be made out of wood, caught on fire as the windmill's motions came to a halt, though as she watched the flames she had to wonder if that had been worth it. She still had no idea what the gears were powering, besides this part of the mill anyway, but somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that this would likely help them in the near future... somehow anyway.

From there the two of them walked up the ramp that Edric had been heading towards, and had stopped halfway up so he could watch Rarity burn the windmill with one of her spells, though once they reached the top of the ramp they found a Firebomb sitting on the ground, which Edric collected so he could sell it later on. They then walked outside and dealt with the light armor wearing hollow that was to their left, though once he was taken care of they headed towards the right and eventually came to a short passage that brought them to an elevator chamber. From what Rarity could tell this place was designed to make someone think that there was no treasure in this area, though she could see the gears and they had passed by a lever... making this one of the most terribly hidden contraptions she had never seen.

She stood on the middle of the platform and rose into the air the moment Edric pulled the lever, though at the top she found a steel chest that contained a strange shield, but before she could investigate what it was the vases near her position started exploding as hollows tried to attack her from another area. Instead of wasting time she grabbed the shield, smiled at her enemies, and jumped off the ledge that was behind her, where she levitated herself down to where Edric was standing and shoved the shield into his pack. From there they climbed up the stairs that were passed the elevator and walked through another doorway as they searched for the next fog door, which they had to be getting closer to at this point in time. Not a few steps later they found two spear wielding knights blocking their way, to which Edric impaled the first one from behind with his sword while Rarity blasted the second one it the back... though once their enemies were taken care of they continued along their way.

They turned to the left and walked up the ramp that was in front of them, though at the top they discovered a pair of sorceresses that were casting spells at the wall, to which Rarity impaled the pair with a crystal spike each before she bothered to look around the area they were in. Since there was nothing else in this area they retraced their steps and headed back to the fork in the road, where they continued forward after choosing what would have been the right path a minute ago. That brought them to a dead end that let them stare at a sorceress for a few seconds, though that was before Rarity took them back to the area where the other two had been located, where she carefully walked over the slow moving blade and found a new path for them to take... while at the same time hearing the sound of Edric opening a chest, dodging a trap, and claiming something, which turned out to be a Lockstone when he joined her.

Since they had to walk over a small amount of poison Rarity simply did the next best thing and called two crystal spikes into existence so they could traverse the small hallway... where she impaled the incoming light armor wearing hollow before they moved deeper into the windmill. From there they dealt with three more sorceresses and another spear wielding knight before they noticed a temple like area that had two spear knights guarding the main entrance, though around the base of the ramp was an area that had been wet recently. Edric silently thanked whatever god brought Rarity to him before he started this quest, as he would never have thought to burn the windmill and would have likely been walking through a poison pool of some kind to reach the next powerful creature. Once the two knights that were guarding the fog door had been taken care of the two of them approached the entrance to the creature's lair and walked through it, where they found themselves inside a circular chamber.

The creature, however, was something that was half lady and half snake, a naga or lamia as Edric knew them, but her skin was tainted by the same green color that some of the hollows had possessed... and she appeared to have been decapitated at some point in the past, as she was carrying her head in her left hand while wielding a spear in her right.

The next thing that happened was that the naga lifted her head up and released a piercing screech attack that would have pierced Edric's chest, had Rarity not snapped her shield into existence in front of them and deflected the attack into the nearby wall, while leaving a hole in the magical shield. Edric suspected that the naga's attack might have been more powerful than what Rarity had been expecting it to be, meaning that she didn't use enough power to block the attack and now had a better understanding of how powerful the naga really was. The naga then tossed her head towards them, causing them to disperse as a sound blast erupted from the head, which would have knocked them away at great damage to their bodies, but Rarity and Edric managed to avoid that entirely.

When the naga made a move for her head, in a way that made her forget about her opponents, Rarity had an idea on how to exploit that weakness, though at the same time she loosed several Greater Soul Arrows while Edric struck at the lower part of the naga's body.

The naga, having picked up her head, turned towards Edric and started swinging her spear at him, in an attempt to hit him, though at the same time she completely ignored Rarity, who used the opportunity to hit her target with several spells that weakened her. Edric, for the most part, dodged the attacks to the best of his ability and sometimes got a cut on the cheek or his arms by the edge of the spear's blade, but for the most part he was just fine with his attack pattern until he had to jumped out of the way when the naga threw her head again. He avoided the sound blast once more and watched as the naga charged at her head once more, though this time around Rarity claimed the head with her magic and floated it around the chamber they were in, causing the naga to follow it blindly.

Edric immediately understood what was going on, as the naga was too focused on her head to even consider that this was a trap, thus opening herself up to whatever damage Rarity and Edric could dish out... though a few minutes passed before the naga was lying dead on the ground, her soul claimed by the duo, and the way forward was open.

They then walked up the stairs that were now open for them and entered the chamber that was in front of them, where they discovered that there was only an elevator for them to interact with, to which they sighed and entered the iron cage that was waiting for them. Once they were both inside the cage the door closed a few seconds later and they started moving up towards the ceiling, where the cage entered a passage that had been dug out through the ground who knew how long ago. It took a minute for them to reach whatever their destination was, though as the cage opened up they carefully walked out and followed the passage that was in front of them, while also spotting a person's skeleton laying on the floor... before they came to an opening that revealed a massive keep or castle of some kind, which happened to be surrounded by lava, and had a single bridge connecting where they were to the massive keep.

Rarity couldn't help but grin at the sight of what was in front of her and Edric, as this had to be the area where the second Guardian was resting, which meant that all they needed to do was fight their way to where the Iron King was resting and claim the Great Soul that he was guarding.

The Iron Keep

A few moments passed before Rarity and Edric stopped staring at the large keep that was in front of them, as they were both sure that this was where the Old Iron King was supposed to reside, to which they started looking for a bonfire so they could rest after their battle with that naga. Rarity thought that the naga had been a pushover, especially after discovering such a fatal weakness, but at the same time she knew that if she kept thinking that way she would eventually miss that same thing on another enemy. Edric, on the other hand, was still thankful that Rarity had been sent to him by some unknown force, as he would have never thought to burn down the windmill or do something to the naga's head to make it much easier to kill... and he would likely still be hunting for the Lost Sinner if he didn't have her backing him up.

The search for the bonfire went quickly, as all they had to do was head towards the stairs on their left and walk down it, where they discovered one waiting for them near some railing that separated them from the lava, something that didn't comfort either of them at the moment.

Since they had gone through two more powerful creatures, had collected both their unique souls and the countless souls they had been keeping inside them, Rarity suggested that they return to Majula for some time and empower their skills once more. Edric was open to that idea, as he shuddered at the thought of losing so many souls, to which the two of them gathered around the bonfire and teleported back to where the Emerald Herald was waiting, where they went about their usual routine. Edric would speak to the Emerald Herald first and empower his skills, and then shop at the blacksmith once he was done, while Rarity would speak to Shalquoir about some of the items and souls they had acquired, before coming back to the main bonfire and empowering her skills as well.

While she was speaking to the all knowing cat, however, Rarity learned that the first powerful creature they had killed in Harvest Valley was called the Covetous Demon, who had once been a man that loved Mytha, the Baneful Queen, who had been the second powerful creature they killed. Rarity then learned that Mytha had been in love with the Old Iron King, but the king fell in love with another and she poisoned herself until she became the monster they had encountered, which was followed by the Old Iron King banishing her to where they found her. The man who had become the Covetous Demon had his feelings ignored by Mytha, causing him to turn to gluttony and eventually he transformed into the hideous monster that she and Edric had slain.

This story reminded Rarity of her own love life for a moment, as one upon a time she had hopes for finding true love and was constantly ignored, while at the same time someone else tried to express his love to her and she pretty much kept shooting him down... to which she resolved to settle things with Spike, once she returned home.

The moment Edric was done spending his souls, by empowering himself and his gear, Rarity stepped up to the Emerald Herald and further empowered her spells, though once she was done the two of them returned to the bonfire and teleported back to the Iron Keep, so they could begin their journey. When they arrived, however, Rarity found that her companion was growing sick and tired of the rotting look that he was sporting, so much so that he was willing to throw down their sign and have someone call them so they could perform some duties. Rarity didn't mind doing that, though she had a much better way to restore her former looks, thanks to the amount of effigies they had collected so far, to which she pulled one out and held it in front of her for a few seconds. She then crushed the effigy with her hand and waited for a few seconds, to which she watched as the rotting color retreated from her skin and she returned to her former glory, or at least the former glory for the form she was currently trapped in.

"See? This is much simpler than placing our sign down," Rarity said, though at the same time she looked around the area and noticed that there weren't any signs resting on the ground, meaning that either she couldn't see them because Edric was still in a hollow state or there weren't any around them, "besides, based on what I'm seeing at the moment none of the other Undead have reached this point. We also have plenty of effigies to spare, so using two of them right now isn't going to hurt us all that much... rather its going to hurt all of our enemies in the long run."

"It can't hurt to put one down anyway," Edric replied, though at the same time he reached into his pack and pulled out one of the effigies that he was carrying, as they had split the total number between them, before restoring himself to his full potential and getting onto his feet, "Very well then, let's get this venture underway."

Rarity nodded and together the two of them started walking across the bridge, though they stopped halfway when they noticed some signs resting on the bridge, but she then stopped her companion from touching them. When Edric inquired as to why she stopped him, as this would have been a good chance for them to get some allies, Rarity pointed out that these signs were red, just like the red spirits they had seen earlier in their journey. She was of the opinion that several Undead, who failed to complete their journey, had set up shop here with the intent on luring in other Undead, those that needed help, so they could kill whoever summoned them. This was, in essence, a trap that was waiting to be sprung and she wasn't about to spring it, though not a few seconds later the sign that Edric had been reaching for disappeared, meaning that someone else must have touched it... telling Rarity that there was someone else in this area, in a separate world, and that they likely testing their skills against whoever the sign belonged to.

After deciding to leave the red signs alone, so they didn't get invaded by enemies seeking to destroy them completely, the duo walked across the remainder of the bridge and noticed two armored knights, both carrying katanas, standing on either side of the keep's entrance. Edric quickly decided on taking out the knight on the right of the entrance, as he seemed the more active of the two enemies, leaving Rarity to deal with the foe on the entrance's left side, though she knew that she could handle the knight with ease. The two of them then separated from each other the moment they entered the area in front of the entrance, causing the knights to become alert and charge at them, though as Edric went on the defensive Rarity simply started dodging the attacks that were coming her way... as her opponent's katana failed to reach her every time the knight swung it.

The next attack that she dodged spelled the end for her opponent, as the moment Rarity dodged the blade she pulled the darkness together, into the form of a ball, and struck the knight in the chest, to which his armor was torn asunder and fell to the floor, where it stopped moving altogether. She blinked a few times, as she wasn't sure whether this was because she had returned to her normal state and was no longer hollowing, or if these enemies were weak against magical attacks, but at the same time she decided that this was a good thing. If the knights that called the Iron Keep their home were weak to magical attacks, which was what she specialized in at the moment, then she would be able to make sure that she and Edric got through here without any real harm coming to them... as long as the powerful creatures that called this place home followed the same rules that the knights did.

A few moments later Edric had finished off his opponent, allowing the spirit inhabited armor to fall to the floor as well, to which the two of them walked up to the iron door that was in front of them, grabbed onto either side of it, and pushed it open with all of their might. It didn't take them long to open the door and enter the Iron Keep, though as they took a few steps forward Rarity noticed two more knights standing on a level above them and one of them had its back turned towards the door they had just opened. Rarity seized the opportunity that was presented to them and called upon the lightning to gather around her chime, where she threw the Lightning Spear into the knight's back and blew the enchanted armor apart. Edric, however, charged up the stairs and dealt with the knight that was standing beside a statue that happened to be breathing fire... where Rarity noticed that the flames seemed to be protecting something, which she grabbed with her magic and levitated over to her.

What she discovered was that the item in question was an iron key of some kind, one that seemed important, to which she smiled as she stored it in her bag before they moved forward... though instead of following the stairs they walked down the path on the right of the entrance, where they found a merchant, of all things, sitting on the ground.

"What? Who're you?" the man asked, though his tone told Rarity that he either didn't like people approaching him, or they had interrupted something important and it would take some time for him to be happy once more.

"I am Edric, and this is Rarity, my traveling companion." Edric replied, to which he waved a hand towards himself for a few seconds, before doing the same thing to Rarity, though that was followed by him turning his head back to the merchant, "Who might you be?"

"Who, me? I'm Magerold, who else?" the man answered, giving the duo a name to put to the face that was before them, while at the same time making them wonder what he was doing here, in such a remote place like this, "What? Have a look at my wares."

Rarity and Edric decided to humor the man and see what they could find, though while Edric really didn't see anything useful for their current venture Rarity decided to grab the Dark Hail and Darkstorm spells, despite the fact that one of them sounded like one she could only cast when she was alone in an area. A few moments later, however, the two of them backed away from the man and stared at each other, as they were thinking about heading out, but at the same time Rarity couldn't help but wonder what the man was doing here.

"So what are you doing out here Magerold?" Rarity asked, because she figured that while they were here she would ask the question and be done with it, so the next time they were here, if they ever came back, they could get to business instead of talking all the time.

"I'm mainly a treasure hunter, you see. I'm only a merchant on the side." Magerold replied, though at the same time he smiled, as if he was pleased that someone was asking what he was doing out here, "I roam about, looking for a find, following my instincts. I don't care what a thing is worth, but what does matter is whether it grabs me. Do I enjoy what I do? Well… That's a good question. But I suppose I must, I… I've been doing it for ages."

"I see," Rarity said, though she was a little surprised that this guy was a treasure hunter, but since he appeared to be happy doing that, and being a merchant on the side apparently, she guessed that she wouldn't pry in his business.

"There's good iron in these parts. An old king even used it to build a castle." Magerold commented, to which he waved a hand at his surroundings, though at the same time Rarity and Edric stopped what they were doing and listened to what he had to say, "But the thing was too heavy, and it slowly sank into the ground. Fires spouted from the earth, and… and the place turned into this. At least, that's what I'm told. Not a bad story, eh? So, what will it be? Anything for you today?"

"No, I think we'll be good for now," Edric replied, as while it was nice conversing with someone that didn't want them dead, he knew that they needed to get going and make some progress before something happened to the keep, especially since it was slowly sinking into the lava around them.

"Hey, You know that odd fellow? With the hulking blue sword." Magerold asked, to which Rarity and Edric glanced at each other for a few seconds, before they nodded their heads and indicated that they knew the person he was talking about, "He talks really highly of it, but I got a feeling it's a fake. I didn't want to disappoint him, so I just sort of talked around it. Let me just say, there are lots of 'legendary swords' out there."

Rarity and Edric decided to leave at that point and retraced their steps towards the area they had found the key in, but before they reached that area they found a side passage that allowed them to head to a level above them, where they found a knight blocking their way. Rarity let her magic surge for a moment, which formed an orb of darkness once more, and she dismantled the spirit infused armor in a single shot, to which she and Edric moved forward and kept their eyes open for anything else in the area. As they finished climbing the stairs Rarity felt that something was off about the area, to which she tapped on the wall to her right and revealed a hidden passage that took them to one of the ballista that they had seen in the forest ruins... and a hidden wall in front of the weapon revealed a room with three more knights standing guard, which actually looked like a room they needed to pass through.

Rarity smiled as she noticed that none of the knights had noticed them yet, to which she extended her hand and blasted the knight in front of them with a Dark Ball, blowing the various pieces of the suit apart while the spirit inside it was torn to pieces. Edric charged forward and started fighting one of the other two knights that were in front of them, where Rarity focused her energy on the furthest knight, allowing her companion to focus his attention without being interrupted by anyone. As her second target fell Rarity looked around the area and found that the doorway on the left of the hidden passage did take them back to the first room they had walked through, to which she patiently waited for Edric to finish his opponent before they moved through the other doorway and exited the part of the keep they had been in.

As they walked along the walkway that was in front of them, however, they nearly got hit by an archer's arrow, to which Rarity focused on where the archer was standing and snapped a Lightning Spear into existence, where she hurled it through the air and blew the archer to pieces. While she was doing that Edric raised his shield and blocked the incoming attack from the knight that was in front of them, where he returned the favor and hacked the enchanted suit of armor apart, to which one of the arms fell into the lava below them as the knight collapsed in a heap of parts. Rarity noticed that there were some more archers on a level higher than where they were, but instead of climbing the ladder below them she simply used her Soul Arrows and blasted the enchanted suits of armor apart.

At the same time Edric walked down the stairs that were near them and found a knight guarding the door that was below them, though he was more than strong enough to block the attacks that were coming at him and destroy the enchanted armor could hurt him. With the knight defeated Edric noticed a lever that, when he pulled it, lowered half of a large bridge into place, meaning that when they were done with their other enemies they would be able to at least investigate the other side of the area they were in. Instead of opening the door in front of him, which would lead into a room that was bellowing a large volume of fire, he waited for Rarity to return to him before they made the journey over the part of the bridge that was lowered... while at the same time his companion blasted whoever was trying to loose arrows at them while they walked.

The only enemy that Rarity found to be interesting was the enchanted suit of armor that was clearly more powerful than any of the other ones that they had encountered so far, as it carried a bow that was more powerful than any of the others ones she had come across so far. She knew that because she actually loosed a Dark Ball at the knight and it loosed an arrow at her attack in return, one that canceled the two of them out in an instant, which caused her to chuckle for a few seconds as she landed on the walkway that the knight was walking on. She could tell that this was a strong opponent, as it also carried a blade that had lightning coursing around it when he drew it, but since they weren't here to play games she knew that the suit of armor needed to be taken care of. Instead of damaging the armor, however, she sent her shadow forward and attached it to the suit's shadow, driving the spirit out in the process... where it moved around like a copy of her, only with the power that the armor gave it.

"Okay, that's a new ability," Edric commented, as this was unlike anything he had ever seen before, because shadows didn't possess an already possessed suit of armor and take full control of it, "and I really don't like the way that the suit is staring at me right now."

"Well, that just means that my shadow is concerned about your safety, as I am," Rarity replied, because since Edric was her companion, and was the first friend she had made in this world, she wanted to be sure that nothing terrible happened to him during their journey, "Come on, let's go find the other lever and get the bridge lowered into place... then we can rest before we fight the powerful creature that's lurking behind that fog door."

Edric glanced at the fog door that the knight had been guarding, before Rarity had taken over the suit from whatever spirit had been controlling it, and wondered what sort of powerful creature could be lurking behind it, especially since the Old Iron King was hiding somewhere nearby. At this point he was willing to take whatever strange and unique powers that Rarity developed over their journey, because some of them were going to make their lives all that much easier, though at the same time he had no idea what this power was going to do for them. He suspected that Rarity had taken a liking to the powerful weapons that the possessed suit of armor was carrying and intended to make the most of it while she had it under her control... and maybe take out the powerful creature in the process.

For a moment he actually felt sorry for whatever opponent was waiting on the other side of the fog door, but then he sighed and knew that the powerful creatures would try to kill them regardless of what they were feeling... and this next battle was likely going to be one of the more stranger ones, once the bridge was fully lowered into position.

Smelter Demon's Surprise

Like Rarity said, the first thing they did, after her shadow possessed the seemingly powerful suit of armor that was guarding the fog door that a powerful creature was lurking behind, was that they started the search for the other lever that would allow them to lower the rest of the bridge that they had walked over. The only options they had were walking towards the area behind them, or dropping down onto the walkway below them, where another possessed suit of armor was patrolling the area. As Rarity looked at the knight, however, she shifted her gaze for a few seconds and spotted the lever that they were looking for, or the one that was the lever they were searching for, and determined that this was a good time to truly test the power of the suit she had taken control of.

Rarity held a hand to the side, to prevent Edric from doing anything dangerous, before she willed her shadow to move, to which the suit of armor walked over to the edge of the walkway they were on and jumped off the edge, where it landed on the walkway the other knight was on. Rarity and Edric watched as the shadow infused suit approached the other knight, where the two of them drew their lightning empowered swords and clashed with each other, to which sparks flew as their blades came into contact with each other. It was an interesting fight to behold, as Rarity's shadow moved the suit around and fought like it was the actual knight, making Rarity wonder if her shadow had, somehow, taken the knowledge of the suit and was acting on what it had found... or if her shadow was letting the suit fight on its own.

In the end it didn't matter, as the shadow infused suit cut down the other knight and threw the armor into the lava around it, though both Rarity and Edric knew that, when they rested at the bonfire, it would return like all of the other enemies they had fought so far.

With the enemy taken care of Rarity dropped down onto the walkway below her and approached the lever, to which she pulled it and watched as the rest of the bridge lowered into position, though before she did anything Edric told her to wait for a few seconds. Edric then walked halfway up the bridge and turned towards the building that Rarity would be heading into, to which he jumped over to what was clearly a wheel of some kind and moved it a tiny bit, where he heard the sound of what had to be the fire turning off in the building that Rarity was standing in front of. He then carefully maneuvered himself over to were his companion was standing and watched as she opened the door in front of her, to which they discovered that the chamber in front of them had absolutely no fire in it anymore... and that there was a ladder that would no doubt take them away from the powerful creature that they were planning on fighting.

Edric moved to the right and collected a large Titanite Shard, and what appeared the be a petrified dragon bone, before they determined what they were going to do next, though once Rarity determined that the door on the other side of the chamber took them back to the other side of the bridge she decided to check out the ladder.

Climbing the ladder brought the two of them, and the suit of armor, up to a small walkway where they spotted another knight blocking a second ladder, to which they stepped aside and let the shadow infused armor step forward so it could do battle with the knight. They waited for a few moments before the other knight was a pile of scrap as well, though before they climbed the ladder Edric collected a Lifegem and a blossom that were behind the ladder, which was followed by them actually ascending towards the highest point that they could see at the moment. When they reached the top Edric engaged the knight that happened to be overlooking the area that one of the other knights, one that Rarity had bested with her magic earlier, had been standing in... and its back was wide open for a devastating attack that ruined it.

Before they moved on Edric insisted on checking the area where the other knight had been standing, where he found an iron chest that contained a new ring and a twinkling piece of Titanite... though after he pocketed the items he made his way through the now empty chamber and climbed up to where Rarity was standing.

"I tired the door on our right," Rarity commented, beckoning to the door that she had been standing in front of, to which Edric looked at it for a few seconds before turning back towards her, "and it either requires a key to open it, or we have to fight that powerful creature to gain access to whatever is on the opposite side."

"Well, maybe this time around we don't actually have to fight all of the powerful creatures that are in our way," Edric replied, as while he was grateful that the powerful creatures possessed stronger souls than the others did, and a fair amount of smaller souls from the enemies they killed over the years, he was certain that they didn't need to kill each and every one of them, "Come on, let's see where this path takes us first... and then we can decide whether we to fight the creature that's on the other side of that fog door, or just leave it alone and skip it entirely."

Rarity thought back on their previous experiences and knew that killing all of the powerful creatures benefited their quest, as it allowed them to empower themselves at a much faster rate and, if they were lucky, their enemies would be guarding some sort of armor or weapons that they could use. She felt that it was foolish for them to even consider leaving whatever creature that lurked behind the fog door behind, especially since she knew that something interesting would happen in that area if they killed the creature. In the end, however, she decided that Edric had more knowledge about this world and likely knew what he was talking about, to which she nodded her head a few times before they entered the next chamber that was in front of them.

As they walked into the chamber Rarity discovered that it was a simple walkway that came to a stop in the middle of the chamber, where they would have to cross a second walkway to get to the other side... and the other walkway was being torn apart by some large knights that reminded her of the ones they fought in the forest ruins. Since neither of the knights had noticed them yet, as they were too preoccupied with tearing a section of the walkway out, Rarity decided to change her mind and pulled Edric back for a few seconds. Instead of going any further she insisted that they return to the first bonfire, rest for a few seconds, and then come back with their full might and face whatever creature was lurking behind the fog door... and she knew that there would be a bonfire behind the powerful creature as well.

Edric hated to admit that her plan sounded good, especially since they hadn't found a bonfire near the passage into another section of the keep, so he guessed that fighting the powerful creature would be well worth the effort, since they would get a bonfire as their reward.

Once they agreed on a real plan of attack the two of them retraced their steps towards the front of the Iron Keep, though as they walked Rarity had her shadow hurl the armor it was possessing into the lava around them before returning to her. She knew that the suit would reappear once they had rested at the bonfire, so she wasn't worried about losing it all of a sudden, though at the same time she silently wondered how well the shadow infused armor would deal with whatever creature they were heading towards. It had made short work of its fellow knights, but that was because they wouldn't have expected there to be someone who could use their shadow to possess empty suits of armor, and she was still surprised to find that such an ability worked. It did, however, make her wonder what else she would possess with her shadow, but she also knew that now wasn't the time to experiment with her abilities... as that came after they finished off the powerful creature they would be fighting.

They rested at the bonfire for a few minutes before they got back onto their feet and started fighting their way through the Iron Keep once more, though this time around Rarity possessed one of the weaker knights to distract their enemies... though when they came to the fog door, and she had control of the stronger knight again, she and Edric braced themselves as they pushed themselves into the lair of whatever creature they had been looking for. The creature in question, however, was what appeared to be a large suit of armor that looked demonic in certain places, though it only started moving once the two of them, and the shadow infused armor, walked into it's lair. The suit's first movements were to pull it's arms apart from each other and set it's insides on fire, to which it walked towards them and seemed to glare down at Edric.

Rarity and Edric jumped to the side, Rarity to the left and Edric to the right, as the massive suit brought it's large sword down on where they had been standing, though at the same time Rarity knew that getting hit by the blade would either severely wound them or outright kill them. As the possessed armor turned towards Edric, once more causing Rarity to wonder why their opponents only went after him first, she waved her staff in front of her and several Dark Balls formed in front of her, to which she unleashed a Dark Hail spell at her opponent's back. While she may not have staggered the armor, or made it fall to the ground, she knew that she did a decent amount of damage, but their opponent was definitely more durable than what she originally thought it was, which made sense considering that they were fighting a large suit of armor at the moment. As the shadow infused armor attacked the larger one, however, it did some damage before the larger one simply crushed it, giving Rarity little time to vacate her shadow from the armor before it was turned into scrap.

When their opponent started to empower it's blade with fire, by stabbing itself in it's own core for a few seconds, Rarity and Edric found that their attacks seemed to do less damage than they previously did, while at the same time they did their best to avoid the rest of the armor's attacks. Edric ended up slipping up at some point as the armor swung it's weapon and clipped him in the side, sending him flying into the wall behind him for a few moments, but Rarity breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her companion moving once more. When their opponent did the whole flame empowerment thing again, and Rarity noticed that their damage wasn't all that great, she immediately came to the conclusion that attacking the armor at that exact moment was a terrible idea, as they could save their energy for after the armor was done with that motion... something that Edric agreed with when she stopped beside him for a few seconds.

Rarity knew that her spells could deal a decent amount of damage, and even a greater amount if she knew which element this suit of armor was weak to, but since the armor liked to empower it's blade every now and then she and Edric simply had to wait it out... to Rarity offered Edric some healing before they continued the fight, until eventually the two of them brought down the demonic armor and cleared the area it had been guarding. With the demonic armor taken care of, and thus ridding the world of another powerful creature, Rarity and Edric walked over to the stairs that it had been guarding and walked up them, where they found two interesting things at the top; a bonfire and an iron chest. The first thing they did was activate the bonfire, so they could relax after such a hard fight, but before they sat down they walked over to the chest and opened it, where they found a nice looking shield and a butterfly of some kind.

With those items in hand the two of them returned to the bonfire, which rested near a door that would take them to the chamber with two walkways that overlooked a pool of lava, and rested for a few minutes, as they definitely deserved it after everything they had been through since they discovered the Iron Keep. When they stood up, so they could move forward, Rarity glanced back into the area they fought the armor in and her body went cold for a moment, as the Pursuer was rising out of the middle of the arena, out of a shadowy vortex, and stared up at her the entire time.

"Either there are more than one of these bastards out there," Rarity commented, though at the same time Edric stared down at the black knight that looked exactly like the last one they had fought, which made it impossible to tell if it was the same one or a different one, "or the one I killed broke out of Tartarus, or whatever you call it here, and came straight for me."

"He's probably offended that you finished the fight in such a manner," Edric stated, recalling what Rarity had gone back in the forest ruins, and how she had ended the fight with the Pursuer that she wanted dead, "or, if this is another Pursuer, it has come to restore the honor of the one you killed."

"Well, we can't have him following us to the lair of the Old Iron King now can we?" Rarity asked, though at the same time she turned towards the stairs and started making her way down to where her opponent was waiting for her, "Though let's face it, whether or not this is a new Pursuer or the old one doesn't matter... this one came for me, so I'll be more than happy to tear this guy apart."

Edric sighed as he watched Rarity walk into the chamber that the Pursuer was now standing in, though after seeing what sort of damage his companion could do when she was feeling a large amount of hatred towards someone, the Pursuer being one of those people, he knew that he didn't have to worry about her this time around. Rarity, on the other hand, didn't even bother to draw her sword this time around, because she knew that she really didn't need the blade anymore, not with how strong her spells were getting. Sure, she knew that there were certain enemies that she couldn't strike down with the fury of the gods, simply because she had no idea what their weakness was, but she knew that the Pursuer couldn't handle crystal magic... so all she had to do was look for an opening and exploit it, then she and Edric would be walking out of this part of the Iron Keep.

The Pursuer followed Rarity as she walked down the stairs and entered the arena once more, though once she had stopped moving the knight drew his large sword and swung it once, to which he floated into the air, just like he had done when they encountered him in the forest ruins.

Rarity, being slightly faster thanks to the number of times she had to dodge an attack that was meant for her, threw herself to the right and rolled out of the way as the Pursuer charged at where she had been standing and brought the weapon down on her, to which the knight realized that she had dodged him entirely. When she got back onto her hooves, and faced her opponent, Rarity summoned a decent number of Dark Balls and sent the hailstorm at her target, though that was when she discovered that this world's version of dark based magical attacks had little effect on the Pursuer. Once she understood that fact, and realized that part of her spellbook was useless at the moment, she switched back to calling Soul Arrows, Lightning Spears, and Fireballs into the arena.

In the off chance that this was a different Pursuer than the one she had killed, as there didn't appear to be any markings on the chest piece to indicate he had been pierced with a crystal spire, Rarity made sure to keep her Dark Magic a secret, that way she would be able to surprise him when the opening revealed itself.

For the most part she was actually able to dodge the attacks that were coming her way, making her wonder if she had gotten faster thanks to the amount of souls she had absorbed so far, or if her opponent was intentionally going slower to make her lower her guard. Considering how bad the Pursuer had bested her and Edric in the past, with little effort on the knight's part, she had to assume that her opponent was trying to trick her, to which she made sure that her guard as at the ready while she avoided several more attacks and dealt several more smaller blows to her opponent. Of course fate would have a hand in messing things up, because she had been so focused on the Pursuer's blade she completely forgot about the shield that her opponent carried... though she remembered it when the side of the shield struck her chest and knocked her into the wall that was behind her.

That was followed by the Pursuer driving his blade into her chest, in the heart area again, and pinned her against the wall, where she coughed up some blood for a few seconds before she went limb against the edge of the blade... though a few moments later the Pursuer tried to pull his blade out and found it stuck, and that there was now a black vortex resting between his weapon and Rarity's heart.

"I hope you didn't think you had killed me already," Rarity said, though as she spoke she raised her head and looked the Pursuer in the face, where the Dark Magic mist emitted from her eyes in full force, while at the same time resting one of her hands on the blade that had pierced her chest, "though now that you've gotten that out of your system, it's time for me to repay the favor!"

Dark Magic raced along the edge of the Pursuer's blade, forcing the knight to let go of it and jump backwards before the dark mass touched him, to which he watched as Rarity gripped the blade and pushed it deeper into the vortex that was above her heart, before it was gone completely. With that deed done Rarity grinned as she stared at the Pursuer, who happened to be drawing one of the smaller swords that he had brought with him, before she charged at her opponent like she didn't have a care in the world. As the Pursuer swung its weapon at her, however, Rarity called the shadows to her and they formed a small shield that blocked the attack before it could reach her, to which she raised a hand and pressed it against her opponent's chest... and then blasted a small hole where one of the Pursuer's lungs would have been. Since the Pursuer was likely an Undead, like everything else she and Edric had fought so far, she knew that this wouldn't be enough to stop the knight, but she had a plan to take him down.

As the Pursuer came down on her with his sword again, in an attempt that was meant to split her in half, Rarity moved to the side and let the attack pass her by, though at the same time she waved her hand towards the arm that had come down on her. She then smiled as a cuff, made out of shadows, wrapped around the Pursuer's wrist and disappeared, though she followed that up by dodging the attacks that were coming her way and made sure to do the same thing with her opponent's other wrist. As a precaution she also wrapped some cuffs around her opponent's legs, where she was amazed by the fact that he hadn't noticed what she was doing, before she flashed into the area in front of the stairs she had walked down and beckoned for the Pursuer to come at her again.

As the Pursuer came towards her, with the intent to kill her, Rarity snapped her fingers and the cuffs fully materialized where she had put them, to which the shorter chains, attached to the Pursuer's wrists, pulled the knight forward while the slightly longer chains, which were attached to his legs, pulled him backwards. Rarity smiled as the Pursuer was forced onto his chest with his back facing the ceiling, where a black vortex opened and his large sword came out of where Rarity had been holding onto it. She watched as the large weapon pierced the Pursuer's chest from behind and caused the knight to moan, though at the same time a ring happened to land in front of it... so Rarity simply waited for the knight to die before claiming the ring and heading back to Edric.

Something told her that this wouldn't be the last she had seen of the Pursuer, as she was convinced that this one was different from the first one she and Edric had fought... which meant some more of them would likely be coming after her and her friend, and this time she had the power to stand up to anything and everything they could throw at her. Now all they had to do was find where the Old Iron King was resting, challenge him to a fight, and claim the Great Soul that he was holding, which would put them one step closer to completing their long quest.

The Old Iron King

"You sure finished that Pursuer off in a timely fashion." Edric commented, as he had been watching the fight the entire time and was pleased to find that Rarity was fine, even though she had been stabbed in the chest again and showed nearly no sign of the cut being there, save for a scar.

"He was predictable, thanks to the couple of times we fought the other one in the forest ruins," Rarity replied, though at the same time she held out a hand and dropped the ring into Edric's palm, where he glanced down at it for a few seconds, "I found that on the body of my opponent and figured that you might be able to use it, once we figure out what sort of ring it actually is."

"Right." Edric said, to which he accepted the ring and pocketed it, though that was followed by the two of them walking forward until they came to a door, one that looked like the one they had seen earlier.

Rarity and Edric smiled for a few seconds as they pushed open the door, as it happened to be the one they had stopped by earlier and now allowed them to pick up right where they left off, which meant that they had to deal with the bulky knights that were damaging the walkway in the chamber on their right. Before they did that, and continued their search for the Old Iron King, the knight that stood near the door noticed them and came right at them, to which Edric raised his shield and blocked the attack. He then hacked and slashed at the enchanted suit of armor, like he had done earlier when they were progressing through the Iron Keep, though at the same time Rarity moved into the chamber they needed to pass through and stared at the two knights that were in their way... or rather it became one, as the one that was the furthest from her turned tail and retreated.

Unfortunately Rarity remembered the weakness of the turtle shaped knights, to which a Lightning Spear appeared near her right hand as she faced her target, who appeared to have gone still as it waited for her to make the first move, which would end up being the last move of this fight. She then spun around and sent the spear flying through the air, where she watched as it pierced the knight's chest and caused him to stumble backwards, before the armor tumbled backwards and fell into the lava below the walkway she was standing on. With the first opponent taken care of Rarity walked towards the gap in the walkway and jumped over it, causing the second knight to come out of his hiding spot and attack her with his full power.

Rarity simply jumped backwards and landed on the side of the walkway she had been on a few seconds ago, to which she released a Dark Hail at her opponent and watched as the balls of dark energy slammed into him, causing her foe to stagger before collapsing on the walkway.

"You know, I think our enemies should fear your approach," Edric commented, though at the same time he and Rarity jumped over the gap and continued forward, while he took a few seconds to study Rarity's handiwork, "As long as you can figure out what element our opponents are weak against, in a timely fashion, we should be able to get to our destination in no time... provided that there isn't a creature with complete magical resistances."

"Oh, I'm sure I'd find a way to break such a foe as well," Rarity said, though as they walked into the new area she found a lever waiting nearby, as well as a good number of enemies standing between them and the doorway they needed to walk through, "This ought to be interesting at least."

Instead of targeting the archer that was moving around the area above them, like she would normally do, Rarity simply pulled the lever and watched as the section that two of the turtle knights were standing on started to lower towards the lava that was below them. Before the platform got too far the archer jumped down onto it and raised his bow so he could get a good shot at her and Edric, though that was before the platform breached the lava and killed both him and the two knights that were with him. At that point both Rarity and Edric felt like laughing, as this couldn't have turned out better for them, though once they were finished with their laughter they walked up the nearby stairs and started their battle against the other enemies that were still alive.

As they started to advance, however, Edric spotted one of those Titanite lizards nearby, so while he chased the creature down, and killed it for the supplies it had, Rarity lobbed a Dark Ball at the archer that was trying to hurt her friend, as well as the other archer that was staring at them. Once Edric returned to her with the Titanite chunks that the lizard had been carrying, something that she wasn't about to question since this world was so strange, the two of them continued along the platforms and made sure not to activate any of the pressure plates. Edric had accidentally stepped on one and caused the two of them to move fast to avoid being dropped into the lava, though Rarity told him that it was fine, as everyone made mistakes, before they continued forward.

Since Rarity had a habit of pretty much killing everything in the Iron Keep with one or two hits, save for that demonic suit of armor they fought, Edric told her to relax as he started fighting the archer and the turtle knight that were standing between them and the fog door they were heading towards. Rarity was fine with that, as it allowed her to observe the area around them and search for hidden paths they might be able to take, to make their journey that much easier, but at the moment she saw nothing out of the ordinary. After a few minutes the two of them approached the fog door and removed it from their path, to which they entered an area that had a large cauldron suspended in the air... and had a knight walking around the support beams for the cauldron.

Rarity, seeing the opportunity that was presented to her, simply called forth another Dark Ball and knocked the knight off of his walkway, allowing him to fall into the pool of lava that rested far below where they were standing... though once that was done they walked down the stairs that were to their right and began their descent. At the end of the stairs they found a narrow hallway that forced them to form a single file line, though part of the way down the hallway stood another turtle knight, who started moving towards them the instant it noticed them. Edric, still insisting that Rarity conserve her energy for now, stepped forward and fought the knight that was in their way, though at the same time he had to avoid the guillotine trap that was in the hallway.

At the end of the hallway stood another turtle knight, though this time around Edric simply lured their enemy into the trap that he had passed by and watched as the knight was slain by the defenses that were built into this section of the large Iron Keep... though once that was over he and Rarity moved onward.

The next area they faced was full of statues that were breathing fire, just like the one that they had passed by at the entrance of the Iron Keep and the ones that had been resting near the last fog door they had walked through, though this time they carefully moved around the area when the flames weren't blowing. They spotted a ladder nearby and decided to see where it would take them, as they were certain that the Old Iron King was below them and wanted to be sure that they didn't miss anything important. It didn't take them long to climb the ladder, where they found themselves in a large chamber that looked like a cage, but since there weren't any enemies they looked around for anything useful... until Rarity spotted a ladder that would take them even higher than they already were.

What they found at the top of the second ladder was a new bonfire and a set of stairs that led them to a lever, one that Edric pulled the moment they discovered it, as he was sure that it was useful in some manner to their current goal and it appeared that Rarity agreed with him.

As they turned around the two of them noticed that the statues that were breathing fire seemed to have stopped entirely, meaning that the lever must have turned all of them off, to which the two of them carefully climbed down the two sets of ladders and returned to the first chamber they had entered. Edric picked up what appeared to be a bow of some kind, one that might have a lightning enchantment, but since he had no idea how to use it he simply stashed it away in his pack before they moved through the entrance that would take them towards their target. Of course they had to contend with another turtle knight, one that the two of them took apart easily, before they walked out of the chamber they were in and discovered some ruins resting on a level below them... and there happened to be a fog door waiting for them.

"There it is, the entrance of the Old Iron King's lair," Rarity commented, though at the same time she tightened her grip of her staff, as she was sure that this opponent was going to be much stronger than the Lost Sinner.

"Let's go claim the second Great Soul," Edric said, to which the two of them started walking down the stairs that were in front of them and carefully walked towards the fog door, just in case enemies were waiting for them.

When they reached the fog door they paused for a moment, as they wanted to be sure that they were prepared for the battle with the Old Iron King, before they pushed through the mist and walked out onto a decent sized ruined walkway that allowed them to look out at all the lava that rested around them. A few seconds passed before Rarity spotted something moving in the lava, to which the form of a great horned and winged demon made of earth and fire, with what Rarity had to guess were rivulets of molten iron pouring out of its body, erupted from the lava. Truth be told Rarity wasn't expecting a demon like this to show up, as she assumed that the Old Iron King was a human sized and shaped Undead, but at the same time she knew that they could pull this off... to which she and Edric raised their weapons as the Old Iron King started his advance towards them.

Rarity, sensing an opportunity that she couldn't pass up, snapped her fingers and a Lightning Spear phased into existence near her hand, to which she hurled it through the air and watched as the Old Iron King growled as it came into contact with his body. She could only assume that lightning was the demon's weakness, one that was significantly weaker than what she had see earlier, though since the Old Iron King was still some distance away she continued her assault before the demon reached the area they were standing on. She was only able to cast the spell twice more before their opponent arrived at where they were standing, to which she and Edric separated from each other as the Old Iron King pointed the palm of one of his hands at the previous location they had been standing in... which was followed by a beam of flames surging towards the wall for a few seconds.

From what Rarity could tell the Old Iron King definitely had a resistance to fire spells, since he had been living in the lava until she and Edric approached him, but since she specialized in Lightning and Dark elemental attacks she knew that she had the upper hand. When their opponent pulled his hand back he gathered some flames inside his mouth and started breathing fireballs at her and Edric, though at the same time Edric remained near the Old Iron King while Rarity moved towards the back so she could focus on casting spells. After the fireball breath failed to hit either of them, which made the Old Iron King angry, he started slamming his arms and fists on the walkway they were standing on, though he used enough power to hurt whoever he hit while not breaking the walkway in the process... which Rarity would have done, if she had been in the position of the Old Iron King.

When the Old Iron King tried to hit Edric, and toss him into the lava to kill him, Rarity focused her magic for a few seconds and a barrier sprung up between the two, to which Edric backed away from the attack before the barrier shattered into a thousand pieces... though Rarity was willing to take a loss to her magicka to ensure her friend wasn't killed in battle again.

The majority of the battle progressed in the same manner, as he used the same set of attacks for a few minutes while Rarity and Edric chipped away at the Old Iron King's health, though after a certain point he pounded the walkway with both hands and knocked Edric onto his back. Rarity raced to her companion's side and threw up a barrier around them as their foe rained fire down upon them, though while the barrier was up she healed Edric's wounds and pulled him back onto his feet. Once her companion had been healed the two of them separated from each other once more and continued the same pattern they had been using up until the new move was added to the fight, where they moved around the walkway and made sure to avoid the Old Iron King's attacks to the best of their abilities.

Eventually they weakened the Old Iron King to the point where a single spell would decide their battle, to which Rarity poured the rest of her magicka into a single Lightning Spear and hurled it into the Old Iron King's chest... where a large hole was created where the demon's heart was located, causing it to collapse in the lava and its Great Soul passed through both Rarity and Edric.

"Victory is ours!" Rarity said, though at the same time she fell into a sitting position as she looked out at the lava, as while she had been expecting the Old Iron King to put up quite the fight she hadn't been expecting a long drawn out battle like this, which made her wonder about the remaining two Guardians.

"It sure is," Edric said, though he smiled as he looked over at Rarity, because he was sure that without her he would have Hollowed at some point in the past and he never would have made it this far, as some of the creatures were definitely beyond his skill to take out by himself, "Let's rest for a few minutes and collect ourselves, then we can find the bonfire that will take us out of here so we can start the hunt for the third Great Soul."

Rarity smiled as the dark mist faded from her eyes, as she had no magicka to sustain it at the moment, but she was content at the moment... and she knew that the third Guardian was going to be even stronger than the Old Iron King, which worried her a tiny bit. At the moment she planned on resting before they moved out and she knew Edric was thinking the same thing, because the path to the next powerful creature was going to be a long and tedious one for the two of them... especially since they had no idea where to start looking next.

Down the Gaping Hole

After a few moments of rest, where she and Edric regained some of their energy, the two of them pulled themselves up from where they had been laying and gathered their weapons, before searching the area that they had fought the Old Iron King in, where they quickly found an entrance to the ruined building they had been fighting near. They discovered an iron chest that contained some sort of bone dust, before they spotted some stairs that brought them down to a chamber that contained one of those Primal Bonfires that they only discovered after beating the Lost Sinner. From what Rarity knew they did something useful, though what that something was she had no idea, but she was happy to see if as she and Edric stood near it and activated it... before they teleported back to Majula so they could tell Shalquoir, as well as the Emerald Herald, the good news about their victory.

When they returned to the small town that was their home, when they weren't traveling through all the dangerous areas they had to go through, they discovered that the smile on the Emerald Herald's face was slightly bigger than the one she had given them when they bested the first Guardian... meaning that she was extremely pleased with their progress at the moment.

"The soul and the curse are one and the same." the Emerald Herald said, though at the same time the duo stopped in front of her to hear her words before they started to empower themselves, as they knew that the next Guardian was going to be as dangerous as the Old Iron King, "Both of your souls have grown stronger since I last saw you. I only hope it brings you both what you wish."

Rarity let Edric do what they always did, though at the same time she walked over to where Shalquoir's shop was located and found that the cat was already expecting her arrival, as she seemed happy to see Rarity again.

"You and Edric continue to impress me," Shalquoir said, to which Rarity nodded her head for a few seconds, as she was used to the fact that the ancient cat could see everything they had done and knew that they had conquered another part of their journey, "First you take out the Lost Sinner, and claim the Great Soul that she was carrying, and now you have taken out the Old Iron King and claimed the second of the four Great Souls... that's definitely more than a lot of the other Undead can say."

"The Old Iron King sure put up a fight, as it still took us some time to take him out," Rarity commented, though while she knew what Shalquoir could do it felt good to actually talk about it, where she noticed that the cat simply nodded and let her speak, "My magic is much stronger than it has ever been and I knew our foe's weakness, but even so he took a lot of Lightning Spears and was still standing despite the pain that he had to be in. Just seeing what I'm capable of so far reminds me of what my friend Twilight Sparkle could do and makes me wonder what my limits are... if I even have any to begin with, considering that I can use Dark Magic as well."

"You'll know your limit when you reach it, and then you'll likely surpass it," Shalquoir said, though she was liking how Rarity was acting, because the seemingly scared girl that had arrived with Edric was long gone and, in her place, stood a capable sorceress that was channeling spells that were decimating her enemies, "You know the large hole that rests right outside my shop?"

"Yes, I've see it every time I have come to see you," Rarity replied, though at the same time Shalquoir jumped over to the broken window, where she joined the cat and stared out at the large hole in question, "What's so special about it?"

"Somewhere deep inside that hole lies the Grave of Saints," Shalquoir said, though when she used 'somewhere' she was intentionally not revealing something to whoever she was talking to, because if she gave Rarity all the information she and Edric needed they might not figure anything out for themselves, "which is the home of the Royal Rat Vanguard, and beyond that is the Gutter... though you'll want to make your way to the Black Gulch, where the Rotten rests."

"So if Edric and I climb down that hole, we'll eventually find the third Guardian?" Rarity inquired, as she had never considered that the hole might take them to where one of the four Great Souls was being held, though if that was true then that meant that the final one was in the ruins that they abandoned earlier.

"That's correct," Shalquoir stated, to which she jumped back over to her table and sat down again, though she waited a few seconds for Rarity to turn towards her before talking again, "You have three options that are available to head down that hole; one, you buy two of my Silvercat Rings and take your chances, two, you buy the services of the man that's now sitting next to the hole, or three, you find someone that's selling the Fall Control spell and use it to help you out. Of course it's up to you and Edric to decide which path you want to take, though I know that you'll make either of them work out for the two of you."

Rarity trusted that Shalquoir's rings would help them, and she had to assume that the Silvercat Ring reduced the amount of damage they would take if they fell from a great height, but at the same time she knew that seeing what the man by the hole was selling would be beneficial as well. Since she hadn't empowered herself yet, and had quite a fair number of souls to spend, she decided that she might as well see what the man was selling and excused herself, to which Shalquoir smiled and waved a paw at her as Rarity walked outside. As she walked over towards the man that was sitting near the hole, however, she found Edric walking towards her as well, indicating that he was eager to move on and find their next target... to which she gestured towards the hole that she was walking near with her head before doing the same thing to the man, to which the two of them approached him and caused him to look up at them.

"Wait, you found your way out, too!" the man said, though at the same time Rarity and Edric knew that he had them mixed up with someone else he must have encountered, as he was the first person to acknowledge one of them and not both of them, "The name's Gilligan. Don't make me say it twice! All right, what do you want? I have everything you need!"

"We need to get down that hole," Edric stated, as he had understood part of what Rarity's gestures had meant, as she must have spoken with Shalquoir and got the location of the third Guardian, which apparently had to be somewhere inside the hole they looked at every time they visited the powerful cat, "and we were told that you could help us out."

"You want to go down that awful hole? You must have lost your marbles!" Gilligan replied, to which he laughed at them for a few seconds, though Rarity and Edric patiently waited for him to stop what he was doing before he focused his attention on them once more, "Fine, sure, fine, I'm happy to be of service. You need a ladder, then, sure enough. But you'll… you'll have to show some generosity."

Rarity, having known from Shalquoir that this was coming, raised her hand and drew a symbol in the air, to which she immediately transferred twelve thousand of her souls to the man, who raised an eyebrow in surprise before chuckling at her knowing when it was time to make a transaction. She didn't mind parting with the souls, as she had more than enough thanks to the defeat of the Smelter Demon, the second Pursuer, and the Old Iron King... and she was sure that she could get that much back when they killed the next powerful creature that blocked their path. Gilligan mentioned something about her being generous with the amount she gave him, to which she mentally chuckled since she was still living up to her Element despite being in a whole new world, before he started moving his ladder into position.

Since it was going to take him a few minutes to do that Rarity decided that the best course of action for her to take was to spend the rest of her souls on empowering her spells once more, though while she was doing so she heard Rosabeth, who had moved to Majula after she and Edric freed her, mention something about a missing spell that she could have sworn that she possessed before being frozen. From what little she heard Rarity could tell that the spell had to be powerful, as Rosabeth was worried about it having fallen into the wrong hands, so when she was done with the Emerald Herald Rarity walked back to Shalquoir and asked if she knew something about the spell. The cat revealed that it was actually resting inside a chest in the Iron Keep, near where the Smelter Demon had been resting, to which Rarity decided that, since Gilligan was taking some time modifying his best ladder to give them what she paid for, she and Edric could spend a few more minutes inside the keep and locate the spell.

Edric, of course, didn't like the idea that they were backtracking, as he wanted to go forward with their quest, but he understood that such a powerful spell shouldn't be left where someone terrible could claim it, to which he and Rarity returned to the bonfire that was just beyond where they fought the Smelter Demon. From there they fought the knights that had reappeared, thanks to them resting at one of the bonfires, before they came to the large area that had the lever that dropped two knights to their deaths. Since they already knew where all of their enemies were standing, and how they would be attacked, Rarity and Edric stood their ground as they quickly made their way towards the iron chest that was situated on a path of burning ground... which happened to be surrounded by lava and the only visible path was to walk on the burning ground that was connected to a set of stairs.

Instead of doing any of that Rarity remembered something that she had seen in the Crystal Empire, and discovered thanks to Twilight's statements about finding a reference to one of Sombra's spells, to which she held her hand out and focused on what she was doing... to which a plat crystal spire rose up beneath the chest and carefully pulled it up to where she and Edric were standing, complete with a short walkway for them to use. While Edirc chuckled about how useful some of Rarity's spells were, from her home world anyway, Rarity walked over to the chest and opened it up, where she smiled as she gently removed the spell and added it to her own spellbook. With the spell claimed Rarity sunk the chest back down to where it had been moments ago and she and Edric walked away from the area, returning to the bonfire so they could head back to Majula.

Once they returned to Majula the first thing Rarity did was inform Rosabeth that she had found the Chaos Storm spell and was going to incorporate it into her current set of spells, that way it was safe from harm considering that she and Edric were righting the wrongs of the land. Rosabeth seemed to be okay with her keeping the spell, as she was sure she would have lost it again in the future anyway, so Rarity moved on and returned to the hole where Gilligan was working, only to discover that the ladder really went a great distance into the hole. Gilligan was proud of his work and was currently sitting where Rarity and Edric had found him, though while Edric praised the man's quick engineering of the ladder Rarity returned to Shalquoir and showed her that she had claimed the Chaos Storm for herself.

Shalquoir did ask if she ever intended to use the spell or if she had gathered it to prevent someone else from stealing it at some point in the future, to which Rarity said that she might use it once or twice after she figured out how exactly to cast the new spell.

Once she was done talking with the all knowing cat, who was always happy to talk with her, Rarity walked back outside and joined Edric by the hole, to which the two of them started climbing down into the wooden platform filled area, though Edric went first while Rarity followed him down. Rarity spotted a few items laying around while they descended, ones that she might grab later on with a telekinesis spell, once she figured out how to use it anyway, though she paused when she noticed a strange door that was near the end of the ladder. The door seemed to radiate with an intense darkness behind it, one that called out to the Dark Magic inside of her, so when she reached the lowest part of the ladder she found a second one that she used to reach the door... but even as she approached the strange metallic door she knew that she couldn't open it, not without whatever key she needed, and she was sure that using Dark Magic to open the door wouldn't work either.

When she stared at the door, however, an image flashed through her mind, one that was of a humanoid creature with what she assumed were angel wings, who possessed four arms and was casting some sort of fireball above their head... to which she jumped away from the door and growled as her own Dark Magic came back to life. There was something special about this strange door, that much she knew from her brief interaction with it, to which she resolved to find the key and slay whatever foul creature she had just seen. She waited for a few more seconds, just to be sure that there wasn't anything else that was strange about this door, before climbing back down to where Edric was waiting for her arrival. It was then that she discovered that they had a decision to make; did they jump down the remaining wooden platforms to the cave entrance that was below them, or did they climb up the ladder Gilligan made so they could jump over to the entrance above them.

In the end Rarity and Edric decided that jumping for the one above them was the more realistic decision, as the one below them appeared to have several highly withered beams that appeared to be ready to collapse at any moment, to which they climbed up to a decent location and jumped over to the entrance... though once they were both over there they drew their weapons and carefully entered the cave that rested beneath Majula. A few steps later and they came to a slightly larger area that had a bonfire waiting for them, so they wouldn't have to attempt to climb out of the area they were in, though it was being overlooked by a large rat head that was carved out of the stone around them.

After a few seconds of staring at the new bonfire, after they activated it anyway, the two of them walked into the mouth of the large rat head and continued along the path that was available at the moment, though along the way they found a few suffering Undead, who appeared to be in the final stages before they Hollowed completely. Instead of passing by them Rarity and Edric put them out of their misery, to which they walked towards the end of the passage they were in and discovered a circular room that looked like it belonged in a temple of some kind. As they entered the circular area they were set upon by a large group of rats, ones that were larger than what Rarity had seen back in Equus, as these rats seemed to come up to the top of Edric's boots... if not somewhat shorter than that height.

Unfortunately since Edric was so close to her, as the rats apparently wanted to keep them close while they tried to tear them apart, Rarity had to fall back on her Soul Arrow spells to get the job done, where she blasted the rats that dared to come near her while Edric sliced his targets apart. When the rats were taken care of they walked around the room and found that this was a tomb of sorts, as there were coffins and skulls everywhere, though at the same time Rarity wondered why this place was called the Grave of Saints. Personally, she didn't think that the name and the location fit together, not like all of the other places she and Edric had walked through so far, but in the end she couldn't argue with whoever named the place since he or she wasn't around anymore.

Since they couldn't enter the central part of this area, however, the two of them carefully walked over to the stairs and walked into another part of the tomb they were in, though as Edric spotted another suffering Undead to the left of where they were standing, and started to put it out of its misery, Rarity had to guard them as two more rats tried to attack them from behind. From there they continued to investigate the surrounding area, where they found a decent number of faces that were the keyholes for the Pharros' Lockstones, of which they had none at the moment, before they walked towards the right side of the area they were in and found a ladder that allowed them to climb up to the level above them.

When they climbed up to the top of the ladder, however, Rarity felt the air shift and knew that one of those red phantoms must have invaded their world again, though when they walked out of the small chamber the ladder brought them to they spotted the phantom in question standing a fair distance down the path to their right. At the same time Rarity heard more rats coming from behind them, to which she turned around and blasted the two she saw with her Soul Arrows, though while she was going that Edric charged forward and blocked the attack that was coming at him. One of the things that Edric had to do was stay close to his opponent, because if he got too far away the phantom blew darts at him that hurt, regardless if he blocked them or not... but in the end he was able to cut the invader down while Rarity finished off the last of the rats that were up on this level.

They turned towards the area that the phantom had come from and walked forward, where they passed by some rat statues before finding a path that they could take, where they discovered a bonfire that rested near a fog door, meaning that they could rest before fighting the powerful creature that rested behind it.

"This area must be short if we're already at the powerful creature," Edric commented, though at the same time he activated the bonfire and had Rarity rest for a few seconds, as he was sure that she had used a decent amount of Soul Arrows and wanted her to be at her best for the battle ahead.

"Yeah, I'd have to agree with you," Rarity said, though she had to wonder what sort of foul creature rested down here while she rested by the bonfire, but she had to assume that it was a rat related creature due to the statues she and Edric had seen so far.

A few moments later the two of them walked through the fog door and entered a chamber that had a large number of rat statues resting around each other with some separation between them, though at the same time Rarity and Edric watched as more rats started crawling out of all the holes in the chamber. For every rat they cut down or blasted into the wall another took it's place, meaning that this place was swarming with these large rats and that they would likely have to fight through all of them before they could leave. Rarity also noticed a second fog door, the exit to this area, and made sure that she and Edric were standing near it, because it appeared that the rats moved slowly and that they had the advantage until they got close to where they were standing... though when a slightly larger rat, one with spiked hair growing down the length of its spine, arrived and started walking towards them with the entirety of its army.

Rarity already knew that killing all of the rats in this area was next to impossible, as they seemed to be swarming out of the holes whenever one died, which meant that she and Edric needed to take out what would pass as the commander of their force... to which she sighed for a second as her right hand caught on fire.

"Rarity, what are you planning?" Edric asked, as while he knew that Rarity knew the Fireball spell, the one that they found on that ship that took them to where the Lost Sinner was located, he knew that she didn't have anything more powerful than that... save for the Chaos Storm spell that she had insisted they pick up earlier.

