Bai Shi unrolled the parchment and read it again, carefully.
The writing on the scroll was somewhat faded, a clear sign of the immense time that had passed.
The stone box had not completely shielded its contents from the outside world, and thus could not prevent the erosion of time.
Though the script was faint, the information recorded on the parchment was still legible.
This is what was written:
——
To the successor who may or may not exist:
If you are reading this humble note I have written at a whim, then I suppose we are bound by fate.
Of course, it is more likely that this note and the map will remain buried forever.
When Bernahl suggested leaving something beneath the stele to aid those who would come after, I told him it would be too difficult to find.Besides, I cannot imagine that under the grace of the Erdtree, any successors would be in need of help.
We have not only turned the ancient dragons from foes into friends, but our wars against the Academy and the Stormhawk King have been met with overwhelming success. Surely they will end soon.
Before long, an age of abundance and prosperity under the Erdtree’s grace will arrive.
But Bernahl has always been a man who reveres the romanticism of knighthood.
He insists that no matter the era, the minds of knights will always think as one.
This note is something of a wager between us. If someone reads this, he wins.
Haha, I have digressed with trivial matters.
If someone has truly found what I have left behind, I hope you will seriously consider whether to explore this region.
In any case, I leave behind the map I drew during my explorations here. I hope it may be of some use to you.
This northern region of Caelid is a complete and utter wilderness.
Apart from the Divine Tower and the Bestial Sanctum, there are no other structures.
Even the flying dragons are unwilling to live here; most reside in the resource-rich lands of Caelid proper.
If not for Elder Dragon Greyoll’s presence here, I would never have come to this place.
If you have come to see her with a similar purpose in mind, I must warn you that it is an exceedingly difficult task.
It was only with Lansseax accompanying us that we were granted an audience with Elder Dragon Greyoll.
But even with an ancient dragon as our companion, I could not complete my mission.
Allow me to offer one final piece of advice: Elder Dragon Greyoll is a mountain to be revered. You must maintain courtesy and respect.
I will now follow the summons to rendezvous with the army of my king, Godfrey, in Limgrave.
If you see this letter and map, then we are indeed bound by fate. You may seek me out within the army.
I will not grant you any special treatment for this, but making new friends is one of life’s great pleasures.
I wish you a safe journey, O successor who may or may not exist.
May the light of the Elden Ring forever shine upon us.
Roundtable Knight Vyke
——
The letter ended there.
Although it seemed to be a casually written message, there was much that could be gleaned from it.
“Bai Shi, this person’s name...”
Melina took note of Vyke’s name.
“Yes, Vyke. And he calls himself a Roundtable Knight. He must be the one who was among the founders of the Roundtable Hold.”
“Favored by the ancient dragons, one of the Tarnished closest to becoming Elden Lord, ‘King-Contender’ Vyke.”
“However, this letter must have been written before they were deprived of grace and exiled from the Lands Between.”
Even at that time, Vyke must have been a famous warrior, a hero, under Godfrey’s command.
But his connection to the army didn’t seem particularly close; he felt more like a guest-general who was relatively free and didn’t lead troops.
Bai Shi pondered the information revealed in the letter.
Vyke had not left any information that he couldn’t have revealed from his perspective. If an ordinary person were to see this letter, they would likely be bewildered.
But for Bai Shi, he saw a great deal within it.
First was the timeframe.
This was likely written after the war with the ancient dragons in Leyndell had ended.
At that time, the forces of the Erdtree were still at war with the Academy and the Stormhawk King’s faction.
In other words, this was before Godfrey and his army were cast out of the Lands Between and became the Tarnished.
By this point, the ancient dragons had already formed an alliance with Leyndell, the Royal Capital.
Lansseax assumed a human form in the capital, interacting with the knights as a priestess and teaching the faith of the ancient dragon lightning cult.
And Vyke was the knight most favored by Lansseax at the time.
Vyke must have already been a powerful and famous knight back then.
According to the letter, Vyke was ordered by someone to seek out Greyoll.
The purpose was likely not for battle; perhaps a trade or an alliance? That part was unclear.
For some reason, however, although Greyoll met with them, she did not seem to agree to their proposal.
And he specifically warned of the reverence she was due, which made one wonder if he had suffered some setback here.
At that time, there were likely no flying dragons in the Dragonbarrow region; only Greyoll was here.
