When next I wake, I'm ready, and I charge down to the ruins. I've taken this path several times, but only now do I really notice that the mossy wooden bridge into the upper portion of the ruins is far above the water instead of touching it, and that the first area in the ruins is high and dry. Yes, I needed rest, badly. One of the ghosts up top drops, not cursed arms, but one of its blades - a cursed blade, with which I can harm ghosts without my own body being cursed. Before I descend, another gives me two more cursed arms.
Down in the stinking slime pit, I'm amazed at how easily I can slaughter the skull knights - though my increased boldness does get me more than just a few scratches. The first one that falls even drops an entire slab of titanite - something I can use to reinforce my armor one more time. When I reach the last skull knight, emboldened by my new strength, I'm a bit too reckless, and he kills me.
No matter; I go out to kill a couple of Hollows, use the bonfire to take me back to Andre's forge, have him reinforce my leggings, return to Firelink Shrine, sit down for a moment to mark my place, and go down again all the stronger. I decide to use another cursed arm instead of the blade I got; I'm a bit more intelligent with how I go about fighting the skull knights this time, and I'm still able to cut through them quickly enough to traverse the white light long before the arm wears off, though I am cost a second swig of Estus. Once I'm through, I swap out my equipment and descend the steps to the Abyss. When the wraiths appear, I fight them boldly, and though the fight goes a bit better than before, I fall just before the first wraith does.
Once again. The second skull knight I fight gives me two chunks of titanite (where are they getting it all?), and nothing else of significance happens on the way. When I reach the Abyss, however, I get lost trying to find my death spot, and am quickly killed. There's no point of reference, so I can only see actual things that are around me - if I'm off, it's hard to tell.
It crosses my mind as I rise again that I might want to strengthen my Grass Crest Shield - reinforcement doesn't increase a shield's defensive properties all that much, but even a little would probably help, and I have plenty of titanite shards, if few large ones. I warp to the bonfire above Andre's forge - remembering only once I'm there to switch my equipment back out - go out to get some souls, and come back in. While I'm out, I notice how very little damage I take even from the full force of the sword of a Hollow I used to think of as strong, as I have difficulty parrying it, but only need to drink from my Estus Flask once. When I finally do parry and riposte it, it's kind enough to give me another shard of titanite. Still, when I go to Andre, I find I'm one short of being able to reinforce my shield thrice over; twice has to do. Then I go back.
The trip down this time costs me the last of my cursed arms - if I have to make the journey once more, I'll need to use the ghost's blade. Nothing of consequence happens on the way, and I try again. This time, I have a better understanding of the pattern, and I manage to kill two wraiths, and land a hit or two on the third. However, more wraiths keep spawning in the background, and when the one I'm fighting and one of the ones on the sidelines both cast magic at me, I fall. Still, I know now that this is possible.
As feared, I have to use the ghost's blade to kill the ghosts down below this time. It's little more than a dagger, but I can use it several times in quick succession to make up for its lack of weight. It gets the job done, but the fact that I can't protect myself with my shield - because it isn't cursed - costs me a lot of Estus. I also somehow manage to send the lift back up after I get down to the lower area, probably by accidentally activating it as I step off. Even the skull knights seem more problematic than before - the first one almost kills me. The second one gives me another chunk of titanite, though, and when I try two-handing the dagger against the remaining ghosts, this proves completely effective. Still, I'm down five swallows of Estus by the time I get to the Four Kings' domain.
I take time to recover my death spot, and this costs me enough time for a second wraith to appear before I even really start engaging the first; they double-team me, and I quickly die. During the battle, I also discover that it is impossible to block their magic…perhaps if I just have my Crest Shield on standby, I can use whichever one a situation calls for during the battle, and that might help.
One of the ghosts on the way drops a second blade…I wonder if the amount of souls I'll get from Frampt when the time comes will be comparable to the amount I'll get from defeating the Four Kings? Probably not, though the thought makes me smile. When I get to the lift, I forget that it's already up because of the fluke before, and I waste a moment trying to pull the lever; I'd have to fight the ghost that attacks me as a result anyway, though, so it doesn't really cost me much. What does cost me, however, is my boldness with the second skull knight - he kills me.
