Flynn

SL62 - 22 VGR - 18 ATT - 16 END - 27 VIT - 31 STR - 12 DEX - 9 INT - 9 FTH - 7 LCK

Resa

SL62 - 16 VGR - 21 ATT - 12 END - 18 VIT - 12 STR - 21 DEX - 10 INT - 30 FTH - 11 LCK

Flynn

"Flynn...I...I want to get married."

I stood there in shock for one second, and then another, time dragging out longer and longer as the words dawned on me. They didn't make sense to me at first, as if those words weren't even supposed to go together, at least not when directed towards me. Slowly, however, I pieced them together, constructing them into the simple yet powerful sentence.

"What?" Even after processing it, that was all knew to say, all I could say. Marriage? I...I'd heard of it, but it wasn't too prevalent back in Thorolund and I'd certainly never thought of people in Lordran getting married. Still, I'd never considered myself one to get married...though I suppose marriage might have changed drastically since I'd last seen or heard of one.

"I know it's sudden...and I should have waited for Yuria to tell you, but I just couldn't keep it to myself for much longer."

My mind quickly lurched back into reality at that one simple name...Yuria. If she was behind this in any form or fashion then it was almost certainly nefarious. "Anri, why would Yuria want you to marry me?" My head was still a flood of thoughts, a tumultuous sea of ideas that I was drowning in.

"I want to marry you, Flynn...Yuria said it would be beneficial for both of us."

"Anri, I…"

She shook her head. "I don't need an answer now, Flynn. I will wait as long as I have to."

"Anri, it's not that. Yuria...she doesn't have your best interests in mind. I'm doubtful she has my best interests in mind, though she claims to. If she is encouraging this then there's a catch to it."

I could tell she was confused...she'd only just interacted with Yuria, and didn't have the history of her that I had. "What could be bad about...marriage? Flynn if you don't want to just...just tell me." Even as she said that I could see her resolve waver ever so slightly.

Did I want to marry her? The thought finally came to the forefront of my mind amidst the waves of others, and it hung there. I didn't see exactly what the benefit of our marriage was...there simply didn't see to be much to gain from it. "Anri it's not that...at least I don't think it's that. I just...I've worked with Yuria for a while now, and I don't trust her. I warned her not to involve herself with you, and now I hear this, and I'm...I'm skeptical. Not about you. About Yuria."

Thankfully Resa stepped in, who up to this point had remained silent as we went back and forth. "Let's take a step back...for my sake, if not both of yours. Anri...how long have you been thinking about this, and why?"

Even though she was responding to my sister, her eyes never left me. "Since we traveled together in the Cathedral. You're strong and fearless, but you still care about others. When you found me in the catacombs after I'd lost Horace, that was when I'd made up my mind...I just never had the chance to tell you until you find me here, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. I talked to Yuria about it, and she encouraged me to pursue this...so here I am."

"Let's take an even further step back, please...for my sake." I paused for a moment, trying to curb the sea of thoughts. "Anri...we're old. What exactly does marriage entail now, or at least the marriage that you're familiar with?"

"Well I had ideas of my own...but Yuria said she knew of a ceremony that would help us both. I didn't press her on the details...but she said it would be good for you too."

I shook my head. "No...to Yuria's ideas. I do not trust her. What is your concept of marriage. In Thorolund it was...simple."

Anri seemed to have finally cleared the haze that she'd been in, her thoughts seeming to be a little more coherent than before and less...lovey. Despite that she spoke with more emphasis on certain words...words that were referencing me. "Well let's start with what you know, and I can talk about what's different."

I looked at Resa, trying to recall just what marriage was in Thorolund. It had been so long since we'd seen one, or been around anyone that had married. "Two people joined together and pledged to further their families, financially and socially. Each took oaths to protect the other's house and property, and would pool their resources to achieve greater than what they could individually." I looked at my sister. "Did I forget anything?"

She shook her head. "That's what I remember. The family in an arguably worse situation was often the one that initiated the conversation. The goal was to find someone that was better off than you, but not so much that they would reject you due to a lack of personal offering."