"I'm going to kill all of them, all at once," Rarity replied, though at the same time she charged forward as the Dark Magic surged around her eyes once more, to which she jumped onto one of the statues and started moving around the chamber they were in.

Rarity used the statues in the chamber to move around the rats for a few moments, where the spiky haired one growled at her and caused the other rats to turn towards her, though once they were all gathered in the middle of the chamber she made her move. With her energy burning above her right hand she jumped off the top of the statue she was currently on and landed in the middle of the swarm of rats, though before they could turn and attack her she activated the spell that she had picked up earlier. That was followed by at least ten pillars of fire, large ones Rarity mentally thought, erupting from the floor and engulfing the rats that were caught in the process... while at the same time the spiky haired one suffered the same fate as the rats that followed it.

Rarity poured as much power as she could into the Chaos Storm spell, to ensure that she did enough damage to make the rats think twice, before finally cutting it off completely as she removed her hand from the ground... where she quickly spotted the charred body of the spiky haired rat and noticed that the others were fleeing now that their leader was dead. Once the deed was done, and no more rats came out to challenge them, Rarity returned to the bonfire with Edric, as they were definitely going to have to rest after a fight like that one... and there was no telling how much stronger the next powerful creature was going to be.

The Gutter

After defeating the vanguard of rats that had come out and attacked them, with the Chaos Storm spell Rarity had picked up earlier, Rarity and Edric took a moment to rest at the bonfire that was right in front of the room the rats had been in before they continued along the path that they had unlocked. When they entered the new room they had access to they found a large pile of bones, with a coffin resting on top of the pile on the right of the entrance, and a rather passive rat that was sitting on the pile. Rarity, having gotten used to all of the strange people they had encountered so far, knew that this rat was either someone that would move to Majula after they talked with it or it was a person that allowed them to enter the covenant that it represented. It reminded her of the off man they found after fighting the Executioner's Chariot, which had to be for a blood type covenant, but she and Edric kept their guards up while they approached the rat.

"Leave this place, humans." the rat said, though at the same time Rarity detected that the rat had a tone that would suggest that he was royalty of some kind, but he looked like all of the lesser rats they had slain to reach this point and knew that it was likely a pretender, "We have no time for thy kind. Humans bring nothing but filth."

"If that is how you feel, then we'll be on our way," Rarity replied, because if the rat was going to watch them emerge from what was clearly one of its burrows, and claim that it basically wanted nothing to do with them, then she and Edric were going to leave the creature alone.

"Is that a Rat Tail, human?" the rat inquired, to which Edric glanced back at him for a few moments, as he had found a Rat Tail in the charred ashes of the enemies that Rarity had burned with the Chaos Storm she unleashed earlier, but he hadn't even considered what use it could have, "Thou'st one of mine rat burrows conquered. This will not go unnoticed. Rejoice, for the right to serve me is now thine. Since thou'rt human still… Permit me ask. Wilt thou thy human soul surrender, and pledge thyself to me? Swearest thou by the sweet-tempered sludge that laps at our bosoms?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to say no," Edric replied, though at the same time he decided to toss the tail away when they were far away from where this rat was, just so it couldn't see what he was planning on doing.

"Of course. Humans are all alike." the rat said, though Rarity could tell that the rat was annoyed, but at the same time she knew that she would have done the same thing if the rat asked her the question, "Get thee gone. We will tolerate thy stench no longer."

The moment the rat was done talking Rarity and Edric turned to the path on their left and departed from the room that the rat was sitting in, because they were eager to get the next leg of their adventure started so they could find the Rotten and claim the third Great Soul. They found a skeleton, a human skeleton, resting at the end of the tunnel they were walking through, though when they noticed that there was a way down into the circular area they had seen earlier the two of them jumped down into the area. When they landed in the circular area Edric found a Pharros Lockstone waiting for them, to which he claimed it and stashed it inside his pack for later, though that was followed by the two of them walking over to the hole that was in front of them... as it was the only way forward at this point in time.

The two of them noticed that the way down meant that they would have to jump on coffin platforms, to which Edric jumped down onto the first one, to be sure it was safe, before heading down to the next one, though when he reached the second one Rarity jumped down to the first one. They carefully made their way down towards the walkway that was below them, but when they reached the last coffin platform they had to injure their legs by jumping down to the stone walkway, to which they used their flasks and healed their wounds. The two of them then jumped down to the wooden bridge that was below them, though Edric jumped down to the iron chest and found a ring waiting for him, one that he resolved to ask Shalquoir about... to which he sighed, as he realized that he was instinctively going for the cat when they found something unusual, interesting, or odd.

Not even a few seconds later he heard the sound of something exploding, to which he turned around and found that Rarity was already inside the pit that was below them, throwing spells at the hollows that were coming at her, where they exploded before they could even reach her. He waited for a few seconds, watching Rarity deal with the enemies that were around her, before they stopped coming and she investigated one of the two passages that were around her, to which Edric dropped down and followed her. The two of them came to a dead end almost immediately, where Rarity smiled as she found a Great Heal spell page, which meant that her spellbook was growing once more, before they walked over to the second pathway... where they found a bunch of wooden platforms that they needed to use some ladders so they could climb up and down the area they were in.

They carefully made their way down the series of ladders that were in their way, noticing that the first one was really short and prevented them from climbing back to the area they had been in earlier, while at the same time the final ladder was the same as the first, meaning that they couldn't climb back towards the Grave of Saints. When they reached the bottom of the passage they found a chest that contained some sort of token, one that felt sinister to Rarity's senses when she laid eyes on it, before they noticed the path they needed to take. When they reached the end of the passage in front of them, however, they discovered that the area they were in was much darker than what they were used to and that there were a large number of statues sitting around them... and, when Edric took a step forward, something struck him and caused him to step backwards.

"What in the world was that?" Edric asked, though at the same time he raised one of the pieces of cloth they had been carrying and wiped off whatever had hit him, to which he wondered what was going on.

"I wonder," Rarity said, to which the shadows surrounded her hand for a moment and she launched a small sphere forward, where she watched some of the statues spit out something that caused the sphere to break apart, "I see, the statues are spitting what appears to be poison out of them."

"Is there a way around this?" Edric inquired, though while he considered smashing the statues with his weapon he figured that Rarity had a much safer method, especially with her strange Dark Magic that she seemed to be working with all the time now.

Rarity smiled as her shadow moved again, though this time around it surged into the statue she had seen earlier, the one that spat out the poison, and shattered the statue from the inside out before doing the same thing to the other poison spitting statues in the immediate area. The more she used the Dark Magic that was inside her the more uses she was finding for it, where she constantly wondered what sort of uses King Sombra had for this type of magic, because so far she wasn't experiencing any of the negative effects of using this magic. With the poison spewing statues taken care of she and Edric walked forward and dropped down onto the platform that was in front of the end of the tunnel they had been walking through... though they followed that up by carefully moving through a square hole and followed the slant down to where a bonfire was waiting for them.

When they activated the bonfire, however, Edric decided that it was time to forgo the shield and lit the torch he was still carrying, as it was too dark for them to really see too much, though this only gave light to their immediate area and caused the two to search out any areas that they could light up.

The two of them moved up the small wooden bridge that was in front of where they were standing, though as they walked over it they accidentally walked onto a weak section and dropped down into the area below them, where the suffering hollows that were laying around them picked themselves up and came at them. Since Edric couldn't use his shield, thanks to the torch, he had to be more careful about which attacks he tried to block and which he parried, while at the same time Rarity simply backed away from her enemies and used her Soul Arrows on them. She was sure that they weren't sturdy enough to require the use of her stronger spells, thus allowed her to save all of her stronger spells for later when they came across a stronger opponent or the powerful creature that called this place home... as she and Edric knew that there had to be one here somewhere.

From there they moved around the new area they were in and discovered that the only way for them to move forward was to jump across to another platform where two hollows were walking around, to which Edric charged over to the edge of where they were standing and jumped over to where the hollows were standing. As he surprised them, and cut them down in the process, Rarity crossed over to where he was and surveyed the area around them, where she found a ladder that took them up to where a scone that they could light was located. With some additional light in their area the two of them entered the small cave that was in front of them, where Rarity's shadow had a field day shattering the statues that were all around them... before they came to another stone door, though Rarity backed away from it, as the sinister feeling she had felt earlier was still there, only it was coming from somewhere below them.

These strange doors, in unusual places that appeared to have a keyhole that they didn't have a key for, seemed to know some dark creature and were warning her about it, to which she determined to figure out what the creature was and where it was located... so she could kill it before it did anything bad to this world.

After finding the strange stone door Rarity and Edric jumped back down to the platform the ladder was attached to and found a scone that they had missed, adding some more light to the area, before they headed towards the walkway that would allow them to move forward. The wooden building they walked onto the roof of had a scone for them to light and a hole in the roof for them to go through, though since it was the only path available Edric carefully lit the scone before he and Rarity jumped down into the area below them. From there they found that they had to go through an opening that led them to a large dog-like creature that appeared to have been skinned at some point in the past... to whcih Rarity sighed as she and Edric walked towards the poor creature.

Fortunately Rarity was able to take the creature out with some well placed spells, though since she was demanding the creautre's attention Edric was able to approach it from the side after it passed him and cut into it from behind, though once it was dead they smashed some of the vases that were near them and Rarity discovered another pyromancy flame, only this one was a dark flame. From there they walked into the lower area of the wooden building that was in front of them and climbed the ladder that they found, where Edric walked over to the nearby scone and lit it, though that was followed by four hollows, two from the area below them and two from the level above them, used the ladders to assault the duo. What they discovered was that these enemies fell in literally one hit, so all Edric had to do was slice them with his sword while Rarity used the lowest level Soul Arrow spell to finish off her foes... though once the coast was clear they headed over to the other ladder and climbed up to the level above them.

When they reached the top of the building they had been climbing up, and surveyed the area around them, Edric lit the nearby scone before Rarity jumped down to the platform that was in front of her, where her shadow shattered the nearby statues as Edric joined her... where he lit the scone on their left before they walked over the bridge that was in front of them.

A hollow charged at them while they were walking and Edric cut it down before it could even hurt them, though when they reached the end of the bridge the two of them found one of the skinned dog creatures standing in their way, and it happened to be obvious to their existence. Rarity smiled as she switched to her Emit Force spell, to which she blasted the dog creature in the side and set it flying into the abyss that existed below them, where she was sure that the creature would die the moment it hit the ground. A few seconds later they climbed up the ladder in front of them and dealt with the two hollows that called the area home, where they paused for a few seconds, for Rarity's shadow to shatter the poison statues, before they opened the wooden chest in front of them... where they found a firebomb, which they knew that neither of them were going to use at all.

From there Rarity and Edric jumped back onto the platform that was below them and crossed over the walkway that was in front of them, where Rarity smiled as the statues shattered and Edric lit the scone that was in the area they discovered, before they climbed up the ladder that was in front of them.

When they reached the top of where the ladder was taking them, which was the top of the wooden structure they had been standing on, Edric lit the scone before he and Rarity walked over the bridge that was in front of them, where Edric cut down the hollows that charged at them while Rarity focused on finding other enemies. At the other end of the bridge they found a third skinned dog creature that was ignoring them for the moment, but since it wasn't near any of the edges Rarity simply hurled a Lightning Spear into the dog's side and caused it to turn on her. Of course that meant that it ignored Edric and was hurt in the process, to which the duo continued their attack before the dog creature was defeated, allowing them to move forward once more.

They found two scones in the area that the dog creature had been patrolling before they found another bridge, only this one took them to a walkway that had a scone resting on it, so they carefully removed the hollow that was in their way before they approached the scone and lit it. At the end of the walkway rested another scone, which they also lit, though they spotted another skinned dog creature patrolling the area below them, while at the same time noticing that they were close to the fog door that the powerful creature had to be resting behind. Before they did that, however, two hollows charged out of a cave and attacked them, causing the duo to defend themselves, though once the two weak enemies were taken care of they investigated the cave... where they found another miserable hollow and an iron chest, which contained some sort of shield that had a hand emblazoned upon it.

From there they returned to the area that the dog creature was patrolling, though when they arrived they discovered that it had moved close to the edge of the platform it was walking on and that one blast should be enough to push it over the edge, to which Rarity dropped down behind it and used her Emit Force spell to knock it off the edge... though that was followed by her and Edric turning towards the fog door.

"Are you ready for whatever creature is lurking behind that door?" Edric asked, because so far he knew that Rarity's magic allowed her to deal with everything and anything they could come across, but he felt better asking her if she was ready or not.

"Honestly, I'm getting tired of all these powerful creatures," Rarity said, as she was mostly annoyed that the majority of the 'powerful' creatures they had fought so far were weaklings, save for some like the Pursuer, but in the end she sighed as she recalled her shadow, "but we have to fight whatever is in there in order to move on... so let's get this over with so we can find the Rotten and get out of here."

Edric nodded and the two of them pressed their hands through the fog door, though when they reached the other side they found that this area was mostly just a bunch of ladders that descended even deeper into the ground below them, which meant that they had to find the correct path in order to move on. Rarity was slightly relieved that they didn't have to fight any creatures this time around, as the last few had been simple once she figured out what they needed to do in order to win the fight. Fortunately one of the ladders in the middle of the area allowed them to climb down to a platform where they could either choose to climb back up via a different ladder or go even further down thanks to one that Rarity found after watching an enemy use it to climb up onto their platform. One thing that was interesting was the number of hollows that resided in this area, as there were at least ten to fifteen of them that were climbing the ladders and following the duo... before they met their end at either Edric's blade or Rarity's magic.

With the enemies cleared the duo climbed down to the lowest level possible and finished off the hollows that called that area home, but before they moved forward they found a large number of urns blocking the cave entrance that they needed to pass through, to which Rarity used her Emit Force spell and blew them all to pieces. With the way clear the two of them advanced once more, where they jumped down to a stone platform where they found a lit another scone, as well as another Fragrant Branch of Yore. As they walked down the path that was in front of them, however, they spotted a good deal of statues that had green markings on them, which Rarity shattered with her shadow, as well as a second fog door, to which they raised their defenses again in case this was the real deal.

When they passed through this fog door they found an underground area of sorts, one that was lit to the same standards as the area that they had just passed through, and discovered more of those poison statues lining the wall on their left and the edge of the walkway on their right. The two of them immediately knew that this was going to take some time to get around, as they were sure that this was where the Rotten was waiting for them, but before they did anything else they turned to the small hole on their left and found a bonfire waiting for them. They smiled as they left the new area alone for the moment and activated the bonfire, to which they rested and waited for their energy to come back before they attempted the new area they had discovered.

At the same time, however, Rarity could easily sense the pulsing dark energy that the strange doors had been warning her about, which meant that a clue to whatever that dark creature was had to be hidden somewhere in this area... and she aimed to find it when she and Edric started searching this area for the Rotten and the Great Soul it carried with it.

The Rotten

A few minutes passed before Edric decided that they were ready to move forward once more, though at the same time Rarity continued to concentrate on the strange dark energy she was feeling when she passed by those strange doors that she and Edric had found so far. She was sure that there was some sort of dark creature lurking in the deepest pits, something that she couldn't get to at the moment, but she was also sure that at some point in the future she and Edric would find a way to get at the creature and kill it. She still disliked how eager for battle she had become since she found herself in the area in front of the tree house that the Fire Keepers lived in, but she had to admit that all of the skills she had discovered so far, even those she never considered before, were coming in handy... even the spells that she unlocked due to her usage of Dark Magic.

She knew that Twilight was going to freak out when she returned to Equus, as Dark Magic was one of the most unstudied schools of magic in the entirety of the world, because the notes that King Sombra had made during his reign had been lost to time... and this might be Twilight's only chance to actually learn about this type of magic.

"Rarity, we should really get moving," Edric said, to which Rarity sighed as she stopped concentrating on the dark energy that she had been feeling the entire time, before she stood up and faced him, "also, I hope your shadow is ready for another round of statue smashing, because there were a lot of statues in the area ahead of us and I'm sure that many of them are waiting to spew poison at us."

"On that we are in agreement," Rarity stated, though at the same time she flexed her magic and her shadow stood up once more, to which the two of them nodded to Edric, who looked shocked for a few seconds before he simply beckoned for them to move forward.

As the two of them walked out of the area that the bonfire was resting in, and Edric made sure that he had his torch at the ready, Rarity sent her shadow forward and heard the sound of statues shattering already, indicating that her shadow was already hard at work breaking all of the poison spewing statues. Fortunately it didn't appear that there were any enemies in the immediate area, so they kept their guards up as they walked down the path that was in front of them and surveyed the area that they were heading towards. One thing that Rarity noticed was that there were four black pools of water, or what she assumed was water, resting in the middle of the path, meaning that they would have to trigger whatever was hiding inside them... though Edric also pointed out a hole in the wall to their left, indicating that there might be some armor or weapons inside there.

The duo headed towards the small cave and watched as Rarity's shadow surged passed them, where it sunk into the statues that were nearby and shattered them into a thousand pieces, allowing them to safely investigate the cave before they did anything else. When they entered the small cave they found a iron chest waiting for them, to which Edric opened it and pulled out two items; one that happened to be a curved sword of some kind and another that happened to be a spell page with a different spell that was called 'Great Magic Weapon'. From the details Rarity discovered that with this sort of spell she could imbue a weapon with magical energy for a time, such as her Heide sword or Edric's sword, to which she slipped the page into her tome and they kept moving.

When they approached one of the black pools of water, however, Rarity held a hand out and stopped Edric from crossing, as she wanted to be sure about what she was thinking before something happened, to which she tapped one of the pools with her hoof and disturbed the water. Nothing happened when she did that to the first pool, but when she did it to the second pool a large worm like creature, which happened to have a lot of teeth and a hand for a head, burst out of the water and caused Rarity to back up. She had no idea what sort of creature this was, but it was clearly an enemy and they had to react accordingly, to which Edric moved to the side, as it was more interested in Rarity, and attacked the beast from behind with his sword... allowing Rarity to hurt it with some Soul Arrows to the chest.

As the creature collapsed on the ground in defeat Rarity and Edric moved forward, where they had to contend with two more of the worm like creatures that burst out of the two remaining pools of water that neither of them had checked, as they were sure that there had only been one monster waiting for them. This served as a valuable lesson while they were in this area, as now they knew to check all of the black pools of water to be sure that more of these creatures didn't take them by surprise.

When they neared a hole in the wall, which was actually a large hole and not another cave, a large worm like creature, which was more like an actual worm than the hand headed enemies, burst out of its hiding place and attacked the area in front of it... though at the same time it opened itself up to Rarity's ranged attacks, where she tore apart the creature's health before it dropped dead, allowing them to move forward again. As they started to pass by the hole they noticed a second on in front of them and a second worm like creature came out, where it started doing the same thing as the first one they took care of. Before Rarity even attempted to deal with the creature she found another spell page resting on the ground, one called 'Scraps of Life', though as she gently added the spell to her tome she was a little surprised that she found two spells in the same area... especially since they were so close to each other.

Before they could take a few more steps forward a second worm creature emerged from a second hole in the wall on their left, to which Edric and Rarity repeated what they did on the one they encountered literally a few seconds ago, though once it was taken care of they walked into the next area they needed to walk through.

As they walked close to where some more black pools of water were resting they found more of the worm creatures that had hands for heads coming out to attack them, to which Edric flanked them while Rarity used her magic to blast them backwards. Their combined abilities was more than enough to deal with the two creatures they found, while at the same time allowing them to overcome all of the other worm like creatures that emerged from the black pools. Once they were sure that their enemies were taken care of, and Rarity healed their wounds afterwards, they searched the immediate area and found another cave that brought them to a normal chest. Inside the chest they discovered a strange vial, one that was different from the other liquid containers they had found so far, but they were both sure that Shalquoir could tell them what it was when they returned to her store.

When the two of them returned to the area they had been in a few seconds ago Rarity searched the edge of the area they had been walking on, where she was sure that she spotted a set of stone ledges that would allow them to access something below them... and, more importantly, a bonfire that happened to be close to a large fog door.

Instead of heading towards the fog door, as that was what Edric was thinking of doing, Rarity walked back over to where the small stone ledges and studied them for a few seconds, because she could feel the dark energy coming from somewhere below them. When she jumped down to the ledge below her she found a stone door, one that was different from the other ones, that definitely had the dark energy coming from behind it, though when she tried to open it she found that she needed a key of some kind. Since there was no way back to where Edric was standing, and her only option was to jump down once more, that was what Rarity did, to which Edric let out a sigh and jumped down after her, while at the same time hoping that there was a way back to the area near the fog door.

Rarity had to jump down a third time before she found a cave of some kind, to which she waited for Edric to catch up with her before the two of them entered the cave together... where they found two giants, just like the one they fought in the forest ruins, standing together with some rather large stones that they were using as clubs and spears.

Instead of pulling back and fighting the giants in the passage they had been walking through, and hurting themselves in the process, Rarity and Edric charged into the area that their new enemies were standing in and passed by them before they were hurt. As the giants turned around Rarity let her magic surround her once more and launched a Dark Hail at the giant on her left, causing it to stagger as the series of small dark orbs slammed into it's back while it's companion came at her. Edric, seizing the opportunity that was presented to him, raced towards his target and cut into the legs of the giant that was advancing on Rarity, who moved away and blasted her foe with a Dark Orb, once more causing it to stagger after it had gotten back on it's feet.

Rarity was surprised that the giants were actually weak against dark type magic, meaning that she could easily defeat them without suffering any damage, though she and Edric continued their dance with the giants until they were the only ones remaining... where they collected their powerful giant souls and found a strange key on the body of the giant that Rarity had been focusing her magic on. They then walked into the cave that was resting nearby and found a cage of sorts that would allow them to head back up to an area above them, to which Edric climbed into the cage and let it pull him up to the area it was connected to. A few moments later the cage came back down and Rarity took her turn riding it back to where her companion was waiting, where she discovered that they were in a small cave that was above where the second bonfire was located... to which they jumped down to the floor and returned to the bonfire, so they could rest before their fight with the Rotten.

"I hope getting that key was worth fighting both of those giants," Edric commented, to which Rarity pulled out the key that she had picked up and studied it for a few seconds, as she was sure that she knew where to use it.

"Killing those giants, like everything else we've fought so far, will only make us stronger," Rarity replied, though at the same time she stood up and headed for the entrance, as there was something she wanted to check out before they walked over to where the Rotten was waiting, "I'm going to check that door we passed by and see what's behind it, and then I'll return so we can fight the Rotten and claim the third Great Soul."

Edric stared at her for a few seconds, as if he was determining whether or not he wanted to see what was behind the door as well, before he simply shook his head and beckoned for Rarity to satisfy her curiosity, to which she nodded her head and walked over to the ledge that would take her to the door. She waited for a few seconds before jumping down to the platform below her, to which he held the key out and touched the door that she was sure that it went to, where she found the strength to push the door open and in two parts. What she found on the other side of the door was some sort of alter that was unlike anything she had seen since she arrived in this world, though at the same time she spotted an old man, dressed in a dark hooded robe, that happened to be sitting in a high-backed wheel chair.

She found it odd that she found someone like this behind a locked door, but at the same time she could feel some dark energy coming from the old man... while at the same time feeling an even greater amount coming from the alter that he was sitting near.

"Ahh, look how far this Undead has wandered." the old man commented, causing Rarity to turn her attention towards the man for a moment, though it appeared that he was merely staring at her now, as if he was studying something that only he could see, "And a very fit Undead you are. A bit too alive, but with a darkish shadow. Yet still unprepared. For a deeper Dark. And like every Undead, you have no future. Ooh, my, don't mind me. I'm just talking amongst myself. But if you find a need for a truer Dark, then meet again, we shall."

Rarity, having nothing to say on the matter, simply nodded her head and walked out of the small chamber she had discovered, to which she jumped down to the cave the giants had been in, rode the cage back to the small cave it connected to, and found her way back to Edric... who stood up as they walked down towards the large fog door that stood between them and the Rotten. Edric did not ask what she found behind the stone door, and she was thankful for that considering that she still didn't understand what she had learned, but at the same time they silently prepared themselves for the fight with the third Guardian... before they passed through the fog door and entered the domain of the Rotten.

What they found was a mass of bodies, likely all of the forgotten hollows that had been dropped into the pit, that appeared to be bound together to form what appeared to be the upper part of someone's body, though the Rotten seemed more interested in moving the heads of broken statues onto what they had been attached to earlier. When the stone heads fell to the floor, however, the Rotten got very upset over it and turned it's mass around, where Rarity and Edric got their first glimpse of the monstrous head, chest, and arms that the creature possessed... while also allowing them to take in the massive butcher's blade it was carrying.

"You know, when I heard that this guy was called the 'Rotten', I was imagining something completely different," Rarity said, though at the same time she was disgusted by what she was seeing, as she couldn't imagine the torment the other hollows were in, provided that they could even feel anything at the moment.

"I honestly don't know what I was expecting, because it definitely wasn't this," Edric replied, though at the same time he separated from Rarity, as he knew that the Rotten would be following one of them and, if they split up, it forced the creature to determine who was the bigger threat.

This time around Rarity was relieved to see that she wasn't the one being targeted first, as the Rotten seemed to be more interested in Edric instead of her, thus allowing her to try out some of her spells while she attempted to find the exact element that would greatly improve their chances of winning this fight. Since there were pools of fire resting around the room she and Edric had to be extra careful about where they moved, as they were both sure that touching the fire out only speed along their demise, though at the same time Rarity discovered that the Rotten didn't have any elemental weaknesses. She was always glad when she found an enemy like that, as it meant that the fight was that much more difficult, but even with that thought in mind she knew that the Rotten was a powerful opponent and that they shouldn't take him lightly at all.

When the Rotten started spitting out black globs from it's 'mouth', however, Rarity spotted a weakness in the chains that were keeping the hollows together to serve as it's arms, to which she carefully rejoined Edric and pointed out the weakness, though when he nodded they separated from each other once more.

Despite knowing that there was a way to disarm their opponent, quite literally Rarity reflected, she also knew that they had to bid their time and make sure that they avoided the attacks at were coming at them, as the Rotten really wasn't giving them the opportunity to do much. For the most part the Rotten seemed to do the same attacks, swinging it's massive butcher's blade at Edric and Rarity when they got too close, though the only reason Rarity got close was so Edric could deliver a cut or two into the Rotten's body. With all of the damage they were doing, and none of it really slowing their opponent down, Rarity was starting to think that they couldn't best the Rotten, though that was until the monstrous creature started spewing globs again... which was when she signaled Edric to attack the chains.

The moment Edric struck the chains with all of his might was the moment the tide of the battle shifted, as the chains shattered and the Rotten's hand, the one that was holding onto the butcher's blade, was severed from it's body, to which it roared in pain as Edric and Rarity continued their assault. With the threat of being carved in half eliminated, and the two of them continued to avoid the Rotten's attacks like the plague, they were able to bring down the Rotten in no time, where it collapsed in a heap and allowed them to embrace the third Great Soul. From there the duo make their way towards the area where the Primal Bonfire was waiting for them, where they reignited the bonfire and allowed it's strange magic to teleport them back to Majula.

Rarity was sure that both the Emerald Herald and Shalquoir were going to be pleased with their progress, though she only hoped that she and Edric were prepared for the area they had abandoned earlier, as she was sure that the path to the final Great Soul was through that area... and fight all of the enemies, both lesser and powerful, before they reached the area that the Duke's Dear Freja called home.

Back to the Shaded Ruins

When Rarity and Edric returned to Majula, with their heads held high thanks to their achievement at obtaining the third Great Soul that they had been told to recover, they found that the Emerald Herald was smiling in their direction, meaning that she was pleased with their progress. At the same time, however, Rarity wanted to hear what Shalquoir said about this situation, because the seemingly immortal and all-seeing cat was likely aware of their feat and no doubt had some words to share with them before they went off and tackled the Shaded Ruins once more. One thing that Rarity had noticed on their travels is that she and Edric had to backtrack a few times, mostly because the two of them were two stubborn to stop searching an area until they found what they were searching for in the first place... be that a certain powerful enemy or one of the Guardians they had taken care of over the last few days, or what she assumed were days.

Rarity was still unsure of how to tell time in this world, because it seemed like every zone they entered was attuned to a different time in the day, because it almost seemed like they went from daylight to total darkness one time... though she decided that it wasn't worth bothering to question as she and Edric walked up to the Emerald Herald.

"Proceed, bearers of the curse." the Emerald Herald said, though at the same time Rarity got the feeling that she was never going to call them by their actual names, not like all of the other people they had encountered along the way, "It is the only choice left to you."

Once again Rarity let Edric empower himself first while she went and spoke to Shalquoir, though when she entered the shop this time around she noticed that the cat was already sitting up and had been staring at the door for quite some time, as if she was awaiting her return... to which Shalquoir smiled at her as she entered the building.

"You continue to prove the Fire Keepers wrong," Shalquoir commented, referring to the fact that the Fire Keepers had said that Rarity and Edric were going to die so many times that they eventually hollowed, along with the fact that they were actually proving the old ladies wrong, "The Lost Sinner, the Old Iron King, and the Rotten... you and Edric have taken three of the four Guardians down and have claimed the Great Souls that they were guarding, something that not a lot of the other Undead can claim that they have done. Now, however, comes your last trial before you head off to Drangleic Castle; you must find and defeat the Duke's Dear Freja, as well as claim it's Great Soul... only then will you and Edric be able to see the King and continue your quest."

Rarity had figured that their quest wouldn't be over when they gained the four Great Souls and had their encounter with the King, but at the same time she was glad to hear that she and Edric were actually getting closer to the end of their journey now that they had three of the four Great Souls.

"Now, I see that you have been busy collecting spells that have proven to be useful in your quest," Shalquoir said, causing Rarity to nod her head for a moment, as she knew that the cat would have seen her adding spells to her spellbook whenever she found or purchased one, "Why haven't you added any of the spells from your world to your ever expanding spellbook? I know that you have been collecting the pages and have been putting them together, and yet you haven't done the same for any of your other spells."

"Dark Magic, it has a tendency to corrupt whoever uses it," Rarity admitted, though at the same time she wondered when the magic was going to do the same to her, because she was nervous about losing herself to the Dark Magic she now commanded, "If something were to happen to me, and I ended up dropping the spellbook, whoever picked it up next would gain powers that are unlike anything in this entire world... and there's the possibility I could accidentally create someone that's as powerful and as evil as King Sombra was."

"I see," Shalquoir commented, though at the same time her eyes flickered to the figure of Discord for a moment, confirming Rarity's suspicions that the Spirit had either been here or was spying on this world as he figured out how to bring her back home, "Well, it seems that you have the Dark Magic under control and know how best to use it's power, so if you feel that you don't need to add the pages to your spellbook, like the other spells, then I shall trust your judgement. However, you did not come to me to talk about the magic that originated from your world, you came to see the path to the Duke's Dear Freja and continue your journey."

"That's correct," Rarity replied, as Shalquoir had told them the way to two of the three Guardians, as she waited till they found the Lost Sinner before giving them more aid, and knew that the cat could give her the path to the final Guardian.

"You should return to the Shaded Woods, or the Shaded Ruins that you discovered earlier," Shalquoir stated, to which Rarity focused her mind and made sure that she remembered the exact path that Shalquoir said, as well as what sort of powerful creatures she and Edric should expect to fight along the way, "there you will find Scorpioness Najka. From there you will progress through the Doors of Pharros, where you will fight the Royal Rat Authority, and beyond that rests your final destination in your hunt for the fourth Guardian; the Brightstone Cove Tseldora. Once you reach that point you'll have to fight your way to the Prowling Magus and his Congregation, before you can find the Duke's Dear Freja."

"And from there we can begin the walk towards the castle," Rarity added, to which she let a smile appear on her face the moment Shalquoir nodded, indicating that she understood what path she and Edric needed to take, "Shalquoir, thank you for all of your assistance."

"You are the first Undead I have ever willingly given my help to in such a manner," Shalquoir replied, though at the same time a smile appeared on her face as well, indicating that she was pleased to finally help someone that deserved assistance, "You bothered to spend time with little old me, when you could have simply ignored me, so I am grateful that you found your way to me and started asking questions. Is it alright if I call you my friend?"

"Of course you can," Rarity said, to which her smile widened as she reached out towards Shalquoir and rubbed her behind the ear, where the immortal cat decided to purr for a few seconds in happiness, before they both stopped when her other ear twitched for a moment.

"Edric is coming so you can continue your quest," Shalquoir commented, though at the same time she and Rarity separated from each other, where they assumed their normal stances once more, "Remember what I told you and soon you and Edric will find yourselves at the Duke's Dear Freja... and don't worry, I'll see you at the end, once you and Edric have finished your long quest."

Rarity nodded and walked out of the building that Shalquoir owned, where she regrouped with Edric and headed over to the Emerald Herald, where she carefully empowered herself even more than she already was, as she knew that they might need her spells at some point in the future. When she was done she and Edric gathered around the bonfire and concentrated on the bonfire they discovered in the Shaded Ruins, where they braced themselves and allowed the magic to teleport them over to their destination. A few seconds later, when they were sure that the magic was finished, they opened their eyes and stood up, where they both drew their weapons and continued along the path they took the first time they visited this area. While they walked, however, Rarity recalled that there were some sort of harmful vessels resting around the ruins, so she simply called her shadow out and had it hunt down the vessels while she and Edric explored the area.

As they entered the main area of the ruins, where Edric had died while Rarity literally slaughtered all of the lion warriors, two of the warriors came at them, though this time around Edric was prepared for them and proved that he was much faster than he had been the last time they were here. Instead of dying this time around, and losing more of his humanity, Edric avoided the axes that were coming at him and swung his sword at his targets, though at the same time Rarity focused on the large frog creature that was staring at them and impaled it with a crystal spire. She knew that she could have easily used some of her dark spells, such as the Dark Orb or Dark Hail, but this way she removed an immediate threat that had killed her companion in the past.

Edric called her over and they found a wooden chest resting nearby, which contained another effigy and some sort of serum, though once they had the items they returned to the main area of the ruins and continued searching for the path that would allow them to continue towards their next target. They decided to head towards a nearby ruined building and watched as Rarity's shadow dealt with the other vessels that were trying to harm them, though when they reached the basement of the building they found a lockstone hidden in some wooden barrels. After collecting the lockstone they found a doorway that they could walk through and walked through it, where they kept their guards up as they searched for anything useful and any enemies that might attack them... though it didn't take them long to notice the creature that had the upper body of a man, while at the same time having the lower body of a scorpion.

Rarity recalled that Shalquoir told her that the next powerful creature they were looking for, which would show them the way to the Duke's Dear Freja, was a scorpioness called Najka, though that meant that this wasn't the person they were looking for... and, since the man seemed to be neutral towards them, they respectfully did the same thing and explored the area a little bit as they looked for anything useful. They found a Titanite creature that effectively trapped itself in a dead end, where Edric killed it and collected the pieces that it had for them, while at the same time finding a chest that contained a weapon, one that Edric said was a scythe due to the large customized head at the end. Rarity, on the other hand, looked at the weapon and didn't think that it was a scythe when she looked at it, as it appeared to be a halberd instead of a scythe.

Instead of bothering the scorpion man, and causing him to attack them, Rarity and Edric spotted a pathway opposite the entrance they came through and followed it deeper into the area, where they encountered another lion warrior that walked them both dead. After dealing with the warrior they walked through another entrance and found that the way forward was blocked by a statue that was clearly someone transformed into a stone block, but the area it was blocking was just an area near the bonfire... to which Rarity and Edric retraced their steps back towards the main area of the ruins and continued their search. The next opponent they encountered stood near what was clearly a trap of some kind, where they would fall into an area below them, to which Rarity smiled and had Edric line the warrior up with the trap... where she blasted it with an Emit Force, to which it fell into the trap and revealed that a few frog creatures were waiting and pounced on the warrior immediately.

Edric had to chuckle, because Rarity was getting good at using the environment to their advantage, though at the same time they turned the corner and came face to face with another lion warrior, which they dealt with in a matter of seconds... but as he moved to press onward, however, he noticed that Rarity was focused on something else.

"Rarity, is something wrong?" Edric asked, though while he was used to her feeling the presence of something dark and foul, or at least that was what she had told him, he also knew that this time around she hadn't felt anything, or if she had she had done a good job of not telling him anything.

"I'm sensing the same thing I felt back in the Black Gulch," Rarity replied, though at the same time she focused on what could have been a second trap, but her senses were telling her that something else was happening, "Wait here for a minute... I want to see what's going on."

Before Edric could say anything, or even attempt to stop her, Rarity approached the rotting boards and purposely broke them, where she fell into an area that contained the exact same alter that she found in the Black Gulch... and, sitting in the same chair and in the same manner, was the same man that she had found earlier.

"Young Undead, don't let this curse weigh upon you." the man said, turning his head ever so slightly so he could see her, though at the same time Rarity was beginning to wonder what purpose the man served, "We meet a second time. Perhaps you will yet traverse the Dark. Young Undead, if you truly seek the Dark, then we will surely meet again."

What Rarity gathered was for her to learn the man's name, and find out what he was talking about, she would have to find the third and final location that he would be resting in, though at the same time she knew that whatever was lurking in this 'Dark' was a creature that needed to be wiped out. Since there was nothing more for her to do, however, she jumped down into the area below the alter and exited the small cave she found herself in, where she traversed the path that she and Edric had been walking on and caught up with her companion. That was followed by the two of them passing behind two ruined tower like structures and walking up the hill that was behind them, though after a few moments of climbing they came to an area that contained a fog door... telling Rarity that they had arrived at their first destination.

"Behind that door rests Scorpioness Najka," Rarity commented, though at the same time she smiled, because this made things that much easier for them, as the Shaded Ruins had been short and sweet and they could move on without having to worry about missing something, "Well then, let's see what this creature has up her sleeves."

Edric nodded and together the two of them walked through the fog door that was in front of them, where they immediately found the top part of a lady sticking out of the sand in front of them, though she happened to be staring at them as she raised a hand towards their direction. Instead of allowing the two of them to be hurt Rarity snapped a barrier into existence in front of them as a burst of soul energy collided with the barrier, indicating that their opponent had some knowledge of spells. That fact told Rarity that this fight might actually be much tougher than the others they had gone through so far, which actually excited her because some of the 'powerful' creatures they had fought so far were nothing more than jokes... so she was interested in seeing an opponent that was actually powerful and could do some damage to them during the fight.

The moment the spell hit the barrier, however, Najka pulled herself into the ground and remained that way for a few seconds, though that was followed by her bursting out of the sand and revealed the lower half of her body, where both Rarity and Edric found that she had two tails instead of one.

One thing they discovered once the battle started was that Najka was fast and that she wasn't opposed to using the pincers that her lower body possessed, while at the same time using some sort of spear to jab at them when they got in front of her. As such Edric had to be very careful about how he attacked their opponent, because one wrong move would result in him needing to heal before continuing the fight, while at the same time Rarity moved around their opponent and considered which element would be best to use in this situation. Edric avoided Najka's tails to the best of his ability and damaged their opponent while he could, though at the same time Rarity made sure that Najka targeted her with her magic, snapping shields up when spells were coming her way and firing some off in return.

What surprised Rarity was the fact that almost none of the spells she used, save for the Dark Magic ones, seemed to be doing a great deal of damage, though she had also restrained herself from using the Chaos Storm spell since their opponent was constantly using her tails to attack everything around her.

At one point Najka pinned both of her tails into the sand in front of her, which Edric barely avoided, and remained that way for a few seconds, but before Rarity could take advantage of the situation she pulled her tails back and sank beneath the sand once more. The two of them spread out and watched the sand, because they knew that Najka would be targeting one of them, where they carefully paid attention to the area around them before Najka burst out near Edric and tried to pin him to the ground. Edric, on the other hand, avoided the attack and rolled away from the scorpioness, where Rarity hurled another Lightning Spear and deal some additional damage to their opponent... while at the same time wondering what element she could use to turn this fight in their favor.

While that was running through her mind, however, Najka changed tactics and pierced the ground in front of her with her tails, though this time around she did one of them first and then did the other one second, where she actually managed to grab Edric and hauled him into the air. The moment Rarity saw that Najka hurled her weapon through the air and pierced Rarity's chest, knocking her into the nearby wall, though at the same time Rarity decided that enough was enough and that she had to get serious about this fight. Her Dark Magic roared to life around her eyes as she pulled the weapon out of her chest and tossed it to the side, where she charged at Najka and caught Edric before he hit the ground, while also noticing that he was slightly in pain. She quickly wove her magic around him and cured his body of the poison that Najka had injected into his veins, before setting him down and turning towards her opponent... where her hands caught on fire as she determined the best way to end Najka's existence.

Rarity charged forward and avoided the tails that tried to pin her to the ground, where she jumped onto the back of Najka's scorpion body and quickly inscribed the symbol for fire onto the surface in front of her... though as Najka pulled her tails out of the ground Rarity jumped away from the scorpioness and smiled as she landed beside Edric once more.

"Let's heat things up a little," Rarity said, to which she activated her magic and made sure that it had enough energy to do what she was thinking, which would completely ruin their opponent, "Chaos Storm!"

What happened next was the large amount of fire pillars erupted all around Najka, causing her to pause and look at them all with what could have been a look of fear in her eyes, though that was seconds before the truth of what Rarity had done came to light. The pillars reacted to the symbol on Najka's scorpion body and were pulled into the center of her mass, forming one large spiraling pillar of fire that quite literally cooked Najka where she was standing, while at the same time sapping her energy and preventing her from moving. Rarity didn't care if the sand around their foe turned to glass during their battle, but she kept her mind focused on making sure that the spell held for as long as she needed it to, all while Edric heard the sounds of Najka screaming in pain as the flames tore at her body... before Rarity finally released the spell and let their foe collapse on the ground.

All that fire drained a good portion of Rarity's magic reserves, but at the same time it had done what she intended and Najka was charred from her experience... to which she broke apart and dissolved like all of the other powerful creatures she and Edric had fought so far. Edric, on the other hand, called for them to rest and recover before they headed into whatever area Najka had been guarding, to which they headed back to the bonfire and got some well deserved rest... because Edric had the feeling that the next zone might be even tougher than what they just finished, something that Rarity silently agreed with. Rarity wondered what sort of challenges awaited them in the Doors of Pharros and knew that time would tell, as the moment they were done resting they would head out... and come one step closer to finishing the first leg of their quest.

Brightstone Cove

Rarity and Edric stood on the edge of the cliff for a few moments before they headed towards the path on their right, which would take them somewhere near the entrance of the cathedral they had been staring at, while at the same time keeping their eyes open for enemies and traps. Fortunately Rarity found a pair of traps right off the bat, as there were two large boulders resting on a ledge above the walkway they were heading towards, though it appeared that they would trip the first trap either way and that they needed to be prepared for the boulder when it started moving. If they wanted to she and Edric would climb the ladder that was just beyond the first trap and kill the hollowed peasant that was tending to the second on, or they could allow him to trip it and deal with him later. Another option they had was for Rarity to use her shadow to kill the two hollowed peasants, but at the same time she decided that she should only save it for those vase and statue traps she had been using it for so far... to which she and Edric continued along the path and waited for the hollows to trigger the traps they had been staring at.

What Rarity discovered was that it was rather easy for her and Edric to dodge the large boulders, now that they knew they were there and weren't surprised by their arrival, while at the same time activating the traps actually killed the hollowed peasants that were tending to them... allowing them to progress without having to worry about being attacked from behind.

After the second trap was activated Rarity and Edric pulled back a bit as four hollowed peasants charged out from around the corner and attacked them with their makeshift weapons, so while Edric stood at the front and parried attacks, and occasionally slashed one of his opponents, Rarity summoned Dark Orbs and launched them into the enemies at the back of the pack. She was still amazed that there were enemies that were weak to magic in this land, as all she had to do was use one Dark Orb per hollowed peasant, but she only took care of the two at the back and let Edric cut down the remaining two in front of him. The moment their enemies were dead they continued along the path that they were on, where they came to an area that had a stone entrance of some kind, with a pair of stone doors that were made from a different material than the structure around it, that had three more hollowed peasants guarding it.

Rarity honestly had no idea why they were just standing there, outside a pair of closed doors, but she and Edric charged at the three enemies and continued their assault, where Edric cut one of them down with his sword while Rarity blasted the other two with a Soul Arrow, finding that even the first spell she had acquired could do the same as her Dark Orbs. What worried Rarity was that the symbols on the doors happened to be spiders, meaning that they were on the right path to find the Duke's Dear Freja, though that told her that their opponent was a spider of some kind, if she was reading the symbols right. Edric, once Rarity nodded her head, braced his hands against the pair of doors and opened them, allowing them to delve into the area below them, where they arrived in a small room that had several decent sized holes in the walls that made the duo raise their weapons as they prepared themselves.

They passed by a brazier that they could ignite, to which Edric pulled out the still burning torch he carried, once again causing Rarity to wonder how the fire faded when he put it away and how it ignited when he pulled it out, before he lit the brazier and continued forward... where they found a chest resting in the middle of the room, with more holes resting on the walls around them.

"An obvious trap," Edric commented, to which Rarity nodded her agreement to her companion, as she was relieved that he understood that this might be a trap, before Edric sighed, "Let's hope whatever enemies there are don't swarm us when the lid is opened."

While Edric approached the chest Rarity noticed that there were spiders lurking in all of the holes she had been staring at, to which she channeled her power into her left hand as she prepared a Chaos Storm, because she had the feeling that they would strike the moment the chest was opened. She was right in a manner, as a red orb with pulsing energy was discovered inside the chest, which apparently called the spiders out of their holes and they closed in on the duo. Before any of the spiders could do anything, and attack them, Rarity smiled as she slammed her hand against the ground and pillars of fire erupted from the floor, where they literally cooked each and every spider that tried to attack them, though she wasn't sure if their weakness was fire or if they couldn't handle the heat... but at the same time she didn't care at the moment.

The moment the spiders were dead Edric pulled a set of heavy bolts of some kind out of the chest, meaning that it really wasn't worth the effort, before they headed towards the other side of the room they had been standing in and opened the door in front of them... where they found a fog door waiting for them, meaning they had found the Prowling Magus and his Congregation.

When they walked through the fog door they found some guy standing over some hollowed people that were worshiping him, which meant that he was the Prowling Magus, to which Edric charged at the ten members of the Congregation while Rarity focused on the Magus himself. Rarity discovered that two of the members, who looked like priests, launched small Lightning Spears at her while the Magus threw bolts of darkness, to which she retaliated by loosing a Dark Hail that tore one of the priests to pieces and damaged the Magus in the process. She then repeated the same thing from the other side, lining up the second priest with her main target before loosing a second Dark Hail, allowing her to fight one on one with the Magus himself. The Magus also had a spell that used the darkness to push things away from him, or enemies for that matter, but Rarity wasn't phased by the attack since she stood away from her opponent... before she threw a Lightning Spear through his chest and killed him.

As Rarity realized that the Magus was actually like all of the other creatures she had fought so far, and wasn't a powerful creature, Edric finished off the rest of the Congregation and rejoined her, where they didn't find the soul of the Magus, confirming that this wasn't a powerful creature like they originally believed.

"So that wasn't a powerful creature?" Edric asked, because he honestly felt like they had wasted their time, despite the fact that they apparently had no choice in the matter since there weren't any other paths they could have taken.

"No, but we still needed to fight them anyway," Rarity replied, as she understood why Shalquoir had told her about the Magus earlier, because it was an enemy that needed to be taken care of, before letting out a sigh as she walked forward and headed towards the new doorway they could walk through, "Come on, let's find out where our target is hiding and get the final Great Soul."

The moment they walked through the other side of the building, where they found an opening in the wall to their right, both Rarity and Edric were starting to feel a little tired, since they hadn't rested since the last bonfire they found in the Doors of Pharros, where fortune smiled on them as Rarity spotted a bonfire they could rest at. A few moments later, after activating the bonfire and resting at it, the two of them walked down the stone set of stairs that were near the bonfire and headed downwards. From there they walked through the small room that was connected to the bottom of the passage and walked outside, where they discovered that they were in what could pass for a stone village or a quarry of some kind... completely with zip-lines for them to ride and monsters for them to kill.

From what Rarity could tell the mage like enemies that lingered all over the area, and there were a few of them that she could see at the moment, was positioned in such a way that if someone rode one of the zip-lines they would knock them out of the air and cause them to fall into the pit below them... or, if they were lucky, survive the fall by landing away from the pit, where spiders were likely waiting for food. Edric, on the other hand, smashed the spider that was in front of him, after riding a zip-line to where it was stationed, and accessed the next zip-line... only to be blasted into the pit, where Rarity found that he was fine from his encounter, despite the fact that the other hollowed mages were now turning towards him so they could kill him. Instead of allowing that to happen Rarity jumped into the air and spun around, where she loosed several Dark Orbs that raced towards the few hollowed mages that rested in the area, obliterating them within seconds while she landed on the sand near Edric.

From there the two of them searched the area and found a door that wasn't locked, though they had to take care of the group of spiders that wanted to kill them, before finding that another mage and a spider were waiting for them to arrive inside the room the door was connected to. Unfortunately all they found inside the room was a secret passage that brought them to a iron chest that contained a large axe of some kind and another spell, Soul Vortex if Rarity was reading the title right. With those items in hand the two of them returned to the exterior of the room they were in and continued searching for a way back to the upper levels, before eventually deciding to use a Homeward Bone and returned to the bonfire at the cave above them... which meant that they had to contend with the other enemies again after Edric had a quick rest at the bonfire.

The second time around, instead of using the second zip-line to continue forward, the duo turned to their left and entered the small house like structure that had been left behind, where they eventually found a tunnel in the wall to their left that led them to two wooden doors... as well as another part of this ruined area, where they found a hollow that was apparently being controlled by the spider that was attached to his back.

Fortunately it appeared that the spider possessed hollows were rather easy to take care of, as two swings of Edric's sword or one blast from Rarity's Dark Orbs proved to be fatal for them, but that didn't stop the duo from being cautious since some of their enemies could surprise them at any moment. They carefully made their way down to the lowest area they could access at the moment, while dealing with the hollows that were possessed by spiders, before they were attacked by a red spirit that looked like the peasants they had been dealing with earlier. The only major difference was that this spirit seemed to be pissed off about something, but since his attacks kept missing Rarity was able to blast him back with a well placed Dark Orb... allowing Edric to pierce the spirit's 'heart' and kill it, while at the same time allowing them access to the bridge that was in front of them.

It was in that moment that Rarity determined that the spikes on the right and left sides of the bridge would kill anyone that touched them, overtime anyway, meaning that she and Edric only had to follow the bridge itself to reach the door on the other side of the area they were in... while at the same time Rarity blasted the possessed hollows that were standing above the doorway, as it was an obvious trap and she removed it before either of them were harmed. As they walked into the building in front of them, after opening the doors, Rarity and Edric discovered a decent number of spiders hanging from the ceiling, which descended towards the ground the moment the doors were open. It appeared that luck was on their side, because a Dark Hail from Rarity was more than enough to deal with the spiders, because they remained together the entire time and died together... leaving her to sigh as they continued forward once more, which involved fighting one more possessed hollow before climbing up the ladder in front of them.

From there they got their first glimpse of the area that the Duke's Dear Freja called home, which appeared to be a large spider nest that went deep into the ground... which meant that there would be a lot of spiders and Rarity wasn't sure either of them could handle a swarm of them while searching for the fog door.

"Edric, I have a suggestion about how to get around this mess," Rarity said, though at the same time she kept her eyes on the hole, just in case the creature they were looking for rose from the depths to attack them first.

"And what would that be?" Edric asked, though he had his sword at the ready, because he knew that they were going to have to fight their way through this area before they found their target.

"We run," Rarity stated, causing her companion to look at her for a moment, where she gestured to the hole in front of them for a few moments, "I'm sure that we can fight off the majority of what's down there, but we'll be too exhausted to even fight the Guardian when we reach it, so we should run through the swarm before they have a chance to react and get through that fog door before we're caught."

Edric had to admit, he never considered just running through the nest and attract all the spiders to them, which would retreat once they entered the Guardian's chamber, before he eventually sighed and nodded his head, because if Rarity thought it was a good idea than it had to be one. Rarity nodded in turn and they descended into the hole in front of them, where they broke into a sprint as they followed the hardened webs that had clearly formed walkways as they searched for the fog door. At the same time they could hear the sounds of the spiders waking up and getting ready for action, where some descended onto the walkways and started chasing after them, to which Rarity gave the ones that got close a present and blasted them away with a small amount of magic. Fortunately the hole was actually much small than they had been expecting, in terms of depth anyway, and they found the fog door without much problems, though the spiders still backed away when the duo reached it... to which they headed through it and found a large open area that would serve as their battleground, yet there was no sign of their opponent.

That was, however, until a swarm of spiders rushed passed the duo and climbed the webs until they were walking on what appeared to be the corpse of a dragon that had been caught in a spiders web, where they started hitting the stone like corpse with their claws... which caused the largest, and ugliest, spider Rarity had ever seen to drop down from the ceiling and glare at the two of them, while some of the smaller spiders joined it.

Rarity started out the battle by targeting the smaller spiders with her Soul Arrows, destroying them before they had a chance to damage her or Edric, while at the same time her companion ran up to one of the spiders legs and tried to hit it with his sword, where he found that no damage had been done at all. It was in that moment that Rarity determined that by attacking the spider's body, and maybe focus on the head, might let them win this battle, but before she did anything the spider loosed a beam of energy out of it's mouth and swiped it across the chamber. Since neither of them had been expecting that attack they were both knocked to the side as the attack moved across the chamber, but they were quick to pick themselves back up as Freja started to focus on them again.

As Freja followed Edric, however, Rarity discovered that the spider actually had two heads and could only use one at a time to focus on someone, to which she grinned as she charged a Lightning Spear and hurled it into the head that was facing her. Freja's reaction was to shake as the head in front of her snapped to attention and focused on her, though Rarity had been counting on that as she snapped up a barrier that protected her from the beam attack, which also left the other head exposed as Edric started hacking at it. Unfortunately this method didn't work for long, as Freja started moving when she switched back to the head that was facing Edric, forcing the two of them to move as well while Rarity determined that the spider was much smarter than she originally thought. From that point forward it appeared that the only way to truly damage Freja was for the spider to attack them, and missing, thus opening itself up to damage from either Edric's sword or Rarity's spells.

At the same time Rarity had to focus some of her effort on keeping the smaller spiders in line, taking them out when they appeared and making sure none of them got passed her, otherwise it would throw off what she and Edric were doing and this wasn't the time for them to mess something up.

Fortunately, thanks to their persistence in fighting such a hard foe that had two weaknesses and adapted to their plans quickly, Rarity and Edric were able to beat the Duke's Dear Freja, claimed her soul, and smashed the other spiders until they were all gone. From there they approached the large dragon's corpse and watched as a red colored soul emerged from the body and floated down to them, where it swirled around them for a few moments before they finally embraced it, allowing them to gather the fourth and final Great Soul. From there they found a tunnel that brought them to a private library of sorts, where someone that had to be the Duke, who was clearly hollowed at this point, turned around and attacked them... only for Edric to impale him with his sword, while Rarity claimed the key, the Fragrant Branch of Yore, and the ring that he dropped, before they headed down another passage.

What they found made them pause, because one of the things they encountered was the Primal Bonfire they had been searching for, but the other two things in the chamber made them pause, as there the body of a man, decked out in armor and wielding two cleaver style swords, that happened to be missing his head... while the other creature was what appeared to be a giant, charred human head covered in flames and large branches. Oddly enough the ground around the strange creature was on fire, while at the same time Rarity noticed was appeared to be a single red orb near the center of it's body, which she guessed was possibly an eye. Before they did anything with the flaming creature, as Rarity suspected that it was more important and worth their time, Edric tackled the walking body and dodged it's attacks, leaving Rarity to watch as he tore his opponent apart and caused it to disappear like most of their enemies... while at the same time leaving the armor it had been wearing behind.

The moment they were done with the headless knight, however, they turned to the strange creature that was simply staring at them and approached it, where they remained silent as they waited for the creature to speak.

"No one has come this far, not for a very long while." the creature said, sounding male by the tone of the voice that emitted from the body, though from where Rarity had absolutely no idea, but she and Edric remained silent, "Young Hollows, do you wish to shed this curse? Then accept the fate of your ilk, and face the trials that await you. Unless, you have already joined the crestfallen. Young Hollows, there are but two paths. Inherit the order of this world, or destroy it. But only a true monarch can make such a choice. Very few, indeed, have come even this far. And yet, your journey is far from over. Half-grown Hollows, have you what it takes, truly?"

Rarity wasn't liking what the creature was suggesting, because it sounded like the creature was telling them that they had the choice to either save this world from total damnation or usher in a new age of darkness and despair... if she was correctly understanding what she was hearing.

"Young Hollows, seek after Vendrick." the creature commanded, though at the same time Rarity and Edric didn't know if they could trust the creature, because it had given them nothing that would make them trust it, "He who almost became a true monarch. Vendrick is certain to guide your way. Fledgling Hollows, may we meet again."

The two of them watched as the creature sunk into the floor and disappeared, taking it's fire with it and leaving them to their own devices as the light from the flames disappeared... to which they sighed and approached the Primal Bonfire once more. Rarity knew that Shalquoir and the Emerald Herald would have news for them when they returned to Majula, though all she and Edric had to do was ask and she would have the information she wanted, and maybe the identity of the strange creature they had been listening to.

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.

Finding Darkness

Rarity and Edric continued their careful walk up the strange bridge that was taking them to the main gate of the castle, where they were either going to be welcomed by the staff or attacked by the guards, as none of the places they had gone through so far had any peaceful encounters. As they ascended, however, Rarity noticed that they hadn't found a bonfire yet, which was different from all of the other zones they had traveled through so far, but that didn't stop her from keeping her eyes open as she searched for one. When they reached the top of the stairs portion of the bridge, however, they found two statues that reminded them of the primal knights they had encountered back in the Doors of Pharros, though as they walked towards the main gate the statues came to life and forced the duo to back up to avoid being hit... especially since the guards had archers backing them up.

Fortunately the two knights were susceptible to the same pattern they used to defeat the ones they fought against earlier, where Rarity acted as bait and threw spells at her target while Edric attacked the weak points, though the only downside to this situation was that there was a second knight... but in the end they managed to succeed and moved forward so they could better understand what was going on in front of them.

When they returned to the top of the bridge Rarity snapped up a barrier in front of her and let the arrows hit it, where she found that there were two archers that she and Edric had to be aware of, while at the same time noticing the strange statues that had holes in the chest area. She had no idea what those were supposed to represent, as the only creature like them were the giants they had killed so far and their holes were in the head, but she was sure that there was something dark and sinister about them. She also noted that the statues were positioned behind some pedestals of some kind, which reminded her of ones that they might be able to light, while at the same time Edric suggested that they might be able to turn them, as they might be the keys to opening the gate.

Another thing happened in their favor, as both archers moved back towards one of the statues so they could get a better aim on her and Edric, to which Rarity dispelled the barrier and they charged at their targets, Rarity heading towards the one on the right while Edric focused on the archer on the left. Fortunately the archers were easy to take care of, as they missed with their arrows and died in two hits, regardless if it was a sword strike or a Soul Arrow to the chest, to which Rarity and Edric watched as the souls of their defeated enemies flew into the hearts of the statues and awoke them from their slumber. That was followed by some soldiers charging out of their hiding spot near Edric and attacked him, though Edric made short work of them as Rarity watched the statues grip the two sides of the pedestals in front of them and turn them like keys... to which the gate opened before their very eyes.

