Stormgate. A Knight hails Rogier. Knight: Hail, from Fort Haight. Knight: Is the shardbearer in good health? Rogier: He's not bad, but he's not well, either.
They walk through outer courtyard, which is defended by soldiers. Knight: An eerie silence emanates from Castle Morne. Knight: Edgar has been asking reinforcements for a while.
Rogier: I know, but Stormveil is hardly defended now. Knight: That's not my complaint. Knight: Something_ rather than _nothing should be done.
Knight: And, we all want to see boughs of gold, again.
The inner courtyard is full of fighters training. Knight: We have a great rune. We have audience with the Erdtree. Knight: We should sort everything out, and march to Leyndell.
Rogier: It's not so easy. Knight: Nothing is easy - Rogier: I know what you mean, friend, I know what you mean.
They reach the Secluded Cell, where Gareth is residing. Rogier: Maybe you can shake him out of his torpor.
Gareth. He is in a humble smock. He is shaken, hunched over; his face is dark and tired; his hair is unkempt; and his hands fall on his knees. He seems like a statue. Yuina watches over his cell.
Knight: ... Knight: G- Knight: Err, Sir Gareth.
Gareth: "Gareth" is just fine.
Knight: ...
Knight: I knew your brother, sir. He was a fine warrior. Gareth: ...
Knight: He would find winning words to carry us into Leyndell. Gareth: Aye. He would.
Knight: But, we must take care of business here... Gareth: Aye.
Knight: ... Gareth: Fort Haight is running thin on Tarnished. Meanwhile, Stormveil is overflowing with Tarnished, from Liurnia, won over by the win.
Gareth: Because of the battle, Castle Morne's forces are weak. Gareth: That is the state of things.
Knight: And? Gareth: ...
Knight: Rogier, may I speak with you privately? Rogier: Certainly.
Outside of the cell. The knight tries to keep silent, as well as he can. Knight: What is his damn problem? Rogier: Sir, I -
Knight: I'm a sensible man. Knight: That march, makes normal men blench. Knight: But that's why I expect more.
Gareth, in his cell. He listens solemnly. Knight: He defeated Godrick. He has a Great Rune. Knight: And yet he sits in that cell, doing nothing.
Knight: Other men look up to him. Knight: When does one take damn responsibility for their actions?
Rogier: Sir, I gently say this: Rogier: I understand your feelings.
Rogier: I also gently suggest this: Rogier: Mind your own business.
Rogier: What Gareth does is his own. Rogier: It's you fellows that want to involve Gareth in your schemings.
Rogier: It's as you said: he won the rune on his own. Rogier: I only attend to him.
Knight: Then I say this: damn you, damn him, and damn your squandering other men's hopes and dreams. Knight: I'll let every man in Limgrave know this. He storms off in a huff.
A young knight approaches Rogier. Young knight: Rogier, this isn't true, is it?...
Young knight: We all dream of seeing gold again.
Rogier: ...
Rogier enters Gareth's cell. Rogier: Gareth. You heard all of that, right?
Rogier: It was your brother that gave them promises. Rogier: How do you answer yourself?
Gareth: ...
Gareth: My brother was a warrior... Gareth: ...so they tell me.
Gareth: Then, it was right for Gaer to die. Gareth: So why did Gaer live?
Gareth: I don't understand. I fear I may never understand.
Gareth: And I fear, I'll never cease being filled with murderous rage, Gareth: against those who insult Gaer with the word, "warrior".
Gareth: It's tantamount to saying, "Gaer is better dead." Gareth: You might as well say, "And why love your brother?"
Gareth: I loved my brother because I loved him. I thought that sufficed.
Gareth, in a rage: Why doesn't that suffice?!
Gareth begins smashing things in the room.
Gareth draws a knife up to his neck.
Yuina tries to restrain him.
The two struggle for a while.
Gareth overpowers her.
Rogier removes the knife from his hand.
Rogier slaps him across the face.
