So...Hey. Now, before you get the pitchforks and torches- I SAID BEFORE. So I've been kinda busy, getting back into school, a hiking trip that was about 2 weeks long, family issues, illness (non-serious kind), illness (serious kind), and writer's block. All excellent excuses I assure you. But I'm back baby!.
Without further ado, let's begin with the comments about Chapter 3 and the April fools joke I did...in April...Jesus I slacked on this one.
Chap 3:
Unbothered: I do enjoy reading about peculiar or strange protagonists. Writing about one is difficult yet satisfying.
Jaciro: Tbh Solaire could probably get any character he wanted. Cause he's BEST BOY.
Blackplant: *sweats* Yeah, fast updates...At least my grammar's good...mostly.
JJ: Get back to work.
April fools.
Infernus: Thanks for the encouragement!
Unbothered: Good to see my writing's unclear even in my April fools jokes...*sigh*.
Jaciro: Yes, yes you have.
Guest: Get yourself an account!
JJ: WHAT ARE YOU DOING GET BACK TO WORK!
"You've seen demons and monsters, yet a giant rat surprises you? Really!?" The thief asked incredulously
"It was just strange!" The knight attempted to defend himself. Sigil shook his head and laughed.
Sigil and Oscar marched out of the Aqueduct, now coated in both blood and sewage. As soon as they walked up the stairs leading out of the slime, a blade came rushing toward the knight. Sigil parried the blow and ran his sword through the hollow's chest. Ripping the blade out, Sigil charged a second hollow and buried his sword into the hapless creature's collarbone.
"Behind you!" Oscar shouted as he bashed a hollow with his shield. Sigil nodded his thanks and continued. The last two hollows were hacked to pieces before they even realized what had happened. After walking up a narrow staircase, the duo was presented with a narrow bridge leading to the rest of Undead Burg. A single hollow stood in their way.
Until a massive dragon-like beast landed on the bridge, crushing the hollow to a mere pulp. The beast roared before taking off once more.
"What the hell was that! Was that a dragon?" Sigil shouted.
"Nonsense, it must have been a drake. They are smaller than dragons but still ferocious." Oscar replied. Sigil nodded and they continued on their way.
The entire city was filled with the smell of death and decay. Vast stone structures and houses which had held thousands of people now were filled with hollows. Stone walls thought to be impenetrable were now cracked and collapsed as Mother Nature reclaimed what had been stolen from her. As Sigil admired the view, a crossbow bolt suddenly embedded itself in his shoulder.
"Shit!" The thief cursed as he jumped back. "There's a hollow with a crossbow on top of that small tower." Sigil said as he pointed out the small battlement.
"Stay behind me while I charge him. Keep any others off of my back." Oscar ordered. While Oscar sprinted towards the tower, Sigil stabbed a hollow waiting in ambush. Hearing the shattering of boxes, the thief turned to face a pair of hollow spearmen. One tried to stab him with its spear but the blow was easily parried. A moment later, the same hollow was impaled on Sigil's blade. A quick slash finished the other.
Turning to see if Oscar was finished, Sigil spotted the crossbowman being thrown off the edge of the tower and onto the ground, hundreds of feet below.
"There's a bonfire over here if you need to rest!" Oscar shouted. Sigil nodded and climbed up the stairs, before walking into a side room. Oscar was already seated with his helmet off. Sigil yanked the bolt out of his shoulder as he sat down, the fire healing and sealing the wound.
The thief inspected the room. It had been cleared out in a hurry, as evidenced by knocked over tables and furniture. A stone staircase led higher up but was broken about halfway. A little bit away from it was an extendable ladder. Sigil stood up and left his weapons by the fire.
"What are you doing now?" Oscar inquired, annoyed that his rest had been interrupted.
"Finding," Sigil Sprinted up the stairs and leaped onto the ladder, grabbing it with one hand and hanging."A shortcut." He finished as he climbed up to the top and kicked it. The rusty clasps shattered and the ladder slid down, hitting the ground with a loud CLANG. Sigil shimmied back down to an impressed Oscar. The thief grabbed his things and set out for the doorway through which they came.
