A/N: You now, this was supposed to come out sooner… I hoped I would have been able to deliver before 2020 was over, yet it didn't happen. Well at least there's something that can come out of this, this may not be my last gift for 2020 but it can be my first gift for 2021… if you can consider updates gifts that is… don't do that, I didn't mean it like that. I don't want you to consider this as some sort of gracious that you should accept…
Ugh, this is making it sound worse, em… just enjoy if you wish to. On with the show!
Beta: Genatools
Chapter 6: Ringeth the Bell.
"So that sword… it came from the drake's tail," Eskar stated as Oscar wielded the Drake Sword.
"Yes, Dragons, and by extent, their other kin and other creatures, have powerful souls and mystical powers that work differently from the ones of other beings. Their tails seem to hold a strange connection to that power as some dragon's tails have been noted to produce magical and powerful weapons." Beatrice explained.
"And today, that large drake seemed strong enough to produce a sword from its tail," Oscar said as he felt the blade through his gauntlets, by all means, it was crude, with not the best balance or well-sharpened edge, not much more than a sword-shaped stone chunk. And yet the power that it emitted and the strength of the sword was undeniable.
"Ah, the tales of Gwyn's firstborn son do tell the tale of weapons that came from dragons, some of the most accomplished warriors and followers of the god war were able to wield great power from weapons such as this one." Solaire began
"But only once the warrior wields his will with both hands on the dragon's hide. Yeah, I read some of the tales as well." Beatrice added, surprising Solaire and earning a hearty nod from him. Oscar looked back at Eskar and in turn, nodded back for him to try it out. Oscar placed his shield at his back and placed both his hand firmly on the hilt, as a gust of wind and dust formed around the blade, Oscar felt the energy wanting to get out of the blade, and it did so as he swung the sword downwards, leaving in a shockwave the ran across the ground in a line and into the wall.
"Impressive." Beatrice admired.
"Igen, did you intend for that to happen?" Eskar asked, curious.
"Huff… no, it did on its own, I suppose I am simply the means for power to be released." Oscar guessed.
"An apt description, but the weapon simply acts on what it can do, that shockwave might be all it can really do," Beatrice said. "And I'm pretty sure that kind of power will take a toll on the blade." She also pointed out.
"You are not wrong," Oscar said as he showed everyone the dents that formed on the blade the moment he made the attack. "It seems the blade can only use that power for so long."
"If you keep using that power, otherwise it still seems to be a sword… with a… durva consilio." (rough design) Eskar said.
"Oh it should do fine as a normal sword friend, no matter how it looks, that blade looks sharp, hah hah hah!" Solaire's laughter beamed, he didn't understand what Eskar said, but he could guess.
"... If I'm honest, I would rather use my own sword if I need to fight, it's better balanced and I know how to use it well, this thing feels odd in the grip… heh. If anyone wants, feel free to take it." Oscar offered.
"I do believe it suits you, Sir Oscar, besides I have all I need," Solaire said.
"And I have no use for that sword, not my style," Beatrice said for herself. That left only Eskar.
"You are the one that found it." Oscar offered the sword to him.
"And you were the one that cut the tail in the first place, if anyone earned that sword it's you. Besides… I still have other powers to master first." Eskar said as he produced some small amount of soul energy in his palm, he was determined to learn sorcery and produce more than darts someday, he believed owed that much focus to Beatrice's teachings.
Oscar eyed the Drake Sword again and accepted that the sword would be on his property now. He strapped the sword on his back, ready for whenever he would need the power of the sword, without encumbering him much.
"Then I'll use it when the time is right!" Oscar bowed with a fist of steel close to his chest.
"Seems our adventures are only getting started, wouldn't you agree?" Solaire asked the group, not waiting for an answer he turned back to the shattered statue that once resided in the little balcony they were in. "It feels like an honor to find such friends in a place like this."
"You are a Warrior of Sunlight? The ones that served Gwyn's firstborn, the one who was cast out and had his name erased from the annals of history." Beatrice asked Solaire.
"And proudly so, we serve in the name of camaraderie and jolly cooperation, our duty is to find our own sun and to do so alongside others, through any adversity, for our war is for what we believe in," Solaire said as he thought of an idea. "Hmm, you seem to do quite well, strong resolution, and strong hearts...Is there a chance any one of you might decide to join the covenant? I don't presume to impose-"
"Heh heh, it's fine… thank you for the offer, but I'm not a person of faith, though I do find interesting the idea of following a godforsaken by their own kind, yet still sending a strong message of… companionship. Heh." Beatrice laughed to herself, her own issues with the church put aside, she had heard nothing but good things about the followers of the god of war, even if the other gods forsook his memory.
"I… I am sorry but, the gods of this land are not… mine. I mean no disrespect." Eskar raised his hands in apology.
"Oh it's alright, and what about you Sir Oscar?" Solaire asked.
"Well… I do worship the gods, never following them directly, however." Oscar stumbled with his words, unsure of the prospect.
"Ah, but even though I know I ask you to follow a god, what I ask you is to seek your own sun along the way!" Solaire said proudly.
"I… suppose it couldn't hurt."
"Oh fantastic, hmm, maybe I should have guessed another person from my homeland would be a kindred spirit, hah hah hah." Solaire laughed.
