Elden Ring : Godrick The Golden

After pacifying his riled-up soldiers who now looked at him with reverence, and the Dragon Knights who now looked at him with respect, he hurried back to his mansion, not keen on letting himself linger for much longer.

He was now drastically different from the Godrick of old and he wished to keep that advantage. The Dragon Knights would not spread it as they did not wish for knowledge of the Blessing to spread further than it already had, while his soldiers were firmly ordered to keep their mouths shut.

A few days passed, and he'd finalised his plan to get out of Scadu Atlas while Taraghlan had started practising posing as Godrick with the Mimic's veil. It was truly an incredible item, worthy of being Marika's personal artefact. Even his pitiful Level 1 [Observe] could not see through it, displaying Taraghlan as Godrick.

He'd coached Taraghlan on the responses to every possible scenario that he could think of, and how he should treat and address the other Knight Commanders. Regarding their escape, they'd settled on a particular supply chain that would leave the city three days after Taraghlan left with the Dragon Knights.

Guarded by a small group of Leyndell footsoldiers, it would travel to a nearby town to collect taxes and a portion of its harvest while giving them necessities such as clothing material, wood and a few weapons to defend against any attacks. It was the perfect way to get out of Leyndell without causing a fuss.

While waiting for the day to leave, He continued to train while getting used to his upgraded body. Frankly, although it was a substantial increase in stats for him, Earnan could continue to thrash him in any duel. Not only did he still hold stat supremacy in Dexterity and Strength, but he out-skilled him with the sword and spear by a large margin. It did have to be said that Godrick's increased reach and endurance made it a tad bit harder to beat him.

Although his staggering increase in stats when he'd been as frail as a stick had slowed down, he did make some decent progress.

(Character Sheet :

 Godrick the Golden ( Level 1 )

 Age: Twenty-three and three months old

 EXP: 1/100

 HP: 100{ Healthy }

 FP: 50

 Strength: 8->8.5

 Dexterity: 5.1->5.8

 Endurance: 10.7

 Vigor: 10

 Mind: 5.1

 Intelligence: 5.1

 Faith: 14)

***

"My Lord, are you sure this is our best option?", Earnan hesitated as saw a dozen men tied up and stripped of their uniforms before him. They were gagged and blindfolded, whimpering in fear.

"If we do not want Morgott breathing down our necks, yes", Godrick nodded, changing into a fitting footsoldier uniform. It wasn't all that hard to track down and capture said men. A tiny pinch of St Trina Lily paste in their drinks was enough for them to get knocked out cold. "We aren't killing them, Earnan. An eagle will be sent to the Dragon Knights informing them of their location once we're sufficiently far away. They will be rescued."

Taraghlan had already left with Roidh and the Dragon Knights who didn't suspect a thing. Godrick even suspected that Taraghlan enjoyed acting all aloof with the Knights. But now, the time had come for their great escape. If he tried to leave the normal way, he had a sneaking suspicion that Morgott would appear before them as Margit, calling him a traitor to the Erdtree for daring to have any sort of ambition.

"I understand", Earnan sighed, wearing his soldier uniform, his muscled form making it a tad bit difficult. The warehouse that they were in was quite dark and deary, near the outskirts of the city. It was the perfect place to carry out any shady operation.

All of Godrick's men changed into footsoldier uniforms while hiding chests of artefacts, spellbooks and gold and silver beneath the normal cargo of clothes and weapons on the numerous carts lined outside. He needed all the gold he could get if he wished to build a sizable force at Stormveil.

"Did you get the ticket?", he asked Earnan who nodded and flashed a stone tablet with the seal of the Dragon Cult on it. It was issued to soldiers who exited the City of Leyndell and were required to enter it, akin to one's passport.

"Sleep pots?"

"Done."

"Good. We'll leave at dawn", Godrick nodded, cracking his neck and walking out to the carts lined outside. He needed to rest before their big day.

***

"Destination?", a knight clad in gold asked them as they pulled up to the Capital rampart - a narrow bridge that led to the area between the Outer and Inner walls, a carpet of orangish-golden leaves covering the ground.

"Town of Ebonvale", Earnan said gruffly, flashing the stone tablet as he sat on his horse.

Godrick and the rest of his soldiers sat in the two large carts, a few on their own horses, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

The Leyndel Knight nodded at the tablet but froze at seeing Earnan's scar.

"I don't remember seeing that before on the Ebonvale Captain", he frowned, his hand tightening around his spear. "Dark skin, yes. Not that scar."

"Apologies sir, I gave him that in a spar last noon", Godrick perked up from the back making his voice as squeaky as possible, making Earnan almost break character and burst out laughing.

"You spar with real blades?", the Knight looked at Earnan incredulously.

"A few pints of Rowa wine can do that to even the sanest of men", Earnan scratched his chin acting embarrassed. "A [Heal] from one of my men snapped me out of it."

"Heh...happens to the best of us", the Knight shrugged before tossing the tablet back to Earnan. "Get that checked by a perfumer when you come back"

"I will, sir."

"Good. Off you go", the Knight shooed us away before turning to the group behind them who babbled something about losing their ticket.

"I'm assuming we're going directly to Stormveil, Sire", Earnan inquired as Godrick leant on a chest on the back of the cart, watching the Capital Rampart disappear into the distance.

"That is the final destination. We'll make a few detours along the way", he replied as he took the stunning scenery. The Erdtree looming in the distance with leaves of orangish-gold floating down from the numerous trees surrounding them. The Minor Erdtree that was supposed to be to their immediate right was missing. Either it was in another location, or it just hadn't grown to its intimidating size yet.

"As in?"

"Head to the fog-filled forest first. Do you know of the Altus Tunnel?"

"I do...but...", Earnan hesitated.

"There's rumours of, unnatural happenings in that forest, My Lord", a soldier next to Godrick whispered, finishing Earnan's sentence, his dull-gold eyes ablaze with fear. "It's said that eerie laughter is heard from within it, ever since the Shattering."

"Have no fear, we will not be venturing into it", Godrick shook his head. "I merely need to recover something from the Altus Tunnel. We'll be off to the Great Lift before you know it."

"But the lift has been locked by the Dectus Medallion ever since the Shattering", the soldier said tentatively. "We do not have that among our number. The city rarely hands them out."

"I know of another way, worry not", Godrick waved his hand and the others nodded, nervous but prepared.

The rest of the journey to the Outer Wall went quite smoothly. While his soldiers slept or chatted among themselves in low voices, Godrick was taking everything in. It was a new experience for him, but not for them.

They passed by gigantic golems with designs akin to the Divine Towers in the game, a mystery to even Godrick, Large swathes of footsoldiers and Knights, building camps, patrolling the area and seemingly preparing for war.

Morgott did not trust his siblings, it seemed. Rightfully so.

While travelling from the Inner to the Outer Walls took all but one minute in-game, it took hours in real life. He could barely comprehend the size of the city while in it and it was no different when he was outside. Even the Inner Walls put the walls of Attack on Titan to shame while the Outer Walls were so gigantic and enormous that they seemed to support the very skies. The Erdtree, on the other hand, dwarfed them all, looming in the distance with a size so mind-boggling that it could be viewed from anywhere on the Lands-Between.

It made him feel insignificant. So small and fleeting. But it also stoked the flame of ambition within him. He'd finally gotten out of the prison that was Leyndell.

And now, it was time to grow stronger. So strong that even the Gilded Erdtree would be beneath his feet.

***

Every power stone counts! If we hit 500 by Sunday there's a bonus chappy!