-Sen's Fortress-

Siegmeyer waited on the path below for Seiko to move on ahead and stop the boulders. She walked carefully down the narrow path and back to where she'd started. She waited for the next boulder and ran out, expecting the cobra-man this time. She formed a Fireball as she ran, hurling it at the cobra-man as soon as he appeared. She ran right into it as it burned, her flame-resistant robe keeping her from catching on fire. The next boulder slammed down right behind her, signalling both her success and the nearness of failure. The room was dark and full of broken statues of some kind of knight. There was a chest in the corner, inside of which rested a small ring box. Seiko retrieved it and opened the box. Inside was a well-crafted metal ring and a small note.

"You who find the Ring of Steel Protection, know it was once owned by Knight King Rendal who felled a drake with blade alone. It's magic may yet linger, protecting the wearer from physical harm."

Seiko had never heard of either of the people mentioned, but she knew quite well that she wasn't in Balder. Whoever had once had the ring must have brought it here and lost it. Or something. Seiko took off her left glove and put the ring on. It tightened snuggly onto her finger to her surprise, and she put her glove back on. While a useful reward, she hoped, this wasn't the way forward. She went back to the entrance to the room, waited for the next boulder, and looked around. There was a path she had missed that led back into the fortress, but she wasn't too sure that would lead where she needed it to.

Seiko chased the next boulder a bit, standing halfway between the original way she'd come from and the alternate path she'd seen. She waited for the next boulder, ran toward it, and jumped. Her timing was off and her foot caught the top of the boulder. Seiko twisted in the air from the small collision, throwing her hands down to try and stop her fall. She only managed to keep from breaking her nose, really, but still busted her lip and caused her nose to bleed. She stumbled back to her feet and went back to try again. While she waited, she absentmindedly wiped some of the blood off her face with her robe sleeve, feeling dazed.

The next boulder rolled toward her and she jumped again, this time slightly toward the wall to push off of it. She landed barely on the path, right in front of the door into where she found the ring. She jumped straight up, caught the ledge where the boulders were rolling off from, and quickly climbed up. The corner she'd seen led immediately into another chamber with a pedestal and a number of gears and moving parts above. As she watched, a boulder slammed down onto the pedestal. She realized what was about to happen just in time, diving diagonally into the room and out of the path of the boulder as something smacked into it to send it on its way.

Seiko recovered and inspected the room. There were four possible paths for the boulder to take. The first, she realized, she'd seen earlier, where the wall had been blown open. The second was where she'd just come in from, but the third and fourth were unknowns. There was also a fifth way to go that was sized for human use. The third path led nowhere, probably a way to harmlessly redirect the boulders. The fourth path was where Seiko found a wooden handle pointing, opposite where she'd come in. Seiko pushed the handle to face away from the third path, directing the boulders to fall down to the forest.

Before she could leave out the way she came, she heard the handle shift back into place. Another boulder was pushed out where she'd been walking toward. Frustrated, Seiko grabbed the handle and pulled it back where she wanted it and approached the mechanism for turning where the boulders went. She called on another new Pyromancy, a Chaos Fireball, and melted the mechanism so it fused together, keeping it from ever turning again. She waited, heard the parts for turning the machine grind and suddenly pop before calming down. Satisfied she'd broken the trap, Seiko returned for Siegmeyer.

Siegmeyer was waiting for her when she dropped down from above the door.

"That was quite the display! I'm impressed. I think we will compliment each other very nicely. You don't look like you take hits very well…"

He obviously meant the blood drying on her face after falling over the boulder. Or perhaps that she wore light armor?

"Shall we continue?" he asked.

"Sure."

Siegmeyer turned to go through the nearby archway, into a small room with only one way forward. Before they could cross the room completely, they heard the smashing of wood and the footsteps of heavy, bare feet. A snake-man was ducking through the doorway, but stepped on another trap trigger. Three bolts fired from the wall in front of it, behind and to the right of Siegmeyer and Seiko, killing it.

"Poor fellow. That trap was obvious, I think."