At least now I don't have a death spot in the Abyss to worry about. Keeping that thought in mind, I climb down once more. The fourth skull knight gives me another chunk of titanite, and the first of the two ghosts down below that I kill gives me another two cursed arms to use instead of the blade - very useful, as what I'm doing now is costing me. Although, it doesn't cost me quite so much this time - the skull knights go down quickly, and when I get to the tower of the Four Kings, I've used just as much Estus as I have sometimes while using cursed arms.
Being able to focus on the Four Kings without worrying about a death spot results in things going slightly better, but being hit by magic from two wraiths at once kills me as it would anyone. I do notice that my Crest Shield is better in this fight overall…perhaps, just perhaps, I should use it instead of the Grass Crest Shield, or swap out only if I really need the Grass Crest Shield's invigorating properties. Another thing I notice is that things get slightly easier if the wraith I'm fighting and the wraiths on the sidelines aren't very close to each other.
On the way down this time, I use a cursed arm instead of the ghost blade because I can. I've killed two skull knights before I realize I've forgotten to swap out my rings, and still they go down easily…yes, I think the invigorating properties of the Cloranthy Ring or the Grass Crest Shield weren't as useful as I thought; the final skull knight does manage to kill me, but only because of a silly mistake on my part. Then, when I rise at Firelink Shrine again, I remember the green blossoms I found in the Darkroot Garden so long ago - they work the same way as the Grass Crest Shield or the Cloranthy Ring, even though it's a temporary fix. I put them on-hand to use just in case.
This time, when I kill the first skull knight, he drops something besides titanite. It's a strange sort of energy that wants to take hold of my hand…I think this is the power the skull knights use to create their weird shields, and to suck the life force out of healthy Undead. Just holding it makes me shiver - not with horror, but with excitement. When I get to the ghosts and final skull knights, the second ghost doesn't appear until I'm well into fighting the final skull knight, though I give it plenty of time to come to me where it's usually lured. Then I'm through the white light and have taken a drink of Estus. Given time now, I examine the strange force that that skull knight dropped…I want to use it, but I know I shouldn't even be holding it - I don't even want to feed it to Frampt. With no other ideas, I drop it at the top of the stairs, then descend.
Just before I jump into the Abyss, I eat a green blossom. This time, I charge in confidently, assured by all the assets at my disposal. For the most part, the fight doesn't go badly, but when one of the other wraiths appears and starts helping the first one from the sidelines, I'm quickly killed. Despite how close I've come once or twice, I have to face it: I'm not strong enough right now.
Being in Firelink Shrine, I realize I'm in a prime position to descend into the Catacombs again, and investigate that dark cave. I consider it for a moment, then decide to go, leaving 14,000 souls in the Abyss. With no need for Artorias's ring right now, I put the Cloranthy Ring back on. Frampt is snoring loudly as I pass; I leave him be. He must be very old…
It's almost embarrassing, how easily the skeletons in my way go down as I descend into the depths. Even when I have to switch out my drake sword for my Divine Morning Star, the most dangerous thing down here is the floating heads, which do knock me down a couple of times, but to very little consequence. I reach the first bonfire with painful ease, and even the path to the second is laughable. A single Heavy Great Soul Arrow kills any skeleton in one hit, and the the Divine Morning Star only takes two or three. Even the booby-trapped statues barely prick me when they even manage to hit me.
At the second bonfire, I remember to attune Cast Light for the dark cave; I do need the ability to have more spells on-hand, so I will work towards that. I don't bother taking the shortcut to the skeleton smith, just head down the main path, ready to face the spike wheel skeletons - I feel like I can easily take them now. As it turns out, I'm slightly less prepared than I thought, but the two floating heads down there that I forgot about do much more damage to them than to me, so the closer ones are quickly taken care of, and I'm ready for the ones further on, which attack me one or two at a time. I even find the cave that will take me back, if I wanted to climb instead of using a bonfire to teleport (if there is a bonfire ahead); I also fight what must have been a skeleton high up that fell down here…so that's what happens to the ones that fall all that way. After a minute, I realize that the fact that the floating heads killed some of the spike wheel skeletons and they didn't revive means I don't have to use a divine weapon anymore, so I switch back to my drake sword, only to then discover that I've already killed them all.
