The Tarnished in LOTR with Elden Ring

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 best not to touch the stagnant water," Rogier said, looking at the shallow puddles within the ruins. A green film covered their surfaces, and they emitted a foul odor.

D replied, stepping carefully around the puddles with his iron-booted feet, "I'm not some curious novice on my first adventure. The places where Those Who Live in Death reside are often far more defiled than this. You don't need to remind me of such things."

Rogier shrugged, his hand resting on the hilt of his rapier, and followed D, inspecting every part of the ruins. The ancient paths were covered in mud, obscuring their original carvings and edges. Moss grew thick on the walls, marks of time on the dilapidated remains of what was once a bustling settlement. Now, it was silent and lonely, save for the mournful cries of a few solitary, unnamed black birds circling the crumbling walls. Weeds grew rampant in the cracks of the stones, and wildflowers bloomed unappreciated.

Their steps finally halted before a relatively well-preserved wooden house. They exchanged glances.

The house was hidden amidst dense greenery, its roof tiles mostly gone, its surrounding walls weathered by wind and rain until the wood had turned a deep, dark brown. The carvings on the lintel were blurred, and grotesque gargoyles adorned the outside. The door was ajar, and a cold, damp, musty smell wafted out from within.

They peered through the doorway; the interior was exceptionally dim, untouched by direct sunlight. They could vaguely make out a few dilapidated pieces of furniture placed haphazardly, their surfaces eroded by time.

D sighed. "Do these monsters—these 'Mewlips'—truly 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 a sign screaming, 'Something strange here.'"

Rogier chuckled. "Normal people wouldn't come to a place like this. Only someone lost in the wilderness, seeing such a house, might hide inside to rest."

After hearing Rogier's words, D was silent for a moment before retorting, "Are you saying that neither of us is normal?"

Rogier had already drawn the rapier from his waist. As he ran a hand along its blade, a brilliant azure light materialized. 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 every ruin to see what devils and ghosts are hidden inside. So, I suppose I don't seem like a normal person either."

D said nothing, merely gripping his intertwined twin blades of gold and silver with both hands. A golden glow, symbolizing judgment, filled the blades.

Boom—!

D kicked the ajar brown wooden door. It groaned and split open under his force. The upper half flew up like a kite with a broken string, raising a cloud of dust, while the lower half, too fragile to withstand the impact, shattered into scattered wooden pieces.

Along with the door, a black monster that had been hiding in the shadows 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 monster let out a piercing shriek, simultaneously throwing the shattered door as a weapon.

D swung his sword arm fiercely, the blade as delicate and swift as lightning, easily cleaving the flying debris in half. At the same time, Rogier's figure shot out from behind him like a leopard. His rapier, along with the magical Glintstone blade floating behind him, pierced the Mewlip's body, which was like black sludge.

The Mewlip's flesh began to crumble under the erosion of Glintstone sorcery, as if gnawed by countless tiny insects. Its groans gradually turned into the low gurgle of mud. Rogier gave it no chance to breathe; his movements were swift and precise, each thrust of the blade accurately striking its vital points. The Mewlip's struggles grew weaker, until it turned into an unrecognizable viscous substance, lying silently on the cold ground.

But this was far from over.

Inside the cellar, a lone, 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. One Mewlip after another twisted their muddy bodies, their roars accompanied by the gurgling of water as they rushed up the passage from the cellar to the first floor.

But a figure in gold and silver armor blocked the exit: D.

From their previous experiences, he and Rogier knew that these monsters liked to hide in cellars. So, while Rogier had dealt with the first Mewlip, D had already found the passage leading down. Facing the group of hideous creatures, D twisted his wrist, and the tip of his twin blades accurately pierced the head of the nearest one. The golden glow on the blade blossomed in the darkness. The Mewlip's shriek abruptly ceased, its evil aura instantly dissipating.

Immediately after, a faint yet sacred mark of the Golden Order began to appear on D's other hand. The incantation for the prayer "Litany of Proper Death" lit up with a dazzling golden light in the cellar filled with filth and evil.

"Defilers must die."

D's disdainful words echoed in the narrow cellar passage. When the golden light dissipated, the Mewlips, like their companion upstairs, had turned into an unrecognizable viscous substance.

Three magical Glintstone blades then swept past D from behind, swiftly plunging into one of the puddles of sludge. The puddle undulated a few times, then completely ceased motion with an unwilling roar.

D said without turning his head, "I found that one hiding behind its companions. You don't need to worry about me, Rogier."

Rogier's somewhat innocent voice came from above the cellar. "Glintstone blades are a type of self-targeting sorcery. 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 blades reappeared at his shoulders. Then he walked down the damp stone stairs. With a gentle flick of the hand holding his staff, he cast the basic illumination sorcery, Starlight. A bright azure glow instantly filled the dim cellar. A small azure orb of light floated above his pointed sorcerer's hat. He frowned after clearly seeing the scene inside.

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 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 twin blade 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 hat, placed it over his heart, and silently mourned the victims for a few moments before putting his hat back on. He really wanted to tell his friend that these departed souls did not believe in the Golden Tree and there was no need to mourn them with an elegy of the Golden Order. But his high emotional intelligence made it clear that saying so would only make D angrier, with no benefit whatsoever.

While D was still praying for the lost innocents, Rogier, using the light from his sorcery, discovered a pile of treasure in a shallower corner of the water: silver cups, gold coins, gems, and pearls. Beside the treasure was a pale candle, extinguished by the accumulated water.

Indeed, he thought, these monsters, as indicated on the map, often hide in cellars lit by only a single candle, counting their treasure by its pale glow.

Rogier took out his map 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 had not encountered evil, man-eating monsters like Mewlips. 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 had 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 Tarnes chose this land as the starting point for rebuilding the Golden Tree; 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 Tarnes, Tarnes could only reply: Don't ask. It was ordained.

At this moment, D finished his prayers, looked at Rogier 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 the Greyflood. And our destination, Tharbad, is on the opposite side."

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 you ever being 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 Tarnes."

His words made D even more confused. He matched the other's pace and pressed, "For Lord Tarnes? 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 Rowa 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 Tarnes's behavior in his own memory, so he could only close his mouth again. He explained helplessly, "You misunderstood me, Darian. Although Tarnes'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 Tarnes 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 Greyflood. The great river wound like an angry dragon towards the sea, its waves surging, the water sparkling with golden light under the reflection of the setting sun. On both banks, 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, "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 Greyflood. The sun gradually sank below the horizon, and the sunset glow painted 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. 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."

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.

Because D was wearing armor, Rogier, who was relatively unencumbered, helped gather dry grass, branches, and a few stones. He arranged the stones into a small circle, piled the dry grass and branches inside, then took out some fire oil, smeared it on them, and ignited it.

D was not idle either; while Rogier was preparing the campfire, he was preparing the ingredients needed for dinner. However, just as he had taken out a piece of cured bacon from their shared backpack, he saw Rogier suddenly stomp out the campfire.

Although D had not been polite to Rogier verbally along the way, he knew his old friend would not make meaningless moves. He did not ask 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 fortress of Tharbad across the Greyflood.

D looked over, his eyes narrowing.

Inside the supposedly abandoned ruins, points of torchlight had appeared. The light illuminated their bearers, exposing filthy bodies and grotesque features.

Rogier whispered, "Orcs."

(End of Chapter)

***

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