Anri looked back and forth between the two of us, letting out a stifled laugh. "Wow...you two really are old. That's not marriage now...not at all."

"Then what is?"

"Marriage to me...how to describe it. It's two people that love each other that swear to protect the other through life, death, and rebirth. You stay together and you fight together, and if one of you dies the other pledges to die as well, so that you can return to each other."

It sounded so...barbaric, and at the same time more intimate than a Thorolund marriage. You pledged to be together forever, never leaving the other's side. "And Yuria's idea of marriage...do you know what that is?"

She shook her head. "It sounded more ritualistic...marriage for me is simply a decision, nothing more. No vows, just an agreement, but it's a powerful and lasting agreement. So, with that explained…"

"Give me some time, now that I know what you're asking of me. You are a more than capable warrior Anri, and I would gladly travel alongside you...but what you're asking of me is more than that, and I need to think if I'm willing to agree to that. However." I put my hand on her shoulder, staring intently at her helm. "Do not speak to Yuria about this further, for your safety and my peace of mind. I will confront her shortly, and get all the answers I need. However, even with those answers, I am agreeing to contemplate your idea of marriage...I am not even going to consider hers, if it differs. I do not trust her, and I don't want you to be lulled into a sense of security around her. Do you understand?"

To my utmost relief, she nodded. "I do. Take your time, if you need it."

As we were ready to go our separate ways, Resa had one more question. "Anri."

"Yes?"

"This doesn't have anything to do with Horace, does it?" The question was blunt, yet to the point...and it was something that I hadn't thought about up until it was mentioned.

I could see apprehension sweep through Anri, but ultimately she nodded. "I would say it expedited the process, but nothing more. I haven't adventured alone in a very, very long time...and it's starting to set in."

Resa gave a soft smile, patting her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, Anri. I miss him too."

Anri simply nodded slowly, turning away from both of us. "Anyways, I'm sure you have places to go. I won't hold you up any longer...but you know where to find me if you come to a decision, Flynn. Even if that decision is no, I'd like still like to know."

I nodded my understanding. "And I will come to you as soon as that decision is made, make no mistake."

With that we departed, the two of us walking back to the building where we'd first encountered Anri here while she lingered near the cathedral a bit longer, eventually trailing behind us.

Even though the conversation had died down, my mind was still flooded with thoughts. Marriage...even a warrior's marriage as Anri's sounded, was more than I wanted to take on right now. It meant being wholly responsible for someone, and also for yourself...swearing to stay beside them at all times, even if that means killing yourself to return to them. I couldn't do that...there was no way. Not with Resa beside me, tied to me for eternity as well...in a way, our bond was something similar to the marriage that Anri described, except that the deaths weren't voluntary.

And yet, despite everything telling me what a foolish idea it was, I couldn't help but consider it. Anri was alone now, the first time since she woke up, and after those last parting sentences I could tell that that separation was clawing at her. I didn't know if I wanted to marry her...but she very clearly needed to marry me. I almost felt bad at the thought of denying her that, forcing her back into that lonely emptiness...but I wasn't sure that joining with her would be much better. We walked a dangerous path, and though it was one that she was familiar with, it meant that she couldn't back out if she needed to. Resa and I were on this journey until the end, and we couldn't stop just because someone else with us wanted to.

I had a lot to ponder...and I had plenty of time to ponder it. We returned to the Shrine, and I turned to Resa, extending both souls that we'd acquired recently, the Pontiff's and the Demon's. As much as I'd like to visit Ludleth, I need answers from Yuria urgently. Prioritize yourself with whatever may be within them, please...but I wouldn't mind taking something new if nothing sounds your style."

My sister took them, rolling her eyes. "I'll use my better judgement. Where's your head right now? Quite a bit just got dropped on your chest."

I let out a sigh, the thoughts coursing through my head once more. "I'm leaning towards no...but I'm not confident enough in that answer yet to say it with certainty. I need time to think about it...hopefully I'll get some."

