In The Land of Ancients: Chapter 3
Written By Kiyotoe
Before I made contact with the demon, my yell had drawn its attention up to me. I grinned, driving my blade between its eyes as I landed on its face. Lucky I had a firm grip on the blade as I lost my footing, hanging by the handle that stuck out from its head. But it wasn't dead.
Screeching, the demon violently shook itself, twirling me about like a ragdoll as I tried desperately to hold on. As it raised its head up, I quickly regained my footing, trying to pull the sword out from its head to use again. But all too soon, it slammed its head against a wall, and I was flung across the ground. Luckily I was uninjured, quickly getting to my feet I ran behind the beast as it raised its head back. I cursed, thinking that a blade through the head would simply kill it, but in this land, I guess nothing is simple anymore. But, I still did have one trick up my sleeve.
Quickly stringing the bow, the poor wood cracking till it was about to snap, I waited for the demon to turn to face me, and as it did, I shot, aiming for its eye. But the bow snapped at the last second, and the arrow dropped lazily to the ground. Sighing at my bad luck, I heard the demon chuckle at my unfortunate accident.
"Think it's funny do you? Well this'll be just hilarious then." I growled, flexing my left paw as I concentrated. The demon raised its oversized club, bringing it down. It was a big slow weapon, taking my time as I kicked off to the right of the swing, the sluggish blow smashing the bricks below it. I gently sat my paw upon its weapon, gripping the wood. "Tell me how funny this is now miststück." I smirked as the demon's weapon went into flames. The demon recoiled back quickly with a confused yelp as its club was quickly engulfed in flames, turning it to ashes. As it looked back at me, its eyes filled first with anger, then with confusion as it saw what I was doing next.
"This is for breaking my ribs!" I growled, my left paw was held out, and in it was a small, faint ember. As I closed my fingers around it, I clenched my hand shut, snuffing out the flame with in it. For a few moments, nothing happened. I stared to fear that maybe I had lost my touch at pyromancy? Then I saw the blade that I had lodged into its head sink deeper into its thick skull, and I knew I was still as good as when I was alive. As the blade sunk in as far as the hilt, it didn't take long for the demon to realize that something wasn't right. It screeched, reaching up as high as its little pudgy arms could manage, trying to reach the blade. But I knew even if it did reach it, it wouldn't have helped to pull it out now. By now the blade was melting into the demon's head, and although when I had lodged the sword there and had failed to hit it's brain, I had made it past its skull, and that's all I needed to do as the molted metal was now dripping on the demon's unprotected brain.
So I sat, waiting for the creature to die as it flailed blindly, its limbs jerking wildly as it started to lose control of its natural functions. After a few long minutes, it finally hit the ground, its body giving one last powerful jerk in protest as it died. I tilted my head as a yellow light started to emit from its face, and as quickly as I got up, readying to defend myself, a wave of cold air shot past me as its body faded, the yellow light seeming to swallow it into a different dimension. Or a different world, place, time, blah blah blah. The hell do I know? Lord knows what goes where in this land.
As its body vanished, it left behind a key, and quickly retrieving it, I stared at the door not far from me. This one was metal, and just as the last one, as I unlocked it with my new key, it took everything I had just to open the damn thing. As I made my way past the large twin doors, I saw it was the graveyard I had seen from the floor above, and seeing as I saw nothing of a threat from up there, I was hoping there was still nothing that could harm me here. As I reached the end of the yard, I cursed yet again as it ended off the steep cliffs. But as I turned my back, I heard something come up, and turning back around to see what it was, I was imprisoned by a wave of black feathers, the screeching of what seemed to be a bird filled my ears, and I quickly lost consciousness.
Only in the ancient legends it is stated, that one day an Undead shall be chosen. To leave the Undead Asylum, in pilgrimage, to the land of the ancient Lords.
"...you are an ass! You know that? The moment I leave, I come back to you pick pocketing a probably dead guy who wasn't there before!" Came the complaints of a female voice.
"That's not what I was doing, the damn crow dropped him here. I was checking to see if he was alive or not you dull witted girl!" Came the reply of a man.
"Hey, look! He's waking up." She gasped as I was dragged over to a wall and sat up. "Are you alright mister?" She asked, gently patting my face.
I slowly started to regain my focus, opening my eyes as I tried to concentrate on the two in front of me. "Who are you? And... where am I?" I asked, shaking my head from side to side to help clear my vision.
"You, good sir, are in Lordan. And where we are, is the FireLink Shrine." The man reply with pride in his voice.
