Chapter 5 : The Curse Of The Undead Part 1

The pair made their way back up the overgrown steps, leaving both the balcony and Knight Solaire behind. Stopping at the beginnings of the burnt-out bridge.

“He’s of a... peculiar sort, hmm?” Aston directed towards Twilight.

Twilight nodded at the statement “He seems like a good man though, very polite.”

Aston made a sound in affirmative as he surveyed the charred bridge.

Nearly every inch of the bridge was covered in soot, char, and burnt remains of what Twilight thought were hollows. The soot covered masonry under her hoofs left a blackness that clung to her, and the smell of burning flesh was prevalent in the air making her gag. About half way across the bridge stood a large group of hollows, the small horde dimly moving in their direction. Most were armed with spears and shields, making her wince internally as the picture of Aston impaled on the one from not long ago entered her mind. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Aston roll his shoulder. She took a step forward only for her to hear Aston shift suddenly, she felt his hand grab her cloak and hold her in place.

“Hold lass. Look at the burns.” Aston instructed.

“I see them, they came from some battle fought here right?” Twilight offered.

“See how they overlap across the whole length? Mage-fire, pyromancy... ‘could’ produce burns like that. Only you would need a large group of pyromancers to do it. No, this is not from any pyromancy. Remember that red drake?” He asked.

“Yeah, I remember.” She said.

“I’d wager it has been here, it may perchance even roost here. If so we need to cross this bridge with care as it may come to defend its territory. I’d rather not tangle with such a beast.” Aston said.

Twilight shivered at the thought of fighting that red beast, “Nor would I... How do you propose we get across?”

“I know not of an alternative path, so we must cross in the most expedient way possible.” He said.

“So we run past them?” She said.

“No, were we to just dash past those fiends we could become trapped should there be more on the other side of the bridge. Keep the fighting to a minimum, don’t kill, just maim so that they cannot pursue.” Aston said, to which she nodded and prepared herself.
Aston nodded back and started across the bridge in a run, Twilight following close behind him.

Two undead had meandered ahead of the group to stand about half way across the bridge, Aston getting to his target first. The undead let out a growl at the man fast approaching and drew back its spear. Aston was on the hollow now and took the opening the undead had gave him to slash downward to the right, lopping the undeads spear arm off at the elbow, the blade continuing down to slice its leg off as well. The undead fell to the ground and Aston simply ran over it. Twilight had also neared her target and she launched a magic blast at the hollow. The ball of magic impacted the undead’s waist and blasted the hollow in two.

Just as she passed her undead, a new sound rang out across the battlefield. The unmistakable roar of the drake.

Both Aston and Twilight turned just in time to see the drake appear over the outer wall from whence they came, the massive reptile landing on the outermost wall. The drake simply looked at the bridge for a moment, as if it was deciding whether or not to bath the structure in it’s fire.

“Twilight run!” Aston roared as he began to turn.

Too late.

The drake brought it’s head back and she could see fire begin to spill from it’s maw, it thrusted it’s head forward, projecting the flame out of it’s gullit and towards the bridge.

‘No way we’ll make it! Think Twilight think!’

Thinking fast, Twilight called forth a great magic wall similar to the one her brother used during the attack on Canterlot by the changelings. Just before the fire reached the pair a purple dome popped into existence around them. She strained to keep the magic wall coherent as the flames flowed around the pair like water around a stone.

“Twilight!” She heard Aston call.

“I’m... a little... busy here Aston!” Twilight said back in a strained voice.

‘I can’t keep this thing up for much longer!’ Twilight thought, about to panic.

“Can you move this shield!? We need to get across!” He screamed.

“I... I think I... can.” Twilight said.

She looked towards their destination through the flames. It was a small alcove with a large statue or alter at the center. She assumed it connected to the upper parts of the burg.

Twilight took a shaky step forward and the dome of magic moved with them, each step felt like someone was hitting her horn with a sledge hammer sending reverberations of pain through her head and body.

“Almost there lass.” Aston said, the knight moving closer as the dome began to shrink as she neared the end of her endurance.

Just as the barrier was about to fall she felt the flames stop assaulting the shield. She unceremoniously let the barrier fall as fatigue overtook her. She started to run only for Aston to scoop her up in his arms and start to sprint faster than she thought possible as she heard the drake roar once more.

They passed through the archway and Aston jumped to the left and slammed up against the wall. Just as she was about to sigh in relief about not burning alive, a massive gout of flame came bursting through the archway. She watched in horror as the flames slammed against the far wall and came rushing back at them. Her vision blurred as Aston spun, putting his back to the flame as he got as far into the corner of the room as possible in an attempt to protect her from the fire. As the heat began to build her mind was taken by unconsciousness.

=~=

Twilight awoke with a gasp, her vision blurred and the smell of char filled her nostrils, nearly overwhelming her. She blinked for a time and shook her head in an attempt to clear her vision. With her vision slowly returning she took note that she felt... lighter, as if someone had removed her cloak.

“Ugh... Aston?” She called, her vision finally back to normal.

