When I rise to explore, I have to take a moment to ask myself what I'm doing. I'm supposed to be conquering Anor Londo, looking for the Lordvessel, whatever that is. Instead, I'm in a fiery pit full of monsters and, from the look of things, sorrow. All the same, I'm here now, and I suppose I might as well see what's here before I go back up.

I slowly walk up the hill, looking all around me, passing more than a dozen people bearing eggs. When I crest the top, I'm met with a view of a huge, glowing river of orange lava; the sight alone makes me sweat through my Hollowed skin. A little further, the webbing covering the ground ends, and I notice a bridge across the lava behind me and to my right; I have to descend the hill, then go back around, to get to it. On the way, two of the egg-laden people start crawling towards me, instead of just praying silently. I'm not sure if they want my help, or if they mean me harm; in a place like this, I won't take the risk. They're slow, and I outrun them easily. The path I need to take is a ledge that goes around the hill to my right, and I take it, passing through an ornate stone archway that isn't surrounded by even the ruined traces of a wall. Beyond this, I find the bridge I saw; it turns out to be more of a buttress than a bridge, but it takes me across the lava all the same. Looking over the edge to my right, I see a more intact set of ruins far below, square pillars and stairs marking real places. Across the parapet, I find myself on the top of a large tower that I can't tell if it's intended to be a place to go or not; there's a ring near the middle, surrounding a small divot that surrounds a bump. This proves pointless.

Beyond this, I find myself on another craggy ledge. A stone archway twice the size of the one I passed through earlier is blocked by white light; I could see the other side of it on the way over here, so I'm not too concerned as I traverse it. However, it doesn't dissipate behind me, and when I try to go back, I find that I'm blocked. Confused, I proceed slowly, my shield raised.

More ornate square pillars line the path now, though most are crumbling or at least toppled. After a little while, I see some stairs ahead; I run up them, curious. At the top, the path splits, a ravine between two rocky hills to my right, some crumbled pillars lining a ledge to my left. The left path provides a better view of the surroundings, so that's the way I take - I don't want to be surprised.

Around the rocky hill the ledge circumvents, I'm met with the sight of many glowing, writhing arms, like tentacles of lava. They way they move suggests that they're coming off the top of something that's breathing; I think I can see some of the body, but it just mostly looks like half-cooled magma. Wary, I raise my shield and proceed very slowly. Across a rather wide expanse of dirty rock, I find myself facing what I think might be the head. It looks like it's framed by two ram-like horns, and has two holes like the nose holes of a skull just above a gaping mouth that opens and closes as it rises and falls with each breath; above these, some round holes in its maroon face glow red, like eyes. Of course, none of these may be what they look like, it could easily be pareidolia. I can also hear the squishy noises of the thing's appendages moving. Sheer heat radiates from it, just as it does from the lava below.

For a long time, I stare at the molten creature, waiting for it to do something. It doesn't move, doesn't acknowledge my presence. After a while, I cautiously walk past it; it still does nothing. A ledge grants passage around another hill of stone, and beyond that is a crevasse in the rocks, the back corner of which is marked by what looks like the crumbling remains of an altar. Suspiciously, a dead body lies on the block of stone; I hesitate a moment, then take what it's got: a set of gold-lined, heat-resistant robes, meant for a woman. As soon as I have my prize, the monster behind me gives a huge roar. This wasn't unexpected, and I turn around and try to run back, but one swipe from one of its appendages, and I'm instantly dead.

Back at the bonfire, I take a moment to examine the hooded robe I've found. It seems to be the garb worn by Witch Quelana of Izalith - the Witch of Izalith, I think, or at least one of her circle of witches that she shared her Lord Soul with. The garments date back to before even the dawn of the Age of Fire. Was that corpse…could it have been…her? It seems unlikely…but perhaps. The Witch herself was the mother of pyromancy, and this fiery place would be a perfect birthplace for the craft. Either way, though, I need to fight and kill that monster - I could go back up now, yes, but I want to kill that creature and recover my death spot.

