Hello, hello, hello. Let me begin by saying thank you to those who followed and reviewed! I'll take the time to answer reviews real quick.
Thank you for being patient while I dealt with a few issues! It won't happen again...probably.
TheShadowofMordor- THOU HAST REQUESTED JOLLY COOPERATION? THEN THOU SHALT RECEIVETH IT! I was planning to do a sort of party involving that
group, but I kinda forgot about Tarkus. Gough will get some writing time because he will be crucial to part of the plot. I just don't quite know how yet. Also, thank you for the kind words!
ThatOneRandomDude- I know your feels man, I think I ground humanity for about 3 hours to give to Quelaag's sis. To answer your question, yes and no. It's a little bit complicated, and I have an idea which I might not use. She will most definitely live, the only question is how. And since you're looking for more, here's more!
Infernus Fenris- Thanks man, It's good to hear that from a great writer like yourself!
Shad'own-f - I'm glad you enjoyed it!
On that note, please read Infernus's story, Summoned. It is an excellent fic and the one that partially inspired me to write this. He also helped me edit this!
Please also read On Love's Tail. It's a wonderful pairing fic, that warms my cold heart (It's 34 degrees at the time of writing).
Please note that this story contains violence and language (no smut, because I can't and don't want to)
Enjoy the read!
The prisoner strolled down the hall, the hollowed ignoring him as he passed. Save for one. He stepped back as "George" smashed him across the face, splitting his lip. For a pile of bones and skin, he was as strong as an ox.
"Shit! George, what are you doing?" He exclaimed. An insane growl was his only reply. He side-stepped as another right hook was thrown. He had no choice. When the next strike came, the prisoner knocked it aside and struck the hollow across the jaw, dislocating it.
This only seemed to enrage the creature, causing it to assault him with a flurry of sloppy strikes. "Come on then you sack of bones!" The prisoner yelled. The creature paused for a moment, before leaning back for another strike.
The prisoner took advantage of this, charged forward, and palm struck the hollow underneath what was left of his chin. He grabbed its arm and threw it over his shoulder and smashed the hollow into the ground. Before it could retaliate, He stomped on its neck, killing it instantly.
The red light in its eyes slowly faded, and a cloud of white rose up from it, before the cloud rushed forward, and was siphoned into the prisoner's chest. For it was there, just above his heart that his Darksign was located.
He took a deep breath as the meager amount of souls flowed into him. He heard a deep thudding and looked to his left. Through narrow bars, he spotted the source. A huge demon had been patrolling a large chamber but paused to stare at him, as though judging him. "Piss off." The prisoner growled. The demon snorted and resumed it's marching
Further down the hall was a small, circular room with water about a foot deep. But before he stepped in, the prisoner noticed that the section just in front of the door was darker than the rest. He tested the water by throwing an old shackle into it. It disappeared in moments.
He took a few steps back before running and leaping over the patch of deep water. He floated in the cool water, enjoying the sensation of having years worth of sweat and grime washed off. "Escape now, wash later." He reminded himself.
He hopped up to his feet and continued, soon reaching a ladder. He clambered up and walked through a stone doorway, as the bars had rusted and fallen apart long ago. It led into a small courtyard, a thinning layer of snow covering and choking the grass. In the center lay a sword planted in a pile of ash and bone. He was intrinsically drawn to it, like a moth to a flame. He reached out, and the ash suddenly burst into flame. A patch of snow melted and the ground dried nearly instantly. Even the water seeped in his clothes evaporated. He felt a slight prickling on his face and found that his lip was perfectly healed.
In front of the fire was a huge pair of doors. The prisoner inspected the courtyard but found that the only other exit was a locked door. Using all of his strength, the prisoner pushed open the large doors. He was met with a large rectangular room. To his left and right stood tall columns surrounded by pottery. There was a large hole in the ceiling above. In front of him lay a pair of even larger doors. He took a step forward but stopped when he heard a loud THUD overhead.