Siegmeyer put his shield on his back, grabbing the snake-man by an ankle and yanking it out of the way. He drew his shield again and continued through the door, minding his greatsword on the low doorway. Seiko followed, hands up and ready to cast. Siegmeyer looked left and right out the next door. There was another groove on the floor, like boulders should be rolling down toward them.

"There appears to be a way up from here, to where those rocks were coming from. I can hear them landing, but they aren't coming this way."

"I broke the machine. They're going out into the forest."

"I see. In that case, did you see a way forward up there? Our end goal should be near the top of the fortress, after all."

"I did."

"Well, if you're in a hurry, I won't bother… But I'd prefer to see the rest of the fortress before we leave. That would mean following the path down, rather than up, first."

"I don't mind."

"Splendid! Off we go, then!"

They started down the stairs rather than up, having to stick near the wall to avoid sliding down the groove for the boulders. Down one flight, around a turn, down the other, and they came to a dead end in the dark.

"There's a ladder here, but it's too dark to see the bottom."

Seiko stepped up, formed a basic Fireball, and threw it into the pit. It lit the empty hole as it fell, exploding at the bottom.

"Nothing? How strange… Ahh, well, this way, then."

Siegmeyer turned away from the pit, leaving Seiko to wonder silently what horrible things it might be used for. Did he not care? Or was he avoiding the same dark thoughts?

"Oh, dear… Another predicament."

He could only mean the bloody elevator that moved on an unsteady set of chains with only some questionable wood to stand on. He approached a chest that was also in the room, just as crusted with blood as the elevator. Siegmeyer leaned to one side, then the other, inspecting the chest.

"It must be a trap…" he muttered, "But in what way…?"

He kicked it open… And it grew arms, snatched him up, and started trying to gnaw through his armor with teeth that looked like human finger bones.

"You foul-!"

Siegmeyer twisted hard, slashing with his Zweihander, severing one of the monster's arms. Siegmeyer landed flat on his chest, in a manner of speaking, his rounded armor keeping him from harm almost entirely. He stood in time to see the thing that grabbed him step over him and snatch up Seiko, ignoring the Fire Whip she'd cast at it.

"Unhand her, Mimic!"

Siegmeyer took a heavy step, swinging his Zweihander with all the muscles from his arm, down his back, all the way to his legs. His sword lopped off both the Mimic's legs, forcing it to collapse and drop Seiko. The Mimic began wailing in pain with increasingly strange noises. It hit the ground and bit off its own tongue as its chest-shaped head snapped shut under the weight of its own lid. In one smooth motion, Siegmeyer put his shield on his back, took another step, and slammed his Zweihander down with both hands. The overhead swing split the Mimic in half. It quickly dissolved into a mist, which then reformed on the spot into a wooden spear with a titanite-infused tip. Seiko hadn't even stood up yet, in awe.

"Are you alright?" asked Siegmeyer, approaching to help her up.

Seiko popped to her feet without help. "Fine!"

Siegmeyer seemed to be taken aback slightly, surprised by her sudden movement.

"Good! Mimics are terrible creatures. I wish I could find more Lloyd's Talismans to help with them."

"Talismans?"

"Don't you know of Allfather Lloyd? He hunted Undead like you and I. The Talismans make Estus useless; they're famous. By accident, one day, I discovered that they also passify those Mimics. I don't know if that was an intended effect, but it certainly can be useful. As for the spear, it's all yours if you want it. I believe I'll stick with what I've got. Now… About this elevator…"

Siegmeyer walked over to it, straining to look up high enough in his strange helmet.

Seiko walked over, leaving the spear, and looked up.

"There are spikes on the ceiling, but it looks like there's a door before the elevator reaches them."

"If there isn't a large enough window, I'm not sure I'd make it out, in that case. If you're willing to give it a try and let me know, I'll follow if it's safe. We can always turn back and go up the stairs."

"I'll go."

Seiko waited for the elevator to lower, stepped onto it, and looked up, waiting. The elevator began to rise again after a short pause. Seiko dove out the elevator as soon as it reached the next floor, recovering and looking back. The elevator was all the way up, flat against the spikes. It descended after another pause, so Seiko approached the opening.

