The task Ranni had entrusted to Blaidd was to find the path to the ancient underground city of Nokron. She sought a specific artifact hidden within those eternal halls—a weapon born of a high treason committed against the Greater Will in ages past.
The Greater Will did not usually deign to swat "ants," but if it had saw fit to bury Nokron beneath the earth, it meant the city possessed something that truly threatened the Order. To the Tarnished, this made Ranni's ambition all the more compelling. The moment she had identified herself as the witch who stole Death and betrayed all things, his admiration for her had grown.
"Your former employer is quite the schemer," the Tarnished remarked as they left Ranni's Rise.
"Indeed, My Lord... the Night of the Black Knives was a tapestry woven by Lady Ranni's hand. To think fate has brought us back to her..." Aenophe murmured.
The Tarnished's thoughts drifted to Rogier back at the Roundtable Hold. It was time to tell him what he'd found, though Rogier had likely already deduced the truth from the blue symbol of the cursemark—a hue synonymous with the Carian moon.
As they reached the nearest Site of Grace, the Rancor Pot in the Tarnished's pouch began to vibrate violently. The closer they drew to the Stormhill region, the more the Ghostflame within it churned. Is there something related to the death-rite nearby? Curiosity piqued, he decided to stop near the tunnel leading to Stormveil Castle.
Night fell over Limgrave. As they approached the shack where they had first met Roderika, the lush green grass had been replaced by sprawling, gruesome mounds of bleached bone.
"My Lord, look..." Aenophe pointed at the residue. It was the same ash found in the Rancor Pot—the remains of Ghostflame.
Suddenly, a crimson silhouette manifested from the darkness. It was the Bell Bearing Hunter, a red-tinged phantom executor who stalked merchants. He seemed uninterested in the Tarnished at first, but then a new shadow eclipsed the sky.
With a haunting screech, a massive, winged creature with an exposed skull descended. It gripped a ritual poker and radiated a bone-chilling aura of death. This was a Deathbird, a servant of an Outer God that predated the Erdtree.
"My Lord... shall we?"
Before the Tarnished could answer, the Deathbird swung its poker in a massive arc. The Tarnished and Aenophe dodged, but the Bell Bearing Hunter was caught in the blast and sent flying. Rage flared in the phantom's eyes. The hunter's killing intent shifted, locking onto both the Tarnished and the Deathbird.
A chaotic three-way battle erupted. The Bell Bearing Hunter unleashed the Marais Executioner's Sword, throwing the greatsword into the air where it spun like a crimson drill, homing in on its targets. Meanwhile, the Deathbird flooded the field with freezing Ghostflame.
"That sword technique... an Executioner of House Marais?" The Tarnished recognized the style immediately. Long ago, he had met the first head of that family—a frail, pale-haired man with failing eyesight who had taken up the grim task of executioner to serve the Capital. The Tarnished had even taught the man the basics of that "dancing" blade style, though he hadn't stayed to see the family's eventual fall into rebellion.
"A Marais executioner shouldn't be wandering this far from home. You truly have turned traitor," the Tarnished muttered. He summoned the Tail of the Crucible, sweeping both the Hunter and the Deathbird back.
Aenophe saw her opening. She vanished and reappeared behind the Deathbird, plunging her Black Knife—imbued with the Rune of Death—deep into its spine.
"It seems my 'Destined Death' is the stronger one," she said coldly. Black-red flames erupted from within the creature. The Deathbird let out a world-shaking shriek before dissolving into ash.
The Tarnished then focused on the Hunter. He parried the spinning red blade and used a dragon claw to crush the phantom's chest, sending the spirit back to whatever dark corner it had come from.
As the silence returned to Stormhill, the Tarnished stared at the spot where the Deathbird had vanished.
"I recall... the Gloam-Eyed Queen had her own followers, didn't she? The Godskin Apostles."
Aenophe nodded. "They are the remnants of a rival Order, My Lord. They were led by the Queen who wielded the Black Flame until Maliketh defeated her."
"The Deathbirds have appeared, and the seal on Death is weakening," the Tarnished mused. "I wonder if the Godskins are moving too. Ranni is a prime target for them. She stole the very power they once worshipped."
The thought of Ranni being hunted by Godskin nobles was a nuisance. If she fell before their alliance bore fruit, his journey would become much more complicated. But Ranni had more than just Godskins to worry about—she was being hunted by the "Baleful Shadows" of the Two Fingers and potentially even rogue Black Knives.
"My Lord... I must leave your side for a time," Aenophe said suddenly.
"Oh? Found something better to do?"
"I wish to find the other Black Knives... to gather them and prevent unnecessary conflict. And perhaps, to ensure our sisters do not become pawns against Lady Ranni."
The Tarnished looked at her for a long moment, then reached out and snapped his fingers. A golden rune manifested, sinking into Aenophe's chest.
"A resonance rune? Usually, people only put these on armor..." Aenophe looked surprised. To place a rune inside someone required total, soul-deep trust. By accepting it, she had truly opened her heart to him.
"Stay safe," the Tarnished said. "Don't go dying where I can't see you."
"I shall complete the mission, My Lord!" Aenophe bowed and vanished into the shadows, her destination set for a secret location in the Altus Plateau.
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