Looking up, he spotted another large demon staring at him, as though it were challenging him to take another step. He glanced over to his left. There was an opening. The demon growled as if it sensed the hollow's plans. It took about five seconds. The hollow sprinted for the doorway while the demon leaped down, sending shards of tile and dust flying.
It was an ugly beast, with tree trunk legs and arms that seemed small compared to its fat body. It was covered in warts and had a pair of tiny, torn, and twisted wings. It swung a massive hammer, intending to smash the prisoner.
The hollow rolled at the last second, tumbling down the stairs beyond the doorway. An iron portcullis slammed down, preventing the abomination from giving chase. He panted heavily, adrenaline still flowing in his veins and his heart threatening to burst. He stumbled down the rest of the stairs as the demon roared in anger, and walked into a small had a small walkway surrounding a pool of water. To his right was another unlit fire, and to his left was a doorway. After he lit the fire, he walked over to the doorway.
He took a single step before he heard a twang. An arrow whizzed past, nicking his right cheek. He jumped backward, then peeked around the corner. At the end of a long, narrow hallway stood a hollow with an old, rotting bow in its hands. To the sides of the hall were a few rooms, and the hall was too narrow for him to dodge the arrows.
He shot his hand out for a moment, which caused the hollow to fire and miss. He then charged forwards, before jumping into one of the side rooms. He rolled into the small room which had a corpse laid against the back wall. The prisoner grinned when he saw that the corpse had a shield lying on top of its chest. After he finished adjusting the leather straps around his arm, he practiced a blocking and a few parrying motions. He then charged back out.
TWANG
Another arrow whizzed toward him. It shattered upon contact with his shield. He continued charging, slowing only to grab a long knife on a corpse between him and the archer.
TWANG
The archer was panicking. The shot went wide.
TWANG
The arrow was easily deflected. The archer turned tail and ran down a hallway to the left. The prisoner pursed him. Before the prisoner could grab it, the hollow produced a dagger from its tattered clothes and spun around, slashing as it did so. The prisoner instinctively parried the slash, throwing the hollow off balance. He then thrust the knife.
It easily slid between the hollow's ribs, puncturing and rupturing its heart. It coughed up a few flecks of blood before falling over, sliding off of the blade with ease.
After recovering from the surge of souls, the prisoner searched the corpse. The bow and arrows were useless, as they had nearly fallen apart during the skirmish. However, there was a small key set. The prisoner gasped, as this was a master key set; a tool used by thieves to open any and all basic locks. Having been a thief in his previous life, the prisoner grinned as he pocketed the key. At the end of the corridor was a set of stairs leading to a wall made of...fog?
He approached the fog wall cautiously. He reached his hand out, expecting the wall to be solid. He was, of course, surprised when his hand went right through and came back cool and damp. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped through. When he opened his eyes, he was on a terrace that surrounded the courtyard with the first bonfire. He walked up a narrow staircase but paused when he heard a rumbling above him.
He barely managed to roll out of the way of a large iron ball. He fell about ten feet onto another set of stone stairs, which lead to the locked door in the courtyard. He opened the door and healed his bruises by sitting next to the fire. He enjoyed the warmth for a few moments before going back up the first stairs.
He investigated a hole in a wall caused by the iron ball. Inside of the small chamber sat a person in knight's armor, the same knight who had freed him.
He rushed over to the wounded knight. They sat upon a pile of rubble with a hole in the ceiling directly above them. Their armor was dented and torn in places, and there were covered in patches of both dry and fresh blood.
The prisoner began peeling pieces off of the knight's armor. "Hey, what's your name?" He asked.
The knight coughed for a few moments. "My name is Oscar, elite knight of Astora." The knight said, his voice hoarse.
"My name's Sigil of Lordran. Now, Oscar, I'm going to carry you down some stairs and set you down next to a bonfire, alright?" Sigil said reassuringly.