With the gate open, and the soldiers no longer rushing out from where they were hiding to attack them, Rarity and Edric walked into the main entrance of the castle and found a walkway that would take them up to a ghost that could be one of the head servants for the King... which really didn't boost Rarity's confidence in finding the King if his soldiers were out to kill them and his servants were all ghosts.

"Who are you two… and by whose permission do you stand before me?" the ghost demanded, speaking to the duo the moment they walked up the stairs and approached him, though before they could answer it appeared that he was going to talk again, "This castle is the domain of King Vendrick. Is your trespass intentional? … His Highness… Where has he gone?"

"The King's MISSING?!" Rarity exclaimed, though at the same time Edric brought his palm to his face, as neither of them could believe their luck at the moment, while at the same time understanding that they didn't any leads as to where they might find King Vendrick, "Do you have any idea where we might be able to find him?"

"You are a guest of our castle. I am the Chancellor, Wellager." the ghost replied, though as he responded Rarity had to resist the urge to slap him or something, because she wanted to know how to find the King and this wasn't helping her or Edric at all, "Do you seek an audience with my Lord, King Vendrick? Unfortunately, His Highness is absent. My Lord… the King has… the Queen… has taken him…"

"Great, so we have to talk with the Queen to discover what happened to the King," Edric said, to which he moaned for a few seconds, because this was starting to turn into a nightmare, as they were going to have to search the whole castle to find out where the Queen was waiting, before he turned towards Wellager, "Can you tell us anything useful, like where to find your Queen or where she might have 'taken' the King?"

"My Lord made magnificent findings on souls, an accomplishment for the ages." Wellager answered, though it was at this point that Edric groaned and turned away from the ghost, while at the same time Rarity listened, as there might be a clue as to what they needed to do next, "He vanquished the Four Great Ones and built this kingdom upon their souls. Our King has watched over this land... since ages long, long ago. King Vendrick… we must fight back… or the Giants will take Drangleic."

It was then that Rarity detected a tone shift coming, though she had learned a bit from that first bit of knowledge, that she and Edric weren't the first to gather the four Great Souls, meaning that they might actually be questing for the leadership of all Drangleic.

"The King had a dear Queen," Wellager continued, causing Rarity to resume listening while Edric leaned against one of the railings and simply waited, as he honestly didn't care about most of what the ghost was telling them, "a woman of unparalleled beauty. Long ago, the Queen came to us, alone, from a faraway land. She warned our Lord of the looming threat across the seas… of the Giants. The King crossed the ocean… and defeated the Giants, with the Queen at his side. The King then commandeered their power… and created the Golems. With the Golems, the King created this castle. To celebrate victory… and to show his love, his gratitude to his Queen. The Queen… brought peace… to this land, and to her King. A peace so deep… it was like… the Dark…"

It was then that the ghost stopped talking, but Rarity now understood that those statues with the holes in their chests had to be the Golems that Wellager had mentioned, while at the same time she knew that the Dark was around here somewhere, as she could feel it beneath her hooves. So instead of heading through the door in front of them, which may or may not be the correct path, Rarity decided to investigate the area around the stairs she and Edric had climbed up, as she knew that there had to be a bonfire somewhere and that it would be safer for them in the long run if they could find one to rest at. Edric understood where she was coming from, since she always had great ideas to use at any situation, though there were a few fails like her insistence to fight the Pursuer again, where she was impaled on his sword... though it was then that she awoke her true power, so it turned out alright in the end.

The two of them walked back down the part of the stairs they had walked up to reach Wellager before they turned to the right, where they headed down towards the chamber that rested at the back of the room they were currently in and found two small normal doors and two larger doors that they might not be able to open. At the same time the duo encountered a few knights, their size this time around, guarding the area from invaders and were attacked by them, to which Edric went on the defensive and Rarity moved to the side and summoned her magic to aid her. Since it didn't take them long to deal with these knights, as they were also weak to magic, the duo opened the door near the entrance they walked through and found that it brought them to a dead end... to which they walked out of that small room and headed towards the door on the other side of the chamber.

When they opened that door, however, they had two more soldiers inside it to contend with, as well as one that had been guarding the other path to this area, but with their combined might Rarity and Edric were able to overpower the trio of knights and explored the other room they opened the door to... where they found a ladder that would allow them to delve deeper into the lower reaches of the castle.

At the bottom of the ladder they found a short hallway that had two rows of statues, on the left and right sides of them, that actually didn't move and were purely for decoration, to which she and Edric walked towards the door at the other end of the hallway and opened it. From there they found that they could go down three paths; as the path on their right would bring them to a large black gate that seemed important, the left path brought them to a room with more golems and closed doors, and the path in front of them brought them to a bonfire. They glanced at each other for a moment and opened the way to the bonfire, where they activated it and let out a sigh of relief, as this would definitely aid them in their endeavors to find the King... or rather the Queen, as Wellager told them.

At the same time, however, Rarity could feel that they were close to the location of Darkdiver Grandahl, though she had no idea where he was exactly and wasn't about to seek him out until they had figured out what the Queen wanted from them.

From there the two of them walked into the large room and found that two golems did exist in this area, in the two corners that were opposite of where they were standing and were apparently holding unlit torches, meaning that if they offered one of them a soul it would turn them on and light the entire area up. At the same time Rarity noticed that there were three doors on the left side of the room and three doors on the right side of the room, though each door had two soldiers standing guard in front of it that were waiting to be activated. They approached the pair of stone guards on their immediate left and attacked them the moment they woke up, though as the soldiers died two things happened; one of the souls were gathered by the duo, while the second soul was taken by the door... which opened and revealed a sentinel, like the ones they fought in the Lost Bastille, that was immediately aggressive against them.

Fortunately Rarity remembered that these enemies were deathly allergic to lightning based attacks, so she loosed a Greater Lightning Spear, one of the spells from Shalquoir's portion of the spellbook, and blasted a gaping hole in the sentinel's chest... causing it to topple to the ground instantly while Rarity stared at it.

"I knew these guys were weak to lightning based attacks," Rarity said, while at the same time rubbing the back of her head, as this was starting to get really old for her, and she was sure that Edric was thinking the same thing, "but I figured these versions would be more resilient... it appears that I was wrong in that regard."

"It's okay," Edric replied, though he was happy that this had happened, as it made the journey going forward that much easier for the two of them, before beckoning to another door, "Come on, let's open the rest of them and see if they have anything interesting."

For the next few minutes Rarity and Edric carefully approached a door and woke the two soldiers that were guarding it, where one of the stone guards had their soul sacrificed to open the door they had been protecting and Rarity tore the sentinel on the other side to pieces. By the time they had opened all six of the doors, empowered the torch holding golems, and killed five sentinels, Rarity had exhausted the Greater Lightning Spear spell for the moment, but she was fine with that as she and Edric searched the chambers for their prizes. One of the chests had a lockstone that they might not even need at this point in time, another had a ring that seemed identical to one they collected in the past, and the third chest contained a greatsword. The other three rooms proved to be empty, save for one that appeared to have the path they would want to take, the second had nothing in it, and the third room, the third one on the left side of the room, had it's floor crumble beneath them... dropping them into an area where a darkdweller was guarding a corpse, which they were forced to kill since it attacked them.

As Edric collected the armor, as he might use it in the future or sell it when they got back to Majula, Rarity found two tunnels in front of them, though while one tunnel brought her to another bonfire the other one had the person she was searching for, as she found Darkdiver Grandahl sitting in his chair... which rested near the same alter she had seen at the other two locations she had encountered the man.

"We meet again, young Undead." Grandahl commented, though this time around he sounded happier to see her, indicating that he was pleased to ha seen her at all three of the locations they had encountered each other in, "You have the look of a true seeker. I am Darkdiver Grandahl, seeker of Dark, giver of Dark. If you seek true Dark, I will grant it to you. As much as you desire. Well, then… is Dark what you wish for?"

From what Rarity was able to tell this Dark that a few people had mentioned was either something good or something bad, depending on who she and Edric talked to, but at the same time she knew that the bulk of her power came from the Dark Magic that was now coursing through her veins. Her hatred for the Pursuer had given her the strength to break through her own limits and boosted her own power in the process, though she honestly had to wonder if she could get another power boost from completing whatever trials would be in this Dark Chasm that Shalquoir had mentioned. She could also tell that Edric was watching her, trying to figure out if she would take the plunge and accept some additional guidance, before she let out a sigh and faced the old man that was in front of her.

"Yes." Rarity replied, because she had the feeling that she was going to need every scrap of power she could get her hands on for the powerful creatures that were waiting ahead of them... even those that she and Edric weren't even aware of at that moment.

"There you are, you are now a Pilgrim of Dark." Grandahl said, though that was when he handed Rarity a seal of some kind as the alter came to life, as the circular ring in the middle started glowing and the middle of that circle seemed to be a portal to another dimension, "The Dark Chasm beckons you. Those drawn to the Dark are destined to seek it."

Rarity wasn't sure if now was the best time to enter the Dark Chasm, especially since she wanted to ask Edric and Shalquoir a few questions before she did so, but she was happy to know that the Dark Chasm was open to her so she could enter it whenever she wanted... and find the Darklurker, when she was ready to face it.

Storming the Castle

In the end Rarity decided that now wasn't the time to meddle with the Dark Chasm and battle the Darklurker, as she and Edric still needed to find the Queen and figure out what happened to the King, as well as determine what the next part of their quest was. She also wondered about the three 'keys' that Shalquoir had given her and wondered where they could be used, though she had only given her the locations that the three strange items were tied to and said that she would know what to do with them when the time came. Instead of wasting her time on Darkdiver Grandahl and the Dark Chasm, even though she knew that she should kill the Darklurker, she and Edric returned to the nearby bonfire and used it to teleport back to the one that was in the chamber above them... where they engaged a few of the stone guards that were guarding the door on their immediate right and the sentinel that was behind the now open door.

They walked up the stairs that were behind the door and came to an area where a wooden chest was waiting for them, to which Edric opened it and discovered fifteen arrows that seemed to have a dark aura around them, something that he stored in his pack before they turned to the right and moved onward.

Around the corner in front of them rested a set of stairs that would take them upwards, though under one of the arches rested a corpse with a hero's soul, a charm, and a powerful Lifegem, all of which the duo collected before they started climbing the stairs. It didn't take them long to reach a small chamber that had a stone statue of the turtle like warriors, which the two of them had fought a few of back in the forest ruins so long ago, but since it didn't come to life they walked right by it and ascended the stairs beyond it. What they found after walking up the stairs for a few seconds, however, was what appeared to be a pool of corrosive liquid that Rarity wanted to ignore, because she was sure that it would do something to their armor and weapons, or at least her sword and all of Edric's equipment. Edric seemed to be of the same opinion and continued up the stairs in front of them, where they found a chamber that had a stone statue of a knight, a portrait of some kind, and a doorway for them to walk through... which allowed them to walk around a corner and ascend another set of stairs.

That brought them to a door that revealed a chamber with head carvings added to all four of the walls, which happened to spit poison darts if either of them walked in front of them, to which Rarity sighed and summoned a barrier to protect them as they walked through the chamber. She also walked by a corpse that contained a brave warrior's soul and some Titanite that was unlike anything they had found so far, which Edric pocketed before they opened the other door and walked out of the poison dart filled room, allowing Rarity to dispel the barrier as they moved forward. From there they headed up the stairs that were in front of them and made their way towards another chamber, where they found three knights standing guard, as well as a giant portrait of who Rarity had to guess was the mysterious Queen... and she could feel some darkness emitting from the painting.

The knights weren't too happy to see that they were there, as the three of them advanced on the duo almost immediately after spotting them, but they fell back on their knowledge of their previous fights and separated from each other so the knights would do the same thing. This was another instance where Rarity was pleased to discover that her enemies were susceptible to magic, as she used her Soul Arrows to great effect in taking out the first knight that approached her, while Edric parried the attack from his foe and cut him down. The two of them then focused on the third knight and eliminated him before he could damage either of them, allowing the duo to walked out of the chamber and climb the stairs on their right. From there they discovered that there weren't any railings on their left and right, meaning that they had to be careful to avoid falling to their deaths, while engaging a knight that was protecting the way forward, who didn't stand much of a change against their combined power.

As they walked up the stairs, however, Rarity held a hand up and stopped for a moment, because she felt the arrival of another spirit that wanted her and Edric dead, which meant that they needed to stop and let the invader come to them, so they didn't waste energy hunting for the spirit. After a few minutes of waiting for the invader to show up, however, both Rarity and Edric were convinced that whoever had invaded their world was either a coward or had gotten lost somewhere along the way. It was Edric who had the bright idea to backtrack a little and found that the red spirit was blocking the doorway back into the room they came from, though this spirit carried a single sword and no shield, to which Edric decided to fight it... leaving Rarity to watch and destroy the various archers that tried to loose arrows at her friend from afar, allowing him to duel the spirit and not be interrupted.

Fortunately Edric proved to be much stronger than the red spirit was, as he actually disarmed the spirit at some point and delivered a wide slash against the spirit's chest, before he severed the connection by ending the spirit's life, sending the person back to whatever world he had come from... allowing him to return to Rarity so they could press onward in their search for the Queen. The duo then carefully followed the path that was in front of them and walked up the stairs that brought them to a walkway, which brought them to an entrance for a large area that had a gap between them and the area in front of theirs. In the other room that they were staring at, however, sat a lady that was wearing a white gown and seemed sad about something, though Rarity immediately knew that this had to be the mysterious Queen that they had learned about earlier... to which they remained silent as they waited to see what she had to tell them.

"You have fought admirably on your journey, cursed Undead." the Queen said, though while she didn't mention the number of people facing her neither of them were annoyed, even though Rarity now felt that there was something off about the Queen, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on, "I am Nashandra, Queen of Drangleic. A true monarch carries the weight of their souls. The last king of this land, King Vendrick, as he was called… He was less of a king than you might imagine. He found the strength to rule his people, and when the Undead were born, cursed… He found more strength, to face them. But in the end, he never took the true throne."

"Okay... so seek the King, but without any information where to find him again," Edric mumbled, to which he bowed his head respectfully, since this was the Queen they were visiting, before heading towards the seconds open doorway that the room had, "back to square one... again."

Rarity shared Edric's frustration, because up until this point they had a clear objective, gather the four Great Souls and speak to the King, but no one knew where the King was, though even as that thought came to mind she knew that Shalquoir likely knew where Vendrick was. The cat was likely to either hand over the information or tell them were to go so they could get the information, but it would be better than searching the rest of the castle, which she and Edric planned on doing before they went somewhere else in their search for the King. The second doorway brought them to a fog door, which meant that a powerful creature was likely waiting for them, to which they sighed and pushed their way into the arena they would be fighting in... to which they discovered two pristine looking Dragonriders, like the one they fought in Heide's Tower of Flame, except one was an archer and the other carried a halberd.

The only other difference that Rarity could see at the moment, besides what types of weapons they used, was that the two Dragonriders had different colored armor, as the archer was wearing black armor and the warrior was wearing the normal red armor they had seen the last time they fought one of these creatures.

The moment they walked into the area both of the Dragonriders became active, to which Edric walked over to the warrior type while Rarity focused on taking out the archer, whose bow was actually aimed on her, showing that even though both of these knights had hollowed at some point in the past they were still smart. As such she moved around the area, and didn't get near Edric's fight in case the other knight turned it's attention towards her, and kept her attention on the archer while she avoided the arrows. Instead of picking the Lightning Spear this time around, like she always did when she fought a new powerful creature, Rarity selected the Dark Orb and Dark Hail spells, though she was shocked when she watched the first Dark Orb collide with the Dragonrider's chest and knock him backwards, as if he was terribly weak towards the dark element... just like some enemies had been to her lightning based spells in the past.

Rarity mentally moaned as her Dark Hail inflicted massive damage on the archer and effectively killed it before it could even hurt her, as she wasn't expecting the knight to actually be weak against dark based attacks... to which she sat on the side and watched Edric fight his opponent to the death. It actually gave her the opportunity to see that her companion had really improved since they started their quest, as now he was reading his opponent's movements, studying when they attacked and when they defended, and was looking for gaps in their armor that he could use against them. Edric rolled under the attack that was coming his way and let the halberd hit the floor where he had been standing, though as it got stuck he seized his chance and delivered a powerful slash to his target's side, cutting through the knight's armor and skin at the exact same time.

It went on like that for a few more moments, where Rarity watched as Edric displayed his skills in battle and delivered more damaging attacks against his opponent, before he finally delivered the finishing blow and killed the knight he had been fighting... opening the way for them to walk into a room that had a bonfire, along with someone that shouldn't be in the room with them.

"Ho! Well met, friends." the man said, waving at the duo as they activated the bonfire, though at the same time Rarity simply stared at him while she tried to understand what she was seeing, "Good to see that the two of you are well. Yes, very good indeed. I journeyed from the distant east to perfect my swordsmanship. Legend has it that powerful beings slumber in this land. This sword, it's been in my family for generations. And only a real man can wield it true. I may face any manner of man or beast, but none shall be a match for my sword. This land is a right mess, eh? King's gone, and the people have a mad glint in their eyes. The land itself is overrun by terrible beasts. No better place to test my sword, ey?"

"How could you possibly know that the King is gone?" Rarity asked, because while she understood that some of the people they had encountered wanted to test their skills and hone their talents to a new level, there was a question that she really wanted answered, "For that matter, how in the world did you get through the Sanctum of Winter, the only door to this castle, without killing any of the creatures we killed? There is no way, in any realm of Tartarus, that you should be sitting here, in front of us, and chatting up a storm all of a sudden."

"I am here to show that there are others that are capable of doing what you have done," the man replied, though at the same time he didn't seem to take offense to what Rarity had said, while also insinuating that he was also an Undead that was much stronger than what he looked like, "be careful though, the next powerful creature you encounter just might be the death of you... and potentially the awakening of the other."

Rarity would have wondered what that meant, but she knew that the man was telling them to be careful when they found the next powerful creature, whatever that creature happened to be, otherwise it would mess them up and potentially make one of them turn completely hollow. The man also seemed to be suggesting that her power of Dark Magic, which had awoken from being killed by the Pursuer one too many times, wasn't her limits and that she might be able to become much stronger, if she died as much as Edric did. It was like the man was suggesting that the way for her to unlock her true power was to sacrifice Edric to whatever creature was up next, to gain the power to overturn everything in her path... but she would never let that happen. She and Edric were going to figure out where the King was located, see if they could help him in some manner, and discover the method to cure themselves of the curse.

Before the end of this adventure, however, Rarity knew that she and the Darklurker would fight, but she focused on the task ahead and the next powerful creature, knowing that they would be in for a tough fight ahead.

Looking Glass Knight

The duo took a few moments to rest at the bonfire as they determined which path to take from where they were sitting, as either one of them could take them to where the King was located and they had no idea which of them was the correct path to take in this situation. The man that Rarity had spoken to, who apparently called himself Benhart and was only now offering the two of them his name, was still sitting in his spot near the wall, though at the same time Rarity had already apologized for snapping at him like she had. She had originally assumed that he was another inhabitant of this world and was somehow bypassing all of the stuff she and Edric had done to get this far, but now it appeared that he was one of the Undead who had gotten pretty far in their journey, only to stop for some unknown reason, and was now offering his help to any of the other Undead that might need assistance.

Of course Benhart already knew that neither Rarity or Edric needed assistance, not when they seemed to be such an unstoppable team, but that didn't stop him from appearing every now and then to check up on their progress... which only reminded Rarity of Shalquoir.

Once the duo was rested they picked themselves up and headed through the corridor that was on the right of the entrance, instead of heading forward since the path opposite of the entrance led down, before they came to some stairs that had a knight standing on the landing in front of them. Edric walked up the stairs and engaged the knight in a rather short battle, while Rarity noticed some archers on the top of the building to her left and waved her staff at them, to which several Dark Orbs collided with her targets and knocked them all down, meaning that they couldn't hurt either of them with their arrows for some time. Unfortunately the journey along this path came to a swift end, as the door they had been walking towards was sealed off by a barricade, which both Rarity and Edric agreed could only be unlocked from the other side of the metallic structure... to which they turned around and headed back the way they came, so they could pick the path they had decided to ignore, since it was the correct path all of a sudden.

At the end of the descending corridor rested what appeared to be an elevator of some kind, but since it wasn't on their level they couldn't access it right away, to which Edric ignored the lever that was to the left of the entrance and started climbing the ladder on his right. As he did that Rarity examined the strange door behind the elevator and discovered that it was locked, and that it could be unlocked in some manner, before sighing as she followed after her companion and started ascending the ladder as well. At the top of the ladder the duo approached an iron door, which they could see through thanks to the slots that had been made when the door was being constructed, before the two of them opened it and jumped down into the area in front of them, which was a decent sized chamber that had several knight statues that were waiting to come alive... along with a golem that was standing in front of another pedestal shaped key, which meant that they needed a soul to feed to it, just like the others they had encountered so far.

Fortunately it was rather easy for the two of them to activate the seven stone knights that were in the area and kill one of them near the golem, but this time around they had no idea what the golem activated when he turned his key, to which the duo simply finished off the remainder of their enemies before they opened a nearby door and continued along the path they had chosen. The room that was connected to the chamber contained two chests for them to open, where one contained a new chime that Rarity could use if she so desired while the second contained a new weapon, some sort of large hammer that Edric clearly intended on selling once they were back in Majula. From there they walked through another doorway and found themselves in a part of the castle where they could walk up some stairs to get to the level above them... once they dealt with the primal knight that was no doubt going to come after them once they moved from where they were standing.

Rarity also spotted some archers and potential magic using knights waiting for them as well, which meant that if a fight did break out between them and the primal knight she would have to take out the ranged enemies before they were overwhelmed by their foes.

As they made a break for the stairs, however, Rarity noticed that they had misjudged the number of foes in this area, as there were two more knights standing beside the primal knight, though both of them agreed that taking out the archers was their first priority. When they reached the top of the stairs the two of them separated from each other, intending to take out both sets of archers before they could react, to which Rarity focused on her first foe and hurled a Lightning Spear through her target, knocking the archer backwards in the process. The second archer loosed an arrow at her and Rarity dodged it to the best of her ability, where her shoulder was nicked in the process, to which she loosed a Dark Orb right into her target's chest and blew him into the wall that was behind the chest she had been heading towards. With her foes defeated she cast a glance over at Edric's side and noticed that he had finished clearing out his foes as well, though when he opened his chest it was clear that he got nothing, indicating that one of the spells that Shalquoir had given her had been inside that particular chest... though when Rarity opened her chest she found that her's contained an arrow trap that forced her to snap a shield in front of her to avoid taking any damage.

When the trap was spent she lowered the shield and claimed her prize, which happened to be ten fire arrows that were pretty much useless to both her and Edric... to which she sighed as she rejoined Edric as he attacked the three knights that were guarding the door in front of them. Fortunately the three of knights didn't stand much of a chance against their might, since they already knew how to deal with these types of enemies, though once the way was clear Rarity and Edric walked through the doorway and discovered a more ornate door that they opened. That, in turn, allowed them to walk outside the castle and fight another primal knight that was definitely waiting for them, along with the three archers that Rarity had knocked onto their backs earlier. While Edric distracted the primal knight Rarity finished off the enemies she had struck earlier and made sure that this time they were down for the count, before aiding Edric in fighting the primal knight that wanted them dead.

A few moments later the primal knight was taken care of and they walked down the stairs on their right, allowing them to access an area that contained a lever that lowered the iron barricade they had seen earlier, opening up a shortcut for them to use while finding a chest that contained a flask shard... while at the same time Rarity found some Repair Powder, which she handed to Edric, and some Flame Butterflies that she stuffed into her bag, before they headed back to the elevator area they had passed by earlier.

Since all of their foes had been taken care of, and they didn't need to rest at the bonfire just yet, Rarity and Edric walked towards the elevator and found that the plate was resting in the hole that was between them and the door that was in front of them. The two of them then walked onto the panel in front of them and watched as the elevator started to move, to which they patiently waited as they ascended towards the top of the tower that they were in, before they came to a stop in front of another ornate door. When they opened this one Rarity spotted a poor corpse chained to a door, acting like a lock by the looks of it, that happened to be connected to a cage that a lady happened to be locked inside, though the lady didn't even lift her head as they walked into the chamber she was imprisoned in. Rarity had no idea what could have caused the King, or the Queen for that matter, to imprison someone in such a manner, but right now she couldn't do anything to help the lady, so she and Edric opened the three iron chests to see if there was anything useful in them.

The chest on their left contained a key with a note that said it was for the 'King's Passage', a location that neither Rarity or Edric knew about, but that didn't stop them from collecting the key and making sure that it was on hand for when they found the door it went to. The chest that was directly behind the cage contained some sort of vessel, which they could ask Shalquoir what it was, and a seed that had a hint of fire about it, to which the duo simply pocketed the items and approached the final chest, where they found nothing. Rarity chuckled, because Shalquoir's gift of a spellbook was making it so she and Edric found locations of several of the spells that were inside the book, only now the pages were missing from the chests that they would have been in. Once they had opened all three of the chests, and had all of the treasure that they could possibly get their hands on, the duo stared at the lady for a few moments before they returned to the elevator and rode it back down to the level near the bonfire.

When they reached the level near the ladder, and the bonfire for that matter, Rarity stared at the door that was opposite the stairs and approached it, to which Edric walked up to it and slipped the new key they had acquired into the slot that was in the middle of the door... though they smiled as the door opened and revealed a walkway that they could use to move forward. At the very end of the passage, however, rested a fog door, causing the duo to walk back to the bonfire and rest for a few moments before they returned to the now open door, as they wanted to be prepared for the eventual powerful creature that they had been warned about. Once they returned to the passage the duo discovered that it enlarged by quite a bit, but with the number of statues lining the path in front of them they both knew that some of them were going to come to life... though that was followed by three of the closest statues coming to life and beginning their march towards where the duo was standing.

Rarity and Edric discovered that these particular statues were actually slightly stronger than the other statues they had fought throughout the entire castle, as Edric suffered a few cuts while they fought them, but instead of him wasting his own flash Rarity used her lowest powered healing spell, so she could have the higher powered ones for the powerful creature that was waiting for them. After taking out the three statues another one came to life and was joined by the knight that was guarding the fog door, to which Edric carefully fought the statue while Rarity flanked the knight and simply cut her target with her sword. Sure, she knew that her attacks weren't as powerful as Edric's were, but it distracted her foe long enough for Edric to finish his opponent off and cut down the knight from behind, though she had refrained from using magic since they had a powerful foe coming up.

The instant they had finished off the rest of their enemies, and were sure that none of the other statues came to life, they approached the fog door and walked through it, where they entered a ruined part of the castle where a knight in shining armor, quite literally since his armor appeared to be polished to mirror like quality, waited in the middle of the area they had discovered.

Not even a few seconds later the knight glanced at them and jumped into the air, forcing both Rarity and Edric to move to the side and separate from each other as the knight's sword struck where they had been standing mere moments ago, before he stood up and raised his sword towards the sky. Rarity, seeing what was coming, snapped her fingers and a barrier surrounded both her and Edric, informing her companion that this wasn't the type of attack they wanted to take head on while they were recovering from dodging the first attack. That was followed by the knight spinning around and loosing a wave of blue lightning at them, which crackled over Rarity's barrier for a few seconds before disappearing, to which she lowered her own barriers and both she and Edric put some distance between them and the knight.

One thing Rarity had to be careful about was how she used her magic, because if she threw a spell too early the Looking Glass Knight, as she had decided to call this enemy, would turn his shield towards her and let the mirror-like surface reflect the attack into the sky. Fortunately the Looking Glass Knight opened himself up to attacks from behind when he focused on a single opponent, so when he focused on Rarity, and chased her around the area, Edric would run up and attack him from behind until he stopped following her. After that the Looking Glass Knight would turn around and face Edric, where they would repeat the same process, while Rarity carefully aimed her attacks for when he was distracted by attacking, dealing decent damage in the process. Edric did get hit once while they were doing that, where a terrible gash was cut into both his body and armor, to while he healed himself Rarity took their opponent's attention as Edric drank from his flask, which restored his body and armor to their prior condition, allowing him to jump back into the fight.

The fight got more interesting when the Looking Glass Knight heaved his shield into the air and slammed the base of it into the floor in front of him, but instead of attacking him both Rarity and Edric regrouped for a moment and watched their foe with some interest... though that was before a black specter burst out of the mirrored surface of his shield, where it staggered for a moment before standing straight, indicating that this opponent could summon allies. The black specter appeared to be a fighter of some kind, as he didn't have any weapons and wore a simple piece of clothing over his chest and his lower body, though he intended on fighting Rarity. As she pulled him away from the Looking Glass Knight, so she didn't get in the way of Edric's fight, the black specter rushed at her and punched her in the chest, causing her to stagger for a few seconds, before knocking her staff, sword, chime, and pyromancy flame away from her, leaving her without a way to access the magic of this world for the moment.

Personally she was surprised by the speed and power of her opponent, as she never expected the Looking Glass Knight to summon someone on this level, to which she sweated for a few moments as she stood back up and faced her foe, who was patiently waiting for her to steel herself before attacking again.

This time around, when the black specter attacked her, Rarity used her arms to block the incoming attacks, though the specter slipped through her miserable defenses and punched her in the chest, before spinning around and kicked her in the chest, knocking her into the pillar behind her. Rarity coughed as she pulled herself off the pillar and gathered her magic around her hands, where she loosed a series of fire and dark based attacks, though the black specter rapidly moved it's arms around and smacked her attacks away, before striking her once more. From the few attacks she had received so far she could tell that the black specter was much stronger than what she was originally expecting, though she was also sure that the specter broke something since she spat some blood out this time around... to which she growled as the Dark Magic mist returned to the area around her eyes.

As the Dark Magic surged through her body once more Rarity recalled how her opponent moved and closed her eyes for a moment, where she visualized what would happen if her body went through the movements that the black specter had done through. She could feel the Dark Magic stabilizing something within her for a moment, to which she let out the breathe she had been holding and opened her eyes, though this time around she moved so that the right side of her body was facing her foe while the left was further away from him. She stood her ground for a few moments as the black specter charged at her once more, though this time her body appeared to move on autopilot as she used used her right hand to block the incoming attack before slamming her left fist into his chest... knocking him backwards for a few seconds and stunning both Edric and the Looking Glass Knight in the process, as well as Rarity herself.

One thing that Rarity could tell, from looking at the armor of the Looking Glass Knight, was that she had a small dark aura surrounding her body, making her wonder what was going on... though a few moments later she pushed the thought away and focused on the black specter as it pushed itself back to it's feet and faced her. This time around, when the black specter charged at her and attacked her, Rarity parried the attack and the next few that came towards her, before kicking her foe in the chest. She then followed that up by letting her body move like it was on autopilot again, where she delivered some powerful hits to the specter's chest and knocked him back into the pillar opposite of where she had been hit into the first time around... before she raised a hand and summoned a Lightning Spear into her hand, which she used to pierce her opponent's chest and kill him.

As the black specter broke apart, however, she and Edric attacked the Looking Glass Knight, where she peeled off to deal with any additional black specters that might have been summoned when their true opponent wanted to ruin the two of them... before Edric delivered the final attack and pierced the knight's heart, killing it and allowing the two of them to gather it's soul.

"Rarity... what in the world happened to you?" Edric asked, though at the same time he noticed that the dark aura remained around his companion as she walked over to where her weapons were located.

"I think this was what Benhart was referring to," Rarity replied, to which she raised her hands and levitated her weapons for a few seconds, where the chime and pyromancy flame returned to where they had been located earlier, while at the same time she grabbed her staff and her sword slipped into it's sheath, "He wasn't referring to one of us dying and the other awakening... he meant that the fight we between me and something else, meaning that the death he warned us about was for me or the specter, just like the awakening. I'm still not sure what he meant by 'awakening', but I certainly feel stronger now."

What she didn't say, however, was that she wondered if Benhart had been talking about her fighting the Darklurker, but she would have no way of knowing that until she worked up the courage to challenge the Dark Chasm... which might be after she and Edric found the King and figured out what to do next.

Shrine of Amana

While Edric scouted out the area passed the area that the Looking Glass Knight had been guarding, as he wanted to be sure that there weren't any nasty surprises for him and Rarity as they searched for the way forward, Rarity couldn't help up stare at nothing while her mind wandered for a few moments. She kept thinking about that strange black specter that she had fought and what had happened to her, as she had never fought anything with just her hands before, though she had smacked a few changelings around when she was a pure pony. For a moment she placed her staff against one of the ruined stones that was resting near her and sighed as she pushed her mind to remember what happened, to which she raised her arms up and shifted her body once more, mimicking what she had done back in the fight with the black specter.

For some reason when she thought about the changeling invasion her mind imagined being there again and her body moved with the enemies that weren't actually around her, punching and kicking the projections like she was in an actual battle... before she heard a cough and snapped back to reality, where she found Edric waiting for her.

"I see that your fight with the black specter did more than you realize," Edric commented, though he wasn't sure if this was going to be a recurring thing, where Rarity fought like a fighter, or if she was trying to get it all out of her systems before they moved forward.

"I... all I know is that I gained something when I fought that specter," Rarity replied, as she honestly couldn't explain what was going on at the moment, but at the same time she wrapped her magic around her staff and called it back to her as she landed beside Edric, "but enough about me. Did you find anything, or are we back to square one?"

"I think I found an elevator we can use to reach the next area we need to cross through," Edric replied, to which he beckoned for Rarity to follow him, where she immediately spotted what appeared to be a plate in the flooring, though where was a large circle around them.

When the two of them were on the larger circle Edric stepped onto the plate and they immediately began to lower into the tunnel that had been hidden from them, to which they patiently waited as it slowly moved down to the lowest level it was going to stop at. Rarity took the time to marvel at how deep they were actually going, as she wasn't expecting this at all when Edric mentioned that he had found an elevator, while at the same time Edric silently took in the area around him and kept his weapons at the ready. Eventually the duo arrived at the bottom of the shaft, which ended up being a decent sized room, and found that there was only one path forward for them to take, which meant going through the hole in the wall that the roots were coming from.

They followed the tunnel that the roots were coming from, as it was quite literally the only way for them to move forward, until they came to the location of the first bonfire for this area, which happened to be a large underground cavern area of sorts, complete with standing water and several ruined buildings scattered everywhere... and that was what they saw from where the bonfire rested.

Instead of heading into the new area the duo activated the bonfire and returned to Majula, where they spent some time making sure that the souls they had acquired so far, since entering the castle, went into empowering them even more than they had been earlier. Shalquoir, who Rarity visited while Edric was busy with his tasks, remarked that she had done well in taking out the foe that had been summoned for her, but also warned her that she hadn't done what Benhart had said, since he was talking about the Darklurker. When Rarity inquired how the man knew about the creature the cat replied that some Undead start out as mages and turn towards being a warrior, while some warriors become sorcerers in the end, to which Rarity understood part of it... while guessing that Benhart might have helped someone gain access to the Darklurker and knew the path she was taking, while trying to keep her from falling.

Once their trip to Majula was over they gathered around the bonfire again and teleported back to the Shrine of Amana, which was what Shalquoir called the new area they had discovered, before they appeared in the new area and started searching for the path that would take them to the King... though they both sensed that something, somewhere in this strange area, was singing.

"So, did Shalquoir give you any hints for this place?" Edric asked, because he was sure that if he and Rarity followed the main path in front of them, which appeared to hit the water at some point, they would be solid, but he also felt that it was best if he asking his companion if the cat said anything.

"No, she only congratulated us on a job well done." Rarity replied, though she suspected that if they had asked Shalquoir for assistance she might have said no, since they had been getting nonstop assistance from her, before she beckoned towards the path Edric was staring at, "That appears to be the best path we can take, so we should investigate it before we do anything else."

Since this time around there were on their own, which could have been what Shalquoir wanted, the duo headed down the stairs on their left and found that it was a circular staircase in what could have been a ruined tower, though when they touched down on the first floor they opened the door on their left and followed it outside. They carefully walked along the cliff that was outside the tower and found an area where there were a fair number of crates, guarded by a mutated mushroom like creature that died before it could do anything, thanks to Edric attacking it so suddenly. The chest that it was also guarding contained some herbs and a spice container, which they pocketed before returning to the tower and continuing down to the level below them.

At the bottom they discovered an opening that allowed them to walk along the path that was partly covered by water, though as they started walking a knight charged out from wherever he had been hiding and attacked them. Edric, being faster than Rarity in some cases, jerked his sword out and parried the attack, before bashing his target with his shield and drove the blade into the knight's heart. As the knight died, however, they remained on their guard, because it was only a matter of time until more enemies showed up with the express purpose of killing them, to which Rarity held her staff at the ready as they continued walking. One thing Rarity noticed was that there was something in the water near them, though it charged out and attacked them, revealing it to be a mix of a lizard and a man, though it couldn't stand up to the Soul Arrow that pierced it's head.

"Oh come on... another enemy that's weak against magic?!" Rarity exclaimed, because while she was thankful that she had a firm grasp on the magic arts to make a difference, and the capability to learn all of the spells according to Shalquoir, she was getting tired of almost every foe being weak to one of the elements she commanded.

"Hey, that makes our job that much easier," Edric commented, as he was actually quite happy with this development, because if it hadn't been for Rarity mastering the spells that she had he was sure that he would have hollowed a long time ago, before even claiming one of the four Great Souls.

Fortunately it appeared that Rarity's magic wasn't the only powerful weapon they had in their arsenal when it came to dealing with these lizard people, as when Edric thrust his sword forward, into his target's chest, he sliced through his foe's skin and killed it in seconds, much to his surprise. At the same time that told Rarity that this area might be much easier for them to get through if they were literally carving their way through their enemies, though at the same time she loosed another Soul Arrow and took out the lizard man that was making it's way towards her. With those foes taken care of the duo walked up to the building that was in front of them and opened the door, though as they walked inside, and closed the door in case more lizard creatures came at them from behind, they found a lady, that was identical to the one in the tower, sitting on the floor on the other side of the room.

"We knew you were coming…" the lady said, not even bothering to look up at the duo as they stopped in front of her, though they were happy to hear that she was willing to speak with them, "And stopped singing…"

"Who are you?" Rarity asked, because if they had a better sense of who this lady was, and who the one up in the tower was, then they could come to a decision based on what they learned.

"We are Milfanito. We are here to sing to those bound by death and Dark." the lady replied, though the way she said 'we' told Rarity and Edric that the two ladies they had encountered so far were part of a whole, meaning that they were both Milfanito, "We will sing here, forever, as we always have, from long, long ago. We know nothing of the world outside. And why should we? For we will never leave. Do you seek King Vendrick? But what is a king, after all? We know nothing of the world outside. For we will never leave here."

"That sounds horrible." Edric commented, because it sounded like this lady and the others were cursed to remain in this area for the rest of their existence, however long that lasted anyway.

"When we sing, the little ones dance." Milfanito stated, though her tone suggested that she wasn't paying attention to Edric at all, which meant that it was time for the two of them to depart from this area, "The little ones grant comfort to those who bear death and Dark. This is what we were taught."

Once the Milfanito had stopped talking Rarity and Edric made their escape from the hut, as there was a back entrance that they opened and walked out of, though they turned to the right and found a wooden chest that contained three containers of some crimson colored water. With those in hand the duo returned to the main path and followed it away from where the hut was resting, though as they walked both of them kept their eyes peeled for any dangers that might be waiting for them, since they had already encountered two new enemies so far. As they followed the path the duo encountered three more of the lizard men, all of which died within receiving a single Soul Arrow to the head, and three more of the knights, who proved to be a challenge when they were in packs of two or more.

As they neared the opening of a cave, or what they assumed was a cave, two more of the lizard men attacked them, though they were easily defeated and the duo moved into the cave, where they found one of the mutated mushrooms resting in front of them and four more lizard men to their left. Instead of charging forward, and heading towards the fog door that was behind the mushroom creature, the duo attacked the lizard men and cleared them out, though oddly enough they were passive for the most part, until the last one realized that they were under attack before his death. The iron chest in front of them contained a shiny piece of Titanite, the twinkling variety if Rarity recalled correctly, before they retraced their steps to the mutated mushroom and ended it's existence... before they carefully walked up to the fog door and passed through it so they could face whatever powerful creature was on the other side.

What they found, however, was another part of the underground area that they were in, though the ruins in front of them housed a bonfire that they eagerly walked over to and activated, giving them a moment of silence as they surveyed the area and the surrounding enemies that were waiting for them to move. Yet, at the same time, Rarity could feel the slight hum of an artifact of incredible power, but not powerful enough for her to accurately pinpoint where it was coming from... but she knew something was out there, waiting to be recovered.

As they moved out from their hiding spot a lizard man attacked them immediately, though this time around Edric dealt with it as Rarity turned her focus towards the mage type knights that were ahead of them, as the two that were standing between them and the next part of the ruins were already loosing energy blasts at them. Her response, however, was to summon a mobile shield that protected them from the front, where she could loose her own attacks at the mages that were standing in their way. One thing she discovered was that these enemies were actually much stronger than what she was used to fighting in terms of normal enemies, because it appeared that they didn't have an elemental weakness like all of the other foes they had encountered so far... which actually made her smile as she hurled a Lightning Spear towards the closest enemy and wounded her in the process.

At first she thought that she would be happy to find a group of enemies that didn't die so quickly, though that changed when they passed through the next part of the ruins and found that there were at least a dozen more of these priestesses waiting in their path, as Rarity had figured out what they were after incorrectly labeling them as mages... to which she and Edric ducked behind some pillars as she dispelled the shield.

"Great, we've got too many of those priestesses blocking the way forward," Rarity commented, though she poked her head out for a few seconds to see if there was anything else she might have missed, before noticing the large lumbering creature that was waiting in the water to the right of the path, causing her to pull her head back, "and they have an ogre... this just went from bad to worse."

"The ogre might be weak to lightning, but taking it out will draw the attention of the priestesses," Edric stated, as he already knew that fighting them was going to be hard, because a dozen of the same spell hitting the barrier would likely shatter it, especially with how powerful these priestesses seemed, "so, what do we do now? We've come too far to give up now, but it doesn't appear that we can safely defeat all of these enemies without suffering some sort of defeat."

Rarity, on the other hand, already knew what could possibly work to their advantage, but at the same time her plan would turn her into a target for all twelve of the priestesses that were in their way, though it was either charge at them and die a painful death without a real plan, or go crazy and hope her limited experience would help them out. After debating this for a few seconds she sighed and tossed her staff to Edric, who stared at her in confusion, before she stepped out from where they were hiding and let the faint dark aura surround her body once more. She pulled herself back and repeated the stance she had been in earlier, though since she was still some distance away from the first priestess, and out of her range, none of her enemies turned towards her yet.

A few seconds later she rushed towards the first priestess, like the fighter had done, and watched as her target and all the other priestesses turned towards her, though her target loosed a homing attack on her that Rarity avoided by moving to the right. She honestly had no idea how she was able to do that, where she personally wondered if she had taken the specter's fighting style into herself thanks to the Dark Magic, but she pushed that thought aside as she punched her target and caused the priestess to stagger for a moment. A second later Rarity spun around and kicked the priestess into the water near the ogre, where she summoned a Lightning Spear and sent it flying towards her target, to which she watched as both the priestess and the ogre suffered a painful shock of lightning before crumbling into the water.

Instead of giving the other priestesses the chance to target her, despite the fact that their attacks did that already, Rarity had her body move once more and she moved onto the next foe that was in their way, where she punched the priestess and caused her to stagger, before throwing her towards the next priestess. One thing she discovered, as she moved from target to target, was that the priestesses had no idea how to handle someone like her, but she didn't pay too much attention to that as she hurled a Dark Hail at her current target before moving onto the next one. Fortunately the dozen enemies she had seen earlier, before starting her assault, were the only enemies between them and the fog door that was at the end of the path they had been following.

When the last priestess fell, however, Rarity made sure that there weren't any additional enemies before sighing as she turned the aura off, where she found that she wasn't all that tired, which was another sign that she was one of the cursed Undead, something she had come to terms with some time ago... though she turned around and smiled as Edric caught up with her, where he handed over her staff before they headed into the fog door.

On the other side of the fog door they discovered a larger nest of the mutated mushroom creatures they had found at the beginning of this area, though they were breathing an orange colored mist that Rarity pulled Edric away from, as she was sure that it was harmful. When the mist faded they attacked the enemies that were in front of them and tried to make quick work of them, though they had to be careful of the fact that more mist was emitted from the survivors, allowing them to repeat the process once it faded. Once the last of the creatures fell the duo discovered a bonfire on their left a few steps ahead of where the mushroom creatures had been wandering around, which they activated, though they found more mushroom creatures standing between them and a slightly larger cave exit. Of course they also had to contend with a much larger version of the creatures that they had been fighting in this cave area, though since it was constantly spewing mist Rarity just blew it apart with a Lightning Spear and called it a day.

As they walked out of the cave they were in, however, Rarity discovered that there were a lot more priestesses between them and the hut that the path appeared to be taking them towards, so much in fact that she was worried that her new abilities wouldn't be able to help them all that much. Instead she did the next best thing, she opened herself to the magic that was inside her and summoned an even stronger barrier around her and Edric, one that would tax her body even more than the others did, but it was better than not being able to process. Edric nodded his understanding, showing that he knew why she was doing this, before the two of them rushed out of where they had been standing and followed the path that they had been following the entire time. Sure enough the priestesses noticed them moving and tried to hit them with their magic, and a red invader joined them, but neither of them paid too much attention to what was trying to kill them as they reached the hut... where they opened the door and headed inside, before closing the door behind them and preventing their foes from following them.

What they didn't expect to find was another Milfanito resting beside the tunnel that would take them to a fog door, though as they approached her it simply vanished, as if she had escaped from this area, before the two of them steeled themselves as they walked down towards the fog door... though on the other side of it they found a giant, grotesque frog demon with a corpse skull and arms protruding from the sides of its mouth, and a long tail.

As they approached the demonic creature, giving it the opportunity to notice them, it raised it's hands and pulled the two of it's head over the skull, as if it was trying to protect itself, to which Rarity loosed a Soul Arrow at the demon and found that it simply did nothing as it hit the creature's protective shell. Since they were doing this now Edric volunteered to be the bait and walked out, carefully studying the enemy and avoiding the attacks that where thrown at him, though at the same time they both discovered that even dodging the attacks meant that Edric still took some damage. As the demon revealed it's skull face again Rarity loosed a Dark Hail at it and found that it was slightly damaged by her attack, while the Soul Arrows didn't seem to do much either. Much to her annoyance, however, it appeared that the creature was exceptionally weak to lightning based attacks, as the Lightning Spear that she threw at it's head caused it to violently shake for a few seconds before resuming the fight.

Thanks to that information Rarity felt like this fight would be over too quickly if she threw a few more spears at the creature, so she pulled back and let Edric had some time with the demon, which he appeared to be thankful for since she wasn't outright killing the creature... but at the same time it was exceptionally boring for her to simply stand there and watch her companion fight without lending him some aid. Fortunately it didn't take Edric long to pull back and heal, where he reversed his decision on the matter, allowing Rarity to deal the finishing blow that destroyed the demon, while making her feel vastly disappointed in the process. With the demon dead, and it's soul claimed, the duo started to get ready to move, though that was before Rarity noticed a key shaped lance like weapon resting in the water where the demon used to stand... one that she claimed for later, as she had the feeling that they were going to need it at some point in time.

As they walked away from this area, and advanced through the cave that had been unlocked after the demon's downfall, Rarity hoped that the enemies got tougher than this, otherwise the journey was going to be exceptionally boring and make her feel like they weren't accomplishing anything.

Undead Crypt

Rarity and Edric walked through the short cave that was connected to the cavern like area where the demonic frog creature had been resting, where they walked out onto a stone walkway that would allow them to walk up to another set of ruins, to which the two of them sighed as they headed towards it. Fortunately there weren't any enemies in the area this time around, as Rarity was actually tired of the empowered priestesses that they had fought through to get to this point, though when they rounded the corner they spotted a closed door at the point where the ruins touched the rock wall. Edric was the first one to approach the door, where he carefully opened the way for them to access another elevator, one that also took them even deeper into the earth. That, of course, caused Rarity to wonder just how deep they needed to go before they found a path that took them back to the surface, though they patiently waited for the elevator to stop as it traveled down the shaft that had been carved into the earth around them.

A minute or two later the elevator reached the lowest level, where both Rarity and Edric discovered that the path in front of them would take them to what appeared to be a crypt or something similar... though as they got a full view of the entrance, however, the duo discovered that the fire monstrosity they had encountered earlier had returned, causing them to approach the creature.

"I believe we've been acquainted." the creature said, speaking to them the moment they approached it, though at the same time Rarity remembered what she had felt the last time they spoke to the creature and wondered what it was going to say this time around, "Young Hollows, conquerors of fear. What drives you so, to overcome this supposed curse?"

"Our families," Edric replied, as he was fighting to cure himself so he could go back to his loving wife, while Rarity was doing the same so she could return to her sister and the rest of her family.

"Life is brilliant. Beautiful. It enchants us, to the point of obsession." the creature stated, as if it enjoyed the answer that Edric had offered, while at the same time the duo made sure to be ready, as there was no telling what the creature might do, "Some are true to their purpose, though they are but shells, flesh and mind. One man lost his own body, but lingered on, as a head. Others chase the charms of love, however elusive. What is it that drives you?"

"Like Edric said, our loved ones are what drives us," Rarity answered, though she was beginning to think that the creature didn't care and was trying to get them to say something that would spell their doom.

"Once, the Lord of Light banished Dark, and all that stemmed from humanity." the creature explained, to which Rarity and Edric looked at each other, as they weren't sure what the creature was talking about, before turning to face him once more, "And men assumed a fleeting form. These are the roots of our world. Men are props on the stage of life, and no matter how tender, how exquisite... A lie will remain a lie. Young Hollows, knowing this, do you still desire peace?"

"Peace is worth fighting for, but so is our families!" Edric insisted, though he wondered if the creature was paying attention to them at all, or if it was ignoring them in the hopes that they would stop what they were doing.

"Vendrick, the near-true monarch, is here, and not far off." the creature told them, though it made no movements as it started to sink into the floor, indicating that it was leaving like it had the last time they spoke with it, "But what is a king? You, neither born with greatness, nor granted it by the fates. What is it that you seek? You cannot even say yourself. We shall meet again, young Hollow."

It took Rarity a moment to realize that the creature was talking to Edric in that instant and was completely ignoring her, though she simply remained silent as the two of them watched the creature disappear and the area darkened again, returning it to how it had been before his arrival.

Instead of walking up the stairs immediately Edric headed towards the left of the stairs and found an area below it that housed a bonfire, one that he and Rarity rested at for a few seconds, to recover their strength from all of the enemies they had encountered in the previous area. Once the two of them were rested they returned to the front of the stairs and started walking up them, where they passed through a short hallway and entered a larger room, though Rarity wasn't too surprised by the fact that it was slightly darker in this area than anywhere else they had been. A positive side effect about the lower amount of lights was that she had more shadows to work with, if she could learn how to manipulate more than her own shadow at will, but she kept that thought to herself as they pressed onward, searching for enemies and whatever they were looking for.

For the briefest of moments she actually wondered if King Vendrick was down here, which would be weird, but until they knew for sure she also kept that to herself, as she would prefer to meet the King while he was alive and not contend with a hollowed version of him... which would no doubt be stronger than anything else she and Edric had fought so far.

The first foe that they discovered looked like a hollow, and the duo was sure that it was one, to which Edric cut it down before it could do anything against them, putting out the torch that it had been carrying in the process, before another one stepped through the doorway they were planning on heading through. At the same time, however, Rarity saw a magic user in the distance weaving a dark based spell together, which told her that if these guys had a weakness it wasn't going to be darkness this time around. She was happy to find that out, since she was getting sick and tired of almost everything having a weakness she could exploit in some manner, but instead of allowing the spell to hit them she snapped a barrier up and let it take the attack. The duo waited for a few seconds as a third hollow walked up the steps to reach where they were standing, where Rarity opened the barrier enough for Edric to deal the finishing blow, before the two of them moved forward again.

When they stepped into the area that the magic user was in Rarity immediately discovered that he was being backed by two more magic users, while at the same time discovering that they could also use the Lightning Spear spell and the Chaos Storm spell, in addition to the Dark Hail they had been throwing at the barrier to get them to come out. For a moment she considered how best to take these enemies out, before she recalled a spell, in the number of pages that Shalquoir had given her, that was called Profound Still. According to what she remembered it was a hex that was designed to make enemy magic users unable to use their spells for some time, though the reason she hadn't thought about this spell in the previous area was because the priestesses were too close together and she wasn't sure that she would have been able to cast the spell with a dozen enemies following after her. She decided to take a chance and moved into the middle of the three magic users, though as they turned to face her she loosed a wave of dark energy around her, almost like a small vortex of some kind... though it had the effect that she wanted, as none of the trio could use their magic against her and Edric.

With that deed done the two of them quickly dispatched the trio of magic users and walked up the stairs that were in front of them, to which they came to another room, but this time around it appeared to be more empty than the first ones they had walked through.

"Halt." a voice said, to which the duo stopped where they were standing and looked around for the source, though Rarity fought it when she glanced up at the area that was above their heads, indicating that someone was carefully watching them, "Humans, do not produce light. Light, and all those who bear it, are unwelcome in this place."

Rarity, thanks to her new abilities with Dark Magic, could see the path up to where the mysterious man was standing, to which she carefully led Edric to the stairs and stopped at the top when she saw two guards standing there, but since they weren't aggressive she moved on... allowing her and Edric to approach the person who had spoken to them.

"I am Agdayne. Guardian of the crypt." the man said, knowing that they came to learn about him before they moved onward, as those that carried light were swiftly destroyed and those that came with darkness were always curious about who he was, "Countless dead rest here in peace. Cradled by the comfort of dark. Light only agitates. We have no need for it here. I am a Fenito. We weave death, and watch over the dead. This task was granted to me by the one who gave us the first death. Countless souls rest here. Some of them from ages long ago. Some were rich, others poor. Some wise, some dull, but now, they are all just dead."

"Well, it is very nice to meet you Agdayne," Rarity replied, as she was happy to find out that the man she had seen wasn't as aggressive as the enemies they already encountered in this crypt, before moving a hand towards herself and Edric, "I am Rarity, and this is my friend Edric."

"Did you come for him? The one called Vendrick." Agdayne asked, causing the duo to stare at him for a moment before they nodded their heads, which caused him to do the same for a second, "You will find him deeper inside. Many castle servants and the like have come to fetch their lord. But they rest here now, put to death by the King's own guards. Perhaps he's not in the mood for company."

"Well, we'll have to change his mind," Edric stated, as they didn't come this far to be stopped by the King's guards, especially since they were both after the cure that would rid them of the Curse.

Rarity bid farewell to Agdayne and followed Edric as they walked through the opening that was on the other side of the room, from the one they walked through anyway, and came out near some stairs that took them to a bridge, where two knights were waiting for them. Fortunately the duo already knew how to deal with these sorts of enemies and waited until they were on the bridge to do so, letting the corpses fall into the abyss below them as they continued towards the other side of the bridge. From there they approached the fog door that was in front of them and wondered if they were actually going to face a powerful creature this soon, though instead of worrying about that they pressed their hands against the fog and pushed through it... where they gained access to what appeared to be a room full of rocks that could potentially be grave markers, while at the same time Rarity sensed that something was close to where the two of them were standing.

They carefully made their way to the left of the entrance, avoiding the stones as they went, and found an opening that had a bonfire in the middle of a decent sized room, though since they didn't actually need to rest yet they simply activated it and continued onward.

As they approached the only open doorway that they could take at the moment, which was to the right of where the fog door had been, they both walked right by what could have been a stone statue, though as they did so a ghost of some kind, looking like a wraith from some of the stories Rarity had heard. The undead creature had a sword in it's right hand and a circular shield in it's left hand, indicating that it was likely a guardian for something and that they had accidentally awoken it. Fortunately for them the wraith was rather easy to take down, as two swings of Edric's sword cut what was left of it's life apart, though they both knew the creature would come back when they rested at the next bonfire, since that seemed to be a common thing in this world. Rarity was still slightly surprised by that fact, though the good part about it was that the powerful creatures didn't come back, but the only exception to that was the Pursuer, since there appeared to be more than one of those knights roaming the land.

The door they were heading towards brought them to another chamber with some rocks inside it, though while Edric headed for the stairs Rarity locked onto the magic user that was hanging in the area above them and blasted it with a Lightning Spear, though she heard the thud of it hitting the floor as she caught up. From there they entered another room, where a red spirit attacked them, though this one appeared to be a warrior like many of the others the duo had fought on their way to this point, and was slightly stronger than their past foes. The only real difference between this spirit and the other ones was that this one was slightly faster with it's swings, something that Edric parried with his shield while Rarity attacked the spirit from behind with some Soul Arrows. With their abilities combined the duo was able to stop the red spirit in it's tracks and send it back to whatever world it had come from, allowing them to enter the passage that it had been guarding the entire time.

As they walked down the passage, however, they found what appeared to be a wall blocking their way, though Rarity sensed movement behind the wall and Edric attacked it with his sword, to which they discovered two tall knights, using large metallic shields that could have been mistaken for a metallic wall, that wanted them dead. At first it appeared that fighting them normally, with a sword like Edric was doing at the moment, was going to be impossible since they reacted fast to the attack, but they were slow when it came to blocking magic. Fortunately Rarity was becoming quicker when it came to discovering when she needed to use her magic and when she didn't, unfortunately she always resorted to the lowest powered form of the Lightning Spear, which tore through the defenses of her target... while also creating an opening for Edric to take out the other knight.

When the second knight fell the duo barely paid attention to the ghosts that were sticking out of the walls, as their upper bodies were out in the open and were trying to hit the duo with their weapons, but for the moment they weren't a concern for Rarity and Edric... though when they jumped into the hole in the floor, which was at the end of the passage, they found themselves in a chamber that had an alarming number of stone coffins. Unfortunately as they landed on the floor a hollow ran into one of the paths they could take and the sound of a bell could be heard, to which more of the wraiths started to emerge from the coffins around them. Rarity, thinking fast, spotted one pathway that was different from the others and had Edric head towards it immediately, while she stayed put for the moment and gathered some of her power into another spell that she hadn't used yet... one that resembled a ball and loosed a large number of lightning blasts at the enemies around the caster.

While the ball was in the air Rarity followed after Edric as the wraiths started getting hurt by her attack, though fortunately they didn't chase the duo down the path they had selected and, in addition to the luck they had so far, they discovered a lever on their left, which was up some stairs, that connected where they were to the bridge they had crossed over a few minutes ago. They then advanced into the larger chamber that the path had led them to, where they discovered that the only enemies in this area were a group of eight knights that were standing before another fog door, though this time around both Rarity and Edric knew that a powerful creature had to be lurking behind the sinister fog. Instead of heading forward immediately, like any reasonable adventurer would do, the duo jumped off the side of the stairs that they were standing on and found a hollow that was getting ready to ring the bell in front of him... to which Edric beat him to the punch and cut the poor soul down, preventing it from raising more wraiths to fight them.