He grabs him by his smock. Rogier: Come on, man. Pull yourself together.
Gareth, his face wet with tears: I'm sorry... I'm sorry.
Gareth: Yuina, I'm sorry. Yuina bows, saying nothing.
Rogier: ... Rogier: We need a diversion. Rogier: Tell me, what did you and Gaer do before you came to the Lands Between?
Gareth: We were raised up as boys to be soldiers... Gareth: We barely knew our mother and father.
Gareth: We were born in a divided kingdom. Gareth: We would fight for a side, to join another side, to then betray yet another side.
Gareth: Gaer was the one who kept my spirits up. Gareth: He was my guide.
Gareth: As brothers, we promised to die in the battlefield together.
Gareth: So, when the enemy surrounded us, that is precisely what we did: we died fighting side by side. Gareth: Not a happy end, but a good one.
Gareth: We came to the Lands Between, together. Gareth: I thought, "Surely this was fate."
Gareth: Gaer and I fought together, with men. We fought other men. Gareth: We never fought monsters.
Gareth: I have seen churches devoted to Marika, before. Gareth: I may have prayed at a procession before.
Gareth: If Marika is so great a goddess, why does she permit demons in her realm?
Rogier: ... Gareth: We came from a cruel world, and yet even that world had honor. Gareth: They knew some bonds were thicker than blood.
Gareth: Humans should kill humans, Rogier. Gareth: Otherwise, what is the dignity in dying?
Rogier: ... Rogier: So, is that what you want? Rogier: To see your brother again?
Gareth: Aye. Gareth: Or, never see anything again.
Rogier: ... Rogier: I don't want to get your hopes up, but once upon a time, this would come true.
Gareth: What do you mean? Gareth: Tell me.
Rogier: The very conceit of the Golden Order is to unify the body, mind, and fate.
Rogier puts his fist on Gareth. Rogier: Body: the vehicle. Rogier: Mind: experiences, memories, longings.
Rogier: Fate: our journey to our end.
Rogier: Without mind, we are indifferent. Rogier: Without body, we cannot change.
Rogier: And without fate, we despair. Rogier: All three are needed to comprehend our place in the universe.
Rogier: The Order is an order over the universe, Rogier: to ensure everyone takes comfort in their existence.
Rogier: Through the Erdtree, bodies are restored, Rogier: spirits are replenished, Rogier: and fates are assigned. Rogier: This is totality.
Rogier: And if one of these changes, the others also change. Rogier: Some fates can only be completed by some bodies, Rogier: and some dispositions suit certain fates.
Rogier: Even if Gaer were given a different fate, Rogier: you would still be united in him, in mind and body.
Images of wandering bodies and spirits. Rogier: But that was a long time ago. Rogier: Even before The Shattering. Rogier: Now this unity is no longer guaranteed. Rogier: Corpses wander, by the orders last given them, Rogier: spirits dwell, colored by their final emotions, Rogier: and fates are unended.
Rogier: ... Rogier: I did not want to ask this of you in your current state, but maybe it will serve as a good distraction.
Gareth: Ask it of me. Rogier: Very well. Rogier unbuttons his tunic.
Rogier reveals a black growth where his heart should be. Gareth: ! Gareth: What is that?
Rogier: Roots. Rogier covers up his breast. Rogier: You recall the smaller Erdtree in Mistwood?
Gareth: Yes... Rogier: It is a paradox in the Golden Order. Rogier: It means the true Erdtree is not supreme, and therefore weak.
Rogier: Because the Erdtree is law, that means another law of nature is sprouting. Rogier: And it grows, below Stormveil.
Rogier: Gareth, I...cannot look at that thing. Rogier: It will kill me. Well, I might die anyway.
Rogier: But you...have the grace of gold. Rogier: I think Marika will protect you.
Rogier: Go to Stormveil's basement, and find me some evidence of the black tree. Rogier: I want to study it.