"No wait, I need to tell you of my-" The knight argued.
"Save it for when you're not dying." Sigil stated.
Sigil hefted the heavy knight up and carried him down, while Oscar protested the entire way. "I need to tell you!" The knight said, exasperated.
"Nope," Sigil replied.
"Listen to me dammit!" The knight shouted.
"I will when you're healed and can walk." Sigil dismissed him.
"I can walk just fine!" The knight replied.
"Tell that to your broken leg." Sigil said, ending the argument.
When they finally reached the fire, Oscar almost threw himself off of Sigil. He then began pulling off the rest of the armor to check whether or not it had been damaged. He used some sort of box of tools to repair what had been damaged until everything was in pristine condition. He never took his helmet off.
"So what's your story?" Sigil asked. Oscar looked up from his ruined chest plate.
"What are you talking about?" Oscar inquired, confused.
"You obviously got in a fight with the demon guarding the main doors. And you released me. So what I'm asking is, why?" Sigil asked again, growing irritated.
"How did you know I fought the Asylum demon?" Oscar asked, surprised.
"Easy, there was a hole in the roof where you were, the demon was on the roof when I first found it. You have bludgeon marks on your armor, and the demon uses a hammer. So I'll ask again. Why did you release me?" Sigil inquired.
"There is an old saying in my family... Thou who art Undead, art chosen... In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords... When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the Undead thou shalt know. There you go. I figured that I should have a companion in case I should ever fail, and you weren't fully hollow." Oscar recited.
Sigil hummed in understanding, before standing up and walking over to the staircase. "Where are you going?" Oscar asked.
"I'm going to explore upstairs, then I'm going to go kill that demon," Sigil stated nonchalantly.
Oscar was silent for a moment before he burst out laughing. "What's so funny jackass?" Sigil asked, annoyed.
"Ha ha ha ha...It's just...heh...If an elite knight couldn't defeat it, what makes a hollow like you think you can slay that demon?" Oscar said, chuckling the whole time.
Sigil took a step forward. "I'll figure it out as I go along, something an elite knight obviously couldn't do." Sigil insulted Oscar.
"Take that back you bastard!" Oscar shot back.
"God forbid an elite knight of Astora, one who is basically royalty, lose at anything to a thief like myself!" Sigil said.
It was at this point that Oscar was overcome by anger. He unsheathed his sword in the blink of an eye, and charged forward, prepared to run Sigil through. He was, of course, surprised when his sword was knocked to the side by a small shield, followed by a quick stab to the side. He jumped backward, the fire immediately healing his wound.
"I'll rip you apart for that!" Oscar yelled.
He swung his sword overhead while taking a step forward, seeking to break Sigil's block. No success, as the blade bounced off the shield, nicking Sigil on the way down. He jumped back as Sigil slashed in reply. Taking another step forward, Oscar had his shield raised to safeguard his chest from the knife. He didn't expect it when the shield flew like a discus and hit him in the knee, hard. He dropped to one knee, as the joint had been damaged. He was then promptly stabbed in the neck, right in the jugular. His body dissolved into a cloud of souls and was absorbed by Sigil.
When he reformed by the bonfire, he was greeted by uproarious laughter. He had been turned hollow. "That was an excellent battle Sir Jerky! How does it feel being hollow, leather-skin?" Sigil taunted.
"Go to hell" Oscar growled. This only caused Sigil to laugh even more, to the point where he fell on the ground, gasping for air. Oscar took advantage of this and stabbed him in the neck.
When Sigil reformed, it was Oscar's turn to laugh. "What was that you were saying about knights not being able to 'Figure it out as they go along'? Coming from the person who just laid down in front of their opponent!" Oscar mocked.
Sigil replied with a slash of his knife.
They fought like this for a few hours. At first, Oscar won most of the matches, but soon Sigil was beating him nearly every time. When they paused to rest, Oscar asked the question that had been plaguing his mind.
