The Chosen Undeadby Demonfire463ChaptersPrologueChapter 1 In DeathChapter 2 A New Face, a New BladeProloguePrologue With a leather pouch of coins jingling on each of our belts, we dash down the alleyway with great speed. Well, two of us do anyway, Gorn is very slow. He is wearing steel plate armor, like the Knights of Berenike. He is very weighed down. My other companion is wearing green cotton clothes with some brown leather as protection. His name is Feighran. I wear a hood with a mask that goes from my neck to just above my nose. My black clothes are mostly concealed underneath leather armor, which is even darker. We run around a corner as we bolt for our hideout, arrows whizzing past our heads with great speed. "Hurry up Gorn!" I yell. "We need to make it back!" "He always makes it back Zander. His armor may be heavy, but at least it actually protects him." Feighran says. We both look back to see arrows being deflected by his heavy plates of steel. "There is truth in that I suppose." I say. Gorn smashes some of the town guards with his steel mallet. The guards in Carim aren't very well armed. Their chainmail armor, wooden bucklers, and flimsy iron rapiers are easy to get past for a group of advanced thieves. I throw a dagger back at one of the guards. The knife sails through the air like an arrow. The blade lands firmly in a guard's neck and blood pours out onto the cobblestone path. Feighran pulls an arrow from the leather quiver on his back. "Nice shot." He says. "Thanks." "Bet I can do better." "Is that a challenge?" "It is indeed." He notches the arrow while still running. He turns and leaps as he pulls the bowstring back to his cheek. His finger releases the flax string and the arrow flies through the air. The arrow connects with a guard's head and hits him directly between the eyes, killing him instantly. "Alright. I'll admit, that was quite a shot." We dart behind another corner and Gorn catches up. "But you have a bow, I'm sure if you threw a knife as I had done it wouldn't have been as accurate." We catch our breath. "Thieves! Come quietly and we will not kill you immediately! This is your final warning!" That must have been the captain of the guard shouting at us. Gorn peeks his head around the corner and an arrow bounces off his helmet. His head quickly comes back around. "I don't think they really feel like talking right now." "Oh you think so Gorn? Of course they don't you thick fool." Feighran says harshly. "Calm down Feighran, we can get out of this." "How?" I look around above us. "There!" I point to a rope ladder hanging from a roof. It looks a but weathered, but it's our only chance. "Gorn, you either leave your armor behind, or you make a run for it. I'm sorry friend." Feighran says. "I understand. If I don't make it back, it's been an honor. I'll run for it." "Good luck Gorn." I say. I leap fo the ladder. The fibers of the old rope dig into my leather gloves. The ladder sways back and forth under my weight, which honestly isn't that much. I look down behind me. Feighran is motioning me forward with his hand. Nearby, chain armor clinks together with men's movements. The guards are nearing our position, not good. I pull myself over the small, broken battlements on the roof. I turn and look down the ladder. Feighran is beginning to make his way up. I hear the ropes straining under his weight. Crack! One side snaps. I dive for the rope. "Gah!" I cry out in pain as my ribs hit the stone. I barely snatch the rope in time. "Zander! Leave me behind!" He tosses his coin pouch up. "I'll try to follow Gorn! Met me back at the hideout!" He hollers. "I'll try to hold them off!" "Alright!" I pull out my Bandit's Knife. The rusty blade may be able to cut the other rope, I really should take better care of my weapons. I take my small shield off my back and put the knife to the rope. After a while, the rusted blade slices through the rope. I strap Feighran's coins to my belt and run along the roof, above him. At the end of the alleyway is a dead end. Gorn's body lays motionless, a large spear stabbed through his chest and out his back. He's sitting in a puddle of blood, most likely dead. Feighran runs in the alley and turns to the dead end where Gorn's body is. The guards catch up with him. "Feighran!" I scream. "Feighran! Run!" He looks at me and shakes his head in hopelessness. He notches an arrow to his bow. A guard runs for him, I throw a dagger at his back. It lands in his shoulder. He and a few others turn towards me. I prepare another dagger, but a crossbow bolt hits me before I can throw it. Pain shoots through my right arm as the bolt connects with a vein on the inside of my bicep. Blood seeps through my cotton shirt and stains the black cloth. A second bolt is fired at me, hitting my right thigh just left of the center. "Gaaahhh!" I cry in pain again. I fall to my left knee and look at Feighran. He shoots the guards with his bow, cornered like a rat in a trap. The few guards climb over the small pile of corpses are shot in the heart or head. I stand and limp over to the edge of the roof with my small shield raised in defense. I kneel again. He reaches to his quiver, a look of terror breaches his face as his hand feels nothing. He drops his bow and runs at the guards with his dagger. A myriad of arrows pelts against my round shield. Feighran leaps into the air with his dagger ready to stab. A guard catches him on his speartip. I see the weapon come out his back. "No! Feighran!!!" I shout. I stand and lower my shield to throw a knife at the guard that killed him. An arrow connects with my jugular vein and I fall down. I bleed and hit the ground. A white light engulfs all of my vision when I make contact with the cobblestone road. I die. Author's Note Got this idea while writing Hollow, this is the prologue of the story. Just a little background on the main character Chapter 1 In DeathChapter 1 I gasp in a monumental breath of air. Breathing heavily, I look around. What? Where am I? The stone walls are damp and covered with moss. There is a small puddle in the corner opposite me and insects crawl along the walls. Up above there is an iron grate, badly rusted. The door is like a prison door. How did I survive? That arrow hit me in the throat, the other arrows hit major arteries as well. Even if I didn't bleed out that fall from the roof would have killed anyone for sure! I get to my feet. A small rat scurries through my cell and out the door. It looked like it had a bad infection all over its body. I walk over to the door. Other people are screaming and tugging at the iron doors, but they don't sound...right. They sound insane, or possessed. I get a look at someone in a cell on the right side of the hallway. His skin! It's all decayed! His eyes glow a bright red color and his clothes are tattered. He looks at me with those eyes. Those evil, hideous eyes. And he screams wildly at me. I feel around on my belt for my Master Key. Hey! My gold's gone! Oh well. I pull a large ring of keys off my belt. Brilliant! They're all here. Okay, let's get out of here then. I slip my hands through the bars and begin to try each key. I stop, the man continues to scream at me. I rip the gloves off my hands and I am petrified. "No. No!" My hands are decayed almost as badly as the man. I'm an undead! Just like in the old stories! "Be good, or you'll get the Darksign." "After his execution, he was cursed with the Darksign." I stumble over to the puddle and remove my facemask. In my reflection, on my cheek, I see a flaming circular mark. I break down in tears at the discovery of my fate. I am to sit here until insanity, or the end of the world and time itself. Whichever comes first. I need to get myself together! I must find a way out of here! I check the rest of my keys in the lock. None work. Must be a more complex lock. I try everything, busting a hole in the wall, bashing through the door, picking the lock, nothing works! Many days pass. Weeks pass. Maybe even months fly by as I sit in the corner of my cell. My timeless, stony cell. I give up. It's hopeless. End of time, I await for thee. The grate in the ceiling opens. A body falls down with a heavy thud. Wha? I look up, confused. A knight stands above the opening. He is looking down at me through the slits of the facemask of his polished steel helmet. He walks away. Perhaps this will help? I search the rotten body. A broken sword hilt. Well good, how in the gods' names will this- what is this? On the corpse's waistcloth, is that? A key! I shouldn't get my hopes up however. None of mine worked. I reach through the bars again. I fit