They were still in the small alcove with the statue appearing to be watching over whomever would enter. She had to admit it was rather peaceful, even though the stature and most of the room was burnt to a preverbal crisp. She also noted a bonfire she had not seen before.

“Awake lass?” She heard Aston say.

She turned her head to look at the knight, he was propped up against a wall and was apparently resting as his helm was sitting at his side along with his shield and sword. Her cloak layed next to him with burn marks covering it.

His armor that covered his arms and the large pauldron on his shoulder burnt heavily burned in many spots and the blue and gold cloth that covered his armored chest was gone as well, save for some burnt scraps, revealing the armor underneath. Over his chest sat a heavy looking metal plate with metal bands of some sort running laterally up and down the metal plate. The chest plate stopped about where she imagined his ribs would, from there down he was covered in what looked like metal scales, the scales sat on top of heavy leather that made up the waist belt lower down.

He thankfully had a slight smile on his face, signalling that he was fine, though she could see a burn mark on the back of his neck slowly receding no doubt due to the estus doing it’s work on whatever wounds he had sustained.

“How bad?” She asked.

The knight chuckled, “I’ll live.”

“What’s so funny?” Twilight asked.

The knight said nothing, opting to simply point at her.

She looked down at her self, finding that her fur was burnt in many places, giving her a near patchwork pattern of fur. To add to that her mane was about half as long as it used to be. She sighed as she cast a simple spell to speed the growth of her hair.

‘Could be worse Twilight, you could be dead.’ She thought.

“Aston... thank you.” Twilight said.

The knight looked at her for a moment before nodding, “I could hardly let you die now, could I, lass?”

Twilight gave a light laugh before stopping, “Where did the drake go?”

The knight stood up, “The beast took the the sky after it attempted to burn us to ashes without success. If you are able, I’d rather leave before it comes back.”

She nodded and stood up, taking a moment to compose herself. She asked Aston for her cloak and as he handed it to her she found herself staring at his chestplate.

“Something amiss lass?” He asked.

“Just a question.” She responded after she realised he had said something. “That... covering, that blue and gold cloth was over your breastplate, what did it symbolize?” She finished as she pulled the cloak on.

She saw Aston’s eyes gloss over, “I... I can’t remember.”

The knight absentmindedly grabbed for the fabric that was no longer there, a look of worry on his face.

“I think it was the crest of my family... or... or the emblem of the house I served in Astora...” Aston said defeated.

Twilight saw his discomfort and moved to his side.

“Don’t worry Aston... I’m sure you’ll be able to remember it all eventually.” Twilight said reassuringly.

He did not look at her, instead he simply put his helm back on his head and lightly hit the side of it to make sure everything was correct.

“Aye... Come, we’ve stayed for long enough.” He said in a blank tone.

“Sure.” She said after a pause.

Aston moved to a lever and pulled it, a portcullis sliding up that had since been blocking their progression.

“Where does this lead Aston?” Twilight asked.

He stopped as he reached an intermission between two flights of steps, looking to the right at the entrance to a tower that overlooked the bridge. Like the rest of the burge the masonry was overgrown by greenery and in poor repair.

“If I’m not mistaken, this should lead to the undead church, held within the church should be the bell of awakening.” Aston said.

What ever she was going to say was interrupted by the sound of a large animal, though she was hard pressed to name it.

Only it had more of a bass sound to it, meaning it was very big.

The stairway opened up to a large courtyard, to the right was another desecrated structure, it looked like it was once a small inn or shop of some kind. It also had a stairway up to the top of the building next to it. In the courtyard were two large fires, the work of the drake perhaps, though the flames were dieing down. The courtyard took the form of two large flights of stairs separated by a long flat intermission with a walkway above that. On the far end was another portcullis, this one raised, on the other side of that was another flight of steps leading up to the undead church.

Though it was what was at the center was what took the pair’s attention.

“Damnation.” Aston cursed under his breath.

“What is that thing?” Twilight asked Aston.

“Warboar, a creature used for siege or open plain warfare. What in the name of the gods is it doing here?” Aston wondered aloud.

Said beast was currently devouring a hollow that it had crushed underneath its massive hoofs, with a vicious pull it ripped the undead in half at the middle; the guts spilling out in a pool making Twilight gag. True to Aston’s word the beast looked like a boar, only that it was much larger, it’s shoulder had to be even with Aston’s head. It was also covered in gleaming silver scale armor, it’s tusks also had dozens of spikes along their length.

“How do we get passed that thing?” Twilight asked, voice low.

Aston was silent for a time, his head idaly drifting from side to side scanning the courtyard.

“You see that building with the stairs to the right lass?” He said gesturing to the structure, “Those stairs lead to that upper walkway above the boar, we drop down and make a run for the portcullis. Then we drop it on the boar.”

“Will that even work? That armor looks thick.” Twilight said.

“Trust me lass, this is the best chance we’ve got. That is not normal metal, it’s hardened to resist weapons and magic. Normally, to kill these beasts one would use heavy siege weaponry, or powerful magic on par with the grand mages of the Dragon School.” Aston said.

“Ok, lets get this over with.” Twilight said.

“I’ll go and grab the boars ire, you take the stairs and go up to the walkway. When I give the order you jump down and close the portcullis.” Aston said.