"I guess that's one way to put it." Oscar agreed, a bit unsure on the idea, but curious enough to see it through.
"Now just kneel before the altar and you'll see what the god of war offers his followers," Solaire instructed. Oscar followed the instructions with a careful step, but as he kneeled he suddenly felt something in his person, a scroll with a tale of the slaying of the dragons was in front of him and it was made clear it was for him.
"This… this is a lightning spear!" Oscar marbled.
"Oh yes indeed, but not only that, you have shown your commitment, now we stand together in arms, and fulfill our purpose. Praise the Sun!" Solaire turned to the sun and did a gesture of stretching his arms and hand outwards with his whole body as well.
"Uh…"
"Come on, do it with me," Solaire asked Oscar.
"I… uh…"
"It's very simple, I'll show you."
Beatrice couldn't help but laugh slightly and then muffle it with her hand, even Eskar couldn't help but chuckle at the display.
"So this is not the first time you have faced a Black Knight, you three seem quite formidable," Solaire said to Eskar as they climbed the steps of the tower.
"We rarely get a chance to form a plan like this, but yes, we have taken down the Black Knights before, several in fact." Eskar reminisced.
"Well, if that's the case, here's to a swift victory." Solaire cheered with a salute with his sword. They had spotted the knight atop the tower, themselves going up it for the sake of exploring. Once they realized the knight's existence, Oscar and Beatrice agreed to wait at the bottom of the stairs for an ambush. Now Solaire and Eskar had to guide it to said ambush.
"Are you ready?" Solaire whispered to Eskar just as they were a the top of the steps.
"Ĉiam kész." (Always ready.) Eskar nodded. As they went up Eskar went up first with his longsword drawn, an interesting detail of Absolver Towerpoint Boots was that even though they were made of hard leather, the soles were completely silent, they were made for this exact scenario.
Eskar stepped forward and stabbed the Black Knight through the back and immediately did a sidekick to yank the sword out, the knight quickly recovered and moved to battle Eskar, for his part, Eskar sidestepped a swing of the massive greatsword the knight had and performed a one-handed slash and a cut to its ankle before hitting it with a spinning hook kick, giving Solaire room to attack. Solaire charged with a heavy strike with his sword and hit the knight on the back, and then continued his offense with a thrust. The knight was about to strike back with a thrust of the ultra greatsword, yet as it winded up its attack, Eskar hit on the back with a two-handed sword strike and followed it with an illusion twist kick to the back of its head, staggering it just enough for Solaire to hit it with an upwards slash and push it back with his shield, Eskar helped push it back with a winged back kick that managed to push the knight back just enough.
But all Black Knights were durable, and this one was no exception, it took less than a second for it to recover and swing at them with doubled ferocity.
"Now is the time to go," Solaire advised.
"Agreed," Eskar said as he and Solaire ran down the steps and narrowly avoided a massive swing from the Black Knight, shattering pieces and tiles of stone behind them as they ran down the steps, they heard the knight following them as they ran down the steps. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs they took positions, Solaire facing the door a couple of steps away from it and Eskar hiding on the ladder that led to the sewers.
The knight busted through the door frame with a swing that split the walls apart and sent stone and dust everywhere, as it faced Solaire and got ready to deliver another strong yet quick strike. It was surprised by the homing soul mass impacting on its left side. The knight didn't have time to react as Oscar came from the other side with a two-handed swing of the Drake Sword, clashing against the armor and biting through it, he then used his shoulder to push the knight back into the door frame, right into Eskar, who performed a vertical slash to the knight's shoulder, followed with knee and ended with a jumping spinning hook kick that made the knight spin around and stumbles into Solaire. Solaire did an upwards slash and pushed the knight back at Oscar, who used the power of the Drake Sword to send a shockwave that made the Blac Knight fall to its knees. There it was finished off by Beatrice with a heavy soul arrow to the head, it faded away into souls and left a Titanite Chunk.
"It's strange, such powerful knights, yet the more we face, it feels like… they begin to fall short." Oscar wondered as he picked up the chunk.
"The more we fight, the more we learn from them and how to defeat them, that's how we improve," Eskar said.
"We certainly have improved on how to fight alongside each other, and made better plans to take these fellows on," Beatrice said.
"The beauty of fighting together, wouldn't you agree?" Solaire asked them.
"It certainly would be a lot harder without any of you." Oscar acknowledged.
"Sometimes alone you learn better, but sometimes it is quite the opposite," Eskar said mostly to himself, he had pondered if he would be able to face all the trials ahead on his own, to at least know if he was capable and how long would take for him to master the dangers ahead, to feel the accomplishment and to become a stronger fighter, yet he would admit… It always felt good to fight alongside others for the same goal. Whether other absolvers or his newfound allies.
"Hah hah hah, we should continue, lest we grow too sure of ourselves, after all, it would be a shame to do this well to only fail miserably soon after, so let's watch our backs Warrior of Sunlight!" Solaire said as he passed by Oscar.
"Uh… right, right," Oscar said as started to get used to the new title.