"Tell me Sigil, how did you become so experienced?" Oscar asked.
"I just have a good eye, strength, and a bit of dexterity. " Sigil calmly answered as he sat down by the fire.
"That's a load of lies and we both know it," Oscar said.
"Eh, you got me. I spent all four years of my imprisonment practicing techniques I learned in a book regarding weapon styles," Sigil admitted.
"One you read before being imprisoned?" Oscar asked. Sigil nodded. "How did you have all that memorized?" Oscar asked.
"My father always said I had a sharp mind, and I agree. I just can't learn magic, no matter how damn hard I tried. I can sense it with perfect clarity, I just can't cast for shit." Sigil explained.
"I never liked magic, too complicated. But that reminds me, how did you start beating me like that?" Oscar asked.
"It was a matter of learning your form," Sigil answered. Oscar gave a quizzical look. "For example, when I struck you in the leg with my shield, I knew it was your favored leg. You always step out with it when you thrust or try to use an overhead strike. You were tucked behind your shield, meaning you were going to probably try a thrusting strike," Sigil explained.
"You learned all that after a single round?" Oscar asked, astounded.
"Not really, it was most of what I learned after studying about knights and their fighting style in that book I told you about. The rest of it, about which leg you favored and several other things were true." Sigil admitted.
They took a moment to prepare; Oscar donned his armor, and Sigil paced around, forming a mental plan. "Before we head up there, I need to give you something," Oscar said. He pulled out a green bottle filled with a glowing golden liquid. "Estus, an undead favorite. It's capable of healing you just like a bonfire, and refills when you sit next to one." Oscar explained.
Sigil inspected it for a moment before putting it in one of his pockets.
"And these," Oscar said as he handed Sigil two keys, one small and one large.
"These are for?" Sigil asked.
"The small key is for the top floor, and the large one is for the doors leading out of this cursed place," Oscar answered. Sigil nodded and stowed them away. They walked back up the two sets of stairs but stopped when they met the hollow who had pushed the iron ball. It sprinted forward, wielding a broken short sword in a two-handed grip. Swinging the blade down, it attempted to cleave Oscar in half, who had walked up the stairs first. There was a loud clang as the blade was knocked to the side by Oscar's shield.
As Oscar stepped to the side, Sigil dashed forward and stabbed the hollow in the armpit, through the heart, and out the neck. He kicked the corpse off and nodded to Oscar in approval.
"Nice one." Sigil said.
"You too," Oscar replied.
Sigil unlocked the door that the hollow had been guarding, and took his first breath of fresh air in over four years. That was, before a pair of blades slashed at him. He rolled back as the two hollows stumbled forward. Oscar quickly dashed forward and slashed horizontally. One of the hollows was caught in the neck, which caused its neck to spray blood. It gurgled as it fell backward, choking on its blood.
The other hollow was distracted by the surge of souls, so Sigil took advantage of this. Sprinting forward, he tackled the hollow to the ground, before stabbing it three times in the chest. He rolled to the side as an arrow whizzed overhead. Another hollow was standing to his left, where the other two had come from. It was standing in front of a small set of stairs which lead to another fog walls. Behind the hollow was a doorway.
As Sigil got up, an arrow whizzed toward him and embedded itself in his shoulder. Gritting his teeth, he charged forward. The hollow turned around and tried to run. Tried. It was stopped by a flying knife to the back.
Sigil grabbed the knife and yanked the arrow out of his shoulder. Blood started pouring out, as the arrow had been barbed.
"Take a swig of the Estus," Oscar recommended.
Following the advice, Sigil took a tentative sip. It was sweet. Sweeter than honey, but not in a sickening manner. There were hissing and popping. Sigil watched as the wound on his shoulder sealed itself, leaving only a faint white scar as evidence.
"Excellent," Sigil spoke to himself.
"I bet the Demon is behind that fog door. We should check for anything in that side room." Oscar recommended.
