Two guards out on the western trail, armed with tower shields and spears. Another pair stood on makeshift rickety towers that hadn't been present before, crossbows at the ready. Many patrolled the ruins behind the armed guard, a number of wolves at their beck and call.
Something must've happened. That or his recent killing of knights who attacked him had led to increased security. He hadn't exactly gone out of his way to hide the bodies and from what Kalé said, few, even among tarnished, bothered with the knights, only a handful actually pursuing the shards of the Elden Ring these days. Their forces disappearing was bound to raise some red flags, bodies found or not.
Onyx lowered his telescope, humming to himself. This wouldn't be the first time he walked himself straight up to people who wouldn't hesitate to cut him down, but he'd be at a serious disadvantage. If things went south, running would be the smarter route.
"Are you certain about this? I'm sure that I can handle the rest from here." Irina, at his side among the edge of the forest just shy of the ruins, said.
"They may be your people, but this land is going through quite the crisis from what I've heard and seen. Cruelty tends to outweigh kindness in times like this even among allies." He said. "And you are an easy target for that cruelty."
"I, no, thank you." Irina nodded and began to take steadying breaths while he put away his telescope.
He checked the sword at his hip and readied a bolt in his crossbow before returning both to their places and turning to Irina. "Ready to go?"
"Just a moment." She took one more deep breath before reaching to the back of her head, carefully undoing her blindfold. She lowered the cloth, slowly cracking open her eyes and revealing light blue eyes. Though it was far weaker, a golden tinge rested within her unfocused gaze. The same tinge within the eyes of his spectral stalker.
Another thing Kalé was right about then. It was that the eyes that gave away whether or not a person was a member of The Golden Order. Between the tree and other details, the name grew more and more fitting.
"Might I trouble you to carry this for me, sir Onyx?" She asked after folding and rolling it up in motions so deliberate they must've been done countless times before. "It is quite precious to me, you see."
"No problem." He said, taking it and storing it in the pouch he reserved for more important sensitive things. At the moment only the map gifted by Kalé took up space in there so there was no worry about anything within damaging it.
He offered his elbow and together they stepped out from the forest, following the grass lined trail to the ruins.
They were spotted quickly, the crossbowmen taking up aim and shouting for others as the spearmen below readied their shields. More knights and their wolves gathered but no attacks came, the both of them allowed to approach without harm.
"Stop right there!" The crossbowman in the top right tower ordered once they were just beyond the reach of his comrades' spears. The wolves behind them release low grumbling growls, Irina's hold on his arm tightening in response. "Identify yourselves!"
"I-" Irina began lowly, quickly falling silent as the growling continued. He shifted his arm, taking one of her hands. She squeezed it, another breath taken. "I am a resident of Castle Morne." She said, not quite shouting but speaking loudly enough to be heard. "I've come to request aid for an ongoing battle taking place within its walls."
For a moment there was silence, her words weighed, but eventually, whether because of her eyes or lack of any real threat presented by her, they turned all their attention away from her, every weapon focused upon him.
"I find that difficult to believe. You'd have come from the southern trail, not the west if you were truly from Castle Morne." The crossbowman said. "And why would a blind woman and some tarnished be sent in place of a knight?"
"My escort and his steed both succumbed to injuries they suffered on our way here. I would have shared in their fate had it not been for this man. I owe him my life."
Silence again, this one much longer. More than one the crossbowmen's fingers drew close to the trigger of their weapons, bolts a split-second decision from being fired upon him. Were they so confident they wouldn't hurt her despite their proximity, or did they truly hate tarnished so much they were willing to kill one of their own just to put down someone they thought to be one?
"Inform the captain." The speaker of the group finally ordered, one of the lightly armored knights quick to rush off.
Swords and spears were clenched and unclenched. Occasional barks spilled out from the wolves, Irina flinching beneath each one. He couldn't see beneath the masks of their helmets, but he doubted a single eye left him.
Tense didn't even begin to describe the silence that settled over them as they awaited whatever response their captain had. And it wasn't a product of suspicion. Not entirely. These people were antsy, not just ready to kill him but excited by the prospect.
It's been a while since he had so much bloodlust directed his way. This was quite the place he was walking himself into.
It is what it is. Onyx thought. In for a penny, in for a pound and all that. At least none of that aggression was aimed at Irina.
The lightly armored knight returned, rushing up the ladder leading up the small tower and whispering something in the crossbowman's ear. "The captain will see you." The knight declared, crossbow lowered.