With them going up the path to the Parish, they faced the Hollows on their way, each of them taking one and finishing them as they saw fit, the few first Hollow Soldiers with either swords or spears were not difficult, either outmaneuvering or parrying and countering them did the trick at close range, and Beatrice was perfectly capable of finishing them in a single soul arrow. The first batch of Hollows was easily taken care of, but now they had a couple of archers to take care of… and most notably, the Fang Boar.
"How do we take this thing down?" Oscar asked his companions.
"I can hit it with sorceries, it should get through the armor," Beatrice said as she ducked a crossbow bolt fired at her.
"Pafistoj!" (Marksmen!) Eskar warned them and pointed at the Hollows as the boar prepared itself to charge at them.
"I and Solaire can take care of them, you two can distract it while we get in position," Beatrice said to Oscar and Eskar, they nodded and she and Solaire went up the stairs as the knight and the absolver faced the Fang Boar. Oscar rolled to the side to let the boar pass while Eskar made a short jump into the wall before jumping over the boar as it charged them. That was the moment both of them noticed the one spot where the boar didn't have armor, it's rear. Neither had time to act upon it as they had to avoid a couple of bolts aimed at them, they avoided the bolts and got away from the boar by running up the steps and closer to the main gate of the Parish.
On top of the arc above them, Solaire had kicked a Hollow soldier's shield and struck them down while Beatrice fired soul arrows at the crossbowmen and killed them. Once the two of them were able to look back down at the Fang Boar, they fired their respective projectiles at it, Beatrice using her soul arrows and Solaire with lightning spears. They hit the boar and made it angry as it continued to charge at both Eskar and Oscar, failing to hit either, Oscar tried to hit the boar at the neck, however, his sword bounced off the armor, Eskar tried to thrust through the plates, yet they were too tight together to get an opening. In the end, Oscar used his shield to block the boar as it swung at them with its tusks, meanwhile, Eskar used an orange glowing sidekick that unbalanced the boar and pissed it off further, it began to swing its tusks wildly between the two of them as the two of them stayed just out of range Beatrice and Solaire used the chance to land more of their projectiles, agitating it and distracting it. The distraction was enough for Oscar to see a spot that was open, the boar's snout, Oscar rushed forward and thrust his sword and perfectly landed an attack on the opening, making the boar squeal and shake him off violently, the boar was about to charge again until Eskar ran by its side and did a jumping thrust attack with his own sword to the boar's eye.
The boar staggered but was determined to charge both Oscar and Eskar to finish them, yet Oscar realized that just right behind them, there was a large fire. Oscar nudged Eskar and nodded toward the massive bonfire behind them, Eskar nodded as the boar began to charge at them, with little time Oscar rolled to the side while Eskar used the snout as a stepping stone to jump over the boar with a flip, the boar went straight towards the fire and began to burn, it's armor glowing orange as the boar sent horrifying squeals of pain, with Eskar behind it and Oscar to its side the boar was ready to try another attack… However, it's time was up. Eskar didn't give it a chance as he rammed his longsword into it's behind… disgusting in a couple of ways, but the best option presented. As Eskar rammed his sword out, while keeping that sword a bit farther away from himself, the boar stumbled and looked back, still alive… at least until Solaire plunged from above and landed his sword right on the boar's head, killing it.
"It's dead." Oscar sighed in relief.
"It is indeed, I would say that was fine work indeed, I do apologize for not helping more as it was trying to ram the both of you." Solaire apologized to them.
"No need, you did your part, and we did ours," Oscar said as Beatrice made herself hang from the little bridge above them and then jumped down safely, she went next to Eskar and immediately smelled the new stench his sword had.
"Oh, if smells could kill…" She brought her hand to her nose and suppressed a gag.
"I don't want to talk about it," Eskar said as he found a nearby wall with some green moss and used it as a way to clean his sword. "I will probably need water and soap."
"Good luck finding any here," Beatrice said to him, meanwhile Solaire went ahead and picked up the remains of the Fang Boar, it left behind its helm specifically.
"Huh, curious indeed," Solaire said admiring the helm.
"Ugh, that thing stinks as well, must have been trapped in that armor for more than a few years." Oscar waved his hand in front of him to try and freshen up the air.
"Could be worse," Eskar said as he finished cleaning his sword, it looked cleaner and seemed only to smell if one put their nose close to the blade, it would have to suffice.
"The path ahead is blocked." Beatrice pointing and bringing their attention at the giant gate blocking their path, there was no clear way to open it from the side they were on, so effectively, they were locked out.
"Think one of us could fit through the holes in the gate?" Solaire asked.
"No," Beatrice answered matter of factly.
"Even if that person is slim and seems pretty flexible?" Solaire asked, cupping his chin (or the chin of his helmet) and looking at Eskar, Eskar for his part shook his head, not willing to try it.
"Well, there seem to be other options," Oscar told them as he found a set of stairs leading down, then to the side and into a building, there was a Hollow in rags at the end of the corridor waiting for them to come close as they peeked through the corner.
"This could be promising," Beatrice said, seeing as this direction could maybe at the very least lead to nearby buildings close to the Parish.
"That Hollow seems ready to lead us somewhere," Solaire noted.
"A trap, with possibly more Hollows." Oscar guessed.
"I see two others nearby." Eskar pointed at the other Hollows. "I say spring the trap, and rush them instead of them rushing us."