the key into the lock. I don't know what I'm expecting to happen, likely nothing. I have completly given up hope. I lean against the door as I begin to twist the key. Left. No. Right. It turns! My eyes widen when the lock clicks. The door opens and I fall to the ground. Am I...truly...free? I lie on the brick floor. In joy, I jump to my feet. I wield the sword hilt with a bit of the blade left. One of the decayed men is standig face to the wall. He turns and screams at me. I slash at him furiously with the broken sword. I plunge the sword in his head. I pull it out and observe the gash by his eye I just created. He falls to his knees, then flat on his stomach. I walk slowly through the corridor, where is everybody? Surely the undead aren't the only ones here. At least I know where I am, somewhat. I know that I am in Lordran, in the Undead Asylum. But, is there more to Lordran? Or is Carim close to where I am? Another thing, where are my dagger and shield? I reach a short staircase that leads to a circular room. An old ladder is connected to the moss-covered wall to my right. I tentatively make my way up the ancient ladder, rung by rung, step by step, with each inch I get closer to the end of this prison. I reach the top and walk through a stone doorway. Appears to be a courtyard. Odd. Well, very little seems odd when you have lived in Carim. At the center there is a small fire with a rusted sword stuck in the center. Is all metal in this land rusted so badly? I sit down by the edge of the fire. The fire emanates from a small pile of ashes and bones. Very strange indeed, even if you did live in so strange a land as Carim. I look around. Stone structure, no roof where I am, large metal door, ancient by the looks of it, and a cage door on my right. The hinges are on the other side, so it won't open from where I am right now. The ground is shaking, and I hear mysterious crashing sounds. They sound close by, but I can't tell from what direction. With nothing else to do I stand up and head to the giant doors. I push, nothing. I push harder, they don't budge. I push against the doors with all my weight, all my strength. The ancient door groans with the task of being opened for the first time in gods know how long. I stop pushing when I slip through the doors. I take a few steps forward. It's a large room, stone tile floor, many pillars on each side, and old pots scattered throughout the room. There's something written on thebground a few feet away. I jog over to it. "Get away." I read out loud. Get away? Get away from what exactly? A giant beast falls less than a foot away from me, severely cracking the floor beneath its massive frame. A great, fat monster wielding a rock hammer or club. It has horns protruding from its head. It roars at me loudly. Agh! My ears! The hammer slams down beside me and the demon prepares another strike. I slash it with the broken sword and roll out of the way of the attack. My attack hardly did anything! Not good, not good! I run behind a pillar. The hammer crushes the pillar and several pots around me as it hits my back. I run to another pillar on the opposite side of the room. What the hell? A door it there, sides lit by two torches. Without thinking I charge through the door. The gate slams shut behind me and I feel the earth shake from another strike of the beast. I carefully walk down the stairs. Another fire! This one's unlit though. I step to it, and place my hand above the sword. The flames light. How did I even know to do that? I sit at the fire. I feel much better all of a sudden, all the pain of the last fight just disappears. My bones heal, my muscles no longer ache, is it the fire? Words appear in orange next to me. "Bonfires will heal your wounds." Well that's good to know. This area is swamped with water. Like the room with the ladder. I stand and walk to the hallway at the end of the room. Except the water here is up to my thighs at its deepest point. An arrow hits me in the shoulder and pain jolts through my right arm. I look to see a man wearing a torn waistcloth with a bow and arrow. He fires again, I dodge and roll into another room on the left side of the corridor. As I hit the ground for my roll, I land on a small piece of metal with bolts on one end. I think it bruised my side, but I'll live. Wait, my shield! How did it get here? I grab it with my left hand. Rushing out the door, I raise the small shield to my face for some protection against the arrows the man releases at me. When I reach him, he runs away and I trip over something sticking up out of the ground. My knife! Brilliant. I strap the sword hilt to my belt and pursue the man. What did we call them in the old stories? "Lest you die and live in death as the hollowed shell of your former self." Hollowed men? Hollows? Whatever, I climb the staircase and block an arrow. I run around him and stab him in the back. He doesn't get up. I feel something be absorbed from his body. It tingles a bit as it enters through my flesh. Didn't mention that in the stories. I turn around to see the door blocked by a fog. A great white light. Um...so, what now? I put my hand on the fog. I wonder. I step through. I take another step. And I'm on the other side. I turn around and the fog is gone. Well, that was easy enough. The path splits to left or right. I turn left. I look down on my right as I walk and see the first bonfire. Well, the stairs up from here are collapsed and there's nothing else here. I go back to the main path and continue the other way. Up or down the stairs. Another choice. I go down and open the cage door. Back at the courtyard. I rest at the bonfire for a short moment. I wonder if I'll have to fight that thing again. I certainly hope not, that demon scared me to death. I stand and go back up the stairs. I continue going up the stairs until I hear a click noise. I stop dead in my tracks. I look up and see a giant ball rolling down the stairs! Before I have time to react, the ball flattens me on the stairs. Well damn. It crashes through a wall at the foot of the staircase. I resume going up the steps. Another hollow. He swings his broken sword at me, I parry the attack and riposte for a devastating blow. I think I'm getting the hang of this. My back aches from the trap. Well, somewhat. Another cage door awaits at the tope of the stairs. I try my keys but it remains locked. Gods be damned! When will I find a lock I can use these keys on?! There is a grunt from the room the boulder burst through. I decide to investigate. I walk through the break and see a knight sitting on a pile of bricks. The same knight that gave me the key to escape my cell! "Ah, you're no hollow, eh? I remember you. I helped you get out." "Yes. You did. And I thank you for that, but I'm not out yet." "No, you aren't. You must defeat the Asylum Demon to escape." "Why did you help me?" I ask. He had very little, if anything at all, to gain from my freedom. I crouch down in the shallow water. He sighs. "I'll die soon, then lose my sanity. Regrettably, I have failed in my mission. But perhaps you can keep the torch lit. There was an old saying in my family. 'Thou who art undead art chosen. In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords. When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the undead thou shalt know.' Well, now you know, and I can die with hope in my heart." I stand. "What is your name, knight?" "I am Oscar, of Astora." He gives a small bow with his head, and I bow to him. "I must go defeat this Asylum Demon. Then I shall go." "One more thing, here." He pulls a green bottle off his belt. "An Estus Flask, an undead favorite. Oh, and this." He pulls a key off his belt and hands both the items to me. "Now I must bid farewell. I would hate to harm you after death, so go now. And thank you." "I shall remember you, Sir Oscar of Astora." He dies. I feel myself absorb more essence, like from the man I killed earlier. I walk out of the room and up the stairs. A hollow is there, waiting for me. He raises the sword in preparation for a downward attack. I stab him in the heart, blood seep on my knife, then onto the floor. I try the key in the lock. Success! Thank you Oscar. The walls here have been destroyed, I can look out to much of the land surrounding the asylum. Two hollows approach from a corner on my left. I slash at them and kill them quite quickly. I block an arrow and rush the archer. I step on another glowing orange message. I don't need their help, but I find myself looking down regardless. "Try stabbing in the head." It reads. I look left. Another white light, though this one