"I'll leave you alone about it then, and let you come to a conclusion on your own. I'm willing to share my thoughts, however, should you want them." It was spoken in a way that didn't insinuate that she wanted to share them...just that they were there.

"Thank you, sister. I'll take that into consideration. Right now, however, I need answers."

"We both do." Resa turned around, moving up the stairs and towards Ludleth. With nothing left to say I directed my attention onto Yuria, navigating my way through the catacombs into her hideaway. As I went, however, I noted that Greirat was back, a wave of relief flooding through me. Perhaps later I'd talk with him...now wasn't the time.

This time, I didn't even bother to feign that I trusted her, or that I was here for anything beyond answers. I lunged towards her as my hand encircled her throat, and I lifted her up just high enough until she wasn't able to stand on the floor, legs dangling beneath her. "You're going to tell me what I want to know, and I'm not letting you down until I do. Understood?"

I didn't even bother to wait out her reply, which came in the form in a fearful nod. "Tell me why Anri came to you and spoke of marriage, and why you encouraged her to pursue this, and what exactly you planned to do to me, or to her. What was your goal in this, because we both know there was a goal."

Her response came in chocked bursts of words as she gasped for breath. I lessened my grip on her after a while, but still tight enough to keep her controlled. "The wedding completes...your rise to power. It unlocks - agh - unlocks your final potential, preparing you to...to be a true Lord of Hollows."

I kept my grip steady. I couldn't tell if she was about to suffocate, or if she was perfectly fine...that was the beauty of a mask. "What was this wedding. What did it entail?"

"It...was...ceremonial." Her head lolled forward and I lessened my grip further, giving her a chance to breathe momentarily before I snapped tighter again. "The bride lies on a table, veiled. The groom takes a ceremonial weapon and...pierces her heart, transferring power from one to another."

At this I audibly snarled, my grip tightening into an iron vice around her, so tight that nothing could pass through it. "And why would you do that? I told you to leave her out of this!" I set my hand ablaze, pyromancy flame trapped between my hand and her neck as powerful heat radiated outwards.

"It was...the only way...to complete the cycle."

Her head sagged forward again and I simply discarded her, choking her for a few more seconds before throwing her to the side, watching her limp body crash into the ground. I extended my blade in front of me, hovering dangerously close to her now-bruised neck. "I'm finished with you. I will work with you no longer. Your Lord of Hollows is a Lord no longer."

Yuria put up an arm, as if trying to grasp for me, but was woefully out of reach. "You can't quit. Without you...the cycle will continue. We will be on - "

I silenced her quickly, a fireball whizzing just past her head and erupting behind her. "I believed in your cause, but I do not believe in how to achieve it. You lie, you extort, you manipulate, and you don't feel guilty about any of it. You're a disease on this land that I should eradicate right now." As I said that I lowered my sword further, now resting it on her neck, grazing it across her until I just barely felt the skin be pierced, a miniscule trickle of blood dripping to the floor. "However, I think I'll leave you like this. You're nothing without me...you said it yourself. I'll leave you to wallow in your own failure...and then when you've truly nothing left to lose, you will find my blade once more."

Her hand fell to the ground, clawing at the dirt beneath my feet. "I'm sorry. Give me one more chance, my Lord...I will make things right."

This time another pyromancy flew at her, one steeped in chaos that erupted on the back wall, the lava dripping down near her back. "I am not your Lord, and you are sorry for nothing. Speak again, and I will strongly reconsider leaving you alive. You're a danger, and I don't trust you...you're a liability even when you're this pathetic."

For once, she obeyed...she laid there on the ground in silence, crawling away from the fire that was eating at her back until she was out of harm's way. I turned around and stormed off, giving one parting glance over my shoulder at her...I didn't know if I would regret keeping her alive or not...but I wasn't ready to kill her now.

When I returned to the central chamber I could see Resa clearly hiding something, both hands wrapped behind her back and legs pressed tightly together. I mocked peeking to the side and trying to glance, delighting in the fact that she still maneuvered to block my vision. "Take a guess. If you get it right, you get it. If you get it wrong...I get it." A devilish smile crossed her face as she said that, still shielding it from me.