"We are many, and we can cover all of them single-handedly." Beatrice agreed.
"Then let's see how good Hollows are at laying an ambush." Oscar agreed as well.
It turned out that Hollows, even if they had the sense to lay an ambush, they couldn't really make it work, not these ones at least. Eskar rushed the Hollow that was bait with a flying kick and killed it with a slice to the side followed by a reverse grip one-handed slash, next to him Oscar blocked a Hollow's attack only to kill it by thrusting his sword through it and slamming into the ground, Solaire did two strikes with his sword before another Hollow could come close and killing it and finally Beatrice simply aimed and fired her spells at the Hollows at the top of the stairs that led up.
They continued moving upwards and systematically killing all Hollows that tried to attack them, all of them were weak, had nor armor, and practically threw themselves at the slaughter, as the four of them went up the stairs and up the ladders they defeated each Hollow that appeared and found some objects of use, mainly a mysterious key, it looked like an ordinary prison key. That and some souls on a body that hung from the ceiling on a beam, Eskar proved himself again as a nimble person with good balance, as he traversed the beam in a couple of quick hops, got the souls, and then returned to the group.
Once they reached the top they realized they were going through the walls of the Parish area, effectively bypassing the main gate and moving through them to the Parish, once they crossed a bridge that went above the are they had entered, they reached a T-junction, the way to the left leading up some stairs and the way to the right turning the corner, from there they quickly peeked down the right side and found a Balder Knight with its back turned towards them. Before Oscar or Solaire could discuss anything Eskar and Beatrice nodded to each other, Beatrice began to prepare a heavy soul arrow while Eskar took full advantage of his silent soles and ran towards the Balder Knight, he backstabbed it with his longsword and then used the blade to pull the Hollow backward, pulled the blade out by passing by its side and then pushed further back with a spinning hook kick that led the Balder Knight right into Beatrice's soul arrow. It wasn't strong enough to survive that.
"Huh, impressive work." Solaire implemented them and Oscar nodded alongside him. Eskar nodded back to return the gesture and then picked up the Shield the knight had been guarding, Eskar quickly folded the shield and went back with the group.
"That seems to lead nowhere." Beatrice pointed out.
"Yes, means we can only go the other way, but it seems that leads to the Parish itself," Oscar said.
"I wonder if the Parish has many Hollows… think people would have retreated here?" Solaire asked.
"When we were here, I and Eskar fought a group of Balder Knights alongside a Berenike Knight," Beatrice said.
"You two were here before?" Solaire asked.
"Passed by, barely survived…" Beatrice thought back on the event.
"There was also that Ch… ch… Cha…" Eskar tried.
"Oh right the Channeler."
"Yes."
"Hmm, seems you both are quite able to handle themselves, and braver than most for facing them even though you aren't undead, you left an impression on me the first time I saw you, but now I see it clearly, you have tenacious hearts indeed!" Solaire cheered.
"Thank you, I suppose, it's strange. You would be one of the first to say that to a rogue witch." Beatrice smiled.
"Or a Masked One," Eskar added.
"Well, I say it because you've earned it, of course, same as I can say for my fellow Astoran's dedication to his cause." Solaire placed his hand on Oscar's shoulder.
"I… suppose you could say that," Oscar responded.
"There is a reason I've asked you to become Warriors of Sunlight, your hearts are strong, maybe you don't rely on faith, but that hardly matters, you have all earned the right. Hah hah hah!" Solaire laughed.
"For what is worth, we appreciate your help in this journey Solaire," Oscar said to him.
"The honor is mine, shall we continue?" Solaire asked, and the three of them nodded and kept moving through the grounds of the Parish. They went in the opposite direction, to the way that led up the stairs. They found themselves on a balcony that overlooked the entrance of the Parish itself, probably a spot for guards to spot anyone that tried to enter or even for archers to shoot enemies down. The balcony seemed clear, and the only threat nearby was a Hollow Soldier with a spear and shield huddled in the corner against some barrels, it didn't stand much of a chance as it tried to inch closer to them and thrust his spear only for Eskar to parry the spear, hold on to the Hollow's arm and spin behind it, forcing its head down and letting Oscar decapitate it in a single swing of his sword.
They kept moving up the way that was open to them, another T-junction, only this time in a more narrow hallway, not all of them could go up the stairs at the same time.
"Is there anyone there?" Beatrice asked from the back as she and Eskar stayed behind while Solaire and Oscar took point.
"I don't see any- Damn it!" Oscar cursed as he blocked the surprise attack of a spear, Solaire covered him by taking on the Hollow Soldier, Oscar realized soon he had other problems to deal with as he turned to the left to see a Balder Knight running right at them. With the narrow corridor, it was difficult to fight properly, and even harder with multiple people, Solaire locked down the Hollow Soldier and Oscar could face the Balder Knight. But they couldn't really move back or squeeze through the door again, and Eskar and Beatrice couldn't help either, so they had to do it on their own.
Solaire attacked the Hollow just as it was about to attack and managed to kill it with one strike of his sword followed by another going upwards. Meanwhile, Oscar used his shield to block the attacks of the Balder Knight, certainly a more aggressive and dangerous Hollow, he blocked three swings and countered with his own strike, but the Balder Knight blocked it as well with its own shield, however, Oscar predicted the next attack and parried the Balder Knight and rammed his sword through it, killing it as Oscar kicked it off his blade.