is different. It is much larger for one thing. And it seems brighter too. I walk through and I'm on a smal balcony. I look down to see the Asylum Demon staring up at me. I need to act fast. I jump from the ledge. A thought flashes through my mind. "Try stabbing in the head." I point my dagger downward and land of the demon's head, stabbing it deep in the skull. I pull my knife out and fall to the ground. It swings the hammer, which I easily dodge. I slash it a few times in its stomach and it begins to bleed horribly. Its dark red blood splashes all over my striking arm and I tug the dagger from its caliced flesh. The demon flies up in to air and falls down near me. The earth shakes violently as it lands. I slash at it furiously and it bleeds again. It struggles to stand up as I continue to slice at the hulking monster. As it stands, I jump up and stab it in the heart. I forgot I could jump so high! A roar bellows out of the demon's mouth as its last breath is used for a shriek of pain. It falls to the ground, and I absorb much more of the essence than I did from the hollows or Oscar. I stare at the corpse and look at its skull. Disgusting. Around its neck is a large key on an iron chain. The body disintegrates and the key falls to the floor. I grab the key and walk to the other door. The lock is colossal! But so is the key so perhaps it'll fit. Sure enough, the key fits the lock. The moldy hunk of metal clicks as the tumblers unlock. I push on the door using much of my remaining strength. The metal hinges creak loudly and I think I broke some of the metal on the hinges but I'm finally out of there. A short staircase leads to the pure earth. The smell of wet grass and dirt attacks me. I look around, grey sky, sudden drops, and cliffs and mountains. I walk past many tombstones and swords to the point of the cliff. I stare out at the landscape from this summit. It feels as though this drop off could fall at any moment. It feels good to be free. I turn towards the asylum and bow in gratitude. Thank you Oscar. I turn around again to the drop off. What the?! Everything goes black as a gigantic raven snatches me in its talons. It carries me off to places unknown. Only time will tell where the raven takes me. Author's Note Yay Chapter 1 is finally done! This story is gonna take a while since the chapters are much longer. Tell me how you like it so far. This story is more if you're not as deep into Dark Souls as me or a lot of other bronies. And don't worry, I'll bring the ponies in soon. Please comment and like. Thanks! Chapter 2 A New Face, a New BladeChapter 2 The giant black bird drops me near another bonfire then flies off. I land on my feet and absorb the shock. I observe my surroundings. Very high up, stone arches, a well that probably dried long ago, a man in chainmail, and a bonfire. Behind me there is a large church that is falling apart and a small pool of water in a small room. I sit by the fire. A small pink creature pokes its head out from behind a pot. Well, I just killed a giant green monster wielding a hammer, and I killed it with a knife. I should learn to expect everything yet this surprises me. I pull out my dagger and the creature retreats. It seems to mean me no harm. "Please. Don't hurt me. Why does everything here just want me hurt?" I hear the creature is close to tears. I sheathe the knife. "I won't hurt you then. Come on, take a seat by the fire." As much as I would prefer to do this journey alone, I suppose I can point this creature in the right direction. Or maybe I could if i knew where I was. She sits down by the fire opposite me. "What's your name then?" "Pinkie Pie." "I'm Zander. I'm an undead. What are you?" "A pony. Have you seen any if my friends?" "Are they ponies as well?" "One of them is." She says quietly. I hope she isn't too traumatized from this land already. "I don't know where they are, but they could be scattered all throughout Lordran." "Lordran? Is that what this place is called?" "That's what that guy told me." She says pointing to the man in chainmail. "He said there are two Bells of Awakening and that one is up in the undead church and one is somewhere called Blighttown." Well good. That sounds bloody delightful. "Tell you what. I'll make you a deal. You help me through this land, and I'll help you find your friends." If they're anything like her then they'll stick out like a gold coin on a cobblestone street. "So, what do you say? Deal?" "You won't hurt them when you find them?" She asks tentatively. "Of course I won't." I hold my hand out. "So?" She puts her hoof in my hand and we shake. "Deal." I stand. "Then let's go." "Ok. There's an elevator that way down those stairs, a sewer tunnel up that hill, and a graveyard through that pool area." Sewers, disgusting; don't feel like an elevator; graveyard it is. "Let's go through the graveyard then." We walk through the pool of water and to a staircase that leads to a field of graves and stray bones. I found three black sprites near the well, just like the one that the demon dropped. I see a white flame floating above a corpse. I jump down and pick it up. It floats just above my hand when I hold it. I crush it in my hand and more of the white essence goes into my body. The bones around me begin to shake violently. I turn to run but the bones form full skeletons in front of me, blocking my path. One strikes with a scimitar, I parry and run around him. "Pinkie! Follow me! And hurry!" She follows without question, very quickly too. I charge down a staircase into total darkness. More skeletons arise, Pinkie and I charge around them. We arrive in a room with two skeletons and a few pillars, a door blocks our path now. I look around, we are trapped except for one hole in the wall. "Pinkie, I have an idea. Wait here." She cowers by the door and shields her eyes with her hooves as the two skeletons slice at me. I parry and riposte one, the other I dodge and slash at furiously. They fall to pieces. Brilliant. I walk down the ramp into the hole. A scimitar plunges through my back and I am kicked to the ground. Both skeletons are right behind me! An old man cackles wildly in the corner of the room, by a lever or some sort of switch. I throw three knives at him, all hit him in the chest. I rush him and stab him in the heart. Crazy old bastard. He drops the skull he was holding as he dies. I turn to the skeletons and kill them both again. This time I watch them closely. They remain still. That man must have been a necromancer. I look at the skull he dropped. There is a small but bright flame inside, and light shines brightly through the eye sockets. He was using a human head as a lantern? I walk to the lever. I push hardly on it and it goes inside the pillar it is connected to. A bonfire lights on my right. I sit down at it. "Pinkie, you can come down now." I shout. She walks down slowly. "You're hurt!" She says, observing my wounds and cut armor. The bonfire is slowly healing them. "I'll be fine. You should be careful though." I crush one of the black sprites and all my wounds are instantly healed. The black energy rushes into the flames and my skin feels different. "Woooooow!" Pinkie says. "What? What happened?" "Take your hood off. Your skin!" I take my gloves off so I can see. My skin isn't decayed anymore! Well that's good to know. You sure do learn fast in Lordran. I take my hood and mask off, and I put my gloves back on. "I never saw your eyes before." Pinkie says. "They were just black, with a little red light in them. It was kinda sary." She claps her hooves together softly. "No need to be nervous, I told you I won't hurt you or your friends." "I know... But I didn't make any deals with them." "I'll protect you Pinkie. As long as I live." The fire crackles and embers rise into the air above the sword. "We should get a move on." We stand and leave, careful not to wake the skeletons. We leave through the now open door. I see piles of bones and a necromancer nearby. "I have an idea. You run and I'll follow you. Don't fight them." "That's just what I was thinking. Hope you're fast." I take off sprinting. I jump clear over all three skeletons. They give chase but I'm much faster. I kick the necromancer off the cliff he stood on and into the large pit. I see a swarm of skeletons chase me and I run even faster. Another skeleton stops me at a dead end. I run the other direction, just barely dodging swords from the moving bones. I jump off a ledge and land on a small protrusion from a lower cliff. Pinkie jumps off as well. I catch her. "Are you okay?" She asks. "Other than my legs, fine." I take a