"Can I at least know which soul it's from? I think that's fair...too many factors to take into consideration otherwise."

She pondered that for a second, until nodding. "Pontiff Sulyvahn. The demon also had something that you might like, but well...we can make it if you don't get this."

I shook my head, pacing around for a bit. "So based on your posture, I'm guessing it's one of his weapons...if it was a ring or something small, there'd be no need to block vision behind your legs...unless this is some grand ruse." Resa raised an eyebrow as if to make me question my own logic...it worked. "I'm going to assume it's a weapon. Based on what we've had option to get so far, I don't know if I can remember getting any rings...so yeah, a weapon. Am I right so far?"

Resa was intentionally avoiding eye contact, looking high up at the ceiling. "Oh, I don't know. I think I'm going to need a more descriptive guess before I can say anything."

I rolled my eyes. "You're insufferable. Okay, so a weapon...he had two, both swords. I didn't notice much of a difference between their form, but one used magic and the other used fire. So then, the question becomes simple. Would you think I'd want more fire than what I've got, or would you think I'd want to have more versatility." I pondered that for a moment, thinking both about what I'd want, but more importantly what she'd think I'd want. I had a play in mind that might reveal my answer to me.

"I think I would have gone for the magical one, in case we encountered something that resisted fire." I watched her face intently, getting just the briefest flash of a reaction...a slight widening of her eyes, a small intake of breath...and that was all I needed. "But based on the surprise that I just saw you try to suppress, I think you would have chosen the flaming one. So, final answer: the Pontiff's flaming sword."

"Cheater." Resa scowled, walking around to reveal the weapon that she'd been hiding. It was extremely simplistic in design, a rectangular guard from which extended a rather impressive blade, about as long as my current weapon but much wider. It was made of a strange metal, almost stony in feel, and tan in color. "Ludleth called it the Profaned Greatsword. There's something called the Profaned Flame, and this sword carries a portion of that flame inside it."

I extended both hands to the weapon, wrapping my hands around the hilt. It was warm to the touch, but not uncomfortably so, reminding me of the bonfires we'd sit around. "You chose well, sister. Thank you?"

"Did you actually want the other sword? That was the other option...those were the only options."

I shook my head. "No, but I knew I'd get a reaction from you if I said I did. I solve all my problems with fire...if fire doesn't fix it, more fire always does."

She let out a sigh of relief, "Okay, that's what I thought. Do I need to know anything about Yuria?"

I shook my head. "Only that I won't be working with her anymore. I'd rather not repeat what she told me." I turned around, pointing back towards the catacombs. "I saw Greirat back there. What's the status on that?"

"Patches found me, told me he where he left the armor. I heard Siegward in the well...dropped it to him. He didn't say where he was going next, only that he was on his way there...something about an 'old friend'. He said he would make it out on his own just fine, he just didn't want to do it without armor."

I was puzzled. "Was I really back there for that long?"

Resa nodded. "I was worried something had happened, but I figured you'd be alright. I was about to come looking for you."

I waved it off. "No need. Yuria's barely alive right now...hopefully that's the high point of the rest of her life."

Resa's face drew grim for a moment. "That bad?"

"I reacted accordingly. Please, let's not carry this topic further. Where are we off to next?"

"I think the place we left wouldn't be a bad starting point...we still don't know what's down there, after all, and the Lords of Cinder could be anywhere."

The Lords...it had been quite a while since we'd seen one, let alone heard tell of where one was. We had a lead...no reason we shouldn't follow it. "Alright. Let's go."

Resa

We took the bonfire back to the bonfire we'd just been at, just past the water's edge and down several staircases. Up ahead were even more stairs, previously unexplored by us up until this point. I let Flynn lead as I trailed behind him, ready for anything and everything that might come at us.

