Rogier could only blink and quietly close his mouth when D interrupted him.
And so, a Golden Order devotee in gold and silver armor and a sorcerer walked into the damp ruins.
"I think it's better not to touch these green sewage waters," Rogier said, looking at the shallow puddles within the ruins, their surfaces covered in green and emitting a foul odor.
D replied, stepping around the puddles with his iron-booted feet, "I'm not some curious baby on my first adventure. The places where Those Who Live In Death reside are often more defiled than you imagine. So, you don't need to remind me of such things."
Rogier shrugged, his hand resting on the hilt of his rapier, as he followed D, inspecting every part of the ruins.
In these ruins, the ancient paths were covered by mud, making it difficult to discern their original carvings and edges. They walked along this stone-paved road, seeing the marks of time grown on the moss-flecked walls.
The architectural remains, eroded by time, stood silently, looking dilapidated and lonely.
Occasionally, one or two solitary, unnamed black birds circled above the crumbling walls, emitting mournful cries.
In every place Rogier and D explored, the former prosperity and bustle were gone, leaving only weeds growing rampant in the cracks of the stones and wildflowers blooming alone, unappreciated.
Their steps finally halted before a relatively well-preserved wooden house, and they exchanged glances.
The wooden house was hidden amidst dense greenery, its roof tiles mostly gone, its surrounding walls weathered by wind and rain, the wood a deep, dark brown.
The carvings on the lintel were blurred, and grotesque monster gargoyles adorned the outside. The door was ajar, and a cold, damp, musty smell wafted out from within.
Their gazes penetrated the doorway; the interior of the house was exceptionally dim, with the sunlight unable to directly illuminate it. They could only vaguely make out a few dilapidated pieces of furniture placed haphazardly, their surfaces eroded by time, no longer smooth.
D sighed and said, "So, do these monsters called 'Mewlip' think a normal person would live in such a desolate place, in such a gloomy, eerie, abandoned house? Especially with these monstrous decorations at the door—it's practically screaming 'something strange here' on a sign."
Rogier chuckled, "Normal people wouldn't come to a place like this either. Only those lost in the wilderness, seeing such a house, would hide inside to rest, I suppose."
After hearing Rogier's words, D was silent for a moment before retorting, "Are you actually saying that neither of us is normal?"
Rogier had already drawn the rapier from his waist, and as he ran a hand along its blade, a brilliant azure light appeared.
Upon hearing D's words, he raised an eyebrow: "I think I'm normal, but unfortunately, I have to accompany a friend who insists on entering the ruins, to see what devils and ghosts are hidden inside, so I also don't seem like a normal person."
D said nothing, merely gripping his tightly intertwined twinblades of gold and silver with both hands, the golden glow symbolizing judgment filling the blades.
"Boom—!"
D kicked the ajar brown wooden door, and under D's force, the brown wooden door groaned and split open. The upper half of the door flew up like a kite with a broken string, raising a cloud of dust, while the lower half was too fragile to withstand the impact, shattering into scattered wooden pieces.
Along with the wooden door, a black monster that had been hiding in the shadows behind the door was sent flying. It was caught off guard, exposed to the sunlight streaming in from outside, its crimson eyes filled with terror and resentment.
The black monster let out a piercing shriek, simultaneously throwing the wooden door as a weapon.
D swung his sword arm fiercely, the sword light as delicate and swift as lightning, easily cleaving the flying wooden door in half.
At the same time, from behind D, Rogier's figure shot out like a leopard, his rapier and the magical Glintstone Magic blade that had appeared floating behind him, pierced into the Mewlip's body, which was like black sludge.
This Mewlip's flesh began to crumble under the erosion of Glintstone Magic, as if gnawed by countless tiny insects, and its groans gradually turned into the low gurgle of mud.
Rogier gave the opponent no chance to breathe; his movements were swift and precise, each thrust of the blade accurately striking the opponent's vital points.
The Mewlip's struggles grew weaker, eventually turning into an unrecognizable viscous substance, lying silently on the cold ground.
But this was far from over.
Inside the cellar, the lone burning pale candle illuminated a desolate scene.
Sewage gathered into puddles, emitting a foul, nauseating odor. Suddenly, an unusual ripple appeared on the water's surface, as if something was about to break the water's calm.
