Sweet, Sour, And Bitter

Following Duchess beneath he thick, vine-laden canopy of branches and leaves, Artorias took in the strange sense of sanctuary the Grapevine Cathedral offered. It was darker and shady with the heavy foliage overhead, and all outside sounds were almost totally blocked out from them, sensitive ear sonly just picking up the gentle patter of raindrops hitting the leaves above them. They were sheltered and dry within the cathedral, and the deeper they ventured in, the more Artorias began to notice clusters and bunches of grapes growing on the vines, just a few at first, then dozens, until they arrived at the center of the cathedral and were surrounded by a veritable forest of grapevines. Artorias gawked at the sheer amount of them, all different kinds and colors hanging around them. The air smelled faintly of ripening fruits and natural sugars.

Duchess introduced him to his "gold mine" as she called it and Artorias couldn't help but laugh softly. "Yeah, you're not joking about that!" he remarked, sauntering between the rows of vines clinging to bushes and trunks of trees. Some wooden stakes had been driven into the ground, likely from one of his own pack mates, to encourage the growth of the vines. Although he didn't recognize the grapes, their distinctive colors were. He plucked a dark red berry, popping it in his mouth and chewing slowly. The sweet, slightly bitter flavor of fermenting grape rushed over his tastebuds, and Artorias instantly recognized it as the flavor their merlot had.

"Man, I wonder how many of these you'd have to eat to get a buzz," the large alpha said with a chuckle, popping a couple more grapes into his mouth before wandering to the next set of vines to inspect some lighter green, almost white grapes. "You've been here before, haven't you?" he asked in idle curiosity. She had found the path here so naturally, this certainly couldn't have been her first time to the land. "It's so isolated in here... Like it's just us in the world." The more Artorias traveled Auster with her, the more Duchess' claim that Auster was still an unpopulated land turned out to be true.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Argent"