Marriage...what an unexpected thing to come from Anri. I only pressured her into telling me why because I wanted to know...but I think Flynn needed to know. To know that this might not be about him, but it was still about Horace. Everything Anri had ever done, she'd done with Horace, up until now...and she was lonely. I could understand wholly...if something were to happen to Flynn such that he was gone but I survived, I'd seek companionship as well...but marriage? What Anri described almost seemed like a burden on both parties rather than something to be celebrated and commemorated. Flynn and I did our best not to die because we knew it would drag the other with us. However, what Anri suggested was on the far end of that, forcing one to die if the other fell in battle. I didn't understand it, but I also wasn't from her time...perhaps that is all she knew, and thought of it as a benefit. I didn't know what decision Flynn would make, and I don't plan to interfere with that decision in any way...but I did have a hope as to which way he'd decide...and I'm not sure what I'd do if we had a third person permanently alongside us. I loved Anri, as a friend, an undead, and an adventurer, but Flynn and I were practiced as a duo...not a trio.

At the bottom of the stairs were more adversaries that we had seen up above, a flamebearer, a knight, and several others. Flynn tore towards the flamebearer, keeping his greatsword sheathed for now and continue fighting with Vordt's hammer, beating the flamebearer with it several times. I darted towards the knight with my new scythe...I loved this scythe. It was slightly larger than the one I was use to, but I could still wield it with the same grace as before...except now, there was a little more bite behind that grace. A flurry of deadly strikes befell the knight one after the other as I twirled the scythe around me as I danced around my opponent, leaving it unable to strike back as I tore it down. One final crushing blow caught it by surprise as I sliced across its back, a gash so deep and severe that death was the only option.

I was starting to build up quite the arsenal...twin swords, a dagger, a scythe, and a talisman...and yet I wanted more, desired more, needed more. Unlike Flynn, I wanted a weapon for every situation, and I lacked several. All I possessed was a divine dagger, a cold scythe, mundane blades, and lightning spears. I knew there was more out there, because I'd seen it. Pontiff Sulyvahn himself carried blades of magic and fire, one of which Flynn now carried with him. I wanted that, specifically the versatility that came with that many weapons. Perhaps sometime in the future I'd be in that state...but not now.

As we continued further, we found ourselves outside, leaving the nice confines that we'd been in. It seemed out of place, little more than a rocky stairway on the side of a cliff. At the far end was what seemed to be a cavern, and we continued towards it.

Inside the cavern were more stairs that we descended, finding yet another bonfire waiting for us, which we lit but mostly ignored...we'd only just come from one, after all. The architecture here seemed different than where we just were, the stones that made up the walls less refined, less clean...more filthy. We'd clearly moved into a different area now, though based on its proximity to the Boreal Valley, I could only guess they were connected. Up ahead was a long hallway that we moved down, wary of just what might be lying in wait for us.

As we rounded the corner at the end of the hall, we saw...something? Someone? It was hard to tell. It was wearing full black robes save for a facemask made of silvered metal, carrying a lantern in one hand and a...branding iron in the other? It didn't make sense, but that was certainly what it was, the lower end of the iron still molten red.

As soon as we saw it, it saw us...definitely a someone, not a something. Rather than rush at us like everything else we'd seen, it simply held up its lantern, the flame changing from a yellow to a deep red. At the same instant, I felt pain well up inside me, seemingly from nowhere. I could see Flynn suffer the same tragedy, his form faltering, arms shaky. The masked figure then walked towards us, brandishing its iron as a weapon, holding the smoldering end towards us. Flynn held up his shield and bashed it into the masked figure, proceeding to beat it down with a few powerful blows. Even once it was dead, the pain was still there...just to a lesser extent.

"What was that. You felt it too, right?"

I nodded, drinking from my Estus...the pain didn't go away. As Flynn reached for his I held out my hand, shaking my head at the same time. "Don't bother. It's...not working for some reason."

I put mine away, furrowing my brow. "Is it the place? The enemy? The lantern? You saw it change colors, right?"

He nodded. "I don't know, and I'm not sure I want to experiment enough to find out. We should certainly play it safe around those things, whatever they are. Seems like trouble.

