Author's Note
I'm going to address a few elements to this story. Or rather, rules to the story. First and foremost will be game mechanics. I'm going to have some leeway with these. For example, how estus will work, enemy revival at bonfires, leveling up, e.t.c.
Secondly will be character storylines and progression. I will be keeping most of them fairly cannon, but may take a bit of creative freedom with them.
Lastly, enemies themselves. I'm trying to hit closer to home with the whole, "mindless hollows thing," so enemies like hollows will be much easier to take on in combat than in comparison to the games, while enemies like the man-serpents and silver knights will be much, much more challenging.
That's all I can think of at the moment. If you have questions, comments, recommendations, compliments, or critiques, I am more than happy to hear them. Here's chapter two of Another Soul. The New Arrival.
The smooth gliding of the enormous crow suddenly shifted, the bird shifting and slowing down. This did not go unnoticed by the Undead the bird clutched in its talons. When Katherin opened her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of a quickly approaching cliffside, adorned with a grand, dead tree and ruins of some kind. She was given little time to gather any other details, as the crow slowed just long enough to drop her a few feet off the ground, flying off to perch on one of the many crumbling walls that made up the nearby structure.
When Katherin hit the ground, she tumbled, rolling into the side of an empty well. Aside from a few scrapes and a bump on her head, courtesy of the well, she was fine. Using the well as support, Katherin stood up and took another look at her new environment. No longer in the grip of a quick moving bird, she was able to make out the details more easily. In front of her was the tree that she managed to spot on the way down, directly in front of the tree, at the bottom of round indentation was another bonfire, like what she had seen in the asylum. To her right, was the ruins. Off, through the first couple of doorways was a small, rectangular pond, on the other side of it was a statue of a woman in draping cloths, holding a child. High above that was a wall, encased in stairs, leading to a large bird's nest which she could only guess belonged to the crow. Even further up, along the cliffside, Katherin was able to see what she could only guess to be a church, the only discernible feature from this distance being the chapel and bell tower.
Near the fire, resting against a pile of bricks, a worn out Undead chuckled. Katherin heard the soft laughter and turned her head to the source, having not noticed him until now. The man on the pile of bricks was donned in a full suit of chainmail, a medium sized shield, dented, rusted and battered lay at his feet, while a longsword lay strapped at his hip. The man chuckled again.
"Well, you must be a new arrival. Let me guess, fate of the Undead, right?" The man inhaled and sighed, "Well, you're not the first."
Katherin walked closer to the man, cautiously. His tone of voice and laughter made her uneasy. When she got close enough, she was able to see his eyes. Pale blue and a glint that told her he had given up. His brown hair was a mess atop his head and his face was covered in stubble. The aloof way that he presented himself put a single word into Katherin's mind. Crestfallen.
The Crestfallen Warrior looked up at Katherin, "What, are you already so startled that you can't speak?" Katherin looked down in shame. After a moment, a thought struck her and she began rummaging through the satchel she had at her waist. The man spoke up again, "Oi, what are you doing there lass?" Finding what she was looking for, Katherin pulled out the journal and charcoal that Oscar had lent to her to write her name. Besides his dagger, it was the only thing that she had to remember him.
After flipping through a few pages filled with Oscar's writing and passing the page with her own name on it, Katherin wrote down a single word and held it up for the man to see.
" Mute, eh? Well, that must be awfully difficult," He said sarcastically. "Do tell though, what brings you here to Lordran?" Katherin began writing in the journal again, raising it up for the man to see when she was finished.
'The Bell.'
" Well then lass, allow me to break the news to you now. There are actually two Bells of Awakening. " The Crestfallen Warrior pointed up towards the cliff. "One's up above in the Undead Church. However, someone got the lift stuck at the top some time ago, so you'll have to go the long way, through the Undead Burg. The other bell is far, far below in the cesspool known as Blighttown." Once more, the man laughed to himself. "Many have gone to ring those bells. Logan's apprentice, the pyromancer from the Great Swamp and even that loon that wouldn't stop talking about the Sun, haven't returned."