Now there's nothing but the dark cave; I get to it, then use Cast Light. The glowing orb that floats just above my head only illuminates a little ways, but it's better than the pitch-blackness of before. I follow the path of glowing pebbles down a slope, across a stone pillar on its side that acts as a bridge, and into the presence of another giant skeleton, just like the ones in the graveyard up above. This, too, goes down easily now. A little ways on, I look around just to be thorough, and find the skeletal remains of a large beast that could have been something draconian. Past this, I slide down a stone slope, turn around to look behind me to my right, and find another giant skeleton, which I also easily kill; a corpse bearing a medium-sized soulmass is my reward. Down another slide, I find two giant skeletons around to my right; I fight them, and they both end up jumping sideways to their deaths. When I go past this to explore this ledge, I go a bit further than I intended, and a third slide brings me far lower than I wanted to go. I start climbing back up, and that's when the clanking sounds I've been hearing finally prove to be what I feared: arrows. Giant arrows, at that - not javelins, as in Anor Londo, just really big arrows. Climbing up around a ledge, past another giant skeleton, brings me to one of the giant archers, which is, of course, yet another giant skeleton. These beasts are not much of a threat, and I kill it, climb a rope ladder, drop down to my left to pillage a medium soulmass from a corpse, drop the rest of the way to the bottom, climb up again, pillage a third medium soulmass, and fight two more giant skeletons. That seems to be all there is to this place.
Up two more ladders brings me to a ledge, which I jump down from to pillage three cursed eyes from a corpse - more food for Frampt (I'll be getting a lot of souls after I kill the Four Kings). I jump down, climb up again, crest a ledge with yet another corpse bearing a medium soulmass, and then find myself dropping down to the place where I started. I'm out of spare uses of my lighting spell, I need to find a bonfire fast; she guides my feet down the slope I accidentally descended before, turns me left, and I slide down a ladder to a small ledge with a bonfire. Gratefully, I sit down and restore my uses of the spell.
That's all I need to do at the moment, so I climb the ladder, and notice, to my left, one last glowing pebble, right next to a bald Undead who isn't Hollow. This seems like an odd place for a person, so I approach him cautiously.
"Hello?" I ask him.
"Good day," he says cheerfully. "You look relatively sane. What are you doing in the Catacombs?" He hesitates, then asks, "You're not a cleric or something, are you?"
"No, I am not," I reply.
"No? Really?" he asks, and I'm not sure what this means. "Then I have no qualms telling you. There's a fine stash of treasure right down that hole! I found it first, but we're friends now! Go on, take a peek. It'll shimmer you blind!" He says this last sentence in an odd tone, and then gives a nasty chuckle. I do not trust this man.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"There, that hole," he urges me. "Take a closer look."
I glare at him suspiciously, but slowly walk over to the shimmering purple pebble on the edge of a small peninsula of rock jutting out over a pit and bend down. Looking down, I do see the glows of a couple of bodies bearing soulmasses, and something else as well. Having seen all I can see from here, I start to stand, when suddenly, I feel a foot on my back, and I'm thrust forward; I fall, and land on the ground heavily on my front.
From above, I hear laughter. "This is what I do, my friend!" calls the Undead. "The trinkets I'll be stripping off your corpse; that's the real treasure!" He laughs again.
Unharmed, I stand up and brush myself off. Two of the corpses down here do indeed bear medium-sized soulmasses; the third carries the Skull Lantern, a tool specifically made for exploring this place. My hands are already occupied, though, so I tuck it away and use Cast Light; I need to find a way out of here.
At first, I find only some bones. Then, next to one skeletal remnant of some beast, I find a white-clad woman sitting against a pillar of stone - the woman Petrus was supposed to look after, the one I met briefly in Firelink Shrine. Remembering I was going to be keeping an eye out for her anyway, I approach her.
"Are you all right?" I ask.
"You're no Hollow, are you?" she asks at the sight of me. "Thank goodness. Please be careful. There are two fierce Hollows not far from here. They were once brave knights…my former escorts." Her voice begins to crack. "Who would let such strong spirits be Hollowed so?" she laments. "Heavens…Is there nothing…Nothing at all to be done?"
"I'll take care of them," I tell her.