"Are there more?" Eskar asked as he and Beatrice were able to finally squeeze through the doorway.
"No… that should be it. Huff." Oscar let out a breath.
"We should get out of this hallway," Beatrice suggested, the rest nodded and moved along to the end of it. Beatrice and Eskar spotted the way to the old church and to Sen's Fortress where Andre resided, yet they also noticed a path that seemed to lead to the other way that didn't go by the wooden broken down bridge and instead it was a set of stairs that seemed to lead to the section behind the giant gate. They decided to go down the stairs in that direction, the Hollow that seemed to have closed down the gate still there… well until Beatrice decided to end it with a soul arrow right to the back of the head. Down next to the Hollow there was the lever that was used to raise the gate, the decision to open it just in case they ever needed to go back that way without going through all the hallways and buildings, they also found another key and a halberd, both of which the group stored in the Bottomless Box they had. And so now they were at the gates of the Parish.
"The Balder Knights are still there, but the Berenike Knight doesn't seem to be there," Beatrice said.
"Could it have moved? Could it be waiting?" Eskar asked.
"Some Hollows to seem to disappear from an area once they are slain, if you both killed it, then maybe it's not able to return here." Solaire pointed out.
"That's true," Beatrice confirmed the statement.
"In any case, how many Balder Knights should be here?" Oscar asked.
"Three down here… and another one a bit up the stairs." Eskar recollected.
"So… four against four then, a fair fight," Oscar said as he gripped his sword together.
"Hmm, wouldn't call it fair for them," Eskar said.
"Heh heh." Oscar laughed at the comment.
"Shall we?" Beatrice asked the knights and the absolver, they nodded and charged through the doors of the Parish.
Eskar went first, using a drawing slash to unsheath his longsword and catch the Balder Knight before it could attack, he followed the move with a quick upwards slash, a roundhouse kick, a knee to the gut, and finished the knight by kicking and breaking its sheen, jumping on its knee and decapitating it with a jumping downwards strike. Oscar was the one that spotted the Balder Knight waiting in the corner, the Balder Knight itself tried to rush Eskar, but Oscar deflected the attack with his blade, landed his own strike with his sword, and then used his shield to bash and push the Balder Knight to the side, right into Beatrice's line of sight and into a quick soul arrow that brought to its knees, there, Oscar finished it with one final strike. Solaire sidestepped the attack of the remaining Balder Knight, the knight tried to keep itself focused on the Warrior of Sunlight, yet it wasn't prepared for Eskar to blindside it with a kick that made it's head spin.
Just then it had its back exposed to Solaire, who stabbed the knight in the back and then as it was on its knees, took the chance to strike it down with a blow to the shoulder. The last Balder Knight that was up the steps noticed that it's Hollow comrades were slaughtered and went ahead to try and charge the ones that were responsible, yet it didn't get far as Solaire, Oscar, Beatrice, and Eskar destroyed it with their own projectiles, Solaire and Oscar used lightning spears, Beatrice used a soul arrow and Eskar used a barrage of souls darts.
"It certainly was easier than the last time," Eskar commented, he remembered how the Berenike Knight and the Channeler had helped the Balder Knights and made it so that he and Beatrice had barely any chance to land hits, their best hope had been to be aggressive, now… they hadn't even gotten a chance to do anything.
"Certainly was…" Beatrice said as she carefully stepped deeper into the Undead Parish, she peeked into the second floor, and let out a sigh of relief. "The channeler is gone as well!" She said to the rest of the group.
"So then we should be able to reach the upper floors. And to the Bell of Awakening." Oscar guessed.
"Through those stairs, yes. But we don't know what's up there." Eskar warned.
"We were injured the last time, and we had no intention of checking the upper floors, and more than likely, the bell will have a guardian," Beatrice said, Oscar, nodding and agreeing with that assumption.
"Shall we venture then? Who knows, perhaps we could be able to reason with that guardian, hmm?" Solaire proposed.
An exact dozen of Hollows, an exact dozen of Hollows was what awaited them on the second floor, and in a tight corridor as well, not as tight as the last corridor but definitely not the ideal place for four people to fight twelve husks carrying broken swords. What they did was that before the Hollows could pressure them into the hallway, Oscar pulled the Drake Sword and made a swing in a single motion, sending a shockwave that killed five of the Hollows and opened the path for Eskar and Solaire, they both tackled the closest Hollows while Beatrice also rushed using her homing soul mass and a couple of soul arrows to kill the three Hollows that were the farthest away.
Eskar went in with a running slide kick, got up and immediately ducked under an attack and struck back with his sword at the same time using a Mill Slash, followed by a winged back kick to push a Hollow away, then he did two slashes, one at either side to hit the two Hollows at either side of him, then continued by ducking another attack with a Meia Lua kick, using it to kill one of the Hollows, killed the next one with a heavy rising spinning slash, and the last Hollow he killed with a spinning roundhouse kick that sends it over the edge and plummeting to the first floor.