The Crestfallen Warrior gave Katherin a quick look from top to bottom. "From the looks of you, it doesn't seem like you're very well equipped. And I can tell from a glance that you don't know the first thing about fighting." Katherin's face became solemn, remembering how she had failed to help Oscar when he fell to the Asylum Demon. "You should give up on this fool's errand now before it gets you killed." Katherin couldn't do that, she had steeled her resolve the moment that Oscar took his last breath, that she would carry out his mission to the best of her abilities. "I know that look in your eyes lass. So you still plan on going?." Katherin nodded her head in confirmation. "Well, not that it matters to me." The man stood up and walked towards the cliffside, just past the well and pointed up towards a bridge that linked the shrine to the buildings above. "You'll have to take the sewers to the Burg and make your way to the church."
Again, Katherin began to write in the journal. The solemn man looked at her, his curiosity getting the better of him. "What is it now?" he demanded.
Katherin held the pages out for him to see. In smudged charcoal she had written one thing.
'Name?'
"My name, eh?" The Crestfallen Warrior made his way back to the brick pile and sat. His gaze found its way to the ground. "I've been here in Firelink for so long, on the verge of hollowing, I've forgotten nearly everything, including my name."
Katherin found herself looking to the ground as well, thinking about what she should do. Suddenly, the charcoal was running across paper. When the Crestfallen Warrior picked his head up, Katherin already had the journal pointed at him.
'Darick'
The man stared at the page for a moment, then he looked at Katherin's face behind the book. She was smiling at him. "You're giving me that name?" He asked.
Katherin nodded in response.
"Frankly," the man said, "I've little care for what you call me. Not like names matter for us Undead. Once we hollow, our names mean nothing." 'Darick' was growing tired of the conversation between the two of them. As much conversation that can be had with a mute anyway. "I'm not up for chatting. Go bother someone else. Maybe that cleric by the elevator will help you to the Burg."
Katherin was saddened at the man's lack of joy in his newfound identity. Not wanting to bother him any further, Katherin made her way up the few short sets of stairs that led to the elevator. Little did she know, the man had smiled to himself when she turned her back.
At the top of the stairs, she found another man clad in armor, sitting amongst a number of large pots. When Katherin walked a bit further into the room the man was in, he began to speak to her as he rose from his place on the ground.
"Ah, hello there. I believe that we have not been acquainted. I am Petrus of Thorolund. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" To answer his question, Katherin found the page with her name on it, and turned the pages so that Petrus could see.
Upon reading the page's contents, Petrus asked, "Do you lack the ability to speak, Madame? Is that why you use charcoal and papyrus to etch your words?"
Katherin nodded.
"That is a shame, you share much in common with the Firekeeper below this shrine. Although I suppose that your silence has a less heretical origin." Petrus mused. "I know our meeting is short, but I'd prefer to keep a distance if possible."
Katherin was put off. Not only did this man do nothing to help her, he gave her more questions that she wanted the answers to.
Seeing Katherin's annoyed expression, Petrus dug into the satchel on his hip and pulled something out of it, holding his open palm out to Katherin. "To show that it is not meant in ill will, a gift."
Katherin peered at the item in the man's hand suspiciously. In the center of his hand was a single copper coin with a face etched into the side of it. Petrus then pushed his hand forward a bit, urging Katherin to take the coin. "Go on, take it," he said, "It's for you."
Begrudgingly, Katherin took the coin and placed it into her own bag. Petrus spoke up, "I do apologize, I meant no harm by it, I'm merely waiting for my companions and cannot afford many distractions. If you have something to request of me, I'd be more than happy to hear you out at the least. After all," Petrus exclaimed, "It is part of my job as a Cleric to help those in need."
With that said, Katherin set to writing her question in the journal.
'Need to get to the church.' Katherin pointed straight up at the structure looming overhead as she held out the book with her free hand.
