"Everyone have everything?" Orion asked the small group.
The remainder of the group nodded in confirmation.
"Good, then we will head out to find this bell that we are supposed to ring. Everyone up and at 'em!"
"We just sat down…" Xren complained.
"Nobody said you had to sit down," Dextrous said, leaning against a large tree to the side of the bonfire.
Azuron and Xren stood up, Dextrous got off his tree, and Orion stretched out his arms. The group drew their weapons to be ready for any more surprises that may lie ahead. They walk towards the steep, crumbling stairs that were just across from the bonfire. They passed a well with a body hanging over it.
"I never noticed this before…" Xren said.
"Me neither. What is this?" Orion asked, picking up a glowing black and white sprite.
"Looks important, I would hang onto them if I were you!" the man in chainmail called from his sitting place.
Orion placed the strange sprite into his satchel. The group continued up the stairs. Along the way, a group of Hollow soldiers stood guard before the next set of steps. Orion took the first out with a quick swing of his large blade. The second swung a large axe at Xren, who blocked it and bashed its head in with his mace. Another was at the top of the stairs throwing orbs that exploded into fire.
"Dextrous!" Orion called.
"Got it!" he called.
Dextrous drew an arrow and fired it into the Hollow. The remaining Hollow had more armor than the rest, a metal shield, and a spear. Azuron dashed forward, shield raised. The Hollow threw its shield up, and kept it up for the successive four hits Azuron laid on it.
"You have to break his guard!" Dextrous called.
Azuron planted his left foot backward, and drew his right up. He delivered a swift, but powerful, kick to the Hollow's shield, breaking its guard wide open. He proceeded to drive his blade straight through the Hollow's chest before it could recover.
"That was quick thinking, good idea."
Orion huffed in the background when Azuron's self-accomplished gaze met his. Orion took his frustration out on the last two Hollow at the top of the stairs by throwing them off the large bridge that was connected to the steps. The rest of the group caught up on the ledge of the bridge, gathering together before going further.
"What is that god-awful smell?" Xren complained, holding his nose.
"Smells like a sewer. I can hear water running behind the wall. There is a doorway up ahead, let's go," Orion said.
Orion cautiously walked up to the door and peeked inside. Inside he saw a green-tinted river running along the ground, and a nasty looking rat guarding an item.
"Okay, it is a sewer, and there is this nasty looking rat guarding something to the left."
"I'll get the rat. Shouldn't be that bad," Azuron said.
"We will back you up. Orion, be ready with that spear, it has the longest reach of any of us," Dextrous said.
Orion rolled his eyes inside his helmet, but swapped his large sword for the spear. Azuron carefully took point, with Dextrous and Orion in tail. Azuron jumped through the doorway, charging towards the rat. The rat backed up a few steps until it hit the back wall. Azuron towered over the rat, which was clearly scared, and drove his blade into the top of it. He proceeded to pick up the item it was guarding. Upon picking it up, a white light beamed into his crystal.
"Aww, only a small soul. Now I feel terrible for killing that rat, it was just scared," he said.
"Sure, just before it eats your face off," Orion said, swapping weapons again and turning around. "Where is Xren?"
Everyone turned, only to find Xren was missing. Not a second later, as if he knew he was being looked for, he poked his head around the doorway.
"Where were you?" Azuron asked.
"I hate rats, and I found a small soul at the end of the bridge that everyone missed," he replied.
The group continued down the foul smelling tunnel, only to come to a fork in the path. They continued left, as the straight path ended in a locked gate. There was another set of stairs leading out of the tunnel and back outside.
"Finally, fresh air!" Xren called.
"It has been two minutes…" Dextrous said.
"So? It stinks in there!"
"Shhh! Two more Hollows above us," Orion said.
He creeped up the steps, sword at the ready.
"It is only two of them, let's take them out," Azuron said, going past Orion.
He took out the two Hollows with relative ease.
"See, was that so hard?" he asked sarcastically.
Orion held his tongue of the many words he could have said. Azuron continued across a small wooden platform taking out two more Hollows. He led the group into a small building off to the right of the platform, picking up another small soul on the way. They went up a crumbling staircase and onto the top of a wall.
"I don't know why you are so paranoid, it's not like there is anything that dangerous…"
Azuron, in his attempt to out shine Orion, neglected to watch his surroundings, or his team. Orion had stopped the tailing team members halfway up the stairs. He nodded to Dextrous, who drew an arrow. A giant red Wryvern came barreling out of the sky, landing on the bridge with enough force to knock Azuron onto his back. He frantically shuffled backwards, gaining distance between himself and the Wryvern. The beast looked at him, screamed, and took off again.
