Elden Ring: Praise the lift

[Part of my Elden Ring journal]

With Stormveil conquered I revisit some sites that I felt I could handle now, killing Alduin Agheel the lake dragon, scaring off the magic dragon Adula (similar moveset), then slaying the giant slumbering dragon (tail whacking), some catacomb bosses and a magma wyrm nesting in a mine! I also light the towers of spirit mage town which undoes the magic barriers and lets me cure Millicent of the plague. This is the same girl that previously invaded me and lost an arm. Maybe there's hope for her yet?

I then try the South Castle, as random people keep telling me of a festival happening there but everyone must be lying. I have to skirt through siege artillery and sneak around the back wall to gain entrance while avoiding as many magic weapon wielding knights (and the two massive lions in the courtyard) as I can. This eventually brings me to battle against the Crucible Knight who starts out as a slow and steady heavy hitter then progresses to an airborne speedy heavy hitter. LOL I have no chance against this guy yet so I decide to warp back to the lake mire for exploration.

I'm quite enjoying the dragon fights!

Here I meet a turtle pope, the dragon Smaug Smarag who has the same move set as Agheel so is easily beaten, and the barbarianess Nepheli who helps me slay a half giant but refuses the potion Seluvis wanted delivered to her. I also finally find a path to the part of the map I've been trying to get to, by hopping down a cliff face of giant tomb stones. Only when I get there do I realize that there was ramp access past a spot I'd been in previously, and I now have the key to the magic lock on the bridge that also leads there. Even better, the road leads to some sort of gigantic lift which I can activate because apparently I found stuff for it previously and finally arrive at the Altus plateau. Servant girl Rya is waiting for me here, and offers a free warp to Volcano Manor. Sure!