"Where are you going? You just opened up a shortcut." Oscar asked, perplexed.
"You saw that drake. If we go up that ladder will probably meet it sooner rather than later." Sigil replied.
"And if we go along that route to the Parish, we'll most likely meet it anyway. What's your point?" Oscar interrogated.
"If we go the long way, we'll be able to obtain better gear. Remember the graveyard?" Sigil explained.
"Oh, more robbing the dead! Wonderful!" The knight vociferated.
"I'd rather rob the dead for better gear than die because of poor equipment! This sword is about to shatter and I can't wield the other effectively." The thief argued back.
"Fine. We'll do it your way. However, I won't exchange my magic sword or shield for lesser weapons." Oscar finally submitted.
"So be it." Sigil spoke before walking out.
As they walked out, however, another bolt shot past. Sigil recovered from the surprise first and impaled the crossbowman.
"I thought you killed him!" Sigil said as he kicked the corpse off.
"I did!" Oscar replied, just as surprised.
"Wait, I need to test something. Come back to the bonfire." Sigil ordered.
They sat down next to the fading flames, while a strange, multicolored fog surrounded them. They watched as the corpse stood back up and took up its guardpost once more.
"By the gods..." Oscar muttered.
"This could work out in our favor. They don't always seem to drop useful equipment but look. That crossbow is almost brand new, while the old one was a glorified pile of splinters." Sigil observed. "Not to mention the souls."
And so they began to slay their enemies, repeatedly. They stabbed and slashed, smashed and crushed, parried and backstabbed. The sun was beginning to set when they stopped for the day.
Sigil had just finished off a pair of pikemen when he noticed a conspicuous pile of boxes. He pushed several away, revealing a staircase. He motioned for Oscar to follow as he descended the stone steps. The steps led to a barren room with two entrances but nothing else. While Sigil searched for any hidden loot, he heard a sound.
Soft, hoarse breathing.
A flash of silver and the hollow who had tried to ambush him was run through.
"A trap? I wonder if any of these hollows are still sane..." Sigil murmured.
"Oi! Over here!" A raspy voice called.
On the other side of a stone arch lay a pile of old weapons and armor, with a hollow man in the middle. To his left laid a strange sword, easily within reach of the hollow.
"You seem to still have your wits, as well as some souls. A welcome customer then! I've got plenty of wares." The hollow spoke with a nasal voice.
The two adventurers looked through the piles of equipment until something piqued Sigil's interest: An ornate wooden box.
"Ah, I see you have quite the eye. That is a bottomless box, straight from Anor Londo." The merchant explained.
"Bottomless? This could barely hold a helmet." The thief scoffed. The hollow shook his head and took the box.
"Observe." The hollow grabbed a chest plate and began pushing it into the box. The box seemed to stretch slightly as the armor was pushed in until the chest plate disappeared completely. Sigil took the box once more and realized it didn't weigh an ounce more than it had before.
"Amazing! How much do you want for it?" Sigil inquired.
"A mere thousand souls. I'll even toss in a few of these throwing knives in." The merchant offered as he pulled the armor back out.
"I'll take it." Sigil replied. He tied a rope to the box and slung it over his shoulder. "Anything you want Oscar?"
"I think I'll pass. Thank you for the offer." Oscar said. They set off to continue on their quest.
"Come back again!" The merchant shouted.
Once they were out of earshot, the adventurers resumed their conversation.
"So he had a pretty nice looking sword." Sigil began.
"No," Oscar stated.
"What! I didn't even say I was going to do anything!" Sigil argued.
"I know what you were going to say, and the answer is no. We are not going to steal his sword." Oscar shot back.
"Spoilsport." Sigil sighed.
"Where to now?" Oscar asked.
"I need to run back to Firelink Shrine. With this box, I should be able to bring my other sword with me." Sigil explained.
"I'll head back with you," Oscar said.