drink from the Estus Flask. My wounds are partially healed. Oscar gave me a healing flask! Many thanks friend. We turn around and go theough a doorway into a long hall. The stonework is very old and has yellowed over time. Some bricks crumble and fall off the walls. I see a demon guarding over something on a corpse. I want what he's guarding. I look around for a hiding place to go after I grab it. One if the coffins is open and empty. "Pinkie Pie?" "Hm?" "I want you to hide in that coffin. I'm going to grab what that demon is guarding and I'll be in there shortly." "Uhh, okay. Are you sure about this?" "Absolutely." I have a plan. She hops into the open coffin. I charge the demon and hop over its attack. I run around him and grab the corpse's treasure, which turns ot to be three large orbs each resembling an eye. The demon grabs me with its catch pole and slams me onto the ground twice. I drink the rest o my estus as quickly as I can then hop into the coffin with Pinkie Pie. Both of us are breathing heavily, her probably due to stress, me due to the short beat down and sprint. "What are those things?" "Don't know. But they're mine now so I can figure it out. They look like eyes don't they?" "Yeah, it's pretty creepy." She says with a giggle. The coffin lid starts moving. "What's going on?" Pinkie shouts, terrified. "I don't know." I look up to just barely see two bone hands shutting the lid. "Damn skeletons." "Zander, are we gonna die in here?" "No, of course not." She hugs me close. "I won't let you die in here." I push up on the lid. It moves a bit. I shove hard on our stone tomb. The lid slides just enough for me to see the ceiling. We're in a different place now. She looks up as well. "W-where are we?" "I'm afraid I don't know." Two skeletal hands push the lid the rest of the way off. I leap out of the coffin. No skeleton, other than the giant one in a huge sarcophagus. "GAH!!!" I run backwards for about a foot then trip over a rock. I fall in water that is about ankle-high. Why is everywhere here in Lordran flooded? "What is it?" Pinkie peeks her head out and shrieks with pure terror. "What is that thing?!" "I... am the Gravelord... Nito." It says. "Zander! What is it?" "Didn't you hear him? He said he's the Gravelord Nito." "I didn't hear anything. Are you sure?" "Positive." "Come closer..." It whispers. I do as it says. I see now that it is cloaked in dark robes and is made of many skeletons. "Zander..." "How do you know my name?" "I know... more than that... young thief... of Carim..." He takes large breaths between each phrase, as though he is close to dying. "If you wish... to serve me... I shall... reward you..." "Why me?" "You have... the Eyes of Death... It is what... my covenaters seek..." "What do I get if I join your covenant?" I ask. "Join a covenant? What's that?" Pinkie asks. She walks up next to me. A sword appears on the ground in front of me. It is made of bones mostly, with a cold steel blade. "You get... the Gravelord Sword..." I look at the sword. "If you wish... to join us... and serve me... take it..." I pick up the heavy sword and a bright light shines from my right hand. "Excellent..." Nito says. "To wield it... use the souls... at the bonfire... pray for strength..." A small bone appears inside a grey scroll on the ground with something wrapped in cloth next to the bone. "Take the talisman... and my miracle... Use them... well..." I pick up the scroll and its contents. "Did you join?" "Yes. I think this is a good choice." "Why?" "Do not question my decisions Pinkie. Let's just go find your friends." She smiles weakly. "Okay." We slip back into the coffin and the lid shuts. We open the lid and crawl out, back where the coffin was originally. The demon is dormant. We sneak back to the outside ledge, and a white glow below us catches my attention. "Woah!" Pinkie says. I look and her tail is shaking wildly. "What the?" A bony foot hits me in the chest and I go flying off the ledge. Pinkie jumps into my arms as I fall. I land on my back, on the white glow. I sit up and release Pinkie. I place both hands on my back, lean back and push. Crack! Hard landing. I stand up and look down at the glow. 'Paladin Leeroy' is written in white. I kneel down above the sign. I touch the name with my hand and it disappears. "What just happened?" Pinkie shrugs. Then a white, glowing man appears. He is wearing golden armor and weilding a large hammer and a shield that looks very sacred. He bows to me. "Um..." He motions for me to bow as well, and I do. He looks down at the many skeletons below us. He jumps of the ledge and destroys them all with a single hit. Impressive, I do NOT want to run into him in a battle. He beckons me down and I jump with Pinkie. He points to Pinkie questioningly. "I'm helping her find her friends. And trying to keep her safe." "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" The paladin just stares at us in his shiny brass chainmail and says nothing. He turns and continues on. We follow him. We run into another fog door, rather large as well. He does an 'after you' motion and I pass through. Pinkie traverses next, then the paladin. This place appears to be a giant coffin or tomb of some sort. We all jump down. I jumped the farthest and land in a shallow pool of water. It is a giant coffin, and the smell of mold and decay confirm that. Not to mention the cool dampness of the entire structure, like that if a large cave. On the opposite end of the coffin room, there is a man. The paladin prepares for battle, Pinkie and I observe him. He has six arms, all o his hands have been replaced with lanterns. He is at a table, studying something, underneath many old bodies that have been strung up to the ceiling by their wrists. A white pony is strung up as well, she has a black cloth wrapped around something on her head. "Rarity!" Pinkie shouts. The man turns around. "Friend of yours?" "Yes, please help her!" "We need to survive to do that." The man looks at us with what appears to be three heads. Each face is covered by a mask, one silver one with curly hair, a bronze one with a scraggly beard, and another silver one with a gentle expression on its face. He puts his six arms together at the lanterns and a large ball of fire forms in the center. He hurls it at us and it explodes on the sacred shield of the paladin. We both charge at the fiend, Pinkie just stares up at her friend with a worried expression on her face. Leeroy slams his powerful hammer on the necromancer, I slash furiously at it. The man conjures imitations of himself and teleports away. We begin to attack all of them, most disappearing on contact. One takes the hit and remains however. Upon discovering this, Leeroy crushes the gentle silver mask. I stab the bronze mask with a throwing knife and the paladin slams the hammer down on the bronze mask. The monster yells, then disintegrates. The cloak, two destroyed masks and body disappear. The curly-haired one remains. I pick it up and remove my thief's mask. I put the mask on and fit the hood over my head behind the mask. It has leather strings on it so it doesn't fall off in battle. How handy. With the mask on I feel much more energized, much like a young child. I look up and throw a knife at the string holding the pony to the ceiling. She screams as she falls, I catch her though. She shrieks again so I set her down. "Rarity it's okay, he's not going to hurt us." "A-are you sure?" "Yep! He promised." "I didn't promise, I made a deal. Now let's find the others. How many left?" "Four more." "Ugh! Why are you all even here?" "We didn't try to come here, it was an accident." Rarity says. "And if what Pinkie says is true and you won't hurt us, I am Rarity." "I am Zander. And I don't like this." "Than why are you helping us?" She asks. I sigh. "Because Pinkie obviously knows this land better than I do, even if it's just a start. I'm horribly lost, without her I would just be aimlessly waltzing around Lordran. Now let's go find the other four so I can get you home and out of my hair. Protecting you is quite a daunting task." "Hmph. Fine then, I don't like it here anyway. How rude." Rarity says. Pinkie sighs. "C'mon let's not fight. How do we get out of here?" "Come here." I say. "Hold on tight." They grasp onto me. I crush the bone in my hands and we are sent back to the bonfire. Author's Note Okay, not 100% sure what I'll do in future chapters, maybe this story will get cancelled. I might just decide to finish Hollow first before I add on to this one. Comment on how the story is so far, hope you enjoy. I you haven't already, you should check out my other story Hollow. Just sayin, well enjoy!