Their welcoming committee parted and they moved forward, a knight with a sword and shield leading them deeper into the ruins. They hit the heart of the place quickly.
Tents set up alongside large carriages, Various campfires. Glaring knights and growling wolves prowling about. Despite the state of the ruins and the lack of any repairs taking place, there was no debating that the knights were camped out here for the long term. The western entrance wasn't the only one to receive a boost in security measures, similarly rickety towers to north towards the large gate and the open field to the south.
Irina drew closer to him, gloved grip tightening around his hand. The click of shifting armor, the abundance of footsteps, the ever present growls, crackling fires. The influx of noise was setting her on edge no doubt.
He rubbed his thumb in small circles along the back of her hand. It wasn't much but it was something else to shift her attention to. She didn't loosen up but her grip on him weakened slightly.
The knight led them to the biggest tent centered between all the others along the base of one of the crumbling walls. Onyx led them in, the flap falling closed behind them.
A long wooden table took up the center of the room, the lanterns placed on either side of its corners lighting up the tent's interior. Held up by a pair of wooden posts, the rest of the space was rather baren, a bed off to the left with a chest at its feet, a dresser containing parchment, weapons and plenty of other tools, an empty wooden chair position in front of the centered table.
The captain, plumed helmet set on the table beside letters and books, sat on the opposite side of the table, his dark yet golden tinged eyes scanning the both of them. A pair of knights flanked him, one with a hand secured firmly on the sword at the hip while the other sported an unsteady stance. The latter knight wasn't even looking their way, gaze tilted upwards in an almost dazed like state.
Odd.
"A tarnished traveling with one of our own. I must admit that I did not believe it when I heard it." Leaning back in his own chair, a fist pressed to his chin, he waved his other. "Take a seat, Irina, was it?"
"Y-Yes." She said as Onyx led her to the chair. Rather than remaining beside her, he opted to stand behind her. "I've come to request reinforcements for Castle Morne. A battle-"
"I am quite aware of the rebellion taking place there." The knight cut her off. "I had that the daughter of Edgard was weak of sight. Were those exaggerations?" At the meek shake of her head, he continued, fingers tapping at his cheek. "And yet they sent you here. Things must truly be desperate for-"
One ear kept on the conversation, Onyx focused on the dazed knight to the right of the commander. The unsteady stance was one of many oddities. Faint groans left him, his gaze listless, and skin…Due to the upward angle of the knight's stare he could get a look at the wrinkled, darkened skin below.
Necromancy wasn't something he cared to practice himself, but he encountered enough of its practitioners and whatever form of it they employed. He knew when he was looking at an animated corpse and that knight might as well be one.
Rather unexpected from what he'd learned about the Golden Order so far.
"I'm afraid your trip here was a wasted one. We have strict orders from Lord Godrick to carry out and we lack the manpower to lend any aid." The captain said. "But I would not worry, girl. Your father, Edgar, is a formidable warrior who honors his word despite being a mere mercenary. He will see his duty done or die trying. Take solace in that."
As if hearing that would be of any comfort to the woman willing to risk so much just to secure her father's safety.
"As for you tarnished-" The commander began, not a moment spent entertaining Irina's muted protest, gaze turning up to him. "-I must ask, what is it you hope to get out of this?"
Onyx shrugged. The commander had a composure that the others lacked but he shared in that same look all the others had when it came to him. Speaking the truth was a waste of breath to people like that. It could be looking them right in the face but people with looks like that always stuck to whatever beliefs they'd already formed.
"Not much of a talker, are you? Another question then, this one I expect to be answered." The commander's gaze dropped, zeroed in on the sheathed sword at Onyx's hip. "Only knights of Lord Godrick are bestowed such blades. How did you come to acquire one?"
Onyx held the man's stare, only answering with a raised brow. Nothing he said was going to appease the man.
"I-It was a gift from me, given in exchange for his help." Irina quickly lied as she stood up. "I thank you for taking the time to see us, but we must be going. We-"
"You won't be going anywhere. Whatever aid this tarnished may have lent you is only a deception for something else. I would be remiss to entrust your wellbeing to such a loathsome creature." The commander said. "You will remain in our care until we receive word from Castle Morne. This tarnished will be sent up to Stormveil like the rest."
Yeah, he wasn't down for that.