Solaire had made sure that Oscar had killed all the Hollows with the shockwave, one of them remained alive, he took the chance to finish it with a downwards stab while using his shield to block the mad flailing of the last Hollow alive, as the Hollow was about to deliver the final attack, Solaire parried it and finished the Hollow by thrusting his sword into it, and then using the shield to push the Hollow away.
"Huff… I suppose you were right, many people must have come to the Parish before they turned Hollow." Oscar said as he placed the Drake Sword again on his back.
"Well of course they would go to places believed to be safe, such a shame though… that it had to end so poorly for them." Solaire lamented.
"If they wanted to go somewhere safe… they should have fled Lordran, though I don't know how long they have been here," Beatrice said.
"Huhmmp." Eskar looked around the area, there was a soul tethered to a body, a larger soul than others, and there seemed to be more to the second floor of the Undead Parish as well. "One of these paths must lead to the bell… or how to toll it." He said.
"Mmhm." Oscar thought as he looked at the directions they had, only two really. "That path seems to be storage, the other is in the location where the bell actually is… we might find some stairs," Oscar said as they ventured through the dark hallways of the second floor. A Balder Knight still remained, but they took it down by making it fall down a set of stairs and finished it off before it could get up.
Other than that, however, the second floor of the Parish was barren of any way upwards, the only thing they seemed to find was a body inside a barrel that had a piece of humanity. But other than that there was nothing up on the second floor.
"This place seems deserted," Solaire mentioned.
"It is kind of strange, this place should have a little bit more, in a way," Beatrice said.
"Hmm…" Eskar thought for a second until he spotted something, some light coming out of the wall. He tapped Oscar on the back and nodded towards the source of the light. They got closer and noticed that the wall wasn't really a dark stone wall, it was some rotten planks. They looked at each other and agreed, they kicked the planks at the same time and broke them, opening the path to what seemed to be a small room.
"Nevermind, we seem to have another way to go," Beatrice said.
"Not really, doesn't go to the bell." Eskar pointed to the ceiling of the room.
"Oh, then what is this room for?" Beatrice asked.
"I would say, undesirables, would you mind coming up and help me?" They heard a voice coming from the room. They walked up the stairs and found the purpose of the room, it was supposed to be a holding cell.
"Oh thank goodness you all seem to still be human, I need your help? Could you perhaps help me? As you can see, I'm stuck without recourse." The knight in golden armor asked.
"How did you happen to end up here? The entire Parish is full of Hollows." Oscar asked.
"Do Hollows take prisoners?" Eskar asked Beatrice.
"On some odd occasions, but never with an intention to free them later," Beatrice responded.
"Well not everyone here is Hollow. That damn Channeler made all the others surround me and decided that I should be kept here. Oh… the moment I get my hands on him." The knight said while clenching his fists.
"Sorry to disappoint, but he's dead, died well over a while ago," Beatrice said.
"H-how long? Because I've been here for weeks!" The knight responded.
"Not too long ago, could even be said not more than two days. We killed it as we were passing by, had no idea someone was here." Beatrice said.
"Of course… boarded up the room after all." The knight sighed. "But you are here now, do you happen to have the key?" The knight asked, they all looked at each other wondering if they had found it.
"There was no key where the Channeler's body once was," Beatrice said.
"What about the other keys we have found here?" Solaire asked, at that they got a hold of the two keys and tried each of them, the key they had found at the front gate did nothing for the lock, yet the key they had found on the building that leads inside the Parish did the work, after a couple of moments oscar was able to open the cell door.
"Thank you, yes, sincerely. I should say, I am Knight Lautrec of Carim. I truly appreciate this, and I guarantee a reward for you, only later… they didn't let me keep my belongings after all. Keh heh."
"Do not worry about it, I am Oscar, this is Solaire, Beatrice, and Eskar." Oscar presented them all.
"Hmm, Hmph…" Lautrec acknowledged it and then paused, he looked directly at Eskar and seemed wary of him. "If you don't mind, I would rather keep my distance, you freed me, but Masked Ones haven't been kind to me in the past," Lautrec warned. Eskar did keep his distance, however, he was curious.
"You know where other Masked Ones are?" He asked
"Hmm… you… are astray aren't you? Heh heh heh, no I do not know. Like I said, Not. Friendly." Lautrec said.
"... I understand," Eskar said as he stepped slightly away.
"We'll be out of your way if you wish it so Sir Lautrec, but do you perhaps know how we reach the Bell of Awakening?" Solaire asked.
"Huh, are perhaps on a mission, all of you?" Lautrec asked.
"For the time, yes," Beatrice said, Lautrec eyed each and every one of them and then chuckled.
"Heh, a merry band you are, eh? The ladder to the top should be found at the other end of the floor, you would have found it sooner or later." Lautrec pointed in the direction of that ladder.
"Thank you, maybe we'll meet again sometime later," Oscar said.
"Oh, I get the feeling we might go on, wouldn't want to keep you from your duty," Lautrec said as he saw his four rescuers leave.
"Heh… fools. But it doesn't matter. I am free. Now I can get back to work… Keh heh heh heh…"
The group found the ladders that led to led to the roof of the Parish, and there they found a fog door, there certainly a being of a certain amount of strength behind that doorway.
"Do you believe that we could really talk with this guardian?" Oscar asked Solaire.