"Agreed." Sigil replied.
The quietly walked into the room and were greeted with a hollow swordsman. It was armed with iron armor and wielded a longsword and shield. Behind it lay an iron door.
"I'll take this one." Sigil said. Oscar nodded and stepped back. The swordsman immediately dashed forward and attempted to thrust its sword into Sigil's gut.
"Pathetic." He growled in disgust. The word was followed by the clang of the strike being parried. "Dead." Sigil said as he followed through by stabbing the hollow up through the jaw and into its brain. The corpse slumped down, dropping its longsword to the ground with a loud clatter.
Sigil picked it up and inspected it, searching for nicks or fracture lines in the blade. He found none and put on the sheath. He gave a few experimental swings, changing his stance to account in the shift in weight accordingly.
"It's disrespectful to steal from the dead." Oscar reprimanded Sigil.
"There are the quick and the dead. As you can see, I belong to the first party. Besides, when he attacked me, his life and that which he owns were made forfeit." Sigil defended.
"I should have expected as much from a thief," Oscar muttered.
"Stuck up pig." Sigil whispered under his breath.
They walked back to the fog wall, ready to enter.
"Wait, we should form some sort of plan." Sigil said.
"Weren't you the advocating figuring it out as we go along?" Oscar mocked.
"Yes. but I remember there was a balcony behind the beast." Sigil reminded. "Maybe we could drop down on it?"
"Excellent idea, I'll go first, and when it's distracted by me, you'll jump down and finish it off." Oscar agreed.
"See you on the other side." Sigil said.
Oscar charged through the wall. A few seconds later, there was the sound of bone and flesh meeting metal and an angry roar. Sigil took a deep breath, before walking through the wall.
Beneath him, he saw the huge demon trying to smash Oscar like a bug. It had a massive wound in its skull. Oscar was rolling and slashing, but he was too slow. Any moment he could be smashed. Sigil jumped forward and brought his blade down.
The sharp blade pierced the already damaged skull easily. The beast began bucking and swinging its hammer wildly, trying to dislodge the thief.
"NO YOU DON'T!" Sigil shouted. He tightened his grip on his sword and pulled out his knife. He began stabbing and slashing with all his might, fueled by adrenaline and the taste of freedom. The beast screamed in agony before it finally managed to throw him off.
Sigil was smashed into a nearby column, his spine loudly cracking. But it was too late, the monster collapsed to its knees, glowing. It then exploded into pure souls with one final roar. The massive surge of souls nearly choked Sigil, but he withstood it. Not long afterword Oscar lumbered over, panting. He had a few wounds of his own.
"Can't move my body." "Sigil groaned.
"Your spine is at about a 60-degree angle in the wrong direction. That might be the reason why." Oscar explained.
Oscar reached down and pulled out the Estus. "Open your mouth." He ordered.
She Sigil did so, Oscar poured Estus down his throat, like a mother feeding a sick child. "Gah, fucking hell." Sigil cursed as the ability to feel returned, and so did the sensation of having a few bones jutting into his organs. The pain stopped in a few moments.
"Thank you mother dearest." Sigil joked.
Oscar smacked him over the head with an armored gauntlet. He opened his helmet slightly and took a sip himself, evidenced by the hissing and steam coming off of him. Oscar pulled him up and gestured towards the massive doors the demon had been guarding.
"Would you like the honor?" Oscar asked.
"I would indeed." Sigil said. Sigil inserted the huge key, a massive clunk signified the door had been unlocked. He pushed the huge doors and was greeted by a freezing cold breeze and flecks of snow. He savored it for a few moments, before turning to Oscar.
"Oscar." Sigil said.
"Hmm?" Oscar hummed.
"Where do we go from here, to get out of this damned place?" Sigil asked.
"Oh, over there," Oscar replied as he pointed to the edge of a cliff. Sigil stuck his hand in front of Oscar's visor.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Sigil asked.