Then, I move on. A little ways past the maiden, I'm attacked by a knight wielding a greataxe, followed by a knight wielding a mace - Vince and Nico, the woman's escorts. They are indeed Hollow, and mindlessly try to kill me; I cut them both down with such ease, I almost wonder if I should feel bad. Once they're both down, I return to the woman.
"It's okay," I tell her gently. "They're gone."
"You banished those two Hollows, did you?" she asks, her voice wavering. "It pains me to think of the trouble my failings have caused. I am certain both Vince and Nico are grateful to you. Thank you so very much. Here, these belonged to them. You deserve them more than I."
She holds out her hand, and from it, I gain a Miracle spell - Replenishment, a very useful magic no matter what the case may be, though I can't use it. Somehow, I know she'll be safe, and able to get out of here on her own; I carry on my way, to finish exploring this place.
Up a narrow slope, I find a corpse carrying a white chunk of titanite. Once I take it, I hear a strange noise, sort of similar to the sound of a plant monster coming out of the ground in the forest; I turn around, and see pillars of bones stuck together with black goop slowly moving along the ground towards me. Three strikes from my sword is what it takes to kill them; they sometimes stick out skeletal arms all along their length and move in a sort of tiny dance, whirling the bony appendages around - this hurts. There are two at the base of the slope, and two more around to my left; when I find my way out of this pit, three more appear. At one point, I'm certain I'm dead, but somehow survive; then, I take them all down. Beyond this is a rope ladder, which I climb. At the top is a cave that seems to be immediately blocked off by a wall; I strike it, certain it's an illusion, and it is. Then I follow a narrow ledge around a cliff, descend the rope ladder to the bonfire, and rest.
Now that I have all my uses of Cast Light back, I intend to confront that Undead who tricked me. He's right there, so I climb the ladder and approach him.
"Hey!" I call at him angrily.
"…Oh. You. I…" he stammers.
I glare at him.
"Well, let's just calm down," he says nervously. "Talk about things…I did you wrong. But, I didn't mean it. These…temptations, they can, well, overcome me…You know what I mean? Don't you? Please forgive me. You and me, we're jolly Undead outcasts, aren't we?" He ends this with a nervous smile.
"No," I reply, unamused.
"Oh for heaven's sake, let's not mope about, eh?" he says. "You're still alive, I've said I'm sorry! Wait, I know! Here, take this. It proves something, doesn't it?" He holds out his hand; in it is a Twin Humanities sprite. I take it, and he chuckles wickedly.
"This proves nothing," I tell him sternly, certain that he's in no way trustworthy. "I'll let you live for now, but I'll have my eye out for you in the future."
He shrinks back slightly. "I did you wrong, but I didn't mean it," he repeats timidly. "These…temptations, they can…well, overcome me…You know what I mean? Don't you? Please, forgive me."
"I do not forgive you," I tell him, but I don't waste my time with him anymore.
Firstly, I return to the bonfire to replenish my uses of Cast Light. Then, I start to walk past the Undead. Here's where she tells me to stop, that it's not worth it - go back, she says, there's something back a ways that I'll find useful. As always, I trust her. I go back up the ledge where I came before, pass the exit to the pit, and come upon the roof of a building with a small opening in the top; a ladder leads down in, but I simply jump. Several giant skeletons come at the wall of the ledge I'm standing on - three, in fact. For a moment, I deliberate; then, confidently, I jump down, sword-first. Moments later, I'm dead.
Okay, so this won't be that easy. She reassures me through the fire that there is something there worth getting, so I climb back up to try again. My death spot is still up here for me to recover, and then I start trying to use magic. It turns out that the ledge I'm on actually juts out from the wall slightly, leaving an overhang under which the giant skeletons can hide from my spells. After some vain attempts at attacking the wall, however, they eventually give up, and this is what gives me the opportunity to attack. I miss as often as not, due to the poor lighting of this place, but eventually, two giant skeletons are dead from my magic, and only one is within my sight; I decide to kill this third with my blade. Trying this turns out to be a mistake, however; I don't kill it with a diving blow, and before I know it, a second giant skeleton and then even a third appear and kill me.
Only now does she inform me that the bonfire I'm using is one I can return to, and urges me to return to Firelink Shrine right now; I do. I run to Petrus, intending to tell him about "M'lady", but he only offers Miracles; I can hear Frampt snoring nearby. Confused, I follow where she guides me, and take the lift up to the Undead Parish. Inside, at the alter where I found the first Fire Keeper Soul, I find the woman, kneeling before the alter and statue, her hands clasped in prayer.