ProloguePrologue With a leather pouch of coins jingling on each of our belts, we dash down the alleyway with great speed. Well, two of us do anyway, Gorn is very slow. He is wearing steel plate armor, like the Knights of Berenike. He is very weighed down. My other companion is wearing green cotton clothes with some brown leather as protection. His name is Feighran. I wear a hood with a mask that goes from my neck to just above my nose. My black clothes are mostly concealed underneath leather armor, which is even darker. We run around a corner as we bolt for our hideout, arrows whizzing past our heads with great speed. "Hurry up Gorn!" I yell. "We need to make it back!" "He always makes it back Zander. His armor may be heavy, but at least it actually protects him." Feighran says. We both look back to see arrows being deflected by his heavy plates of steel. "There is truth in that I suppose." I say. Gorn smashes some of the town guards with his steel mallet. The guards in Carim aren't very well armed. Their chainmail armor, wooden bucklers, and flimsy iron rapiers are easy to get past for a group of advanced thieves. I throw a dagger back at one of the guards. The knife sails through the air like an arrow. The blade lands firmly in a guard's neck and blood pours out onto the cobblestone path. Feighran pulls an arrow from the leather quiver on his back. "Nice shot." He says. "Thanks." "Bet I can do better." "Is that a challenge?" "It is indeed." He notches the arrow while still running. He turns and leaps as he pulls the bowstring back to his cheek. His finger releases the flax string and the arrow flies through the air. The arrow connects with a guard's head and hits him directly between the eyes, killing him instantly. "Alright. I'll admit, that was quite a shot." We dart behind another corner and Gorn catches up. "But you have a bow, I'm sure if you threw a knife as I had done it wouldn't have been as accurate." We catch our breath. "Thieves! Come quietly and we will not kill you immediately! This is your final warning!" That must have been the captain of the guard shouting at us. Gorn peeks his head around the corner and an arrow bounces off his helmet. His head quickly comes back around. "I don't think they really feel like talking right now." "Oh you think so Gorn? Of course they don't you thick fool." Feighran says harshly. "Calm down Feighran, we can get out of this." "How?" I look around above us. "There!" I point to a rope ladder hanging from a roof. It looks a but weathered, but it's our only chance. "Gorn, you either leave your armor behind, or you make a run for it. I'm sorry friend." Feighran says. "I understand. If I don't make it back, it's been an honor. I'll run for it." "Good luck Gorn." I say. I leap fo the ladder. The fibers of the old rope dig into my leather gloves. The ladder sways back and forth under my weight, which honestly isn't that much. I look down behind me. Feighran is motioning me forward with his hand. Nearby, chain armor clinks together with men's movements. The guards are nearing our position, not good. I pull myself over the small, broken battlements on the roof. I turn and look down the ladder. Feighran is beginning to make his way up. I hear the ropes straining under his weight. Crack! One side snaps. I dive for the rope. "Gah!" I cry out in pain as my ribs hit the stone. I barely snatch the rope in time. "Zander! Leave me behind!" He tosses his coin pouch up. "I'll try to follow Gorn! Met me back at the hideout!" He hollers. "I'll try to hold them off!" "Alright!" I pull out my Bandit's Knife. The rusty blade may be able to cut the other rope, I really should take better care of my weapons. I take my small shield off my back and put the knife to the rope. After a while, the rusted blade slices through the rope. I strap Feighran's coins to my belt and run along the roof, above him. At the end of the alleyway is a dead end. Gorn's body lays motionless, a large spear stabbed through his chest and out his back. He's sitting in a puddle of blood, most likely dead. Feighran runs in the alley and turns to the dead end where Gorn's body is. The guards catch up with him. "Feighran!" I scream. "Feighran! Run!" He looks at me and shakes his head in hopelessness. He notches an arrow to his bow. A guard runs for him, I throw a dagger at his back. It lands in his shoulder. He and a few others turn towards me. I prepare another dagger, but a crossbow bolt hits me before I can throw it. Pain shoots through my right arm as the bolt connects with a vein on the inside of my bicep. Blood seeps through my cotton shirt and stains the black cloth. A second bolt is fired at me, hitting my right thigh just left of the center. "Gaaahhh!" I cry in pain again. I fall to my left knee and look at Feighran. He shoots the guards with his bow, cornered like a rat in a trap. The few guards climb over the small pile of corpses are shot in the heart or head. I stand and limp over to the edge of the roof with my small shield raised in defense. I kneel again. He reaches to his quiver, a look of terror breaches his face as his hand feels nothing. He drops his bow and runs at the guards with his dagger. A myriad of arrows pelts against my round shield. Feighran leaps into the air with his dagger ready to stab. A guard catches him on his speartip. I see the weapon come out his back. "No! Feighran!!!" I shout. I stand and lower my shield to throw a knife at the guard that killed him. An arrow connects with my jugular vein and I fall down. I bleed and hit the ground. A white light engulfs all of my vision when I make contact with the cobblestone road. I die. Author's Note Got this idea while writing Hollow, this is the prologue of the story. Just a little background on the main character
Chapter 1 In DeathChapter 1 I gasp in a monumental breath of air. Breathing heavily, I look around. What? Where am I? The stone walls are damp and covered with moss. There is a small puddle in the corner opposite me and insects crawl along the walls. Up above there is an iron grate, badly rusted. The door is like a prison door. How did I survive? That arrow hit me in the throat, the other arrows hit major arteries as well. Even if I didn't bleed out that fall from the roof would have killed anyone for sure! I get to my feet. A small rat scurries through my cell and out the door. It looked like it had a bad infection all over its body. I walk over to the door. Other people are screaming and tugging at the iron doors, but they don't sound...right. They sound insane, or possessed. I get a look at someone in a cell on the right side of the hallway. His skin! It's all decayed! His eyes glow a bright red color and his clothes are tattered. He looks at me with those eyes. Those evil, hideous eyes. And he screams wildly at me. I feel around on my belt for my Master Key. Hey! My gold's gone! Oh well. I pull a large ring of keys off my belt. Brilliant! They're all here. Okay, let's get out of here then. I slip my hands through the bars and begin to try each key. I stop, the man continues to scream at me. I rip the gloves off my hands and I am petrified. "No. No!" My hands are decayed almost as badly as the man. I'm an undead! Just like in the old stories! "Be good, or you'll get the Darksign." "After his execution, he was cursed with the Darksign." I stumble over to the puddle and remove my facemask. In my reflection, on my cheek, I see a flaming circular mark. I break down in tears at the discovery of my fate. I am to sit here until insanity, or the end of the world and time itself. Whichever comes first. I need to get myself together! I must find a way out of here! I check the rest of my keys in the lock. None work. Must be a more complex lock. I try everything, busting a hole in the wall, bashing through the door, picking the lock, nothing works! Many days pass. Weeks pass. Maybe even months fly by as I sit in the corner of my cell. My timeless, stony cell. I give up. It's hopeless. End of time, I await for thee. The grate in the ceiling opens. A body falls down with a heavy thud. Wha? I look up, confused. A knight stands above the opening. He is looking down at me through the slits of the facemask of his polished steel helmet. He walks away. Perhaps this will help? I search the rotten body. A broken sword hilt. Well good, how in the gods' names will this- what is this? On the corpse's waistcloth, is that? A key! I shouldn't get my hopes up however. None of mine worked. I reach through the bars again. I fit the key into the lock. I don't know what I'm