Suddenly, one Mewlip after another twisted their muddy bodies, their roars accompanied by the gurgling of water, rushing up the passage from the cellar to the first floor of the wooden house.
But a figure in gold and silver armor blocked the exit between himself and these seven or eight Mewlip—it was D.
From their previous experiences, he and Rogier knew that these monsters called 'Mewlip' liked to hide in cellars. Therefore, when D saw Rogier dealing with the Mewlip on the first floor, he found the passage leading to the cellar.
Facing this group of hideous and terrifying Mewlip, D twisted his wrist, and the tip of his tightly intertwined twinblades accurately pierced the head of the nearest Mewlip, the golden glow on the blade blossoming in the darkness.
This Mewlip's shriek abruptly ceased, its evil aura instantly dissipating.
Immediately after, a faint yet sacred Golden Order mark began to appear on D's other hand, and the Prayer named [Litany of Death] lit up with a dazzling golden light in this cellar filled with filth and evil.
"Defilers must die."
D's disdainful words echoed in the narrow cellar passage. When the golden light dissipated, these Mewlip, like their companion on the first floor, turned into an unrecognizable viscous substance.
Subsequently, three magical Glintstone Magic blades swept past D from behind, swiftly plunging into one of the puddles of sludge.
This puddle of sludge undulated a few times, then completely ceased motion with an unwilling roar.
D said without turning his head, "I found this Mewlip that escaped by hiding behind its companions. You don't need to worry about me, Rogier."
Rogier's somewhat innocent voice came from above the cellar: "Glintstone Magic blades are a type of self-targeting Glintstone Magic. They sensed the presence of an enemy and moved on their own; I didn't do anything."
Although he said that, Rogier waved his staff again, and several magical Glintstone Magic blades reappeared at his shoulders.
Then Rogier walked down the damp stone stairs, and with a gentle flick of his other hand, which held the staff, the basic Glintstone Magic for illumination, [Starlight], was cast, and a bright azure glow instantly filled the entire dim cellar.
A small azure orb of light floated above Rogier's sorcerer's pointed hat. He frowned after clearly seeing the scene inside the cellar.
Inside the cellar, besides the half-meter deep putrid stagnant water, there were also withered yellow bones, some belonging to animals like rabbits and wild deer, and some clearly identifiable as human.
The bones were also severely damaged, and it was unclear when their owners had perished or how long they had been in this cellar after death.
D immediately knelt on one knee on the damp, dirty steps, one hand gripping his Twinblade and the other placed over his chest: "May the departed rest in peace, and find eternal tranquility on the Golden Shore."
Rogier did not interrupt D's Prayers; instead, he removed his sorcerer's pointed hat, placed it over his heart, and silently mourned the victims for a few moments before putting his hat back on.
Although he really wanted to tell his friend that these departed souls did not believe in the Erdtree at all, and there was no need to mourn them with a Golden Order elegy, his high emotional intelligence made it clear that saying so would only make D angrier with no benefit whatsoever.
So, while D was still praying for these lost innocents, Rogier, using the light from his Glintstone Magic, discovered a pile of treasures in a shallower corner of the water, consisting of valuable items such as silver cups, gold coins, gems, and pearls.
Beside this pile of treasures was a pale candle, extinguished by the accumulated water.
Hmm, indeed, these monsters, as indicated on the map, often hid in cellars lit by only a single candle, counting their treasures by its pale glow.
Rogier took out his map from his In arms and placed a small black dot on the simple sketch of a house he had marked not long ago, meaning: there is treasure here, remember to come and get it.
Next to other house sketches on the map, four marked locations also had small black dots.
The remaining three did not, because in those ruins, Rogier and D did not encounter evil, man-eating monsters like Mewlip.
However, in those three town ruins, they discovered a large number of human skeletons that were almost weathered. From the way these skeletons were neatly gathered and placed in an open square, Rogier speculated that it might have been caused by the great plague recorded on the map from a long time ago.
That plague spread to these towns, subsequently causing a large number of residents to fall ill and die, leading to their gradual abandonment.
Rogier was sometimes quite curious as to why Arthur chose this land as the starting point for rebuilding the Erdtree; after all, with floods and plagues, it sounded like the humans who lived on this land long ago had suffered terribly.
However, even if Rogier were to ask Arthur, Arthur could only reply: Don't ask, it was ordained.