Yuina is behind Rogier. Rogier, to Yuina: Oh... You can go, too.
Gareth: Will...this bring Gaer back? Rogier: I knew you would ask. Rogier: In short: no.
Rogier: Or...maybe. Rogier: Again, this is out of the Erdtree's purveyance, and my understanding.
Gareth: ...Alright. I'll go. Gareth tries to stand up.
Gareth is a little shaky. Rogier: You should eat first, fellow.
Rogier: You have more appetite for exploring than knighting?
Gareth: Knighting?... That has no meaning to me, anymore.
Gareth: But, well, this is the realm of miracles, so they say. I want to find out more about life.
Gareth: And... Gareth: Thank you.
Gareth eats. Yuina stands guard, and Rogier explains further theories to him.
Gareth puts on his armor. Yuina helps.
The Liftside Chamber. Before the trio is the bolted door D mentions in Chapter 5. Gareth: This leads to the basement? Rogier: Going by the castle layout, aye.
Gareth bases his - new - greatshield against the door, denting it somewhat.
Rogier: Hoh. Gareth: This thing's too strong. I was hoping it would be rusted.
Rogier: Can't hammer it again? Gareth: Nay, it'll only absorb the blow.
Gareth: Unless, you have any tricks? Yuina: ...Nay.
Rogier: Well, we can try to go around the castle. I think the servants' quarters are on the route.
The trio get on the lift.
They walk about the castle's rampart.
In the level above the Secluded Cell, where the floor had sunk, they fold their bellies against the walls and navigate the rafters.
They are higher on the ramparts.
They enter a stormroom.
From the stormroom, they enter a makeshift wooden scaffolding leading back to the sunken floor.
To their left is the servants' quarters.
Gareth, through the portal: Hellooooo?
The servants look up, haggard.
Servant: Who...who are you?
Gareth: I reckon I am the new lord of Stormveil. Servant: Oh.
Gareth: ... Servant: ...
Gareth: You have nothing to say? Servant: Not really.
Gareth: That's fair.
Outside of the servants' quarters, leading to the outside. Gareth: How do I get down? Servant: We hug the walls and climb down.
Gareth and company hug the walls and climb down. The servants watch them, wearily.
They enter the hallway.
They see the door Gareth had bent. Gareth: All that for one door...
Gareth unlocks the door and opens it.
Rogier: This is where I leave, then. Gareth: Alright. Cheers.
Gareth, to Yuina: Alright, then...
They look down the crumbling architecture. Gareth: How do we get down there?
Gareth and Yuina climb down the arches.
On the level below, they fight giant bats.
They hop from more arches, onto wooden scaffolding.
Their feet are finally on firm earth. Broken statues surround them. Gareth: That's...more...climbing...than I want to do...in an entire life.
Giant rats swarm at them, as tall as their knees. Gareth: Whoa!
They fight the rats; Yuina cuts them up, Gareth flattens them with his shield.
A giant whisker enters frame.
An even larger rat, twice Gareth's height, enters the frame.
Gareth: Holy! The rat throws itself against Gareth, knocking his shield away.
The rat opens its mouth, attempting to devour him.
Gareth brings the corpse of a smaller giant rat up.
The larger rat devours it.
Gareth backs away as the larger rat eats. Yuina is on the rat's head.
She thrusts down. Yuina: Hahh!
Her Uchigatana breaks skin, but does not go in any further. Yuina: ...
She tries to push it in deeper. Yuina: Hahh! Hahh! Hahhhh!
The rat shakes her off, as Gareth rushes in.
Gareth beats his side against the rat's face. It bleeds.
Gareth brings the shield up.
He brings the tip of the shield into the rat's eye.
The rat's legs kick in pain. Gareth tips it over.
He beats the skull over and over, cracking it.
The rat's head internally ruptures.
Blood and brain matter spill out.
Gareth: I wonder what this thing eats...
Gareth, to Yuina: By the way... Gareth: ...have you ever been trained, in martial arts?
