Elden Ring:After the end

Remnants of the dark clouds of the past few days still linger on the horizon, while the cold wind seems to enter through flesh and nibble at bones. 

Under such a sky that seems to have lost all its brightness, stands a huge defensive building that easily puts the previous two to shame. Its walls pass 10 meters, while composed of large blocks of pure stone. 

*Kaa* *Kaaa!* *Kaaa!* *Kaaa!

Letting out mighty cries to demonstrate their presence, a dark cloud that seems to be alive surrounds the fortress. They were crows, a group so huge they could be mistaken for a cloud, and they feast on the flesh of the dead. 

"Do a search for any possible survivors, focusing primarily on such places as the warehouse or the prison."

Speaking without any change in his expression at such surrounding carnage, Lhutel overlooks the icy wind ruffling his black hair, then looks at another group and continues to issue orders.

"Move the corpses to the outside of the fortress, we must prevent any disease from spreading inside the walls. You know what to do after that."

"At your orders!" 

Getting their orders directly from Lhutel, the soldiers start working like a finely oiled machine, dividing into a group collecting corpses, others going to look for wood to burn and a group counting the deceased. 

Seeing that everything is starting to work properly, Lhutel clenches his gloved hands, before starting to search for survivors with the first group. 

...Aldrich pov... 

A stench of death permeates the entire fortress, it was potent enough to knock out someone who had never been on a real battlefield, and disgust the toughest among men. 

Though the stench of death was strong, it was nothing compared to the scarlet rot of Malenia and its omnipresence in Caelid.

One thing I have noticed is the lack of any living in death, that is, those who have refused to go to the Golden Tree and we usually see them as skeletons. 

"Perhaps there was not enough time for their souls to leave their flesh? But could it also be due to the perfection in the Golden Order?"

Placing my thoughts in order as I walk up the stairs, I notice that no one answers me, causing me to remain silent and continue moving towards the top of the ramparts. 

The walls were littered with fractures, broken bodies littered everywhere, empty braziers and all sorts of debris showing how hard the fighting had been. 

Obviously I had not come all this way to admire the view, but to confirm a certain conjecture. If you're in a siege, most likely the first thing you send to the front is cannon fodder. 

"Strange, the numbers don't add up, though maybe... No, better to focus on what I came for."

Erasing the thought of incongruence I feel nearby and the itch at one end of my brain, I concentrate on what I came here to do. 

"Puppets of the academy..."

After carefully sifting through the wreckage of the battle that happened on the wall, I stumbled upon something that was slightly expected. It was Raya lucaria's puppet soldiers, who seem to have been used in small numbers and strategically thanks to their flying ability. 

This confirms two things, first of all Ranni or... Who am I kidding, obviously that witch is supporting Rykard's army. The second thing, and what if it is good news, is that she only seems to be helping him in small amounts, most likely engaged in another confrontation. 

"Trouble here, trouble there, trouble everywhere."

With a sigh of resignation, I look towards the huge bonfires that are beginning to be lit in front of the gates of the fortress. The burning of the bodies has begun, either of friends or of our enemies. 

...Some time later…

Looking out from the window that sits in the highest structure of the fortress, I watch as soldiers move back and forth, this to find and report damage to the structure. 

"Any results?"

Speaking out loud without taking my eyes off the outside, the sound of something heavy falling to the ground shatters my concentration and makes me turn my head back. 

The one behind me, sitting in the chair belonging to the lord of the fortress is Lansseax, who at some point had apparently stolen my seat. 

The strangest thing was not that, but what he was biting, with his teeth and having dropped to the floor. It was the sword he was using at the beginning, that golden straight sword, which the only good thing about it is its appearance. 

"I'm not going to ask."

"That's good, since I wouldn't answer you either."

"Then..."

"No!"

Staring into our eyes for a few moments, he accepted that it was somewhat impossible to get an answer out of Lansseax and his pride, so he saved that doubt for later.

"Did you find any traces from the sky?"

Seeming to calm down as he saw that he wasn't going to pursue the subject of the sword, Lansseax raises his head proudly, but as he recalls something unpleasant, 50% of his pride disappears. 

"Nothing, not a tiny trace of its existence. Just as you had told me, I flew towards the most likely direction of his retreat, yet there is nothing."

"Perhaps?"

"Yes, I also flew around and even made it as far as the village around here. By the way it's completely razed to the ground."

The direction I had given Lansseax, was about the path to follow to go towards Mount Gelmir, a place under control of Rykard and his troops. 

There are two possibilities. The first is that they took another path when they learned of Lansseax, as well as how Lansseax could find and eliminate them. Their second option could have been to head into my territory, escape pursuit and then turn towards Mount Gelmir. 

"What a problem..."

"I don't understand the problem, you are the strongest being in the Midlands, why are you still thinking about this?"

Having a bit of impatience in his voice, Lansseax asks me a rather draconic question. He said, the dragons will most likely finish the problem with their fists. 

"I can't be everywhere at once, besides one person can't do everything."

"Not that they have portals? Put one in every important place and you'll be there in a few seconds, besides you're just one man... You're Aldrich! Who defeated Radahn, Malenia and even Placidusax the king of all dragons!"

Slamming the table in front of her and breaking it in half, Lansseax raises her voice with each defeated foe she names, before retracting her fist which is still immaculate. 

Well, she didn't expect support from someone like her, though it's more likely she said that to avoid being subservient to someone normal. But all that doesn't matter, what she said has its ring of truth.

"Thank you, Lansseax."

"Say it again."

Overlooking his smile, which seems to have grown larger than humanly possible, he let out a sigh and I thanked him again. 

"Thanks for the support."

"Hehehe. Now say it louder."

"What's wrong with you? Oh, come on, are you a child?"

"No, but I never lose... against others!"

Ignoring the hysterical laughter Lansseax lets out as he starts to leave the room, I watch as the door doesn't finish closing as a gloved hand holds it open. 

Who walks in is Lhutel and he has an expression that looks like he swallowed a fly, it wasn't the prettiest thing to see right now, but there's nothing I can do about it. 

"It was a fair victory, but I will be the final victor."

"OK?"

Unable to understand what she is talking about, Lhutel doesn't answer me and stands there until I offer her a chair. It was obvious she doesn't want to talk about it, I'm not interested either, maybe a little. 

Putting that situation aside, we start to put the last things in order, be it the manning of the soldiers that stay, the costs of the reconstruction, who will take command of the fortress and finally the new person in charge. 

"Are you sure my lord?"

"Yes, all the nobles who ruled this area have died, while the only regent(Paul) is under our control."

Finishing speaking, he pointed outside, where even now traces of battle could be noticed.

"The beans are too important to be left in the hands of an inept man, you are my best choice and the only one I really trust."

"My lord... I will, if you so wish, it will be done. I only hope to be able to return to Leyndell when everything stabilizes, this I am sure won't be sooner."

"I believe in your word, Lhutel. I hope you will do it quickly, so I can see you in Leyndell."

"Yes sir!"

Raising her voice in a military style, Lhutel's eyes sparkle with such intensity and she looks ready for the challenge. Laughing at her seriousness, I let my thoughts fly freely into the future.