"Need to chat with your sweetheart again?" Sigil poked.
"Go to hell," Oscar grumbled.
When they reached the shrine, Sigil sprinted over to the Cadmar, who was sharpening the greatsword.
"What are you doing?" Sigil asked with deadly seriousness.
Cadmar replied with a flat tone. "Taking care of this weapon. Something you seemed to forget to do."
"Just give me my damn sword." Sigil growled.
The warrior sighed and handed the weapon to the thief, before resuming maintenance of his equipment.
Walking down to Anastacia's cage, sigil dug his feet into the ground.
"Get back!" Sigil shouted to the trapped firekeeper.
Gritting his teeth, Sigil swung the blade with all his might. A loud CLANG echoed throughout the nearby canyon. The blade of the sword seemed to bounce off of the bars. Hollering in anger, Sigil spun with the momentum of the bounce and clashed with the bars once more. He repeated this process, again and again, his muscles screaming in agony. He eventually collapsed to his knees, panting as sweat dripped down his brow.
"Sigil! Are you alright?" Oscar shouted as he ran down to help the thief to his feet.
"I'm fine! I'm fine." The thief grunted as he stumbled back up to the bonfire.
He had felt something from the cage. Some form of magic, akin to that of the doll. They weren't connected, but they were similar. Sigil slumped down next to the fire and planned the route to the Parish. As soon as he finished, he ran back to the town, not bothering to wait for Oscar.
He slashed, crushed, and cleaved the hollows who stood before him. Not even pausing to breathe, Sigil ran on, slaying all who stood before him. He ran across a narrow bridge as fire rained down. He lowered his blade, using his momentum to impale a hollow on the sword. Spinning, he cleaved the other two in the small room in half.
He continued on his journey.
Walking up a staircase, Sigil grabbed a bomb as it whistled towards him. He hurled it back at the hollow who chucked it, the smell of burnt flesh filling the air. The other two charged the thief, only to be cut to pieces by the massive blade he wielded.
Sigil silently crept up a small tower, having spotted a crossbowman stationed there. He slit the hollow's throat and grabbed its weapon. He fired a bolt into the eye of a pikeman stationed below, another into the throat of a swordsman, and a third into the forehead of the last survivor.
He grabbed his zweihander as he sprinted down a staircase. He took a right down a tunnel, choosing to explore rather than go straight for the Parish. Sliding to a halt, Sigil tightened the grip on his sword as he stared down his opponent: A black knight.
The hulking warrior turned towards the thief. The only sound in the air was raspy breathing from the knight's seemingly empty helmet.
It drew its sword, raised its shield, and charged. Shouting a war cry, Sigil dashed forward in reply.
The knight swung horizontally while Sigil lept upwards. The thief stabbed the knight in the right shoulder with a dagger and used it as an anchor to land behind the elite warrior.
The knight spun around and glared at the embedded weapon. In one smooth motion, it yanked out the blade. Boiling vapor hissed out of the chink in the armor before it sealed itself. Sigil grinned a feral grin before charging once more.
The two blades clashed together. Sigil felt his knees begin to buckle as his muscles burned. Yelling in rage, Sigil kicked out the knight's leg as he spun clockwise and buried the heavy blade in his opponent's side.
The knight howled in agony as it smashed the thief with its shield. Sigil rolled back with the momentum, drawing another knife as he did so. He sprinted forward, leaping between the legs of the knight as it buried its blade into the ground behind the thief.
Sigil spun around as he rolled to his feet and buried the knife in knight's spine. The knight spun around; a faint pair of glowing eyes visible within the helmet as it reached for the knife.
Jumping onto his opponent, the thief shoved his thumbs through the holes in the helmet. Hissing as his thumbs scorched by the hot gas, sigil applied even more pressure. Grinning as he felt something give way, Sigil laughed as he heard the knight scream in pain before keeling over.
Pulling out his dagger from the asylum, Sigil stabbed the knight in the neck and yanked the handle to the side, ripping out the enemy's throat. Hot gas hissed out of the wound. As the knight faded into souls, a single word echoed throughout the tunnel.
