Chapter 7:
On the way up through the shortcut to the Valley of Drakes, our group discovered that the ring that I'd received from Quelinde was capable of forging fire from the air, like in Avatar! And I could also use it to enhance Pyromancer skills like Fireball, Fire Whip, and my favorite, Iron Skin, which was extremely fun to test out when we got to the big dung baddies in the shortcut. I proceeded to tank their hits with ease before then stabbing the dung people in the torso with my Black Knight Sword before slashing it in half upwards! The smell though? Disgusting, but not the worst I'd smelled. The smell of the sewers was hard to beat.
"Ugh, FINALLY! Sunlight again! I've missed looking at the sun!" Solaire exclaimed when we finally got to the Valley, me simply deciding that we should use my levitation powers to have our group fly to the Firelink Shrine as opposed to going to New Londo, since I was still scared of the Darkwraiths. And when we got back, we could smell a very musty and old smell from the shrine's center as well as seeing that there was a small band of adventurers that were by the shrine and speaking with Ariamas, who simply nodded with solemn silence.
"So why have you decided to stay at the fire when there are skeletons near the entrance to the catacombs and hollows along the road to the Undead Parish?" asked the voice of Reah of Thorolund, me smiling at what Ariamas spoke.
"I have my own protection, and a friend made me a promise... that she would slay Seath the Scaleless and rescue my daughter... and I see her right now," Ariamas said with a small smile as I got the quartet's attention and they looked at me and my male troupe in surprise.
"Um... which one?" asked one of Reah's defenders.
"That would be me, Penny Pines," I smiled.
"The fair maiden? How would that be?" asked Reah with confusion.
"She was able to levitate my body in the air when we first met, and I'm positive she was the one who opened the gate to the fortress," Petrus said, me nodding at him.
"That we were, and we've been helping anyone who needs it," I smirked as I then heard another voice.
"Like us," Laurentius said as he appeared from the eastern side of the area alongside Mildred. "I see you came back unscathed. Were you able to rescue the Fair Lady?" he asked.
"Quelinde is safe, yes. And we got this as thanks," I smirked as I showed off my new ring, which made Mildred gawk.
"That ring!... It filled with power! What it do?" she asked in wonder.
"It can allow me to create flames from anywhere I go and, from what I experimented with, it can block poisons and resists curses," I smiled.
"How did you test the latter two?" Laurentius asked.
"The former was tested by simply walking through the swamp and the latter was proven by the fact that it's kept Quelinde alive ever since she became sick," I smirked.
"What kind of sickness was it? I may know of what it might have been, since I used to study curses," Reah asked.
"A curse that infects you with weakness and eats away at your soul. It made Quelinde go blind, made it so she could barely move, and it was also able to cause her to deteriorate over time unless she was supplied with Humanities," Laurentius explained.
"Oh my! The cursed infection of Blightpus? I learned it was the downfall of three different civilizations, one being Blighttown and another being Zena! I think I also heard of another nation being hit with it, but it's on the other side of the planet... it's caused whenever someone experiments with toxic Pyromancies," Reah said with surprise.
"Well, regardless, we decided that we could give you an extra bit of protection, Ariamas, in the form of our new ally, Havel," I said, her looking at him in surprise, but then smiling at the heavy iron armor he wore.
"That armor looks very heavy. You must be very strong to be able to wear it with no ill effects," Petrus said with a smirk as Havel spoke.
"Havel defend Firekeeper with life. As thanks for friend Penny," he said, her smirking at him.
"Appreciated... especially the quiet nature," she admitted to me.
"Now I guess we need to proceed to the fortress... but we need a quick wash beforehand. Anyone know where the Darkroot Garden may be?" I asked, winking at Ariamas so she wouldn't blab the truth.
"The Darkroot Garden? I believe that it's near the fortress you just opened. And there should be a large lake there, but the only downside is that it's protected by a powerful Hydra and is a common roaming ground for Crystal Golems," said the voice of Griggs from nearby, me seeing that he appeared from the area with the giant serpent, and he motioned us over. "A certain someone wants to meet with you, Penny Pines," he said, me going to where he was and going into the temple to see that the giant serpent was there and he looked at me with his constant grin, me being unnerved quite easily by it.
"Are you the one who rang the Bells of Awakening?" Fraampt asked, me nodding at his words.
"Yes, I am. I'm Penny Pines," I said, him speaking after.
"And I am Kingseeker Fraampt. Though, in this case, it may be Queenseeker," he said, me rolling my eyes at the poor joke. "If you have journeyed this much just to wake me, it can only mean one thing. You have been summoned by Princess Gwynevere to save this world and all worlds that connect with it. Will you go through the journey to acquire the Lordvessel, collect the souls of the 4 Lords, and Link the First Flame with a false sacrifice?" he asked, me nodding at him.
"Yes, I am. I'm not about to pussy out this far in!" I said with seriousness.
"Good, because the quest to Anor Londo will be more difficult than you may think. Sen's Fortress is not going to be kind to a mage as yourself, as the only way through is to walk the paths. Your magic flight will just result in the walls shooting a thousand darts all over the place," he said, me gulping at that.
"Whew... at least you warned me about that... what about destroying the most annoying part, the swinging axes of doom?" I asked, Fraampt thinking a bit before chuckling.
"Hahaha! You may have found a loophole after all! Just don't fall for any of the other tricks. And it would be wise to rescue the others on the way there," he said, me nodding at him.
"Yep, I know... but first, I need to get a bath," I said, him proceeding to do something... weird... before I could ask what, I gasped as he not only cleaned my entire body with some bizarre magic, but he also cleaned my pajamas as well! And he then said something. "I've also cleaned your allies up. And it would be wise to put some sturdier armor on before the Fortress, since you're likely not going to survive a dart to your stomach without protection," Fraampt suggested.
