This ti, Bai Shi used a Site of Grace to teleport to Stormveil.
Now that he had the Nox Mirrorhelm, he should give it to Iji as soon as possible so he could reforge it to fit Blaidd.
It was best to take care of important matters like this sooner rather than later.
After the Radahn Festival ended, Iji should have returned directly to Stormveil.
So, Bai Shi also planned to return directly to Stormveil to find him.
But when Bai Shi returned to Stormveil, he didn't see Iji anywhere in the castle.
Bai Shi went to ask Lanslet, but there was no record of Iji entering through the main gate.
Moreover, Lanslet told Bai Shi that the silver knights patrolling the castle hadn't seen Iji either.
Bai Shi found this strange. That shouldn't be the case.
So many days had passed; at Iji's pace, he should have already arrived at Stormveil.
Unlike Blaidd, who had no sense of direction, Iji wouldn't get lost.
If he took the main road, a few days would definitely have been enough ti at his pace.
After thinking for a mont, Bai Shi decided to have the Stormhawks take a look.
Bai Shi ca to his throne.
Beside Bai Shi's throne, there was an ornate box placed on an altar.
Inside it were the ashes of the Stormhawk Ancient King.
Ever since Bai Shi retook Stormveil, he had left the Ancient King here.
After all, this was the Ancient King's holand. It was happy to stay here and make use of its ho advantage.
Normally, the Ancient King would use its storms to watch over everything in Stormveil.
The patrol routes of the Stormhawks were all arranged by the Ancient King.
Bai Shi briefly explained the situation to the Ancient King and described Iji's appearance.
The Ancient King quickly relayed this information to all the patrolling Stormhawks, telling them to report if they had seen anyone matching the description.
Soon, a few Stormhawks reported that they had seen soone matching the description before.
The last sighting had been about ten-odd minutes ago.
By piecing together the information from the various Stormhawks, he learned the following:
After coming from Caelid, Iji had headed towards Stormveil, but changed direction midway.
He then took the main road toward the Weeping Peninsula and suddenly vanished from sight at so point.
When it ca to finding people, the Stormhawks patrolling Limgrave were truly indispensable.
But it was strange; Iji wasn't taking the road one would normally travel from Caelid to Stormveil.
He couldn't have taken a wrong turn, could he?
And he had disappeared at so point?
Bai Shi suddenly rembered soone he had almost forgotten.
Bloodhound Knight—Darriwil.
According to Blaidd, Darriwil had betrayed Ranni but had since disappeared.
However, Bai Shi knew that he had actually been locked away by Iji in an Evergaol in a corner of Limgrave.
And the location of this Evergaol was right on the path Iji had been taking.
In other words, after leaving Caelid, Iji had headed straight for that Evergaol.
His disappearance from the Stormhawks' view must have been when he entered the Evergaol.
Was Iji preparing to clear out the space to lock Blaidd in?
After so thought, Bai Shi teleported to the Site of Grace near that Evergaol.
Before long, Torrent carried Bai Shi to the hilltop where the Evergaol was located.
As soon as Bai Shi entered the Evergaol, he saw Iji beating up Darriwil.
Old Iji, and you said you couldn't fight?
It seed like the battle between the two was just coming to an end.
Iji was swinging his large hamr at Darriwil. The imnse force slamd into the ground, instantly shattering the flagstones and sending rock fragnts flying.
Even Darriwil, who was dodging with Bloodhound's Step, was affected by the powerful shockwaves and couldn't avoid them completely.
Most of the ground here was already smashed to pieces. It looked like the fight had been going on for a while.
Both of them were covered in wounds. Iji's injuries were nurous and small, bleeding continuously.
But Darriwil's injuries were far more severe. One of his arms had been completely crushed, armor and flesh lded together, and most of the armor on his body was dented.
Ultimately, Iji found an opening and knocked Darriwil to the ground with a swing of his hamr, leaving him powerless to fight on.
Iji brought his hamr down once more, finishing Darriwil off for good.
Panting heavily, Iji finally noticed Bai Shi's arrival and instinctively hid the large hamr behind his back.
Unfortunately, the hamr was so enormous that even his Troll's form couldn't completely conceal it.
"Oh? Lord Bai Shi, what brings you here..."
Bai Shi waved at Iji.
"Iji, I'm more curious about why you're here."
"Do you have so kind of grudge against that fellow on the ground?"
Iji placed his large hamr on the ground and sat down, disregarding his appearance.
Though he still had so strength, he clearly hadn't been active in a long ti. He was getting old.
"That's Darriwil, a Bloodhound Knight."
"...He betrayed Ranni."
"Since I was in Limgrave, I decided to co over and deal with him."
Bai Shi nodded and casually used a healing sunlight incantation to treat Iji's wounds.