"Hello," I say, approaching her. "I'm glad to see you made it out."
"Hello…I will never forget what you did," she says softly. "I am deeply indebted, for it was not within my power to save Vince or Nico. I cannot thank you enough. In case you have not heard, I am Reah of Thorolund. I only wish there were some way I could help you, but I am inexperienced, and I only know the art of Miracles. If that could be of any help, speak to me again."
"Reah," I repeat. "Well, I don't have much faith for a knight, but I'm sure something you might teach me would be of use. Please, tell me what you know."
"Would a Miracle be of any help to you? I would be most pleased if that were so," she says, and for the first time since I've known her, she sounds almost cheerful. "May we discuss Miracles, then?"
"Gladly," I say. I take a look at what she can offer me - the soulmasses I collected in the dark cave will fund whatever I need. Unfortunately, I find that even Miracles that I would find very useful require a lot more faith than I have. Foiled in this regard, I ask, "What happened down there, anyway?"
"Vince and Nico were fooled by a lout named Patches, and turned into Hollows," she explains, saddening once more. "My prayers did them no good. It is my ignorance, my frailty that has sealed their fates. Perhaps Petrus realized my weakness all along, and thus made the decision to abandon me. I can hardly blame him now."
"I wouldn't think much would be expected of you, M'lady," I say pointedly. "They were supposed to protect you; they are the ones who failed." I sigh. "I'm going now," I tell her.
"Then be safe," she says. "Farewell. Vereor Nox."
With this, I turn and leave. Again, I pass by Petrus on my way…something about him seems off. I stop to talk to him again, but still, he only offers to teach me Miracles - a sparse few, compared to what Reah knows. Something guides my feet around Frampt again, who is still asleep; where she tells me to look, though, I find nothing. Something bad is going to happen, I can feel it, something involving Petrus…Do I attack him? I try talking to him again, and again, he only offers to teach me Miracles, saying nothing about himself or his intentions. That vision she showed me, of what Lautrec told her about him, and the subsequent confrontation, comes to the forefront of my mind…He indicated a desire to take advantage of Reah, and now, she's just a lift ride away from where he stands. No one has protected her thus far; perhaps I can do better. The poor woman has had enough trial - there's no need for her to know I killed this man who betrayed her, she can remain in the parish, praying in peace and safety.
My decision made, I swing my sword at Petrus.
"By the Gods!" he exclaims. "You damn fool! Enough of you; feel the wrath of the Gods!"
He tries many times to use a weak version of the shockwave spell the giant armor knights in Anor Londo use, one that doesn't hurt me; his shield is strong, but three good swings on him with my sword, and he dies. It's over very quickly.
"N…no…" he rasps as he falls to the ground. "This can't be…It can't end like this…"
"It has," I say, and he fades from existence. Two Humanity sprites are left where he falls, and I take them. I feel no shame; bits and pieces of certainty flash into my mind from my pendant that killing him spared better souls from terrible fates. Really, the fact that I cared enough to bother was more her influence than my own conscience.
Now I return to the bonfire at Firelink Shrine, and use it to warp back to the dark cave so I can try on the room of giant skeletons again. My death spot glows in the dark space; this time, three of them come to try and kill me while I'm above them, and with patience and magic, all three die. That leaves two more, but I can take on two - I already have, after all. I use Cast Light again, jump down, grab my death spot, and am attacked by only one giant skeleton; I defeat it after some fighting, then run towards the other end of the room, thinking there's only one left. As it turns out, there are actually two left; but, as I predicted, I can fight both and win. Eventually, all of them are gone.
Down here, I find a corpse bearing a large soulmass. At the other end of the room, however, I find the makings of a smithery, much like the one at the top of the tower past the Moonlight Butterfly; and, like the one at the top of that tower, the petrified remains of a smith, hunched down and curled in on itself, holds a white ember - this one bigger than the first. There is nothing else here.