We pressed onwards, the pain now a lingering thought in the back of my mind. Soon, however, I felt it rise again, soaring to greater heights than it did last time, the pain just bearable enough to continue walking. It was like daggers pushing against my skin from all angles, just barely piercing the flesh, but not enough to do serious damage. It hurt...excruciatingly so, but at the same time it felt as if the pain was superficial, that it wasn't real. Perhaps that was just because I didn't see it being delivered - no swords crashing down upon me, no sorceries flying through me. It just existed...but it needed to stop existing.

As we rounded another corner, I immediately figured out why. Two more masked figures, each with red lanterns. I cut down one, opting for my dagger and a blade...these things seemed unholy enough that a divine weapon might pack the extra punch I wanted. Thankfully, the masked figures weren't durable, and they didn't fight all that well...it seemed as if they relied on weakening you beforehand, and if they didn't catch you by surprise, there was little they could do to follow up. Flynn took out the other one, a fireball soaring across the nearby bridge to engulf it in flames.

Even though nothing had laid a hand on me, I needed to lie down...take a breather and let the pain subside. As I did, I looked around, taking in what exactly was around us. Iron doors barred several inlets, some doors off their hinges and strewn about in various positions. Undead as well seemed to linger here...it was more than just the masked figures, but nothing else really seemed keen to fight.

"It's a jail." Flynn made the observation...and it fit.

"And those masked figures...they're jailers?"

He shrugged. "Makes sense. Imagine trying to escape this place after you've been trapped in here for a couple weeks. One of those jailers holds up that lantern, and I doubt you can even walk out of here. I'm sure it's quite reliable."

After a while, the pain finally seemed to have died down. It still hurt, but it was less...pressing. I felt like I could get better again. I took out my talisman, casting one of my healing miracles on myself, relieved when I felt the curative effects take over. "Seems to be fine now...guess they don't want their prisoners to suffer forever." I began casting another miracle on Flynn, restoring my energy with my Ashen flask once I was done.

"How thoughtful of them...are you good to keep going?"

I nodded, standing back up and crossing the bridge before us. At the far end was another split, a door to our left, a hallway to our right. Flynn tried the door, finding it locked...that only left one option. I peered down it, seeing another jailer at the far end...I'd had enough of these. Two lightning spears to chest was all it took to take it down, and we continued forward.

The further we explored the space, the less I liked it...everything here was hideous, ruined, or both. Eventually we started encountering creatures that looked like a cross between a lizard and a human, terrible skinless beings that walked on four legs with alien faces, carrying spears that I wasn't convinced didn't come from themselves. They were terrifying, horrid beings that I cut down mercilessly. As we went even further the jailers seemed to change their tactics as well, tactics that I rather preferred over the alternative of having the life sucked from my bones. They came at us with weapons - swords and crossbows, mostly, far easier to handle than the ones with the lanterns that we'd seen earlier.

We were outside when we fought the armed jailers, or at least what passed for outside here...it looked like we were in a cavern, rather than the jail proper. To our left was some sort of dilapidated tower, stones crumbling around its exterior. There was no way to get there, at least not right now, but I had no doubt we'd see it in the future.

We continued on, rounding a bend in the path as we entered a tunnel, the strange tower leaving our vision for the time being. Around the corner were several more of the jailers, all masks turning towards us as soon as we made our presence known. We fought them down as before, finally clearing the area of adversaries. As I looked around, however, there was no way forward...the corridor we were in was a dead end, save for what looked like outlets meant for drainage in various corners.

Flynn looked around, finding that that wasn't quite right...one of these outlets had a ladder tied to it. "What do you think...keep going forward?"

I shrugged. "No reason not to. We don't have any other leads at the moment, at least." And thus we descended down the ladder, finding ourselves in a small corridor with a door at the end, Flynn gently pushing it open to emerge into the space beyond. Even still the door creaked and squealed as we opened it, as if it hadn't been used for ages.

A giant...identical to the two we saw in the Cathedral. It seems it had been sleeping up until just now, the awful sounds of the door stirring it from its slumber. It looked around and immediately glared at us, its metal mask hiding the void behind it.