The trek back is short and easy; the moment I traverse the wall of white light, however, the monster is already riled. It's at the other end of the passage, though, and she guides my feet to the ravine I noticed earlier. I get struck once on the way there, as it makes its way around towards me, but once I'm in, I understand - the ravine itself turns out to just be a space between the lower wall of the cave and a mound of stone, but the creature can't hit me here. It's also easy to lure it into trying, and when it does, it leaves one of its longer clawed, fiery tentacles lying in the middle of the passage for me to swipe at. Funny how hitting this one barb can hurt it badly enough to bring about its death, but it's something I won't question. I continue baiting the monster and swinging at its one appendage when I get the chance; it strikes me a few times, but I survive, and heal myself in the safety of the narrow passage. Eventually, it dies, leaving me with a Humanity sprite and a Homeward Bone.

I run out to watch it fall into the lava below. As I do, I notice the temperature around here drop ever-so-slightly; beyond, the river of lava partially hardens, meaning I have a path down there that I can probably follow now. First, I go and recover my death spot from next to the altar, and then I turn around and walk over to the hill that leads up to the spider cave. The hill did go further than I'd explored, I noticed before, but now it leads down to a path that is cool enough to be solid, if not much more; I know I should probably be on my way back to Anor Londo, but I just earned the right to explore this place, so that's what I'm going to do.

Past the egg-bearers, down a stone ramp that used to lead into the lava, I'm soon standing on the recently-cooled molten rock. The wrinkly obsidian beneath me doesn't quite burn through my boots, but it's very hot down here, standing right next to pools of magma. It was probably even worse for her - she hated heat. Still, I start walking around the lava field, unsure what there might be to find given that this was all molten mere minutes ago, but sure enough that there is something. A red mist, like fog made of pure heat, makes seeing around here a bit difficult, but I can at least tell when I'm standing on solid rock. Around I search, running all but aimlessly, noticing the little lavafalls trickling down the rocks in the distance into the still-molten pools. Then, I see some creatures through the haze.

They're standing on the recently-cooled lava; as I draw close, one notices me and comes at me, wielding a demonic greataxe. I start fighting, trying hard to stay out of its reach when I can; it's hard to see in the fire-fog, but I think it might be the same sort of creature as the tauros demon I fought on the way to the first Bell of Awakening, if a bit smaller. It moves a lot like a black knight with a greatsword, the one at the top of the tower near the church…its weapon's reach is longer, yes, but I can still manage. Eventually, I take it down. Through the pendant, she informs me that that particular beast is now gone forever.

After that, I start luring the beasts away from their group one at a time and fighting them. Each one provides a bit more insight into their patterns. After killing the second one, I accidentally draw the attention of two at once; knowing I could never achieve victory two-to-one, I run back up to the bonfire to collect some more Estus and strengthen myself with the souls I've gathered, then go back down. They notice me from quite a distance, so I learn to be a bit more careful each time. It's not until after a few more fall that it occurs to me to take off my rusty iron ring and put on the Cloranthy Ring, but to little detriment. Once the last one falls, I have one swallow of Estus left in my Flask.

Beyond where the tauros demons were, the far end of the lava field turns out to hold a corpse lying on the molten lava, and seeing that it at least isn't sinking, I decide to run out and see if I can grab it without dying. I can't; I burn up and die. That's okay, it doesn't really cost me anything. There's nothing else here, so once I recover my death spot, I start going around the lava pools along the far side, exploring the rest of the field. Another corpse is on a patch of solid rock across a river of lava, but I've learned my lesson and pass it by.

Back around the side closer to the hill I came down, I find a body I can actually reach, and beyond it, I see another demon. This one looks like the creature that held the key to the sewers that led to Blighttown - which, come to think of it, led to here in turn. It's a bit smaller, as the tauros demons had been, and its moves are essentially the same; I kill it easily. This one, however, will be back, she informs me. Once it's dead, the body I noticed turns out to carry a large soulmass.