"Ah," the Cleric knew all too well what the girl in front of him was trying to do. He had seen a great many undead go after the bells. Few made it to the church and fewer still even got close to the bell. Not that any of it mattered to him. He was only acting kind to keep up appearances. "You would seek the Bells of Awakening? If you were seeking advice, I would recommend that you not go, but if you must, the most I can do for you is share my miracles." Katherin regarded the Cleric with doubt, not knowing exactly what he meant when he said, 'miracles.'
Petrus could easily tell that the girl in front of him hadn't any experience in the field of miracles and saw this as his chance to sucker the girl into buying every scroll in his possession that had a single tale written in it. "Miracles are stories and prayers that allow us Clerics to borrow the power of the Gods. The longer and more detailed the miracle, the more potent it becomes." Petrus reached into his bag and pulled out a small, weathered scroll and a tattered bundle of cloth. "All you need to perform a miracle is the tale itself and a talisman. A talisman acts as a medium for the power of the Gods to flow through so that you may use them in their true splendor. Of course, certain talismans are better capable of this than others." Petrus held out the talisman and the scroll for Katherin to take. "I trust that should you find yourself in need of more miracles, you will turn to me." Katherin took the scroll and bundle of cloth, placing both in her bag. Petrus waved her off. "The effectiveness of my teaching will ultimately depend upon your faith. So long for now."
Katherin walked away, feeling only a little better than when she spoke to the warrior by the bonfire. Her confidence in herself was dwindling. Thus far she had met only one person who had been remotely kind, and he had died to help her. The others had been rude or had wanted her gone as quickly as possible. How was she supposed to ring the bells on her own. She had only gotten as far as she had due to someone else and an extremely lucky attack.
Katherin stood by the well that had served as a speed bump for her head earlier and took a second glance in the direction of the cliff that Darick had pointed her to. On the ledge she was able to make out a few standing figures. They looked like people, but even at this distance she was able to tell that something was amiss. She got the same air from them as she did the prisoners at the Asylum. Lifeless, but living.
In order to reach the bell in the Church above her head, Darick had told her that the sewer duct was the only way. And the only way to get there was through the hollows on the cliffside.
Pulling her dagger from her belt and holding it with both hands, Katherin began her walk up the stairs on the cliffside. As she reached the top of the first flight of stairs, the first hollow caught sight of her and started at her, broken sword drawn back. It's first swing was slow and horribly inaccurate, missing Katherin by a wide breadth. The hollow drew its sword back again, this time to strike at her from above. Katherin took this time to step by the jagged edge of the blade and drive her dagger into the hollow's chest, taking it to the ground and twisting the hilt on the way down.
Katherin stayed there for a moment, atop the hollow, panting heavily. Aside from the Asylum's Demon, that was the first time Katherin had fought for her life. This time, she had gone in with the intention of living.
Steeling herself, Katherin stood up and glanced further up the path. A more heavily armored hollow stood near the cliffs edge, while two more in ragged armor were further up the stairs to her left. If these hollows were anything like the one she had just killed, then their attack would be slow and telegraphed. She could do this.
Katherin was sitting on one of the stairs on the cliff, currently wrapping her left arm with part of the cloth from her shoulder. A number of hollow corpses lay around her. She had managed to take down most of the hollows with no issues. However when she was pacing around the armored one, she had failed to notice the one that had thrown a firebomb at her. It had missed, but some of the burning shrapnel had grazed her arm.
Satisfied with her first aid, Katherin pressed on, into the sewer line. The moment she had passed the doorway, she was hit with smells of mildew and decay. To her left, she saw a large, plague ridden rat chewing away at a corpse leaning on some metal bars. To her right, she was able to see a light coming a little further down the passage. Deciding that the right path was the better of the two options, she moved towards the door, tightening her grip on her dagger once again.