"I heard Blaidd ntion him before. He even asked
to help track the man down."
Iji glanced at Darriwil's body on the ground and sighed.
"Bloodhound Knights undergo the training of hounds and are known as 'relentless trackers.'"
"They do not communicate with words. Once they choose a master, they will never betray them."
Since they didn't use words, there was no way to know what had happened to him. Bai Shi had two theories about this:
First, that Bloodhound Knights recognize their masters by scent.
Darriwil had chosen Ranni's fleshly body, so after she cast it aside, he believed he had lost his master.
The other theory was that the Two Fingers had taken control of Darriwil.
After all, Iji had almost no connection to the Two Fingers, yet he always wore the Mirrorhelm, fearing he might betray Ranni.
This ant that the Two Fingers likely did possess the ability to control living beings.
But in any case, Darriwil was dead now. How he betrayed her no longer mattered.
Bai Shi looked at Iji and asked:
"Iji, it seems you've known for a long ti that Darriwil was hiding here?"
"The Stormhawks told
you seed to have co straight here."
"Why didn't you tell Blaidd and let him handle it? He's been looking for Darriwil for a long ti, hasn't he?"
Iji paused, saying nothing.
While he was still thinking of a way to deflect, Bai Shi spoke again:
"Iji, you were the one who locked Darriwil here, weren't you?"
Iji was astonished, wondering how Bai Shi had co to such a conclusion.
But the truth was just as he had said; he had indeed been the one to imprison Darriwil in this deserted Evergaol.
Regardless of how Bai Shi knew, now that the truth was out, Iji no longer needed to hide it.
Iji admitted it freely.
"Yes, that's right."
"It was I who hid Darriwil here."
"He was once a capable warrior under Ranni, but unfortunately, he went mad and betrayed her."
"However, what happened wasn't entirely his fault."
"So I secretly hid him from Blaidd, hoping to spare his life..."
Bai Shi then asked Iji:
"Then why, Iji, did you change your mind now and co to kill Darriwil yourself?"
Iji considered the relationship between Bai Shi and Ranni, then slowly began to speak:
"Very well, I'll tell you the details."
"Blaidd is a shadow given to Ranni by the Two Fingers. An attendant who would never betray her."
"Blaidd is her shadow, but he is also her step-brother."
"Ranni's mother, Lady Rennala, approved of this."
"When they were young, they truly seed like siblings by blood. I often played with the two of them as well."
"When Ranni chose to cast aside her body and walk the dark path of an Empyrean."
"Both Blaidd and I chose to beco her vassals and serve her."
"Everyone surely rembers those tis from our childhood."
Iji paused, then explained what was destined to happen to Blaidd:
"But, as an Empyrean, Ranni refused to beco a puppet of the Two Fingers."
"From that mont on... her shadow was destined to go mad."
"For Ranni, this is a terrible curse."
"...It is fate, and Blaidd's own will has no say in the matter."
"It pains
to do this, but for Ranni's sake, I have no choice but to seal him away."
"At the very least... this will be easier on everyone, so we won't have to witness the cruel scene of siblings fighting to the death."
Bai Shi nodded.
"So that's how it is."
"So that's why you intended to empty Darriwil's Evergaol, to keep Blaidd here instead?"
Iji was silent for a mont, then nodded.
"Yes, that's exactly right."
"Thank you for looking after Blaidd."
"He's been very rigid since he was a child... so please, keep this a secret from him."
"There's no need to tell him of the cruel fate that he will betray Ranni. His heart would never be able to accept it."
Bai Shi smiled and said:
"Actually, that won't be necessary."
"Blaidd doesn't necessarily have to be sealed in an Evergaol."
"Can't we just solve the problem of the Two Fingers' interference with him?"
Iji shook his head.
Though Bai Shi was powerful, when it ca to the Two Fingers, he probably didn't know much and couldn't imagine how terrifying they were.
"In truth, there is a way to stop the Two Fingers' interference."
"But it is extrely difficult, and there are no clues as to how."
Iji tapped the Mirrorhelm on his head and explained to Bai Shi:
"This is the Mirrorhelm, a precious relic from the city of the Nox that I obtained long ago."
"This helm can ward off any interference, even, it is said, that of the Greater Will and its envoys, the Fingers."
"But I cannot remove it, or I too might be subject to interference and commit an act of betrayal."
"If we had a second Mirrorhelm, we could indeed solve Blaidd's problem."
"Unfortunately, it's uncertain if another one even exists in the Lands Between..."
Bai Shi took the newly acquired Nox Mirrorhelm from his spatial storage.
"A second Mirrorhelm."
"We actually have one."
Underneath his helm, Iji's jaw dropped. He was speechless for a long ti.
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