“What if it can’t be closed?” Twilight asked.

“Trust me lass, it can. This burg is designed to be a defensible position as well as a living area. An... intermission between the outer walls and the city proper.” Aston said pointing up to the walls of Lordran high up above.

Twilight nodded after a moment, putting her trust in the knight’s knowledge.
The knight let out a breath and began moving to get the boars attention, gesturing Twilight to move to the building.

=~=

Aston spared a parting glance at Twilight as they entered the courtyard, just in time to see the cloaked mare disappear from view up the stairs. With her out of the way he refocused on the boar, said beast still tearing at the hollow it had crushed under it’s hoofs. Steeling himself he gave a shout, getting the attention of the beast. The boar simply looked at the knight for a moment, as if it was deciding to ignore the human and continue with it’s meal, before it let out a mighty roar and charged.

The beasts hoofbeats shook the ground as Aston dived to the left as the boar tore through the spot he had just occupied. Just as he was getting up he heard a blood curdling scream that he immediately recognised as belonging to Twilight. He took a glance in the direction of the screen. He saw a glimpse of the mare, with an blot in her shoulder, staring down a armored hollow that had been on the roof.

He was about to call out to her, only to be tossed to the ground by a mighty force slamming into him, a sickeningly loud snap and a searing pain telling him that his chestplate had failed to save his ribcage from the impact. He attempted to force himself up only to be pushed back down by one of the boar’s hoofs, the weight warping the armor of his shield arm.

The boar roared into his face, coating his upper body in spittle and the gore of it’s last meal. The knight took this opportunity to plunge his straight sword into the boars mouth, stabbing through the roof of it’s mouth. In response the beast snapped it’s mouth closed, breaking the blade in half in the process. The boar reared up with a roar with the intent of crushing the knight beneath it’s hoofs.

“Aston!” He heard Twilight scream, the call punctuated by a blast of magic impacting the boar’s face.

While not enough to kill the beast, it was enough to make the beast loose it’s balance and crash to the ground. Aston looked in the direction of the blast, seeing Twilight standing in the archway bloody but alive.

“Come on! Get up!” She screamed.

Aston moved to his knees, using the tip of his shield to support him as he got to his feet; the sounds of the raging boar spurring his motion despite his wounds. He moved as fast as he could, little more than a slow walk. He heard the boar paw at the ground and that moved him to a run. As he got about halfway he called out to Twilight to close the gate.

Aston dove through the archway, just as the portcullis started to fall, the boar close on his heels.

=~=

The grinding sound of metal on metal and a crunch signaled the plan had worked. Though Aston opted to simply lay face down on the moss covered stone.

“Aston?” He heard Twilight lightly call from somewhere nearby.

Aston grunted in pain and slowly got up to his knees, caught in fit of coughing as he took off his helm, taking the time to look at what was left of his blade before tossing the useless hunk of metal away with a huff. A trickle of deep red blood coming from the corner of his mouth. Aston’s breastplate had a large dent in it, and the armor on his shield arm was warped. Twilight did not look much better. She still had an bolt from a crossbow lodged firmly in her body near her right foreleg, along with multiple bloody cuts with a particularly nasty gash across her muzzle. The armored cloak had most likely saved her from death.

In his haze he did not take notice of the flask floating near his lips until it bumped up against them. His hand took the flask from the field of magic and he looked at Twilight and nodded in thanks,Twilight offering up a weak smile in return. He took a long drink from the flask before setting it down, a grunt of pain escaping him as the ash tasting fluid did it’s work, a rib snapping back into place.

Twilight winced at the knight’’s pain before he nodded to her. She picked up the flask and was about to take a drink before Aston stopped her.

“That... has to come out first.” He said, pointing to the bolt.

She looked between the knight and the bolt in her side a couple of times, before nodding weakly.

He placed a hand on her, the bolt between his thumb and fingers.

“On three?” He asked.

With a nod she closed her eyes tight.

Aston gripped the bolt with his other hand, it had managed to puncture the cloak and bury it’s head in her flesh. The nasty thing about these bolts was the fact that the heads were barbed, making getting them out almost as painful as getting them in.

“Ok... One.” With that the knight pulled and pushed as hard as he could. Twilight screamed in agony as the point came out, taking a ribbon of muscle with it, the new hole bleeding profusely.

Twilight all but drowned herself with the flask, Aston watching the wound slowly close.

“I thought you said on three!” Twilight screamed at Aston, openly crying from the pain.

“Old knights’ trick lass.” He said as he took the flask back, “The surprise helps numb the pain. Besides, it had to come out anyway. How do you feel now?”

She huffed, “Better.”

“Good.” He said standing up.

“Your sword broke.” She said, looking at the hilt not to far away.

“Aye.” He said, “Tis but a blade, I’ll find another.”

His tone betrayed his words, she could tell he was hurt from the loss.

“Until then, I’ll make use of this.” He said, pulling the plain looking dagger from his belt.

Twilight looked away from the knight as he replaced the flask in the pouch from which she had taken it, looking towards the massive church, all the while wondering what could be held within.