Rarity soon discovered that these knights were going to put up more of a fight than the ones in Drangleic Castle, but that excited her a little, especially since she was growing bored of constantly figuring out the weaknesses of their enemies before killing them in seconds. Actually hurling different elemental attacks at her opponents, usually when they were done defending from Edric's attacks, made her smile as the two of them pulled a few knights forward and fought them, though they used this tactic since they didn't want to fight all of them at the same time. Despite the fact that Rarity's magic could level all of the knights if she used one of the stronger spells in her new arsenal, like she did with the Royal Rat Vanguard, she knew that this wasn't the time to be wasting her energy in such a manner... not unless she really needed to do so, which wasn't the case since she and Edric carefully cut their way through their foes to get at the fog door.

Once all of the knights were dealt with, and Rarity had healed the few wounds that they had gotten with a healing spell, the two of them advanced through the fog door... where they found a large knight kneeling in front of a second fog door. The knight remained that way for a few seconds until he seemed to sense their presence, since his head turned in their direction a tiny bit, before he pulled himself up into a standing position and turned around to face them, while at the same time raising his large mace like weapon up until the handle was resting on his shoulder. Both Rarity and Edric thought that this fight was going to be a cakewalk, especially after all of the other powerful creatures they had fought, but the knight's mace packed quite the punch as he slammed it into Edric and knocked him into the wall... before kicking Rarity back and smashed her underneath his weapon.

Fortunately the two were merely dazed and slightly wounded from that attack, though this told them that their new opponent was faster than their prior opponents and that they needed to be careful, least he actually smash them under the weight of his hammer.

In response to the knight's first attack Edric rushed forward and swung his weapon at the larger knight, who jumped back to avoid the hit, only to receive a Lightning Spear to the chest, which knocked him into the wall behind him while Rarity grinned. As she had discovered many creatures in this land were weak to magic, and the vast majority of their foes were really weak against lightning based attacks, which was why she opted for this spell the first time around, instead of testing the water and firing at will. Of course she fully expected the knight to get back up and challenge them again, it would have been disappointing if he died in one attack, but what surprised her was the fact that the knight got up and staggered for a moment, revealing that he had been hit by the attack, but he was ready to continue the fight. Rarity was positive that lightning was this knight's weakness, but she guessed it was possible that the knight had more ability to not feel pain and was going to keep coming at them.

The second Lightning Spear that hit the knight, however, confirmed something for Rarity; lightning was the knight's weakness, though he was clearly fighting the damage she had done to him in an effort to kill the two of them before they could find out what happened to King Vendrick.

Unfortunately the wounds seemed to do little to slow the knight down, as he was faster than the duo was and could hit them with an extreme amount of force, though that didn't stop them from making sure that they kept their eyes on him and attacked him when he was open. About the only way to seriously inflict damage on him, and make it count, was for Edric to attack him and force him backwards, right into the Lightning Spear or other lightning based attack that Rarity had prepared. If the knight were to dodge that attack Edric would be ready to deliver a powerful slash of his own, which he would deliver before retreating, though that either entailed being hit again or actually avoiding the attack altogether. After some time it became clear that they were weakening their foe with every hit, before Rarity decided to go one step further and called upon the power of the Sunlight Spear, the most powerful version of the Lightning Spear that she possessed... which blew a gaping hole in the knight's chest the instant Rarity loosed the spell.

Edric stared at the knight as he collapsed on the floor and stopped moving, before his soul escaped from his body and was gathered by the duo as the second fog door collapsed... where they found a giant hollow, as in a giant man and not the monstrous giants they had fought earlier, mindlessly wandering around the area down below them. The crown on the giant man's head indicated that this hollow had to be the once great King Vendrick, which meant that the pile of armor had been what he had been wearing before his transformation into a hollow, so that if someone made it to this point he could be slain. Before Edric did anything, however, Rarity held up a hand and stopped him from doing anything, because she felt another artifact of power nearby, to which she carefully walked over to the pile of armor and stared at all of the pieces for a few seconds... before picking up a seemingly important ring that was glowing, one that had to be what they had come for when they were told to 'seek the king'.

As she and Edric started to walk out of the area that they were in, however, they found that the Emerald Herald had materialized at the top of the stairs that brought them to where King Vendrick was aimlessly wandering around... though that made Rarity wonder how she was able to do something like that.

"This ring is the symbol of the King." the Emerald Herald said, beckoning to the ring that Rarity was holding, though not even a few seconds later she handed it over to Edric, as she felt that he was the one that was supposed to wear it, where he put it on his right pointer finger, "Use it to gain passage, through the King's Gate... and venture to the far east. Bearers of the Curse, if one of you are to be the next monarch, then, one day, you will walk those grounds... without really knowing why."

That did nothing to comfort Rarity, because it appeared that the Emerald Herald was saying that if they followed this path they were going to eventually become hollows themselves, which was the opposite of what she said when they started this quest. The flaming creature that had talked to them, however, seemed to have an understanding of how they might be able to beat the Curse, but even so she still didn't trust that creature due to how it appeared whenever it wanted and left when it desired. If anything the only person she knew that she could ask about this situation was Shalquoir, because the omnipotent cat might have some insight as to what path they needed to take to fulfill their goal of beating the Curse and returning to being normal again.

Even as she and Edric left the area they were in, so they could head back to the last bonfire they found and teleport to Majula, Rarity wondered what sort of artifact she had felt in the shrine like area they had passed through earlier... and why she felt that the three 'key' items she had been given earlier would soon reveal their purpose to her and Edric.

Aldia's Keep

Rarity and Edric returned to Majula and found that the Emerald Herald had already returned, or more like she hadn't left considering that she was standing in the same location that she was always in, to which Edric walked over to her to infuse his body with even greater strength. Rarity, on the other hand, already felt too powerful for all of the enemies that they had fought so far and simply decided to hold onto the souls that she had gathered so far, until she found a way to simply hand them over to her companion. While Edric knelt in front of the Emerald Herald, and spent his souls, Rarity walked over to the familiar shop that she generally visited when she had something on her mind, where Shalquoir sat up and smiled at her as she entered the building.

"Greetings Rarity," Shalquoir said, knowing that there was a specific reason that Rarity came to her shop, a question that only she could answer since the others that had talked to the Equestrian didn't give her anything solid, "I see that you and Edric managed to find King Vendrick."

"And his ring as well," Rarity stated, though she was sure that there was something special about the ring, since she had felt something from it when she and Edric found it, "but we're not entirely sure where to use the ring to move on."

"Then it's a good thing you came to me," Shalquoir replied, where she had to resist the urge to chuckle, as she knew that the Emerald Herald didn't give them a specific destination when she spoke to them earlier, "Do you remember seeing a black gate with golden symbols etched into it? The one located in the Shaded Woods?"

Rarity thought about what the cat was telling her, recalling the three paths that they had found back when they first entered that area and how two of them had brought them to new locations, as the path on the right had gone to the ruins where the scorpioness was located and the left brought them to the shine that let them access the castle. The one in the middle, however, definitely ended in a gate that neither of them could open, which had to be the one that Shalquoir was referring to, causing her to nod.

"That's a King's Gate," Shalquoir explained, knowing that Rarity would like this information, since it would help her and Edric in the immediate future, while also thinking of what else she was going to reveal, "they can only be opened by someone that's wearing the King's Ring, though there are only three of them resting around Drangleic. The gate I just mentioned will take you to Aldia's Keep, which will eventually bring you to a place you likely never thought about. The second one, as you no doubt know, rests beneath the castle itself, near where you encountered Darkdiver Grandahl for the third time, while the third gate is located in the Forest of Fallen Giants, or more accurately inside the ruins. Oh, and that other artifact you were feeling in the Shrine of Amana, the area passed the Looking Glass Knight, is where King Vendrick hid the true crown that he wore, as the one where you found him was a fake."

"Really?" Rarity said, as she was surprised to hear that the king would have done such a thing, but since he had been in the process of turning into a hollow she guessed he had placed it there for some specific reason.

"Yes, though the only way to open the door to it involves killing the hollowed King," Shalquoir replied, though at the same time she licked her paw for a moment, knowing that while it sounded like a terrible thing to say it was the only way for Rarity and Edric to claim the crown, "Once you have obtained King Vendrick's crown, however, the keys I gave you will reveal the way to the other three, though it will be up to you and Edric to decide if they're worth going after."

Rarity had the feeling that since Shalquoir gave her the keys to Shulva, Brume Tower, and Frozen Eleum Loyce, where the other three crowns were resting, and gave her the information on how to get Vendrick's crown, the cat likely wanted them to recover the missing artifacts, but for what purpose she did not know. Instead of saying anything she bowed her head to Shalquoir and walked out of the shop, where she joined up with Edric, who was still waiting by the bonfire and immediately turned towards her as she approached. He was somewhat surprised when Rarity informed him that the way forward was back in the Shaded Woods, where they went to access the shrine earlier, but he trusted Shalquoir's wisdom, since she hadn't lied to them yet. With the information in hand they gathered around the bonfire and recalled the bonfire that rested between three paths, to which they felt the magic wrap around them before they were whisked away to their nest destination.

When they arrived at their destination the duo started walking up the stairs with their weapons drawn, though when they reached the top of the stairs they walked through the middle path and followed it passed the small pool of water they had walked by earlier... before finally coming to the locked gate that Shalquoir had called a King's Gate.

"Let's see if this works," Edric commented, to which he held his right hand out towards the gate, though they waited for a few moments to see if the ring had any effect on the metallic gate.

After a few more seconds passed the circular part of the King's Gate, the head sized circular disk that was in the middle of the gate, started to spin for a moment before it stopped in it's tracks, which was followed by the gate opening before their eyes. Once the gate stopped moving, and the way was open, the duo carefully held their weapons in their hands before they walked into the new area that they had discovered, Aldia's Keep as Shalquoir called the area, though the large building that the road went up to was definitely a keep. For a moment Rarity wondered who this Aldia was and why his keep needed to have such an important gate blocking him off from the rest of the world, but instead of spending too much time thinking about it she and Edric followed the path in front of them. The first enemies they encountered were a trio of hounds that reminded the duo of the fearful creatures they spotted outside the Fire Keepers house, but these ones were much braver than their earlier counterparts.

Despite the fact that the trio of hounds came after them at the same time the duo was more than ready for them, as Edric simply cut down the ones that came at him while Rarity blasted her target backwards with her magic and then finished the poor thing off... though as they entered the shack that the hounds were guarding, however, they encountered someone familiar; Lucatiel.

"Who are you…" Lucatiel asked, staring at them as Edric approached the bonfire and ignited it, though at the same time Rarity knew that she must be succumbing to the Curse if she had forgotten who they were, "Oh…No, forgive me… I know you… Yes, of course. How goes your journey?"

"Great actually," Edric replied, not knowing what else to say to someone who was going to forget them soon enough, but at least they had one more chance to talk with Lucatiel before her mind was gone and she became a hollow.

"I know not what the two of you seek in this far-away land… But I pray for your safety." Lucatiel said, to which she smiled at the duo for a moment, which they returned immediately, before she sighed and stared at them again, "My name is Lucatiel. I beg of you, remember my name. For I may not myself…"

"Don't worry, we'll remember your name." Rarity said, though at the same time it was hard to remain calm when she knew that the Curse would eventually cause her and Edric to lose their memories, bit by bit, until they suffered the same fate as Lucatiel and King Vendrick, unless they stopped the Curse in it's tracks.

As Lucatiel nodded, rather sadly as Rarity noted, Edric walked out of the shack and Rarity followed, to which they walked up the stairs that were in front of them and headed straight towards the entrance of the large keep, though as they did so Rarity noticed that the front door was missing. As the duo entered the actual building they kept their guards up, as there was no way of telling what sort of creatures were waiting for them this time around, though one thing they quickly found out was that there was a carriage resting in the main hallway. When they approached the carriage two things happened within seconds of each other; the first being that the carriage shook, indicating that something was trapped inside it, while the second was that a red spirit materialized in front of them.

What surprised the duo, however, was that the invader was dressed up in the same attire that Lucatiel was wearing, meaning that this was either her brother, or it was someone else that had come from Mirrah, though at the moment neither of them cared as they avoided the first attack that came their way. Edric, of course, insisted on fighting the specter in single combat, leaving Rarity to watch as Edric and the specter danced around the area in front of her, their swords either colliding together or one sword hitting the shield of the other. Despite the fact that Edric desperately needed to find some new armor, as the Drangleic gear that he had been using from the start was starting to get old, he kept pace with the specter and dealt several powerful attacks to his opponent, before finally banishing him back to whatever world he had come from.

With that taken care of the duo approached the iron doors in front of them and pushed them up, only to discover that the room in front of them had a large dragon skeleton resting in the room, though it was also blocking parts of the stairs that they might be able to get around.

"There's the second dead dragon I've seen since I got to this world," Rarity commented, as the first had been tied up in the nest of the Duke's Dear Freja, though this one was completely devoid of flesh and scales, indicating that someone had picked the corpse clean before hanging it.

"Let's hope that we don't actually have to fight a dragon at some point in time," Edric replied, as that was the last thing he wanted to worry about at the moment, as he had heard that dragons were incredibly tough to kill and didn't want to see if the stories were true.

As they approached the large skeleton, however, it appeared that Edric might have spoken too soon, as the head of the skeleton, as well as other parts of the body, started to move all of a sudden, to which Rarity pushed them to the wall on the left side of the room and threw up a shield around them. The duo then watched as the head lifted itself into the air and stared at where they had been standing moments ago, before finally trying to bite the area, causing the head and neck part of the skeleton to collapse on itself. When they were sure that the skeleton had stopped moving, and Rarity could tell if the other pieces were still moving, Rarity lowered the barrier and they started moving again, because the sooner they got through this place the sooner they could see whatever horrors waited them in the next area they had to travel through before they finished their quest.

What they did was walked up the stairs that the skeleton had been blocking and noticed a lifelike statue of an ogre blocking the way, though Edric simply sighed as he pulled out one the Fragrant Branches of Yore that they had picked up during their travels, freeing the unfortunate ogre in the process. Instead of fighting the creature directly, and risking being crushed in the process, Edric moved out of the way as Rarity hurled a Great Fireball at the ogre and knocked it backwards, allowing the two of them to advance forward before it started getting back onto it's feet. That pleased Rarity, because something that died in one blow was annoying and she enjoyed having a creature survive the first strike, to which she and Edric dodged the next attack before she launched another Great Fireball into it's chest... though this time around it dropped dead, just like everything else they encountered.

With the creature dead the duo walked up the stairs to their right and found a large cage, with another one of those large lizard creatures, waiting before a door, though since the creature was caged and wasn't going anywhere the duo simply moved around the cage and headed towards the door behind it... where they found a metallic statue of a dragon that had a chain attached to it's mouth, which Edric pulled and opened the path forward.

The duo walked into the corridor that was in front of them and noticed that it was much darker than the first part of the keep, to which Rarity let some fire surround her hand for a few seconds as she ignited the torch that Edric pulled out, revealing portraits and additional cages with monsters trapped in them. That was, however, before a second ogre burst through the area ahead of them and started breaking the cages and carriages that had been in front of them, releasing a bunch of the creatures that there in front of the duo. Edric pulled back as Rarity started hurling Great Fireballs and several other powerful spells into the enemies that were in front of her, blasting them backwards as she advanced forward, allowing Edric to see what was behind the doors as they moved.

One of the doors that Edric checked contained a wizard type enemy that literally ran towards Rarity in an attempt to silence her, only for Rarity to silence the acolyte in the process... though as she investigated the room, however, she spotted a pit that contained a key in the ill colored pit, where she levitated the key up to them and pocketed it.

"Right, you can levitate items around at will," Edric commented, because with all of the magical feats that Rarity pulled off made him forget about her basic skills, the same skills that she had come to the world with before strengthening her magic to this level.

"Levitation comes in handy every now and then," Rarity replied, though at the same time she spun her staff around as she walked out of the room and smacked another acolyte that was coming at her, before impaling the magic user with the bottom of her staff, "Come along, there has to be an exit around here somewhere."

As the end of the corridor they found another door that they could open and discovered a small room that apparently had a wooden door in front of them, though Rarity had Edric waited as she channeled a Great Chaos Fireball, a deeper red colored version of the Great Fireball, and waited... where she loosed it when the ogre that had been waiting for them tore down the wall in front of them, to which the painful fireball struck the creature down. With the ogre dead the duo moved forward and headed towards the fog door that was in front of them, to which they wondered what sort of creature was waiting for them this time around. When they reached their destination the two of them walked through the fog door and entered what apparently looked like a massive cage of some kind, though on the other side they found a large red dragon sleeping in the middle of the area.

"Edric, darling, what was it that you said at the beginning of this area?" Rarity asked, though she didn't bother to keep her voice low, as the moment they entered the area the dragon starting moving, indicating that it knew they were there and was waking up from it's slumber.

"That I hoped we wouldn't have to fight one of these things." Edric replied, though at the same time he drew his sword and shield, because this was going to be a terrible fight for them this time around, regardless of what abilities Rarity had access to.

"Well, let's not say something like that again," Rarity said, to which she stepped forward and her magic formed around her, as she knew that fighting a dragon was no laughing matter, even if this one was waking up from it's slumber.

The first thing that the wyvern type dragon did, as Rarity realized what they were facing when she noticed that the beast only had two legs instead of four and a pair of wings, was fly into the air and latched onto the wall of the cage, where it breathed a gout of flames at them. Instead of being burned alive Rarity summoned a barrier and protected the two of them from being hurt, though as the wyvern landed Edric charged forward and cut into it's right leg with his sword, where Rarity noticed that the beast was in a small amount of pain. As Edric focused on fighting the wyvern's legs, however, Rarity moved around the area and channeled the most basic form of each element she had, as she wanted to see what sort of weakness the creature possessed. When the Dark Orb hit the wyvern's chest, however, the beast tumbled out of the air and hit the floor of the cage, where Edric ran up to it and cut into it before it could get up, making sure that he didn't waste the chance that had been given to him.

Rarity, on the other hand, was surprised that a simple spell like that could do that much damage to such a powerful creature, to which she simply sighed as she ceased trying out the other elements and focused solely on the dark type spells she had learned so far. After discovering the wyvern's weakness, however, Rarity purposely stopped attacking until Edric asked her to aid him, because he wanted to challenge himself without taking full advantage of the knowledge they had been given. Fortunately it appeared that Rarity might not actually need to worry herself with using the weakness to their advantage, as Edric's slashes seemed to be doing more than enough damage, up until the wyvern knocked Edric back into the wall, causing him to call for Rarity to aid him.

That was followed by Rarity loosing a powerful Dark Hail at the already weakened dragon, blasting the beast out of the air and forced it to land on the floor of the cage again, though she followed that up by loosing a blast of Dark Magic at the beast's chest, slaying the beast while causing it's body to collapse entirely.

"Let us rest for a few minutes," Rarity said, letting the Dark Magic fade from her eyes as she cast a healing spell to restore part of Edric's health, though they both knew it was necessary.

They had no idea what sort of area was passed the keep, though now that they were facing tougher creatures again, as Edric had nearly been killed in that single attack, they knew that they had to be on their guard in the future... otherwise they were going to be on their way to becoming hollows in a short amount of time.

Dragon Aerie

Once Edric had rested for a few minutes, and was ready to go, the duo walked through the other entrance of the dragon's nest and headed across the walkway that was in front of them, though at the same time Rarity marveled at the sights that were all around them. Edric and Rarity stared at the sights for a moment before walking through the stone hallway that was in front of them, before climbing onto the elevator, which was definitely out of place in their eyes, and let it carry them up into the air as they headed to whatever area rested above Aldia's Keep. It didn't take them long before they reached the area that the elevator connected to, though as it came to a stop, and opened up for them to walk out into the shrine like area that they were in, the duo carefully followed the path outside. Moments later they found that the pathway turned from modern structures and went back to a pathway that one would find in a mountain area, though the change made them draw their weapons as they walked out into the open.

As they left the safety of the modern hallway, however, Rarity and Edric paused as another dragon flew overhead, though this time the beast didn't seem to see them, but that told the duo that they had to be careful and try to avoid fighting another dragon so soon after the first one... though as they followed the pathway they noticed more than one dragon flying in the air, meaning that they were in an area that could be considered a dragon's nesting ground.

"Great, more dragons," Edric commented, though at the same time he paled for a moment, because the dragon they had fought had been pretty powerful and he didn't want to fight this many of them, as he knew that if they attacked one of them the others might converge on their location.

"Let's try our best to not engage them," Rarity said, but she already knew that, based on the path that was connected to where they were, there was no way the two of them could avoid all these dragons, while at the same time staring at the large shrine like building in the distance, "though, if I were in a betting mood, I'm willing to bet that whatever we're supposed to find is in that shrine over over."

The other thing she noticed, in addition to all the dragons and the shrine, was that the Emerald Herald was standing in front of them, though she appeared to be staring at the same structure that Rarity had been staring at... to which the duo approached her, as they were interested in what she had to tell them this time around.

"Bearers of the Curse." the Emerald Herald said, turning back to look at the two of them as they approached her, though both of them kept their guards up since they were still in enemy territory, "Long have I awaited one such as you, one who might shatter the shackles of fate... one who can set me free. Bearers of the Curse, it was my own manifestation that led you here. The ancient dragon has watched over the world for aeons past. Take this."

As Rarity and Edric listened to what the Emerald Herald had to tell them, about one of them shattering the shackles of fate and setting her free, the Emerald Herald pulled out what appeared to be an ancient feather and held it out towards them, to which Edric took the feather from her.

"Do not resist." the Emerald Herald continued, to which she beckoned towards the large shrine that she had been staring at since the duo had arrived in this area, "The dragon welcomes you."

Rarity wasn't sure she wanted to be welcomed by a dragon, one that had been watching the world for who knew how long, but in the end she and Edric decided to follow the path across the wooden bridge that was near where the Emerald Herald was standing and crossed over to the next floating island. That was where they found the first bonfire for this area, though they rested at it for a few seconds, to let themselves quickly recover their energy and spell capabilities, before they followed the path away from the bonfire. As they crossed a second bridge, however, they spotted a zombie resting at the other end with what appeared to be a glowing yellow crystal in it's chest, which Rarity quickly dealt with by loosing a Soul Arrow at his chest, blowing their opponent to pieces. The duo then entered the cave that was in front of them, though instead of bothering with the paths on their right at the moment they walked up the path on the left and followed it up towards the top part of this island.

Unfortunately as they made their way to the surface the duo spotted that this was where one of the dragons had landed and was definitely blocking their way, though at the same time the beast definitely wanted a piece of them since it tired to bite them the first chance it got. The only good thing about a dragon being their enemy was that it appeared to be the same type of dragon as the wyvern they had found earlier, which meant that dark based attacks were it's weakness, to which Rarity breathed a sigh of relief as she came to that conclusion. With that information in mind Edric charged forward and distracted the wyvern, allowing Rarity to move into position as she searched for the perfect opportunity to use her power against their opponent. Since there was no cage around the island they were on, however, that meant that the wyvern couldn't flee from them, allowing Edric to cut into the beast's legs more often while Rarity loosed a few Soul Arrows to make sure that she had the perfect position to end the fight in an instant.

It didn't take long before Rarity loosed a Dark Hail into the wyvern's open mouth, since it finally determined that she was the real threat and needed to be taken out first, though even with that knowledge it only opened itself up to Rarity's attack... silencing it like she had done to the other that had been trapped in the cage.

With the wyvern taken care of the duo searched the surrounding area, finding all the Titanite lizards had fled the moment they had arrived, to which they simply walked back down into the cave below them and used the first path on the right of the bridge. They had to smash through some stones that could have been eggs, though Rarity really wasn't sure what they were since she had never actually seen a dragon's egg and knew that, even if she did, they would be different from the ones in her home world. The cave they chose brought them to yet another bridge, one that allowed them to access the next island that they needed to traverse before they reached the shrine, where they walked through a small tunnel and reached the other side in seconds. From there the two of them dropped down onto the walkway below them, though this time around Edric swung his sword and beheaded the zombie that was coming at them, allowing them to walk up the pathway without having to worry about enemies.

They then followed the path all the way across two more bridges, where they had to take care of another zombie, before reaching an area where a wyvern was sleeping, though instead of waking it up they carefully walked along the exterior of the area the creature was sleeping in before reaching a cave... one that forced them to kill another zombie before stepping outside, where they stared down at another wyvern, one that was active at the moment.

Since it appeared that they were going to have to fight this wyvern as well, as the way forward appeared to be behind the beast, Rarity grabbed onto Edric's back and charged a healing spell, because Edric jumped off the edge and slammed into the back of the beast. Before the wyvern could respond Rarity released the healing spell and mended Edric's wounds, to which they separated from each other and repeated the pattern they used against the other wyverns they had fought so far, as it was an effective strategy against the enemies they were facing. Thanks to their strategy they were able to make quick work of the wyvern, allowing them to cross over the bridge that was it guarding the entire time, before coming to the long bridge that connected the floating islands to the one the shrine had been built on.

One thing the two of them did as they walked across the long bridge was take it nice and slow, because the wind was causing the bridge to sway left and right as they made their way forward... but their patience served them well, as they eventually reached their destination and approached the building on their left that contained a bonfire, as well as a familiar creature that was oddly smaller than the last two times they had seen it.

"Young Hollows." the flaming creature greeted them, surprising the duo with the fact that it was even here, but at the same time they carefully lit the bonfire as they talked with the creature, "How you grapple, without falter, with this dreadfully twisted world. Peace grants men the illusion of life. Shackled by falsehoods, they yearn for love, unaware of its grand illusion. Until, the curse touches their flesh. We are bound by this yoke. As true as the Dark that churns within men. All men trust fully the illusion of life. But is this so wrong? A construction, a facade, and yet... A world full of warmth and resplendence. Young Hollows, are you intent on shattering the yoke, spoiling this wonderful falsehood?"

"Stop making it sound like we're going to destroy the world," Rarity replied, though at the same time she noticed that the flaming creature was paying no attention to her and was focusing on Edric, which made sense considering that he was from this world and she wasn't.

"I am Aldia." the flaming creature revealed, indicating that the keep the duo had run through earlier was his domain, while at the same time causing Rarity to wonder what had happened to the former man, "I sought to shed the yoke of fate, but failed. Now, I only await an answer. Seek the throne. Seek light, Dark and what lies beyond..."

Before either of them could say anything Aldia disappeared as quickly as he had arrived, to which the duo simply sat at the bonfire and rested for a few moments, not saying anything since they knew that they would free themselves from the Curse and not do what Aldia had been telling them about. The moment they were rested up the duo walked out of the building they had found the bonfire in and traveled up the stairs that were along the path they had been following, though when they reached the next level they found a tall knight waiting for intruders. As Edric engaged the knight, however, Rarity backed up and stared at the mage that was higher up than they were, as it was throwing spells down at them while they were fighting the knight. Instead of letting that happen Rarity focused her efforts on breaking the mage down before it could harm her or Edric, where she eventually one when she knocked the mage into the wall behind it, where it stopped moving after hitting the ground.

Fortunately it didn't look like Edric was having any problems either since the knight he was facing had the exact same moves as the ones they had fought back in Heide's Tower of Flame, though a few moments passed before Edric toppled the knight and claimed victory. With the first foe defeated the duo knew that the correct path would be to head up the stairs that were in front of them, but instead of doing that Edric smashed the crates in front of them and found one of the locations where they could use a lockstone. Since they happened to have one in their possession, and the area was clear of enemies, he slipped it into the lock and a face appeared on the wall behind him, one that, when struck with something, faded away and revealed an iron chest. That chest contained a suit of armor that looked like it might belong to a sorcerer, but what caught Rarity's attention was the staff, as she could feel the power of the weapon the moment she laid eyes on it... though she gladly took the weapon into her arsenal, while Edric stored the armor away.

With that taken care of the duo continued up the path of stairs that were right above the area where the lock had been located, though this time they were being careful since they had no idea what sort of enemies were waiting for them this time around... which was immediately answered in the form of a mace wielding knight.

What surprised Rarity was the fact that this knight went down in three hits, as Edric stood between her and the knight and fought the person back while dodging incoming attacks, but she had to assume that he was getting to be a warrior that didn't need her to kill everything for him. From there she decided that it was best if Edric picked the route, to which he headed forward, and not towards the stairs on the far left of where they were standing, before walking up the stairs that took them to the next part of the shrine. That was when they discovered two more large knights were blocking the door they needed to walk through, though while Edric took on one of them Rarity focused on the other, using her spells to wear her target down before finally putting it to rest. The only disadvantage she found out was that these guys didn't have a specific elemental weakness, which she actually enjoyed having since that meant that she wouldn't kill them quickly... not unless someone attacked them from behind, despite the fact that Edric was lightly to wait on her to call for aid before offering her assistance.

Since she didn't need help taking out her opponent, and the coast was clear, the duo approached the door that the knights had been guarding and opened it, where they discovered some stairs that brought them to a second door, though behind that one they found the stairs that would take them right to the front of the large shrine. As they walked up the stairs they got a good look at what stood between them and the shrine, as there was quite a number of knights, like the ones they had been fighting so far, standing in their way, along with some knights whose armor was modeled after the dragons that were flying around the area. The two black armored knights went down easily, once again thanks to the strategy that the duo had come up with, before the two dragon knights started walking down the stairs and revealed that they were much quicker than their larger comrades.

What Rarity discovered was that these dragon knights could really take a beating, as her Dark Hail definitely wounded them, but they pushed themselves through the pain they were feeling and continued their attack, or they were really stubborn and wouldn't give up no matter what. Eventually she wore her opponent down with her spells and caused him to collapse, allowing her the chance to see Edric finish off his foe before she healed his wounds, since he had been nicked a few times during the course of the fight. Once they were both healed the two of them continued up the stairs and stopped when they discovered that their new enemies were two more of the larger knights and one more dragon knight... though at the same time Rarity decided that enough was enough, to which she snapped up a barrier around her and Edric. She grinned as one of the knights hit the barrier and bounced backwards, though as the other two paused for a moment Rarity dropped the barrier and she and Edric charged towards the opening that they had been guarding.

The good news was that the trio of knights refused to follow them, though they immediately found out why when they noticed the large and ancient looking dragon, which actually looked like a dragon since it had four legs, a pair of wings, a deadly looking tail, and the head Rarity often associated with dragons, simply resting on it's belly as they approached... but when they stopped at it Rarity dropped to one knee and knelt before the majestic creature. She knew that it was powerful, since it had been able to survive for so long and watch over the world as a whole, but she could also feel the power radiating from it's body... and knew that neither of them would survive if they got into a fight with the ancient dragon.

The murk shifts and stirs. an ancient voice said, though Rarity immediately noticed that it was coming from inside her head, indicating that the ancient dragon was speaking into their minds, Yet another stands before us… Then so be it. For the curse of life, is the curse of want. And so, you peer… Into the fog, in hope of answers.

Rarity and Edric remained in their positions for a few moments before a small white orb, one that radiated a power that was similar to the dragon's power, appeared before the two of them, though that was followed by it disappearing as it passed through Rarity... though when she looked up at the ancient dragon it barely motioned with it's head, to which she nodded and backed away from the powerful creature.

"What was all that about?" Edric asked, though he waited until they were a good distance away from the dragon, because if Rarity was going to kneel before it that meant that they would lose in a fight and didn't want to upset the powerful creature.

"I think... he gave us a way to see into the past," Rarity replied, though at the same time she recalled what she and Edric had learned back when they first entered Drangleic Castle, about the King and the Giants, before a smile appeared on her face, "and I know what we need to do now. It's time we scouted out the Forest of Fallen Giants once more and see if we can't find anything useful while we're there."

She was sure that this was what the ancient dragon was referring to, as in the hatred between the Giants and King Vendrick, but all she could do is see if she was right when they returned to the forest... and, if she wasn't right, they could always ask Shalquoir about it.

Old Memories

Instead of walking all the way through the shrine that they were in, and fighting any additional enemies that might be lurking around the area, Rarity had Edric pull out the ancient feather they had been given and activated it's power, to which the two of them disappeared for a moment. When they reappeared a few seconds later, right beside the bonfire that they had lit when they first reached the shrine, Rarity immediately deduced that the feather was like the Homeward Bones, meaning they could use the feather to return to the last bonfire they used. With that information in hand the duo accessed the bonfire and teleported themselves back to Majula, where the projection of the Emerald Herald, which looked real to the two of them, happened to be waiting for them. Edric, once again, used the power of the souls he had gathered to further boost his own strength and health, making it so that whatever they fought would have a tough time taking him out while he devastated his enemies in return.

Rarity, on the other hand, remained stubborn and kept her souls to herself, because at the moment she still felt that she was already overpowered and didn't want to become a magical god that terminated everything that she and Edric encountered, because she knew what power did to some people and didn't want to repeat Sombra's mistakes.

Once Edric was done the two of them returned to the bonfire and made sure to think about the forest ruins this time around, where they remembered where they had encountered the merchant that had been selling the key to the blacksmith's workshop, before they teleported back to an old location. When they arrived in the chamber, which was close to the first area where they had died to the first Pursuer they had encountered, the two of them got back onto their feet and headed out through the hole in the wall. Since they were much stronger than what they were when they first explored this area none of the existing enemies really stood a change against them, as Rarity only used her magic once and that was to catch a firebomb and throw it back at the hollow that threw it at her, blowing her target to bits, while Edric simply cut his way through his foes.

With their new power it was a simple matter for them to make their way through the group of low powered enemies that were in front of them, take out the turtle armored knight, and turn to the right so they could walk up to the dead giant, which was definitely slowly transforming into a tree.

"Okay, so this is a giant," Edric commented, staring up at the dead giant while remembering the living ones he and Rarity had fought since their adventure started, which was only three of them if he was being honest, "but what do we do with that strange object the Ancient Dragon gave us?"

"Simple, we approach the giant and enter it's memories," Rarity replied, though as she approached the giant she could tell that her body was turning into some sort of mist, to which she waited for Edric to touch her shoulder before they walked right up to the giant.

A few seconds later the two of them passed right through the giant and time seemed to shift on them, because not even a moment passed before they were in some sort of tunnel that shook, but the air around them felt different, which told Rarity that they had to be in the memory of the dead giant. The two of them then proceeded forward and followed the tunnel until it brought them to a room of the ancient ruin, one that now looked intact and sturdy in comparison to it's future counterpart. At the same time the duo noticed that there were dead soldiers scattered everywhere, meaning that this must be during the time when the Giants attacked Drangleic, though oddly enough there was one living soldier left that happened to notice the duo before they approached the door that would take them out of this area.

"What are you two doing here?" the soldier, a captain in Rarity's eyes based on the armor he was wearing, demanded, though that was before he stared at them and took in the armor they were wearing and the weapons they were carrying at the moment, "Neither of you are one of our soldiers. And I don't take either of you for a mercenary. Whoever the two of you are, this is no battle to involve yourself in. Whether you are guided by bravery, or brashness, this is no place for you."

"Listen, I don't know who you are, but this is the place we're looking for," Rarity replied, to which she beckoned to Edric, who approached the door that separated this room from whatever was on the other side, "now then, if you'll excuse us, we have some searching to do."

"I am Drummond, and the Lord has placed this fort in my hands." the captain stated, to which Rarity turned and looked at him for a moment, as she was curious as to why the man felt the need to give her his name, though she guessed that he really thought that they were a part of the memory and wanted them to leave with their lives, "Whoever the two of you are, I forgive your trespass. But leave this place immediately. Just mention my name, and no man will challenge your exit. And even if you don't, by now, my men have not the will to resist."

"Right, because the Giants are attacking," Edric said, as he remembered what the chancellor of Drangelic Castle had told them, though at the same time he was more interested in leaving this area and getting their mission underway, but one look at the captain's face told him that they wouldn't be leaving just yet.

"Soon, the Giants will descend upon this fort." Drummond told them, to which Edric and Rarity nodded, as they had seen several places where a corpse of a giant rested, indicating that they had indeed attacked this fort at some point during their war against Drangelic and King Vendrick, "It is revenge, for the Kingdom's misguided barbarism. The venerable Lord built this kingdom to bring prosperity to His subjects. What has transformed him so, I can not imagine. Long ago, the King crossed the seas, pillaged the land of Giants, and brought back a 'prize'. It was then that the golems materialized. The Giants are no ordinary barbarians. A singular rage burns within their hearts. My father, and his father, both fought the Giants on this very land. The Giants have wills of steel. They cannot find it within themselves… to forgive the misdeeds of our lord."

"It almost sounds like the Giants had someone leading them," Rarity commented, as that appeared to be the most logical conclusion, because someone had to have urged all of these Giants to go to war with Drangelic, despite the rage and anger the creatures had felt for King Vendrick.

"Did you see him? That towering monster among them." Drummond asked, though his tone immediately told Rarity that she had hit a nail on the head, indicating that there was some sort of ruler for the Giants, even though she had merely guessed at such a thing, "That is most certainly their King. He will be a thing to topple, even if I should die trying! My blade may break, my arrows fall wide, but my will shall never be broken. Those who live by the sword will die by it, and I, Drummond, won't go down without drawing mine!"

That was when Rarity decided that it was time to leave and Edric opened the door in front of them, though as they walked through the passage in front of them they took it slowly, which worked in their advantage because a giant burst through the wall in front of them and collided with the wall across from the first one. Since the creature was stunned Edric charged forward and hacked into it's touch skin, while at the same time Rarity discovered that the giant was weak against magic based attacks, specifically those like her Soul Arrow, and dark based attacks. A few moments passed before the giant pulled itself from the wall and attacked them, proving that it could work through the pain it was feeling and continue it's attack. That was until Rarity toppled it with a well placed Dark Hail, though even with this victory they knew that there were more enemies waiting for them, as by looking outside they could see two more giants waiting in their way.

As Edric dealt with the giant that was wielding a large club, and was dodge rolling to avoid the attacks, Rarity slipped by them and focused her attention on the other one, though her opponent appeared to be a poison spewer, as it tried to fire balls of poison at her and tried to poison her by hitting her with it's left arm. Oddly enough the poison giant was much weaker to dark based attacks than she originally realized, as she was able to drop her foe before Edric finished his off, giving her the chance to move forward and see if she could do some recon on how many enemies were still in their way, despite the fact that she knew it had to be a high number. When she finally found some giants she noticed that they were currently at war with a large group of guards, who were currently being bombarded by fireball throwing giants that there standing on the rooftop above them.

This time around it was Rarity who went on the offensive first, as she started throwing around Dark Hails at the giants on the rooftop, eliminating them before they had a chance to target her, before she backed away as the first melee enemy tried to hit her with it's club. That was around the time where Edric appeared by her side and attacked the enemies in front of him, allowing her to pull back and start using spells to weaken his foes, even though that meant ending one of the three remaining giants in the process. While all of this was going on an even larger giant walked around the corner and approached them, though Rarity could tell that this wasn't the Giant Lord that Drummond had told them about, rather it was a powerful warrior that Edric had to back away from. Fortunately the giant's size really didn't help it all too much, as it only had two enemies to fight and Rarity decided to stay on the ground and use the shadows to her advantage, while Edric climbed up to the rooftops and attacked the creature from there.

After a minute or two of fighting the giant, and it dropping to the ground in defeat, the duo got back together and headed towards the building that was in front of them, which allowed them to enter a room where they discovered a dead giant that was impaled by several spears and other weapons like them... before they walked through the other entrance and headed outside once more.

On the other side of the building they discovered an area that reminded them of the place they walked by in the present day ruins, though in the past it appeared that it had been a flowing river, but they paid it little attention since they now couldn't cross to the other side. The only path available to them at the moment was to head to their left and walk up the stairs that were beside them, to which the duo did that and made their way up to an area where another large giant was standing guard. Upon closer inspection Rarity discovered that the giant was guarding the body of a dead comrade, one whose soul was burning brightly, indicating that they must have discovered what they were searching for and only needed to remove the guardian before retrieving what they came for. Since they knew that the giants were weak to magic and dark based attacks, as well as Edric's attacks when he timed them just right, the duo quickly put their plan into action and swiftly brought the giant down... before Rarity walked up to the corpse and collected the powerful soul that was resting in front of them.

That was immediately followed by the air around them changing as they disappeared from the world of the past, though a few seconds later they reappeared beside the tree giant that the two of them had entered, where Rarity grinned as she turned towards Edric.

"So what do we do with that soul?" Edric asked, because if Rarity was going to figure out what the mysterious item the Ancient Dragon had given them could do, and use it in the manner it was meant for, he knew that she could figure out why they needed more than the one giant soul they had already collected, from the two giants they had found in the Black Gulch area earlier.

"Well, this is just a guess, but maybe we're supposed to free King Vendrick from the Curse," Rarity replied, though she knew that by killing the hollowed king the three keys Shalquoir had given her, the keys that would allow her and Edric to access the domains of the other fallen kings, would become active, "and, by gathering the souls of his enemies, we might be able to weaken him in some manner, making the fight easier for us... when we decide to fight him anyway."

"That's better than what I could have come up with," Edric said, to which he shrugged for a moment, though that was before he raised a hand to his chin as he thought about something, or more like he was recalling where the other treelike giants were resting, "I think there's another giant, like this one I mean, past where we fought the first Pursuer... though, now that I think about that, he's likely still impaled on that crystal spike of yours."

Rarity would have felt sorry for the knight, but since the Pursuer had killed them multiple times, and always made sure to kill her first, she wasn't too sorry for the person that had started her down the path of using Dark Magic, though she simply sighed and nodded her head. From there the duo walked out to where the turtle armored knight had been and turned to the right, entering the large hallway where a statue's sword pierced the side of one of the walls, before they headed right once more and walked up the stairs that were in front of them. After that it was a simple matter for them to walk out onto the area where they fought the Pursuer, where Rarity found that the armored knight was still impaled on the crystal spike she had summoned so long ago... though all she could determine was that her anger and hate had been so great that it made the crystal become a permanent fixture in the landscape.

Instead of dwelling on what had happened the duo headed through the hole in the statue's head, which was resting in their path, and found the second giant that Edric had mentioned, to which he touched Rarity's shoulder again as they walked towards the treelike creature and disappeared as they entered it's memories.

When they appeared in the world of the past once more, however, the duo discovered that they had appeared inside a room that had several ballista pointed in the same direction, though as they took in their surroundings Edric took his hand off of Rarity's shoulder and raised his weapons, as he knew a fight would be coming their way soon enough. From there they found a staircase that allowed them to access the floor above them, where they found the not yet hollowed versions of the soldiers that defended the present day ruins preparing for war with the Giants. The downside to them walking into the area that the soldiers were in was that they weren't friendly and started attacking them immediately, though that was when the duo discovered that the soldiers were as weak as their present counterparts... to which Rarity refrained from using magic while simply using her sword to speak for her, which was what Edric was doing.

Once they were done with these soldiers they climbed the stairs once more and arrived at the top of the building that they had been climbing, where they discovered another group of giants attacking another group of soldiers, to which they walked forward and engaged the giants like they had in the past... only this time the soldiers were killed the instant the two of them started their battle with the two giants that were with them.

It didn't take them long to deal with these two giants, though once the battle was done Rarity discovered that the only ways for them to get to the street level, which would bring them to the soul they were looking for, was for them to either jump down and risk dying or head back to the level they first entered the memory in and use the other path. Edric was quick to determine that heading through the second path, the one they had ignored, was the way to go, to which the two of them retraced their steps down to the lowest level of the building they were on and walked down the new path that they had chosen. As Rarity expected there were a pair of giants standing outside the entrance, though instead of charging out there she had Edric remain still, which was a wise move as several ballista bolts were fired and pierced the giants in front of them... to which Rarity and Edric finished off the two giants before they engaged the soldiers that were manning the ballista at the moment.

A few moments later the soldiers that had been manning the ballista, along with the ballista themselves, were down for the count and the duo walked towards the stairs that were in front of them, though at the top of the stairs they found another giant corpse, complete with the soul they had been searching for... to which they collected the soul and allowed the connection to this time period to be broken again.

"That was significantly shorter than the first giant we passed through," Edric commented, though at the same time he was actually happy about that, because he didn't like seeing what the giants were capable of and didn't like seeing what happened during the war.

"Agreed," Rarity said, though at the same time she stared at the ring that Edric was wearing, the King's Ring, and knew where the third and final giant had to be resting, as she could feel the slight tug of it's energy now that the two of them possessed three of it's kind, "Let's head back to the bonfire for a moment... I think I know where to go from here."

The duo quickly returned to the bonfire that Rarity was talking about, though since they came from the back way, and didn't climb a ladder to reach the hole in the wall, that meant that the two of them could cross the bridge that much sooner and opened the door that was near them. From there they turned left and followed the tunnel until they came to an area were a King's Gate was located, to which Edric nodded and touched the metallic surface with his hand, causing the mechanism to unlock for them. On the other side of the gate they found a bonfire, allowing them to rest for a few minutes before they walked through the entrance in front of them, where they discovered another treelike giant resting diagonally to the right of where they were standing... to which Edric touched Rarity's shoulder one more time as they passed through the veil and entered the past once more.

They found themselves inside a passage that would lead them to the top of a building, though as they followed the stairs upwards they discovered a fog door blocking their way, to which they prepared themselves and walked through it with determination in their eyes... though on the other side they found a large giant, the one that Drummond had told them about, standing on the other side of the section of a wall they were on. Before they could move a head of a statue started rolling down the path they were about to walk on and crushed both the giants and the soldiers that were in front of them, opening the way for them to access the Giant Lord without having them fight anyone else. As they walked forward, however, Rarity noticed that the way their opponent moved, despite the black robe it was wearing, reminded her of the Last Giant they had encountered beneath the ruins... making her wonder if the two creatures were one in the same, but decided that now wasn't the best time to answer that question.

As they approached their target, however, the Giant Lord raised his large sword above his head, where it remained for a few seconds, before bringing it down on the ground in front of him, releasing a shockwave that traveled in a straight line and forced the duo to separate from each other. One thing that Rarity noticed was that the Giant Lord definitely saw her as a threat, as it started targeting her as soon as it's first attack was over, using the sword it was carrying to effectively force her into a position where she couldn't cast a spell without suffering any damage in the process. As Edric approached the Giant Lord from behind, however, their foe seemed to sense this and swung his sword to his right, though before he turned at the same time he was able to cover twice the ground and let his sword connect with Edric's shield, knocking him backwards in the process.

Rarity seized the opportunity and loosed a Dark Hail into the Giant Lord's chest, causing him to stagger for a moment, before her foe turned his head towards her and kicked her into the wall with his massive foot, where he impaled her with his sword and kept her there for a few seconds.

"You know, impaling me isn't going to work anymore," Rarity commented, though as she coughed up some blood the Giant Lord pulled his sword out of her, to which she pulled herself from the wall and hit the ground.

That was followed by the Giant Lord picking her up with his available hand and repeatedly threw her back into the wall that she had pulled herself from, only to pull her out and do it again and again as he ignored what Edric was doing, which was hacking at the Giant Lord's leg. After a few seconds the Giant Lord got tired of Edric's attacks and kicked him away from where he was standing, where he received another Dark Hail to the head, causing him to smash Rarity into the floor before stomping on her several times. That cycle repeated for a few minutes, where Edric would attack the Giant Lord and damage him, allowing Rarity to move and attack as well once the giant's attention was no longer on her, before she would be the focus of the giant's anger once more. It was a painful experience for the two of them, as they weren't expecting this sort of thing to happen at this point in time, but it was the truth of their situation and they dealt with it as best they could... up until the point where the duo toppled the Giant Lord and allowed Rarity to move freely once again.

Despite her Undead nature, and the fact that she didn't feel any pain at all, Rarity still groaned as her body recovered from the beating she had taken, though that required some usage of a shadowy regeneration skill she had picked up from the Dark Magic, one that required her to be standing still and taking no damage to work... though as she did that Edric picked up some sort of item and handed it to her, knowing that she knew exactly what to do with it. From there the duo left the defeated Giant Lord behind and walked through the passage he had been standing near, where they discovered another giant corpse with another soul, giving them four in total now. With the soul in hand the two of them finally departed from the past and returned to the present period that they came from, though once they returned to the ruins they walked over to the bonfire and rested once more.

"Our enemies are getting stronger," Rarity commented, though at the same time she wondered just how strong King Vendrick had to be at this point in time, especially since he had been the one to declare war on the Giants and had defeated the four Great Ones so long ago, "that means that we need to get stronger... and I know how I can do that."

"And how will you get stronger?" Edric inquired, because he knew that Rarity wouldn't have gotten the stuffing beaten out of her if she had spent her souls like he did, but hopefully she had learned her lesson on that matter.

"Simple," Rarity said, though at the same time she knew that Edric was going to think she was crazy, and maybe she was slightly insane for thinking this was a good idea, but it was better than nothing, "I'm going to challenge the Dark Chasm and destroy the Darklurker, allowing me to claim it's power for myself."

It was a gamble and she knew it, but it was the best option she had at the moment and knew that, if she had faith in her abilities, that she might be able to come out on top... but at the same time she knew that one wrong move could very well mean the end of her, which meant that she had to be careful once the trials of the chasm started.

The Dark Chasm

Rarity and Edric, like usual when they completed an area, returned to Majula so they could spend the souls they had been given during their fights and get information from Shalquoir before they headed out, though this time around only Rarity was moving out. The reason behind that was because the Dark Chasm was only open to her, since Darkdiver Grandahl recognized her and only her, meaning that he wouldn't let her enter his trials unless she was alone, but she made sure that she was prepared for what was to come before she departed from the town. One thing Rarity did was hand over the keys to the other crowns to Edric, since she didn't want something happening to them, before she made sure she had ever spell in her spellbook memorized to the best of her ability, something that she knew Twilight would have done if she thought a test was coming up.

When she was fully prepared, and had rested for a decent amount of time, she approached the bonfire and bid Edric farewell for the moment, to which she took a deep breath and selected her first destination, the alter that rested beneath Drangelic Castle. A few seconds later she appeared in the area underneath the castle, to which she walked over to where Grandahl was resting and found that the man was still sitting in his chair, though she was more interested in the fact that the portal to the Dark Chasm was still open, as if waiting for her to return. She nodded to Grandahl as she stepped onto the glowing portal, feeling the magic trying to embrace her already, before she knelt in the middle of the portal and closed her eyes as she willed the magic to take her to the Dark Chasm.

A few seconds later she found herself standing in a darker area that was surrounded by water, though as she summoned a floating fireball to give herself some light she found a path, that happened to be resting in the water, that she could use to reach safety. That seemed to be the smart move to do since she was able to follow the path, though at the same time she kept her guard up in case enemies started to come after her, since she knew that it was a matter of time until a foe showed up. It didn't take her long to reach the other side of the cave area she had found herself in, though she made sure to carefully follow the narrow stone bridge that was in front of her, but that was before she noticed a sickly black specter waiting at the end of the bridge. Rarity stopped in her tracks for a few seconds, as she understood that the warrior was part of her trials in the Dark Chasm, but at the same time she needed to be careful, since she had no idea what abilities her foes had.

Since she didn't have time to play around, and wanted to get to the Darklurker, she ignited her Lightning Spear and hurled it through the air, knocking the warrior back in the process, but it continued towards her regardless of the damage it had taken. Rarity paused for a moment as she noticed that the warrior was dangerously close to the edge of the stone bridge, to which she switched to her Emit Force spell and aimed at the area beside the warrior, allowing the force to knock the foolish specter into the abyss around them. From there she noticed that there were three more enemies for her to contend with, two more specters and a strange mage type enemy, though before she could make a choice on who to take out first the mage enemy loosed a Great Soul Arrow at her... though as Rarity dodged it she heard the spell collide with the specter that was in the path behind her, but whether it was dead or not she had no idea.

She backed away from the fork in the path and noticed that the strange mage and the wounded specter were already coming after her, to which she chuckled as she threw her own Great Soul Arrow at the mage creature, though as it staggered for a moment she switched spells. A moment later she targeted the specter that was advancing towards her and loosed a Soul Geyser at it, which was a blue mass of soul energy that collided with the specter, though that was before it separated into a mass of even smaller bolts that struck the specter for even more damage. As the specter was stunned by the amount of damage Rarity had done, as Rarity was as well, Rarity was the first one to recover and loosed an Emit Force, blasting her foe into the abyss like the first one. When the specter was taken care of Rarity turned her attention to the mage enemy that was coming at her again, where she gathered her magic again and loosed a Soul Spear at the mage, piercing the creature's chest and killing it instantly.

With three enemies taken she walked over to the path that the second specter came from, knowing that the other specter was likely following behind her, though as she noticed that there was a fog door blocking her way she heard the sound of the other specter drawing it's weapon... though all she did was loose a Emit Force at the wall next to the specter and hurled it into the abyss, before she noticed that the door disappeared with the death of the last enemy. That, in turn, brought her to a dead end and caused her to backtrack once more, though as she explored the area her foes had come from she eventually found a hidden path that she had to carefully climb around... before finding a large shrine of sorts with a brazier or torch she could light. She reached into her back for a moment and pulled out one of the Flame Butterflies she had picked up in the castle, when she and Edric were exploring it, before she sighed as she crushed the poor creature, expelling the flame from within it.

That ignited the brazier in front of her and lit the area around her, though as she stared at the fire she felt her connection to this place weaken for a moment... though a few seconds later she reappeared on top of the alter she had knelt on earlier, as if she had never left in the first place.

"Young Undead, the Dark beset upon you runs deeper than I had imagined." Darkdiver Grandahl commented, though at the same time Rarity stood up and faced the old man, as she understood that her power over Dark Magic might be what he was referring to, "Let us see just how much Dark you can endure. You have seen Dark that has existed from times long past. What once was a great void of darkness became but fragments. But slowly, the scattered fragments grew, absorbing all things. It is we who will be pilgrims to these sacred sites."

That told Rarity that she had to seek out the other two areas that she had encountered the man in, to which she headed back to the bonfire and selected the one inside the Black Gulch, though upon her arrival she ignored all of the creatures that normally wanted her dead while she shadow went to town on the poison statues. It took her a moment to recall where the way down to the alter in this area was located, though when she remembered it, and made her way down to the still open door, she found that the portal was still closed. A few moments later she discovered that entering the Dark Chasm was only free for the first time at the third location she met the man in, hence the reason why she was compelled to return to the castle first, before discovering that the price to open a portal in this area, as well as the final one, was a Human Effigy... but since she had no real use for them, and Edric had the majority of them, she offered one and let the portal open before her eyes, to which she knelt in the center of the circle and entered another part of the Dark Chasm.

When she arrived in the new area she discovered that she was in a small tunnel that got bigger when she rounded the corner, though at the same time she kept her guard up since it appeared that this area had fewer places for her to push her foes into. The first foe that discovered her existence was the specter of a knight that was carrying two large hammers, though as it climbed the path to reach her, however, Rarity responded by blasting it with a Lightning Spear that pushed it back a tiny bit. As the knight regained itself Rarity noticed that a second enemy, one that appeared to love the Forbidden Sun pyromancy spell, started to follow the path as well, to which Rarity decided that she would try out a new spell that she had never used before. When the knight got back on his feet, and the sorcerer was right behind him, Rarity snapped her fingers in their direction and loosed a Forbidden Sun at them, blasting the knight into the sorcerer's face, which caused the sorcerer to fall of the edge of the path and disappear into the abyss.

The knight remained standing there before Rarity used an Emit Force to knock him over the edge as well, but instead of admiring her handiwork she continued down the path and kept her eyes open for any additional enemies that wanted her dead.

As she reached the end of the path she quickly dealt with the strange mage enemy she had encountered in the other part of the Dark Chasm, since it was the only foe around, before she headed further down the path that some bits of water were flowing passed. At the end of that path she discovered a fork in the road and headed to the left, where she found a brazier that she could light, as it was the same one she discovered in the other area she had been in, to which she headed up to it and sighed as she sacrificed another Flame Butterfly to activate the brazier. A few moments later she found herself being pulled back to the other side of the portal, to which she closed her eyes for a second and waited for the magic to die down, though not a few seconds later she opened them and found herself back in the Black Gulch alter.

"I knew that you were special." Darkdiver Grandahl stated, allowing Rarity a moment to collect herself before she stood again, though at the same time Rarity wondered what the point of these trials were, since she could already best these types of enemies with ease, "You are a true Pilgrim of Dark. There is more Dark within you than even you know. Dark is the mother of all. All things were born from it."

Rarity had the feeling that Sombra would get along better with Grandahl than she did, but instead of saying anything she nodded head and and walked out of the chamber that the alter was resting in, though to get back to the bonfire she had to go down a little more before finding a cage type elevator that would take her back up to the level were the bonfire was located. Once she returned to the bonfire she rested for a moment, not that she needed it, before she headed over to the area where the final alter was waiting for her, the area known as the Shaded Ruins, and materialized beside the first bonfire she and Edric had discovered when they found this place. She quickly made her way through the lion warriors that stood in her way, without killing them or taking any damage, before she reached the hole that she could use to drop down into the area that Grandahl was waiting for her in... to which she silently offered him another Human Effigy to open the way to the third part of the Dark Chasm, where she knelt on it and let the magic happen.

Once more she found herself in a tunnel, just like the last area she had been in, and summoned a light so she could see where she was going, though she carefully followed the path in front of her until she arrived at a larger chamber that had two specters and a mage waiting for her. As she backed away from them, so she could study her foes for a few seconds, the mage broke rank and followed after her, though when it rounded the corner Rarity took care of it like she had done in the second part of the Dark Chasm. From there the archer specter, which had been watching her the entire time, made it's move and started coming after her as the warrior specter remained still, though Rarity was fine with that as she threw a Lightning Spear into the specter's chest, knocking the archer backwards. As the archer got back up, however, Rarity threw another Soul Geyser at it and watched as the damage appeared all over her target's body before the specter broke apart... leaving her alone with the warrior.

Fortunately the warrior specter appeared to be as weak as the others she had fought so far, as she was able to best the specter before it even touched her, though with her foe defeated she approached the brazier that was on the left side of the chamber and sighed as she sacrificed one more butterfly... though this time, when she ignited the brazier, she was immediately taken from the area she was in, where she appeared in the area where the Darklurker ruled.

"There you are," Rarity commented, though at the same time she readied her staff and her spells, because she was sure that this was going to be a hard fight, if the fight with the Giant Lord was anything to go by.

The Darklurker tilted it's head as it stared at Rarity for a moment, as if it was studying her, before it floated over the distance between the two of them and flew into the air, where it stopped after a few seconds and loosed a beam of energy from it's head that forced Rarity to moved. Sure, the attack wasn't the fastest and it was easy to avoid when she saw it coming, but it also left a gash in the ground where the beam traveled, telling Rarity that being hit by it was not the best move in the world. The instant the beam attack was finished the Darklurker returned to the ground and thrust it's hand towards Rarity, forcing her to move again as a bolt of soul energy rushed passed by where she had been standing moments ago, meaning that her speed was not as good as her opponent's. As Rarity came to a stop once more, and locked onto her foe, the Darklurker opened a small dark portal in front of it, which a white ring around it, and did something with the magic he was using.