"Three, and why are you asking me this?" Oscar replied, slightly annoyed.
"I was checking if you were blind. Because you just told me that we need to jump off of a cliff." Sigil answered.
"Don't worry about the drop, we'll be picked up by something before we even reach the edge," Oscar assured him. Sigil gave a questioning look.
"Let's just check around to see if there's anything of interest." Sigil said, still questioning Oscar's sanity.
After checking for a few minutes, all that was found was a small mass of souls, and an irritating crow. As they approached the cliff, Sigil paused.
"What is it?" Oscar asked, somewhat impatient.
"I need to do something, I'll be back in a few minutes." Sigil answered.
"Alright, but if you take to long, I might leave you behind." Oscar joked. Sigil had already sprinted away.
He traversed the huge pair of double doors, slid down the ladder behind the bonfire, and then strolled through the hallway that had been all he had ever known for four years. A few hollow stared at him quizzically, as if asking "Why are you still here?" He ignored them until he reached George.
George seemed to have calmed down and stared blankly at Sigil. Sigil laid a hand on his shoulder. "Goodbye old friend, I'll come back to you when I can." Sigil said.
It may have been a trick of the mind, but he swore that George had nodded.
His final stop was his cell. He looked around at the small room, with a nostalgic smile. It hadn't been too bad. He had the hollows to keep him company now. Maybe he could even retrain them. He wasn't locked in anymore. Maybe he could stay here?
"To hell with that." Sigil snorted to himself.
And with that, he pulled out his sword hilt and stuck it in between the bricks. It would be a reminder to all that Sigil had been here, and he had conquered.
What he didn't expect was a brick to pop out and land on his foot.
After hopping about and cursing in a way that would make a sailor blush, he inspected the small gap. Inside was a small doll. A strange-looking one, almost peculiar. On the back, a name was stitched. Priscilla. He looked it over and almost stuck it back in the hole. Almost.
He felt a strange sensation emanating from the doll. He reached out with his mind, trying to sense if there was any magic within the doll. He was shocked when he found a massive pool of magical power resonating within the simple doll. He decided to take the doll with him.
He sprinted on the way back, eager to be rid of this place. When he reached Oscar, he was still clutching the doll.
"Couldn't forget your little dolly could you?" Oscar teased.
"Piss off. Also, have you ever seen a doll like this?" Sigil asked, annoyed.
Oscar inspected the doll for a few moments.
"Not really no," Oscar answered.
"What about the name?" Sigil questioned.
"Never heard of anyone going by that," Oscar replied. "We should leave now before night falls." He continued while staring off towards the setting sun.
"Agreed." Sigil answered.
They stepped onto the edge of the cliff, where a massive crow flew up in front of them. They were grabbed by the bird, one in each talon. It then flew away.
Sigil was at first panicked as they flew thousands of feet above the earth, but he soon enjoyed it.
"What will we expect when we get there?" He shouted to Oscar.
"We will land at the Firelink Shrine, which we will use as our resting place for now!" Oscar yelled back.
They rose over a mountain, and Sigil gasped in surprise. Before them lay the entirety of Lordran, in all its splendor. They eventually began descending, until they reached a small set of ruins. The crow tossed them down with nary a care. It then roosted and began preening.
"Looks like we're here," Oscar said as Sigil surveyed the area.
There was a bonfire surrounded by stone steps and a few benches. To the side was a suspicious-looking man in chainmail. After he lit the bonfire, Sigil sat down and relaxed.
He pulled the doll out again. He tried to discover anything about the magic within, to no avail.
"I will find your secrets." Sigil said as he set it back in one of his pockets. He then laid down on the soft grass and drifted into a well-deserved sleep.
If you enjoyed, please review! Help me by pointing out plotholes and typos, and I'll have them fixed within 24 hours (usually).
Final A.N.: This is. the typical chapter length: Expect 5k, sometimes 5k+
Thank you!
Edit: fixed a few typos.