Onyx tore his blade from its sheath and in one swift motion, leveled it at side of Irina's neck. By the time the two knights on standby reacted, their blades halfway out their sheaths, he'd already knocked aside the chair between him and Irina, pulling her towards him, blade kept dangerously close to her neck.
One wrong move on either of their parts and she'd be dead in seconds.
The commander, more than aware of that, held up a hand as he stood, stopping the advance of the other knights. Despite the situation his unbothered expression hadn't changed in the slightest. "As expected of one of your kind."
Onyx didn't bother entertaining the man, stepping back with Irina. With the number of knights in the ruins and the commander's lax attitude this little strategy wouldn't last him very long.
He backed out of the tent, Irina going along without a struggle.
They were surrounded in seconds, spears, swords, and crossbows aimed at them but no one daring to attack. Not yet at least.
"Do you want to stay here?" He whispered while looking around.
At least three crossbowmen taking active aim at them, no, make that four. There was one aiming between a hole in some of the old stony walls of the ruins.
"W-What?"
"Do you want to stay with these knights?"
"I-I-" Irina fell quiet. While he was putting on the act of dragging her around, he was careful not to put any real pressure on the elbow he had wrapped around her neck. Even so, there was no missing her quickened and erratic pulse. "I want to, I have to see my father. I need to know that he's alright."
"Well, I'm not sure how you're going to see him with those eyes of yours, but I'll get you to the castle at least." He joked. That was all he needed to hear from her. It would be difficult and there was no guarantee but-
"You should've held our doctrine closer to your heart Irina. Even given your condition associating with a tarnished is nothing short of blasphemous." The commander declared as he stepped out from the tent, the two other knights at his side. "This is their true nature. They're nothing but traitors. Mutts that'll turn on each other if it would benefit them."
While the commander yapped away, Onyx swapped his sword into the same hand he was using to pull Irina, the other dropping into his pouch, fingers pressing into cold cracks.
He had one shot, one opportunity, at a clean escape.
With a quick flick of his entire arm, he sent it flying, aiming straight for the Commander's open mouth. The pot, a small brown container marked by cracks and packed with some very specific ingredients, collided with the commander's face.
CRASH!
Orange hot flames and dark smoke filled the air, enveloping the commander and his two knights. Grunts and screams followed, loose shards of the pot hitting those around the explosion. Irina thrown over his shoulder as he shot towards the southern exit, he tossed two more, little mind paid to the yells, hot flames, or pot shards as he burst through the smoke, the chaos allowing him to slip past their encirclement as he swapped his sword back to his other hand.
There were two guards blocking the trail and wolves already giving chase but even with Irina slowing him outpacing them would be child's place. Their escape was-
"Forget the girl! Kill him! Kill him now!" The commander roared over the chaos.
Shit. Onyx twisted around, sword fully pulled back as he took a deep breath.
Several clicks filled the air. The same four that'd been aiming at him before.
Bolts cut through the air. Even employing a breathing technique his body was still too weak to handle, they were fast, but he could track them. Barely.
They closed in, all aimed at his midsection.
He swung.
The first. The second. The third.
He cut through all of them but the fourth flew just beneath the flat of his blade. Onyx gritted his teeth, grimacing, but otherwise doing his best to ignore the white hot pain flaring across the upper right portion of his chest and shoulder blade. He didn't dare exhale or hesitate.
That moment spent fending off those bolts had given the two guards enough time to fully position themselves and the wolves were catching up.
Getting out of here had once again become questionable at best.
Cool air gathered around his feet, a familiar presence brushing his senses.
Or maybe not.
He jumped, not by much, but it was enough. The lazy spectral steed he'd taken to feeding burst out from the ground, taking them onto his saddle and carrying them far higher into the air. Irina and several knights gasped but the ones blocking their way were quick to recover, thrusting their weapons upwards. The horse leaped once more, a gust of spectral wind spreading outwards as it used the air itself as a platform, sending them right over the knights blocking the exit.
Onyx grabbed the reins as they hit the dirt trail, the horse so swift that the wolves were left behind in seconds.
"Perfect timing, you lazy bastard!" Onyx yelled over the winds, grinning as he positioned a baffled Irina on the saddle, the horse neighing in response.
The thump of his heart. All that uncertainty. This unexpected escape.
Things had gotten dicey near the end but damn if he wasn't enjoying himself.
XOXO
(A/N: Anyone knows the onomatopoeia for glass shattering? I couldn't think of a good way to write it so just went with the classic crash. I guess it doesn't matter as long as we're all on the same page.)