We knew how to fight these...we'd certainly done it a couple times already, and once again we'd have difficulties reaching the giant. The door led us out to a ledge, barely enough room for both of us to walk side-by-side without falling off the cliff where the giant stood. The ground was about even with its chest, giving it easy access to pummel us into oblivion, which it wasted no time in initiating. Its fists slammed down onto the stone floor in a vicious rage, both of us getting out of the way before it could hit us. I immediately drew forth my twin blades, ready to attack...but having no way to do so. It seemed at least slightly more intelligible than the ones we'd fought before it, recalling its arms before we had a chance to swing back, and staying far enough away that we couldn't attack it in any other way.

I did the only thing I could...miracles. I threw spear after spear, desperately trying to take it down before things got troublesome. Eventually, however, I ran out...and it still stood. Flynn had been throwing pyromancies at the same time, both of us unloading our entire ranged arsenal all the while trying to avoid the devastating slams that the giant fought back with.

Once we ran out of that, it was a game of cat and mouse...cat and mice, more accurately. There was nothing we could do to stop it as it attacked us other than try to run, but we couldn't even do that without fail...soon, our Estus flasks were joining our ashen ones as far as being empty.

In a last-ditch effort, I called out to Flynn. "Do you still have rope?"

He froze for a second in thought, only moving because a fist slammed down where he would have been. "Think so. Keep it busy for a second while I look."

I did so, acting like I was swiping at its arms whenever I avoided them, painting myself as the more desirable target. Meanwhile Flynn rifled through his few belongings, eventually coming out with a length of coiled rope, tossing it to me. "Here."

I grabbed it, instantly pulling out Sirris' diagger. "Your turn to keep it busy."

I set to work fastening the rope to the dagger by wrapping it around the hilt and crossguard and giving it a good tug to ease my mind. I had one shot at this...miss, and I would plummet to what had to be death. Hit...and it might be a slightly more delayed process. A loose rope, and it wouldn't matter how well I threw it.

I leaped into the void beyond the ground, throwing my hand forward. It had been a long while since I'd used the rope and dagger, and my form was rusty. Still, the dagger flew true, plunging itself into the giant's chest...and promptly began to slide down, tearing through the giant's flesh.

I panicked, momentum still swinging me closer to the giant, but not nearly as fast as I wanted, or needed. The dagger finally hitched to a stop at its loincloth and I swung forward, going all the way around until I was at its back, when I finally let go of the dagger. I was in freefall for a few seconds, nothing around me except the giant...the only 'ground' around me that would save me from falling to death. In my offhand I already had a blade ready, and I contorted my body just enough to get the tip of it to pierce its flesh...that was all I needed. I withdrew the blade's twin as I began to descend once more, plunging it deeper into its back than the first. I came to a stop near its lower back...alive, but very, very panicked.

I proceeded to climb up its back, the only thing I could do...its weakness was its head, after all. Each plunge of my blades seemed to agitate it a little more than the last as it tried to throw me off, but I kept my grip firm, refusing to let go as it swiped at me. Soon I was at its shoulders, twin trails of blood trickling down its back from the dozens of stab wounds I'd given it. It was already falling to one knee by the time I sliced its facemask off, exposing its empty face to the world once more. Both knees hit the floor by the time I circled around, plunging my sword into the darkness...and it crashed to the ground.

I was already far too low to get back up...I was going wherever it planned to take me, and right now that meant down. I hit the ground right as its body faded away, leaving me alone down here...wherever 'here' was. At first glance it looked like more jail cells, iron bars embedded into the stone walls of this pit.

Not long after I was down here, I heard movement...lots of it. Soon, one rat appeared, followed by a second and third, until an entire swarm of them appeared all at once, all moving as a horde to engulf me.

I fought back, but I wasn't suited for dealing with a horde...that was Flynn's proficiency. I swung at them in vain, the rats trying to overcome me, and likely going to succeed.

"Incoming!"