"Too easy huh? Pay attention next time, I heard it coming," Orion said, walking past the shocked thief.
Xren helped Azuron up, who then retrieved his sword and shield. Orion took out the next two Hollows on the next landing, with Dextrous taking out a Hollow on the next set of stairs and a sniper with a crossbow on a tower. On the landing was a fork, right led across a small stone bridge to another building, or continue ahead.
"There is someone down there," Xren pointed out, looking over the stone railing.
"Right it is then," Orion said.
Two Hollow soldiers guarded the path, carrying metal shields and spears.
"Would you like to show off some more, or have the other three people here help?"
Azuron grumbled, but followed behind Orion. The group surrounded the two soldiers, who immediately put their shields up. Even though they tried to block the attacks, four weapons, two of which being heavy, broke through their guard. After both were killed, the group continued down the small staircase to the inside of another ruined building. Orion walked outside through the doorway at the bottom of the steps to find a Hollow sitting amongst some junk and a large basket. Confused, he slowly approached the Hollow, sword at the ready, the rest of the team behind for backup.
"Well now… You seem to have your wits about you, hmm?" he said.
Orion was shocked to see it, he, could talk.
"I trade various little things. Everything's for sale!" he trailed off laughing.
"But we have no money."
"I trade for souls!"
"Trade for souls?" Orion asked.
He pointed at the crystal hanging from Orion's belt.
"Let me make a suggestion for starting Undead like yourselves."
The merchant gestured to a stack of trunks piled up behind him.
"Only a small amount of souls for one of these. By the glow on those crystals, I'd say you have plenty."
"What are they?"
"Why, it is a bottomless box! These magical thinks seem to store infinity itself! Nobody knows how… Nee hee hee."
"I will take one, might as well to see how this soul currency thing works."
Orion held a hand over the crystal, and a small ball of white light gathered in his hand. He handed it over to the merchant in exchange for a box.
"Are you sure we can trust this Hollow? There is blood all over that wall over there," Dexreous commented quietly.
Orion glanced to the right wall where there was a large quantity of blood dried in a streak pattern.
"Get what we need, so we can leave. We don't have to come back," Orion quietly responded.
One by one, the rest of the team agreed and bought a large trunk.
"Here's a thought, how are we going to haul these?" Dextrous pointed out.
"Why, you leave them at the bonfire! They have a habit of following you around. There is one just up the steps there, in a tower."
"Can I get a few of these?" Azuron asked, holding a pouch of throwing knives.
"Sure! Take this too! Might come in handy somewhere, I have never found a use for it," the Hollow said, holding up a key.
Orion took the key, attached it to a loop on his belt, and turned to leave. He picked up his trunk on the way back to the doorway.
"Ah, thank you very much! Come back soon! Yulia and I will be here. Little Yulia…" he trailed off laughing again, staring at an empty basket.
The group carried the trunks up the way they came, and continued up the stairs that the merchant was talking about. Sure enough, there was a wooden platform connecting their path to a tower with an unlit bonfire sitting inside. Everyone dropped their trunks along the back wall, and beside a crumpled staircase. The group gathered around the bonfire, and it burst to life.
"I wonder how we get up there?" Xren asked, pointing to a small wooden platform with a folded ladder at the top.
"I bet we will find out soon enough. For now, let's rest. We will continue after we come up with some ideas on what to do next," Orion said, opening his trunk.
He knelt down, took a rock from the ground, held it over the trunk, and dropped it. Everyone was expecting a sound of it hitting the bottom, but nothing. Confused he reached into the trunk, that was no deeper than two feet, and his entire arm reached into the darkness within.
"Someone hold onto me."
Azuron went to assist him, but was stopped by a lifted foot.
"Not you, I don't want to be pushed inside. Xren, give me a hand?"
The cleric walked over and held onto Orion's feet. Orion leaned into the chest where the entire top half of his body was engulfed by the dark. Finally, he came back out, holding the small rock he dropped in.
"Would you believe this was floating in mid-air? There really is no bottom to it…" Orion said, holding the small rock.
"This whole place keeps getting stranger by the day…" Xren said, letting Orion go.
"You can say that again… And this is only the beginning."
A/N: Sorry if this is a bit shorter than expected. Have finals this week, and didn't have much time to put a major chapter together. The next one, however will get some action. For those who have played DS, the group is heading to Dragon Bridge and meeting the Man of Sunlight. See y'all next week! Keep up the reviews and feedback!