Past where the capra demon was standing, a short ledge leads to the balcony of an old building. Finally setting foot on a stone floor, I proceed forward, all the more curious to see what's here now. The balcony turns out to lead to a long, narrow ledge, sparsely paved with stone tiles, that brings me to the same old building I saw from above earlier. Inside, several capra demons wait; I walk in without concern and start fighting them one by one, as I did with the tauros demons - this time, though, I lure each one away by casting a Great Soul Arrow at it, just to be safe. One of them drops its great demon machete. From a protruding section of balcony, I see a doorway blocked by bright golden light, like what I saw in Anor Londo. I wonder…

Down some stairs, I find a rotund stone figurine that comes alive and breathes fire at me; it goes down pretty easily. There's a path forward, but I go back, along the space below where I just was. It's here that I discover what looks like an enormous millipede poking out of the wall; I shoot it with a spell, and it does nothing, but something has me on edge - it looks lively. I start casting Great Soul Arrows at it; it disintegrates on my second-to-last use, leaving my final casting of the spell to fall to the floor. Past it, I find a corpse bearing a large soulmass - and a bonfire, which I light immediately. The soulmass gives me just enough souls to strengthen myself.

Through the fire, she tells me about her experience with the millipede I just killed: It spewed acid at her, destroying her weapons, and though she had a batch of gold powder with which to revive her right-hand weapon, she thought it had also destroyed her shield (though she later discovered that it hadn't), and since she also didn't have a repairbox, she spent the entire rest of her time down here with her shield on her back, using only her Divine Winged Spear to fight capra demons and tauros demons and fire-breathing statues. It's kind of impressive that she actually made it out, no less so for the fact that she came down here at about the same point in her quest as I have.

Our conversation done, I go back out and down the crumbling stairs I saw before that lead away from the building; it's lined with fire-breathing statues that crawl along the ground. Near the bottom, after I've killed all four, a tauros demon comes running for me. The fight with it takes us all the way back up the stairs and almost to the wall behind the stairs that lead up and out; when it falls, she informs me that that particular tauros demon will be back - anything beyond here will.

When I climb back down the stairs, as soon as I get to the bottom, another millipede comes out of the ground just a little ways to my right. I back up a bit, take out my catalyst, and start shooting; it goes down with no trouble. Before climbing up to the doorway blocked by golden light, I take a path to my left. Here, I find another tauros demon, and fight it and take it down with no problem. At the other end of the narrow ledge it was guarding, I find yet another tauros demon, and I think it's the last one; the limited space to move around in doesn't hinder me much. The ledge itself leads to another balcony that appears empty; when I start walking down it, however, a giant millipede comes out of the ceiling. Since I only have five uses of my Great Soul Arrow left - not nearly enough to fight it - I turn back. Finally, I climb up to the wall of golden light, killing the two living statues flanking it. My hand connects with the light, and runes appear:

"Sealed by the Great Lord's power"

Just like in Anor Londo. If I am to be the Great Lord, surely I'll be able to dispel this barrier sooner or later. For now, though, I cannot pass.

To the left of the wall of light is nothing; to the right is a small ledge with a capra demon and a body. I'm too cocky in how I fight the capra demon, and with a couple of diving blows, it manages to kill me. The bonfire is close, and there's only that little patch left to explore, so I fight my way back in; the corpse I earn the right to pillage bears the largest soulmass I've yet seen. Then, there's nothing else, and I start fighting my way back out.

The first time I try to climb back up, one of the capra demons kills me. It doesn't bother me all that much. On my second try, I manage to kill one more capra demon before one kills me. Again, it doesn't really bother me. I've found everything, and I know I can make it out; what does it matter how many times I die? And with that firmly in mind, the third time, I make it out. Once all six of the capra demons are dead - some with a fair amount of luck - nothing of note happens.

After I climb out of the spider nest, I put on my rusted iron ring and quickly run back to the bonfire in the culvert. While the noxious fumes of the swamp aren't exactly more pleasant than the terrible heat I just escaped, it's nice to at least not be sweating as much. Once I've marked my place, I climb out the way that leads to the valley of drakes. Compared to the monsters I've just been fighting, the ghouls in the exit are easy to slaughter. Then, I pass through New Londo, take the lift to Firelink Shrine, feed my junk to Frampt - including the clothes from the Witch of Izalith, which simply don't suit me - take the lift from Firelink Shrine to the Undead Parish, stop at the bonfire above Andre's forge, enter Sen's Fortress, take the lift to the top, and reach the golden ring of light that signals bat demons to bring me back to Anor Londo. It's time to finish this. I don't even realize that I forgot to wash off.