I looked up, seeing Flynn's body in midair, and growing larger at a terrifying rate. He landed on the ground in a crash, Vordt's hammer slamming down before he did as a blast of frost bellowed from its tip, sending rats scattering in all directions. I could tell the fall hurt him...there was no way it couldn't. He pulled out his Estus flask while he had the chance draining the rest of its contents.

"I'm going to do something very stupid, but it will work, and I don't want to hear any lip after the stunt you just pulled. Let them come to me...I'll take them all on."

I nodded. "I trust you, brother. Always have. Always will." I backed off towards the edge of the pit, the rats starting to come to their senses once more. They swarmed with fervor as Flynn called forth his pyromancy flame...it seemed he had saved one last dance just in case he needed it.

Fire erupted around him as the rats swarmed him, incinerating almost all of them on the spot. When he emerged from the explosion lava and fire cascaded down his armor in an awe-inspiring display, a weapon gripped in each hand...fire in one, ice in the other.

Not all of the rats had perished in the initial explosion, but the rest soon followed. Flynn raged around the battlefield, smashing some of the survivors with his mace, cleaving through others with his sword. He was surprisingly adept at using two very different weapons at the same time, especially with next to no practice with this style of fighting. Within a few seconds, however, the remaining rats were dead, an odd collection of charred and frozen pelts surrounding us.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

The voice came from one of the cages...I could tell just from hearing it that it was Siegward.

"It's Resa and Flynn...where are you?"

I followed his voice, eventually finding him in the middle cage. He was tied up, unable to move, and strapped to a bench. Oh Siegward...you'd just been set free, and now you got yourself stuck here again. I took pity on him...this must have been the first undead the jailers bagged in quite a while. "How do we get you out of here?"

He shook his head, about all he could do in his restraints. "I'd made it where you are now, but I got further...those masked figures chased me, though, and I couldn't outrun them forever. I don't know how they got me in here...they knocked me out while they drug me to this wretched cell, but I assure you I got much further than here."

I thought back to what he'd mentioned earlier...about an old friend. "Did you find the person you were looking for?"

He shook his head. "No...Yhorm still eludes me. I know he is down here, however, hiding...shirking his duties."

"What duties?"

"He is a Lord of Cinder. Like all the others, he did not return to his throne. I must bring him back...I am the only one that can bring him back."

Flynn was curious at this. "Why only you?"

"Yhorm has only one weakness, the Storm Ruler. It was a weapon specially crafted to defeat him, and him alone. There are only two in existence. I possess one...I do not know what became of the other. Without a Storm Ruler to quell him, it would be nigh improbable, potentially impossible, to kill him. He is a giant, and a powerful one at that. You felled one just now, or I so presume it was you...Yhorm is far more powerful than that. Terrifyingly so."

Flynn and I both grew silent...we were going to save Siegward anyways, but now it was clear it was our utmost priority. We'd finally gotten word of a Lord of Cinder, and it could only be killed with one blade. "Don't worry, Siegward. We'll get you out of there...somehow."

The man nodded. "I will owe you deeply if you are able to do so. I wish I could be of more help, but I have told you all I know. You are smart though, both of you. I have full confidence you'll figure something out."

Flynn and I left this area...there had to be a back entrance or something, some way to get him out of there, but it wasn't from this room. The exit of this room took us to an elevator, one that brought us up to a locked door next to the bonfire we'd found at the entrance of this place. It was easy enough to unlatch from this side and we moved back out to the bonfire, both of us collapsing from exhaustion. That giant had pushed us both to the brink, draining all of our resources on that single foe. If what Siegward said was true, and that Yhorm was far stronger than any other giant...I wasn't even sure a Storm Ruler would save us.

I'm realizing that I'm writing too slow to finish this by next November (probably, tough to tell), so I'm going to try and pick up the pace a little bit. Nothing massive, trying to move to a 10-11 day cycle as opposed to 14, but that means I won't just be publishing on the weekends every time. Really enjoyed writing this chapter, looking forward to the future. Stay tuned :-)