Bai Shi remembered that the flying dragons had migrated to Dragonbarrow en masse to escape the Scarlet Rot.
Perhaps Greyoll’s presence in Dragonbarrow was a reason for that migration.
Then there was Godfrey’s army. It was hard to tell where they were fighting at this point.
He mentioned Limgrave, but in reality, they might have been close to reaching Caelid.
After that would have been when Godfrey and his entire army were stripped of grace and exiled from the Lands Between.
Speaking of which, Vyke was already calling himself a Roundtable Knight at this time, which meant the Roundtable must have been established very early on.
So, the Roundtable Hold was established in the capital even before Godfrey and his army were exiled?
The early members likely included Gideon, Vyke, Bernahl, Vargram the Raging Wolf, Sorcerer Wilhelm, Crepus the Chief of the Black Hand Assassins, Dolores the Sleeping Arrow, and others.
Then, when this first batch of Roundtable Knights returned to the Lands Between as Tarnished, they participated in the Shattering from the Roundtable in the capital.
Their participation in the Shattering was almost a certainty.
Take, for instance, the Devourer's Scepter wielded by Bernahl.
It was forged in the image of the great serpent that sought to devour the world, a symbol of Rykard’s ambition.
The weapon’s form was the very vision of the future Rykard saw when he merged with the God-Devouring Serpent.
Bernahl’s relationship with Rykard was profound; he considered him a dear friend.
This was proof enough that Bernahl had already returned to the Lands Between and was active at that time.
The “King-Contender” titles of Vyke and Bernahl were likely earned during that period as well.
Only in the lawless age of the Shattering, with neither king nor god, would such a title not be considered treasonous.
At the same time, Bernahl and Vyke became aware of the thorny barrier upon the Erdtree.
It was because of this that they faced the conundrum of having to find the flame.
Bernahl’s maiden volunteered to burn but could not kindle the flame. In the end, Bernahl went to Rykard’s Volcano Manor and became a Recusant, rebelling against the Greater Will and the Golden Order.
Vyke, being an acquaintance of Bernahl, must have learned of his maiden’s failure to kindle the flame and thus sought other methods.
Ultimately, it seemed he heeded the treacherous words of a mysterious figure and went to receive the Frenzied Flame.
Perhaps it was due to the actions of these two that the Roundtable was forced to withdraw from the capital.
Coupled with the departure of most of its powerful heroes, the Roundtable declined into its current state of stagnation.
Gideon was with them as well.
But who knew how many years Gideon had been secretly biding his time and building his power after returning to the Lands Between.
He was truly patient. Even with the Roundtable in its present state, he seemed to be in no hurry.
Bai Shi read the letter over and over again, but could not find any more useful information.
There were only these few short paragraphs, and Vyke had revealed nothing of critical importance. Still, even this was an unexpected boon, giving Bai Shi a deeper understanding of that era.
Bai Shi put the letter away, storing it carefully in his pouch.
Melina, meanwhile, took the map of the Dragonbarrow region and began copying it onto Bai Shi’s own.
Although the map was ancient and lacked many of the later structures and landmarks, it was enough for Bai Shi.
As long as the topography of Dragonbarrow itself hadn't changed, Bai Shi would know what was where.
Once Melina finished transcribing the map, having both a chart and a direction, their next steps would not be as troublesome as before.
At the very least, they would not wander off to the wrong place by mistake.
While waiting for Melina, Bai Shi studied the map and selected their next destination.
First, they would head to the Isolated Merchant's Shack here in Dragonbarrow, find the merchant, and see if he had anything good.
He wondered if the Nameless Bell-Bearing Hunter would still appear there at night.
In the past, he was considered the strongest master in Caelid.
His extremely high stats and terrifying poise had been the bane of many a player.
It was only later, when players became familiar with the laser-firing golem of Caelid, that his title as the number one master was taken away.
Speaking of Caelid's top master, in the game, he was the absolute worst.
Not only did he have an absurdly large health bar and high damage, but he didn't even drop anything good.
Pushing these stray thoughts aside, once Melina finished drawing the map, they set off.
Bai Shi and Torrent followed a small path, making their way up the hillside.
Along the way, Bai Shi saw many flocks of sheep.
These sheep roamed freely on the slopes, nibbling on vegetation lightly tainted by the Scarlet Rot.
And next to them, surprisingly, were several giant dogs.
What was strange was that these giant dogs did not try to eat the sheep.