Carrying my prizes, I climb back up. There are still places down here, even before the spot she told me not to go past, that I haven't explored, and I intend to explore. I climb back up the way I did last time…the giant skeletons have this stomp attack that I can't block, and which they really love, and it's annoying. Once I've climbed the rope ladder, I engage with a giant skeleton, and it stomps me so hard I fall all the way back down, barely surviving. The only gratifying part is when it comes jumping after me, and I later feel its souls rush into me as it dies, presumably from a second fall. When all the giant skeletons I've already slain are gone, I decide to seek out the other archer - for there are two, and I've only ever killed one.
Up and down again, killing the other giant skeletons - slaughtering the one highest up. When I run out of Cast Light magic, I use the skull lantern I found - it works just as well, but at the cost of not having a shield, though I'm able to use a shield when I need to even in the dark. Once I get down to where the archer I'm seeking can hit me and two giant skeletons are fighting me at once, however, I fail and die.
When I rise, I'm all the way back at Firelink Shrine - but at no real cost, I can just go straight to that bonfire down there with no trouble. This time, I use Cast Light, then immediately rest at the bonfire to restore my uses of it, giving me an extra casting. When I try to climb up again, however, a cheap shot from a giant skeleton knocks me off the edge of a cliff, and I die again, costing me over 30,000 souls. Now I'm mad.
On the next try, I recover my death spot with no gain, then manage to kill the first giant skeleton, despite difficulty doing so due to the two archers. When I'm fighting the first archer, a couple of stomp attacks kills me. One smashing attack and a bunch of arrows kill me when I try again. Then, at last, I get it, the first giant skeleton with a sword jumping to its death as though in pity, though it only makes me laugh. I will find and destroy the other archer before I go.
Fighting the skeleton way up top near the entrance sees it jump onto a bit of bridge jutting out from the cliff; after it dies, I jump down too, thinking it might be another path, but it turns out to only lead back to where I just climbed up. When I kill the skeleton down the first ramp, I see that the body I pillaged down here was actually inside the brittle ribcage of an old dead beast. Down the second slope, and I have plenty of light; I win, after one of the two jumps to its death. I take a corner down the third ramp, and get to a corpse bearing a Humanity sprite; then, I'm back where I started.
Now I'm confused. I've thoroughly searched everywhere this side of the path she told me not to take; what else can there be? I look around the building where the old smith was living; the archer appears to be standing on top of the roof at the other end, judging from where the arrows come from. When I climb up the rope ladder again, I notice a place that juts out, and I wonder if jumping off of it will take me where I want to go - it's impossible to tell in the dark. I cast Fall Control and take the chance. It fails, and I die.
And now I give up. I'm going to recover my death spot, then return to Firelink Shrine. I've gotten so far off my goal of killing the Four Kings - I need to get back to this. All the soulmasses I've collected, combined with my death spot, ought to be enough to use at least once…After I recover my death spot and kill the skeletons, it proves to be just enough for one use. I use it, allowing me room for one more magic spell to have on standby, which I use to attune Hidden Body (just in case). Then, I warp to the Undead Parish to give the large white ember I found to Andre.
"Oh my, what a brilliant ember you have there," he comments when I approach with the flame. "I've only heard legends of such specimens…The ember used for the secret fires of divine smithing. Perhaps you could give it to me? I've long dreamed of forging divine weapons…"
"Of course," I tell him, handing it over; "it's yours."
"Ah-hah! he says, happily. "Splendid, splendid! Thank you. Andre of Astora never disappoints, I assure you."
"I'm actually all set for now," I tell him; "just enjoy it."
We exchange farewells, and I return to Firelink Shrine. Now, I must slay the Four Kings.
It's kind of amazing, I reflect as I climb down again, how little I gained from that side trip - one increase in the strength of my abilities, nothing more. Once I'm down, I remember that I am again out of cursed arms, so I take out the cursed dagger and get ready as I charge into New Londo; I momentarily switch out the cursed blade for my catalyst, so that I can use Cast Light to illuminate this dark, slimy place. Only after this do I realize I should have rested at the Firelink Shrine bonfire to fully refill my Estus Flask; but, it's too late for that now. At the end, the final ghost and the second-to-last Skull Knight both end up attacking me at once, and I nearly die from not being sure which weapon to use first. Ultimately, I come out on top, though. Then, I'm through the white light; I swap out my ring and run down, hoping to see the Abyss lit up by my magic before it wears off. Of course, the spell does wear off while I'm on the stairs, so I cast the spell again, then eat a green blossom and jump down; even despite my magic, the end of the stairs gradually fades into darkness.