"Wait there!" she yelled down to Siegmeyer.

The elevator came up again, pausing at the second floor where Seiko stood for a second before continuing up into the spikes. Seeing that, she felt a bit silly for having leapt out of the way like she had. She waited for the elevator to go back down again.

"It's safer than it looks. Come on."

When the elevator reached the floor the next time, Siegmeyer was on it. He stepped out of the elevator quickly while it was paused, level with the floor. Seiko noticed he still hadn't accidently hit any of the low ceilings or cramped doorways with his huge sword, despite how his helmet limited his vision. They moved forward, out the only doorway in the room.

"Ahh, just another path to where we were going," said Siegmeyer.

They had come to another staircase with a rounded groove in the center, one of the paths for the boulders. They ascended and Seiko pointed out the way forward she had found. Siegmeyer stepped boldly forward, only to have Seiko grab him by his baldric and yank him back. He narrowly avoided falling over.

"You almost stepped on a trigger," said Seiko. She pointed to the raised tiles.

"Oh. Yes, I see now."

Seiko bent down, hands and knees, and shoved down on the trigger. Bolts fired from several places on the wall, about level with where her shoulder would be, the first volley embedding in the wall, then being damaged by the next two volleys. The bolts from the second and third volleys clattered to the floor loudly. Seiko motioned for Siegmeyer to lead the way. He walked ahead.

"I must say," he said without looking back, "Without you around, this place would be far more troublesome. It is interesting, but my curiosity would surely have killed me at least once already, boulders aside. You have my thanks. On my honor, I will repay you for your help."

"But you're helping me too. Your armor is amazing, even if it does look funny."

Siegmeyer whirled around, the tip of his greatsword scraping the wall.

"Funny, is it?" He was obviously irritated.

"Sorry! I meant… It's unconventional…!" Seiko struggled to find something to say to cover her statement. Siegmeyer practically filled the hallway, taller and wider than Seiko. It was her desire to befriend him combined with his ire that made him intimidating to her.

"That it is," he agreed, his tone still low, "But I'll have you know Catarina has many proud knights. This armor is a symbol! I'll have no one disrespect it."

He paused and Seiko didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry for my sudden shift," continued Siegmeyer, "I'm just used to ridicule. I know you meant no harm."

He'd lightened up a bit, allowing Seiko to breathe a bit easier.

Siegmeyer turned around again, minding his sword, and moved forward once more.

Tetsuro paused as the man he'd been talking to laughed at him.

"'Claim my trinkets'? 'Gaze at my final grimace'? You're nearly Hollow yourself, you hopeless fool. If you think you're such a great warrior, draw your weapon."

The man stopped laughing, sighing instead.

"Weren't you listening?" he asked Tetsuro, "I've been doing this for ages. I made it this far, just like you, but this is the end of the line. There's nothing here for any 'Chosen Undead.' No one gets through Sen's Fortress."

Tetsuro shook his head, drawing a broadsword off his back, Iaito still sheathed on his belt.

"Don't compare yourself to me. You disgust me. Look at you! Your armor is far better than mine, you've had time to explore the fortress and learn its secrets, stripped the place of the best gear from warriors far and wide, and holed up in a storage room full of useful supplies… And yet here you are. Stagnant. Useless to the world. Draw your sword or don't, I don't care. Someone like you needs to be put out of their misery."

The crestfallen merchant's head lowered, hiding his eyes.

"Are you threatening me, 'Weaponmaster'?"

"It's only a threat if you intend to fight back. Otherwise, consider it a gift, from a determined warrior to a despairing waste of flesh."

"I'll show you-" The merchant snatched an ultra-greatsword up that was leaning on the wall next to him, swinging it with all his might. "-a waste of flesh!"

A/N: I'm very tempted to just post the next chapter as well, but I still have been unable to write anything... I just have no motivation... I hope I recover from this before this series catches up with my prewritten entries... It's finally warming up, so I'm hopeful...