Event 21: The Broken Pendant

Even after hours of waiting for Seiko's blade to be finished, the sun hadn't set in Anor Londo. While it struck Jinta and Seiko as odd, stranger things had happened. Gwynevere hadn't answered when they'd gone to her door, and it was doubtful to begin with that she'd have an answer for the duo. As the two walked across the main bridge of Anor Londo, heading back to the Firekeeper's chamber to leave, Jinta brought up his concerns about the passing of time.

"Do you think time has frozen again?" he asked, looking back at the ever-looming sun.

Seiko tilted her head, but didn't have an answer.

"You realize that if it has, we'll have to go back to the Kiln, right? What's the point of breaking one cycle while another continues?"

Again, no answer beyond a sigh.

"We'll know for sure once I warp us to the Undead Parish. It's the closest I can get us to the forest... Are you nervous about finding your mother? Even Hollow, she'd be frightening to fight if we had to..."

"She might not be there..." said Seiko.

"Where else would she go? Gwyn was trapped in the Kiln, Ornstein was in Anor Londo, Artorias was passed, and God knows what happened to Gough. She was hated and feared by many for her place as Gwyn's assassin. I don't think her own family wanted her after all she'd done. No matter how much I respect your mother and her role, I must admit that I, too, am a bit afraid of her. I wouldn't want to face any of the Knights of Gwyn again, especially not after fighting Dragonslayer Ornstein. If, in fact, she had nowhere else to go, why wouldn't she stay near Artorias? Were I to have a wife or lover, and lose them in such a way, I have to admit I probably wouldn't venture far from where they were lain to rest... Though that might just be my own obsessive nature..."

Seiko chuckled to herself.

"Ahh, don't laugh at me. I'm nothing if not honest. But enough about that. The point is that if your mother were alive or dead, I find it very hard to believe she'd be far from your father's grave. The Darkroot Garden is our best bet."

Jinta finished as he and Seiko reached the stairs down to the bonfire. They entered the chamber and heard nothing from the Firekeeper. Jinta knelt, holding his hand out for Seiko. She took it and they vanished in rushing flames. The Firekeeper could only sigh, turning her head to look at the bronze clouds visible up the stairs...

Jinta and Seiko reappeared inside a small room under the Undead Parish. Outside the chamber's only door, the gates to Sen's Fortress could be seen. Stairs upward lead to the parish itself, with its elevators and bell tower. Stairs down, however, lead to Andre of Astora and the Darkroot Garden. Seiko had never entered the forest from this area, since her first trip had been from New Londo. She had, however, met Andre before, and it was he who had made her current outfit. She looked forward to meeting him again after having come so far. She and Jinta headed down the stairs from the bonfire to the old blacksmith's chamber. By habit, Andre looked up from whatever weapon he was making to see who'd come. Normally, a man with his experience would never allow such a small event to affect his work. However, at the sight of Jinta and Seiko, Andre was struck with awe. He'd met both when they'd just barely entered Lordran, weak and ignorant. Now he saw Jinta holding a Paladin's helmet, Divine swords by his side, and Seiko. By looking, Seiko hadn't changed much. She carried her new black sword, and her coats ends were frayed from travel, but otherwise she looked the same. What struck Andre about her was not her outward appearance, but the very air about her. She'd always been determined deep down, but she'd been blindly pushing forward, no hope, but a solid goal. Now, just by looking at her, Andre knew she had hope, and had found fulfillment in her travels. He looked down at the sword he'd been making, picked it up carefully, and set it in his oil vat to be melted down and reworked later. He set down his hammer, cleared his throat, and prepared a proper greeting.

"Not much of a new arrival anymore, are you. Welcome back you two," he said with the same gruff voice Seiko remembered.

"We're just passing by this time. I see you're still doing well," said Jinta.

"I am indeed. A bit surprised to see ya back, but well. Did something happen to the young lady's bow?" said Andre.

"She ran out of arrows far from a blacksmith or shop, and we ended up leaving it behind. I understand it was your handiwork?"

"Yes, it was, but it t'was more her idea than mine. I've heard quite a few rumors, you know. Time passin' again, Lords dead, Abyss sealed, and a certain someone related to Artorias walkin' about. All that true?"

"If you put it that simply, yes. You wouldn't happen to know anything about the Lord's Blade's whereabouts, would you?" said Jinta.

