It was decided, she would head South, towards the weeping peninsula. Untold horrors and unsurmountable dangers surely awaited her there, but what choice did she have? She grew weary of fighting to Gatefront ruins guards for a pittance of runes; she required a more valuable prize.
Taking heed of the advice offered by the council of elders: Bronwen the Bold, Philippe the Wise, William the Milquetoast, and Thibault the Pot Head; she mounted Sir Mix-a-Lot and set a course for the Weeping Peninsula. Above the cliffs, overlooking the bridge, her first challenge awaited: a pair of spell-casting undead. The damage inflicted by their aquamarine bolts was great, but her shield held them off, and she closed in for the kill. After a few more skirmishes, the way was mostly clear, she could see the bridge, but it was heavily guarded. Her combat skills would not be sufficient to challenge these foes, at least as a group. No matter. Once more mounted on her trusty stead, she made a beeline for the center of the bridge. Sir Mix-a-Lot dodged, pranced, and double-hopped his way through the fray, and before Shaw knew it, they had made it safely onto the other side.
Regaining her composure, and before exploring too far, Shaw needed to find a Site of Grace. The mad rush that brought her here could not be in vain; a place of sanctuary and rest was required, and quickly. She had already resigned herself to tireless exploration in order to find such a place, but thankfully she needn’t look far, as one was just beside the road, adjacent a merchant. “Praise FromSoft,” she sighed. After a brief respite and a fruitless visit with the merchant, a dark knight appeared out of nowhere and killed her on the spot, while the merchant packed up his wares and fled like a coward.
After recovering from her untimely demise, she continued Southward in search of the weapon, hinted at by Bronwen the Bold. Instead, what she found was a large fortification in the distance, firing what she assumed were cannonballs, for they had neither the size nor the impact damage of bovine projectiles. This way was blocked for now. She would have to come back some other time.
Shaw double-backed down the road and headed North-West, and found a map fragment. Finally a stroke of good luck. Once the lands of the Weeping Peninsula were revealed, she spotted a site that looked like it would most likely contain hidden treasure, a tomb, just like the elders foretold! Shaw set a waypoint and headed in that direction.
On her way, she observed what could only be described as a hulking stone turtle building with a colossal bell hanging between its legs. It seemed to be protected by glowing golden soldiers. She rode around it, deliberately observing, while keeping a safe distance. The turtle building seemed to pose no immediate threat, but you can never be too careful in the Lands Between. Unable to draw any meaningful conclusions, she instead rode towards a church atop a nearby hill. There she found another Site of Grace.
With a renewed sense of nearby-save-point-based confidence, Shaw decided to take a closer look at this clanging behemoth. A helpful sign on the ground hinted at what to do: “concentrate on the legs,” it read. “What possible effect could my measly sword have on these gigantic stone getaway sticks,” she mused. Nevertheless, she got in close, and started whacking away at the calcium deposits. It didn’t seem to have any effect, other than giving the legs a nice polishing. Maybe the turtle would reward her grooming? But no, soon enough, the turtle collapsed, and the building was accessible. Also the golden guards all vanished. Were they there to protect this turtle or merely to challenge the unworthy maidenless Tarnished, incapable of solving the riddle? Excited and overjoyed, Shaw climbed the steps, opened the door, and found… An empty room. “WTF FromSoft? Really? I did all that and all I got was some weird save/restore room for something I haven’t even learned yet? ARRRGHH!!!” Shaw gently whispered to herself before returning to the nearby church for a well-deserved nap.
Summary:
In which Shaw heads South to the Weeping Peninsula, fells a great stone turtle building, and finds absolutely nothing of interest.