expecting to happen, likely nothing. I have completly given up hope. I lean against the door as I begin to twist the key. Left. No. Right. It turns! My eyes widen when the lock clicks. The door opens and I fall to the ground. Am I...truly...free? I lie on the brick floor. In joy, I jump to my feet. I wield the sword hilt with a bit of the blade left. One of the decayed men is standig face to the wall. He turns and screams at me. I slash at him furiously with the broken sword. I plunge the sword in his head. I pull it out and observe the gash by his eye I just created. He falls to his knees, then flat on his stomach. I walk slowly through the corridor, where is everybody? Surely the undead aren't the only ones here. At least I know where I am, somewhat. I know that I am in Lordran, in the Undead Asylum. But, is there more to Lordran? Or is Carim close to where I am? Another thing, where are my dagger and shield? I reach a short staircase that leads to a circular room. An old ladder is connected to the moss-covered wall to my right. I tentatively make my way up the ancient ladder, rung by rung, step by step, with each inch I get closer to the end of this prison. I reach the top and walk through a stone doorway. Appears to be a courtyard. Odd. Well, very little seems odd when you have lived in Carim. At the center there is a small fire with a rusted sword stuck in the center. Is all metal in this land rusted so badly? I sit down by the edge of the fire. The fire emanates from a small pile of ashes and bones. Very strange indeed, even if you did live in so strange a land as Carim. I look around. Stone structure, no roof where I am, large metal door, ancient by the looks of it, and a cage door on my right. The hinges are on the other side, so it won't open from where I am right now. The ground is shaking, and I hear mysterious crashing sounds. They sound close by, but I can't tell from what direction. With nothing else to do I stand up and head to the giant doors. I push, nothing. I push harder, they don't budge. I push against the doors with all my weight, all my strength. The ancient door groans with the task of being opened for the first time in gods know how long. I stop pushing when I slip through the doors. I take a few steps forward. It's a large room, stone tile floor, many pillars on each side, and old pots scattered throughout the room. There's something written on thebground a few feet away. I jog over to it. "Get away." I read out loud. Get away? Get away from what exactly? A giant beast falls less than a foot away from me, severely cracking the floor beneath its massive frame. A great, fat monster wielding a rock hammer or club. It has horns protruding from its head. It roars at me loudly. Agh! My ears! The hammer slams down beside me and the demon prepares another strike. I slash it with the broken sword and roll out of the way of the attack. My attack hardly did anything! Not good, not good! I run behind a pillar. The hammer crushes the pillar and several pots around me as it hits my back. I run to another pillar on the opposite side of the room. What the hell? A door it there, sides lit by two torches. Without thinking I charge through the door. The gate slams shut behind me and I feel the earth shake from another strike of the beast. I carefully walk down the stairs. Another fire! This one's unlit though. I step to it, and place my hand above the sword. The flames light. How did I even know to do that? I sit at the fire. I feel much better all of a sudden, all the pain of the last fight just disappears. My bones heal, my muscles no longer ache, is it the fire? Words appear in orange next to me. "Bonfires will heal your wounds." Well that's good to know. This area is swamped with water. Like the room with the ladder. I stand and walk to the hallway at the end of the room. Except the water here is up to my thighs at its deepest point. An arrow hits me in the shoulder and pain jolts through my right arm. I look to see a man wearing a torn waistcloth with a bow and arrow. He fires again, I dodge and roll into another room on the left side of the corridor. As I hit the ground for my roll, I land on a small piece of metal with bolts on one end. I think it bruised my side, but I'll live. Wait, my shield! How did it get here? I grab it with my left hand. Rushing out the door, I raise the small shield to my face for some protection against the arrows the man releases at me. When I reach him, he runs away and I trip over something sticking up out of the ground. My knife! Brilliant. I strap the sword hilt to my belt and pursue the man. What did we call them in the old stories? "Lest you die and live in death as the hollowed shell of your former self." Hollowed men? Hollows? Whatever, I climb the staircase and block an arrow. I run around him and stab him in the back. He doesn't get up. I feel something be absorbed from his body. It tingles a bit as it enters through my flesh. Didn't mention that in the stories. I turn around to see the door blocked by a fog. A great white light. Um...so, what now? I put my hand on the fog. I wonder. I step through. I take another step. And I'm on the other side. I turn around and the fog is gone. Well, that was easy enough. The path splits to left or right. I turn left. I look down on my right as I walk and see the first bonfire. Well, the stairs up from here are collapsed and there's nothing else here. I go back to the main path and continue the other way. Up or down the stairs. Another choice. I go down and open the cage door. Back at the courtyard. I rest at the bonfire for a short moment. I wonder if I'll have to fight that thing again. I certainly hope not, that demon scared me to death. I stand and go back up the stairs. I continue going up the stairs until I hear a click noise. I stop dead in my tracks. I look up and see a giant ball rolling down the stairs! Before I have time to react, the ball flattens me on the stairs. Well damn. It crashes through a wall at the foot of the staircase. I resume going up the steps. Another hollow. He swings his broken sword at me, I parry the attack and riposte for a devastating blow. I think I'm getting the hang of this. My back aches from the trap. Well, somewhat. Another cage door awaits at the tope of the stairs. I try my keys but it remains locked. Gods be damned! When will I find a lock I can use these keys on?! There is a grunt from the room the boulder burst through. I decide to investigate. I walk through the break and see a knight sitting on a pile of bricks. The same knight that gave me the key to escape my cell! "Ah, you're no hollow, eh? I remember you. I helped you get out." "Yes. You did. And I thank you for that, but I'm not out yet." "No, you aren't. You must defeat the Asylum Demon to escape." "Why did you help me?" I ask. He had very little, if anything at all, to gain from my freedom. I crouch down in the shallow water. He sighs. "I'll die soon, then lose my sanity. Regrettably, I have failed in my mission. But perhaps you can keep the torch lit. There was an old saying in my family. 'Thou who art undead art chosen. In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords. When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the undead thou shalt know.' Well, now you know, and I can die with hope in my heart." I stand. "What is your name, knight?" "I am Oscar, of Astora." He gives a small bow with his head, and I bow to him. "I must go defeat this Asylum Demon. Then I shall go." "One more thing, here." He pulls a green bottle off his belt. "An Estus Flask, an undead favorite. Oh, and this." He pulls a key off his belt and hands both the items to me. "Now I must bid farewell. I would hate to harm you after death, so go now. And thank you." "I shall remember you, Sir Oscar of Astora." He dies. I feel myself absorb more essence, like from the man I killed earlier. I walk out of the room and up the stairs. A hollow is there, waiting for me. He raises the sword in preparation for a downward attack. I stab him in the heart, blood seep on my knife, then onto the floor. I try the key in the lock. Success! Thank you Oscar. The walls here have been destroyed, I can look out to much of the land surrounding the asylum. Two hollows approach from a corner on my left. I slash at them and kill them quite quickly. I block an arrow and rush the archer. I step on another glowing orange message. I don't need their help, but I find myself looking down regardless. "Try stabbing in the head." It reads. I look left. Another white light, though this one is different. It is much larger for one thing. And