Yuina: Yes.
Gareth stares firmly at her. Yuina: ...
Yuina: Formally, no.
Yuina: I forced myself into battle, for the sake of my clan. Yuina: But I held a katana, before.
Gareth: That makes sense. You never had the air of a...soldier.
Gareth: It doesn't matter to me. I just wanted to know.
Gareth: But then, how did you help with the night riders?
Yuina: Who? Gareth: I didn't see them, but they were warriors in black. Gareth: I was told you cut a horse in half.
Yuina: Oh. Yuina: I don't know how, either.
Gareth: Hum.
Gareth: You do move well in armor, however.
Yuina: I was always praised for carrying things.
Gareth: I see...
The pair arrive at a depression in the ground, taller than a person's height. Gareth: Come on now... Gareth: I'm sick of climbing.
The pair make their way down. Gareth: Look at this.
The ground is covered in corpses, with black plants growing out of them. Gareth: All these bodies... Gareth: Did Godrick use these as dumping grounds?
Gareth looks upward, where black roots fall from the ceiling. Gareth: And then these roots. Gareth: This castle, decidedly, needs some trimming.
The ground beneath them shakes. Gareth: Hooo...
Something large pokes out of the ground, as large as a person and shaped somewhat like an overgrown potato with blood-red parts.
The Ulcerated Tree Spirit emerges out of the ground. In the appearance of a great wyrm, its wooden constitution is pocked with bleeding ulcers that resemble fungi.
Gareth looks behind him. The depression is too low for them to easily retreat backwards.
Gareth: You've got to be kidding me...
The Tree Spirit raises its tail, preparing to swipe at them.
Gareth: Yuina. Gareth: Run.
The Ulcerated Tree Spirit's tail comes down.
Gareth defends with his greatshield, but clearly the idea is absurd. He is knocked backwards.
His back hits the castle masonry, knocking aside some brick. Gareth: Oof!
Yuina tries to cut through the wood, but it is clearly too thick for her.
The Tree Spirit raises its limbs up ("hands", I suppose).
The Spirit brings its fists down; Yuina dodges.
Fire urges from the Tree Spirit's mouth.
Yuina's face is lighted by the flames.
The flames come out.
Gareth, on the Tree Spirit's head, pulls the creature back.
The flames are directed to the flame where, spilling backwards, singes the Spirit's wood and some of Gareth's skin. Gareth: Ah!
The Tree Spirit slithers through the basement, carrying Gareth with it.
It attempts to slam Gareth into the castle masonry.
Gareth falls; the Tree Spirit slams its head into masonry, destroying part of its head.
Gareth and Yuina examine the exposed Tree Spirit. Gareth: It has some nicks on it but... Gareth: Does it even have a brain?
Somehow, through the winding of the muscles in its abdomen (does it even have muscles? who knows, ask FromSoft), the wyrm springs up, lunging at them.
Gareth, his shield brought up: Can I trust you?
Yuina: ...Yes!
The Spirit lunges.
Gareth attempts to block the Spirit, as he had done before with Agheel. Gareth: Hrgh!
Yuina raises her katana.
Yuina: Miquella. Yuina: Grant me strength! The sword glows with golden light.
She brings the sword down through the Spirit's head.
The momentum of the Tree Spirit, though diminished, is still too much for Gareth. His knees buckle; the two of them are knocked backward.
Gareth, over Yuina: Are you okay?
The Tree Spirit slides further.
The two defend themselves, but the Spirit slows.
The Spirit comes to a halt.
Gareth: Well, it has something in its head...
Gareth, to Yuina: ... Gareth: Who is Miquella?
Yuina: ...I don't know. Yuina: But I believe in them with all my heart.
Gareth: You know, it would have been helpful if you did that earlier.
Gareth: Or I suppose the issue is...
Gareth and Yuina, together: The heart... Gareth: ...of the matter, literally.
