Vaguely remembering something about a cave in the cliffs on the coast, as mentioned previously by Boc (the little ragamuffin shrub monkey, see update #3) Shaw decided to set out in search of this place. She was already camping at the Seaside Ruins site of grace, so this seemed like a natural next step.
She carefully made her way down from the clifftops to the beach below, with the help of Sir Mix-a-Lot and spiritspring, the numerous bloodstains along the way testifying to the risk involved in even a simple task such as this one.
With both feet firmly planted on solid ground, she spotted a tall lanky fellow approaching from a distance. His stride was slow and deliberate, menacingly making his way towards her, as she fiddled with the controls to make the HUD reappear, which was previously turned off to take some sick screenshots, but I digress.
What stood before her, turned out to be an Alabaster Lord, defeated with relative ease, yielding a Gravitas Ash of War, which she equipped promptly to her main sword.
Following the marks left on the ground by fellow Tarnished, she was led to a cave. In here she found a talisman, and hopefully she would progress the Boc questline. Imagine her surprise then, when after leaping down from a ledge (a one-way ledge might I add) she found herself once again in the Cave of Knowledge, the starting point of her journey, lo these 12 days ago.
No matter, she spotted a white force field and a statue requiring a Stonesword key to unlock. She had found such a key just yesterday; the frustration had turned into an opportunity! Sadly, as she attempted to use the key, she was informed that she didn’t have enough keys, and the opportunity quickly reverted into frustration.
Never one to be completely defeated, Shaw exited the cave into the sunlight, and spotted a nearby NPC. Being fairly certain that she hadn’t exhausted the dialog tree on her previous visit, for she did not know this was a thing when she originally emerged from the cave, she approached and initiated a conversation. What followed were helpful tips about following yellow lines from sites of grace, not so helpful tips such as heading directly for the castle, and finally, a completely unnecessary remark about Shaw’s maidenless status.
Shaw would not let this insult stand, she would show this NPC what this maidenless tarnished was capable of. She hopped onto Sir Mix-a-Lot, summoned her wolves, and rode hard towards the Tree Sentinel. Evidently, her foe was unprepared for such a bold strike, as she was able to land multiple strikes before the Tree Sentinel was able to riposte with a single blow. Shaw fought valiantly, having brought him down to nearly half his health, but in the end she was defeated.
It was time to call it for the night. “Fuck that,” she thought, “there is no way this garish gold armor wearing motherfucker is getting the best of me.” Shaw once more mounted her steed and rode towards the sentinel, this time with the assistance of her as of yet unnamed, giant glowing jellyfish, while dual-wielding swords; and once again she was defeated, and much more quickly.
“Time of a change of tactics,” she mused. Shaw equipped her default sword and her default halberd; a weapon she had possessed since the beginning of her journey, but had never considered using. She headed out again. What followed was an epic dual on horseback. Once Shaw mastered the ability to not disappear her horse by accidentally pressing down on the left stick, the Tree Sentinel no longer stood a chance. It was over quickly; the prize, a golden halberd. Now, it was time for a good stiff drink, and some rest.
See if you can spot what’s missing from this picture:
Summary:
In which Shaw boldly and bravely confronts the most powerful opponent in the starting area of Limgrave.