What Rarity wasn't expecting was the Darklurker to have opened a second portal right above her, as that allowed the Darklurker to loose a dark orb, one that screamed as it moved through the air, into the first portal and let it come out the second portal... where it targeted Rarity and homed in on where she was standing, blowing her into the side of the wall and knocking some of her equipment out of the way. As Rarity picked herself up she noticed that her chime, pyromancy flame, staff, and sword had been torn from her body with that one explosion, though before she could retrieve them they all disappeared, as if they had never been there to begin with. Fortunately it wasn't all bad news, as she could channel her magic through her hands and horn, meaning that she wasn't powerless, but it appeared that her only real weapon was gone, putting her at a slight disadvantage.

The Darklurker closed the gap between them and swung at Rarity with it's upper left hand, since it's lower left and right arms were crossed in front of it's chest at the moment, though that was when Rarity got her first encounter with the energy blade that extended from the Darklurker's left wrist. The slashing motion that came first was enough to warn her that she was in trouble, especially with the fact that part of her robe now bared the slash mark on it with some blood dripping from the diagonal wound, before her foe thrust his arm at her. Rarity was smart enough to dodge the attack that was coming her direction, though as she did so she quickly raised a hand to her wound and used a healing spell to get rid of it, before landing on the ground and calling lightning to her side once more. She then hurled the Lightning Spear through the air and struck the Darklurker in it's chest, though even as the creature staggered for a moment, revealing it's weakness to her, the Darklurker summoned another portal system that knocked Rarity into the wall, as her foe was smart enough to move the second portal to a different location each time it used the attack, preventing her from guessing where it was going to strike next.

Rarity groaned as she picked herself up and faced the Darklurker, as she honestly wasn't expecting to fight such a smart opponent this time around, before she lifted her right hand and snapped her fingers, sending a Forbidden Sun right at her target... though that was followed by the Darklurker disappearing and letting the spell collide with the wall behind where it had been, only for her target to reappear diagonally to the left of where she was laying, revealing that her foe could teleport as well.

"Now this is what I call a powerful creature," Rarity commented, as she was referring to all of the creatures she and Edric had taken out since their journey had started, the creatures that had started out strong and had become weak over time, though now she was back at the beginning of it all, "though I don't think I was even remotely prepared to fight something like this."

The Darklurker stared at her as she started to pull herself up, though before she could get onto her knees, however, she felt the temperature in the chamber shift as the Darklurker held all four of it's arms up towards the ceiling, though that was when she watched as three Forbidden Suns materialized around her opponent. Rarity could only watch as the three spheres were pulled into a single larger being, causing her to sweat for a moment, before the Darklurker hurled the mass of fire at her. Seconds later the area around Rarity exploded and she was thrown even further backwards, where her back painfully hit the wall behind her before she fell to the ground, though even as all this happened she noticed that there was a hole where she had been resting earlier, where the attack had hit her to be exact. As much as she hated to admit it, and she really hated to admit it, but she wasn't getting anywhere without the power that she had unlocked earlier, thanks to her rage for the Pursuer... to which she sighed as she opened herself to the Dark Magic inside of her once more, where she felt the strands of magic form around her eyes.

Rarity honestly never thought that she would have to resort to using Dark Magic against such a creature, but this meant that she would be using her full power from now on, though once her power was stable she opened her eyes and pushed herself back into a standing position.

It was impossible to see if the Darklurker was surprised or annoyed by the fact that she had gotten back up, but instead of worrying about that Rarity focused on her mission and rushed her opponent, abandoning the notion of fighting from a distance as she appeared in front of her foe and connected a Lightning Spear right in the center of it's chest. That made the Darklurker step back after the attack went through it's body, though it quickly recovered and swung it's energy blade at her about, but this time around Rarity was prepared for that. Her shadow shifted as it moved into a shield that blocked the energy blade from cutting her from the side, as that was the slash part of the attack, and shifted to provide a shield in front of her when the Darklurker tried to thrust the blade into her chest. As her shadow distracted the Darklurker, however, Rarity willed a spire to rise and a crystal spire erupted from the ground, but she was unable to pierce her foe's chest as the Darklurker teleported out of the way... to which she did the same thing and reappeared on the ground, causing the spire to stop in it's tracks.

This time around Rarity was the first one to resume the fight, though as she moved around the area she stared firing Forbidden Suns at her target, who either tried to move out of the way by simply moving or teleporting, but in the end Rarity got him as she pulled the mass of fireballs together and had them all touch her foe. The resulting explosion from all the Forbidden Suns shook the entire area for a few moments, but at the same time it brought a smile to Rarity's face, since it appeared that she had won already. Before she could even consider what to do next, however, a flash of light emitted from the flames and the entire area returned to how it had been a few moments ago, only this time around there were two Darklurkers standing side by side. At first Rarity wasn't sure if the Darklurker had severed it's power into two halves to catch her off guard, or if it had somehow created an exact copy of itself that had the same level of power that it had, but she quickly determined which was the right answer.

That was because the two Darklurkers raised all four of their arms into the air, where they both summoned three Forbidden Suns into the area around them, letting six of them float around them in a ring of sorts, before they melded them into two larger spheres. Rarity would have thought that the trick would have ended there, with them firing the two empowered Forbidden Suns at her, but in reality the two Darklurkers merged their individual spheres together and created an even stronger Forbidden Sun, one that shook the entire area with it's sheer power. Rarity, not having a single spell that might even be on the scale of such an attack, did the best thing she could do at that moment, she raised the strongest barrier she had and braced herself for what was coming her way. A few seconds later the two Darklurkers sent the massive sphere down towards where Rarity was standing, where the flaming ball collided with the dark barrier that she had created... though it quickly became apparent just how underpowered she was in the face of such a foe, as the sphere pushed down on the barrier until it shattered, allowing the attack to detonate in Rarity's face.

Rarity was blown to the other side of the chamber they were in and moaned as she collided with the ground, because despite the fact that she was Undead the pain the Darklurker had inflicted on her body was definitely real... though at the same time she realized that even with Dark Magic, which had allowed Sombra to do some terrible things, she was unable to do anything against her opponent.

I don't understand what's going on. Rarity thought as she remained laying on the ground, because it appeared that every time she tried to move the Darklurker started to attack, but if she remained still for a moment or two her foe wouldn't attack her, Discord told me that everyone else that walked through the mirror received extraordinary powers during their travels, yet it seems like this is my limit. Discord said that Rainbow and Applejack were bring trained by gods, Starlight had gained new knowledge and power, Lyra and Trixie were great heroes in their own rights, and Sunset became a god thanks to her travels. Even Pinkie, who was already overpowered, gained new powers... and yet I appear to have reached my limits.

Rarity laid there for a few more moments, going over everything that Discord had told her before she finally decided to venture through the mirror, before realizing that she had been one of the weakest members of the group, of what Discord often called the 'Mane Six', and that she would always be at the bottom... but that was before a new thought entered her mind and overrode what she was thinking about.

No, I refuse to go down now, after fighting through all the challenges that this land has thrown at me. Rarity told herself, though at the same time she carefully picked herself up as she summoned her power to her once more, only this time around she had a faint dark aura surrounding her, I will draw forth every ounce and drop of power that is inside my body to show that I have grown stronger over the time I have spent on this world.

With her mind set to her task, and there was no going back at this point, Rarity stood up once more and stared at the two Darklurkers as she opened herself to all of her magical potential, though as she did so she felt something inside her crack, but she paid little attention to it at the moment. As she started to gather her energy the two Darklurkers stared down at her before they started merging their six Forbidden Suns into a single sphere again, causing the chamber around them to shake once more, though this time around the walls started to crack. Rarity, on the other hand, held her arms out to her sides and gathered all of her energy into two black colored spheres, though as she did so the area around her shook as the walls started to shatter. It was as if they were in another part of the Dark Chasm, as when the walls of the cavern collapsed Rarity noticed that the only thing that existed around them was darkness, though she then turned her focus to her attack... even as she felt whatever had cracked inside her shatter as well, before her energy output increased enough to enlarge the spheres to the size of her hands.

Rarity braced herself as she brought the two spheres together in front of her body, melding them into a single mass, before it expanded several times and stopped when it was a massive sphere that was larger than she was, but at the same time it's size matched the size of the Forbidden Sun the Darklurkers were planning on throwing at her. A few moments later, where she was sure that the attack was ready, Rarity heaved the sphere of dark energy into the air and watched as it soared towards her targets, who threw their own attack at her in response to what she was doing. The two attacks collided in the middle of the air and pushed against each other for a few seconds, with the Darklurkers trying to overcome Rarity's attack, but Rarity refused to let herself be defeated, especially since her friends had overcome even greater odds than what she was facing. She could feel the strain her body was in, from using every drop of her power in such a manner, but it would all be worth it if she could beat the Darklurker and claim it's power... until she gave her sphere one more push, one that let her dark sphere shatter the Forbidden Sun and fly right into the Darklurker's face.

The resulting explosion consumed both of the Darklurkers and shook the area around Rarity, if not the entirety of the Dark Chasm, though she stood her ground as she waited to see what happened next... though when the smoke cleared a single Darklurker appeared in the sky, before turning to dust as a rush of energy surged into Rarity's body.

As the energy settled down Rarity discovered that her attire had been replaced by something new, as it appeared that she was wearing a new pair of pants, a little baggy in her mind, that were dark grey colored, along with a new shirt of some kind that possessed the same coloration. On top of those two pieces of clothing she wore some sort of overshirt that was purple colored, like her mane, complete with an azure colored sash around her waist, which happened to match her eye color when she wasn't channeling Dark Magic. What was weird was that she felt so much stronger than she had been when the Darklurker was trashing her, causing her to move her fingers for a moment to be sure that she wasn't imagining anything, before she raised her hand into the air and willed three Forbidden Suns into existence... fusing them into a single mass that shook the entirety of the Dark Chasm, before she dispelled the attack a few moments later.

A few seconds passed before she realized that by taking the Darklurker's soul, or more accurately it's power into her body, she had also taken it's moves as well... to which she focused her magic for a moment before vanishing from the Dark Chasm entirely. A moment later she reappeared in Majula, next to the bonfire, surprising Edric and the Emerald Herald by her sudden arrival, though the one that wasn't surprised by all of this was Shalquoir, who came out of her shop to personally welcome Rarity back to the town.

"Congratulations Rarity, you've conquered the Dark Chasm," Shalquoir said, as she has happy to see that nothing bad had happened to her favorite Undead, despite some near disasters in the Dark Chasm, though she smiled as Rarity turned to face her, "Now then, you have four giant souls and the power boost you were looking for... so I suppose you know what needs to happen next?"

"Yes, we need to see King Vendrick again," Rarity replied, as that had been the plan after she took on the Dark Chasm, though she knew that Shalquoir was also reminding her to acquire Vendrick's crown so she could activate the three keys she had been given, which she collected from Edric, "This ought to be an interesting visit."

The First Crown

Once Rarity had rested a bit, upon Edric insisting that she rest after her fight with the Darklurker, the two of them gathered near the bonfire once more and focused on what they were going to do next, which was them teleporting back to the Undead Crypt, where the hollowed King Vendrick was waiting. When they returned to the crypt they made sure to select the first bonfire, as there was really no reason to choose the second one when it was surrounded by the wraiths that they had seen earlier. Of course that meant that they had to deal with a torch carrying undead and some of the other unfortunate hollows that were with it, but the mage enemies that resided in this area gave Rarity the chance to test her new power out, to which she shimmered for a moment before appearing behind the mages. Edric looked at that in shock, as he was sure that Rarity already had a teleportation spell, one that she didn't use, but this one seemed to be different, as all she did was think of her destination and she was there, without casting a single spell.

Instead of drawing her sword to deal with these mages, who were slow on the uptake, Rarity held her left hand out and an energy blade, baring a faint black color like the aura that had surrounded her during the fight with the Darklurker, extended from her hand. She swung her arm at the mage on her left and literally cut the unfortunate hollow in half, though she paid little attention to it's soul energy as she dodged the incoming Soul Arrow from one of the other mages and pierced it's heart. She then used the second mage as a shield for the third one's attacks, though once the mage stopped firing Rarity opened a portal in the wall to her left and threw a small black orb into it, allowing a screaming orb to surge out of a portal behind her foe, blowing the mage to pieces... to which she let go of the mage she had been using as a shield and stared at the three bodies, surprised by how powerful she had actually gotten since she fought the Darklurker.

"Amazing," Edric said, as he had seen how strong Rarity had grown since they started their journey, going from a weak sorceress to a powerful mage in the span of what could have been a few days, and yet he was still surprised by her rapid growth, "Just how much power did you take from the Darklurker?"

"I'm pretty sure I took all of it's power..." Rarity replied, though once more she flexed her fingers and made sure that nothing was wrong, as she wasn't used to the seemingly endless power that was now at her fingertips, as if she had taken what had once been a small amount of mana and shattered it's limits, allowing her to indefinitely cast spells now, "Twilight is going to freak out when I tell her what happened to me."

"Why would she freak out over something like this?" Edric asked, as while he kind of knew the name, as Rarity might have mentioned it once or twice in the past, he was more focused on the mission at hand, which was why the two of them got moving the moment she was ready.

"Because I'm fairly sure that I reached the limit of my potential and then promptly shattered it," Rarity answered, to which she sighed for a moment, because now that something unusual was happening to her she wished that she had listened to Twilight's brief lesson on this subject, "Everyone in Equus, even the Princesses, have limits to their power and in rare cases some are born without those initial limits, meaning that the ones who are born with great power have even greater limits to overcome. There are only a few known cases of a pony breaking their limits, though Twilight would be the one who knew those names, especially since I never paid attention to that lesson of hers. Anyway, I know that when I tell Twilight about this adventure, minus some of the more horrible aspects, she'll be shocked when she learns that I have broken my limits."

Edric still wasn't sure that he understood what Rarity was saying, as magic was a foreign subject for him, but all he gathered from her statement was that it was rare for a pony to break their limits, though when it happened they gained incredible power as a result. He remembered her saying something about other ponies walking through the same mirror that she had walked through, which was actually a portal between worlds if her story was to be believed, and wondered if the other members of her species were going through the same thing that she was... before he sighed and decided that it was best if he didn't break his mind trying to think about what happened.

Together the duo walked through the Undead Crypt once more, following the path they had walked the first time they had come to this place, though this time around none of the warriors, soldiers, and hollows posed much of a threat to the duo as they walked. Part of the reason was because Edric knew the attack patterns of each enemy they fought and knew how to damage them, allowing him to put his upgraded strength to the test as he finished off the enemies that wanted to battle him. Another reason was because of Rarity's new power, as she was able to bypass the large shields that the knights and soldiers carried with her new teleportation power, though even if she didn't use that power she could always open small portals and throw powerful screaming orbs at her targets, much like the Darklurker did to her earlier. She was still getting used to her new powers, since she had never used anything like her earlier foe had done, though she was happy to find that they were useful against all of their opponents.

It wasn't long before they reached the stairs that would take them down to the area that the last of King Vendrick's knights were standing in, the final guards between them and and the King, but Rarity decided to show them that she wasn't messing around. Edric followed several steps behind Rarity as she lifted her right hand into the air and three large fireballs, Forbidden Suns he quickly realized, appeared above her head, though before he could be shocked by the display of power something else happened. Edric watched as the three spheres merged into a single mass and the floor shook for a moment, as if a godly power was visiting the area, though he was sure that several cracks appeared in the walls around them, but thankfully they weren't large enough to do any lasting damage to anything important. It was then that Edric found out that the display was to put some fear in the knights that were in front of them, as some of them actually backed away from Rarity... to which the two of them walked passed the knights before entering the room where the large golden knight had been earlier, where Rarity cancelled out her attack and continued towards King Vendrick.

They found the hollowed King wandering around the same chamber that he had been in when they came to claim the King's Ring, though this time around there were here for something more important, something that Edric had been meaning to ask about and was now going to voice.

"So, why are we here again?" Edric inquired, because it seemed like Shalquoir had convince Rarity to go on another quest of sorts, without telling him anything about what they would be doing.

"Shalquoir gave me three keys, each going to a different location," Rarity explained, as she wasn't sure as to whether or not she had actually told Edric about what they were going to do, besides try and find the King anyway, "according to our friend each of these areas contains a powerful crown that once belonged to the king of that area. From what I can gather we need the four crowns for something important and killing Vendrick will allow us to claim his crown... as well as open the way to the other three locations. I don't know what the crowns do exactly, but maybe they'll help us overcome the Curse at long last."

Edric could see why Shalquoir would have waited to tell them about such a thing, as she could have easily determined that the four Great Souls were the test to be sure that they were ready for the second part of their trials, which would require the death of the current monarch to start. He also realized that he could be overthinking everything and the crowns would serve no purpose, but at the same time he knew that there was a reason behind why Shalquoir gave Rarity the keys and decided to trust the cat once more. With that in mind he drew his weapon once more and walked into the area in front of them, where Rarity walked beside him as they both kept their eyes on King Vendrick, who was still ignoring them and hadn't noticed that he had company... revealing that he was more hollow than they originally realized.

Since he knew why they had come here, as it appeared that by killing King Vendrick they could activate the keys and find his crown, Edric approached the hollowed King and swung his sword, feeling the hate of the giants rush along the blade for a moment as he cut into Vendrick's leg, though it wasn't very deep at all. Vendrick stopped moving for a moment before he turned and looked at Edric, though as Edric removed his blade and backed away the hollowed King lifted his large sword into the air and leapt off the ground. That was followed by him bringing the blade down on where Edric was standing, though he rolled out of the way before the hit could connect and got back onto his feet as Rarity moved to the side, studying their foe for any weaknesses. From what she could determine Vendrick didn't have any elemental weaknesses, not like all of the other enemies they had fought so far, but since she had been powered up she knew that they would eventually win this fight.

When Edric dodged the next jump attack, however, Rarity was waiting as she snapped open two portals and let a screaming sphere of dark energy collide with Vendrick's chest, knocking him backwards for a moment, giving Edric the opportunity to cut a long gash into the King's left arm before backing away. Vendrick quickly recovered from the damage that they had dealt to him and continued his assault, where this time around he started swinging his large sword at whoever was in front of him, switching from Edric to Rarity and back with little warning. Fortunately the duo was ready for such a tactic, as all they had to do was carefully watch what their foe was doing and plan accordingly, though when Rarity was the target she used a barrier to block the attacks, allowing Edric a chance to attack from behind. The screaming sphere that Rarity had acquired from the Darklurker proved to be a great power to have as well, as she could literally attack Vendrick from any direction, meaning that he'd have no way of predicting her movements until the attack hit his body and caused him to stagger.

Rarity also discovered that she had access to all of the Darklurker's powers and not just the more common ones that had been shown off to her, as she could now create a phantom pair of wings, since she didn't have any of her own, and flap them forward in a motion that caused an explosion to happen in front of her. She made sure to use that power when Edric wasn't standing near Vendrick, as she didn't want to hurt her friend in the process, though the damage it dealt certainly weakened the hollowed King by a good amount. She even had the ability to create near perfect replicas of herself that fought like she would and possessed the same level of power that she did, making her realize why the Darklurker had used the power during their fight... but while she could easily create two copies right off the back, however, she only did it for a few moments, to distract Vendrick from what she was really planning, before she banished the copies. She knew that she, alone, could overpower the hollowed King with her new power, but at the same time she wanted the fight to be a little more fair and didn't use the merged Forbidden Sun technique.

In the end, however, she and Edric toppled the hollowed King, where he staggered for a moment before falling towards the ground, where Vendrick landed on his side and breathed his last before he faded away... to which Rarity and Edric walked out of the area he had been roaming and returned to the closest bonfire, before teleporting back up to the second bonfire in the Shrine of Amana.

"So this is where the first crown is hiding?" Edric asked, because at this point he wasn't about to doubt Rarity, not when she was right about so many things, nor was he about to doubt Shalquoir, who he was beginning to suspect was actually a bored god and not a simple shopkeeper.

"Yes, and I can feel it beckoning for me to come find it," Rarity replied, referring to the feeling she had felt the last time they were in this area, as she had almost deviated from the path to see if she could find the source of the power, before she beckoned for Edric to follow, "Let's get that crown and see if we can't open the way to the area that the second crown is resting in."

As they left the ruins that the second bonfire in the shrine's area was located, however, the mage enemies that called this area home started targeting them, but Rarity simply frowned at them as she surrounded herself and Edric in a magical barrier. At the same time, however, Rarity opened a single portal inside the barrier and started throwing screaming spheres out at the mages that were targeting them, where Edric watched as their foes were blown backwards as they continued walking towards their destination. It didn't take them long to reach the bridge that was slightly beneath the water, to which the two of them started walking over it as they approached the rock wall in front of them, where they noticed that there were some branches that might be hiding something. When they approached the branches and cut them down, revealing the iron door that was behind hidden behind them, to which Rarity walked toward and touched the door... where it glowed for a moment before allowing itself to be opened, where the duo found a chair that contained the King's soul.

With the soul in hand Rarity turned towards the path on the left of the doorway and followed the path that was in front of them, where she lead Edric up towards a chest... one that, when opened, revealed a suit of armor that matched what was resting in the area they found Vendrick in, along with an iron crown that radiated power.

"The King's Crown," Rarity said, staring at the crown with a smile on her face, though as Edric collected the armor and the crown she felt some new information enter her mind, to which she pulled out the three keys she had been given earlier, before she looked at the Dragon Talon for a second, "I see, so Shulva is our next destination."

"And where is this Shulva?" Edric asked, because he was sure that his companion knew the location of the door, if Shalquoir was willing to hand over the three keys anyway.

"We need to backtrack to the Black Gulch for a few moments," Rarity replied, though at the same time she stored the keys inside her pack while Edric did the same with the crown, before she beckoned for him to follow, "Come on, let's begin the hunt for the second of the four crowns."

Edric still had no idea why they needed the four crowns, but since it was Shalquoir who gave them this mission he wasn't going to say anything about it... though that didn't stop him from wondering what sort of challenges he and Rarity would face when they reached their next destination.

Exploring Shulva

Once Rarity had determined where they needed to go after acquiring the King's Crown, and the armor that had been located inside the same chest that the crown had been inside, they returned to the bonfire they used to reach the shrine area and teleported back to the Black Gulch. When they arrived at an old destination Rarity let her shadow move into the area around them and shattered all of the poison statues that were around them, while at the same time the duo made their way down towards where the Rotten had been located. It didn't take them long to reach that area, where they avoided the pits of fire and all of the other hazards that rested around them, before they made their way towards the tunnel that would take them to the area that the Primal Bonfire was located in.

A few moments later they turned the corner and looked at the Primal Bonfire again, though that was when Rarity noticed the shrine, which was identical to the one that they has passed by when they opened the door to access Drangleic Castle... and at the same time she could tell that the Dragon Talon was glowing, indicating that they had reached the right area for them to open the way to Shulva.

"Okay, that wasn't here the last time we were here," Edric commented, though at the same time he realized that this had to be the area that they were supposed to be in, for the 'key' to work like Rarity thought it would, "So, how does that talon get us into Shulva?"

"I have an idea," Rarity said, to which she approached the shrine for a moment and gently placed the Dragon Talon on the center of the shrine, where a small pedestal rested, and felt the magic awaken in the air around them as she beckoned for Edric to come over, "Here, take my hand and I'll activate the magic that's in the air around us."

Edric stared at Rarity's hand and glanced at the shrine for a moment, before sighing as he grasped his companion's hand, where the two of them were connected to the magic in the air around them before they vanished from the area that they had been standing in. A few moments later they reappeared in a larger shrine area with a brazier that was surrounded by some odd statues, though that was before the duo noticed the door on the other side of the chamber they had found themselves in. From there they stopped holding hands and crossed over to where the door was waiting, though once they reached it Edric braced himself against it and pushed forward, causing the door to open before their eyes and allowing them to walk through the tunnel that was in front of them. As they walked Rarity was able to determine that the city they were heading towards, because that's what Shulva had to be, had likely never been accessed by the portal they stepped through... meaning that she and Edric were likely the first ones to find Shulva in a long time.

When they exited the tunnel, however, the duo looked upon what was Shulva and were a little surprised to find a city resting underground, though what caught Rarity's attention was the fact that there was a pyramid resting near their location and that all the paths she could see at the moment lead right to it... meaning that she already knew where they could find the crown of the king that had ruled Shulva. Rarity was under the impression that the three keys she had been given were the keys necessary for her and Edric to teleport into the heart of another king's domain, though those kings were likely gone at this point in time, if Vendrick was anything to go by. A few moments later they stopped staring at the city and turned around the corner that was ahead of them, though as they did so they came face to face with a dragon that appeared to be dead... though when Edric accidentally kicked a rock the dragon's eyes snapped open and it turned it's head towards them, before it roared and moved itself from it's perch as it flew into the city and disappeared.

One thing Rarity had noticed about the dragon, however, was that there was a spear of some kind sticking out of it's back and it's chest, though the wound appeared to have healed around the spear... but that didn't stop her from wondering if she might have found a way to deal with the creature when they found it in the future.

"Great... this place has a dragon as well," Edric said, as he remembered the trouble the last dragon they had fought gave him, before Rarity put the creature down anyway, to which he sighed and started moving forward, "Come on, let's get out of here before that beast decides to come back and fry us or something."

The duo carefully followed the path that they were on, since there was no railing they could easily fall to their deaths, before they found the first thing they usually found when they entered a new area, the bonfire that would allow them to teleport back to Majula if they needed additional supplies or needed to empower themselves even further. Truthfully Rarity didn't feel the need to empower herself anymore, not after she shattered the limits of her mana pool, destroyed the Darklurker, and absorbed every ability that her foe had possessed, all while increasing her power at the same time. She had always been a little envious of Twilight's abilities, but now that she had the power that put her on the same level as her friend, and had some rather frightening abilities of her own, she was content. She already felt like she could dominate everything that was in front of them, but at the same time she was still restricting herself to the point where it was a fair fight, otherwise they'd reach the end in absolutely no time at all.

She was, however, hoping for a stronger foe to show up at some point, one that would make her want to use her full power again, but for now she was content with following Edric through a new area as they sought out the crown that was hidden somewhere in the city.

With the bonfire lit the duo walked down the path in front of them and came to their first enemy, a soldier whose armor and weapon had been twisted by some sort of toxic miasma, while at the same time the soldier's flesh revealed that their enemies were hollows as well. As the solider started to pick itself up, and it's weapon for that matter, Edric slammed his shield into it and cut through it's already weakened defenses, though as the soldier fell Rarity knew that there were more of them waiting ahead of them. The reason she knew that was because of the archer that was standing near an edge, though as the duo walked forward two more melee soldiers rose from the ground, so while Edric dealt with the melee opponents Rarity focused on the archer. This was where the teleportation ability that the Darklurker had was useful, as it allowed her to move from one location to another, forcing the archer to keep it's arrow at the ready for when she finally came to a stop... though Rarity surprised her foe by loosing a screaming sphere at the archer's back, blowing it forward as it collided with one of the soldiers that Edric was fighting, allowing him to kill both at the same time.

Edric chuckled as he finished off the other soldier, after dodging the incoming attack anyway, because some of Rarity's new abilities would make situations like this that much easier for them to get around, once they determined that they needed those powers anyway.

Before either of them could react to the strange glowing triangular shaped pillar that was near them, however, Rarity noticed three more archers standing nearby and noticed that they were all aiming at her once more, to which she smiled as she repeated what she did with the first archer. This time around she didn't blast them with the screaming sphere, rather she distracted her foes and let Edric attack them from behind, allowing him to cut one of them down before they had a chance to defend themselves. As the remaining two turned towards him Rarity appeared behind the one in the back and struck it with a Dark Orb, knocking it into the soldier that was in front of it while Edric removed the two of them, giving them a small chance to examine the pillar they had noticed. When Rarity touched it, however, it moved for a moment before sinking into the pedestal it was on, which was followed by a structure erupting out of the ground where the first archer had been... though what purpose it served they had no idea.

Instead of messing with the pillar again, and doing something else, they moved forward and reached the edge that the trio of archers had been guarding earlier, where Edric carefully dropped down onto the area below him and dealt with the lance carrying soldier that was waiting for the two of them. At the same time Rarity touched the pillar they were walking by and another square structure erupted from the ground to her left, though she assumed that the creators of Shulva had some reason for building this area like this. She stared at the pillar for a moment as it rose from the pedestal it was attached to, meaning that she could raise and lower the structure as necessary, but she decided not to bother with lowering it as she followed after Edric and dropped down to the area below her. As she caught up with Edric she noticed that he was in the process of taking out another soldier, to which she approached a pillar and caused a structure to rise where a gap would have been, meaning that if they had fallen through that area in the future they wouldn't get hurt in the process... to which the duo continued forward as they resumed their search.

They walked up the small set of stairs in front of them and noticed that they could pick between two buildings, though since the one on the right appeared to go nowhere they considered heading through the building on their left, where some strange bulb like items were resting. As they started to debate which way to go a bug emerged from the building on the left and attacked them, though as the duo separated Rarity noticed an archer aiming at them, so while Edric cut the bug to pieces she loosed a screaming sphere and blew her target apart. Once their foes were taken care of the duo walked into the building on the left and carefully walked through the building, where they emerged from a doorway on the left of them and tapped the pillar that was at the end of the path, causing a structure to rise so they could enter the building that was in front of them. A few seconds later they discovered a soldier standing guard in the middle of the building, to which Edric took care of it, before they walked up the stairs to their left and headed towards the roof... where they discovered that they could drop back onto the main walkway they had walked on earlier, as well as a ring that Rarity collected.

From there they returned to the bulb filled room and discovered that the second doorway went nowhere, so they turned round and headed back to the second building that they had chosen to ignore, though at the same time the two of them kept their guards up. On the doorway on their left they found a pillar that extended part of a walkway to reach the area that the archer Rarity had taken out had been standing, though instead of jumping over the gap they spotted some stairs to their left, attached to the middle of the two buildings, and used it to reach the area below them. When they reached the bottom of the stairs the duo dealt with the two soldiers that were waiting for them, though at the same time Rarity carefully surveyed the area as she took in everything that was around them. They both agreed that the pyramid was their destination, though she was seeing if she could find the path there so she could save them some time, but she had the feeling that they'd had to find it by pure exploration.

When the soldiers were taken care of Edric tapped another pillar and extended the rest of the walkway above them, to which Rarity simply warped up there with her new teleportation power and looked around for anything useful, which revealed itself in the form of a second pillar... one that extended a walkway in front of where Edric was standing, one that would allow them to access another building that they had been staring at.

Instead of heading towards the new pathway the duo headed down the stairs on their left and found a cluster of poison statues that were able to move around, though Rarity noticed that some sort of creature was carrying them, maybe a crab creature or something, but she simply loosed a Great Soul Arrow at it and blew it apart. From there they headed down the other set of stairs that were in front of them and noticed that the area in front of them had a decent amount of archer soldiers waiting for them. Another thing they noticed was that there were a fair number of pillars resting along the path in front of them, where Rarity used a Soul Arrow to hit one on their right and raised a larger structure into the air, which was replicated on the left side as well. It also, as they soon discovered, blocked the archers from firing at them until they moved out into the open, though Rarity smiled as she rose the other two structures on their left to prevent their foes from targeting them.

One thing she noticed while she did that was the three structures on the left were close together and seemed to form a walkway with their tops, though she wondered if there was anything up there worth investigating, but she paid it less attention as she and Edric moved forward.

The archers, unable to see the duo without moving themselves, weren't prepared for Rarity and Edric to attack them from the hiding spot that the structures had created, where they carefully took out some of their foes before evening the playing field entirely. As they engaged the remaining archers Rarity noticed another statue carrying crab, in the small building that the path was taking them to, and loosed a Soul Arrow at it, killing it instantly while Edric dealt with the rest of the enemies that were around them. Before they did anything else they explored the exterior of the building, where Rarity discovered a pillar that caused another structure to rise out of the ground nearby, though this one connected the other three structures to the building they were standing next to. The duo then walked into the building that was next to them and found a ladder that took them to the roof, where Rarity discovered that she had been right, as the four structures formed a bridge that allowed the two of them to reach the building they were connected to... which held a bonfire that they activated, even if they never bothered to use it in the future.

The only good thing that this bonfire did, besides allowing them to pass by a good number of enemies, was that it had a path that required a few drops before they reached a wooden bridge that would allow them to access the pyramid that they had been heading towards. Instead of jumping down the edge of the building they were on, however, the duo returned to the building that had the ladder and climbed down to the path they had walked along, where they simply headed back towards the stairs. Before they reached the stairs they also discovered a path to their right that allowed them to access the insides of another building, one that they eagerly entered and engaged the two soldiers that were definitely waiting for enemies to show themselves. Since it was easy to take care of the soldiers the duo walked out of the building they were in, through the entrance they had been heading towards, and walked across the bridge that was in front of them... though after a few minutes the two of them started to head down the stairs towards the stone bridge that was connected to the pyramid, before Rarity stopped them.

At first Edric thought it was about the soldiers that were guarding the bridge, which she could easily take out on her own, though that was before the dragon from earlier flew close to the bridge and loosed some fireballs at it, killing the soldiers that were on it before flying away... to which Edric was thankful that Rarity had felt the dragon coming and warned him ahead of time, in her own way anyway.

"Thanks for stopping me," Edric said, though he followed Rarity as she moved some of the vases out of the way, from a path that wasn't the bridge, until they found a corpse that had a spell page in it's grasp, "A new spell... not sure you actually need any new spells at this point."

"I will agree with that fact, but since I'm putting together a spellbook I'll need one of each spell," Rarity commented, to which she picked up the page that she was staring at and inserted the Focus Souls spell into the book that Shalquoir had given her, before she turned towards Edric once more, "Well then, let's enter the pyramid and see if we can't find the crown that belonged to the king that used to rule this area."

Edric nodded as he followed Rarity across the stone bridge that was in front of them, where they carefully approached the entrance of the pyramid, which was opening the moment they walked up to it, allowing them to progress inside the depth's of the pyramid until they came to a locked door and another path. Rarity had them stop for a moment, letting Edric rest for a few minutes before they started exploring the inside of the pyramid, as he had to be somewhat tired from the enemies they had fought... and Rarity suspected that the enemies inside this area were going to be slightly tougher than what they had encountered outside the pyramid.

Dragon's Sanctum

Once Edric was done resting, and insisted that he was done, the duo walked down the stairs that were in front of them and came to another room that had a path on the right, a path ahead of them, and a door with a button to their left, though Rarity wasn't surprised to see so many options already. She knew that the pyramid was designed to make them confused, or at least make them regret entering the area, but before she could actually say anything Edric walked towards the room on their right, where a pair of ghostly knights were standing guard. As they surveyed the room, safely from the walkway they were on, Rarity noticed that there were two suits of armor that pulsed with dark red energy, though as she turned to say something Edric cut down the soldier that had been approaching them from the left. With the soldier dead the duo moved into the chamber in front of them and separated from each other, as when Edric attacked one of the ghostly knights they noticed that the knight was barely damaged at all.

Rarity figured that whoever built this place had designed some sort of extra defense, in addition to whatever else there might be waiting for them in the depths of the pyramid, but she turned towards the two suits of armor and gathered her magic around them before she crushed them... causing the 'ghostly' knights to revert to a form that was identical to the other soldiers they had seen, where she smiled as Edric took their opponents down after dodging their attacks.

"I see, now that's interesting." Rarity said, staring at the fragments of he suits of armor, which were no longer glowing with that sinister aura she had seen earlier, though at the same time Edric moved towards the five chests and started opening them so he could take their treasures, "We should keep our eyes open for more of those suits of armor, they'll make dealing with those 'spectral' enemies all that much easier once we've smashed them to bits."

"Will do." Edric replied, knowing that Rarity had to be right about this, as she was generally right despite the fact that she constantly stated that she wasn't the best person to ask about all of this, before he looked at his haul, "I found a Titanite Slab, some balm, a vessel of some kind, a helm that's not identical to the ones these knights are wearing, and fifty destructive looking arrows... which might not even be used, considering your power."

Rarity nodded her head, as she guessed that using arrows wasn't necessary when they had her new power on their side, before the two of them moved out of that chamber and walked through the doorway that was in front of them, where they discovered a few soldiers waiting for them. As Edric dealt with the soldiers Rarity looked into the area to the left of them and spotted a priestess in the back, near what appeared to be a circular door of some description, and some more soldiers, though they, like two of the soldiers that Edric was currently fighting, had a poisonous mist surrounding them. A few seconds later the priestess turned towards the area they were in and loosed a trio of Dark Orbs at them, to which Rarity responded by stopping the attack with a shield, though once all of the orbs were taken care of she snapped open a portal and blasted the priestess with a screaming sphere... where she took a moment as the priestess moved like a fragile flower for a few seconds before falling to the floor.

With the priestess taken care of she turned so she could see if Edric needed her assistance, though that was before Edric dropped down into the area below them and moved around the two soldiers with a level of grace that was unlike what she had seen earlier. Rarity assumed that her companion was improving his own style and had discovered a good way to avoid damage, especially since he was able to avoid taking damage before toppling both of the soldiers on his own, though she was proud of how his skills had improved since they got the King's Ring. Once he finished off the soldiers that he had been fighting he walked over to the circular door as Rarity dropped down into the area as well, though he ended up walking over a button that was on the ground, causing the circular door to rotate until the larger circle was in the north position. That caused an archer to be revealed above their heads, though Rarity blasted the archer back with a Dark Orb, knocking it to the walkway behind it, while at the same time Edric touched the button two more times until the larger circle was on their level... allowing them to finish off the archer before they moved down the path that they had discovered.

As they walked down the path on their right they kept their eyes open for any enemies or traps that might be inside the pyramid, since a place like this was going to be full of them, though they did stop at the first landing they came to and found two small areas that they could search. When they looked to their right they found what appeared to be a hidden passage that they would need to unlock in the future, though on the opposite side rested a body that had some Repair Powder that Edric eagerly collected. They then returned to the path in front of them and found a gap in the stairs, where the two of them jumped into the hole and explored the area below them, as they turned to the right and found a new area that they could explore. When they walked down the stairs Rarity immediately spotted another priestess handing on a level above them, to which she opened a small portal and loosed a screaming sphere at the flower life foe, blasting her target away from where it was standing... before she and Edric noticed a spectral knight, like the ones they saw earlier, that was waiting for something to come it's way.

Instead of engaging the spectral knight they charged forward and headed into the chamber on their right, where they passed by a second knight and headed toward a ladder, though as they moved Edric hit a button on a wall that revealed a treasure chest, which they ignored for now. Rarity snapped a barrier up around them, leaving out the top of the barrier, allowing Edric to climb up to the level above them, though once he was up there she pushed the knights back and teleported up to where her companion was standing. They then crossed over to a small chamber that had another knight and a priestess, though Rarity smiled as she summoned a circular barrier to keep the knight contained for the moment, allowing Edric to deal with the priestess before she did anything to stop them in their tracks. Once Edric had dealt with the priestess they discovered a button on the nearby wall that opened a door near their location, though they soon discovered that it was the hidden passage they spotted earlier... meaning that if they had to retreat they had a path could take, even if such a thing wasn't going to happen.

A few seconds later the duo crossed over the walkway that was near where the trapped knight was, as Rarity was making sure that it didn't move until they were far away from it, before they walked down the stairs and came to a chamber that had three more knights... and a number of sinister glowing suits of armor that made the duo smile the moment they laid eyes on them. Edric gathered the attention of the spectral knights as Rarity moved around the chamber, where she unleashed bolts of magical energy that tore the suits of armor to pieces, rending the knights vulnerable to damage once more. The instant that happened she and Edric declared war on the trio of knights that were in the chamber, because now that they weren't spectral anymore the duo's attacks caused havoc on all of them, though once the trio of foes were defeated Rarity spotted a key that was resting nearby and picked it up... as she had the feeling that it was important since it was being guarded in such a manner.

As they retraced their steps to the prior room they cut down the knight that was guarding the wooden chest, which they had to move away from since it was full of poison and only contained some talismans, while Edric moved over to an iron chest and claimed the ring that was resting inside it. From there Rarity considered how to deal with the knights that were below them, however, she spotted a button on the ceiling above her and used an Emit Force to press it, getting rid of the spikes that were in the sand below them. That allowed Edric to drop down and start his assault, where Rarity joined him and used her magic to blast her target backwards, though now that the knights were more vulnerable they were easily taken care of. Another thing they did was visit the chest that Edric had revealed the location of earlier, where they opened the iron chest and discovered some sort of stone that was also extremely important, at least in Rarity's opinion, to which she stored it with the key they discovered and continued onward.

As the duo headed down the stairs in front of them, and dealt with the knight that was on their right, they followed some stairs and came to another chamber, surprising them with even more stairs, but when they reached the end of the second set Rarity stopped them before they went further. When Edric looked around he didn't see anything, but that was before a red specter, who happened to be dressed as a jester, pulled itself from the ground and stared at them, before snapping it's fingers and sent a large fireball at them. Rarity, on the other hand, stepped forward and held her hand out, stopping the Forbidden Sun from reaching them, though after a few seconds she thrust the attack backwards and caused it to collide with the jester, damaging it instead of them. The jester emerged from the flames with parts of it's clothing on fire, though as it started the battle once more Rarity held her hand up in the air and called forth her own Forbidden Sun, to which she hurled it down at her foe and blasted it into the wall behind it... before she loosed a pair of screaming spheres that tore the jester to pieces, allowing the pair to move on.

From there they walked down the stairs to their right and walked through the fog door that was in front of them, where they entered a large area that had a lot of stalagmites scattered around the entire cavern, but as they walked out into the open area they discovered a large creature, which seemed to resemble a malformed dragon with no wings, walking around the area. Instead of engaging the creature, since they were getting a little tired from the constant fighting without rest, Rarity spotted a bonfire on the other side of the cavern they were in and pointed it out, where Edric nodded before the two of them charged across the cavern. Unfortunately the malformed creatures, as they quickly discovered that there were more than one of them, walked after them with the intent on squishing them and killing them, to which Rarity focused her magic and sent several screaming Dark Orbs into the portals she summoned, blasting the creatures back before they could be hurt.

In the end the two of them were able to reach the bonfire with nothing happening to them, with Rarity killing several of the creatures after she discovered that they were weak to dark based attacks, the duo arrived at the bonfire and lit it up, to which they took a seat around the bonfire as Rarity summoned a barrier to protect them in case the revived creatures charged at them again. She knew that they were getting close to the location of the second crown, as she could feel the power it was giving off, though she also knew that the guardian was going to be tough, but she was confident with their chances since the Darklurker was the toughest creature she had ever fought. All they had to do now was rest and recover from their ordeals before they did anything else, because once they had the crown they were leaving Shulva and heading back to Majula so they could plan where to go next... and which of the remaining two crowns they wanted to obtain next.

The Squalid Defenders

Rarity and Edric remained sitting by the bonfire for a few moments, where they made sure that they were well rested for the trials ahead, before they started moving again, though Edric insisted on exploring the area around them instead of remaining near the bonfire. Rarity went along with his suggestion, since she had no idea where they might find the foes that guarded the second crown, though as they moved towards the right of the bonfire the malformed dragon creatures glared at them and charged with the intent to kill them. Fortunately these enemies were weak against dark based attacks, meaning that the Dark Orbs and screaming spheres were more than enough for them to take care of their foes, especially since they only came at them one at a time, allowing them to focus their efforts on one enemy before moving forward. Thanks to that it didn't take them long to reach the area that Edric wanted to explore, as it was an alter of sorts with a circular stone that looked like a shield, and it also had an intent on it that looked familiar.

Rarity took a moment to look to their right, finding a passage they could use to go somewhere else, before noticing that there was a walkway high in the air above them, like a bridge that was missing two pieces of it for some odd reason, though they both knew what they needed to do.

"I am so happy that we keep finding the keys before the slots they're supposed to go to," Rarity commented, to which she pulled out the Dragon's Stone, the item they had found in the hidden area earlier, and carefully inserted it into the slot that they were standing in front of, "Now then, let's see what this unlocks."

The moment the Dragon's Stone was in it's proper place the shield like stone sunk into the floor until the majority of it was under their feet and hooves, though that was before the duo watched as two sections of the bridge rose out of the water nearby and only stopped when they reached the same level as the part of the bridge that they had spotted earlier, forming a perfect walkway between what was ahead of them and the top of the temple.

"I'm not sure how we're going to get up there, but at least the bridge is complete." Edric said, to which he sighed for a moment, because it actually seemed like they were going to get somewhere with putting the stone in it's slot, but at least they knew that a way was open, "Let's keep searching... there has to be a way to access that area."

From there the duo walked through the doorway that was to the right of the alter and found themselves in a small room that had a button, one that summoned a square elevator of sorts, though instead of taking it instantly they walked through the other entrance and followed the path to the end, where they discovered a blade that had an insignia that looked like dragon's blood. Edric decided to switch to the new weapon, as he had been using the same old sword since the beginning of their journey, though with the new weapon in hand they returned to the elevator and stepped onto it, where they waited as it rode upwards and passed through the passage that had been crafted for it. A few moments later the elevator came to a stop, though as they walked out and discovered that there was a second elevator, likely taking them even higher, Rarity smiled as she noticed that the level they were on was the level were the stone bridge was located, meaning that they could now access the temple itself.

Edric insisted that, before they moved on, he take his new weapon back to the blacksmith and upgrade it to the level of the one he had been using the entire time, where Rarity nodded and followed him as he rode the second elevator back to the entrance of Shulva. Instead of following him further she remained near the bonfire and stared at the city they had been walking through as Edric teleported back to Majula and got his new weapon upgraded, giving her time to think about what they had seen so far and where the crown had to be resting. A few minutes passed before Edric, carrying a blade that the blacksmith called the drakeblood greatsword, returned to where Rarity was standing, to which they stepped back onto the elevator and rode down to the level below them. From there they carefully crossed over the stone bridge, just in case they encountered any enemies, before they reached the other side and walked up the stairs that were in front of them, where the duo entered a chamber that had one open path they could choose from.

The duo dropped down through the opening in the floor that was in front of them and landed on a fragment of a staircase, where they jumped over the gap behind them and walked down the rest of the stairs, knowing that the only way back up, save for dying, was Rarity's teleportation spell. They then walked through the doorway that they discovered and dropped down onto the walkway below them, before dropping down onto the side of the chamber they were heading towards. They started walking down the hallway to their left and found that there was a room on their immediate right with two circular doorways with a knight guarding them, though this time the knight didn't have corroded armor or weapons like the previous soldiers they had encountered so far. What they discovered was that the black armored knight was stronger than the other knights they had fought in the previous areas, though Edric discovered that it was easy to parry the knight's attacks and slip several attacks passed the shattered defenses... before finally bringing an end to the knight, allowing them to see what was so special about the doors.

As it turned out the door on the entrance's left brought them to an area that contained four chests, all of them having been looted by someone else, while the door on the right revealed a set of four titanite lizards, which Rarity trapped with her magic so Edric could take them out and collect their items... before they returned to the hallway and followed it towards the next area they needed to go through.

Rarity and Edric reached another broken bridge that let them drop down to a walkway, allowing them to walk around the exterior of a large square and found another black knight standing near some stairs, where Edric dealt with their foe before it could overwhelm them in some manner. Instead of dropping into the area in front of them, where a knight was patrolling, they took the safer route and made their way along the path that was in front of them, though as they rounded a corner Rarity tapped one of the walls on their left and opened a secret compartment. Inside the secret area rested a bonfire, one that they eagerly lit before they followed the bend in the path, which brought them to some stairs that had a knight standing at the bottom step, clearly waiting for intruders. Rarity found out, when she attacked the knight from afar, that these enemies weren't weak to the elements like the majority of their previous foes, but that didn't stop her from ruining the knight with her magic... or from Edric doing the same to the other knight they had spotted when they were above the area the pair had been guarding.

Once those two foes had been taken care of they made their way down the path on their left and came to another chamber that was filled with open chests, once more revealing that someone had looted the place already, though at the same time they found a corpse that contained the entire suit of armor that one of the black knights was wearing. Edric noticed that it was likely stronger than his own armor, since he hadn't upgraded or switched armor sets since the one he found near where the first Pursuer had been, but the look in his eyes told Rarity everything that she needed to know before she dragged him back to the secret bonfire and sent him back to Majula. She knew that Edric must have been depending on her power for quite some time, since he never bothered to switch weapons and armor, but now that he was defining his fighting style he needed to make sure he had the gear to overcome any damage that was dealt to him and to deal the same damage in return... which was why she was having him fix up the armor as well, even though that meant the two knights would be back when he returned.

Sure enough Edric returned a few minutes later, wearing the full drakeblood knight armor set, but he had a purple piece of cloth tied around one arm, that way Rarity knew that which knight was him and which were the enemies, to which she nodded and they pressed onward once more.

From there the duo made their way to a central tower of sorts and carefully climbed down the shattered staircase and landings that were in front of them, eventually allowing them to reach the bottom of the tower and come face to face with a fog door, one that they merely stared at for a few seconds before they pushed themselves through it. It was then that they discovered that their foe was a lady of some kind, mostly based on the chest and face areas, though she was dressed in an ugly gown that appeared to be made up of some sort of vine, or something else entirely. Their foe was also singing for some reason, which stopped when they entered the area and stared at her, though the duo also noticed that she carried a weapon that looked like a cross between a staff and an axe, and that she happened to be standing in front of a stone carving of a dragon... maybe the same dragon that they had seen earlier, when they first entered Shulva.

"Huh!" the lady said, to which she turned around and faced the duo, though based on her features, and how impossible it was to read them, all the duo could guess was that she was annoyed with them, much like every other foe they had fought so far, "You were not deserving of the mire…"

Edric and Rarity decided to do what they normally did against the powerful creatures that they encountered, they split up and tackled the creature in two ways, since Edric charged up to where the lady was standing and swung his new sword at her while Rarity stayed at the back and experimented with the elements to see which she was mostly weak against. From what she could tell magic and fire based attacks seemed to be the strongest of the four, while lightning and dark based attacks seemed to be the weakest, meaning that she had an understanding of which spells she could use before the fight got serious, especially since the lady teleported away from Edric and appeared some distance away from where she had previously been standing. As Rarity followed where the lady was going she could have sworn that she heard someone, who sounded similar to Shalquior, whispering the name Elana to her with an image of the lady following it, along with the name Sinh and an image of the dragon they had seen... giving her the names of their targets.

Elana had a habit of using the Flame Swathe spell to target Edric, along with throwing dark based magic at him in general when he was near her, though she also teleported away after he hit her once, meaning that he had to let Rarity deal some damage with her spells before their foe moved to a new part of the area and forced them to start again. When Edric did get hit it wasn't by the magic, it was by the axe-staff that their foe was carrying, which seemed to do a good deal of damage that Rarity healed before Edric charged into battle once more. What Rarity found to be odd was that literally every aspect of her magic had been empowered, because the Darklurker never used a healing spell and her own healing abilities did wonders for her companion, even repairing his dented armor from where he was hit, much to their surprise and delight, since it meant he might not have to get it repaired at the blacksmith anymore. All Rarity was able to figure out was that both her offensive and defensive capabilities had been greatly improved since she absorbed the power of the Darklurker and shattered her limits... though she didn't want to think about what might happen if she found and shattered the new limits on her already considerable abilities.

Elana also had the interesting ability to summon a trio of skeletons that were either glowing red or glowing green, both of which were bad for the duo, summon a group of piglets to the battlefield, like the ones that had attacked them while they were searching for the final Great Soul, and even a knight that resembled the one that had been guarding King Vendrick earlier... though all of them forced the duo to take them out when they arrived so they could turn their full attention back to Elana.

With her considerable powers, and how much damage they could do if the duo wasn't paying attention to their surroundings, it took Rarity and Edric some time to master how Elana conducted her battle before they were able to cut down the amount of damage that their foe dealt to them. At the same time Rarity had to guess that Elana must have been born from some sort of darkness, as her power was definitely on a different level, though the Darklurker still proved to be a more challenging foe in her mind. Despite all the damage Elana could do, with all of her abilities, Rarity proved to be the superior magic user, as she ended the fight by calling forth three Forbidden Suns and merged them into a single entity, surprising Edric with the power they commanded as the area shook a little, before she blasted Elana with them... knocking her into the wall before her, before she dropped to the ground and stopped moving.

That allowed the duo a breather as Elana's body broke apart and her soul was given to them, like all the other powerful creatures they had bested, though at the same time the dragon carving split down the middle, vertically anyway, and pulled apart a little bit to reveal a passage... one that brought them to a bonfire, which they activated and sat around while they stared at the fog door that was in front of them.

"What are the odds that two powerful creatures would be back to back?" Edric asked, as he didn't think such a thing was likely, but at the same time he wanted to know what Rarity's opinion on the matter was, since her power was still going to be the key to their success.

"Considering that we haven't fought any powerful creatures until Elana," Rarity said, gesturing to the area they had come from, allowing Edric to understand that the lady was Elana, before returning her gaze to the second fog door, "I'd hazard a guess that there's a second foe waiting behind it... and it's got to be Sinh, the dragon we saw earlier."

"How do you know their names?" Edric inquired, as this was the first time he had heard Rarity say either name, but at the same time he had an idea of who might have told him the names before they came to Shulva, especially since the cat seemed to favor Rarity more than anyone else.

"I'm pretty sure Shalquoir whispered them to me while we were fighting Elana," Rarity replied, though that was when she shook her head and pulled herself off the ground, to which she started to approach the second fog door, "Come on, let's not keep Sinh waiting."

The duo approached the fog door and walked through it, finding that the area they came to was a large cavern, which made sense considering where Shulva was located, with some carved pillars on their left and right and an alter of sorts resting in front of them. As they approached the alter Rarity noticed that there was a slumbering form behind the alter, though as she realized that Sinh was actually sleeping the dragon snapped it's eyes open and stared at them for a moment before roaring as it pulled itself off the ground and stood at it's full height. It was then that Rarity discovered that Sinh was an actual dragon, as it had four legs and a pair of wings instead of the two legs and wings that they wyverns had, but that didn't make the fight any easier for them, especially since Sinh's fire breath might actually be a poison breath, if the first gout of flames was anything to go by.

Sinh immediately took to the air and started flying around the area, breathing his poison-fire breath wherever he wanted, namely targeting one of them in the process, though at the same time the duo separated from each other as they considered their options. Rarity, of course, fell back on her practice of seeing which elements were suited for the foe she and Edric were fighting, where she quickly determined that Sinh had some good resistance for fire, magic, and lightning based attacks, though it appeared that dark based attacks were where his weakness was. The only problem for Edric was that Sinh was constantly moving, as the dragon was going from the air to the ground, barely giving Edric time to get over to where he was resting, before he as in the air again and was firing a poison-fire fireball at him, which Rarity stopped with a shield to protect Edric when he was caught off guard. When Sinh did land for a few moments Edric charged at him and used his new sword to cut into the beast's side, intending to do as much damage as possible, while at the same time Rarity blasted him in the head with a trio of Dark Orbs.

One thing they had to be careful about was getting too close to Sinh for too long, since he had a habit of trying to crush his opponents with his massive body or rearing up on his hind legs so he could breath fire down at whoever was in front of him, but that just made the fight all the more challenging. Sinh was also fond of spinning around while he was on the ground, using his tail like a whip to deal a good bit of damage to the duo, adding another element to the fight that they had to keep track of. Edric suggested that they cut the tail off, making it impossible for the beast to use it anymore, but at the same time Rarity decided that doing so would be a terrible decision, as it might make Sinh take to the skies and not come back down to fight them with it's claws. Since it was already hard to keep track of Sinh while he was in the air, on account for how quickly he moved despite the area around him, keeping him on the ground seemed like the better choice at the moment, something that Edric eventually agreed with when Rarity explained it to him.

When Sinh returned to the skies the duo had to be careful and track him to the best of their ability, because he enjoyed flying all over the place and seemed to love breaking all the stone pillars that were in the area, preventing them from hiding if they had decided to do that. Sinh also breathed his foul poison-fire breath and fireballs on the duo while he was in the air, while also quickly slamming his belly into ground in an attempt to squish one of them before he returned to the air. Rarity was surprised by all the damage that they could deal to Sinh, without making him fall to the ground in defeat, while also slightly shocked by all of the damage that could be caused to them if they weren't paying attention, meaning that the enemies they were being sent after were at least near the level of the Darklurker... and she honestly didn't want to know what was waiting for them in the other two areas they needed to explore for the remaining two crowns that they were after.

Eventually Rarity and Edric toppled Sinh, as Rarity had pooled a trio of Dark Orbs together in the fashion of the Darklurker's fusion of the Forbidden Suns, before blasting the dragon out of the air and caused it to hit the ground hard, though as they gathered Sinh's soul something fell to the ground... something that Rarity caught with her magic and smiled when she noticed that it was a regal crown, the very item they came for based on the power she felt.

"The Crown of the Sunken King," Rarity said, to which she showed it to Edric for a moment, who smiled as well when he looked at the item they had been searching for, before she returned it to her bag, "next stop, Brume Tower and the Crown of the Old Iron King."

She had an idea where the shrine that would allow them to reach Brume Tower was located and knew that Edric would follow her as they recovered the two remaining crowns, though it seemed like their challenges were far from over, especially with how powerful Elana and Sinh had been... and the next few enemies were likely going to be as tough as these enemies were, but Rarity and Edric would be ready for them when they showed up.

Visiting Brume Tower

With the Crown of the King and the Crown of the Sunken King in hand, and some souls for their efforts, Rarity and Edric returned to Majula so they could stock up on whatever they needed, or rather repair some of Edric's armor since the next set of foes they were going after were bound to be even stronger than the ones they had just finished off. Once he was ready the duo returned to the bonfire and teleported over to the bonfire that was the closest to where the entrance to the area where they fought the Old Iron King and claimed the Great Soul he had been holding onto. From there they climbed down the ladders that were in front of them and returned to the staircase that would bring them to the ruins that they were searching for, while also taking out a turtle armored knight in the process. After that they approached the crumbling ruins and made their way to the primal bonfire they had ignited the last time they were here, though as they walked into the small chamber they both noticed that there was a new open doorway they could walk through... one that brought them to an identical shrine that took them to Shulva.

As they approached the shrine Rarity pulled out the Heavy Iron Key that she had been given, though before she placed it in the waiting pedestal she glanced over at her companion, knowing that he was still curious as to why they were doing this and was only doing so because the answer was because Shalquoir told them to do it... though she understood that the true answer would become known once they had all four of the crowns.

"So, this is supposed to take us to Brume Tower?" Edric asked, remembering what Rarity had said earlier, about their next destination, though like usual the two of them had no idea what to expect since this was going to be an entirely new location for them to explore.

"That's right," Rarity replied, though at the same time she placed the key on the pedestal and woke up the magic in the air, feeling the teleportation energies getting ready to take them to the tower, before she turned towards her companion once more, "Come on, the next crown awaits our arrival."