Gareth: Faith, seems inconvenient. Gareth: I'll trust in my body. Gareth: Sore as it is.
Yuina wanders away, looking beyond the deceased Spirit. Gareth, musing: I surmise that...thing, was part of the Erdtree.
Gareth: Very angry, it was. Gareth: An angry tree. Gareth: That people worship.
Gareth follows Yuina. Gareth: Well, angry land, angry tree. Gareth: Makes sense.
Gareth: What in... Gareth sees what Yuina sees: an immense, deformed face molded out of the roots of a tree. It has a haunting aspect, and one feels it is malevolent and trying to corrupt the castle and its inhabitants from the very roots.
Gareth: This...is the tree Rogier spoke of? Gareth: One feels...nauseous around it.
Gareth: Maybe the other kind of tree is better...
Gareth: Well, let's get Rogier's sample. Gareth: Yuina?
Yuina cuts one of the roots of the tree, spreading like an infection.
The root withers in Yuina's hand. Yuina: !
They see the root has grown back, thicker than before.
Gareth: I can see why Rogier was queasy around this thing.
Gareth: It's certainly protective of itself... Gareth: Or, by this world's twisty logic, it represents a concept tenacious.
Yuina waves for Gareth to come. Gareth: Hmm?
Yuina points to a bubble on the ground. Gareth: Hum.
Gareth puts his hand on it. It pops. Gareth: Ah!
Gareth: It's liquid, but thick...like a mudpie. Gareth: You didn't lead me to touch it, did you? Yuina is silent.
Gareth: Well, Rogier will be contented with this.
They notice a ladder has been knocked down behind them.
Soldier: Ah, Gareth...sir...lord of the castle? Soldier: Are you down there?
Gareth, shouting: Aye!
Soldier: We heard the rumblings and goings-on down here and figured... Soldier: Well, doesn't make sense thinking about it, but we wanted to check.
Gareth: Well, bless you for your lack of sense, sir. Gareth: We're coming up now.
Gareth and Yuina climb up the ladder.
Gareth, Yuina and the soldier walking through the mess hall. Soldier: Such a thing was really down there? Gareth: Yes, I'd like to ask Rogier about it.
Soldier: Actually, sir... He's the cause for the castle being in a frenzy.
In the inner courtyard, where the soldiers train. They are not swinging swords; they stand in a circle. The growth in Rogier's chest has grown into a tree; he is splayed in the air, his arms and legs falling down. He is literally impaled.
Soldier: This happened around the time we heard the quaking.
Gareth takes off Rogier's hat.
He puts it to his chest. Gareth: Another. Gareth: Another one of my brothers. He has tears in his eyes.
Gareth: Put flags at half-mast. Gareth: We will give Rogier official mourning. Gareth: He was a good castellan. And a good comrade. Gareth: And a good man, above all that.
Soldiers: Yes, sir!
Soldier: I was worried you might go hopping mad at this sight. Gareth: Yes...I should be.
Gareth: But now, I have only questions. Gareth: Maybe this makes me inhuman.
A horn is blown. Gareth: Oh, who could it be now?
A soldier runs to Gareth. Soldier: Sir, it's -
D, Hunter of the Dead, rides into the courtyard on his horse. D: Apologies, for coming in without ceremony. D: I have urgent business.
Gareth: D; well-met. Gareth: But we have business here too.
Gareth: We have dead to honor and I want to march to Castle Morne, before heading to Leyndell. D sees Rogier; he is almost affected. D: ...
D: Then, we have related business, methinks. D: On the former count.
D: On the march, we saw a mariner of the dead. D: Another has been found, on the Liurnian Highway. D: They block the Tarnished from progressing.
Gareth, looking at Rogier: ... Gareth: Can't we wait?
D: ...I suppose we can bury our dear friend, first.
Gareth: Thank you, D.
The activity in Stormveil Castle, knights hurrying about Rogier's corpse. Gareth and D look on.