In The Land of Ancients: Chapter 2
Written By Kiyotoe
It was dark in this room after the flames had died out, and taking a step forward, I fell, loosing my footing as the floor seemed to disappear. Thankfully, it hadn't, but was once again flooded, the condensation from the walls and ceiling dripping down as they splashed into the water, letting out echo after echo. Placing my now hairless paw against the rough, jagged surface of the brick wall, I picked myself up, forcing my legs through the water as I walked along the wall, tracing my paw against it incase I might find a door or a path way in this pitch black room. It wasn't soon after that I saw the distant, weak orange light of a torch. As I reached it, there was a path way that led out into another hall way, the roof had caved in, the fogged sky aiding me with light.
Climbing over the piles of bricks and debris, I stopped as I saw yet another man, identical as I and the others as before. But, this one held a weapon, a bow by the looks of it. Excited, I started scampering up the mess a bit quicker, thinking that maybe I wasn't the only one who was sane in here. Then he raised his weapon, taking his time as he aimed, and shot at me. Thankfully, he aim was off by a few feet, and ducking into the closest cell that wasn't blocked off, I shouted at him.
"Hey! It's alright, I'm not against you!" I yelled, peeking my head out of the cell for only a moment, quickly getting back behind cover as another arrow scrapped against the brick only inches away from my face. The man hadn't replied, and I figured that if he had gotten this far and somehow found himself a weapon, there were probably others too. Taking a moment to look around the cell I was hiding in, I noticed another man, sitting with his face leaned against the wall, his back facing me as it sported five arrows. So I wasn't the first he attacked, seeing as how this one was dead. But, lying at his feet, just barely a hint of metal poked out from the shadows, catching the light from outside as it glinted. I grabbed it, and pulling from the shadows my heart skipped a beat as I was now equipped with a small, kite shaped metal shield. I guessed it was iron, considering its weight and how rusted it was. Thanking the gods for finally giving me something to work with, I took a moment as I worked up my adrenaline. Then, bolting out from the cell, I sprinting up the slippery hallway. The man's arrows bounced harmlessly off the shield as I closed the distance between us. Then I was on him, using all the weight my new, boney and fragile body had and got the man onto the ground. Raising the shield, and with a shout of anger, I brought the edge of it down against his skull, indenting his face inward as his body twitched, than lay limp.
After checking his body and finding nothing useful on him, I picked up his bow, sighing in disappointment as I examined the sorry piece of equipment. It was made of flimsy, already cracked pine wood, as were the arrows as well. If anything, this wasn't going to have much power, and I would be lucky if it didn't break the next time I stung an arrow into it. Moving on, I turned down a corner at the end of the hallway, the roof being intact here as the pathway led up a flight of stairs. But, as I passed the stairs, what I saw next confused me. Instead of a door, there was an outlined frame, but where wood or metal should have been, it was a dense fog. Setting my shield down, I took one of the three remaining arrows that I had acquired, and tossed it into the fog. I waited, and nothing happen. Nothing came out, and I hadn't heard the arrow hit either object or thing. Taking in a breath, I got up the nerve to walk up to the fog, sticking my hand through it. And as I had hoped for, nothing happen. Stepping through, I saw that I was outside again, overlooking the courtyard from above. The sword was still at the center of it, but the door I had spent so much energy on opening, was closed again.
Looking behind me, the fog had vanished, along with the pathway. Searching around, I spotted another staircase, not far from where I was. As I rushed up it, something pulled me back and flung me over the railings as a large, round object shot past where I had just been standing and into whatever had shoved me. Lucky for me I had landed on my feet, and rounding the start of the stairs again with my shield in front of me, I saw what had been hit. It was the knight from before, lying on near the new hole in the wall behind him. His armor was dented in numerous places, the green cloth that was draped over his chest being a bright yellow picture of the sun being slowly dulled away by the blood that seeped into the materiel.
"Still alive?" I asked, seeing the body twitch.
"Oh, you... You're no hollow eh?" His voice sounded calm, although the way his body was trembling, I figured wouldn't last much longer. "Thank goodness.... I'm done for, I'm afraid. I'll die soon, then lose my sanity... I wish to ask something of you. You and I, we're both Undead... hear me out will you?" He asked, struggling with his last words. Crouching down beside him, I nodded, and he continued. "...Regrettably, I have failed in my mission.... But perhaps you can keep the torch lit? There is 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." He paused, taking a moment to catch his breath through struggled gasps. "Well now you know... And I can die with hope in my heart... Oh, one more thing... here, take this." He said, handing me a strange, bright orange flask. "An Estus Flask, an Undead favourite..... and this.." He added, dropping a key down into my hand. "Now I must bid farewell... I would hate to harm you after death... So, go now... And thank you." And with that, his body stilled, his struggled breaths dying out as he lay still.
Holding up the flask, I wondered why he would give me this? Tucking it in the rags that were draped around my body. Looking around, I figured the knight would have had a decent weapon on him if he was able to survive here. And, as luck would have it, I spotted a steel short sword at the base of the stairs. Grabbing it as I made my way up, a door blocked my way. Giving it a shove, I learned it was locked, and trying out the key the knight had given me, tested it. I smiled as it swung open, leading out to a view of the outside world thanks to a broken down wall. The sky was covered in thick fog, snow covered mountains lay in front of me, seeming to stretch out endlessly. Looking down past the broken down wall, there seemed to be only one path that led into a graveyard, both it and the Asylum seemed to be surrounded by steep cliffs. As I headed down the hallway away from the veiw, I spotted another fog clouding a large door way, and stepping through it, I knew where I was.
Looking down, the floor cutting off completely as it displayed the level below, I saw the demon from before. Sighing at my bad luck, taking the flask out and slushing it around, I brought the tip up to my nose, sniffing it contents. It didn't smell bad, if anything a bit sweet. Bringing it up to my lips, I quickly gulped down all that was in it. Tucking it back into my rags, something felt different, something I hadn't felt before. Feeling a tingle in my paw, I raised it, my eyes widening at the sight. The fur on my hand was growing back, and looking down at my body, my skin was become flesh again, sprouting a light brown and grey coat of fur. What that knight had given me was something very useful, and I wasn't going to forget this favor, vowing to pay him back in whatever kind of life lay after this. Feeling younger and stronger then I had in ages, I tightened my grip around the shield and the sword, and with a yell, sprang off the edge and down onto the demon. This time, the tides were in my favor.