On the contrary, they seemed to be intentionally guiding the sheep's movements, preventing them from scattering.
These giant dogs had clearly been tamed and were being used as sheepdogs to herd the flock here.
As Bai Shi walked along the path, the giant dogs all raised their heads and watched him intently.
However, they showed no intention of attacking, merely observing him with great vigilance.
This made Bai Shi marvel at the isolated merchant's dog-training skills.
The wild nature of a giant dog was incredibly difficult to suppress.
As social creatures, once dogs gathered in numbers, they could easily attack other beings in packs.
This was even truer for giant dogs, a species that would dare to attack people even when alone.
One or two would be one thing, but there were four or five giant dogs here, and they still didn't attack on sight. This showed that they had been extremely well-trained.
Soon, Bai Shi arrived at the Isolated Merchant's little shack and saw the merchant sitting on a chair outside.
Unlike other weary nomadic merchants, he seemed very much at ease.
Upon seeing Bai Shi, the nomadic merchant hailed him proactively:
“What a rare sight. I haven’t seen a soul in this place for years.”
“Since we’ve met, would you care to see my wares? I am, for all intents and purposes, still a merchant.”
Bai Shi nodded. This was why he had come.
“Yes. I wonder if you have any goods that would satisfy me.”
“Haha, although I haven't restocked in a long time, I still have quite a few treasures left.”
The nomadic merchant stood up from his chair and led Bai Shi into his hut.
The inside wasn't as dilapidated as the outside. There was a bed and a few shelves.
Unlike the shack itself, this furniture must have been added later; it was much newer than the hut.
Though even this furniture looked to be many years old, with clear signs of use.
And on one shelf, a set of armor caught Bai Shi’s attention.
It was a complete set of Cleanrot Knight armor.
Beside it, hung on a rack, were one of each of the three standard Cleanrot Knight weapons: a sword, a spear, and a scythe.
Noticing Bai Shi's gaze, the nomadic merchant pointed towards the equipment.
“Those aren’t for sale. It’s a complete set of well-preserved armor that I’ve slowly collected over many years.”
Bai Shi observed it carefully. It was indeed as he said, likely a personal collection.
This set of armor was different from the ordinary equipment piled on the floor. It had been meticulously maintained and was even displayed on a dedicated weapon rack.
However, Bai Shi had no particular interest in the Cleanrot Knight set, so he looked away.
After offering a casual compliment, “It’s well-maintained,” he shifted his gaze to the shelves holding other items.
“What is this?”
Bai Shi pointed to an item on the shelf.
On a piece of sheepskin lay several withered fingers stained with blood.
Based on Bai Shi’s experience, these had to be Festering Bloody Fingers.
But did they function the same in reality as they did in the game?
“Hehe, you’ve spotted something extraordinary right away.”
The isolated merchant picked up one of the Festering Bloody Fingers.
The finger was dark with congealed blood, and many parts were festering, bearing the marks of a crude severance.
The isolated merchant began to explain the finger's use to Bai Shi:
“This is no common item. It’s called a Bloody Finger.”
“It’s used specifically against your kind, the Tarnished.”
Bai Shi nodded.
“How so?”
The isolated merchant continued:
“I know that among you Tarnished, you have a way of passing on messages by tracing signs with your finger.”
“The Bloody Finger was created by Tarnished with malicious intent from the very beginning, for the sole purpose of killing their own kind.”
“It is a way to corrupt the connection made by the summoning finger.”
“Touch a left-behind message or a golden sign with the Bloody Finger, and it will point you in the direction of that person.”
Bai Shi thought for a moment and suddenly realized a very serious problem with this.
“Then wouldn’t it be completely impossible to determine if the person the Bloody Finger is pointing to is the one you’re looking for?”
“After all, you can’t tell who wrote a message, and the same goes for a golden sign.”
The nomadic merchant nodded.
“Correct. That is why it is, in effect, used indiscriminately.”
“After all, most of the people who use such things aren’t seeking revenge. They are simply reveling in the slaughter.”
Bai Shi thought about it and had to agree. That seemed to be the case.
He had already experienced what kind of madmen the Bloody Fingers were from his encounter with Nerijus.
It was truly a logic that ordinary people could not comprehend.
However, it seemed the Bloody Finger wasn’t completely useless.
If one were to use it on a message left by an ally, wouldn’t it effectively become a tracking device?