"Ahh, Gwyn's assassin? S'ppose ya haven't heard, then, that she's quite long dead. Walked back into the forest to visit Artorias' grave an' never returned. I bet ya'd find her right next ta his headstone. I bet you're lookin' for her to ask about Gwyn, then?"

Jinta and Seiko both nodded, assuming Andre knew more.

"Well, she might not be around, but folk's have been talkin' about some strange Abyss hole in th' lake. No one's gone close, fearin' another New Londo or Oolacile crisis."

"Oolacile?" said Seiko, thinking it sounded familiar.

"Ya don't know? It's where Artorias stopped the Abyss. Bit part o' his legend, that. Anyway, if yer goin' into the forest to look for the Lord's Blade's body, mind sealing that Abyss too? Not that it's my place to be askin'..."

"I will," said Seiko, sounding a bit surprised he'd be reluctant to ask.

"Many thanks. Will you two be needing any smithin' before ya go?"

"Not this time," said Jinta. "Thanks for the information."

"Anytime," said Andre, picking his hammer back up.

Seiko and Jinta headed down the stone stairs in the chamber, leading out of the Undead Parish and into the Darkroot Garden...

"I think the lake Andre mentioned is in the Darkroot Basin," said Jinta, looking up at a different path.

Seiko kicked the possessed tree she'd just impaled off her sword and walked over to him, looking up at the same path. She looked over at him as he looked over at her.

"Shall we?" said Jinta.

Seiko nodded, preferring to get the smaller business out of the way first. She and Jinta walked up the path to the edge of a cliff, then followed the winding cliff ever downward toward the Darkroot Basin. On the way down Seiko could see the cave she'd come out of on her first trip into the forest. From where they were now it was only a short walk to the ladder up to her father's grave. But first she and Jinta were going to search the lake for any signs of Abyss, like Andre had said. Their walk was a silent one, both quiet by nature. Jinta hadn't had to say it yet, but the only reason he spoke so much around Seiko was because she spoke so little. For now, especially as the beautiful sight of the lake came into view, both were content with the quiet atmosphere. As they got closer to the water's edge, Jinta noticed Seiko constantly looking toward a water-logged cave in the side of the basin, on the opposite side of the lake.

"What is it?" asked Jinta, looking from her to the cave.

"There's Abyss in that cave..." said Seiko.

"No where else?" said Jinta.

Seiko shook her head.

"Well, the only way there is through the water. And I can't carry you with that thing," said Jinta, eying her new sword.

Seiko, to Jinta's surprise, flushed red. She kept a straight face, but her mind had obviously wandered when he mentioned carrying her. She kept her composure, nodded, and the two walked toward the shallow path visible in the clear water. They had to hug the left wall of the basin, and they passed the ladder Seiko had used to reach her father's grave. Jinta went first, his swords drawn in case something was in the cave with the Abyss. Seiko was close behind, ready to seal away the Abyss they were sure to find. The cave entrance was wide, and the cave itself listed to the left as they walked further in. As they continued forward, Jinta held a sword in the way, stopping Seiko. There was, oddly enough, a gold colored crystal golem at the back of the cave. Behind it was a small point of Abyss. The Abyss seemed inactive for the most part, but the golem was very much aware. It charged forward, heedless of the shallow water.

"It's shoulder...!" said Seiko, pointing out the huge spike on one of its shoulders. The spike was clear enough to see a human figure trapped inside.

"Well, it's crystal! I'm almost useless!" said Jinta, the water impeding his mobility and his swords poor for damaging the crystal golem.

Seiko, on the other hand, formed a plan quickly. She jumped from the shallow water, pushed off of the wall of the cave with both feet, and slammed the pommel of her sword into the side of the golem. It bent inward like someone punched in the ribs, trying to recover and swing at Seiko to counter. Seiko hit the water and blocked as the golem's arm grew longer and heavier with crystal spikes. The force of the blow pushed Seiko toward the center of the cave but turned the golem away from Jinta. Jinta trudged forward, sheathing his rapier and quickly drawing his talisman.

"Force!" he yelled, exploding with white light and knocking the golem over.

Seiko recovered and jumped onto the golem's broad back. She stabbed her sword into the small of its back before hammering it with her fists until crystal dust began to fill the air. For a crystal golem, it was very durable. The cave began to shake and the water splashed about with Seiko's blows, one after another, pounding the golem's back closer and closer to the water-level. The golem couldn't get up with her heavy sword jammed into it, which left it defenseless.

"Seiko! Seiko! Hey! Calm down! Hitting it like that is useless!" said Jinta, yelling over the noise she was making.