"Dead."
The thief looked down to see something shimmering on the ground: a ring with a bluestone. Next to it lay a large chunk of greyish metal. Sigil slipped on the ring before tossing the metal into his box. He groaned, realizing he had been nicked by the knight's blade. Leaning against the tunnel wall, Sigil drunk a shot of Estus. He grunted as a large cut on his side stitched itself together.
Sigil stumbled back to the bonfire, exhausted. He spent all the souls he gained on strength. Hearing the sound of metal boots on stone, Sigil slowly reached for his sword. He relaxed when it was none other than Oscar who came through the doorway.
"Where have you been?" Oscar asked.
"Exploring." Sigil said with a shrug.
Oscar sighed before he glanced at Sigil's hand.
"Where did you get that." Oscar inquired suspiciously.
"Off a knight." Sigil replied curtly.
"That's a Blue Tearstone Ring. Those were only given to knights of Gwyn. Don't tell me you..." Oscar explained.
"I killed a black knight. What of it?" Sigil stated as he leaned against a wall.
Oscar narrowed his eyes but said nothing. Sigil hopped to his feet.
"We should get going. I plotted a path to the Parish." Sigil spoke as he walked out the doorway.
They soon reached the area where Sigil had stopped but chose to walk up a set of stairs to the left.
Oscar barely had enough time to leap back as a flaming barrel came rolling down the stairs and off the edge. The hollow who had kicked it was quickly slain. They two undead continued on their path.
They walked into a large battlement, several stories in height. Rather than continuing upward, Sigil decided to unlock a side door leading downstairs. After walking down several flights of stairs, the two were confronted with a new enemy.
A knight clad in seeming stone armor, wielding a massive club. It looked up at the two intruders and drew a massive shield, before charging up the stairs.
Sigil rolled off to the side as the knight brought down its club, turning the stone stairs into dust and rubble. Oscar leaped down to Sigil's left.
The knight leaped down, bringing its weapon down with it. The ground below was covered with cracks as the very floor seemed to shake.
Oscar slashed at the enemy while it tried to recover. It didn't even flinch at the blow, replying instead with a swing of its weapon.
Vainly trying to block, Oscar was sent flying back while Sigil sprinted forward.
The thief brought his sword down, knocking the knight off balance. Leaning and spinning clockwise, Sigil spun around and struck the knight again. After recovering its balance, the knight grabbed its club with both hands. In the blink of an eye, the tip of the weapon crushed Sigil's sternum, killing him instantly. Oscar soon met the same fate.
"Well, I guess we can forget about downstairs." Sigil stated as he rubbed his torso where it had been collapsed.
"That was one of Havel's knights. Why in the- why was it there?!" Oscar puzzled.
"Who knows. We just need to keep moving toward the Parish." Sigil said as he hefted the zweihander upon his shoulder.
They made their way through the burg until they reached the battlement. They climbed up several sets of flights of stairs till they reached a fog door.
On the other side lay a walkway on top of the external wall of the burg. To the right, about 150 yards away, lay another tower. To the left, a small battlement. They climbed up to the top of the battlement, finding and killing a pair of crossbowman.
They climbed down and began walking across the open stretch of wall.
"Something about this doesn't feel right," Oscar said under his breath. Sigil gave an affirmative grunt.
When they were about 50 yards from the tower, a roar echoed from the top of it. A massive demon, wielding a cross between an ax and a hammer leaped down, cracking the stone beneath it.
It had the skeletal tail and head of an ox, but the stature and shape of a man. Its body was covered in a thick shaggy hair, save for the areas were massive scars tore across it.
The two undead drew their swords. The creature growled. The two groups stared each other down, waiting for the other to make a move
The beast charged.
Sigil rolled to the side while Oscar leaped back. The ground had been standing was smashed by the demon's great ax.
Swinging his sword, Sigil slashed the side of the beast. It bellowed and swung its arm in return, knocking the thief back a dozen feet.