"Well, that's better than nothing I guess." I mumbled as I got a better look at the two. The female was a husky morph, like myself, but much younger. Her fur was dark brown mixed with gold, her eyes silver, her hair long and tied up in a single pony tail that hung off the right side of her head. Her attire was that of a bandit's. A protective leather vest with a small metal plate in the center her shoulders fully exposed as protective leather covered her forearms, ending in fingerless gloves. Below, loose leather pants with steel toed black boots, and a leather kilt covered in pointed metal studs, the front completely open so the wearer could move their legs around as much as desired.
And who I figured to be her companion, was dressed in a simple grey chainmail, the middle painted baby blue. He didn't wear anything on his head, he was a white human male, his eyes brown and so was his short feather tipped hair.
The male stood, walking over to a large stone and sat, keeping himself hunched forward as he cupped his hands neatly in his lap.
"Well nooby, I'm Amy, and that over there, we're not sure. Hasn't yet to give me a name." she huffed, sitting down beside me. "Whale, now that theirs more people, mind telling us what your name is?" she shouted at him, her tail twitching oddly against the wall behind her.
"My name isn't important. But you," He said, pointing at me. "There's no salvation here. You'd have done better to rot in the Undead Asylum... But, too late now. Well, since you're here, let me help you out. There are actually two Bells of Awakening. One's up above, in the Undead Church. The other is far, far below, in the ruins at the base of Blighttown. Ring them both, and something happens. Brilliant, right? Not much for you two to go on, but I have a feeling that won't stop you. So, off you go. It is why you came, isn't it? To this accursed land of the Undead?" He finished, laughing a bit awkwardly after words.
Her eyes a bit wide, Amy looked over at me. "You're from the Undead Asylum?" She asked.
"Yes, although I'm not sure how he knows that or why it matters." I replied, looking my surroundings over.
"You're the one! Oh hell yeah! People are going to write stories about us, and it's gunna kick ass!" She cheered, getting up to her feet as she yelled out another cheer.
"I'm the one?" I ask, tilting my head, a bit confused.
"Never mind the details, I need your help badly. Tomorrow, I'm heading out to ring the bell at the Undead Church, and I would be really thankful if you would escort me there." She said as she crouched in front of me, a hopeful gleam in her eyes.
"And I should because...?" I asked, raising an eye brow at her.
"There are a lot of hollows along the way, and I figured a strong, stud of a man would be more than willing to help poor, little ol me there." She grinned, tilting her head in the same direction as mine was.
"First of all, I'm no man whore, no matter how many ages I was locked up. Second, what are hollows exactly?" I asked, feeling a bit annoyed at the fact that I didn't know what anything really was in this Lordan world..
"Well, hollows are the pink guys, the ones with the funny skin. You've seen them right? In the Asylum?" She asked, squinting her eyes at me.
"Yes, I have. So they were already dead huh?" I mumbled, recalling the ones I had killed. So had that been for nothing? I was sure I had been doing the right thing by putting them out of their misery, but that wouldn't have mattered if they were already dead. Did that mean I had been dead too?
"Look, this world is falling into darkness, and I know what to do about it. And I know that I alone won't be able to help it. What that creepy guy over there said was right, we need to ring the bells first. Can you please help me?" She asked, settling down in front of me with her legs crossed.
"Tell you what, if you can explain to me what that there is exactly, and answer some of my questions, I'll help you." I said, pointing at yet another sword that was stuck into the ground, surrounded be a pile of ashes.
"Oh that? It's a Bon Fire. They help treat wounds, refills this certain type of flask," She explained, holding up an orange flask like mine. "It can heal your wounds, illnesses, poison, toxin, and so on and so forth. But not Curses. Also, there's an old item, and according to the legends, if we can get our hands on it, we can warp from Bon Fire to Bon Fire. Cool huh?" She asked, grinning as her pointed fangs poked out past her upper lip.
"What about burning off your skin? Or turning you into one of those hollows?" I asked.
"That happens when one dies. It's the last step before becoming completely hollow, before your mind snaps. But I've never heard of Bon Fires burning one's skin off..." She said, looking off in thought.
"What is this place? This world exactly?" Was my next two questions.
"This world is called Lordan, and we're at FireLink Shrine, the safest place in it that I know of, besides a place called Oolacile. Me and many others come from there, seeking out a way to keep this world from falling into darkness." She said as she stood, walking toward the middle the middle of what looked like an old, terribly aged church, holding her arms out as she yelled up into the sky. "And this is home! A place for you, me, and that creepy guy over there," She said with a grin.
"Hey!" He shouted at her.
"And possibly many others. When I arrived here, around three, four days ago, he was already here," She said, turning back to face me with her thumb pointed at the man. "And a fellow who called himself Big Hat Logan had passed through. Sold me some high powered spells." She said more to herself then to anyone in general. "Now, is that all of your questions?" She asked, tilting her head at me once again.
"One more, if I'm going to help you, where can I find some better gear?"