Stormveil Castle was proving too difficult for Shaw. A major stronghold of the enemy, the relative ease with which Margit was dispatched, hardly hinted at the difficulties contained within the keep. She would have to come back some other time, but where to go now?
The obvious choice presented itself, she would thoroughly explore the remainder of Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula, checking off all remaining dungeons, tunnels, catacombs and other points of interest off the map, starting with the Earthbore Cave.
Shaw was fairly certain she had not cleared this cave. It was not a very large place, so she briskly reached the end, coming face-to-face with a runebear. Her wolf spirit ashes, the 3 Amigos, were not much help; they died quickly, without inflicting much damage, and Shaw soon followed them. She would have to be more measured in her approach, rolling, healing, and attacking only when an opening presented itself. This second attempt was met with success.
Shaw was proud to have defeated a foe, the “proper way.” Next, she headed for the Tombsward Catacombs, which proved to be even less of a challenge. Having accumulated a decent amount of runes, she returned to the Roundtable Hold and spoke to this fellow with the strange-looking armor. (Sidenote: apparently his name is D, Hunter of the Dead. Cool name bro.)
He wanted something called a deathroot, and as luck would have it, she’d just picked one up from the catacombs. In exchange for the item, D gave her directions to the Gurranq, a beast clergyman, because in this land, animals go to church? Initially, Shaw suspected an ambush, since her spirit ashes activated, but she needn’t have worried, the dude was just hungry for some deathroot, which she promptly fed to him.
Outside the church, Shaw met the angel of death guarding the stairs. She assumed he must also be friendly, but the giant axe that split her in half, instantly killing her, quickly dissuaded her of that notion. Note to self, trust no one.
Instead she would try to avoid him, but she didn’t get far, the only road out of that section ending in a bridge, guarded by a dragon, and as her loyal (yet non-existent) readers will remember, dragon equals death (see Update #23).
Since she had reached another dead end, Shaw teleported back to the Weeping Peninsula to explore some more. From the isolated merchant’s shack, she spotted a small tower on a raised outcrop overlooking the sea. It was not well-defended, but hopefully she would find some interesting item at the top. Instead, when she opened the chest, she was teleported to Leyndell, the Royal Capital.
“Hurray!” she thought, “a new area to explore!” But it was not to be, for the grand archway in the above picture was guarded by an unbeatable foe, and the area behind contained a sheer drop with an inactive elevator. Still, the change of scenery, however fleeting, encouraged her to spend more time exploring Limgrave, in the hopes of finding additional secrets. “Let me fight the Minor Erdtree Avatar!” she exclaimed with a demented look in her eyes, an expression on her face hinting at the madness that was building within.
Minor Erdtree Avatar
First attempt
Barely a dent
Followed by
A rather swift, and
Painful death
Second attempt
Fire grease applied
Burning foe
Temporary effect
Painful death
Third attempt
Mounted attack
Strike and retreat
Accidental dismount
Painful death
Twelfth attempt
Jellyfish summoned
Fiery sword
Mounted attack
Strike and retreat
Accidental dismount
Rinse and repeat
Careful with controls
Led to Avatar’s defeat
Note: the number of times I ****ing accidentally dismounted while fighting the avatar because I pressed slightly too hard on L3 almost made me quit the game. Hey FromSoftware, please allow me to dismount my steed with the same controls I use to summon him so I don’t keep disappearing him mid-battle and getting smashed in the face. Like I don’t know, maybe make it an option or something. Honestly the game is hard enough, I don’t need artificial roadblocks. THANKS!