Edric stared at her for a few seconds, which he was starting to do ever since she bested the Darklurker and had noticed that she was now excited about fighting something instead of trying to cower behind him, before he sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder once more. A few seconds later the two of them disappeared from where they were standing and reappeared in some sort of chamber, one that had an identical door to the one they opened to see what Shulva looked like. Before they went anywhere they checked the rooms on their left and their right, finding nothing inside them save for some strange statues, to which they ascended towards the door and carefully pushed it open, allowing them to walk onto an elevator that brought them up to a fog door. Edric, seeing what rested in front of them, prepared himself for battle immediately, though Rarity shook her head and stepped through it, revealing that there wasn't a powerful creature waiting for them the moment they arrived... but she did reveal something else.

That something else was a large tower, which appeared to have a top missing, that happened to be resting in front of them with what could have been two other towers resting near it, though that was before the duo noticed that the area around them was on fire, as it resembled a normal area... save for all of the flowing lava, molten rocks, and a great deal of ash in the air, which was more than Rarity was originally expecting to find.

"I guess this is where the Iron King got his iron," Rarity commented, while at the same time noticing the heat in the air as well, where she was thankful that she wasn't in her natural pony form at the moment, otherwise the heat would have killed her outright until she was completely hollowed, "and I'm guessing that the larger tower is going to be where the majority of our attention is going to be."

Edric nodded his head before he and Rarity moved to the right, as they couldn't do anything else, and ascended the stairs that they discovered, though when they reached the top they found that the dead in this area were covered in ash, and that the only way to access the main tower was to cross some rather large iron chains. There was also a human sized ashen colored statue with some sort of spike impaled on it's chest, though as Edric removed the spike, which turned out to be six spikes instead of one, the statue collapsed into a pile of ash. The duo immediately wondered what they were going to do with the spikes, but instead of worrying about them Edric stashed them inside his pack before he and Rarity carefully walked over the large chain that was in front of them. It was an effort to not look down, since there was nothing for them to latch onto if they fell, but after a minute or two of walking over the long section of chain they finally reached the top of the main tower... where they found some gears, the first bonfire, and an area that had a statue of some kind.

The first thing the duo did was activate the bonfire and sit at it for a few seconds, so that way if something did happen to them they would reappear here and not back in the Iron Keep, before they stood up and continued on their way as they explored Brume Tower.

As it turned out the statue that they had seen was actually a throne of some kind, likely the Old Iron King's, though as they approached it some sort of creature clawed it's way out of the ash and revealed itself, though it was a strange idol of some kind that apparently liked to spawn flames that they had to avoid. Rarity sensed that the only way to physically destroy the thing was to drive something into it, no doubt the pointed wedges that they picked up from the ashen statue, but instead of using one at the moment she chose to call Edric off and continued searching the way for a way to descend into the actual tower. As it turned out the way down that they were looking for was to the immediate left of the walkway they used to reach where the idol was resting, to which the duo ignored the idol as they walked down the steps and kept their guards up, since they had no idea what sort of enemies were waiting for them.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs they stopped when they couldn't go any further by simply walking, to which they jumped onto the large metal bucket that was to their left and them hopped down onto the large gear that was below them, where both of them counted themselves lucky that it was stable since it hadn't been used in a long time. From there another jump, this time onto some metal boxes, allowed them to step down onto a walkway where they could actually walk outside the tower, for now anyway, and found an armored hollow pulling itself from the ash while also wielding a pair of large axes. The warrior turned his attention to Edric and charged at him, where Rarity watched as her friend expertly dodged the incoming attacks for a few seconds before getting behind his opponent, where three well placed slashes cut through the defenses and killed the hollow, allowing them to continue once more.

They headed down the ramp that was to their right, which was completely covered in ash, and fought the three warriors that pulled themselves free, where Rarity discovered that their innate magic weakness as to soul based magical attacks, like the Soul Arrows and Soul Spears. Since these guys were easy to destroy all she ended up doing was using the lowest level of that attack, the Soul Arrow that she picked up at the beginning of this journey, and found that it was also easy for her to take them out, though she was willing to pin that on her new level of power. With even the weakest form of this spell killing her targets in one blast, sometimes two, she added dodging incoming attacks and kicking the armored foes in their chests... as the energy she could wrap around her hooves prevented her legs from taking damage while also allowing Edric to impale an enemy if he wrapped up his foes before she did that.

With those enemies taken care of the duo entered the tower once more, using a new entrance at the bottom of the ramp, and walked along the circular walkway until they came to a ladder that happened to be the only way for them to progress at the moment, where they shrugged and climbed down to the level that was below them... though, since it was a rather short climb, they also descended to the level below that one and found an axe shaped weapon. Rarity considered asking why this sort of weapon was referred to as a scythe, as she knew that they had found one in the past, instead of an axe, since the blade wasn't anything like what a scythe should have. The head of the weapon was the same as an axe's, only made longer so it could fit over a longer handle, which was different from the curved head she imagined when she thought of a scythe, though she eventually sighed and pushed that thought to the back of her mind as they walked into the room that was behind them and continued exploring the tower.

At the end of the passage they were in the duo found an iron chest, as all of the metallic chests in the world seemed to have been made from the same material, that was resting near a ladder, so the duo claimed the Titanite Slab that was inside the chest before climbing down into the unknown.

When they reached the bottom of the ladder the duo discovered another ashen idol churning out it's power, though what concerned Rarity was the warriors that were standing near it, as there was no telling what would happen to their enemies when the idols let off their power. As they dropped onto the ashy floor the duo headed into the room near them and took out the warrior that was waiting inside it, though while Rarity spotted a scroll resting in the ash Edric turned around and hacked the warrior that was following them to pieces before it could hurt either of them. Rarity, on the other hand, gently lifted the scroll out of the ash and found that it was the Dace of Fire spell, where she could snap her finger and drag it in a horizontal line. She pulled out her spellbook and magically bound the new spell to it, as when she departed from this world, and she knew it was going to happen sooner or later, she intended to take the book with her and hand the spells over to Twilight, if the book survived the journey anyway.

That was followed by two more warriors erupting from the ash as they passed by the idol, though instead of fighting them near the thing Rarity and Edric pulled them away and approached the door that was on the other side of the room, to which Rarity swung her arm and snapped her fingers... to which a wave of flame moved from left to right in front of her, cutting through the two warriors in a instant, much to their amazement.

The instant the warriors were dead, and they ignored the one that happened to be looking at the center of the tower, Edric pulled the lever that was to their right and the door in front of them opened, allowing them to head to the exterior of the tower once more, though instead of heading downwards they turned right and followed the path that awaited them. As they did that two warriors attacked them from behind, to which Edric fought the first one while Rarity teleported behind the second one, where she summoned a Soul Spear and struck down her target as Edric did the same, allowing them to walk away from the door they had opened. The two of them quickly walked along the path that was to the right of the large door and came to yet another iron door, a smaller person sized one this time around, to which they braced themselves as they opened the door and headed back inside the tower... where they spotted some undead, this time being corpses that were walking, carrying some barrels of what Rarity assumed was powder of some kind.

Rarity held Edric back for a moment as the barrel carrying hollows noticed them, to which she smiled as she waved her hand and threw a Flame Swathe at the closest undead, though as it died in a fiery explosion that caused a chain reaction that killed all of the undead... allowing them to progress without having to worry about foes for a minute.

As they climbed down the ladder that was on the other side of the room, from the door they entered through, the duo noticed some sort of possessed armor that was carrying either a flaming arrow or a flaming sword, while at the same time holding a deadly looking bow in it's left hand. Edric stepped forward and engaged the possessed armor, though as he did so he dodged the incoming attack and rolled out of the way as the armor tried to flatten him by rolling over on top of him, allowing him to deliver a powerful blow to his opponent before he finished it off. From there they continued around the corner that the armor had been guarding and noticed a few more barrier hollows waiting for them, though Edric backed up and let Rarity blow them up with the Flame Swathe spell, opening the way for them to move forward and moved outside the tower again. Rarity and Edric sighed as she spotted a ladder they could use to climb down to the level below them, as it appeared that they were going to be constantly going in and out of the tower before they made any progress in finding the third crown.

On the level below them Edric discovered another warrior and engaged it immediately, allowing Rarity to climb down the ladder that it was guarding, with the intention of following after her once he was done with his target, though at the same time Rarity found two warriors waiting for her. Instead of letting them attack her first, since she was still on the ladder, she let go of it and hurled a pair of Soul Arrows at the warrior that was guarding a wooden chest, crushing it within moments, before she did the same with the other warrior that was marching towards her. A few moments later, after she touched the floor, Edric climbed down the ladder and joined her, where they discovered that the chest contained a fist type weapon, which the two of them stored in their packs before they headed down the short flight of stairs that were in front of them and entered another part of the interior of the tower... though on their immediate right was a bonfire, which they activated instantly.

From there they headed down the path that was opposite of where the bonfire was resting and came to a fog door a few seconds later, one that brought them to the middle of the tower once more, to which the duo sighed as they started to explore the area and search for the way forward. They discovered three paths they could take; an elevator that might take up to an area above them, a metallic bucket that likely took them into the depths of the tower, and a ladder that would allow them to access a level below them. Since two of them seemed to be stalled at the moment, meaning that there was no power inside the tower, they took the ladder into the area that it was connected to, allowing them to see a barrel hollow that walked backward and fell through a section of the floor that closed up behind it, while also looking like it might do the same thing if they walked on it... but instead of following it they headed out of the area they were in and followed the path on their right. That allowed them to approach an iron door a few moments later, though as they opened it the two of them discovered more barrel hollows waiting for them, to which Edric immediately retreated as Rarity waved her hand as she ducked out of the room as well.

A few moments later they saw the light of the explosion occur and walked back into the room, where they discovered that the barrel hollows had been taken care of, including the other barrels that had been resting around the room, before they approached a wall that allowed them to survey what was in the room they would be heading into next... where they spotted a large suit of iron armor, likely possessed, standing guard in front of a large door.

Instead of wasting time the duo dropped into the area, where Edric immediately killed the warrior that was standing near them while Rarity impaled another warrior with a pair of Soul Arrows, though as the duo stood up Edric charged at the larger iron warrior while Rarity took care of the remaining normal warriors. What Rarity discovered as that this area also contained one of those idols and had two warriors, one on their level and another on the level above them, that were prepared for battle, though the one on their level separated itself from the idol, allowing Rarity to finish it off before hurling another pair of Soul Arrows at the warrior that was throwing fire pots at them. That was followed by Edric toppling the ironclad warrior, to which the two of them approached the switch and flipped it, opening the large iron door and allowing them to walk outside the tower once more, though as they did so some of the defeated warriors and armor sets came back to life in the area in front of them and attacked them.

It didn't take them long to finish off the enemies that were around them, not since the majority of them were easy to take care of and they knew how to beat all of them, before they walked forward and followed the pathway that was waiting for someone to walk along it.

As they walked along the exterior of the tower Rarity spotted a mage type enemy that was raising her hand to cast a spell at them, to which she smiled and threw a screaming sphere into the air, where the mage stopped what she was doing as she stared at the attack, which disappeared and slammed into her back, knocking their foe off of where she happened to be standing and flung her into the open area between them. Rarity watched the mage for a few seconds, finding that their foe had landed in another area and was trying to fire up at them, though she paid her no attention as she and Edric continued walking forward. Along the way three more warriors rose from the ash and tried to assault them, but both of them were quick to take out the enemies that came at them as they reached an area where another mage enemy was standing, which Rarity took out with a pair of screaming spheres, to be sure that it died this time around. At the end of the walkway they discovered yet another ladder that allowed them to descend further downwards, to which the duo sighed as they climbed down the ladder.

Before they even reached the bottom of the ladder the duo noticed some warriors gathering nearby, indicating that they would have a fight on their hands, though neither of them were worried at the moment, especially since they noticed a fog door waiting for them. The instant they touched the floor Rarity turned towards the enemies that were standing on the ashen ground and snapped her fingers as she moved her hand, using the Dance of Fire to obliterate the two warriors that were in front of her, while at the same time Edric cut down the one that was in their way. From there they walked through the fog door and descended the stairs that were in front of them, allowing them to reach what appeared to be the heart of the tower, if the giant contraption in front of them was anything to go by, though at the same time they explored the area and looked for anything useful. They discovered two interesting things, the first being a slot where they could slip something incredibly important into, much like the Dragon Stone from Shulva... meaning that they had their way to power the tower, once they found the power source.

The other thing was that there was a bonfire near the contraption, allowing them to take a short break before they continued exploring Brume Tower as they hunted down the Crown of the Old Iron King... and the guardians that would be guarding such an important treasure.

Guardian of the Crown

The moment the duo was done resting, and had recovered from their fight with the Blue Smelter Demon, Rarity and Edric used the bonfire that was in the cave they found and teleported back to the one that was near the slot they had put the scepter into. From there the duo walked out and waited for the statue to return to the level that was below them, where they first discovered the key they had acquired, though when it came to a stop they walked onto the walkway and followed it to a point where a second statue was supposed to bring a platform to. They waited for a few seconds before the platform appeared in front of them, which allowed them to descend downwards once more, though when the statue came to a stop the duo discovered that the path they needed to take was behind them and that there were two options for them to choose from this time around. The downside to that discovery was that they didn't notice it until the statue was moving back up to the level they had been on moments ago, to which they patiently waited for it to reach the two paths and jumped off onto the top walkway that was in front of them.

From there Rarity and Edric walked forward and entered the chamber that the path was leading them to, where they discovered a hole in the flooring that would allow them to jump down to the floor below them and an iron chest that contained a ring, one that they pocketed before continuing along the path in front of them.

When they dropped into the room below them Rarity spotted an ashen warrior that carried a pair of axes that happened to be on fire, though Edric proved that he wasn't worried about that fact as he rolled behind the warrior and cut it down from behind. Rarity noticed that the enemy on the floor below them was carrying a halberd and looked ready for combat, though before Edric had a chance to move down there she launched a trio of Soul Arrows through the air and impaled the warrior, allowing them to drop down and not have to worry about enemies for that level. The duo of warriors that were on the next floor happened to be separated from each other at the moment, so while Edric dropped down and targeted one of them Rarity did the same trick against the second one, to which the duo simply removed the pair of enemies with some ease as they looked around for anything of use to them. Before they jumped down to the levels below them, and dealt with the enemies that were waiting for them, the duo noticed that there was a ruined part of the floor that would collapse if someone walked on it... to which Edric heaved the body of one of the warriors that they had taken out and watched as the ruined floor collapsed, and heard a few more collapse in the process.

Rarity and Edric looked down at the opening they had created and noticed that they had created a pathway all the way to the bottom floor, though it appeared to be dangerous and they opted to take it one floor at a time, to which they jumped down to the floor below them and took out the warrior that was waiting for them. What surprised them was that the next floor had no warriors at all, to which the duo looked at each other for a moment before jumping into the hole and moved onto the next floor. There they found two more warriors minding their own business, to which they split apart from each other for a few seconds as Edric cut down one of their enemies and Rarity blasted the other one with her Soul Arrows, though once they took them out Edric picked up a spear with a broad blade at the end, which he stored away before they continued downwards. As they reached the final floor, as Rarity recognized it from what she had seen earlier, the duo discovered an ironclad warrior standing guard in front of a large iron door, to which Edric stepped forward as Rarity watched him fight.

She still found it amusing that there were times that Edric insisted on fighting these foes without her help, since she was so used to be asked for assistance by her friends, but at the same time she was ready to jump in if he called for aid... which didn't happen, since he felled the ironclad warrior not a few seconds later.

With the ironclad warrior defeated Edric pulled the lever and opened the large iron door, allowing him and Rarity to see another part of the tower that the larger statues were kept in, though these ones appeared to be cooled off and had been rendered incomplete since the Old Iron King never finished them. As they walked forward Rarity could feel the slight hum of power in her ear, meaning that they were drawing even closer to the Crown of the Old Iron King, though at the same time Edric took out the possessed armor that was standing in their way. When Rarity noticed that the armor was covered in ash, not from rising out of the ashen ground, the armor picked itself back up and turned towards Edric, though before anything else happened Rarity flashed between them and blasted the armor backwards before the two of them quickly made their way to the passage on the other side of the room. When they reached the other side of the chamber Rarity quickly blasted the second possessed armor and the ashen warrior that were waiting for them, allowing them to enter the hallway they had been heading towards.

From there it was a simple matter to walk onto the elevator that was in front of them and allowed it to carry them down into the true depths of the tower, where they both knew the crown had to be located in, if their trek through Shulva was anything to consider.

"Are you sure that the crown is down here?" Edric asked, as while he trusted the fact that Rarity could sense the magical artifacts, at the very least the four crowns and the King's Ring, he didn't like the fact that they were constantly heading even further into the earth.

"It has to be down here," Rarity said, as she could feel the tug of the ancient crown from where she was standing, which meant that they were getting close to it, "Just a few more minutes and we will have found the guardian of the third crown, which we'll have to destroy before we can claim our prize."

A few moments later the elevator came to a stop and let the duo off in what, at first, appeared to be a small room, though when they walked up the stairs they found that they were finally at the bottom of the tower, where a large portion of the ash had gathered. When Rarity noticed the fog door, the sure sign of a powerful creature, she also noticed that the entrance was small because of the broken ash covered statue pieces that rested in front of them, though at the same time she spotted a familiar red glow to their left and right. Instead of heading into the fog door she moved them to the right and found an idol resting on the ground, though as she approached it Edric spotted an ironclad warrior pulling itself from the ground. Rarity, still carrying the wedges that they had found when they first entered the tower, pulled one out and studied it for a moment, before driving it into the beating heart of the idol, causing the power inside it to die before it turned to ash, along with the wedge she had used on it.

The duo repeated that three more times, as they found a second idol further to the right and a bonfire resting near that one, before they headed down the left side of the chamber and found two more idols, in identical spots to the first pair, that Rarity destroyed with the wedges they had been holding onto. The moment all four of them were taken care of, and they were positive that there weren't any other idols in the area, they returned to the fog door and stared at it for a few seconds. A few moments later they braced themselves and moved through the fog door, allowing them to enter the area that the guardian of the crown was standing in, though when they entered the chamber they discovered that their foe this time around was not visible at the moment, as all they could see was a sword that was sticking out of the middle of the floor... though, upon seeing that, both Rarity and Edric prepared themselves, as their presence was likely going to awaken the powerful creature that guarded the crown.

That was moments before a knight, his armor colored black, pulled himself from the ash as the shadows gathered around the area that the sword was in, though as the duo noticed that he was already carrying a katana in his right hand the knight grabbed the handle of the larger sword and pulled it out of the ash... before staring at the duo as he waited for one of them to make a move.

Edric rushed forward and met the Fume Knight, another name granted to Rarity thanks to Shalquoir whispering it into her head, to which he dodged the incoming attack and rolled behind the knight, where he pulled himself up and cut into his back, though the Fume Knight jumped away and stared at him for a moment before rushing forward once more. Rarity, on the other hand, repeated her earlier tactics and stayed away from the Fume Knight, though as she did that she also channeled the four types of spells that she had gathered along the way so she could determine the knight's elemental weakness. That was where she discovered an upsetting truth about the Fume Knight, as he had an extremely high resistance to fire magic, which Rarity expected considering where they were, and an almost equally high resistance against soul type spells. Lightning and dark type spells, on the other hand, seemed to do more damage to the Fume Knight than the other two types, to which Rarity smiled for a moment, as it appeared that she wasn't going to be useless in this fight after all... to which she started moving as the Fume Knight jumped towards her and tried to cut her in half.

Even as she moved away from the Fume Knight she had to consider something about the thought of being split into two halves, since she had every move the Darklurker used she could actually use that to their advantage and have two of her fight at the same time, one wielding dark based magic and the other channeling lightning based magic... but ultimately shelved the idea until it was needed in battle.

One thing they both had to be careful about was the fact that the Fume Knight was carrying a greatsword, as when he swung the big weapon the air around him shook for a few seconds as he tried to cut down or flatten who he was aiming at, though he was doing a good job of keeping them guessing, since his attacks seemed to flip between the duo. It was a good change of pace, since they were so used to dominating their enemies it was refreshing to have an opponent that they couldn't take out easily. The best part, in Rarity's eyes anyway, was that the Fume Knight didn't have a thing for trying to impale his opponents, meaning that they could fight him to the best of their abilities and only had to worry about him slicing them to pieces or flattening them, both of which Rarity could easily use to separate herself using the Darklurker's technique... if the Fume Knight managed to touch her anyway.

Still, despite the fact that they understood that the Fume Knight was trying to keep them guessing, they had to be prepared for what was coming at all times, as one of the knight's backslash attacks shattered Edric's guard for a moment, but Rarity saved him from danger with a shield spell that appeared in front of him, allowing him to move before the Fume Knight attacked again. That, of course, made the Fume Knight a little upset, or what they considered to be upset, as he raised his greatsword and brought it down on where Rarity had been standing, though she had moved out of the way before such a thing happened. She was sensing that the knight knew she was the larger threat, due to her magical abilities, though at the same time she knew that the Fume Knight was going to keep up it's process of making them guess who he was targeting before making his move... though at the same time she gathered some lightning around her hands as she moved away from her target, knowing that she'd get a clear shot soon enough.

Everything seemed to be going well for the duo, all things considered, though that was soon followed by the Fume Knight discarding the smaller sword he was carrying and took to wielding the greatsword with either one hand or both hands, though he also empowered it with a mixture of fire and dark energies... though seeing that happen, however, gave Rarity ideas that only someone like Twilight would come up with.

Rarity sighed as the Fume Knight focused on Edric for the moment, completely ignoring her in the process, giving her time to focus her mind as she tapped into her own powers, though as she accessed the dark energies she was familiar with she also called the power of fire to her side. For a few seconds nothing happened, though when she considered that such a thing might only work for weapons, instead of a person, a black aura appeared around her body, completely with take on the appearance of flames in the process. Once she was ready she moved through the air and reached the area between Edric and the Fume Knight, where she raised a hand up and stopped the greatsword before it could even reach it's target, much to the surprise of Edric and their foe. Rarity followed that up by heaving the weapon back into the air, spun around, and planted her hoof against the Fume Knight's chest, knocking him backwards while leaving a small dent to show where her kick had landed.

"I... had no idea you could do that." Edric said, as he was surprised to have seen her do that, though at the same time she stretched her body for a few moments, as if she was working out a kink or something.

"Honestly, I never would have had the idea to try this is I hadn't seen the Fume Knight do it," Rarity replied, to which she gestured to the greatsword for a moment, since it was still surrounded by the energies that the knight was channeling along the edge, "but let's show him that we're not to be underestimated."

As the duo reengaged the Fume Knight they discovered that their opponent definitely had some new tricks up his sleeves, as one of the new attacks he had was where he swung his greatsword and the energy extended a little further from the edge of the weapon, meaning they had to be careful when they dodged his attacks. He was also a fan of leaping away from whoever he was attacking after he either hit his target or missed, meaning that they either had to come to him or wait for him to approach them again, by jumping or walking towards them with his greatsword at the ready. The other attack they had to be careful of was when he raised his weapon into the air, changed the direction it was facing, and drove it head first into the ground, to which the flaming darkness spread out from the blade as balls of shadow-fire surged out from where he was standing in a circular fashion. Rarity, seeing that attack happen, knew that magic could be done in such a manner and used it to create a barrier of the same magical combination, allowing her and Edric to be safe from that particular attack... while at the same time she considered the other combinations she could make and how best to show Twilight all of this when she got home.

The battle progressed in the same manner, where they had to be careful thanks to the Fume Knight's powerful attacks, but at some point Rarity decided enough was enough and raised her hand into the air while their foe was focusing on Edric, to which a trio of Forbidden Suns, complete with rings of darkness surrounding them, appeared above her. The air shook as the three empowered spheres merged into a single entity, exactly like what happened every other time she used this power, and the Fume Knight actually stopped swinging at Edric and started to turn towards her. Edric, on the other hand, used the opportunity to slip away from the Fume Knight and raced towards where Rarity was standing, who held the sphere of shadow-fire above her head for a moment... though the instant Edric was clear she lowered her hand and leveled it with their foe. The Fume Knight barely had a chance to move as the sphere of energy collided with him, engulfing him in a wave of energy that had been contained inside the sphere, which stripped him of his magical defenses before detonating.

When the smoke cleared the duo stood there for a few seconds before they caught sight of the Fume Knight, whose body started to glow brightly for a moment as he fell to his knees, before he eventually collapsed onto the floor and turned to ash... where the duo claimed his soul and the soul of someone else, who they would ask Shalquoir about when they returned to Majula.

"Now that he's taken care of we can claim our prize," Rarity said, to which she walked forward and headed down the stairs that were in front of them, where she found the Crown of the Old Iron King resting on the throne in front of them and picked it up, "With this crown we are one step closer to completing our quest... and that means we'll need to travel to the Frozen Eleum Loyce for the fourth and final crown."

Edric smiled, as it appeared that they were nearly done with their quest, though at the same time he still wondered why they needed all four of the crowns and why the number four appeared to be such an important number to these lands, but then he sighed and headed out of the area with Rarity... as he knew that there would be a time and a place for his questions to be answered, once they left Brume Tower behind and headed to their next destination anyway.

Frozen Wonderland

It didn't take them long to retrace their steps and use the bonfire to teleport back to Majula, though when they arrived at their destination Edric spent his souls on empowering himself and making sure that his armor was ready for the final trial that was ahead of them. Rarity, on the other hand, returned to Shalquoir's store and sat at the table that the cat usually rested on, and she had been there when Rarity walked into the building, but she hadn't said anything and simply nodded her head, understanding that Rarity wanted to think about something. As such she carefully pulled out the three crowns she and Edric had collected so far, which had been entrusted to her until they could figure out what they did, and arranged them in a diamond formation, before pulling out the final key she had been given, which was a stone that looked like a frozen flower of some kind. She stared at it for a moment, wondering where the final shrine could be, before she gently placed it on the table in front of her and closed her eyes, where she called a few strands of her magic to her so she could cast a clairvoyance spell to see if she could find what she was looking for.

What happened next surprised her, as the spell seemed to work and she was given a brief vision of the shrine she and Edric had passed when they were heading to Drangelic Castle, indicating that they had literally walked right by the portal to the Frozen Eleum Loyce... to which she opened her eyes and gathered the crowns together once more, knowing that it would be unwise to leave them, or the key, behind.

"I see you know where the final portal rests," Shalquoir commented, causing Rarity to glance over to the cat for a moment, who simply smiled as she stared out at the path that she and Edric had walked down when they first came to Majula, which felt like a lifetime ago at this point, "Go, claim the final crown, and stop the darkness that is trying to take the land at this very moment."

"Shalquoir... words cannot express how grateful I am for your help in getting Edric and I to this point," Rarity said, as she knew that they might have succeeded in doing so at some point in time, but having the omnipotent cat on their side had been a boon she couldn't have seen coming.

"I'm happy that there's an Undead that can do what the others couldn't," Shalquoir replied, though Rarity knew that she was referring to the two of them, her and Edric, when she talked, before she beckoned to the door, "Don't worry, I'll see you again when you reach the end of your journey."

Rarity nodded and headed back out to the bonfire, where Edric was waiting for her at that very moment, before they knelt before the bonfire and prepared themselves to teleport to their final destination in the hunt for the four powerful crowns that the four kings had worn. Since Rarity was the one that knew where to go, as Edric had no idea where the keys were supposed to go, she was in charge of directing them to their destination, which was the bonfire that rested in the crossroads. One path had brought them to an area that Grandahl lived in, the second took them to Aldia's Keep, and the third allowed them to visit Drangelic Castle, though Edric said nothing as he followed Rarity down the path that would take them towards the castle. Of course he was curious about why they were heading back there, since he figured that the final shrine was either near the Lost Sinner's bonfire or the Duke's Dear Freja bonfire, but he said nothing as they followed the path and eventually came to a stop... right in front of the shrine they had walked by some time ago.

"Rarity, what are we doing here?" Edric asked, as he knew that his companion had to have missed something, as this couldn't be where the final shrine was located, as it was in plain sight of anyone that opened the door they had opened with the four Great Souls.

"The same thing we did in the Rotten's lair and the area where we fought the Old Iron King," Rarity said, feeling the magic all around her, something that she had missed when she and Edric had passed through this area the first time, before she pulled out the frozen flower and approached the pedestal in the middle of the shrine, "finding the portal that will take us to another crown, and the kingdom we'll have to fight through to get it. Here, take my hand and I'll show you that I'm not in the wrong area."

Edric glanced at Rarity's left hand for a moment, as it was the one that was reaching out towards him since Rarity's right hand was inches away from the pedestal, where she was purposely waiting for him to grab onto her before she put the key where it was supposed to go. He thought about it for a moment, since Shalquoir had been the one that gave her all three of the keys and the locations of the various Great Souls, and all of those locations had been correct without a single thing being wrong. There was no reason for him to believe that this was the final shrine, since it's location was to obvious, but at the same time he had absolutely no reason not to trust that Rarity had brought them to the fight place, to which she sighed and grasped the hand that was being offered to him. Rarity smiled at him, for a few seconds anyway, before she turned towards the shrine and lowered the key onto the pedestal, onto it's resting place, before the ancient magic wrapped around them and took them to their destination... proving that she had been right and that the answer had been resting in plain sight the entire time.

This time, when Rarity and Edric appeared on the other side of the instant one way portal, they discovered that they were standing outside of what appeared to be a massive fortress, fitting for the King whose crown they had come to claim, before they turned and looked at their surroundings. That was when they discovered that they appeared to be in a snowy area that reminded Rarity of the snowy area that she and her friends had walked through before entering the Crystal Empire, only this time around she didn't have any of her winter wear with her, not that she needed it at the moment. Of course, like the other two areas, there was a copy of the shrine they used resting behind them, though the magic was dead and meant that they needed to find a bonfire, and the same strange statues could be seen nearby, but neither of them really knew what those statues represented. Since there was nothing more they could so, besides stand around and stare at the snowy area around them, the duo moved up the path in front of them and pushed open the iron doors that blocked their way... allowing them to walk up some stairs and find the first bonfire for the area.

As Edric activated the bonfire, however, Rarity stared at the icy entrance that was on the opposite end of the bridge that they were on, as she was sure that she felt something that was akin to Elana and Nadalia, whose souls they had claimed in some manner before or after finding the crown they had been guarding... and she was sure that there was another being, just like them, somewhere in Eleum Loyce. Once the bonfire was activated the duo stepped forward, though that was when something struck the floor in front of the entrance and kicked up some dust, forcing them to cover their eyes for a moment... though when they opened them again they found some icy vines of some sort growing out of the icy wall Rarity had been staring at earlier.

You two, approaching Eleum Loyce. a voice said, a feminine one that made the duo look around, despite the fact that Rarity knew it was coming from somewhere deep inside the fortress, Turn back. The old Chaos hungers still.

The duo waited for a moment, to hear what this 'old Chaos' was, but when the voice didn't speak again they simply sighed and pressed onward, to which they walked across the rest of the bridge and approached the icy part of the wall, where they discovered that the ice was actually attached to a massive door and prevented it from closing all the way. What rested in front of them was part of the interior for the entire fortress, with two paths they could choose from, but Rarity also spotted one source of heat that she and Edric would be shooting for, since it was likely to be important. Instead of heading to the left, where a fog door was resting, Rarity turned towards the right and went down that way with Edric following her, as she knew that there had to be a trick and didn't want to spring it. From there the duo headed down the stairs that were on their right and spotted a door that would allow them to access part of the fortress, along with the frost covered knight that standing guard in front of it.

Edric and Rarity avoided the incoming attack, as the knight wanted to pierce their bodies with it's sword, before Edric stabbed it in the back, dealing an intense amount of damage in the process and knocked the knight to the ground, where the duo discovered that these guys appeared to be weak to that type of attack. Edric honestly didn't know what to make of that, since he wasn't a big fan of stabbing his enemies in the back, though he determined that he would try to parry an attack and strike his foes from the front. Rarity also found out a second weakness that these knights had, as when they entered the room the knight had been guarding a second one revealed itself, where a screaming sphere of darkness to the back blasted it into the wall and killed it instantly. The duo glanced at each other, as this development made them wonder if they might be a little overpowered for this area, but since they had some troubles in the Brume Tower, and Shulva for that matter, they knew that they hadn't found the terrible monsters that would push them to their limits once more... to which they moved on and kept their eyes open for anything dangerous.

A third knight entered the room they were in and attempted to strike them down, though Edric parried the incoming attack with his shield and revealed the hole in his opponent's defenses, to which he struck the knight down and opened the way for them to continue forward.

From there they descended down the nearby stairs and found another room with another knight, one that Edric parried to death, though at the same time Rarity found what could have been a hallway, only there was a lift of some kind with a large number of coffins blocking the way, and the lever to move it was broken. After figuring out that this hallway was useless, for the moment anyway, the duo walked out of the room they were in and crossed over the short stone walkway that was in front of them, where they discovered that a knight was firing an ice spell at them. What Rarity guessed, as she and Edric dodged the attack, was that these enemies were like all the other foes they had encountered so far, with some additions since it was a warrior type that had cast the spell. The duo waited for the knight to cast the spell again, as Rarity used a screaming sphere to cancel the ice spell out, allowing Edric to close the distance and cut down the knight before it had a chance to fight back.

Once the knight was taken care of they walked through the short passage it had been guarding and dodged the knight that tried to attack them from behind, where Rarity blasted it into the wall behind it with a Dark Orb, to which she countered herself lucky that her reflexes were as good as they were. The moment that knight was taken care of they walked down the ramp that was in front of them and headed to the area that was below where they were standing, but when they reached the bottom they were assaulted by a trio of frost covered hounds. What they discovered was that the hounds were somewhat fragile, as the first one Edric hit, after dodging the incoming attack, died instantly and the second one actually backed away after being hit. The third one, Rarity's target, didn't last too long, mostly because she hit it with a Fireball and it was cooking on the ground near her, to which she simply stared at it as Edric took out the survivor before they moved away from the area and continued their search.

The duo continued down the ramp and crossed over to a more snow filled area of the fortress, though since most of the routes were blocked off by snow and large ice crystals they could only move in one direction, until they came to what had been a courtyard of some kind. Rarity spotted a sorcerer, covered in frost like everything else that was around here, and sighed as she loosed a few Fireballs at it, because experience told her that it was an enemy that was trying to make them lower their guard, and sure enough it started to cast a spell before the second and third Fireballs knocked it into the wall behind it. After that Edric engaged two spear wielding soldiers while Rarity used her screaming sphere to knock a ranged foe into a different wall, allowing her to clear the way a little as she watched her friend fight, and more importantly defeat, his enemies, before they continued forward.

A knight came running towards them, from an area hidden by the ice crystals to be exact, and tried to attack them in that manner, but Rarity beat Edric to the punch and used a Dark Orb to deal with their foe, finding that even the lowest dark type spell she had was more than enough for most of these enemies... which worried her, since this was the first time they were having such good success.

As they walked out into the area in front of them they found one knight trying to attack them with it's weapon and two more attempting it with spells, so while Edric dealt with the sword wielding enemy Rarity moved around and used two more Dark Orbs to blast the knights away. As she moved she wondered why these knights were so weak to dark type attacks, as other enemies that had the same weakness usually went down in two to three hits with the same spell, making her wonder if she had become too powerful for her own good. It was like she had become what Twilight had been before her ascension to an alicorn, a powerful unicorn that was literally on a level above most of the other unicorns, though at the same time she knew that this power would be used to save this world, instead of trying to do anything evil with the power that now coursed through her veins.

With those enemies taken out they headed towards the stone bridge that was in front of them and crossed over it, or at least they tried to, since part of it was broken and there wasn't a way for them to reach the other side, save for Rarity's teleportation spell, but instead of using that they simply turned around and headed back the way they came... where they spotted an opening next to the area that one of the knights, that Rarity had taken out, had been standing in.

The moment they reached the opening they entered the building and walked up the stairs that were in front of them, allowing them to reach a hallway that had a number of wooden crates and three knights standing guard, where the dark type screaming sphere proved useful in taking out the enemies at the back and allowed Edric to finish the one in front of them off with ease. That also included cutting down the hound that happened to be mixed in with the knights, something that neither of them had seen coming thanks to the crates, though the moment the enemies were taken care of the duo turned around and headed back to the iron door they had skipped by. The moment it was open the duo entered the small room that was in front of them and climbed the stairs on their right, taking out the knight that was protecting the path, before coming to an area with two more sorcerers... but this time Rarity held up a hand and stopped Edric from doing anything, as these guys were purely neutral and didn't rise to fight them.

She felt sorry for taking out the first sorcerer that they had come across, as she had thought it was an enemy as well, but at the same time she and Edric found another set of stairs that took them to the roof, where a knight, looking more like a golem with all the crystals all over it's body, attacked them... but it's weakness to dark, once again, proved to be it's undoing, like everything else in the area.

The duo stared at the chests that were laying around them, trapped in the enchanted ice that seemed to be engulfing this place, and sighed, as it appeared that they wouldn't be getting at whatever the items were for the moment, to which they descended back to the hallway they had been in earlier and crossed over to the door that the knights had been standing in front of it. As Edric opened the door and stepped through it a knight jumped down from where it had been hiding and used it's lance to stab him, to which Edric growled and hacked into the knight that was in front of him, though when he was done he pulled out the lance and Rarity used a spell to mend his body and armor. It was a decent refresher for them to experience, that if they weren't careful some enemy could get the drop on them and kill them before they had a chance to defend themselves, though that didn't stop them from moving forward.

From there the duo headed up what had been some stairs and across a street, back when this place wasn't consumed by the snow and frost, and dealt with the knight that was standing in front of an open door, which they eagerly took since it was the only way forward for them at the moment. It was then that they discovered that, in the area below them, rested a bonfire, to which they happily jumped down into the area below them and activated it, so they would be able to rest here if they so desired.

With the bonfire activated the duo walked out of the clearly abandoned dwelling, much like everything else they had passed by in all the other zones they had been in since their adventure started, though as Edric engaged the knight that was approaching them Rarity branched off and used a screaming sphere to destroy another foe that was lurking off in the distance. They then climbed the snow banks and repeated the process, though as Edric cut down one knight Rarity used her magic to topple two of them at the same time, as she discovered that she could open two portals and send out two screaming spheres at the same time, something that the Darklurker didn't do. As she thought about that she had to wonder if it was something that her foe couldn't have done, even with his great power, and would have required there to have been two of him to do what she did, but at the same time she had no idea if she was right or not. The moment those enemies were taken care of they walked up the stairs and followed the path that was in front of them, which took them around to a hallway... one that had a lance throwing knight standing near what appeared to be a closed gate.

What surprised Rarity was that this foe wasn't as weak to dark type attacks like the other foes they had encountered so far, though at the same time it retained the weaknesses that Edric exploited, meaning that while she might not be able to take them out with one spell her friend would be able to severely punish them with one or two attacks. With the knight defeated the duo walked up to the gate and pulled the lever that rested to their right, to which the gate opened before their eyes and revealed that they were now on the wall they had seen when they first arrived in this area. The duo also discovered two more of the lance carrying golem like knights that they had just fought, one to the left and one to the right of where they were standing, though they picked the left path and cut their way through the slave hollows that were in front of the golem in question. The golem didn't like their presence and attacked them immediately, to which the duo dodged the attack and retaliated when it was busy reforming it's lance, to which Rarity blasted it with a pair of Dark Orbs while Edric attacked it from behind... and, as expected, they defeated it within a few moments of the battle starting.

They then discovered that the room it was guarding had a locked door, meaning that there was a key somewhere that would unlocked it, but since they weren't interested in the room they headed towards the circular stairs, and the iron door, that the second golem was guarding. The duo simply repeated their process from the last two golems, allowing them to topple the third one with ease, before they opened the door and found a chamber where a normal knight was standing guard, which Rarity defeated with a single Dark Orb. With the knight taken care of they noticed more iron chests that were trapped in ice and couldn't touch them, so they simply walked outside and continued up the stairs that the third golem had been guarding. From that point they walked out onto a rampart that was above the area they had walked through earlier and noticed that they could go left or right, to which Edric headed to the left and entered a small structure that was in front of them... where they discovered another frozen iron chest, causing them to sigh as they headed down a different path that would take them back to the exterior of the fortress.

Along that path the duo discovered a small side room that a knight was standing in, though as Edric parried it and cut it down Rarity spotted a lever that, when she pulled it, pulled up a lift that contained a number of coffins, the same one she had seen earlier, meaning that the path she had spotted earlier was now open.

The moment the deed was done the duo moved forward and walked back outside, where they walked on the exterior of the wall, before another lance carrying golem rushed at them from the left, to which the duo moved out of the way and Rarity simply let Edric take it out before they continued exploring the area. Since the ramp that went downwards seemed to go nowhere the duo headed to the right of the small hallway they had exited and approached another iron door, though as they opened it they discovered four hounds waiting for them. Fortunately their combined skills allowed them to take out the hounds without being hurt in some manner, though once the hounds were taken out they started to climb the circular staircase and headed towards the top of the area that they were in... though it was a short climb and required them taking out another hound, before they walked out of the building they were in and found that they had reached a dead end.

Rarity thought about it for a moment, not understanding why there were two dead ends, before she and Edric headed back down to the area they had chosen to ignore, where they discovered a passage with a staircase that took them downwards for a few moments... to which they dropped down into the area below them, as the stairs were actually ruined beyond a certain point. They followed the rest of the path downwards and came out onto a walkway that would allow them to access the area that contained the flame Rarity had seen earlier, though as they walked towards their destination they both heard the feminine voice from earlier tell them to 'back away', to 'never look back', and that 'no one must find that which is sheltered in Eleum Loyce'. That only made the duo continue forward, as they didn't come all the way out here to turn back now, not when the final crown was so close, but at the same time Rarity wondered what sort of secret the voice had been warning them about.

The duo walked up the walkway they came to and found that the flame was resting above a skeletal body that was resting on an alter, though the item in question that they were after was a glass eye of some mind, which had belonged to what they assumed had been a priestess at one point in time... though Rarity knew that it was important, even if she was slightly disgusted by the fact.

From there the duo returned to the path they had been following and continued down it, with the glass eye in hand, where they fought a knight with a large mace, though Edric insisted on fighting it by himself and let Rarity watch as he dodged the incoming attacks and cut down the knight. After that happened they continued walking and walked by two corpses, one that contained some Alluring Skulls and another that held some Skeptic's Spice, before they approached a decently well hidden fog door. Since she was sure that it wasn't a powerful creature Rarity and Edric pushed themselves through the fog door and smiled when they spotted a bonfire, to which they approached it and activated it, where they took a moment to rest and prepare themselves for what came next.

Rarity was sure that they would find the first powerful creature soon enough, if the last few areas were anything to go by, but she knew that the two of them would be ready for whatever their foe was and whatever powers the creature happened to possess... and then they would continue the search for the final crown.

Seeing the Unseen

Edric and Rarity rested for a few moments before they stood back up and got a move on, because there was no telling what else they would have to cut through, and what powerful creatures they would have to defeat, before they reached the location of the fourth and final crown. As they moved out of the area that the bonfire was located in Rarity loosed a screaming sphere through a small portal and blasted the mage to their left into the wall, allowing them to head to the right and pull the lever that was resting near a small gate. That caused the gate in question to rise into the air and reveal a path they could take, which immediately brought them to a room that had two mages and two warriors standing guard, to which they separated from each other and tackled the enemies that they were comfortable fighting. Rarity smiled as the mages cast their spells and she was able to avoid them entirely, revealing that her speed was as strong as she believed it to be, before she blasted them into the wall behind them... to which she turned around and watched as her friend tackled the second warrior to the ground before finishing him off.

Rarity nodded in approval, because this was what she expected from Edric at this point in time, before they regrouped and tackled the warrior that had a pack of crystals growing out of it's back, which opened up the hallway that the duo had been planning on using.

The duo turned to the right and found a staircase that took them up to the level above them, which was square and seemingly empty of any enemies, but that didn't stop the two of them from keeping their guard as they walked over to the stairs on the other side of the room. As they walked up the stairs Rarity felt the presence of a dark spirit phase into existence somewhere in their immediate vicinity, though where she had no idea, but she pushed that out of her mind as they spotted a mage and two warriors waiting for them. The moment they discovered what their enemies were the duo split up and followed the earlier pattern, where Edric dodged the warriors' attacks and cut them down while Rarity blasted her own foe with her magic. It wasn't long before their enemies were defeated and they started to explore the area, finding some golems like the ones in Drangelic Castle, but once they discovered that the path to the right of the stairs was blocked off by ice they turned around and ascended the stairs that were to the left of the stairs they had walked up.

At the end of the path the stairs brought them to rested a chest, though as they approached it Rarity suddenly turned around and snapped a barrier into existence between them and the area behind them, stopping the weapon of a knight from touching them. It was then that she discovered that the dark spirit had come for them, using the chest as a distraction, though as she forced the spirit backwards Edric noticed what was happening and engaged the spirit the moment it got back up. Unlike the other dark spirits they encountered this one took the hits like a champion and continued attacking his opponent, leaving Edric to dodge the incoming attacks and deal his own when an opening revealed itself to him. Rarity, once more, stood off on the side and watched the two duel each other, because despite the fact that the dark spirit had invaded their world he still had a sense of honor and only attacked one person at a time, while preferring the same treatment from those he invaded. She didn't understand why the dark spirits didn't come in pairs of two, since she and Edric were together all the time, but she wasn't about to question it as she watched the two duel around the hallway... before Edric gained the upper hand and cut the spirit down, allowing them to continue on their way, after they claimed the ten Silver Talismans that were inside the iron chest they had been walking towards.

From there they used the only other path available to them and continued climbing, though when they reached the top of the building they were in the duo discovered that they were back near the entrance they had walked through when they first arrived outside the fortress... and, directly to their immediate left, rested the fog door that they had seen earlier and had ignored since Rarity had been more interested in the flames she had seen.

"And now we've come back here, to the first fog door we spotted in Eleum Loyce," Edric said, though at the same time he and Rarity dropped down onto the walkway that was below them, before they approached the area that the fog door was located in and stared at it, "Any idea what sort of enemy we'll be facing this time around?"

"No. Shalquoir likes to keep me guessing," Rarity replied, knowing that the question was directed to any information the omnipotent cat could have given her before they entered the fog door, though she only got the names of their foes a few moments after they engaged their enemy and not a second before that, "but, considering that the majority of our enemies so far have been weak to dark based magical attacks, I'd say that the powerful creature either has the same weakness or has a resistance to that element. Starting the battle off by using a low level elemental attack from the four elements helps me determine the exact weakness our enemies possess, which makes the fight that much easier for the two of us."

"Well, we'll just wing it like usual and attack our foe with all our might," Edric stated, to which he raised his hand into the air and pressed it against the fog door, where he chuckled for a moment as he focused his mind on what they were going to do next, "Let's see what sort of foe is waiting for us this time around."

Rarity nodded and together the two of them moved through the fog door, to which they appeared on what could have been the large walkway or bridge that connected the main entrance to the next part of the fortress, while at the same time noticing the statues that lined both sides of the stone walkway.

This dead city has nothing to offer. the voice from earlier said, causing the duo to pause for a moment, as they were curious as to what she, because Rarity was convinced it was a lady talking to them, was going to tell them this time around, Go back. Do not seek the old Chaos, nor it's twisted flame.

The duo shared a brief look with each other as they moved forward once more, where they followed the path that was in front of them until they reached what was essentially the other entrance to this area, but as they started to approach it Rarity had them stop. The reason behind her decision was because of the large tiger, whose fur and body was colored like the ice all around them, that pulled itself from where it had been resting and started down at them for a few seconds, which was followed by it jumping down into the area between them and the other door. As Aava, the name once more provided by Shalquoir mental communication, approached them Rarity made her usual discovery as their foe attacked Edric with it's claws, who dodged the attacks and attacked in response. From what Rarity was able to figure out Aava had a high resistance to the darkness, while having next to no resistances for lightning and soul based spells, but fire, on the other hand, seemed to be the key to this fight.

With the weakness in hand Rarity waited for the perfect openings to reveal themselves, as she didn't want to hurt Edric in the process since some of these attacks could branch out and hurt anyone that was near her target, though one such opening appeared went Aava went to roar and Edric retreated before the shockwave hit him. Rarity smiled as she summoned a Great Fireball into existence and hurled it at the ice tiger, causing it to jump backwards after being hit in the side. Normally Rarity would have never provoked such a creature, but due to the circumstances of their situation she was more than happy to do so, as it appeared that the flames annoyed Aava and it glared at her in response, but since it was focused on her that allowed Edric to attack Aava while it was distracted. Fortunately Rarity could also teleport around the area when Aava came for her, confusing the ice tiger in the process, while she also discovered that Aava had two ice type attacks that were used every now and then; one that called small ice crystals up from the ground around the tiger and a short burst of ice crystals that flew out at the tiger's target when it roared.

Since Aava wanted Rarity dead, as all enemies did when they discovered that she was a more potential threat than Edric could be thanks to her magic, it completely ignored Edric as it tried to kill Rarity, allowing her friend to hack into the tiger's legs and body when it stopped near him. For the most part he wanted the tiger to face him and continue the fight, but since their foe didn't want to focus on him he was going to use the situation to his advantage and dealt all the damage he could to the beast they were fighting. When Rarity was alone with Aava again, as the tiger jumped away from where Edric was standing once more, she called the fire into her hands and used the Chaos Storm spell, to which pillars of fire erupted all around her and Aava. The tiger seemed startled by the appearance of the pillars and even took some of them when they erupted from the ground below it, but Rarity took the opportunity that presented itself and called a single Forbidden Sun into existence, to which she hurled it into Aava's face and blasted the tiger backwards... where it staggered for a few seconds before finally collapsing on the ground, to which it dissolved and left behind it's soul, something that Edric claimed when he caught up with his friend.

The moment Aava was defeated the duo headed towards the door that the ice tiger had been guarding and entered it, finding themselves in an area that had a locked door on their left and a pathway in front of them, which the duo decided to walk up since there wasn't anything else they could do at the moment. From there they walked out of the small building they had been inside and followed the path, where they discovered that it was taking them to a grand building, a cathedral by the looks of it, which made Rarity wonder if the crown was inside the building. It wasn't long before they reached the entrance and gently pushed open the door, which allowed them to enter the cathedral and found a bonfire resting in front of a statue. They spent a few moments resting at the bonfire, to recover from what they had been through since the last bonfire they activated, before they followed the stairs up to the level that was slightly above them, where they discovered another door that needed to be opened... though behind that one rested a more regal area that appeared to be their destination.

As they walked forward they found that there was also ice in this area as well, meaning that there was something special going on at the moment, but they remained silent as they stopped in a part of the room that faced a frozen door of some kind... though Rarity had them remain silent as she felt something else in the area, likely the person that was trying to make them leave the fortress since their arrival.

To think Aava could be bested… the lady said, though that confirmed Rarity's suspicions that she was close at hand, as she was positive that the voice was coming from the area above where she and Edric were standing, Who are you? This land is barren, cursed, by the old Chaos. It gave birth to atrocities, and the people fled in fear. Until our lord, the Ivory King, came.

"I am Edric, and this is my friend Rarity." Edric answered, referring to the question about who they were, while at the same time deciding to get to the heart of the matter, especially since the lady might be able to help them figure out where the Ivory King's crown was located, "We're here to speak with the Ivory King about something important."

My dear lord, a most true king. the lady continued, as if the mention of the Ivory King reminded her of something, to which Rarity and Edric decided that it might be best if they let her speak before they even attempted to explain why they had come all the way out here, It was with his magnificent soul that he built Eleum Loyce… and contained the spread of Chaos. But the Chaos would not be sated, and the King gave his own soul. Inevitably, the King was drained of vigor, and plunged into the Chaos' heart. Eleum Loyce was frozen in time, it's leader lost… I remain here, to contain the Chaos, honouring my Lord's wishes. Perhaps one day, he will return… There's nothing here, save that accursed flame…"

Rarity and Edric shared a look with each other, as it sounded like that the Ivory King was in possession of his own crown this time around, as Sinh had been in possession of the Sunken King's crown and the Brume Knight had been guarding the Old Iron King's crown. If that was the case they would have to descend into this 'Chaos' and find the missing King, and likely have to fight and kill him in the process, before they could claim the item they came for, though something told them that such a plan might not be the best at the moment.

I have but one wish. the lady said, to which the duo turned their attention back to the area that they believed the lady was resting in, as they wanted to be respectful in this situation, since it appeared that she might be the only one that could show them where the Ivory King was located, That my Lord might be freed from that unspeakable Chaos. I haven't the strength to help him myself, but perhaps one such as you… Though I am yet to know your names, strangers, will you lend me your strength?

"Of course," Edric replied, along with Rarity nodding her head in agreement, though they were both a little upset that the lady hadn't even listened to the fact that they had given her their names earlier, but at the very least this appeared to be the best course of action.

Kind visitors, I thank you. Let me open the path to Chaos. And please, do all you can… the lady said, to which a beam of light shattered the ice that was in front of the duo, revealing a path that went down into the depths of the cathedral, no doubt where the fog door waited for them, Many of Eleum Loyce's faithful knights followed their Lord into the Chaos. But none of them returned. The King's dutiful subjects waited patiently for His homecoming. But it was too long a wait to bear… The knights of Eleum Loyce await a new leader. One who will guide them into Chaos.

That information gave Rarity something to think about, because if there were knights waiting for a few leader, as the case happened to be, then that meant that she and Edric could use some help when they descended into the Old Chaos in search for the Ivory King. Since she was thinking about it Rarity walked around the area that she and Edric had been standing on and descended down to the area that had been opened for them, where she found a gateway, doubling as a fog door, with four chairs sitting around a circular hole in the floor. As she took stock of what she was seeing she spotted a knight, in gleaming ivory armor, standing nearby and waiting for the call to action, though Rarity smiled as she turned around and collected Edric, before making her way back to the prior bonfire. When she reached her target Rarity stopped and turned towards her friend, who seemed interested in what they were going to do next, especially since it appeared that the mysterious lady was on their side.

"So, the way to the Ivory King is open," Edric commented, to which Rarity nodded her head, as that was what she had gathered from what she had seen, before he sighed and stared out at the fortress they had walked through to get to this point, "Okay, so does that mean we can head into the depths of this Old Chaos and tackle him, and his knights, so we can claim the crown? Or should we explore the fortress a little more and see if we can't find anything that might assist us in the coming battle with the Ivory King?"

"Edric darling, not to took my own horn, but I don't think we need assistance," Rarity replied, though at the same time her body shimmered and she separated into two Rarity's, one who had an aura of darkness around her and another who had an aura of flame, where she remained in that state for a few seconds before reverting back to a single form, "with the power I possess, and the strength that you have given yourself since our adventure started, I doubt that the Ivory King and his knights would be able to stop us if we decided to attack them first."

Despite how she felt, however, she knew that Edric would want to weight their options before they made any major decisions, though that didn't stop her from believing that she was right in what she said, that if they were to delve into the Old Chaos they would return with the final crown in no time. Since Edric wanted to think about it she was more than willing to let him consider the possibilities before they did anything, though at the same time she wanted nothing more than to deal with the Ivory King and depart from this area. All she had to do was patiently wait for a few moments and she would know what Edric's decision was, and then they would do whatever they needed to do in order to gain the fourth and final crown... and then complete whatever came next, after they figured out what came after collecting the crowns.

The Ivory King

Rarity silently waited for Edric to come to a decision regarding what they were going to do next, as while she believed that they could tackle the Ivory King, and whatever tricks he had in store for them, she also knew that they could spend a few more minutes exploring the fortress and see if they could find any other knights that would be willing to help them. She guessed that some of the power might be going to her head, since she used to do everything in her power to weaken a powerful creature before fighting it, but she was very confident in her abilities. This was the first time she had ever felt this way, in regards to her magical power, but it was an interesting experience to be confident in something besides dress making, especially since using magic was what Twilight specialized in. She was also sure that Twilight, and some of the other ponies that studied magic, would be interested in the spellbook she was carrying with her and the spells that she had discovered, but she knew that time would tell.

"I've come to a decision," Edric said, though instead of heading back to where the path to the Ivory King was located, like Rarity thought he would, he tapped the bonfire for a moment and turned towards Rarity for a moment, "I'd like to explore the area for a few more minutes and see if we can't find anything useful... and then, regardless of what we find, we'll come back here and tackle the Ivory King."

"As you wish." Rarity replied, as she guessed that, while Edric might have some faith in her abilities, he'd rather ensure they defeated the Ivory King the first time around and not get killed in the process, to which they gathered around the bonfire and picked their next destination.

The duo returned to the very first bonfire they discovered in Eleum Loyce and approached the main entrance that they had walked through earlier, which was now free of the ice that had been hanging on the fortress wall, before they turned to the right and followed the first steps they took when they entered this area. As they fought the knights that they had encountered the first time, and defeated them in the same manner as they did before, Rarity stopped when she found the area that the coffins had been blocking. At the end of the passage she discovered an iron chest that she opened the moment she found it, where she smiled when she found the Soul Flash spell, which she bound to the tome while Edric climbed up the stairs and explored the small area that was above them. When he returned Rarity discovered that her friend had found a set of armor up there and had claimed it, though since he was more interested in the armor he was currently wearing he decided not to use the new one.

Along the way the duo discovered that the mage enemies, which had been kneeling the entire time while the ice was around, were now aggressive and Rarity dealt with them before they could become a real threat to their exploration, which allowed Edric to deal with the knights that charged at them.

It took them a few minutes to make their way back to where the fountain was located, and clear all the enemies in the surrounding area, though as the last foe fell the duo spotted a building on the side of the ruined bridge that hadn't been there before, meaning that it had been hidden by the storm that was no longer raging. Rarity guessed that the storm had been called to this area by the lady that had asked them to free the Ivory King, though they walked into the new building and stepped onto the lift that was in front of them. They waited for a few moments before the lift reached the other area that it was connected to, where they walked out and found a trio of small rat-like creatures, with icicles growing out of their backs, tearing into the corpse in front of them. When the duo stepped forward the ice rats turned towards them and engaged them immediately, by rolling towards Rarity and Edric, who dodged the incoming attack and attacked them when they stopped rolling.

What Rarity discovered was that Edric could cut one of them down in a single attack, revealing that they were weak to his attacks, and her spells did quite some damage as well, allowing the two of them to take out the ice rats before they could even hurt them.

From there they walked through the small tunnel to the left of the lift and carefully headed through the area that they found themselves in, where they used the same method to take out the ice rats that were in front of them, though as that happened Rarity felt another dark spirit invade their world. At this point she was sure that the ability to sense that they were being invaded came from the Darklurker, as a lot of her abilities did, but since she couldn't pinpoint where the invader was located they simply moved on and continued exploring the area. As they moved forward Rarity spotted a mage that looked like one that she fought in the Dark Chasm, though she remembered the weakness of this creature and hurled a Lightning Spear at it, destroying it instantly due to the power inside her attack. It was at that point that the invader made itself known, as it appeared to be a hexer type mage and hurled a Dark Hail at them, but Rarity held her hand out and stopped the attack in it's tracks... before she empowered them and blasted the hexer backwards, surprising Edric in the process.

Instead of allowing the hexer to gain an advantage over the duo, since it was already outnumbered, Edric charged at their opponent and occupied it's attention, avoiding spells and tearing through it's defenses with his sword, while at the same time Rarity used her own spells to break their opponent... before the two of them toppled the hexer and banished the invader back to whatever world it came from.

