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Tarnished was sitting in a chair in the dark room as Ruox finished his story. Nepheli was in shock as she asked, "Wait.. so where are they keeping them?". Ruox said, "I-i don't know... I never saw her or any other after that day". Tarnished got up from the chair and said, "Elden Ring... everything starts with a single event." Nepheli never saw Tarnished annoyed before, but she asked Ruox, "Wait, so what happened to those towns?"
Ruox sighed and answered, "Destroyed, ravaged, ruined, some by beasts... some by dragons, and what remained, was destroyed by the selfish actions of nobles." Tarnished reach the table and lean on it to look directly in captain's eyes with a hollow stare and said, "Ruox... Only one thing i will say, I do not trust you. But i will act on your words, I want to see those.... nobles."
Nepheli said, "but why will he lie about his wife? dont you think you are being harsh?". Tarnished turned and said, "I will save everything I can, for that is the only purpose I have, but I am no hero, I work not on impulse but on instincts."
Ruox said, "I-i can not know how to make you trust me, but whatever I said is the truth.". Tarnished said in a calm and cold voice, "I do not need truth, even if you are lying, I need to see.. I want to see every bit of corruption breeding in this land.
Every lie is a potential truth, and every lie is a potential truth. Nothing is absolute in this world, Except the destruction those words leave behind, For words are the sweetest poison". Nepheli was stunned, he have grown a lot wise since last she saw him, She said, "So you are going to find his wife?".
Tarnished look at the lamp which dimly lit up the dark room and said, "yes, its worth it to save even one life". Ruox exclaimed in thankful tone as he bow in honor, "sir, how can i repay you?". Tarnished said in serious tone, "neither have i saved anyone yet, nor you have a reason to repay, but if anything you want to do, tell me about trolls."
Ruox hesitated and said, "T-trolls?... sir.. they are the captured slaves who Sir Godrick used for his grafting experiments initially, but after some time they..", Nepheli's face twisted in disgust and she said, "Tsk.. That Godrick again, I hate him."
Tarnished's eyebrows curl in seriousness and ask Ruox, "They... what?". Ruox said with a sigh, "Sir, come with me, I think you might want to see this." he grabbed his halberd, opened the door, and waited for them to follow him. Nepheli asks, "What happened to you? Why are you being gloomy this time?"
Tarnished said, "I am just man who have realized that his every single faulty step is the cause of annihilation of hundreds of ants beneath it, i dont expect anyone to empathize, for some burden is my alone to bear." and walk out the door as she hardly understood what he meant but she walked beside him as Ruox led them through a back courtyard and stop infront of the wooden door.
The stench is heavy near the door, as if something vile is stored inside the door; even the plants beside the wall of that structure look dead and brittle. Ruox turned back toward them and said in a serious voice, "This will be hard to watch," and Tarnished said, "Nepheli, you can wait here; you have no reason to see what is inside." Nepheli said in her high and mighty demeanor, "I can handle myself".
Ruox nods and turns towards the gate, and starts to push it open. The massive gate creaked loudly as it was pushed open slowly; the gate was heavier than it looked. As the Door was pushed open, a wave of foul stench flowed out and hit their face. Nepheli almost puked at the smell. Ruox said, "This way...".
Both of them followed inside and found many beasts cut open and stuck together with each other as if someone was doing experiments on them while they were alive.
Ruox led them to the very end of the hallway, where there was a Troll hung upside down with its stomach cut open and intestines and organs ripped out. His intestine piled up below his upside-down body, and many bugs roam all around his intestine. Nepheli pucked at sight in an instant, that was too horrible to witness after all.
Ruox just looked away, but his gaze never faltered, as if he was scanning every bit of pain and cruelty carved in his body. He slowly moves forward and climbs on that pile of organs and touches his face. He was dead, but what remained was the truth of the world. Tarnished came back to Ruox, and they moved out to the open again. Nepheli is still catching her breath. Ruox closed the door once again, and Tarnished asked one simple question, "Who did this, and... how?"
Ruox replied, "As I said, this is the sanctuary of Godrick the Grafted. He performed every vile surgery on animals, beasts, and other species to justify his ambitions. The Trolls were brought here as slaves, where he first tortured them day and night for years, and then skinned their organs out, and with his skills, sealed them up with his flesh to suffer as long as they are alive, and called this his divine gift of making an ultimate life form in the name of serving the Golden Order."
Nepheli, who is now somewhat calm after what she witnessed, said, "That's all on Godrick, Golden Order represents justice... not cruelty." Tarnished looks at Nepheli and mummer in an analytic tone, "GOLDEN ORDER..." Tarnished asked Ruox in a cold tone, "Anything else I should know about?" Ruox said, "I-i don't know how much this will help, but the Trolls who are grafted are usually divided into 3 categories:"
"First are known as ASTUTE:they are most freshly grafted and most intelligent of them all; they can cast various spells and are supplied to the nobles of Raya Lucaria."
"Second are known as BRAWL: they are second only to astute in order and somewhat smart, but hold high physical capability to fight. Hence, they mostly stayed in Stormveil and sometimes supplied across the Lands Between."
"Third are known as RUINED:they are neither smart nor strong, they are the trolls who have spent the most time after being grafted, they are living carcasses with zero sense of reason left, they are ultimate puppets who will do as they are told to. They are the ultimate fate of every Troll that goes through grafting."
Nepheli was shocked, "SO TROLLS ARE NOT FIGHTING ON FREE WILL??", Ruox said with a nod, "No.. they are not." Tarnished asked as his grip on his sword handle tightened for a moment, "What do you mean by the ultimate fate of trolls?". Ruox said in a serious tone, "After grafting, trolls will slowly get mentally decayed, and as they decay completely, they will remain in this world as RUINED."
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