"... I… was merely hoping, but I do know that most likely we'll have to fight."
"Well, we better get going then, it's slightly crowded in here," Beatrice said as they made space for each other in the little platform they had before entering the roof.
"Are we ready though?" Oscar asked.
"Both of you seem to be full on your Estus, and Beatrice has her spells attuned. I am also well and I am ready with my Shards." Eskar said as he showed his five glowing Shards of Tension.
"Well then, here we go," Oscar said as he crossed the fog gate first, then came to Solaire, then Eskar, and finally Beatrice. The roof seemed devoid of any presence, but they knew there was something in this roof, they looked towards the bell as they walked forward, however as they were looking at the bell they noticed something.
"I saw something move," Eskar said.
"What was it?" Beatrice asked.
"A couple of stones… they fell…"
"Is something there next to the bell?" Oscar asked. However, they soon noticed where the little rocks had fallen from, and that one statue wasn't sitting completely still.
"Is that statue… moving?" Solaire asked.
"No… shaking," Eskar said, then they saw the statue move its hands, and then its head and also its tail that was shaped like a double axe head..
"Those aren't normal statues… those are Stone Gargoyles," Beatrice said, just as she said so the Gargoyle roared and extended its wings, it then proceeded to jump of its perch and flew right to the middle of the roof of the Parish, it landed and shattered part of cobblestones that made the roof in the process, once down to their level the Gargoyle let out another massive roar.
"I really don't think we can talk about it." Beatrice quipped.
"You never know…" Solaire said as the Gargoyle ran at them and forced them to separate by using its halberd and swinging it directly at Oscar and slamming on the ground as he rolled out of the way, it tried to do a giant swing that the other had to roll under or duck under.
"Oh nevermind, we cannot talk with it," Solaire said.
"Then we should focus on fighting," Eskar said as he unfolded Risryn's sword, he charged in with both swords as he ducked under a halberd swing and landed three swings in total with both his swords before the Gargoyle tried to bite his head off, he did small dodge backward to avoid it just in the nick of time, the Gargoyle then swung it's halberd twice and kept Eskar at bay while it blocked a swing from Solaire, it attacked Solaire afterward with downwards swing.
Solaire blocked the attack, but his knees buckled at the attack and then he was flung across the roof as the Gargoyle hit him with its tail, Oscar came to distract it and hit it from the side with a swing from his sword, but then had to block a swing from the halberd, and then another, a shield bash, and when his guard was broken as the Gargoyle used its wing push his shield out of the way, it did however not get a chance to attack as Beatrice and Eskar intervened.
Eskar rushed in with thrust and a spinning hook kick, getting the attention of the Gargoyle and doing some quick dodges to avoid the downwards strike of the halberd, then Beatrice used her soul arrows and homing soul mass to seriously damage the Gargoyle. Eskar tried to go in again but the Gargoyle got him to back away with a swing of the halberd, Oscar, however, used the chance to make a slice on the Gargoyle's leg and then roll away as it tried to hit him, Beatrice landed another heavy soul arrow, stunning the Gargoyle and giving Eskar the chance to go in with a double slice to the Gargoyles head and then doing a high kick to its jaw. The Gargoyle used it's shield and managed to hit Eskar and push him away. However, in doing so it lost track of Solaire who took the distraction as a chance to make two strikes at the Gargoyle's tail. It howled and spun around letting its tail clear the area around it and then flew into the air to try and get away from its opponents.
If it could separate them it could get the advantage, but it seemed like these four knew how to fight it, and the Gargoyle realized it wasn't doing too well, and it would be worse if it let hit it more. It soon found out that flying would do nothing for it as all of its opponents had something they could use as a projectile, Oscar and Solaire with lightning spears, Beatrice with a homing soul mass and a soul arrow, and Eskar folding back Risryn's sword in order to conjure soul darts, with the projectiles combined the Gargoyle wasn't able to stay in the air and instead it fell and crashed as it landed. Once on the ground, it tried to rush Beatrice, but instead, it was met with a soul arrow point-blank to the face and disappointment as Beatrice rolled away from its attack, Eskar then rushed it with a flying punch.
A flying punch that was charged with an Earthquake Tension art, pushed Gargoyle several feet back as it received another soul arrow to the chest and a lightning spear to the head. As it got up it noticed Eskar, Oscar, and Solaire charging in together, Solaire rushed and blocked a swing from the halberd and landed a thrust to the Gargoyle's leg while Oscar used the Drake Sword to send a shockwave that stunned the Gargoyle further, followed by a swing to its wings. The gargoyle was furious at the humans that were essentially cornering it, and so it flailed its halberd and tail.
Solaire got again pushed back by the attack and Oscar got slammed into the ground as the wing batted him aside, however, Eskar managed to remain close as he jumped over a tail swipe with a flying roundhouse kick to the Gargoyle's head, ducked a halberd swipe with a Meai Lua kick, followed with a reverse grip toe stab and then used that to land and upwards reverse grip slash followed by three consecutive slashes. However, as he was about to land the forth the Gargoyle got a hold of Eskar's blade with its mouth. Eskar wrestled with the Gargoyle for his blade, but the Gargoyle was clearly stronger as it used Eskar's grip on it to slam him twice against the ground, it was about to try and hit him with the halberd… until Beatrice aimed a soul spear at the gargoyle's tail.