it seems brighter too. I walk through and I'm on a smal balcony. I look down to see the Asylum Demon staring up at me. I need to act fast. I jump from the ledge. A thought flashes through my mind. "Try stabbing in the head." I point my dagger downward and land of the demon's head, stabbing it deep in the skull. I pull my knife out and fall to the ground. It swings the hammer, which I easily dodge. I slash it a few times in its stomach and it begins to bleed horribly. Its dark red blood splashes all over my striking arm and I tug the dagger from its caliced flesh. The demon flies up in to air and falls down near me. The earth shakes violently as it lands. I slash at it furiously and it bleeds again. It struggles to stand up as I continue to slice at the hulking monster. As it stands, I jump up and stab it in the heart. I forgot I could jump so high! A roar bellows out of the demon's mouth as its last breath is used for a shriek of pain. It falls to the ground, and I absorb much more of the essence than I did from the hollows or Oscar. I stare at the corpse and look at its skull. Disgusting. Around its neck is a large key on an iron chain. The body disintegrates and the key falls to the floor. I grab the key and walk to the other door. The lock is colossal! But so is the key so perhaps it'll fit. Sure enough, the key fits the lock. The moldy hunk of metal clicks as the tumblers unlock. I push on the door using much of my remaining strength. The metal hinges creak loudly and I think I broke some of the metal on the hinges but I'm finally out of there. A short staircase leads to the pure earth. The smell of wet grass and dirt attacks me. I look around, grey sky, sudden drops, and cliffs and mountains. I walk past many tombstones and swords to the point of the cliff. I stare out at the landscape from this summit. It feels as though this drop off could fall at any moment. It feels good to be free. I turn towards the asylum and bow in gratitude. Thank you Oscar. I turn around again to the drop off. What the?! Everything goes black as a gigantic raven snatches me in its talons. It carries me off to places unknown. Only time will tell where the raven takes me. Author's Note Yay Chapter 1 is finally done! This story is gonna take a while since the chapters are much longer. Tell me how you like it so far. This story is more if you're not as deep into Dark Souls as me or a lot of other bronies. And don't worry, I'll bring the ponies in soon. Please comment and like. Thanks!
Chapter 2 A New Face, a New BladeChapter 2 The giant black bird drops me near another bonfire then flies off. I land on my feet and absorb the shock. I observe my surroundings. Very high up, stone arches, a well that probably dried long ago, a man in chainmail, and a bonfire. Behind me there is a large church that is falling apart and a small pool of water in a small room. I sit by the fire. A small pink creature pokes its head out from behind a pot. Well, I just killed a giant green monster wielding a hammer, and I killed it with a knife. I should learn to expect everything yet this surprises me. I pull out my dagger and the creature retreats. It seems to mean me no harm. "Please. Don't hurt me. Why does everything here just want me hurt?" I hear the creature is close to tears. I sheathe the knife. "I won't hurt you then. Come on, take a seat by the fire." As much as I would prefer to do this journey alone, I suppose I can point this creature in the right direction. Or maybe I could if i knew where I was. She sits down by the fire opposite me. "What's your name then?" "Pinkie Pie." "I'm Zander. I'm an undead. What are you?" "A pony. Have you seen any if my friends?" "Are they ponies as well?" "One of them is." She says quietly. I hope she isn't too traumatized from this land already. "I don't know where they are, but they could be scattered all throughout Lordran." "Lordran? Is that what this place is called?" "That's what that guy told me." She says pointing to the man in chainmail. "He said there are two Bells of Awakening and that one is up in the undead church and one is somewhere called Blighttown." Well good. That sounds bloody delightful. "Tell you what. I'll make you a deal. You help me through this land, and I'll help you find your friends." If they're anything like her then they'll stick out like a gold coin on a cobblestone street. "So, what do you say? Deal?" "You won't hurt them when you find them?" She asks tentatively. "Of course I won't." I hold my hand out. "So?" She puts her hoof in my hand and we shake. "Deal." I stand. "Then let's go." "Ok. There's an elevator that way down those stairs, a sewer tunnel up that hill, and a graveyard through that pool area." Sewers, disgusting; don't feel like an elevator; graveyard it is. "Let's go through the graveyard then." We walk through the pool of water and to a staircase that leads to a field of graves and stray bones. I found three black sprites near the well, just like the one that the demon dropped. I see a white flame floating above a corpse. I jump down and pick it up. It floats just above my hand when I hold it. I crush it in my hand and more of the white essence goes into my body. The bones around me begin to shake violently. I turn to run but the bones form full skeletons in front of me, blocking my path. One strikes with a scimitar, I parry and run around him. "Pinkie! Follow me! And hurry!" She follows without question, very quickly too. I charge down a staircase into total darkness. More skeletons arise, Pinkie and I charge around them. We arrive in a room with two skeletons and a few pillars, a door blocks our path now. I look around, we are trapped except for one hole in the wall. "Pinkie, I have an idea. Wait here." She cowers by the door and shields her eyes with her hooves as the two skeletons slice at me. I parry and riposte one, the other I dodge and slash at furiously. They fall to pieces. Brilliant. I walk down the ramp into the hole. A scimitar plunges through my back and I am kicked to the ground. Both skeletons are right behind me! An old man cackles wildly in the corner of the room, by a lever or some sort of switch. I throw three knives at him, all hit him in the chest. I rush him and stab him in the heart. Crazy old bastard. He drops the skull he was holding as he dies. I turn to the skeletons and kill them both again. This time I watch them closely. They remain still. That man must have been a necromancer. I look at the skull he dropped. There is a small but bright flame inside, and light shines brightly through the eye sockets. He was using a human head as a lantern? I walk to the lever. I push hardly on it and it goes inside the pillar it is connected to. A bonfire lights on my right. I sit down at it. "Pinkie, you can come down now." I shout. She walks down slowly. "You're hurt!" She says, observing my wounds and cut armor. The bonfire is slowly healing them. "I'll be fine. You should be careful though." I crush one of the black sprites and all my wounds are instantly healed. The black energy rushes into the flames and my skin feels different. "Woooooow!" Pinkie says. "What? What happened?" "Take your hood off. Your skin!" I take my gloves off so I can see. My skin isn't decayed anymore! Well that's good to know. You sure do learn fast in Lordran. I take my hood and mask off, and I put my gloves back on. "I never saw your eyes before." Pinkie says. "They were just black, with a little red light in them. It was kinda sary." She claps her hooves together softly. "No need to be nervous, I told you I won't hurt you or your friends." "I know... But I didn't make any deals with them." "I'll protect you Pinkie. As long as I live." The fire crackles and embers rise into the air above the sword. "We should get a move on." We stand and leave, careful not to wake the skeletons. We leave through the now open door. I see piles of bones and a necromancer nearby. "I have an idea. You run and I'll follow you. Don't fight them." "That's just what I was thinking. Hope you're fast." I take off sprinting. I jump clear over all three skeletons. They give chase but I'm much faster. I kick the necromancer off the cliff he stood on and into the large pit. I see a swarm of skeletons chase me and I run even faster. Another skeleton stops me at a dead end. I run the other direction, just barely dodging swords from the moving bones. I jump off a ledge and land on a small protrusion from a lower cliff. Pinkie jumps off as well. I catch her. "Are you okay?" She asks. "Other than my legs, fine." I take a drink from the Estus Flask. My wounds are partially