As it turns out, the light illuminates nothing. The fight itself goes well at first - I'm killing the first wraith more quickly, and may even defeat it before the third shows up; when I'm hurt, I can take a swig of Estus in near-safety. At one point, however - at a point where I normally wouldn't consider myself injured enough to use Estus - the wraith wraps its many tatters around me like the mouth of the deformed dragon in the sewers, and having me thus captured, it sucks the life out of me until I die.
When I rise, it's at the bonfire above Andre's forge, as I feared; I return to Firelink Shrine, then sit down at the raging fire here so that I can fully recover. Then, I go back down again, with no intention of using more magic to illuminate anything. One of the ghosts up top gives me a fourth ghost blade; nothing else of note happens. I only have two green blossoms left - one, after I eat one to fight the Four Kings again - so at some point, I should probably return to the Darkroot Garden for more. In the meantime, I fall into the Abyss again.
Once again, the fight seems to go well at first. When the first wraith is near death, however, it grabs me up - after which I heal with Estus - and then grabs me up again; I recognize the little twirl it does that signifies that it intends to do this, but even though I back away, it chases me and swallows me all the same. With that, I've failed again.
There's one last green blossom in my inventory; once it's gone, it's all straight. I don't get to use it before a skull knight kills me, though - it's the second time I go down that I even get to eat it. That cost me a lot of souls, but at least, once again, I don't have to worry about recovering my death spot when I'm in the Abyss. One of the ghosts up top manages to catch me and cut my throat along the way, but it's nothing Estus can't fix. Nothing else comes remotely close to getting in my way, and soon, I'm fighting the Four Kings again. This time, the first thing it does is grab me up and start sucking out my life force; after that, defending against its massive, jagged sword is difficult to say the least, and when the second wraith joins in and starts using its own sword from the sidelines, I'm quickly dead.
Alright, I need to go back to the Darkroot Garden - and this time, I won't leave until I at least have enough souls to strengthen myself further. I go, and am soon in the cool, damp forest. The first plant monster I see manages to grab me and chew on me, but its little thornlike teeth do so little compared to how much they used to hurt - I am getting stronger, there's no doubt of that at least. Should I start trying to get some more dragon scales in the valley of drakes, I wonder? They drop dragon scales, I think…
While I'm out here, I think I'll use one of the Humanity sprites I've gathered - I've been Hollow for a long time, I'd like to feel alive again. I stop at the bonfire next to the once-sealed door and do so. It's here that I also consider that, having left the Forest Hunter Covenant and joined another, those Undead will be keen on killing me again, so I won't go that way. I slice through plant demons easily, and the breathing trees are gone; the first lily-frog I kill gives me two green blossoms - so, already, I'm set in that regard. I'll get however many more I can, then go down to the valley of drakes. Three swings of my sword turn out to kill the metal golems, so I decide to kill everything out here before I do that.
Two more lily-frogs give me two more green blossoms, leaving me with six - more than I've ever had before to begin with. After I kill the other golem along this path, I go back to at last kill everything in the stretch of forest before the Moonlight Butterfly's old perch. One of the golems drops a stone greatshield for me (apparently, these things are stone, not metal) - more food for Frampt. I fear nothing, swinging my blade even when spellbound and outnumbered, and everything falls before me. I look through the forest for that one golem that surprised me when I nabbed the Elite Knight Armor, but don't find it; I guess it was the one in front of the castle, though that seems wrong…I go to that one, and then the golem I knew was somewhere sneaks up behind me - even with all my strength, two on one is too much, and they kill me. Oh well, that just means I get to kill everything a second time, including the lily-frogs. It's not until I charge out once more that I realize I'm already Hollow again.
One of the lily-frogs gives me two more green blossoms, leaving me with eight at my disposal. The plant monsters have been dropping purple and bloodred moss, of course, but this time, one of them drops a blooming purple moss clump. I kill everything successfully this time, as well as recovering my death spot; now, I just need to go to drake valley. But I'm getting tired…nothing urgent is going on, so I'll just sleep.
Note: Abrupt ending is abrupt due to an IRL interruption in gameplay.