Seiko stopped and looked back at him.

"Killing it is great, but shouldn't we save whoever's inside first?" said Jinta.

"It falls apart..." said Seiko, referring to the many others they'd fought that had collapsed into piles of dust.

"Yes, I know, but what if that kills the prisoner?"

"These things can't be cut..."

"Normally, no. But your sword is heavy and sharp. You should be able to slice through if you really give it a shot, right?" reasoned Jinta.

Seiko looked like a light-bulb had gone off. She promptly recovered her sword, stepped over the crater she'd made in the golem's back, and positioned herself to take a swing. She made sure her strike would go below the prisoner's legs, so as not to harm them if they were still alive. Seiko raised her black katana and sliced down, chopping off the huge spike in one swing. Her coat fluttered up with the force, allowing the small broken pendant tied in her pocket to dance out and hang exposed. The spike Seiko had sheered off began to turn to dust, exposing the captured person. Jinta reached in, grabbing what could now be seen as a woman by the waist to lift her free. The crystal golem itself was also beginning to crumble, much of its original mass now detached. Seiko hopped down from its back, making a light splash and looking over the crumbling golem at Jinta.

"I think she's ali-... Seiko...!" said Jinta, his voice becoming that of warning at the end. He pointed behind her, supporting the woman they'd saved with one arm.

Seiko turned to look back in time to see what looked like a black and tainted monkey's paw reaching out of the point of Abyss like a snake ready to strike.

"I don't think that's ordinary Abyss! Let's get out of here! Now!" said Jinta, trying to lift the woman over his shoulder.

Seiko turned to follow him, away from the odd limb spawning from thin air. The woman Jinta was carrying suddenly woke, broke from his grasp and turned, pulling out a catalyst and yelling a warning. Before Seiko could register what she'd said, the monkey's paw had slammed into Seiko's back, gripped her, and yanked her back. Even with her heavy sword, Seiko had to struggle with all her might to keep her footing. A skillfully launched spell hit the monkey's paw holding Seiko, but the paw didn't waver. It kept pulling, increasing its strength in spurts and yanking Seiko ever closer to the black portal from whence it came.

"Jinta!" yelled Seiko, stabbing her sword straight into the rocky floor under the shallow water, trying everything to not be pulled away.

Jinta jumped straight over the crumbled golem, drew his falchion, and started slashing at the side of the monkey's arm. A quick undulation and Jinta was slammed into the water by the side of the monkey's arm. Another and Seiko was yanked even closer to the portal. Her hair and coat began to flutter toward the opening, and her sword had been dragged through solid rock. Seiko, in a last attempt, used Power Within to increase her strength. She knew she had a short time to abuse it before it would knock her out or kill her. Using her sword as a lever, Seiko took a step forward. Then another. And another. She closed her eyes in effort, opening them with jets of flame. Her face contorted with anger and effort. With no more leverage from her sword, Seiko would have to pull it out and stab back in to keep moving forward. She waited until the paw clutching her had had a spurt of strength, then pulled her sword out. Before she could stab it back into the rock, the monkey's arm undulated again, yanking her off her feet and into the portal.

"Seiko! No!" yelled Jinta, having been less than a meter away from helping her. He looked at the portal, fully considering going in after her.

"You!" he said, looking quickly at the woman from within the crystal golem. She seemed startled.

"If I go in, would I survive?!" demanded Jinta.

"It's a temporal portal, not something sinister," she said quickly.

"Good enough," said Jinta, assuming that wasn't an outright "no."
Jinta dashed forward, drawing his swords, and rushed straight into the portal, disappearing into it after Seiko. No way some monster was stealing her away.

Event 22: Oolacile coming soon...

Author Note: Updating is really hard with all my classes, but I'm doing my best. Only Twin Humanities is getting updates, actually. To keep this comment story-related, sorry about the filler for the past two events, but I had to get us into Prepare To Die (AotA) content. Now that we're in, I can start setting it loose and preparing for the ending. It should get better from here, so don't expect any more filler or fluff. Story time again at last.
Oh, and by the way, just because Seiko was born epic because of her parents doesn't mean she gets to keep that forever. I do have plans, mainly to develop character, for her. I just want to call it now: SOMEONE out there is gonna flip their **** out it for sexism or something. And I'm calling it now to basically say that if what I do later had happened to Jinta as a main character instead, I bet no one would have complained.
Hope you enjoy the upcoming events.