Katherin breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled the dagger from the back of another hollow. As soon as she had exited the door, she had been ambushed by another group of hollows. Similar to the first encounter, many of them were slow to swing their blades, but their numbers had gotten the better of Katherin. She was now sporting a light gash on her right side, courtesy of one of the hollows swords. Her padded leather shirt had dampened some of the blow, but it had still drawn blood. Thankfully, it didn't seem to be bleeding enough for her to worry about it at the moment.
Weather from her injury or from the hollows, Katherin's hands were coated in blood. Wiping them off on her shirt, she made her way further into the burg, using one of the houses as a way up, she came to a small bridge. Once about halfway across, Katherin heard a loud flapping sound that reminded her of the crow, only to be knocked onto her back when a enormous dragon-like creature landed on the bridge a mere ten feet from her, taking off over the cityscape almost as soon as it had landed, leaving Katherin dazed and horrified.
She had been terrified when facing the Asylum Demon, but she was petrified of that drake. With any luck, she would not come across it any time soon.
Senses recovered, Katherin stepped up to the platform in front of her, immediately assaulted by three hollows and an archer taking fire from the ledge above.
She rushed after the nearest hollow, ignoring the throbbing from her side and slide the dagger against the side of its neck before it could draw its broken sword back to swing at her. No sooner than she had moved from the fallen hollow's side, a crossbow bolt stuck the bricks where she had been moments ago. Katherin remained wary of the archer, not wanting a bolt to find itself lodged in her chest.
The other two hollows had closed the distance. One on her left had began slashing rapidly in front of itself, prompting Katherin to step back safely out of harm's reach, while the second made a leaping slash at Katherin, forcing her to roll out of the way, sidestepping another bolt from the crossbow. Not missing the opening made by the second hollow, Katherin stabbed it in the back, kicking it off her blade when she felt its body sag. With only one left, it fell easily, leaving Katherin to deal with the archer.
It was very obvious when the archer was going to fire. It always aimed, not bothering to feint, firing directly at Katherin each time. This made dodging the incoming bolts rather easy. Once Katherin was within arms reach, it was as simple as sticking her dagger between its empty eyes.
Sure that all the hollows in the vicinity had been dealt with, Katherin allowed herself to relax. No longer focused on fighting, Katherin was hit by the familiar feeling of 'home.' Turning to find the source, she saw a bonfire sitting in the base of one of the towers, across a short wooden platform.
No other thoughts in mind, Katerin stood in front of the coiled sword and pile of ash. Similar to the first bonfire that she had encountered, Katherin reached her hand out to touch the hilt of the sword. When her open palm reached it, the ashen bones below were engulfed in flames.
Katherin was overwhelmed by a sense of safety and relief. By now, Katherin realized just how tired she was from fighting her way here. She decided to take advantage of her brief respite and sat by the fire, allowing the flames to revitalize her. She felt all of her fatigue fade away and pulled the wraps from her arm, watching the burns fade back to pale skin.
Her physical fatigue may have been taken by the bonfire, but mentally, she was still very much tired. Around her were several burlap sacks, crates and barrels. Using the most comfortable of the sacks she could find, Katherin curled up in the corner and let sleep take her once more.
More Author's Notes
I suppose this is more of an apology? Really, it's more about failing to meet a promise to the readers of "weekly" chapters. Granted that this story hasn't seen an addition since...dear god...February? Jeez. That didn't and probably won't happen.
Come this fall, I will be in college, which will be taking many of the already few hours I put into this story. I can't make promises as to when new chapters will be out, but I will say that the last thing I want to do is abandon this fic.
Long story short, I will most likely be writing this story at my leisure. So expect probably weeks if (hopefully) not months between chapters. Sorry again, and sorry in advance.
With how screwed up the update schedule for this story will probably be, I kinda recommend that you follow the story if you're enjoying it, so that you know when the next chapter is up. Thanks for reading Chapter two, "The New Arrival" of Another Soul. Look forward to Chapter three, "The Bell Above."