"Thanks for the suggestion, I will do that for sure," I smiled as I then spoke one final thing. "Just tell me this... is there a way to get me to the secret area without getting... you know..." I said, him smirking at me, as usual.
"Unfortunately, not. And only you may be allowed in there. I may be an eternal lizard, but I can't fit more than one," he said, me shuddering at his notion.
"Gotcha... at least that softens the blow," I admitted as I then bid him farewell and went to my allies, all of which were looking at me in confusion.
"So... who and what was that thing?" asked the voice of the Crestfallen Warrior, me seeing he was disgusted by the smell already, but still here.
"That's Kingseeker Fraampt. He just cleaned me and my allies with magic and told me that we need to get the Lordvessel from Princess Gwynevere in Anor Londo. So he just shaved some time from our trip, so we can just head to the fortress," I smirked.
"Sounds a bit too easy," Castor said.
"It does, and that's because it isn't. The Fortress is designed to punish cheaters that try to use the floating technique to reach the top. If we try to float through with my levitation, the fortress will shoot thousands of darts from every angle both outside and in to attack us, and I'm sure the outside defenses will be filled with bigger and stronger bolts," I explained.
"That means that the fortress was originally a prison of sorts. A prison that was designed by Carim. They preferred to keep their prisoners forever and refused to allow anyone to leave unless they got a hefty bit of money from any of their loved ones. And if someone tried to escape and got spotted, then they'd tell the fortress to impale everything inside with poison darts," Pollocks explained.
"And how did you know that when you come from Minos?" Laurentius asked the little man.
"Because Castor and I were mind-controlled by a murderer named Lautrec, who fed us a potion that made us completely obedient slaves, including killing innocents. One of his many crimes was going to the biggest prison in Carim and activating the security intentionally just to kill the prisoners and staff, as 90 percent of the guards were female warriors," Pollocks explained, me nodding at him.
"We should get going, Reah. We need to find the Hyena," one of Reah's allies said, her nodding, but that made Laurentius surprised.
"Hyena? Would you be referring to Patches?" the Pyromancer asked, that making Reah nod.
"He betrayed our order and killed our high bishop. He has a bounty on his head and we were told that the one to bring the bounty back will be given the new title of Bishop," Petrus explained.
"Patches is actually down in the Catacombs... but I do think that it wouldn't be smart to go there," Laurentius explained.
"Are you saying we aren't strong enough?" Reah asked.
"No, that's probably not it. I think he's referring to something else," I said.
"Correct. The deeper you go into that place, the skeletal guards of Gravelord Nito will grow bigger and stronger. And there is no natural light in that place. If you go there without someone who knows how to create light and a good fire weapon, you won't last long," Laurentius said.
"Hmm... I think I may have a solution to this problem," I smiled, the quartet looking at me with intrigue.
"I'm listening," Reah smiled at me.
"I have learned that I can create any Pyromancy spell from this ring that I got from the Daughters of Chaos. Once my group is finished up at Anor Londo, we'll make Gravelord Nito our first stop. And if we find Patches, we'll get his head, bring it back, and then you four can decide who would be the new bishop," I said, the three men looking at me like I was crazy, minus Reah. She looked with intrigue.
"Are you insane? What if he escapes that place through another exit?" asked one of the followers.
"And how do we know you'll keep to your word?" the other asked.
"Why would we decide who should be bishop among us?! It's whoever deals the final blow!" Petrus said with some anger.
"Please... stop fighting? I think it's a good idea," Reah said with shyness, the trio then looking at her and then at me with anger.
"I do believe I know who should be the one, then. The one who has the best traits of a cleric of kindness, Reah," I said, the trio of men looking at me with anger before Castor spoke.
"If you wouldn't have been so nasty with your words and bicker like toddlers, maybe she would've considered differently," he said, Reah simply sighing as the three then simply sat on the ground in annoyance, me going to Havel and speaking to him in private.
"Havel, you got another task while I go to Anor Londo. Make sure the clerics don't get into any physical altercations and protect them from going to the catacombs without my approval," I said, him nodding.
"May need change to lighter armor," he said as I then proceeded to do something different... and I gawked at how I managed to give him the armor that I had on (my footy pajamas) while also taking his armor off of his body and putting it on me!... And I was SHOCKED at how I felt virtually no difference in wieght from the heavy armor! And all from a single bit of magical trickery!
"Uh... what just happened?" Petrus asked.
"I uh... I think that Gwynevere bringing me to this world must've made me WAY stronger in physical strength, too. I half expected my body to collapse to the ground from this heavy armor, but it's like it's light as a feather!" I smirked as Castor then tried to lift my arm when I had it limp and he looked to be struggling and straining to do so. "Easy, easy, Castor. You'll tear a muscle. Then we're all in trouble," I said, him nodding as he stopped and caught his breath after.
"Havel not used to fluffy clothing... but Havel did say lighter armor," he said, me smirking at him.
"Here, this may help to alleviate embarrassment," Solaire said as he gave him some different armor in the form of the Baldur set from the Baldur Knights, all of which we'd pocketed from the dead Baldur knight Pollocks had controlled before opting for the Gargoyle.
"Thanks," Havel said as I then put the armor on him with the spell and he then immediately ditched the helmet, as it looked a bit too tight for him. "Here, take your own helmet. I'd prefer to be able to see where I go," I admitted, as wearing Havel's helmet on my head meant I only had two small slits to see out of, which wasn't ideal. "Now if we're all done talking about random stuff, let's go to the fortress! We have a goddess to meet!"
"Fare thee well, Penny Pines," Ariamas smiled at me as I then nodded and our group proceeded to go to the lift shortcut to the Undead Parish. It was high time we got to the impregnable Sen's Fortress and brave the many dangers within.