At this moment, D finished his Prayers, looked at Rogier, who was marking the map, and said, "Once we've explored the remaining areas, let's continue our journey."
Rogier put away the map and nodded: "It should be about two more days' journey until we reach Greywater River. And our destination, Limgrave Greatbridge, is on the opposite side of Greywater River."
The two left the eerie wooden house. Before leaving, Rogier sealed the cellar and left a magical mark so that when he returned, he could bring people to retrieve the treasures.
D waited for Rogier to finish all of this before he couldn't help but ask, "You also sealed those previous treasures in the cellar and marked them. I don't remember when you became so greedy, Rogier."
Rogier looked at D, motioned for him to leave, and explained, "Of course I haven't become greedy, Darian. All these treasures we found are for Arthur."
Rogier's words made D even more confused. He matched the other's pace and pressed, "For Lord Arthur? In my memory, he is not someone who would be captivated by mere jewels."
Then D was silent for a moment and added, "It's just that sometimes he inexplicably collects some worthless things, like mushrooms, glass shards, and Loa fruit. I think if you're trying to curry favor, you might as well bring back more flowers and plants. He might be more interested in those."
Rogier opened his mouth in surprise, wanting to refute something, but he found that what D said was not much different from Arthur's behavior in his own memory, so he could only close his mouth again.
He explained helplessly, "You misunderstood me, Darian. Although Arthur's collecting habits can indeed... be described as eccentric at times, he is certainly not someone who would be moved by those few jewels. As for currying favor, that's nonsense. I marked those treasures simply because I thought Arthur might need them someday. In our eyes, those treasures might not be that important, but in the eyes of the people of this world, they might be priceless..."
Two days later, near dusk, Rogier and D finally appeared beside the Greywater River.
The great river wound like an angry dragon towards the sea, its waves surging, and the river water sparkled with golden light under the reflection of the setting sun.
On both banks of the river, reeds swayed in the wind, making a rustling sound.
In the distance, a massive port stood silently on the opposite bank, its silhouette appearing particularly ancient and desolate in the setting sun.
Rogier stopped and asked D behind him, "Darian, why don't we rest here for the night and look for a shallower place to cross the river tomorrow during the day?"
D came to Rogier's side, took off his helmet, and looked at the surging Greywater River.
The sun gradually sank below the horizon, and the sunset glow began to paint a series of magnificent pictures across the sky. The river water roared southward in the twilight sun, eventually merging into the boundless blue ocean in the distance.
And everywhere D looked, he couldn't find a suitable place to cross the river.
"You're right, Rogier. It looks like we won't be able to cross the river before dark, so let's rest nearby for the night," D agreed, nodding.
Rogier smiled, pointed to a raised mound about ten meters ahead, and said, "Let's rest there; it can also block some of the night's cold wind for us."
Dusk deepened, and the last rays of the sun, like molten gold, spilled onto the river surface, gradually disappearing into the distance.
The sky turned from orange to dark, dotted with stars, and the moon slowly rose, casting a hazy silver light, like shattered Glass sprinkled on the tranquil water surface.
Because D was wearing armor, Rogier, who was relatively unencumbered, helped gather dry grass, branches, and a few stones, arranged the stones into a small circle, piled the dry grass and branches inside, then took out some fire oil from his In arms, smeared it on them, and ignited it.
However, D was not idle either; while Rogier was preparing the campfire, he was preparing the ingredients needed for dinner.
However, just as D had taken out a piece of cured bacon from their shared backpack, he saw Rogier suddenly stomp out the campfire he had just lit.
Although D had not been polite to Rogier verbally along the way, he was also very clear that his old friend would not make meaningless moves.
Therefore, D did not ask Rogier what had happened, but directly reached out and touched the Twinblade on his back.
Rogier grabbed a few handfuls of dirt from the ground to cover the smoking fire, then made a "shush" gesture to D, simultaneously gesturing for him to look at the abandoned Limgrave Greatbridge across the Greywater River.
D looked over, his eyes narrowing.
Because inside the supposedly abandoned Limgrave Greatbridge, points of torchlight had appeared.
The torchlight also illuminated their bearers, exposing their filthy bodies and grotesque features to Rogier and D's eyes.
Rogier whispered:
"Orcs."