As Edric continued fighting off the ice rats that stood between them and the large gate that he was heading towards, which had to be important, Rarity turned towards the two spirit like mages that were in the areas above them and hurled a pair of Lightning Spears into the air, destroying her targets within seconds. Since the gate couldn't be opened, and the door that was on their level was locked from the other side, the duo climbed up the nearby ladder and ascended to the level above them, where Edric opened the iron chest they found and pulled out three Boltstones. From there they explored the upper area and found two buildings they could enter, though they ignored one of them in favor for activating the bonfire they discovered. After that they returned to the first building, since they couldn't go anywhere in the second one, and started walking up the wooden stairs that they found, though at the top they found a white spirit waiting for them... who waved at them and proceeded to act like a normal helper spirit would, but Rarity, knowing that they hadn't seen any signs and hadn't called anyone to help them, knew something fishy was going on.

Instead of actually taking chances with the 'white' spirit, and potentially hurting themselves in the process, Rarity summoned the darkness and grabbed onto the spirit, before pulling it down to the level below them and threw it outside, where she held it in the air and used a single Forbidden Sun to obliterate it... though as she did that Edric found the lever to open the gate, as it opened not a few seconds after the spirit's death.

Once the duo was back together they walked through the open gate and followed it into a cave with a few crystals growing near the ground, though when the two of them reached the lowest level of that area they found a white version of the Covetous Demon waiting for them. Edric ran by the icy Covetous Demon and left Rarity to fight it, since she recalled it's weakness from when they fought it the first time, while he searched for anything useful or a new path for them to take, which was something Rarity was fine with. The icy Covetous Demon turned towards her and started pulling itself to where she was standing, though instead of allowing it to get close Rarity held her hand into the air and called three Forbidden Suns into existence, before merging them into a single sphere. As she did so, however, she realized that maybe she might as well start naming these merged spells she was thinking of creating, as she had done one against the Brume Knight when she learned that she could merge to elements together, to which she decided on Forbidden Nova as the name for the base combination attack... to which she hurled it into the icy Covetous Demon and obliterated it.

The moment the flames disappeared, and she collected the ivory ring that the demon had in it's belly, she headed over to where Edric went and found some dead ice rats along the way, before she spotted her companion standing beside a door that lead out to the area they had been in earlier. With the shortcut back to the bonfire open the duo retraced their steps through the cave and walked up the other path that Edric had ignored, which eventually brought them to an area with some golems and some ice rats. Once they knew what they were up against the duo purposely pulled the ice rats away from where the various golems were resting and killed them, preventing their souls from being gathered to awaken the golems from their slumber. The instant that was taken care of Edric and Rarity then dismantled the golems for a few minutes, just to be sure that someone didn't activate them, while at the same time dealing with the few that had been activated before their arrival.

At the end of the path they found a lockstone resting near a building that contained a lift, to which they collected the lockstone and let the lift take them up to the level it was supposed to take them to, which happened to be the other side of the wrecked bridge. Instead of wasting time on the three warriors to their left, since they were guarding the broken section of the entire wrecked bridge, the duo climbed the hill behind them and headed for the building at the very top, to which they fought their way through several more warriors and a few more ice rats before they could even reach the building that they were heading towards. Along the way Edric and Rarity found a decent sized snowball, roughly the size of their heads, and simply pushed it forwards, where it rolled down the path that was in front of it and expanded into a large boulder shaped snowball, one that smashed into the trio of warriors and flattened them before coming to a stop between the two sections of the wrecked bridge, forming a path back to the beginning area.

"I wasn't expecting that to happen." Edric said, as he was surprised that it had even happened in the first place, though he guessed that such a thing would make their lives somewhat easier in the future.

"Neither was I." Rarity replied, though as she spoke she headed up the stairs that were behind them and headed towards the iron door that was closed at the moment, to which Edric joined her after realizing that she had started moving without saying anything else.

It didn't take them long to open the iron door that was in front of them, as it didn't need a lever to be pulled, though what they found inside the small room was another ivory knight, like the one Rarity had seen by the four chairs that surrounded the passage to the Old Chaos... to which the knight looked up at them and pulled itself from it's chair, before kneeling and disappearing a few seconds later.

Rarity, having an idea where a second knight might be located, headed back out to the fortress and made her way back to the one area where she and Edric could see the shrine that they had appeared next to when they first arrived in this area, though that did require her and Edric to cut their way through the knights and mages that stood in their way. It didn't take them long to retrace their steps to that exact location, though when they arrived Rarity headed to the right and they climbed the circular staircase up to where a large chunk of ice had been blocking part of the upper walkway, which now revealed a set of stairs heading downwards. Edric engaged the warrior that was guarding the stairs, though it was quickly finished off as he parried the attack and drove his sword into his opponent's chest, allowing the two of them to follow the stairs down and around to a new part of the fortress they hadn't been in yet. That area happened to be guarded by four warriors, so while Edric cut them down Rarity used some screaming spheres on the ones near the back, to which the duo eliminated their enemies before entering a room with two paths... one heading up and the other heading down.

As it turned out the one heading upwards allowed them to open a shortcut, since it was a door that connected to the path they had followed to get to this area in the first place, before they headed even deeper into the new area, where the two of them fought some warriors and hounds before they reached the lowest level of the area. At the very end of that area they found a small tunnel that brought them to one of the wall's exteriors again, only this time around it was on the inside and they had a good view of an identical building to the one they found the first ivory knight inside. They walked around the path that was in front of them, ignoring the lift for a few seconds, before they started to walk over the walkway that separated them from their target. At the same time Rarity felt another dark spirit invade their world, who actually appeared between them and the building, but since it was a witch this time around, based on the armor she was wearing, Rarity stepped forward to do battle... while at the same time letting Edric pass by the witch so he could take out the warrior that was guarding the iron door they would need to open soon enough.

As it turned out the witch had three favorite spells that she liked to use, the Crystal Soul Spear, the Heavy Homing Soul Arrow, and the Dark Hail spells, which Rarity found to be interesting to some degree, but thanks to the power she had gained she could dodge the spells before they even touched her and slammed a Forbidden Sun into the witch's chest... knocking her over the edge and banishing her back to her own world. From there she approached Edric and watched as he finished off the warrior that was guarding the door, where the duo smiled as they found a second ivory knight resting inside the room that they had been looking for, before he vanished as well. This time around, instead of hunting for the fourth and final ivory knight, since there were four chairs, Rarity suggested that they had enough help and Edric decided to agree with her... to which they used the feather that the Emerald Herald gave them and returned to the last bonfire that they used, before teleporting over to the cathedral and took a moment to rest.

When they returned to where the path to the Old Chaos was located Rarity was pleased to see that she was right about something else, as there were three ivory knights in attendance, more than enough for what they needed to do, to which she and Edric walked through the fog door... and descended into the gaping hole in front of them, where they were accompanied by the knights that had gathered around the hole.

The moment they safely landed on the floor that was their destination, no doubt thanks to the lady that was asking them for aid, they discovered that the area they were in was definitely full of fire and potentially lava, as well as the fact that it appeared that they might actually be below a corrupted tree based on the charred roots that were in the ceiling above them. As they stood up the three knights that had jumped after them landed around them, indicating that they were ready for battle, though at the same time both Rarity and Edric noticed some portal like structures that had charred ivory knights walking out of them. That was followed by their group engaging the charred warriors, where the duo made sure to avoid the attacks that were coming their direction while punishing their foes at the same time, though that meant Edric was fighting them head on while Rarity hurled Lightning Spears at whoever was alone so she didn't hurt an ally. An interesting fact was that the third knight, the second on they released, was a mage as well, as he was throwing Soul Spears at his targets and dealt damage to them while the rest of the group did the same thing.

It wasn't long before one of their allies, no longer being attacked by the charred knights, surrounded himself in ice energy and pretty much hurled himself into the first portal on the left, surrounding the entire structure in enchanted ice and blocked off enemy reinforcements from that one. Even with one less knight to assist them they made due with the remaining two, as Edric and the warrior knight dealt with the charred knights directly while Rarity and the mage knight destroyed them from afar. Soon enough Edric's companion sacrificed himself and sealed off the second portal, once more depriving their foes of any additional forces, until the third and final knight sealed off the final portal, leaving the duo to finish off the last of their enemies before they looked around for the Ivory King, who hadn't made an appearance yet. That was before they felt the ground shake for a moment before two pillars emerged at the end of the path that was opposite of where they landed... though as the larger portal opened the duo watched as a charred figure, walking like a king, emerged from the portal and approached them.

Rarity and Edric stared at the Ivory King for a moment, who finished walking out of the portal, before they separated from each other, which was the smart move since the Ivory King leapt into the air and pierced the ground where they had been standing seconds ago. As the duo recovered from fleeing the first attack the Ivory King charged towards Edric and swung his sword at him four times in a row, which Edric carefully avoided before cutting into his his opponent's side, only to avoid the incoming attack before he could be hit. Rarity, on the other hand, used the fact that the Ivory King wasn't interested in her and threw a Lightning Spear into the King's back, causing him to stagger while Edric moved out of the way, but what surprised her this time around was that the Ivory King still focused on his main target. There was something about Edric that made the Ivory King completely ignore Rarity, who felt that she was definitely the larger threat, and focus on her companion with all his might. Edric apparently was just fine with that arrangement, as it allowed him to keep the Ivory King's attention on him and wound him when an opening revealed itself, while also giving Rarity the chances she needed to win the fight.

Even when the Ivory King stabbed the ground, and loosed a barrage of crystals from the ground, it was mainly in an effort to kill Edric, allowing Rarity to bypass his attacks and damage him with her lightning based spells, before one of the spears left their opponent vulnerable... to which Edric stabbed his chest and he was consumed by a bright light as he collapsed to one knee, before fading away before their eyes. With the Ivory King defeated, and the portal he came through deactivated, Rarity walked forward and found an ivory crown, the Crown of the Ivory King, waiting for them, to which she smiled as she collected it.

"Great, now we have all four crowns," Edric said, still not understanding why they went through all that effort to collect these four items of power, as that was the one thing that he hadn't been told since they started this venture, "So, what exactly are we supposed to do with them now that they're all in our possession?"

"I think I know what to do next," Rarity replied, as she was feeling the tug of the crowns to visit a place they had been before, and revisit a certain someone now that they had all the items necessary to interact with the echo that was likely waiting in that chamber, "we need to visit the King once more."

Edric really had no idea why Rarity felt that they needed to visit the chamber where they killed King Vendrick, but since his friend was rarely wrong about her feelings, in fact he was sure that she was always right in these instances, he decided that he might as well see if she was right. The duo walked back over to where they landed, where a glowing beam of energy waited to take them back to the cathedral, where the lady of Eleum Loyce was pleased that they had granted her request before revealing that she was, in fact, a fragment of Manus, the Father of the Abyss, and that they carried the souls of two of her sisters, Elana and Nadalia. It was then revealed to them that there was a fourth fragment, a fourth sister in a sense, that she revealed to be none other than Nashandra, the Queen of Drangelic, meaning that she had plans for the land that Vendrick had ruled over. Alsanna, as the lady called herself, also imparted a small portion of her own power to them, so that she could aid them like her sisters, even if Elana and Nadalia weren't willing helpers, and ensure Nashandra was defeated.

With Alsanna's blessing, and the crown they came for, Rarity and Edric teleported out of Eleum Loyce and headed back to the Undead Crypt, where they quickly dispatched the enemies that were standing in their way and entered the area that King Vendrick, as a hollow, had been walking in. Rarity approached the pile of armor and felt the power still radiating from it, to which she beckoned for Edric to touch her shoulder before she did anything else, though once he was ready she touched the armor and the world went dark for a few moments as they drifted off to a different reality.

A few moments ticked by as Rarity and Edric waited in silence, as they were worried that they might have done something wrong, but before either of them said anything they reappeared in the same chamber that Vendrick's armor had been located in. This time around, however, they were greeted by an unusual sight, as King Vendrick, before he became the hollow they were forced to kill, was now sitting in the same spot his armor had been located in, though he appeared to be staring at the blade he carried and appeared to be completely human, or at least to some degree. The duo, not knowing what to do this time around, moved until they could actually look the mighty King in the eye and stood in front of him, though for a few moments he barely realized they were there... though that changed when Rarity decided to pull out the King's Crown, which he happened to be wearing a replica of at that very instant.

As flame rises, so does it fade. Such is the way of things. King Vendrick said, though instead of his mouth moving his voice was projected into their minds, which made sense considering that they were in the past, in a sense anyway, Do you intend to link the fire? Then you must first take the throne. Prove your worth. Find the ancient crowns. Seek adversity, and they will be yours. And your wishes, granted. The fire...

Rarity and Edric looked at each other, as this was the first time they had heard anything about linking a fire, though something told Rarity that there was a lot more to this situation than what they originally expected, as pieces of the puzzle were now starting to fall into place... and the overall picture wasn't looking too good at the moment.

Coveters of the throne... I am Vendrick, ruler of Drangleic. the King told them, causing the duo to snap their attention back to the echo that was sitting in front of them, as they were sure there was more for him to tell them that they didn't know, Seekers of fire... deliverers of crowns... What do you see in the flames? Find the crowns, and your own answers. The crowns hold the strength of lords from times long past. Seek adversity. As befits you, seekers of fire, coveters of the throne. I'm no king. I am more fit to be a jester. I was unaware of my own blindness. We are feeble vessels, with feebler souls. We would cast aside the prop of life, only to face greater hardship. Are you such fools? Or something more? I fail to see your design, young moths. But I see very little these days.

Rarity thought about this for a moment, as it appeared that the echo of King Vendrick had no idea that they already had the four crowns in their possession and would likely need to see the remaining three before they got anywhere, to which she pulled out the Crown of the Sunken King and placed both crowns in Edric's hands.

Seekers of fire, conquerers of Dark. I too sought fire, once. the echo told them, to which they listened, because they were both curious as to what would happen when the echo realized that they had all four crowns, With fire, they say, a true king can harness the curse. A lie, but I knew no better. Seekers of fire, you know not the depth of Dark within you. It grows deeper still, the more flame you covet. Flame, oh flame, I am king of this wretched unravelled kingdom. I subdued the giants, and claimed their strength, so that I might step closer to fire. Drangleic will fall. The fire will fade, and the souls of old will reamerge. With Dark unshackled, a curse will be upon us. And men will take their true shape.

The duo had heard the part about the giants before, and how they came back to have their revenge on the people of Drangelic for the King's actions, but neither of them liked the part where this mysterious 'fire' was going to fade and that everyone was going to taken on their true shapes once more... though, since that appeared to be all the second crown was going to get them, Rarity added the Crown of the Old Iron King to the mix.

Seekers of fire, I see you've subdued another foul creature. King Vendrick's echo continued, though Rarity had the feeling that it was either referring to Elana or Nadalia, but seeing which crown the statement was attached to she had to go with Nadalia's soul this time around, One of the Father of the Abyss' spawn. That confounded quintessence of Humanity. The abyss once had form, but then dissipated. And yet traces of its existence endured. Each fragment, thirsting for power, spread Dark with no relent. My dear Shandra, was one such fragment. The feeble, tiny thing that thirsted for power more than any other. Driven by unsatiable lust for a worthy vessel. Fire came to be, and with it disparity. Heat and cold, life and death, light and dark. Dark was seen as a curse. Shadow is not cast, but born of fire. And the brighter the flame, the deeper the shadow. Inherit fire, and harness the dark. Such is the calling of a true leader.

Rarity and Edric glanced at each other again, as this only confirmed Alsanna's claims that Nashandra was another fragment of the being Manus, one that desired power over all else and clearly would make sure there was someone to help her get what she wanted... which only made Rarity wonder what was lurking in the deepest reaches of the castle as she pulled out the Crown of the Ivory King.

One day fire will fade, and dark will become a curse. the echo told them, though the duo got the sense that the conversation was going to take a different tone this time around, while at the same time the King waved a hand over the four crowns, causing them to glow for a few seconds before the light faded, Men will be free from death, left to wander eternally. Dark will again be ours, and in our true shape, we can bury the false legends of yore. Only... is this our only choice? Seekers of fire, coveters of the throne, seek strength. The rest will follow.

Before Rarity and Edric could question what the echo of King Vendrick was saying the world around them disappeared and they reappeared where his armor was resting, back in the world they originally came from, though the four crowns still retained the same power that they had been blessed with when the echo waved a hand over them. At the same time, however, Rarity was beginning to understand what was so special about this quest and what they needed to do next, because their 'chat' with the King had opened her eyes to part of the truth... and what she knew was terrible.

"I take it you know what to do next?" Edric asked, though at the same time he returned the two crowns he was holding to Rarity's bag, since she was the one who insisted on carrying them the entire time, before looking her right in the eyes as she focused on the staircase near where they were standing.

"Yes, I know exactly what we need to do next," Rarity replied, to which she stepped forward and started walking back to where the closest bonfire was located, while hoping they weren't to late, "We need to head back to Drangelic Castle and delve into the depths once more... and stop Nashandra before she can get her hands on this powerful throne that King Vendrick told us about."

She still had no idea why this mysterious throne was connected to the even more mysterious fire that was mentioned at the same time, but something told her that allowing Nashandra to get her hands on the throne, and the connection to the fire, was a bad thing... and they could have set that wheel in motion already, which was why she was praying, to whichever god that would listen to her, that they weren't to late to stop the Queen's vile plans.

Guardians of the Throne

The first thing Rarity and Edric did, after learning that they might have given Nashandra exactly what she was after, was backtrack to the bonfire that was closest to them and teleport back to Majula for the last time, where Edric spent his time empowering his weapon, armor, and his body for the battle that was ahead of them. Rarity, on the other hand, heading to a familiar shop and intended to speak with Shalquior about all of this, but instead she found that the cat was missing and that there was a note on the table, one that said they would see each other again when the time was right. There was also a pile of spells, ones that must have come from the various areas that she and Edric had gone through and hadn't collected, as a last minute gift towards her, completing the spellbook in it's entirety. Rarity wasn't sure that she needed all of these spells, but since they were near the end of their journey, and they had no idea how strong Nashandra was, she was more than happy to add them to her existing arsenal.

Once the spellbook was complete, and she glanced around the shop once more, Rarity returned to the bonfire and waited for Edric to finish up with the blacksmith, which was only a few moments later, meaning that she didn't have to wait too long for her friend to prepare himself for the coming battle.

"So, back to Drangelic Castle." Edric said, remembering what Rarity had told him after they had spoken to the echo of King Vendrick, and the fact that apparently they were supposed to be seekers of the throne that was hidden beneath the castle in question.

"That's right." Rarity replied, to which she tapped the bonfire and stared at it, knowing that this was going to be one of the last times she and Edric used this to travel, before she sighed as she turned back to her friend, "We have to stop Nashandra from fulfilling her terrible plan and doing, well, whatever she wants to do with the powerful and mysterious throne that Vendrick kept from her. I'm certain that there's something guarding the throne, on Vendrick's orders, and that our true foe will show herself once we've beaten whatever Vendrick's chosen defenders are."

Edric wondered if she was right or if the defenses were a simple door that they needed to open, but considering that she was generally right about a lot of things he decided that it had been a good idea that he prepare himself accordingly, to which they gathered around the bonfire and used it to teleport over to the bonfire that was above where they had found the Darkdiver some time ago. Instead of heading into the chamber that the sentries and the other creatures were in, which had been their main destination the first time around, they turned to the left and walked down the stairs that were in front of them, where another King's Gate rested. Rarity moved out of the way as Edric approached the gate, where he held his hand out and the King's Ring glowed for a moment, to which the lock turned and came undone before their very eyes, before the path to the throne opened up. From there the duo discovered that the path ahead of them delved deep into the earth, which they were used to at this point in time, though they were pleased to see some familiar faces to their immediate left; Shalquoir and the Emerald Herald.

Shalquoir nodded her head to the duo, indicating that she was pleased to see them again and was happy with their accomplishments so far, while at the same time the Emerald Herald reached up and tugged on the sides of her hood, where she pulled it back and stared at the duo.

"My journey is already complete." the Emerald Herald said, causing the duo to remember that she had been guiding them for some time, with a projection, and that this was likely the same thing, though they remained silent as they listened to what she had to say, "My name is Shanalotte. The dragon gave me this name, for I was born with none. I was born of dragons, contrived by men. By ones who would cozen fate herself… They are the ones who created me. But they failed. I did not come out as intended. Fate would not be bested, and men were cursed once again. If you proceed, Nashandra will come after you. Knowing that you will take the throne, and link the fire. She covets the First Flame, and the Great Soul. Put Nashandra to rest."

"That's why we came here," Rarity replied, to which she stared down the winding path that was in front of them and looked upon the building that was at the very end, where she felt a great deal of power gathering while they were talking with each other, "to end Nashandra."

"Then go and kill the Queen before she claims her prize," Shalquoir commented, though at the same time she tilted her head to the side, as if she knew something that no one else did at that moment, to which Rarity mentally sighed as she started to step away from the duo.

"What about the crowns?" Edric asked, as he still didn't see the reason behind why they went out of their way to collect the four powerful crowns, especially since they could have died had Rarity not been smart enough to overcome every challenge that was thrown at them.

"Their purpose will become known once you best the Queen." Shalquoir replied, though while Rarity was glad to have the omnipotent cat's faith, something that they always had, she was sure that there was something that they weren't being told at that moment.

Instead of questioning Shalquoir, and wasting even more thing than they already had, Rarity started walking down the rocky path that was in front of them, where Edric joined her a few moments later and walked in silence, something that she was grateful for since they needed to prepare for the battle that was ahead of them. It didn't take them long to reach the structure that they had spotted when they first entered this area, though once they reached it they both readied their weapons before they pushed themselves through the fog door. When they walked through the other side of the fog door they discovered two guardians, one that appeared to be a black knight while the other was a white robed mage, waiting for them, though in the back of the chamber rested a stone dome. Rarity was positive that the dome was what Nashandra was after, as she could practically feel the power from where she was standing, but she pushed that thought away as she focused on their enemies... and knew that she would have to find their weakness before she started using the more impressive spells, just like she always did.

The Throne Defender, who was the black knight, charged at Edric while Rarity took on the Throne Watcher, who despite looking like a mage with some armor on didn't really cast any spells at her, meaning that her foes appearance was more for deception than anything else. Rarity quickly discovered that while the Throne Watcher had decent resistances to both fire and dark based spells, and a great resistance to soul based spells, he was weak to lightning based spells. Out of sheer curiosity she used the same lesser spells, one of each type, against the Throne Defender while Edric kept the knight distracted, only to find that it was pretty much the same thing for both of their opponents. Once she had figured out what weaknesses their opponents had, however, Rarity and Edric separated from their foes for a few seconds, where she wove some magic around Edric's blade and empowered it with lightning, before they charged into battle once more. Rarity also let the dark mist surround her eyes while she fought, allowing her to dodge incoming attacks more accurately and avoid her opponent's sword, almost as if the Throne Watcher was moving in slow motion.

As the duo fought them Rarity noticed something interesting, because the moment their foes were halfway defeated, by her best guess anyway, the Throne Watcher empowered his sword with a soul based enchantment while the Throne Defender did the same with a lightning enchantment, making them more deadly to fight against. That caused the duo to raise their guards as they continued fighting, as whenever a powerful creature empowered themselves in such a manner it meant that there was going to be a shift in their attack patterns, but the two knights did the one thing that was smart on their part; they didn't change their attack patterns. The reason it was smart was that anyone with a brain, and had done through all the other creatures to reach this point, would have known that some creatures change attack patterns after empowering themselves, meaning that they would have been looking for new tactics and not old ones. Rarity and Edric both suffered some small cuts that Rarity healed with a healing spell, but that just told them that they needed to be careful and pay more attention to what was going on at the moment, least they get seriously hurt in the process.

Unfortunately not changing their attack patterns quickly became less of an advantage and became a disadvantage for the guardians of the throne, as that meant that Rarity and Edric were able to overcome their defenses and put them both into the ground at the same time... though before they relaxed, however, Rarity felt the air shift as their true opponent finally made herself known as they turned towards the fog door that they had walked through earlier.

Rarity was not expecting the lady they had seen up in the castle to make an appearance down here, as she remembered what Elana looked like, could only guess at what Nadalia looked like before she turned to ash, and had no idea what form Alsanna took on. That was before a tall figure, wearing what appeared to be the lower section of a dress that was made out of bones, skulls, and bits of flesh that also touched the floor and prevented them from seeing the creature's legs, if it had any. The stomach and upper chest of the creature looked like it was made of black bones and whatever else was holding it together, forming what Rarity hesitated to call the top part of a dress, though it was an ugly sight to behold. The creature's arms were devoid of flesh, as they were blackened bones like the rest of the creature's body, and it's head seemed to be a skull with something that resembled hair, in some manner, heading down it's back, though the mouth did not move at all.

As the duo gazed upon Nashandra's true form, where her power truly radiated from her body, Rarity noticed that their foe was carrying a deadly looking scythe in her right hand, one that seemed to have been made of the same dark energy that radiated from her body... despite the fact that it looked like she had taken a rib bone from a young dragon and attached it to a handle, before turning it black like her body.

"Brave Undead, you have proven yourselves to me." Nashandra said, her voice sounding like one would expect from the villain of a story, as it had an echo of some sort and she sounded like she was in complete control of the situation that they all found themselves in, while at the same time she moved until she was between them and the throne, where she ran a finger along the edge of her scythe for a few seconds, "Now, be one, with the Dark…"

"That would have been more threatening, if I wasn't already like that," Rarity replied, to which she focused her mind for a moment and the familiar mist emitted from her eyes, indicating that she had accessed the Dark Magic she had unlocked thanks to what she had been through, "Come Edric, let's take care of business."

Edric nodded and charged at Nashandra as the battle began, though at the same time Rarity stood back and noticed that their opponent was summoning spheres that were releasing curse energy, to which she smirked as she wove her magic through the air and grasped each of the spheres with the darkness that was at her command. Within seconds of grabbing all of them she shattered them, preventing Nashandra from filling the area with whatever curse she was trying to inflict on them, though at the same time Rarity was sure that it her deed annoyed their opponent. Of course that made her an immediate threat in Nashandra's eyes and she responded by gathering the darkness into a beam and fired it at her, though Rarity watched where it was coming from and avoided the attack in it's entirety, while at the same time Edric used the opportunity to attack their foe. Nashandra, feeling Edric's attack cut the lower part of her body, switched her target and swung her scythe at Edric a few times, who had to avoid the weapon before it could touch him, though the duo noticed that she didn't seem too bothered by the damage he had dealt.

That told Rarity that Nashandra had to be even stronger than her sisters, or at least Elana since she was the only fragment the two of them had fought, but that was why they had gone through the process of gathering the four crowns, as it would give them the necessary power to stand up to this opponent... though as it appeared that their foe was taking a slight break in her attacks, however, Edric rushed forward and didn't see the dark beam coming from his left, to which he was knocked backwards as he suffered the damage.

Rarity, seeing that happen, moved over to where Edric was resting and channeled a healing spell over his body, mending his wounds while using a barrier to keep them safe from Nashandra's beam attacks, though once he was back on his feet they separated from each other and continued the fight. The moment the duo split apart Rarity did what she did when they first engaged a powerful creature, she used the lowest level spells in each element and gauged how well Nashandra's defenses were to each one. As she suspected the fragment of the Father of the Abyss had a high resistance to dark based spells, as well as a decent resistance to both fire and soul based spells, but what surprised her was that their foe was more susceptible to lightning based spells, just like a lot of foes they had fought in the past. She wondered why a lot of the enemies they had encountered and overcome since they started their journey happened to be weak to lightning based spells, as it just seemed incredibly odd to her, but she wasn't about to question it, especially since she was trying to take over the world at the moment.

Instead of worrying why so many of their foes were weak to lightning based spells, and opening herself up to some damage in the process, Rarity accessed the power inside her and called the lightning to her hands, while recalling one of the spells that Shalquoir included in the bundle that was inside her shop. The page had called this the Splintering Lightning Spear, to which she formed it like an actual Lightning Spear and hurled it right into Nashandra's chest, though it appeared that doing that was the first stage of the attack, as several more smaller versions of the Lightning Spear rained down on Nashandra and damaged her. Thankfully Edric was already out of the way when the spell struck their foe, but at the same time it was clear that Nashandra was growing tired of playing around with them and decided on one course of action that would help her win this fight. Rarity already knew that sooner or later she would become Nashandra' true opponent, which was confirmed when their foe turned towards her and started 'walking' in her direction, but at the same time she braced herself for the incoming fight... while noticing that the evil creature was ignoring Edric entirely, allowing her friend to score a few hits ever now and then before backing away, so he could look for another opening.

When Nashandra neared her, however, she raised her scythe into the air and swung at her, but Rarity had been expecting something and immediately moved out of the way as the head of the weapon struck the ground where she had been standing a few seconds ago. Instead of allowing Nashandra to pull her weapon back, and swing at her again, Rarity hooked the darkness around it and loosed a powerful Emit Force into her foe's chest, the collision knocking Nashandra backwards as she was forced to leave the scythe behind. The moment Nashandra hit the ground, back in the middle of the chamber where she started this battle, though the first thing Rarity did was stare at the terrible weapon she had ripped from their foe's hands for a few seconds, before throwing it into the wall behind her, where it struck the rock wall and remained embedded in it. A few seconds later Nashandra recovered from what Rarity had done and started firing more of her dark beams at her, to which Rarity used the empowering abilities of the Dark Magic state she had unlocked to avoid them before they even came close to touching her.

At the same time, while she avoided the attacks, she considered what sort of attack she wanted to do while Edric cut into their foe, as she recalled the weaknesses and resistances that Nashandra possessed and knew the best course of action as she remembered what she had done against the Fume Knight. She knew that fusing the elements was possible, if the shadow-fire Forbidden Sun type attack was anything to go by, something that she considered calling the Forbidden Black Nova, and wondered if it was possible to merge three of the four elements together. She knew that trying to do all four was madness, and who knew if it was even possible, but considering that their foe was a fragment of the Father of the Abyss, one of the strongest ones apparently, she decided that now was the time to throw caution to the wind. As such she loosed a hail of magical arrows into the air and let them land in front of Nashandra, where they exploded and kicked up some dust to prevent her from seeing what was happening.

After that was in place Rarity jumped into the air and remained at a point that was higher than Nashandra, which she guessed was possible because of the Dark Magic she was channeling at the moment, and noticed that Edric was moving out of the way... to which she focused her mind and summoned twelve Forbidden Suns into the area around her, though while three of them possessed the element of fire the other three trios were created from the dark, soul, and lightning elements. The moment the twelve spheres were in place she held her hand towards Nashandra and willed the spheres into four larger masses, to which she was surrounded by four Nova level spheres that shook the entire chamber a little bit, before she decided to try her luck. First she merged the dark and fire spheres together, creating the one she had used earlier, before she added the soul based sphere to the mix, which resulted in blue strands of soul magic joining the rings of darkness. After that happened, forming a merged attack that she decided might as well be the Forbidden Hypernova, Rarity braced herself and added the final element to the mix, though as the lightning sphere merged with the existing mix the large sphere became a mass of energy that was comprised of four swirling elements that caused the entire area to shake under the power she had created.

This was an incredibly powerful attack, that much she was sure by simply staring at the sphere, but as the smoke around Nashandra started to clear she focused her attention on her foe and hurled the attack at the fragment that they had been fighting... who spotted the attack coming and used the darkness to try and stop the sphere from reaching where she was standing. The air vibrated as their energies collided with each other, but while Nashandra was the strongest fragment to be born from the Father of the Abyss, stronger than the other three they had encountered, Rarity was a native of Equus, a world where everyone had magic and it took the right circumstances for them to break their limits and gain new power. She remembered her fight with the Darklurker, where she had done something like this to defeat her opponent, and focused her energy on pushing the sphere down towards her target, who was actually backing away from the middle of the chamber and was approaching the wall behind her as she tried to keep the attack away from her... almost as if she feared the power she had brought to bare against her.

Rarity sighed as she gave the sphere one final push and it barreled into Nashandra, consuming their foe in a surge of destructive power as the elements tore apart her existing defenses before finally detonating it's payload, causing the duo to cover their eyes in the process. When the smoke cleared, however, the duo gazed upon where Nashandra had been located and found a smouldering crater in her place, though it was in that moment that Rarity realized that such an attack was more powerful than she originally thought and it had obliterated their foe.

"Rarity?" Edric asked, though at the same time Rarity dropped back to the ground and landed beside her friend, while keeping their eyes on the damage she had caused, "What did you just do?"

"I... Honestly, I have no idea." Rarity admitted, as she hadn't been expecting something like this to happen when she decided to mere the four elements into a single sphere, but that just told her that she needed to be careful with it in the future, if she decided to use it again, "Forbidden Reorigination... that sounds like a fitting name for such a powerful attack, especially one that causes this level of damage and destruction to our foes."

"I wasn't aware that you were naming attacks now," Edric commented, because this was news to him, but all he was doing was distracting himself from what his friend had done to Nashandra, whose soul he still managed to absorb despite the fact that Rarity had obliterated her.

"I've been doing it since the Fume Knight," Rarity said, though at the same time she chuckled as she dismissed the mist from her eyes and left the Dark Magic behind, for the moment anyway, "Oh well, I guess now we should tell Shalquoir and Shanalotte the good news."

Many monarchs have come and gone. a voice said, to which Rarity and Edric looked around as they heard Aldia's voice again, as it was one that they hadn't heard for a long time, but this time around the duo knew that their battle was far from over, One drowned in poison, another succumbed to flame. Another slumbered in a realm of ice. Not one of them stood here, as you do now. You, conqueror of adversities. Give us your answer.

That was followed by an area catching on fire and caused the duo to jump away from it, as it was between them and the door they used to enter this area, but they kept their weapons and spells at the ready as the twisted form of Aldia rose from whatever realm he had been waiting in and came to a stop when he was fully in this area. The moment he was in place the vines that were attached to his body struck the ground around him, where they started to erupt from the area around them and caused the duo to back away from their new foe. As the vines moved through the ground, and chased Rarity and Edric as they separated from each other, flames danced around Aldia's body, though as that happened Rarity sent the lower powered spells at their foe and noticed that he had a good resistance to dark and fire based spells while being weak against soul and lightning based spells. After the spells hit him Aldia surrounded himself in a dark fiery mist and teleported to a new area, which exploded when he arrived, but that didn't stop the duo from following him and keeping their eyes on him.

As Aldia appeared in his new area, however, the flames on his body disappeared, indicating that Edric could charge forward and damage him before the flames returned, while at the same time Rarity decided that they needed to take this seriously and summoned a trio of Forbidden Suns, this time empowered with blue stands of soul magic. A few moments later she hurled the merged form of the attack at Aldia and blasted him, causing his body to shudder for second as Edric attacked from the side, as he waited for the attack to be over before striking. After that Aldia started throwing, in his own manner anyway since he didn't appear to have arms, fireballs at them with his vines, though the duo avoided the attacks and let them hit the ground around them. From there he moved to a new position and started repeating the vines erupting from the ground and throwing fireballs at them, to which Rarity and Edric avoided the attacks and delivered their own to their foe... though instead of using the more powerful Forbidden level spells, that she had developed, Rarity simply used the Lightning Spear and the Crystal Soul Spear to wound their foe.

Eventually Aldia got tired of what they were doing and raised his vines above what was his head, where he gathered both his flames and the darkness into a sphere of energy, like his was copying what Rarity had done, but it was on a lesser level than what Rarity's spells did, as it didn't cause the area to shake at all. Rarity, instead of worrying about the attack, stared at it as Aldia completed it and threw it at her, to which she raised her hand and called upon her power to stop the sphere in it's tracks, before she shattered it into a thousand pieces. That proved to be the perfect distraction, as Edric struck Aldia while his body wasn't covered in flames and dealt with Rarity guessed was the final blow, as a glowing light emitted from his body before he disappeared like all of the other creatures they had fought... indicating that they must have destroyed him on some level.

I lost everything, but remained here, patiently. The throne will certainly receive you. Aldia said, his voice sounding like it was coming from somewhere else this time around, though neither Rarity or Edric bothered to look around for the creature that they had finished fighting, But the question remains… What do you want, truly? Light? Dark? Or something else entirely…

"That's the question that's been on our minds since you two proved yourselves countless times over," a voice said, to which Rarity and Edric turned around and found Shalquoir standing near them, though Rarity wasn't surprised to see that she was there, especially since her powers were unlike anything they had seen before, "Edric, will you take the throne and link the fire, thus allowing this age to continue for a time before the events you went through have to be repeated by another unfortunate Undead? Or will you abandon the throne and leave, allowing the current fire to fade and let the age we are in come to an end, thus allowing you to return to your loved ones with the tools to prevent all of you from becoming hollows?"

"Shalquoir, what are... you..." Rarity started to say, though as she spoke she realized something that both she and Edric had missed, the fact that Vendrick's echo had empowered the four crowns with a new level of power, one that apparently was the very cure the two of them had been looking for, "The crowns!"

"Yes. The four crowns you have acquired are now blessed by a glorious power," Shalquoir continued, though as she spoke Rarity noticed that the cat sounded sad, almost as if she knew the possible future that would come to pass and was seeing if she could change it in some manner, or at least that was what she was thinking of at the moment, "if you wear one of them, now that they have been blessed, you will be immune to the Curse that plagues you and, if something were to 'kill' you while it is being worn, you won't become hollow. In essence you will have beaten the Curse and saved yourself in the process, but the question remains; will you save only yourself, or will you link the fire and prolong this age?"

Rarity remembered why Edric had come to Drangelic in the first place, so he could break the Curse and head back home, to be with his loving family without having to worry about this terrible fate, though as she recalled that information she hoped he would do the right thing. She still wasn't sure what linking the fire entailed, or what the end of this age was supposed to be, but it sounded like something they should prevent, especially since they had overcome everything that would have threatened this age. A few seconds later, however, Edric made his decision, to which he walked over to where Rarity was and opened her pack, where he removed the crowns from where she kept them and headed towards the entrance that they had used to get into this area... with all four of the crowns stored in his own pack, though he barely looked back at her while he did so.

"Edric?" Rarity said, though it appeared that this time around her companion's mind was made up, as he headed towards the entrance and never looked back, completely ignoring her as he departed from the chamber and started the trek back towards his old home, "I can't believe it... he just abandoned our mission, just like that. Did everything we go through, and all of the obstacles we overcame together, not matter to him?"

"His heart was always more focused on his family and himself," Shalquoir replied, to which she glanced at the door for a few seconds, as if she knew something that was going on, before she turned back towards Rarity for a moment, "People come here for all sorts of things, breaking the Curse and gaining power being the highest among them, and Edric simply fell into the first category, especially since he was doing this to be with his family. I guess there's nothing else for us to do, besides sending you back home as well."

"What do you mean?" Rarity asked, though at the same time she waved a hand towards the dome that the throne was resting in, as she could still feel it's power from here, "Surely I can link the fire and save this age from being destroyed... or whatever it is linking the fire is supposed to do for the people of this world."

"If you were native to this world, I'd say go ahead," Shalquoir stated, though at the same time she walked over to the nearby wall and pawed at it for a moment, to which a full body mirror appeared before her, before she beckoned for Rarity to follow her, "but, since you are from an entirely different world, and you have broken your limits, the throne would do nothing with you. Besides, you should look at your shoulder and see your prize for helping Edric reach his decision."

Rarity raised an eyebrow and walked over to the mirror, though when she reached it she remembered where she had learned the mark of the Curse was supposed to be and carefully moved her clothing so she could see her left shoulder, to which her eyes widened in surprise. She remembered the sinister mark that had been on Edric's shoulder, when he showed it to her at the beginning of their journey, and knew that it had been on her own left shoulder when he looked for it, but now it was gone. Her shoulder was bare of any markings, as if the mark of the Curse never existed, to which she looked over at Shalquoir in confusion, as this wasn't something that she was expecting.

"What can I say?" Shalquoir said, to which she pawed the mirror and it transformed into a doorway of some kind, one that appeared to be a portal that would take her to some unknown destination, "You Equestrians are a surprising bunch, because the moment you took the Darklurker's soul and abilities into your body, and made them your own, the mark of the Curse was destroyed. Your mission is complete, as you were meant to be Edric's companion and friend during this venture, and now that you have earned your prize, and acquired powers unlike what you had when you arrived in Drangelic, it's time for you to head home... besides, your family and friends are worried about you."

Rarity remembered the reason behind why she had gone through all of this, so she could get back home to Sweetie Belle and her friends, before she glanced over at the throne for a few moments, knowing that it was likely safe from whatever force tried to use it now. After all, she possessed the item that the Giant Lord had carried and that was the only thing that might make a bridge between them and the dome, but instead of taking it with her Rarity pulled it out of her pack and simply dropped it on the ground, where the dust and sand would cover it in time. Besides, Edric possessed the King's Ring, the only thing that could open the door to this area, and he was bound to lock the gate the moment he left the underground area, so it was going to be safe from those that would misuse it. Once that was done, and Rarity was sure that she had everything she needed, she sighed once more and followed Shalquoir into the portal that the cat had opened for them to take... disappearing into the darkness as she left Drangelic behind.

A Pleasant Surprise

Rarity walked through the darkness that was all around her for what seemed like an eternity, following the strange light that Shalquoir was giving off as she lead the way back to Equus, or rather that was where she assumed the omnipotent cat was taking her. She wasn't as well versed in portal based magic, going from one place to another, but she could have sworn that such an act was supposed to be instant, though since it was Shalquoir leading the way she decided that it was best not to argue and silently followed the cat. Besides, she did not fear the darkness anymore, not when she had conquered the Dark Chasm and claimed the power of the Darklurker, essentially linking herself to the same darkness that Sombra used to install fear into the Crystal Empire, but she had also done so to save the world and not for her own selfish desires. She had become even greater than Sombra had ever been, though she had no idea what sort of reaction she was going to get out of her friends and the Princesses when they learned what she had done.

Despite the fact that many would be horrified of her taming the corruptive power of Dark Magic, and hadn't been turned into an evil tyrant or a slave to the powers she wielded, she felt that there were some that would greet her with open arms... or open hooves, since her world was still run by ponies and not creatures like her.

"Soul for your thoughts?" Shalquoir asked, snapping Rarity back to reality for a moment, even though her body had been following the cat the entire time while her mind had been thinking about things, despite the fact that it appeared that they hadn't gone anywhere yet.

"I've been thinking about my friends and the Princesses," Rarity said, to which Shalquoir nodded her head, as while she had told the cat some specifics about her homeworld she never told her everything, but at the same time she was sure that Shalquoir already knew more about Equus than even she did, "I'm curious as to what they'll say when I tell them about my adventures and the powers I mastered while I was traveling with Edric... and I'm still going to be mad at him for making that decision."

"Like I said, Edric was following his heart," Shalquoir commented, though she knew that while Rarity might resent Edric a little for his choice, especially when she would have given herself to save the Age of Fire for some time, she couldn't bare the thought out outright hating her longtime friend and companion, "You know, a good friend of mine has told me a little bit about your homeworld and the creatures that live in it, so I'm a little interested in meeting these Princesses of yours for myself while I'm there. Besides, I felt the vibrations when a certain someone ascended and I've been meaning to see what's been going on, because it almost seems like I might have an actual job again."

"Oh?" Rarity inquired, as she had figured that Shalquoir was a god of some sort, since she was omnipotent and could tell when a creature was defeated, could tell them what certain items were, and could whisper names to her while they were in different parts of the world, "And here I thought that you were a simple shopkeeper. Tell me, what sort of job does someone like you generally do?"

"Oh, I used to watch over a section of our entire universe for a time," Shalquoir stated, though her tone said that she wasn't joking, despite the fact that she said that statement as if she was discussing the weather or something similar to that effect, "the Eastern section, actually. Though since I've been ignoring that I'm pretty sure that Red has been watching his section and my section since I went 'missing' all those years ago... pretty sure I'll have to make that up to him, if we cross paths again. I wonder if Eon's still watching the Southern section of the universe, or if he backed away like I did..."

It was at that point that Rarity was lost, because while she could follow the fact that Shalquoir was a god, especially one that apparently watched over a good portion of their universe and came to Drangelic because she was bored of her existing life, she wasn't ready for the knowledge that there were others like her, three if she was counting correctly. That made her wonder what had caused the omnipotent cat to grow tired of her previous life and take up residence in Majula, of all places, but after a few moments she decided that it wasn't worth thinking about. Instead she turned her mind back to her home, her friends, and her family, because now that her adventure with Edric was over she realized how much she missed what she had left behind. She was going to be happy when she returned to Equus and took up dress making again, because while the life of an adventurer had been interesting, somewhat fun, and some times horrifying considering what she had seen, she longed to go back to what she knew... and a part of her would likely be longing for a good fight again, something that she would have to curve when she got back home.

Despite all of her thoughts, however, she knew that life in Ponyville, much less the rest of Equus, was never going to be the same for her, not when she had a completely different form than the majority of their world and had powers that were unlike anything she had when she went through the mirror the first time. That also made her wonder where in Equus she was going to come out, as she wondered if she was going to walk out of the crystal mirror and appear in Twilight's library, or if she was going to appear in her own bedroom, or maybe someplace different. Her thoughts were then interrupted when a light appeared at the end of the darkness, one that almost looked like sunshine, though at the same time Shalquoir turned back and smiled at her... but the look in her eyes told Rarity everything that she needed to know, as they had reached their destination.

Rarity smiled as they reached the portal shaped doorway, identical to the one they had used to enter this dark tunnel, and watched as her companion walked through it, to which she braced herself and passed through the magical portal that stood in front of her.

A few seconds later Rarity appeared in an area that wasn't the dark tunnel she had been walking through, rather, when she blinked her eyes and took in the familiar sights around her, she found herself standing on the worn out road that had taken her and the girls to the Castle of the Two Sisters, where they first found the Elements of Harmony. Directly in front of her, looking exactly like how she remembered it, was Ponyville, a sight that brought some tears to her eyes, as for a time she honestly thought she would never see her home again. At first she believed that this was the same place that she had departed from, and sure enough part of that observation was correct, but the major difference that she wasn't expecting was that the first person she spotted wasn't a pony, rather it was a pony girl much like herself. The girl in question happened to be standing off to the side, practicing in what appeared to be a practice area of sorts, but the coloration of her skin and hair, in addition to the fact that she was smaller than Rarity was, revealed that it had to be none other than Scootaloo... and she was flying through the air, without any wings to speak of.

Rarity was immediately interested in this development, as when she headed through the mirror Scootaloo had been a pegasus and not a pony girl, and yet the evidence before her eyes suggested that something had happened during the time she had been gone, so she started walking over to the practice area so she could see what was going on.

As she got closer to the practice area she noticed that Scootaloo was wearing a pair of shorts and a shirt, which made sense because of the change her body had gone through, though at the same time she appeared to be fighting someone that was the same height as her, someone that wasn't Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle. The girl in question, having the same body as Scootaloo, had teal colored skin, while at the same time her hair and tail were dark green colored and had some orange streaks added in. For some odd reason Scootaloo's new friend reminded her about Rainbow Dash and Applejack, just a tiny bit, but what caught her attention was the fact that the girl loosed a ball of energy at Scootaloo, who responded by calling upon the wind itself to cut the attack in half, before the two of them clashed in the middle of the area they were fighting in once more. While that happened she heard the sound of some girls cheering the duo on, where she found Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, both possessing an identical body to what Scootaloo had and were wearing proper clothing, standing nearby as they cheered both Scootaloo and a 'Gale Wind' on.

Suffice to say that Rarity was interested in what was going on, and what happened since she had left Ponyville, to which she stepped out into the practice area and caused the fight to stop when all four of the girls noticed that she was standing there... and one of them was extremely happy to see her again.

"RARITY!" Sweetie shouted in joy, to which she raced through the air, shocking Rarity with the fact that her younger sister was able to fly like Scootaloo and the other girl, before tackling her and wrapped her arms around her chest, though that only caused Rarity to smile as she embraced her sister.

"I don't believe it, Rarity's back!" Scootaloo said, to which she turned towards Apple Bloom, once more surprising Rarity by the fact that Applejack's sister was now floating in the air as well, as that was something that hadn't been a thing when she was last here, "Gale and I are going to get Rainbow and the others. Apple Bloom, you go get Applejack."

"Right." Apple Bloom replied, to which she turned in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres and started flying towards her destination, while at the same time Scootaloo and Gale, as that was the other girl's name apparently, headed for Twilight's castle, leaving Rarity with Sweetie Belle and Shalquoir.

"What is the world happened? I was only gone for..." Rarity started to say, only for her to realize that she had absolutely no idea how long she had been missing, to which she turned towards Shalquoir for a moment, "Say, how long have I been missing from my homeworld?"

"About a year," Shalquoir replied, though at the same time she shrugged, which was weird to see a cat do, indicating that it was best not to think about the time difference, "all I can say is that two to three weeks in Drangelic equals nearly a year here, and that's not giving you the exact number of days or anything."

It was then that Rarity realized that she had never bothered to keep track of the days in Drangelic, as the sun and the moon never seemed to move and each area seemed to be different from the last, to which she decided to ignore that fact and focused on her sister. One thing she noticed, save for the fact that there were more like her than she originally thought, was that she could detect the power inside her sister, indicating that something must have awoken her inner potential while she was gone, which is what happened to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. She wasn't sure who Gale Wind was, as she didn't remember meeting someone like that, but she could sense that the girl was already powerful for her age and wondered what she had missed in the year she had been gone... and hoped that someone could explain to her all the changes that she had seen so far.

"R... Rarity?" Sweetie asked, causing Rarity to look at her sister, who was crying tears of joy at the moment, meaning that she had missed Rarity since she walked through that mirror and likely had to live somewhere else to make sure that she got to school and had something to eat.

"It's okay Sweetie Belle, I'm here," Rarity said, though that was when she made sure that Sweetie Belle was fine and wiped the tears from her eyes, while at the same time being overjoyed to be back home, "I'm sorry for any pain and suffering I caused you. I only meant to be gone a few days, and yet it turns out that it's been almost a year..."

"There she is!" a familiar voice said, to which Rarity and Sweetie looked up and noticed that Rainbow Dash, wearing some clothing that reminded Rarity of that monk type fighter that the Looking Glass Knight summoned to fight her and possessed what was apparently the new form they were all wearing, landed nearby... only she wasn't alone.

Rarity watched as familiar faces arrived in the area that Sweetie and the girls had been training in, where she noticed that all of them had the same body type she did, though while Applejack was wearing the same clothing as Rainbow, just colored differently, she still wore her hat on her head. Pinkie Pie landed nearby, where she appeared to possess wings of light that folded up into a robe as the light went away, revealing that she wore some ancient suit of armor that looked practical and somewhat stylish. Scootaloo, Gale, and Apple Bloom were the next ones to arrive, though they were all smiling as they looked at the sight that was in front of them, because they knew that Sweetie had been devastated when Rarity disappeared and was overjoyed to have her back. That was before Twilight landed near the group, allowing Rarity to take in the unique godly like attire she was wearing and the earrings that were attached to her ears, along with the fact that her energy seemed stronger than ever.

Before she could actually say anything two more figures appeared near Twilight, though despite the fact that both of them were wearing something different, and their energies were on a whole new level than when she had last seen them, Rarity knew that they were none other than Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Princess Celestia happened to be wearing some sort of black cuirass with some golden yellow clothing under it, and she happened to be carrying a staff of some kind, which confused Rarity a little bit. Princess Luna, on the other hand, was wearing a royal dress, modeled after the night itself, that made her look more like the princess that she was, while the metallic pieces of her attire, which was all she had worn when she was a pony, had been modified to fit her new body. Rarity thought that someone was going to say something at that point, but then she quickly understood why they were being silent, as the last member of the group had arrived and had landed beside Princess Celestia.

Rarity remembered hearing, from Discord of course, that Sunset Shimmer was the first pony to have been 'blessed' with this new form that they were all sporting, though as she walked forward Rarity noticed that her attire looked more like what a god would wear... and her energy was off the charts, revealing that Discord hadn't been lying when he said that Sunset was a god, as Rarity could confirm that for herself.

"Rarity... it's good to have you back." Twilight said, to which she and the other girls moved forward and embraced Rarity, though before that happened Sweetie moved out of the way so her sister could be embraced by her friends, "I was worried that something terrible might have happened to you while you were 'exploring' whatever world you ended up being sent to."

"I'm sorry for worrying all of you," Rarity replied, though at the same time the girls backed away so they didn't crush her, but she smiled at them as she reached into her pack and withdrew the spellbook that Shalquoir had helped her put together over her journey, "Twillight, this is for you. It's a tome that contains every known spell from the land of Drangelic, which is where my adventure took place, and I know that you might find something in there of interest."

Sure enough Twilight's eyes widened at the prospect of learning more spells, especially those from a different world that she might be able to learn on her own, though the look on her friend's face was exactly what she was hoping for, as she had missed seeing that look in Twilight's eyes. Even as that happened, however, there was one thing that Rarity knew that she needed to tell her friends, especially since they occasionally visited the Crystal Empire and no doubt recalled a certain someone that was supposedly destroyed.

"However, that book doesn't contain everything I learned," Rarity continued, causing the group to look at her, where she noticed that everyone was actually in front of her now and that there was no one behind her, before she glanced towards the Princesses and braced herself, "Here, allow me to demonstrate what I mean."

Rarity closed her eyes for a moment and focused her mind, accessing the other power that rested inside her body, where she felt the wisps of Dark Magic flow out of her eyes as her connection to the darkness was brought to the surface, though at the same time she heard some gasps... but when she opened her eyes she was pleased to find that no one was actually horrified of what she had done.

"No way..." Twilight said, to which she stepped forward and walked around Rarity, taking in the fact that, while her eyes took on the same appearance that Sombra's had when he channeled Dark Magic, her aura didn't give off an evil or dark vibe like the tyrant's did, "Rarity... I'm at a loss for words... did you master Dark Magic during your adventure?"

"No darling, I didn't master the art of using Dark Magic," Rarity replied, as she knew that there was so much more to learn about this type of magic and she had barely scratched the surface, though the only one that could potentially teach her any additional spells had been destroyed by the Crystal Heart, "rather, it's more like I have a connection to the darkness. I first awoke this power when my friend, Edric, and I faced off against a knight called the Pursuer, who ended up killing us a few times before our final battle, and my hatred towards the powerful foe eventually sparked a reaction inside me, one that resulted in my first taste of Dark Magic. Since that moment I used Dark Magic only for the safety of the land I had found myself in and never one did I even consider trying to take over Drangelic, and my control over the darkness has only improved since then... and it's had some rather interesting effects, something that I'll have to show you later."

"Still, you have to show me how you did this." Twilight stated, to which Rarity smiled as she saw the old part of Twilight that never went away, the part of her that was always interested in studying new things and learning more about the various types of magic that their word possessed.

"I, too, am interested in how you tamed the Dark Magic you have unlocked," Luna added, as it wasn't every day that a new Dark Magic user, in the form of one of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, suddenly appeared, much less one that commanded that type of magic without being consumed by it, "Perhaps we should discuss it in the future... after you have told all of us about your adventure in this Drangelic."

Rarity nodded, as she was sure that everyone was interested in hearing about her adventure, but at the same time she turned towards Princess Celestia and waited to hear what she had to say, because she could easily criticize her or punish her for unlocking the power to control Dark Magic. After all, the only other pony that had access to Dark Magic was Sombra and he had been destroyed, freeing the Crystal Empire from him and his reign of terror, but she guessed she was going to have to wait and see what the Princess did to her.

"I knew one day I would meet a pony that used Dark Magic for good, rather than for evil," Celestia said, to which she chuckled for a moment, as she found something to be humorous about this whole situation, causing Rarity to raise an eyebrow as she worried for her safety, "imagine my surprise when that pony happens to be one of the Elements of Harmony, who used it to save someplace from a threat. Rarity, I congratulate you on being the first pony to actively use Dark Magic for good and not become corrupted in the process... and you can continue your studies of the subject, if you so desire."

Rarity was not expecting Princess Celestia to say something like that, especially since Twilight had only used Dark magic the one time in the Crystal Empire and that was the end of that type of magic for her, but she nodded her head and wondered if it was possible for her to even teach someone about Dark Magic. At the same time Sweetie Belle and her friends started pulling her towards Twilight's castle, as they wanted to hear the adventure she had been on, while at the same time Rainbow clearly wanted to see what she could do now that she had returned. Pinkie, of course, was already planning a party for her return, which she was eagerly looking forward to, while Applejack simply smiled and walked beside them. Fluttershy, she soon discovered, was off visiting her parents and wouldn't return for a few days, though when she got back Pinkie intended on throwing the party then, so that way they could all enjoy it together. Sunset stayed behind for a few seconds, staring up at the sky for a moment, before she joined the group, where they all listened to Sweetie and her friends talking about the surprises they wanted to show Rarity now that she was back.

When Rarity glanced back towards where she had been standing earlier, however, she discovered that Shalquoir had already disappeared, heading off to whatever world or reality she was supposed to be in after Drangelic, to which she silently thanked the omnipotent cat and turned towards the castle... as she had a story to tell and she was sure that her friends were interested in hearing all about what she had to do to survive, and what sort of powers she discovered along the way.

Elements Collide

When they reached Twilight's castle, and settled down into the ballroom that was now used to seat large groups when one of the displaced ponies came back to Equus, Twilight and the others held their questions at bay as Rarity started telling them her tale. While she spoke Spike, who was glad to see her, wheeled in something for them all to snack on while they talked, where Rarity discovered that she had quite the appetite and savored the flavors that she encountered, because it had been some time since she had anything to eat. When she made that comment, as she had to explain why she wasn't eating with her proper manners, which usually got on Rainbow's nerves in the past and surprised Rarity when her friend didn't have a problem with how she ate, she also had to tell them the exact nature of her condition while she was in Drangelic. Suffice to say that most of the group was surprised to hear that she had, upon arriving in Drangelic, had been labeled as an Undead and had the mark of the Curse... and that she not only died several times throughout her travels with her new friend, but had also been unable to eat anything since Undead creatures didn't need to eat.

"Dying must have been painful in the world you went to." Rainbow commented, though both she and Applejack touched their chests for a moment, reminding those that knew their own story that they had died at some point in their journey, only to be revived.

"Well, it didn't get any easier until I first unlocked my Dark Magic," Rarity replied, noticing that Rainbow was much more respectful towards her friends, making her wonder what sort of life the former pegasus had gone through, as Discord had only told her a small bit of Rainbow and Applejack's adventure, "being impaled in the chest repeatedly, as that was the favorite method for my enemies to kill me, was how every foe ended my life until I came back at the bonfire. When I first unlocked Dark Magic the impaling stopped and became a fact for me to taunt my opponents, until I realized that doing that was wrong and started treating them with more respect... even though most of them were weak to lightning based magic."

"Really?" Twilight asked, as that shocked her, because she would have thought that there would have been some diversity in weaknesses in Drangelic, especially because of the types of spells she had seen in the spellbook she had been given when they were reunited with Rarity, "That's... extremely odd."