healed. Oscar gave me a healing flask! Many thanks friend. We turn around and go theough a doorway into a long hall. The stonework is very old and has yellowed over time. Some bricks crumble and fall off the walls. I see a demon guarding over something on a corpse. I want what he's guarding. I look around for a hiding place to go after I grab it. One if the coffins is open and empty. "Pinkie Pie?" "Hm?" "I want you to hide in that coffin. I'm going to grab what that demon is guarding and I'll be in there shortly." "Uhh, okay. Are you sure about this?" "Absolutely." I have a plan. She hops into the open coffin. I charge the demon and hop over its attack. I run around him and grab the corpse's treasure, which turns ot to be three large orbs each resembling an eye. The demon grabs me with its catch pole and slams me onto the ground twice. I drink the rest o my estus as quickly as I can then hop into the coffin with Pinkie Pie. Both of us are breathing heavily, her probably due to stress, me due to the short beat down and sprint. "What are those things?" "Don't know. But they're mine now so I can figure it out. They look like eyes don't they?" "Yeah, it's pretty creepy." She says with a giggle. The coffin lid starts moving. "What's going on?" Pinkie shouts, terrified. "I don't know." I look up to just barely see two bone hands shutting the lid. "Damn skeletons." "Zander, are we gonna die in here?" "No, of course not." She hugs me close. "I won't let you die in here." I push up on the lid. It moves a bit. I shove hard on our stone tomb. The lid slides just enough for me to see the ceiling. We're in a different place now. She looks up as well. "W-where are we?" "I'm afraid I don't know." Two skeletal hands push the lid the rest of the way off. I leap out of the coffin. No skeleton, other than the giant one in a huge sarcophagus. "GAH!!!" I run backwards for about a foot then trip over a rock. I fall in water that is about ankle-high. Why is everywhere here in Lordran flooded? "What is it?" Pinkie peeks her head out and shrieks with pure terror. "What is that thing?!" "I... am the Gravelord... Nito." It says. "Zander! What is it?" "Didn't you hear him? He said he's the Gravelord Nito." "I didn't hear anything. Are you sure?" "Positive." "Come closer..." It whispers. I do as it says. I see now that it is cloaked in dark robes and is made of many skeletons. "Zander..." "How do you know my name?" "I know... more than that... young thief... of Carim..." He takes large breaths between each phrase, as though he is close to dying. "If you wish... to serve me... I shall... reward you..." "Why me?" "You have... the Eyes of Death... It is what... my covenaters seek..." "What do I get if I join your covenant?" I ask. "Join a covenant? What's that?" Pinkie asks. She walks up next to me. A sword appears on the ground in front of me. It is made of bones mostly, with a cold steel blade. "You get... the Gravelord Sword..." I look at the sword. "If you wish... to join us... and serve me... take it..." I pick up the heavy sword and a bright light shines from my right hand. "Excellent..." Nito says. "To wield it... use the souls... at the bonfire... pray for strength..." A small bone appears inside a grey scroll on the ground with something wrapped in cloth next to the bone. "Take the talisman... and my miracle... Use them... well..." I pick up the scroll and its contents. "Did you join?" "Yes. I think this is a good choice." "Why?" "Do not question my decisions Pinkie. Let's just go find your friends." She smiles weakly. "Okay." We slip back into the coffin and the lid shuts. We open the lid and crawl out, back where the coffin was originally. The demon is dormant. We sneak back to the outside ledge, and a white glow below us catches my attention. "Woah!" Pinkie says. I look and her tail is shaking wildly. "What the?" A bony foot hits me in the chest and I go flying off the ledge. Pinkie jumps into my arms as I fall. I land on my back, on the white glow. I sit up and release Pinkie. I place both hands on my back, lean back and push. Crack! Hard landing. I stand up and look down at the glow. 'Paladin Leeroy' is written in white. I kneel down above the sign. I touch the name with my hand and it disappears. "What just happened?" Pinkie shrugs. Then a white, glowing man appears. He is wearing golden armor and weilding a large hammer and a shield that looks very sacred. He bows to me. "Um..." He motions for me to bow as well, and I do. He looks down at the many skeletons below us. He jumps of the ledge and destroys them all with a single hit. Impressive, I do NOT want to run into him in a battle. He beckons me down and I jump with Pinkie. He points to Pinkie questioningly. "I'm helping her find her friends. And trying to keep her safe." "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" The paladin just stares at us in his shiny brass chainmail and says nothing. He turns and continues on. We follow him. We run into another fog door, rather large as well. He does an 'after you' motion and I pass through. Pinkie traverses next, then the paladin. This place appears to be a giant coffin or tomb of some sort. We all jump down. I jumped the farthest and land in a shallow pool of water. It is a giant coffin, and the smell of mold and decay confirm that. Not to mention the cool dampness of the entire structure, like that if a large cave. On the opposite end of the coffin room, there is a man. The paladin prepares for battle, Pinkie and I observe him. He has six arms, all o his hands have been replaced with lanterns. He is at a table, studying something, underneath many old bodies that have been strung up to the ceiling by their wrists. A white pony is strung up as well, she has a black cloth wrapped around something on her head. "Rarity!" Pinkie shouts. The man turns around. "Friend of yours?" "Yes, please help her!" "We need to survive to do that." The man looks at us with what appears to be three heads. Each face is covered by a mask, one silver one with curly hair, a bronze one with a scraggly beard, and another silver one with a gentle expression on its face. He puts his six arms together at the lanterns and a large ball of fire forms in the center. He hurls it at us and it explodes on the sacred shield of the paladin. We both charge at the fiend, Pinkie just stares up at her friend with a worried expression on her face. Leeroy slams his powerful hammer on the necromancer, I slash furiously at it. The man conjures imitations of himself and teleports away. We begin to attack all of them, most disappearing on contact. One takes the hit and remains however. Upon discovering this, Leeroy crushes the gentle silver mask. I stab the bronze mask with a throwing knife and the paladin slams the hammer down on the bronze mask. The monster yells, then disintegrates. The cloak, two destroyed masks and body disappear. The curly-haired one remains. I pick it up and remove my thief's mask. I put the mask on and fit the hood over my head behind the mask. It has leather strings on it so it doesn't fall off in battle. How handy. With the mask on I feel much more energized, much like a young child. I look up and throw a knife at the string holding the pony to the ceiling. She screams as she falls, I catch her though. She shrieks again so I set her down. "Rarity it's okay, he's not going to hurt us." "A-are you sure?" "Yep! He promised." "I didn't promise, I made a deal. Now let's find the others. How many left?" "Four more." "Ugh! Why are you all even here?" "We didn't try to come here, it was an accident." Rarity says. "And if what Pinkie says is true and you won't hurt us, I am Rarity." "I am Zander. And I don't like this." "Than why are you helping us?" She asks. I sigh. "Because Pinkie obviously knows this land better than I do, even if it's just a start. I'm horribly lost, without her I would just be aimlessly waltzing around Lordran. Now let's go find the other four so I can get you home and out of my hair. Protecting you is quite a daunting task." "Hmph. Fine then, I don't like it here anyway. How rude." Rarity says. Pinkie sighs. "C'mon let's not fight. How do we get out of here?" "Come here." I say. "Hold on tight." They grasp onto me. I crush the bone in my hands and we are sent back to the bonfire. Author's Note Okay, not 100% sure what I'll do in future chapters, maybe this story will get cancelled. I might just decide to finish Hollow first before I add on to this one. Comment on how the story is so far, hope you enjoy. I you haven't already, you should check out my other story Hollow. Just sayin, well enjoy!