The tail fell off and turned into a weapon as the Gargoyle howled in pain, then it got struck from the side by both Oscar and Solaire and let go of Eskar's longsword… and Eskar himself for that matter. Eskar scored another hit as the Gargoyle let him go, and him, Oscar, and Solaire had to immediately block and roll away as the Gargoyle unleashed a barrage of three attacks with its halberd, and then laid exhausted there for a second.
"It's tired we should finish it off no-" Oscar began but was cut off by a roar and the sound and heat of flames.
"Fire! Fire! Fire!" Beatrice yelled as everyone backed away and noticed that now there was a second Gargoyle to deal with. Beatrice and Oscar had been hit by the flames and narrowly got away with only some of their clothes burning as they rolled and then swatted the flames away, but they definitely felt the burns underneath.
"Fia de…" (Son of a…) Eskar murmured as he stared back and noticed the second Gargoyle, it kept breathing fire and getting closer towards them, as that happened he felt the other Gargoyle, and immediately did a short sidestep to avoid flying downwards strike with the halberd, back stepped to avoid a swing and sidestepped again to avoid a thrust. As the second thrust came Eskar parried the attack by sliding the blade alongside the shaft of the halberd and delivered a cut right to the Gargoyle's neck and a knee to its gut. The Gargoyle pushed Eskar aways and was about to deliver a strike until Oscar intervened and stopped the attack with his shield.
Eskar looked back at Oscar and then at Solaire and Beatrice, as they were unleashing soul spears and lightning spears at the second Gargoyle while he and Oscar faced off against the weakened one.
"It's almost dead. How do we kill it?" Oscar asked.
"We get by its attacks, and then we go for the neck," Eskar said.
"Hmm, got it." Oscar nodded as he rushed in while blocking to stop one attack while Eskar ran in the other direction and used soul darts to hit and blind the Gargoyle. On the other side of the roof, Solaire hit the Gargoyle he and Beatrice were facing and hi it with a lightning spear right in the head, and then it was followed by a soul spear directly to the chest, however, they weren't done just yet, as soon as the Gargoyle tried to get closer again Beatrice used her homing soul mass combined with another couple of soul arrows to push the Gargoyle further back. Just as it did it stopped breathing fire and that was all Solaire needed to rush in and hit it with two sword strikes.
As the second Gargoyle was being dealt with, Eskar jumped over halberd swing by the first Gargoyle and then quickly attacked the Gargoyle's side with a slash, opening the path for Oscar to go shield against the shield with the Gargoyle, pushing his way into close range with the Gargoyle and then stabbing his sword through its neck. Even as Oscar did so, the Gargoyle still fought, at least until Eskar unfolded his second sword again and stabbed both his longsword and Risryn's sword through the Gargoyle's neck. Together Eskar and Oscar twisted their blades and managed to decapitate the Gargoyle with a haunting crunch.
With one Gargoyle down they only had to focus on the last one, and it happened to be almost dead. Solaire pierced it's hidden with thrust and then used his shield to push it away, the Gargoyle answered with a heavy flap of its wings and sending a current of air that knocked Solaire on his back. The Gargoyle seemed ready to try and capitalize on it, but it got slowed down as a shockwave hit it with full force, followed by a stream of soul darts and another soul spear. With the Gargoyle basically on its knees, Oscar gave Solaire his hand in order to help him up, they nodded towards each other and together threw the last two lightning spears needed to defeat the Gargoyles. As the Gargoyle faded away, it left behind a helmet and twin humanities. For their cooperation, Oscar and Solaire also received the blessing from the God of War, Sunlight Medals.
"This medal… it's warm." Oscar noted.
"It is a sign that the God of War is watching over us, we didn't even need to be summoned into another world, this is our reward for our cooperation in our duties," Solaire said impressed.
"Hmm." Beatrice hummed as she looked over at the two of them, Eskar stood by her.
"There's one for each of you as well." Solaire gave away two additional medals.
"Us… but… we don't follow the covenant," Beatrice said.
"Hah hah hah, it hardly matters, anyone that summons and fights by Warrior of the Sun is also rewarded with the Sunlight Medals, these are indeed meant for you," Solaire said as he handed over the medals to Eskar and Beatrice, both of them noting the slight warmth coming from the medals.
"We did it, we defeated the Guardians," Oscar said as he picked up the Gargoyle Tail Axe.
"And the Bell of Awakening is ready to be tolled," Eskar added.
"It is… let us go and do what seemingly many other undead were unable to do," Oscar said proudly as the four of them went towards the tower that housed the bell and began climbing the ladders that led to the lever that tolled the bell.
A/N: You know, I did plan to make this one longer, and I am no stranger to longer chapters, oh no, yet I noticed that the chapter was already decently long and that the stuff I wanted to include were better suited for the next chapter… as if I included that stuff here, well the next chapter would have been far shorter in things I want to explore before the group hits the next big checkpoint.
That and rushing those details just to pump out this chapter would've been a disservice, so now I can do those additional scenes better.
Hope you enjoyed, review, and follow if you so desire, and I'll see you on the next one.