Oscar charged forward and buried his sword to the hilt in the demon's gut. It shot out its right leg and sent the elite knight flying back.
"COME ON YOU UGLY BASTARD!" Sigil shouted from behind.
The beast turned just in time to have one of its horns slashed off by the thief's blade. It howled in pain and rage while grabbing at the stump.
"Dead." The thief spoke under his breath.
Sigil lifted the greatsword and thrust it forward, catching the demon in the throat.
It grabbed the blade and yanked it free, throwing the hapless thief to the side.
The damage had already been done.
The dark brown fur was stained red with the demon's blood.
It let loose one more great roar as it collapsed, dissipating into pure souls.
Panting from exhaustion, Sigil slowly got up.
"Oscar! You alive?" Sigil yelled.
A groan came from a pile of rubble near the small tower.
After pulling Oscar from half a ton of rubble and collecting the humanity from the demon, The two continued on their way.
They walked down another set of stairs leading toward the parish. To their left was a bridge with several hollows, to the right lay a terrace.
Sigil began to run across the bridge but paused when he heard the beating of large wings. He jumped back to the covered side just in time to see all the hollows be charred to a crisp by dragon fire. The drake they had seen earlier perched itself on top of the gateway on the other side of the bridge, daring the two undead to cross.
"Now what." Sigil grumbled.
"Let's go check over on the terrace." Oscar offered.
The terrace had two levels and was bathed in golden sunlight. On the lower level stood an armored knight. Sigil paused to look at the figure while the elite knight sprinted forward.
"Captain!" Oscar shouted joyously.
"Ah, Oscar! It's so good to see you again!" The knight said as he grabbed Oscar in a bear hug. Sigil flinched as he seemed to hear Oscar's armor creak from the pressure.
"And who is this? A friend of yours?" The knight asked as he set Oscar down on the ground.
"This is Sigil of Lordran. Sigil, this is Solaire of Astora. He was the captain of my squad!" Oscar introduced them, admiration almost dripping off of his voice.
Solaire strode forward and grabbed Sigil's hand in a firm handshake. Sigil grimaced as he felt his bones grind against one another. When he shook his hand, Solaire took notice.
"Oh, my apologies! Sometimes I don't know my strength. It's so hard to tell with the gauntlets." The knight-captain apologized profusely.
"It's fine. Now that we're finished with pleasantries, we need your help." Sigil stated.
Despite wearing a helmet, Solaire seemed to turn from jovial to deadly serious.
"I assume it has to do with that drake?" Solaire guessed.
"Correct. We need to get past it to reach the Parish." Sigil replied.
"I was studying that bridge earlier. There seems to be a pair of staircases that lead to the supports of the bridge. I assume you can sneak into the Parish through the passages underneath." Solaire explained.
"Let's go then." Sigil spoke.
They took turns sprinting to the aforementioned staircases. Each time one of them reached the staircase, the Drake would bathe the entirety of the bridge in flame for a few seconds. When everyone had descended, they took some time to explore the small room they were in.
"Hey! Come look at this!" Sigil shouted from beyond a small corridor.
Solaire and Oscar strolled over. At the end of the corridor was a ladder, leading down to the bonfire that had served as their forward camp.
"Well, at least we won't have to run across the entire town just to get back here," Oscar observed.
"Let us rest here for a while, then we shall engage in jolly cooperation!" Solaire exclaimed as he slid down the ladder.
"He was your captain?" Sigil quietly asked.
"Don't underestimate him. He may have a heart of gold, but he could probably kill either one of us in an instant." Oscar whispered back.
They then slid down the ladder and took their seats next to the fire, preparing for their next battle.
And that's the chapter. So lately, I've been mooching off of Infernus Fenris's editors for, well, editing. So I finally decided to set up a discord server for my writing stuff. I'm still working on the kinks, but anyone who wants to can join! If you want to join, just PM me! (I also do some streaming stuff on there but haven't for a while).
Thanks for reading! Be sure to review!