Aseo the Tarnished has a new goal― obtaining Ranni the Witch’s Cursemark of Death―and he even agrees to enter Ranni’s service for it. But as soon as Aseo signs up, she sends him off on a mission to the Eternal City of Nokron with Blaidd the Half-Wolf in tow! However, the perils of Nokron may not be the greatest dangers. Preceptor Seluvis is a real puppet hobbyist, and he thinks an authentic, life-size Aseo action figure to do his bidding would make a fine addition!
Fun as always, some of the events that were rearranged are for the better of the flow of the story which is nice to see. We are deep in the weeds now! And Aseo is getting better combat-wise
George R.R. Martin will be forgiven by me for not completing the books only for the fact that some of the time he was spending not finishing them was creating the elaborate mythology of Elden Ring. The Road to the Erd Tree is a hilarious parody of the game but it is gradually becoming more similar to the main game as we introduce Godwyn the Golden's murder. Fia, Those Who Live In Death, and more all get introduced here. We also get the attempt by Seluvis to puppet Ranni and Aseo doing the right thing by her.
The pacing is a bit off in this instalment. There's a lot more skipping over parts of the adventure in this volume, and a few scenes that feel maybe too silly even within the context of parody. Still fun, but still an acquired taste.