"My thought's exactly." Rarity said, to which she raised the cup she had been drinking from and took a few sips, as she hadn't had any sort of tea in quite some time and she was enjoying the brew that had been prepared, so much so that everyone insisted that she keep the rest of it for herself while they drank something else, "Even Edric was caught off guard by that fact and purposely allowed me to test our enemies so I could figure out which elements they were weak against before I fully joined the battle."

"Speaking of which, whatever happened to your new friend?" Applejack asked, as she expected Rarity's friend to come to Equus with her, especially since her and Rainbow's family had come with them when they first returned to their home planet, along with Pinkie's brother and Starlight's brother.

"Oh... I had to leave him behind." Rarity replied, to which she sighed as she stared down at her cup for a moment, remembering Edric's final actions towards her once they had secured the Throne of Want, before she looked up at her friends and knew what they were thinking, "Edric's fine, he didn't die or anything. Rather... well, he took the four crowns of power we had gathered and left me standing before the main goal of our quest, so he could return to him home and be with his family. Instead of linking the fire, and securing the Age of Fire for some time, he turned his back on it and made sure that the Fire would fade at some point in the future, bringing forth an Age of Dark. We could have saved the age from ending... and he decided not to do that."

Sunset, who had remained silent while Rarity talked about her adventure and was remaining silent now, knew that this Edric must have weighed the options in his heart and had gone with protecting his family over a land that was clearly not his place of birth. She could see that Rarity had taken the decision rather badly, as her friendship with Edric had cracked a little and she could tell that Rarity resented the man a bit for his choice, but that hadn't destroyed the seamstress at all, rather she took the blow and simply left her friend to his own devices. At the same time she could tell that Rarity's power had increased since she had last seen her, which was reflected throughout her journey and the challenges that she had to overcome to get to this point.

"I still can't believe that you shattered your limits as well." Twilight said, causing Rarity to raise an eyebrow, to which Twilight beckoned to Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie for a moment, indicating that all three of them had done the same thing on their own adventures, "All three of them did something like that on their own adventures... and maybe that's a side effect of going through the mirror, which means we might have some trouble."

"And why would you say that Twilight?" Rarity asked, as she couldn't remember who else Discord had told her about and knew that Twilight was bound to remind her, though it couldn't be worse than what Sunset was able to become and she was still surprised when the girls told her what Sunset really was... a God of Destruction, capable of blowing planets to pieces with a flick of her fingers if she so desired, even though she'd rather not do that.

"Well, Chrysalis and Sombra went through the mirror as well," Twilight replied, though while it appeared that one of them might have changed, and become good by her own actions, there had been no update on what Sombra was doing and that worried her, "but Discord has been checking on the others and they should be back soon enough."

At the mention of Discord there was a cracking sound, like a piece of glass become cracked because something collided with it, and the Spirit of Disharmony poked his head into the area and looked around for a few seconds, before he dropped a piece of paper into Sunset's lap and departed... causing Sunset to frown when she looked down at the paper and read the note she had been given.

"Apparently something has happened in the area Chrysalis was sent to," Sunset explained, though none of them knew anything about the place the former changeling queen had sent herself to in her quest for power, save for the fact that it was a dangerous zone that she had to study herself from time to time, "and a small 'crack' has appeared in the mirror."

"The mirror has a crack in it?!" Twilight exclaimed, while at the same time the rest of the group, those that knew about the power that the mirror possessed since most of them had gone through it at some point in the past, "Impossible! That artifact was crafted by Starswirl the Bearded, there's no way a crack could appear on it's surface."

"Well Starswirl is gone and Discord has been pouring his power into that mirror since Starlight and I were first displaced some time ago," Sunset stated, recalling something from her personal past for a few seconds, before she sighed as she sort of realized what might be happening, "I guess there's only so much chaotic energy something can take before it starts to break under pressure... that, or one of the other ponies is strong enough to crack it from wherever they are."

"Speaking of power, I have a question." Rainbow said, to which she turned towards Rarity for a moment, where those that knew her could see the look in her eye that they knew all too well, "Rarity, want to have a practice bout with me? I want to see these powers of yours for myself."

Rarity knew that Sunset and the others had a specific planet they trained on, to avoid destroying Equus in the process, and already determined that Rainbow was bound to constantly pester her until she either agreed or lashed out at her friend to stop her from asking her the same question. Part of her wanted to relax, as she had been through quite a lot since she first walked through the mirror, and yet the new part of her, the part that desired a good battle, was the one that eventually won out in the end.

"Sure." Rarity said, to which she set her cup down and looked over at Rainbow, though if the others were surprised by her reaction they didn't show the change in their faces, "So, where are we going to do this?"

"There's a nearby planet that I've been keeping around for when things like this happen." Sunset stated, to which Celestia nodded her head for a moment, revealing that she knew where Sunset was talking about and knew where to go from their planet, "I've dueled others there over the last year, so it's the perfect place for you two to have some fun."

Rarity nodded her head and knew that this was the best way to get Rainbow off her back about fighting her, though that still didn't stop her from wondering what sort of powers her friends possessed, despite the fact that she sort of knew from the tales she had heard from Discord.

Getting to the unnamed planet was rather easy, as Rarity soon discovered, because what they did was gather outside Twilight's castle and Celestia surrounded all of them in a protective sphere that apparently protected them when they entered and exited the atmosphere of a planet. She would have asked what Celestia meant by that, but she soon found out the answer when they rose into the air and surged towards the atmosphere, where they easily headed into the space surrounding Equus and headed towards their target. She looked back at her home as it disappeared into the distance, where the Crusaders were pleased to be doing something like this again, before she looked out at all the stars that were around them and the various planets that they flew by. Rarity was surprised by what was going on, since this was something that hadn't been possible before Sunset became what she was, but instead of asking questions she focused on what was going to happen when they landed on the planet.

When they reached the planet, and headed towards the part of it that wasn't covered in ash and fire, Celestia set them down in an area that appeared to be a plains of some kind, though she picked a high point so she and the other observers could watch the fight from a good vantage point... to which Rainbow floated into the air and flew towards the area in front of them, where Rarity recalled how she did that and followed after her friend until they were facing each other.

"I'll let you make the first move." Rainbow said, though at the same time she raised her hands and moved her body into what Rarity guessed was her battle stance, something she likely created over her long adventure.

Rarity studied Rainbow for a few seconds, wondering what sort of game her friend was trying to play, before she determined which attack she should start with, to which she charged at Rainbow like she was going for a straightforward attack while also throwing a screaming sphere off to the side. Since Rainbow was focused on her, and not on the sphere, it seemed to work in Rarity's favor, because instead of attacking she jumped into the air and sailed over Rainbow's head, though as her friend followed her movements the screaming sphere emerged from it's portal and slammed into her back. Rainbow staggered forward for a moment, surprise written all over her face, before lightning flickered over her body and she raced towards Rarity, where she slammed her fist into Rarity's chest and set her flying towards the cliff wall that the others were standing on. At first it appeared that Rainbow had done it, ending the fight in a moment, before Rarity flashed through the air and reappeared near Rainbow, who seemed surprised for a moment before a grin appeared on her face as she dropped back into her battle stance.

The two of them rushed at each other and let their fists collide, though while their attacks met each other in the middle of the air Rarity realized that Rainbow was doing something to empower herself, as her attacks and speed were moving like she was one with the lightning... until Rainbow knocked her away again and remained where she was standing as Rarity regained herself. Rarity stared at her friend for a moment, wondering if there was something special about what she was doing at the moment, before she held her hand out and formed a Lightning Spear, which she hurled through the air and sent it racing towards Rainbow's position. Rainbow, on the other hand, raised her right hand and let the Lightning Spear touch her palm, while at the same time not being pushed backwards at all, before Rarity watched as Rainbow reined in the Lightning Spear and stood like it was her own attack.

"I'm surprised," Rainbow said, to which she tapped the attack for a moment, where the lightning seemed to vibrate in her hands for a few seconds, before she stared at Rarity once more, "You barely charged this attack and yet it's so strong on it's own... but even still, my affinity over lightning is much stronger than this, allowing me to rein in and negate your attack."

"That makes me happy," Rarity replied, as she had been getting tired of enemies who were weak to lightning based spells and was pleased to find that Rainbow contained the power to put up a fight, before the air around her vibrated as her dark aura flared to life for a few seconds, "Come then, Rainbow Dash, and show me your power over lightning."

Rainbow grinned as the energy of the lightning flared for a moment, causing those that recognized her signature attack to know what she was doing, before she converted the energy into a sphere that she closed her hands around and focused her mind for a few seconds. Rarity, confused as to what was happening, remained where she was standing as she opened herself to the shadows around her, ready to move the instant Rainbow showed her hand, while wondering what level of the Forbidden Nova attacks she should use in this situation. A few moments later Rainbow pulled her hands apart and the energy formed into a lance of some kind, one that acted like a bolt of lightning and had a level of power that easily matched her greatest Forbidden technique. Before she could react, however, Rainbow grabbed the lance for a moment, spun it around so that the tip was pointed right at her target, and sent it flying through the air, where Rarity snapped back to reality and held her hand out to stop the attack in it's tracks.

What she wasn't expecting, however, was for the lance to push her backwards with the intensity of the power it contained, where she growled as she tried to fight back and struggled under the force that was pushing against her... though as she neared a rock wall, and knew what was coming, she opened herself to her true power and let what was coming happen anyway.

Rainbow stood there as the lance detonated it's payload and shook the area around them, while at the same time kicking up tornado level winds that put many pegasi to shame, or would have if Cloudsdale hadn't actually followed Ponyville, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire in ascending to their new forms. That was no where near the strongest she could have made that attack, as five minutes would have created a truly devastating attack that Rarity might not have been able to recover from, but she could recover from this one. When the smoke cleared she found a mass of darkness gathering where Rarity had been, meaning she must have protected herself in some manner, before the darkness parted and Rarity, with the Dark Magic mist rolling off of her eyes, stepped out into the open.

"You're lucky that I unlocked the ability to use Dark Magic on my journey," Rarity commented, though at the same time she stretched her arms and legs for a moment, as that attack had been quite powerful and she knew that Rainbow likely had one or two more attacks like it that she was keeping hidden, "otherwise that would have done some real damage to me. Now then, I believe that it's my turn to show you what I've learned so far."

With that said Rarity raced forward and started moving around the area that Rainbow was standing in, letting the shadows hide her movements as she forced her friend to track her before she could actually do anything, though while she did that she sent Soul Arrows flying through the air. Rainbow, seeing the arrows coming her way, raised her hand and started firing small energy blasts at them, causing the arrows to explode in the air before they could reach their intended target, but that was just fine for Rarity's plans. While Rainbow was distracted by the arrows Rarity stopped moving all over the place and raised her hand into the air as she willed a trio of Forbidden Suns into existence, to which she smiled as the three of them merged into their base form, the powerful Forbidden Nova. Once the attack was ready she sent it flying towards Rainbow's location, who smashed the remaining arrows to pieces and turned her focus to the sphere coming her way, where she raised a hand and stopped the sphere when it reached her.

Rarity knew that Rainbow would turn the tide against the base form of this attack, and could see that since she was already doing that, which was why the Forbidden Nova was a distraction and was starting to forge three Nova level spells together, or more accurately the dark, fire, and soul type attacks. When she fought Nashandra she had skipped the Forbidden Hypernova level of this attack and went for the Forbidden Reorigination level, but since she knew that Rainbow was holding back she decided to do the same. As such she burst into the air and held her hand towards the trio of Nova level attacks, where they merged into a large flaming sphere with rings of darkness and soul energies wrapped around it, though she waited a few seconds, for the energy to stabilize, before she hurled it towards where Rainbow was standing.

Rainbow, seeing the more impressive attack coming her way, shifted her stance slightly and sent the flaming sphere up into the air, where it exploded a few seconds later, before turning her attention to the incoming attack, which seemed even stronger than what she had been facing. This time around the three elemental attack barreled into her and actually pushed her back down into the ground, revealing that the attack was as strong as she believed it to be, though while that happened she did her best to force it backwards. Those that knew her strength knew that she wasn't using her full power, as that would have been unfair for Rarity to experience right off the back, but she had to admit that if Rarity was thing strong, with only using three of the four elements she gained access to, she could only imagine what her friend was like when she used all four of them. A few moments ticked by before Rainbow found herself sinking into the ground, with a crater forming around her, and knew that her thoughts on Rarity's power were accurate... even as the sphere above her head detonated and consumed her in a flash of light.

Rarity stood there for a few seconds, wondering why Rainbow hadn't tried to push the sphere back and fought it like she had, since she knew her friend was stronger than this, though as the smoke cleared Rainbow appeared in the middle of the crater with smoke emitting from her hands... and there was a smile on her face, indicating that she was enjoying herself in this battle. Before either of them could continue the battle, however, something happened that both of them should have seen coming; Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom, along with Gale Wind, rushed towards the two of them and started asking for them to help train them. Rarity chuckled as she dismissed the dark mist around her eyes and landed on the ground, as it appeared that their fight was going to have to continue another day, though another reason came up that the crusaders wanted to have some training. It appeared that all of them commanded their own elemental affinity, which she thought was too young for them to unlock, but with Sweetie commanding fire, Apple Bloom having some control over earth, and both Scootaloo and Gale having control over wind she knew that they needed assistance in their training.

It appeared that life was going to get more complicated than she originally thought, when she first stepped through the crystal mirror, but she wouldn't trade her experience for anything... and she would gladly train Sweetie Belle in the future, so long as her little sister didn't ask to fight her at some point in time.

A Familiar Peace

Rarity yawned as she pushed herself back in her chair and rubbed her eyes for a few seconds, before looking down at the clothing she had been making for the last few hours and smiled once more. It had been a few days since she and Rainbow went toe to toe in a battle to see what their powers did when they engaged each other, though while both of them had been holding back the entire time she had to admit that it was nice to have someone that she couldn't easily beat be her opponent from time to time. She had quickly discovered that her new body allowed her to fly through the air, without needing wings, gave her the ability to sense the energy of others, where she had been surprised by the sheer power that both Rainbow and Applejack possessed on their own, and a number of other things that put her on a level that was above what she had been on before she headed through the mirror. Sure, her reason for heading through the mirror wasn't to gain power or anything, but she still gained power while she was in Drangelic and had used it to the benefit of the world, to which she pushed the memory of Edric away and looked down at her work again.

Since ponies had been jumping at the chance to go through the ascension process, what Discord put on the mirror, the demand for more normal clothing had increased and Rarity was already considering expanding her small shop into a true workshop... or at least build one nearby, so she could access it whenever she desired and wouldn't have to annoy Sweetie Belle about strangers in their home.

Finding out that Sweetie Belle had the power to control fire, and had seen her demonstrate her new abilities in a light training match with one of her friends, had been an interesting experience, though she could already tell that her little sister was well on her way to mastering her new skills and powers. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were the same way, showing that they possessed the talent to master their own abilities, and Gale was helping all three of them master certain techniques that happened to come from the world that Rainbow and Applejack had been sent to. Or, if she wanted to be accurate with what she was thinking about, the universe they had landed in, as they had been sent to Universe 7 according to their story and her head hurt a little when she considered that there were apparently twelve other universes out there, with theirs being called Universe 13.

The fact that there were twelve beings like Sunset Shimmer out there, twelve more Gods of Destruction, had been a nasty surprise she wasn't expecting, but she had handled it with grace and didn't show that such a thing worried her, as it appeared that they were relatively safe since the others didn't want to mess with Sunset at all.

"I disappear for a few weeks and everything has changed on me," Rarity commented, though at the same time she picked up her needle, string, and the other tools she had pulled out when she was starting work on the clothing she had been making and stored them all away, before levitating the pair of clothing, modeled after Rainbow's gi as she called it, and set it down in a small package that she sealed up, "Still, I've got clients coming to me for new clothing and the occasional dress, so I guess that, despite all these changes, some things still remain the same."

One would have thought that something that didn't change was Sweetie's skill in cooking, but apparently gaining an affinity for fire, and getting some practice from a few of the chiefs around Ponyville, had allowed her sister to actually improve on her terrible skill and not burn anything she made. Sweetie had been overjoyed when that happened, and Rarity was sure that her friends were thankful for that as well, though that didn't stop Sweetie from revealing that fact for a day or two before she stopped pestering everyone about it. One of the other changes that had been interesting was that the crusaders, including Gale as a supervisor of sorts, would occasionally go into the Everfree Forest, revealing that they weren't afraid of it anymore, leaving Rarity a little stunned by the news, but at the same time she chuckled and figured that it was more of Discord's influence. The Spirit of Disharmony, of the God of Chaos as Twilight had started calling him, chose to ignore Rarity for some time, likely because he was annoyed that she never told him that she was planning on heading through the mirror, but she knew that he would come back to her in time.

She sighed for a few seconds as she felt around her house with her energy sensing ability, one that she knew that she still needed some work on before she actually mastered it, though when she found that her sister was not in the building, confirming that she was out practicing with the others based on the fact that she felt Scootaloo's energy as well, she packed up her bundle and headed outside. As she walked outside she still found it strange to see so many others walking around in her new form, like they had been born like this, and yet everyone seemed to be benefiting from the ascension process, as ponies who had next to no power had grown stronger than they ever thought possible, while those that had some power found their strength even greater. Another reason why she had put some thought into starting her own store, that she oversaw, was because Twilight asked her if she would be willing to help teach at the new school of power that was set up between Ponyville, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire... and it was already receiving students from all over Equestria, even from the cities and towns that hadn't ascended yet.

She considered that thought for a moment, because while ponies seemed willing to embrace change, and take on a new form, the other species that shared their world hadn't even tried it yet, though she knew that they had to be getting worried about Equestria's growing power. Not only did Celestia and Luna raise and lower the sun and the moon every single day, but their own powers had been boosted by the ascension process, making them literal gods that could live up to the wildest tales that ponies told about them. That was in addition to the fact that ponies were starting to better understand the elements that were around them, becoming more in touch with nature, while also using their new powers to better do their own jobs. Rainbow, on her own, was able to create a lance made out of pure lightning that could devastate a whole city and Applejack could move the earth to swallow the same thing, and that was only the tip of the iceberg that they had discovered. If a war broke out between them and the other species of the world... well, Rarity was sure that the war would be over before it actually even started, with smoldering craters where the cities and towns of their enemies used to exist being the only thing left.

Rarity sighed as she pushed those thoughts away, as she had reached her destination, to which she put a smile on her face and knocked on the door, though a few seconds later Fluttershy, possessing the same body as everyone else in Ponyville, appeared on the other side.

"Rarity! I wasn't expecting you until later!" Fluttershy said, though while she was still shy, and tended to hide behind her hair every now and then, Rarity had noticed that her friend had become bolder since she took on her new form.

"Well, I just finished your order and thought that I would personally deliver it to you," Rarity replied, to which she presented the bundle to Fluttershy, who happily accepted the clothing and dived back into the house, closing the door behind her as Rarity smiled.

A few moments later Fluttershy emerged wearing what Rarity had made for her, though the gi that she was wearing was colored after the trees of the Everfree Forest, which seemed to make Fluttershy smile and Rarity decided not to ask questions about that. If her friend was happy about the clothing, despite the fact that she had a few pairs of everyday attire that most ponies wore, then she figured she could let a few things go and let her friend enjoy her order. Besides, Rarity knew that both Rainbow and Discord must have talked her into going through with the transformation, though she had the feeling that Discord was the deciding factor in that decision, as he likely made it painless and got it over quickly. They hadn't discovered what sort of power Fluttershy had developed since her ascension, but she was sure that they would figure it out in time, especially since nothing was happening at the moment.

"Oh Rarity, it is everything I could have asked for." Fluttershy said, to which she spun around and marveled at how the gi moved with her body, before she stopped and looked off into the distance, where both of them saw Rainbow moving through the air as she completed her job for the day, before she went off to train Scootaloo, "I wonder if Rainbow will teach me how to fight, now that I've got the same clothing she does."

"Fluttershy, you don't strike me as the type of pony that would want to hurt people," Rarity commented, causing her friend to turn towards her, where she remembered some of the spells that she had picked up back in Drangelic and knew a few that her friend could make her own, "maybe you should focus your efforts on healing spells? That way if someone gets hurt in one of these practice sessions you can take care of it and ensure nothing happens to anyone."

"Huh... I never thought of that." Fluttershy replied, to which she thought about it for a few seconds before nodding her head, quickly coming to a decision on the matter, before she turned towards the door and locked it, "I think I'll head to the library and see if Twilight's got anything on healing spells... and then you can show me how you healed that nasty looking cut Sweetie got when Scootaloo put too much power into her attack."

Despite Rainbow training Scootaloo, along with Gale assisting her, there had been a few accidents since they started going that and Rarity had fixed the problem, only so they could set up the same ground rules that were being put into the new school. Healers were uncommon in Equestria at the moment, the magical type and not the type like Nurse Redheart, who dealt with diseases and other things that couldn't be solved with magic, but with Rarity's contribution to the new library ponies were learning more than they did before her adventure in Drangelic. Rarity had, of course, told Twilight that some of the spells in her spellbook weren't to be shared with the public unless they knew that the power wouldn't go to their heads or hurt them beyond repair, and the citizens of Ponyville understood her warnings and followed what they said. Even those that were visiting from other areas of Equestria understood and did the same thing, revealing that most weren't power hungry and only wanted to learn new things.

"Rarity, are you worried?" Fluttershy asked, though at the same time she snapped Rarity out of her mind, where she focused on the fact that they were heading towards Twilight's new library, located where the old one had been located and built from the roots of the old structure.

Rarity was still surprised by the fact that Applejack had been able to tap into the powers of the earth and create a whole new tree out of nothing, even when she explained that some of the roots had survived and she simply recreated what had been there before hand.

"About what darling?" Rarity asked, because there were many things that worried her, like she had no idea what the future held since there were multiple universes and whatnot, but there was no telling what Fluttershy was going to ask her or what she was going to say.

"About what the griffins, minotaurs, and other races of Equus will do." Fluttershy replied, echoing Rarity's earlier thoughts about the potential war the other races could try and initiate if they got worried about Equestria's ever increasing power, "Aren't you worried that they might come seeking war against our home?"

"No, because war would be a foolish thing to do." Rarity said, to which she waved a hand towards some of the people they were walking by, where the transformed ponies waved their hands at her in return, "Besides, even if such a thing were to happen Celestia and Luna, maybe even Twilight herself, would be able to negotiate something with the other species of our world. Sure, they might be worried about the power Equestria has been gathering lately, but something tells me that they'll see that they can benefit from such a thing and that the planet as a whole will benefit from a unification of those that share Equus."

"Oh, well that's good to hear." Fluttershy said, to which she continued walking towards the library that was in the middle of Ponyville, while at the same time not noticing that Rarity had stopped for a few seconds.

Rarity looked up at the sky for a moment and watched as Sunset, Celestia, and Twilight surged off into the atmosphere, all on their own, which meant that something had to be happening in the universe that demanded their attention, but she sighed and followed after Fluttershy. She would worry about the business of the gods later, when it was relevant to her and her home, but for now she was going to enjoy her time with her friends and family... and that meant looking forward to the next party that Pinkie had planned, and the reunion with the ponies that returned home next.

Author's Note

Rarity's story has now come to an end... but she'll be back in the future.

Information

The first thing that Rarity and Edric did, after defeating the Old Dragonslayer that had killed them earlier and regained the souls that they had dropped, which Rarity was surprised to find were even still in the church building, was take a short break to relax after their battle. After a few minutes of relaxing, as they knew that they didn't have the time to waste on sitting around, they got back up and walked through the opening that had been locked by the presence of the Old Dragonslayer, which had opened after his defeat. What they found, however, was a little shocking, as there was a man that was standing near the edge of a balcony, as if he was overlooking the area that was in front of him, though he made no motion to turn his head back and look at them... while at the same time discovering that there were two chests that they could loot if they wanted.

Instead of heading towards the chests, and taking their contents first, they decided to approach the man that was in front of them and stopped the moment that they were beside him... to which he turned his head slightly to see that he had come company, before gazing back out over the area in front of him.

"Transient beings." the man said, causing both Rarity and Edric to look at him, though they wondered that he had to tell them and if it was important for their quest, "You have obtained proof, you are both worthy of joining our Order. You both may call yourselves one of us, and are free to plant your roots in this garden of the gods. Be proud. I, Targray, do proclaim, from this day, you both are a Knight of the Blue. Rejoice, and bask in your new honour."

For a moment Rarity wondered if the man had gone insane, as neither her or Edric had acquired anything that would have convinced the man that they were 'worthy' of joining his Order, though as she opened her mouth to say something Edric held her back for a moment. As she turned and looked at him, however, she noticed that he was holding a pair of strange looking tokens in his hand, to which she had to wonder where he could have gotten them, as she had never seen them before this point. It was at that point that Edric mouthed the names 'Lucille' and 'Saru', indicating that they must have been granted the tokens when they helped those two Undead out in their own quest, when they had taken out a powerful creature with them... though Rarity resolved to ask Shalquoir about them when they returned to Majula.

She had no idea what Edric was planning, or if he was planning anything at the moment, so she remained quiet as her companion voiced that they would 'be honored' to join the man's Order.

"The two of you are no longer mere vagabonds. You both are now guardians, Knights of the Blue." Targray said, to which he set down his weapon, reached into his cloak, and pulled out what appeared to be a pair of matching rings, though that was followed by him presenting the rings to the duo, "Proud knights, take these. Wear these rings, and shine light upon stone. Then, you will hear the voices of the blue apostles. Listen for their cries of help, and repel the malicious invaders. This is the proud work of the Knights of the Blue, the way they elevate themselves to a higher plane. I'll provide what you need. You may visit me at any time."

Rarity stared at the ring that she was handed, though instead of immediately putting it on, however, she reflected to ask her friend Shalquoir about it as well, as she was adding more questions to her growing list of questions and the cat seemed to be the only one that could answer them. She honestly didn't think that it was fair, having such a poor creature be the only one that could give her and the other Undead the answers that they needed, but Shalquoir didn't seem to mind it at all... rather, she seemed to enjoy the opportunity to talk and answer questions. As she shook the thought from her mind she returned to what Edric was doing, to which she discovered that he had opened the two chests that were around them. Once of them apparently had three cracked blue orbs, another item Rarity knew nothing about, while the other had a helmet that belonged to a Heide Knight and some sort of shield that could cover Edric's entire body.

Once they were done chatting with Targray, who had returned to staring out at the flooded area in front of them, the duo started to walk back to where the Old Dragonslayer was, though that was before they noticed another passage on their left that led downwards. Rarity and Edric looked at each other before they held their weapons at the ready and walked into the passage that they had discovered, though when they reached the end of the staircase they discovered a bonfire resting in the middle of a small chamber. The duo smiled as they lit the bonfire and knelt before it, to which they teleported back to Majula so they could empower themselves and ask Shalquoir some questions.

Instead of heading to the Emerald Herald first, as was his custom, Edric approached the merchant they had met in the forest earlier and talked with her for a few seconds, before finally returning to Rarity with some sort of stone. It took her a few seconds to realize that Edric had used some of his souls to purchase a Pharros Lockstone, as he claimed that they might need one in the near future and was being prepared. They then spent some time with the Emerald Herald, where they used the souls they had gathered so far to further empower themselves, meaning that they would be much stronger for when they faced the cave area that they had discovered. When Rarity was done with empowering herself, however, she discovered something else that shocked her, Edric wanted to meet Shalquoir and see what she was like for himself... to which Rarity sighed and lead the way to the cat's shop.

Like all the other times she had been in here Rarity found that Shalquoir was laying on another piece of furniture, though the sound of her hooves touching the floor caused her to stir from her rest and move back onto the table, where she looked at Rarity and Edric.

"I see that you brought a friend this time," Shalquoir commented, though as she smiled Rarity rubbed the back of her head, to which the cat turned towards Edric and focused her attention on him, "and its the Undead that you have been traveling with. I am Shalquoir, and I run this establishment. Enchanté."

"Its nice to meet you as well," Edric said, as Rarity had told him that she believed that the word meant 'nice to meet you', which meant that it was polite to say the same thing in return, "My name is Edric."

"So, what can I help you with today?" Shalquoir asked, though at the same time her eyes glanced from Rarity to Edric while the smile remained on her face, indicating that she enjoyed talking with people.

"We found a few... unusual... items earlier," Edric replied, to which he pulled out the ring they had taken from the Old Dragonslayer, the token he had discovered in his pocket, and the ring that Targray had given him, before setting all three on the table, "and we were hoping that you could tell us about them."

"That's easy enough for me to do," Shalquoir said, to which she looked at the three items that had been placed in front of her, though the one she focused on first was the ring that they had taken from their enemy, "This ring right here, which you claimed after defeating the Old Dragonslayer, is called the Old Leo Ring and it used to be held by a dragon slaying knight. From what I know this particular ring increases the damage of the wearer's thrusting attacks, which explains why it was being carried by someone wielding a spear."

Edric glanced over at Rarity for a moment, the look on his face indicating that he was shocked that Shalquoir was able to determine the nature of the ring, who it belonged to before they claimed it, and even knew about the Old Dragonslayer, without them telling her everything. Rarity simply shrugged a tiny bit, because she honestly had no idea how Shalquoir was able to determine all of this with a simple glance, but she had grown used to it and focused on what her friend was going to tell them.

"This token is called a Token of Fidelity," Shalquoir continued, knowing that Rarity was interested in all of these items as well, because she was paying attention while Edric had to snap his attention back to her, "These are given to Undead who help other Undead in taking out one of the powerful creatures that roam this land, such as the Last Giant, the Old Dragonslayer, or the Dragonrider. The Blue Sentinels use them as currency to purchase items from a quartermaster, as well as an item to gain entry to their Covenant... which leads me to the second ring. This is called the Guardian's Seal, which is the ring that is worn by all members of the Blue Sentinels and allows them to be called into other worlds when an Undead, whose in the Way of the Blue covenant anyway, is threatened by an invader."

"I take these invaders are other Undead who torment others by staying in one spot and ambush them when they reach a certain area?" Rarity asked, though at the same time she was disgusted by the fact that some Undead would willingly do this to the Undead of other worlds, especially since each of them were on the same quest.

"Yes, though sometimes you'll be invaded by a hostile covenant when you enter a specific area," Shalquoir said, though the smile remained on her face, as she was proud to see that Rarity was catching onto what she was saying, before she pushed the three items back to Edric, "Besides being called to the world of another Undead, and coming to their defense, the Guardian Seal has no positive or negative benefits, though if you choose not to wear it you won't be called upon to defend the other Undead. Its up to you to make such a decision."

"Thanks for the information," Edric said, to which he quickly collected the three items he had set on the table, though at the same time both Rarity and Shalquoir noticed that he slipped on the Old Leo Ring, before turning towards Rarity, "I'll be back at the bonfire, planning out our next move."

Rarity nodded and watched as Edric departed from the shop, though she waited for a few moments before turning back towards Shalquoir, where she found that the cat was still smiling.

"I must say, you did much better in your fight against the Dragonrider and the Old Dragonslayer this time around," Shalquoir commented, once again speaking about something that she couldn't have known about, but Rarity had already accepted that this cat was like Pinkie at times, "and, as such, you have grown much stronger as a result. Now the question remains; will you fight the Pursuer now, or will you wait and challenge him in the future."

"I want to answer yes, but I don't know what Edric wants to do," Rarity replied, though she did have to wonder if the cat had an agenda, because some of this advice was beginning to sound like the cat's way of training her for something big.

"Well, I do know that the Pursuer is guarding a suit of armor that your companion might like," Shalquoir said, though the way she had tilted her head made Rarity wonder what sort of game the cat was playing, or if she was just giving her advice like usual, "so you could kill two birds with one stone; you get your revenge and he gets a suit of armor that will better protect him from the dangers you'll face in the future. Though if you don't want to face the Pursuer, and save him for later, you could always try your hand at besting that Heide Knight that was resting in front of that lone tree... I hear he's got a decent blade that either you or Edric could use."

Rarity remembered the white armored knight that she and Edric had found, and wisely ignored when they considered that he might overpower them considering that the other hollows had been ignoring him the entire time, though if he had a weapon she honestly didn't recall seeing it. She glanced over at Shalquoir, who was staring at her with curiosity in her eyes, before she decided to excuse herself and head back to the bonfire so she could share the news with her companion. At first Edric seemed fascinated by the possibility of acquiring a better suit of armor, but when he heard it was being guarded by the Pursuer he seemed to change his mind... but he did agree that they should make a detour to acquire a new weapon, as he believed that Rarity needed a blade instead of her dagger.

She didn't know why Edric said that she needed a sword, especially since she hadn't used her dagger at all so far and had no training with the weapon, but it would give them some more time for her to practice her new spells... to which she agreed with Edric and they teleported back to the first bonfire they found in the forest.

When they arrived at their destination they found that the hollows that called this place home were as hostile as they remembered, as the moment they walked away from the bonfire they were attacked by the enemies that had gathered around the area. Since the hollows weren't as powerful as the ancient knights they had been fighting, or enemies like the Old Dragonslayer, Rarity restricted herself to using the first spell she had picked up when she and Edric had talked with the three Fire Keepers, the Soul Arrow. Fortunately she could take a foe down without having to run away or receive backup from Edric, meaning that the fights they had been through had improved her natural skills, to which she smiled as they made their way to where the Heide Knight was waiting.

It didn't take them long to reach the area that the Heide Knight had been sitting in, especially after they went through the effort to kill each and every hollow that was in their way, before the three of them were the only ones that were left standing near the tree. What happened next was interesting, as Rarity and Edric had done nothing to upset the knight during the time they had been fighting the hollows, though the knight chose to get up and draw his blade on them, causing the pair to jump backwards and put some distance between them. The three of them remained that way for a few seconds, as if they were studying each other, before both the knight and Edric charged at each other, leaving Rarity to provide cover fire with her spells when an opening appeared.

When Edric blocked the first attack the knight sent his way, however, he felt a jolt along his arm, to which he quickly determined that the knight's weapon had an enchantment on it... and that was why Shalquoir had recommended they acquire it at some point.

As he dodged the attacks, however, he noticed that Rarity was using her Soul Arrow spell instead of the Lightning Spear, though it took him a moment to realize that she was holding back because this guy wasn't like the other powerful enemies they had fought so far. That tactic seemed to work in their favor, as the Heide Knight never turned towards Rarity and kept all of his focus on Edric, though at the same time it took them a couple of minutes to chip away at the knight's health before he finally collapsed on the ground in front of the tree.

"You know, because Shalquoir suggested killing this guy I expected him to be tougher," Edric said, though at the same time he grabbed the blade that they had come for, and its sheath, and walked over to where Rarity was standing, to which he attached the sheath and the blade to her belt, "Now that we have taken care of that knight, and acquired his blade, we should head back to No-man's Wharf."

"Right, No-man's Wharf," Rarity said, knowing that they still hadn't found one of the four Great Souls they had been tasked with finding yet, but something told her that they were close to finding one of them.

What she didn't say, however, was that she knew that they had to be close to be finding one of the four Great Souls, which meant that they were likely going to fight two, maybe three, more powerful creatures before they found one of them... and she only hoped that they didn't die along the way.

Passing the Doors of Pharros

After defeating Scorpioness Najka, and taking a short break to recover their energy, Rarity and Edric turned towards the doorway on the right of the main entrance of the cave they were in and walked through it, where they followed the ramp like hallway upwards. As they walked the two of them kept their weapons at the ready, as they were sure that enemies would find them soon enough, before they walked up some square cut steps that brought them to their next destination in the search for the Duke's Dear Freja, the Doors of Pharros. Rarity looked around the area that was in front of them and immediately assumed that the place in question looked like a quarry of some kind, one that a powerful creature was lurking in, but at the same time she had to wonder where the path to their true destination rested. She knew, from just a glance, that it would take them some time to even figure out the layout of this area, much less locate the pathway that would allow them to access their true target... but she could be patient while they searched for their targets.

"Well, since we just found a new area, there should be a bonfire around here somewhere," Edric commented, as his experience told him that there had to be one around here, because whenever they found a new location there was always a bonfire near the entrance of the area.

"Agreed," Rarity said, though at the same time she looked around the area, because if this was the Doors of Pharros, whose lockstones they were carrying at the moment, she was sure that there would be a fair number of the slots they could put the square stone into and unlock whatever they were hiding.

In front of them stood a large warrior, about as tall as the giants they encountered in the Black Gulch, that was wearing some decent metallic armor, was carrying a large shield and a halberd, and it's helmet had tusks stick out near the mouth area, making it look like another humanoid warrior like the lions they found outside Najka's cave. Edric approached the warrior, in an attempt to see what the creature did in a battle, though that was followed by the warrior raising his weapon and brought it down on where Edric was standing. Rarity, thinking fast, ignited her magic and latched onto her friend, where she yanked him back before the weapon could hit him... though when the dust settled they found a gash in the ground where Edric had been standing, indicating that the warrior had some decent power and that they shouldn't take the creature lightly.

At the same time, however, Rarity knew that there had to be more like him somewhere in the area around them, meaning that she and Edric needed to be careful against these opponents, otherwise they were going to be crushed by their weapons before they could win the battle.

"Thanks for the save," Edric said, though as Rarity released him he stared at the warrior that was in front of them, as he was curious as to how they were going to beat this guy, "also, I had no idea you had that sort of spell."

"It's Telekinesis, one of the most basic spells a unicorn learns," Rarity replied, though truthfully it was one of the few spells she had learned before she entered that portal and ended up here, but the other spells she knew from Equus wouldn't help in this world.

What she didn't say was that she got the strangest feeling from the warrior that was standing in front of them, because while she could feel that there was some primal force driving the creature she also felt that there was something dark and forbidden about the creature. At a glance it didn't look like the type of creature that would fall victim to the Undead curse, like she and Edric had, but if she glanced in the gaps that had been worn into the armor she could see some rotting flesh trying to hide itself. She wondered if someone had ripped the souls of humans out of their bodies and pushed them into new ones, creating what she and Edric were seeing at the moment, but since there was no way to find out their only course of action was to defeat the warrior that was in front of them.

Edric decided to take the warrior's attention and made him turn around so his back was facing Rarity, though at the same time he understood the power that was arrayed against him and knew that he had to dodge when the warrior raised his halberd into the air. Rarity, on the other hand, hurled a pair of Greater Soul Arrows at their opponent's back when it was bared at her, causing it to stagger as Edric cut into the exposed areas that rested between the various pieces of the warrior's armor. The warrior got back up a few seconds later and came at them again, but all they had to do this time around was wait for the warrior to miss his attack before Edric dealt the finishing blow, allowing them to move onward and find the bonfire... or the path forward, whichever came first.

There was a cave, until the area in front of them, that had the glow of a bonfire, to which the two of them grinned as they walked into the small cave and found what they were looking for, but this time around they simply activated it before returning to the stairs that they had ignored... where a smaller warrior, which reminded them of Gavlan, walked down the steps as he spotted them. Strangely enough it only took a few swings of Edric's sword to dispatch the warrior, though he had to avoid the large mace like weapon his opponent had been carrying, but in the end he walked away with the win and proved that he could actually win fights without having to rely on Rarity killing everything for him. Rarity was fine with this development, because she was growing tired of killing the majority of the enemies that they encountered and knew that Edric deserved some time to shine. She also glanced at the armor that the warrior was wearing and knew that it seemed identical to what Gavlan was wearing, which meant that they might have found where the merchant came from... though she shook that thought from her head and focused on the task at hand.

The two of them then decided to head back to the bonfire to rest, as they could easily take on both of the enemies that they had just taken out, though as they approached the entrance Edric spotted a chest resting nearby... one that Rarity stopped him from opening, to which she raised a hand and blasted it with a low level Soul Arrow. That caused the lid of the chest to open and reveal that there was a mouth resting in the chest, though that was followed by some arms and legs forming as well as the creature prepared to fight them. Rarity remembered Spike talking about that one game of his, where he mentioned 'mimic chests' which were creatures that lured treasure hunters to their deaths by pretending to be ordinary chests. The only reason she knew it was there was because she felt it's desire to kill someone, something that she must have gotten from all the Dark Magic she had been using lately... but before she did anything Edric charged forward and literally hacked the mimic to pieces before it could fight back, surprising Rarity with how ruthless he was being.

What they found on the mimic's body, however, was some dark colored leggings that looked like they belonged to a knight and a strange sword that made Rarity think of the scorpion guy they spotted in the previous area... though Edric merely put them away as they rested by the bonfire.

A few moments later they agreed that fighting in the water, as the water they had been fighting in so far had some decent height and made it harder for them to move around, something that Edric noticed when he first fought the first warrior they encountered, was a bad thing and determined that the high ground was the way to go. With that in mind the two of them returned to the entrance of this area and dealt with the two warriors that were in their way, where Edric focused on the smaller one while Rarity dealt massive damage to the larger one with her spells before felling it. Once the two warriors were take care of they carefully climbed the steps and watched out for danger, where they found an unsuspecting warrior sitting in front of a chest... to which Edric impaled the warrior from behind before opening the chest, where he found some sort of charm that he put into his pack.

From there the duo followed the pathway that was in front of them and came to a slightly open area where Gavlan was standing, though they sold him a few of their worthless items before they walked up the ramp that brought them to the top of the chamber they were in.

When they reached the top of the chamber the two of them walked out onto the walkway that was in front of them, where another Gyrm Warrior, as Gavlan called them, raised an axe into the air and threw it at them, but Rarity simply caught it with her magic and threw it back at it's owner. The warrior was stunned by what she had done and was instantly impaled by his own weapon, where Edric finished him off so he wouldn't be in pain anymore, as they had no idea if Gavlan's aggressive brothers were cursed or not. They then carefully walked along the pathway that was in front of them, as there was no railing on their left, before they came to a small indent on their right, where a warrior picked himself off the ground and charged at them. Rarity, instead of attacking the warrior outright, simply moved out of the way and Edric did the same, where they watched the warrior run right off the walkway and descend into the area below them... though to be absolutely sure he didn't come back for them Rarity had some sharp crystal spires appeared in the area, where the warrior was impaled instantly, before she withdrew them and continued onward.

She hated to admit that she was getting better at summoning the crystals with a command, as it only reminded her of what Sombra was able to do, but she was using this power for a greater purpose than the tyrant had been and let that fact calm her down... to which she focused on the enemies in front of them.

At the end of the walkway stood another warrior that charged at them, but unlike the one they just finished off this one stopped in front of them and raised it's shield, indicating that it wanted a fight, to which Edric stepped forward and raised his shield in kind. Rarity stepped back and watched as the two remained in that state for a few seconds, each daring their opponent to make the first move, before the warrior sprung forward and attacked Edric, who moved to the left and avoided the attack entirely. Edric then followed that up by cutting into the warrior's exposed chest area before pulling back, causing the warrior to stagger and shake his head before trying again, though that only ended in the same thing happening twice in a row... though this time around the warrior collapsed on the walkway in a pool of his own blood, indicating that Edric had won.

From there they walked up the winding stair filled hallway that was in front of them until they reached the top area, where a fountain of some kind stood between the passage they had walked through and an opening that led somewhere else... though Rarity had the feeling that they found the path to Brightstone Cove Tseldora on accident.

As the two of them walked out into the newest area they had discovered they noticed that there was a fair number of tents set up in front of them, though as they carefully explored the area Rarity spotted a bonfire resting in one of the tents, which meant that they must have found the next destination on accident. When the two of them walked out of the other side of the tent they were attacked by a small group of Undead pigs and some hollowed peasants, as the humanoid enemies were using farming tools to attack them. As it turned out the cursed pigs were actually very weak to Edric's slashing attacks and, at the same time, the poor farmers had the same weakness to Rarity's spells, as one Dark Orb was enough to blow a single peasant apart. There were also a few archer farmers in the area, but they all fell in rapid succession to Rarity's magic, once again making her wonder how many enemies were susceptible to her magic... as there appeared to be a great number of enemies in this land that were really weak to magic, making her stronger than most warriors were.

"So I guess we don't need to go back into the Doors of Pharros for anything," Edric commented, though at the same time he glanced over at Rarity, as he knew that she had been talking to Shalquoir before they departed from Majula, "What did our friend have to tell you about the order we should go in?"

"Shalquoir told me that we'd fight the Royal Rat Authority before we found this place," Rarity replied, to which she moved over to the edge of the area they were standing on and stared down at the area below them, where she found a bunch of crystals sticking out of the ground and some sort of church waiting in the distance, "but, considering that we're in the Brightstone Cove Tseldora now, I guess we don't have to worry about the rats anymore. I'm going to take a wild guess that the church I'm staring at is the one where the Prowling Magus and his Congregation are waiting, meaning that the path behind them will eventually bring us to the Duke's Dear Freja... the fourth and final Guardian."

"I guess that this is our lucky day," Edric said, to which he smiled as he joined Rarity by the edge, because since they already wiped out the forces that had been in this area he didn't have to worry about them being attacked from behind while they stood here, "we get to skip over an opponent that you would annihilate in an instant and focus on finding our true target that much quicker. Then, once we have the final Great Soul, we can figure out where the castle is located and meet with the King... and then we'll do whatever is necessary to cure ourselves of this curse."

For some reason Rarity was beginning to think that it wouldn't be that easy to figure out the cure to the Undead curse she and Edric had been afflicted with, because if it was that easy she was sure that the other Undead would have banded together to ensure everyone was saved from this. There was more to the curse than what she originally thought, even if she knew next to nothing about it, but she was hoping that the King had an idea on how to cure this affliction in some manner. Though even as she thought about that she realized that, due to the fact that she was friends with Shalquoir, she might actually have a more reliable method to figure out if there was a cure or not... but she decided to keep her mouth shut until they encountered the King, as she had no idea what Shalquoir knew or didn't know.

She would ask Shalquoir about the curse after they claimed the final Great Soul and met with the King, though until that happened she and Edric needed to focus on the task at hand... as there was one more Guardian for them to find and defeat before they could get started on the next stage of their long quest.

Into the Depths

After taking a short break at the bonfire, to recover from all of the fights they had been in so far, Rarity and Edric headed through the path that was resting beside the bonfire and walked to a small area that had another hallway for them to walk down, which brought them to a ladder. They carefully descended the ladder and touched the floor that was waiting for them, though as they rounded the corner they both spotted one of those flaming statues that they had seen back in the Iron Keep, only this one looked like it could be moved. Rarity, seeing the mage enemy at the end of the path they needed to take, had Edric tap the statue before she called a barrier up around them, allowing them to watch as the statue moved towards where the mage was standing. The result was that the barrel carrying hollow, which Rarity had ignored since they were passive until someone attacked them, exploded when it was near the mage and took them both out, allowing the duo to moved forward without having to worry about foes for the moment.

Interestingly enough the lever that was near the statue, before it moved, opened the iron barred gate that was in front of them, though that really didn't help them out and they continued along the path that they would have normally followed, where they came to another area with three mages. Rarity slammed an Emit Force into the chest of the closest mage, as it attempted to get behind them before striking, and knocked it into the wall as Edric used the next statue to inflict some damage on the enemies at the end of the hallway. Fortunately the mage went down easily, allowing Rarity to send a small volley of Soul Arrows at the mages that were blocking their way, though the instant they were taken care of Edric used another lever and raised another gate, before they pressed onward. At the very end of the hallway they found one of the larger ironclad warriors blocking the way, but that was when Rarity stepped back and opened the third gate, opening up the explosive filled room they had ignored, while Edric fought the warrior off... destroying it in a matter of seconds and proving that his new strength wasn't to be messed with.

Rarity was sure that if either of them had been forced to fight alone, and hadn't been paired up when she entered this world, they would have reached this stage of their individual evolution eventually, though since they were fighting together their enemies really didn't stand a chance... making her feel a little unsatisfied in the process, but she wanted to be free from the Curse and that was why they were gathering the crowns.

With the ironclad warrior defeated the duo pulled the lever he had been guarding and opened the gate in front of them, allowing the two of them to walk through a doorway and head outside the tower, though they found that their next location was across another chain. Rarity and Edric chuckled at that and started walking over the large iron chain that rested in front of them, carefully making their way to the other side before they reached the platform that rested in front of a fog door. Based on previous experiences Rarity had the feeling that they weren't about to run into a powerful creature just yet, but regardless of whether she was right or wrong they pushed through the fog door and walked into the smaller tower that was connected to the main tower. As they headed down the path on their left, since that was the only way for them to go at the moment, they discovered some ashen foes that were crawling on the ground... and could leap great distances when given the ability to do so.

Fire, as it turned out, appeared to be their weakness, which was odd when Rarity considered where they were, but a simple Fireball was more than enough to take them out, especially since a specific amount of damage needed to be caused before they detonated themselves like a bomb. Fortunately she and Edric moved away from the crawlers when they did that, allowing their foes to finish themselves off in such a manner, before they moved on and repeated the process with all of the other crawlers that were waiting along the path that they were following. At the same time Rarity held a flaming hand near the iron torches that had been created for the circular hallway and let them catch on fire, while avoiding the strange black tar colored substance that was around each torch. At the end of the hallway they found a ladder that they used to descend into the depths of the tower, though at the bottom of the ladder they found a red spirit waiting for them.

Rarity, deciding not to even bother with the invader, let Edric handle her while she walked around the room, using her hand to ignite the torches, to which she brought some light to the area that they were in and found a few doors that they could open... which Edric agreed with, once he had finished off the invader and Rarity discovered that he had suffered no injuries at all, once more showing how skilled he was with his weapons.

What they did was open the doors around them one at a time, giving them a moment to deal with whatever was on the other side before they bothered to open the next door in the sequence, though the first one contained a crawler that met it's end rather suddenly. The second door happened to contain a mage that had been wandering around the area, though as it died Rarity found some Twinkling Titanite that Edric could use, as well as a spell called Recollection, which she bound to the tome as well. The next two doors happened to be connected to the same room and allowed the duo to remove the crawlers that they discovered, though when they opened the final door the crawler they found in front of it started it's death sequence, to which they retreated as the crawler blew both himself and the other crawler beside him to pieces, allowing the duo to move on. It was behind those two crawlers that they found the ladder that let them descend even further into the depths of the tower, though when they reached the bottom and moved forward the duo found an iron door that needed to be opened.

When they opened the door, however, they discovered a number of crawlers staring at a machine that had a scepter of some kind waiting in the slot in front of them, to which Rarity used the Dance of Fire and backed away, allowing the afflicted crawler to detonate itself before taking all of the crawlers out in one large flash of light... to which they walked back into the room and claimed the scepter, powering the machine down in the process.

"That was significantly easier than I was expecting," Rarity commented, though at the same time she held onto the scepter as they made their way through the second door way, where another crawler committed suicide before their eyes, in an attempt to kill them.

From there they reached the end of the hallway and pulled the lever that they discovered, which summoned an elevator for them to use and allowed them to ascend back to the top of the tower that they were currently in, though that required that they walk through another circular hallway and jump down onto some boxes before they were back at the entrance for the tower. From there they walked outside and headed back towards the area that they had come from, only this time they used the second door, which they had ignored when they exited the area, and entered the small room that they quickly uncovered. At that point it was a simple matter for them to climb up the ladder that was inside the small room and pull the lever that was to their right, allowing them to walk up the stairs and enter the area where the main machinery was located... to which they walked over to the slot Rarity had seen earlier and slipped the scepter into it, waking the heart of the tower for the first time in who knew how long.

The chains and buckets started moving again, where Rarity and Edric watched as some rather large iron statues were raised around the area that they were standing on, though they smiled as they noticed that the one closest to them happened to have a platform attached to it's head. Once it came back to rest near the slot that the scepter was in the duo walked onto it, to which they braced themselves as they descended into the depths of the tower once more, only to climb off when they reached the level that was below the one they had been on, which was actually deeper than the tower the scepter had been stored inside. From there they walked around the walkway that they had stepped onto and made their way to a hallway, one that allowed them to reach an area that was outside the tower and happened to be covered in ash, as well as being guarded by some barrel hollows... who were already standing pretty close to some flames that it wasn't even funny.

"Sometimes things are just too easy." Rarity said, to which she pulled on the flames that were coming from the statues and struck the closest barrel hollow with the fire, causing all of them to explode and clear the area, while at the same time she sighed and walked forward.

When they walked out into the ash covered area an ironclad warrior pulled himself out of the ash and faced the duo, to which Rarity stepped back and watched as Edric dodged the incoming attacks that the ironclad warrior sent his way and delivered his own powerful attacks in return. It didn't take him long to take out the warrior, since he was used to their movements at this point in time, though that was before a second one, wielding a wicked looking mace, rose from the ash and engaged Edric in battle. Once that one fell a third one repeated the process and attacked him as well, though it wasn't long before he had taken out that warrior as well, only this time around he waited to see if there were any more enemies for him to fight, while at the same time Rarity found a key resting in the ash. The moment Edric determined that there weren't anymore enemies in this area, and relaxed a little, the duo headed back inside the tower and continued their search for the being that was holding the Old Iron King's crown.

As they explored the area they found a door on the opposite side of where they found the key, which happened to unlock the door and allowed the duo to progress down a long set of stairs and turn around a corner before they found themselves even deeper than they were moments ago. They also discovered that there was some water being poured into the area, since it appeared that the Old Iron King used the water to cool off the large statues that the duo could see, though at the same time Rarity wasn't about to question where in the world the water was coming from, as there weren't any rivers of water near the tower. At best guess she figured that the Old Iron King found some large underground reserves and used those to cool his statues, and whatever else he made before becoming the creature that she and Edric had fought earlier.

Luck seemed to be on their side, as another statue with a platform on it's head was brought up to where they were standing, to which the duo climbed onto the platform before it lowered itself back into the depths of the tower, though when it stopped at the level below them they decided to explore... and found a large cave tunnel not a few steps from where the statue let them off. And, sure enough, they found the bonfire for a new area waiting for them, which they activated the instant they found it and headed towards an opening, where they dropped down into an area that had more of those statues they had seen when they first entered the area before Brume Tower. From there they walked into a small room like cavern with a lever that was attached to at least one of the gates that lined the passage in front of them, or maybe all of them, but instead of messing with it they turned to the left and dropped down into the area below them, to which they moved forward from where they landed.

That brought them to a chamber with three warriors and a mage, so while Edric dealt with the warriors Rarity targeted the mage in the back and used the Recollection spell, which loosed a cluster of shadowy skulls that raced through the air and barreled into her target, knocking the mage into the wall and killed it instantly... causing Rarity to blink for a moment, because she had forgotten that her power in dark based magic was so strong.

Once those enemies were taken care of the duo crossed the room they were in and headed towards the opening that was opposite of where they had entered the area through, to which they both dropped down into the next area as they continued their search for the crown. As they dropped down into the area below them Edric took out the warrior that was in the passage they entered, though as that was accomplished they discovered that there were at least four normal warriors, a possessed suit of armor, and a mage resting in the area. That told the duo that there had to be something special down here, if there were this many guards to ensure that whatever that something was remained safe, though as Edric started fighting the melee warriors Rarity focused her magic on tearing the mage and the possessed armor apart, since that would allow them to focus on their own enemies without having to worry about others attacking them. The instant Edric finished off the first pair of warriors he moved to the other side of the chamber and did the same thing to the other pair that he had ignored, before the two of them were left as the only remaining people in this area.

They followed that up by walking through the opening near their location and dropped down into the area beneath them, knowing that this was likely going to repeat one more time before they found whatever was beneath Brume Tower, or they could be surprised and find what they were looking for and then leave this area.

That was when they discovered that the next area they came to contained a mage wearing a yellow robe, indicating an affinity for miracles, another possessed suit of armor, and an ironclad warrior that was clearly out to get them, to which Edric tackled the warrior while Rarity dealt with the ranged enemies. Truthfully she knew that they couldn't hurt her as she cast her spells at them, as she was simply much stronger than either of them were, though she dodged the attacks that were coming her way and threw a few back in retaliation, as she was merely waiting for her companion to finish first. When she heard the sound of the ironclad warrior falling to the ground, however, she loosed a wave of spells and toppled her enemies as well, to which she and Edric turned towards the fog door that happened to be resting in one of the tunnels that was near them.

"So, what are the chances that this one doesn't have a powerful creature, like all the other doors?" Edric asked, because he figured that Rarity might be able to pick out where the dangerous enemies were, so they could properly prepare themselves ahead of time.

"There's definitely something behind this fog door," Rarity said, feeling some energy coming from the other side, one that reminded her of the creatures like the Smelter Demon and the Looking Glass Knight, before she shook her head and approached the fog door, "Let's do this."

The duo passed through the fog door and found another Smelter Demon standing in the middle of the room like cavern that they were in, though a few seconds later the enchanted suit came alive and blue flames danced around the same parts that had been red on the counterpart they fought in the Iron Keep. The Blue Smelter Demon, as Rarity was going to call it to distinguish it from the first one, attacked Edric first and swung it's large sword at him, to which Edric dodged the attack and retaliated with his own attack. Rarity, on the other hand, stayed near the edges of the room and used her magic, finding that while the Blue Smelter Demon appeared to be immune to soul and fire based spells it was also slightly weak to lightning based attacks. The interesting thing was that the Blue Smelter Demon was actually weak against dark based spells, meaning that she could really damage their opponent with some well placed spells, though at the moment she stayed on the lower end to give Edric a chance to fight without her dominating the entire fight.

However that didn't last too long, as the Blue Smelter Demon, revealing that it was actually much smarter than it's red counterpart, determined that Rarity was the true threat and proceeded to attack her with all it's might, including jumping around the room and attacking her at different angles and using it's inner flame to increase it's power. Edric just sat on the sideline as he waited for the fight to finish, as he knew that with the speed that the Blue Smelter Demon was moving he wouldn't be able to hurt it, and since it was ignoring him he decided to let Rarity finish the fight. Rarity, on the other hand, let the Dark Magic flow to the surface as she lashed out with her magic, which left small gashes in her opponent's armor as she gracefully moved around the entire area. Originally she had been worried about the Dark Magic trying to corrupt her and only used it as a last resort, now it felt like she and the darkness were one and the corrupting influence never surfaced, but that was likely because she was using this for the betterment of the world and not for her own personal gain.

Eventually she outmaneuvered the Blue Smelter Demon and impaled it with a well timed crystal spike that tore through it's chest area, though she simply sighed as she extinguished it's flame and caused it to stall, where it turned to being like a statue, only this time it wouldn't wake up again. Once the deed was done they walked up the ramp that was opposite the entrance of this area and made their way to an area that contained an elevator, one that took them back up to the walkway that had allowed them to find the cave entrance. From there it was a simple matter to walk back to the bonfire they had discovered and rest there, allowing themselves a moment to rest while they thought about what they had done and what they had learned.

"That was a waste of time." Edric commented, as they hadn't found the crown or anything useful for their journey, especially since the opponent Rarity had let him fight chose to fight her instead.

"Not really. We've determined that the crown isn't in the depths of the tower," Rarity replied, though at the same time she smiled as she looked at the ceiling, as she knew that they were close to finding the crown now that they had eliminated one possible route from the list, "Don't worry, well find the Crown of the Old Iron King soon enough... and then we'll only have to find one more crown before we talk with the Queen."

Rarity knew that they were close to the crown, she could feel it, but at the same time she knew that a little rest was exactly what they needed at the moment, because she had the feeling that the true guardian of the crown was going to put up quite the fight... and she wanted them to be ready for when that happened.