Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-14138255-20170320024103/@comment-14138255-20170428185227

Chapter 7: Envoy of the Boreal Valley, Vordt

 She began moving again, making her way through assorted cellars and rooms. However, she noticed a large storage room, and paused when she heard a panting noise. She creeped her way down, not wanting to attract any attention. She followed the sound to a small rectangular pit that had stairs leading down. Horrified, she saw what appeared to be a hollowed dog, staring at a body that was gripping a ring keys. Momentarily distracted by this, she failed to notice a hollow soldier slowly approaching until it charged, tackling her and throwing her down the stairs. The shock of falling down made her vulnerable to the dog’s wrath, seemingly maddened by her interruption of its vigil. The dog had pounced on top of her, trying to knash at her throat and face. However Pyrrha kept its head in place until she was able to throw it off. Both the soldier and the dog came at her however, and in a hurry she picked up the closest sword nearby and slashed twice without thinking. The soldier went down while the dog leaped back, at surprising distance given its atrophy. The dog leaped again, but Pyrrha brought the sword down, sending it on the floor along the floor in the direction it was swung.

Pyrrha recovered again after the battle, taking another sip of Estus although the pain was minimal this time. She looked at her sword, which was not the longsword she had been using, but a broadsword, with a more triangular blade meant for slashing. The weight and feel of the weapon reminded her greatly of her xiphos, the sword she had back on Remnant. After examining the sword, she turned to the item in the corpse’s hand, the ring of keys. She took the keys and looked at them before remembering what she may have needed them for.

 Pyrrha walked to the cell, awakening Greirat from his slumber. He got up and was surprised when Pyrrha put the key into the cell and opened the door.

“ Oh, hello, you’re back. Did ye get a chance to deliver that ring?” Greirat asked.

“ I haven’t yet, I just found the keys and thought I’d set you free.”

Greirat paused. “Huh. What changed your mind lass?”

Pyrrha hesitated as well. “You seemed honest...enough.” “ Honest? Ha! Ah, not many people have called me that.” Greirat laughed.

Pyrrha however paused at this sentence, finally replying. “Did she?” She asked sincerely.

Greirat sat still, presumably agape at her comment. “Eh, what?” He asked as though he had no idea what she was talking about.

“ The old woman you wanted me to deliver this to. I was just wondering if...” Pyrrha tried to ask, stumbling on how to word it. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

Greirat interrupted after being absorbed by Pyrrha’s deduction. “Eh, well, I just needed to tie up some loose ends. Y’know, ‘end of days’ and all.”

Pyrrha paused, having not received a clear answer, before nodding.

“ Well, you helped me, and you agreed to help me further, perhaps I can help you for a change.” Greirat propositioned, scampering from his cell. Pyrrha gazed puzzled by Greirat’s movement and followed him back up the stairs.

“ Wait, what is it you’re helping me with?” Pyrrha asked confused as to what Greirat was trying to accomplish.

“ Well you’re going to need to know where to go aren’t you?” Greirat asked. “There’s a woman here last I heard. She can get you to the Undead Settlement.” Greirat continued to move, going past the storage room Pyrrha found and out to a balcony. Following him, she got a close look at where he had stopped. The balcony overlooked a large fountain, which would have been beautiful if not for the assorted corpses and suits of armor surrounding it, ringed around the fountain and the courtyard as small fires burned, with swords and spears adorned with banners sticking out of the ground. At the top of the fountain was a statue of a thin, cloaked, and hooded boy with long hair, kneeling down and propping up a greatsword almost as large as he was.

Pyrrha was aghast once more at the devastation present in what appeared to be a once great and thriving kingdom, prompting her to ask Greirat: “What...happened here?”

“ Civil war, The Fire fading, the dead rising.” Greirat responded, completely blasé. “It’s leveled several kingdoms, ones I can’t even remember the name of. As for these sorry souls, I have good money on him.” Greirat then pointed near the fountain at a giant armored knight with a halberd patrolling the plaza, with a suit of armor with decorative wings and a shape that made it appear morbidly obese.

“ I get the impression we don’t want to tangle with him,” Greirat said, “follow me and don’t make a sound.”

Greirat then proceeded to loudly shatter the boxes next to him, revealing an opening in the balcony railing, through which they jumped down. It was a lower level of the plaza, with a set of stone stairs leading up to the main fountain area, and through it the exit. In the pit they were in, there were several suits of armor and swords strewn, the armor slumped over as though their occupants gave up and rested there. Up close she realized the suits were empty, its occupants probably having died a long time ago. The two huddled to the edge of the ledge at the other side of the stairs up, waiting for the winged knight to pass. However, behind them was a hollow soldier, assumed to be just another corpse, who got up silently and with a shrill cry lunged at the two. Greirat and Pyrrha heard this and dodged, the hollow loudly crashing into a suit of armor.

“ He’s going give us away!” Greirat hissed. The winged knight had indeed stopped its patrol, but it had not yet taken notice of them specifically. Greirat tackled the hollow and unsheathed a dagger, stabbing the hollow repeatedly as it tried resisting, while Pyrrha stood stunned, switching her view between the fight and glancing at the knight, seemingly unaware of the brawl between them, and it began moving in its normal pattern. After a scuffle, the hollow fell silent, Greirat stumbling to Pyrrha’s side with two bones in his hand, and resumed his observation of the knight’s rounds.

“ That’s...certainly something I’ll never do again…” Greirat said, somewhat shaken. “He’s moved, let’s go” he whispered.

Pyrrha and Greirat made their way, precisely slipping by the knight in synch with when it turned its corner. Making their way, they arrived to another, narrower courtyard, with a castle chapel with a large, blue window overlooking it, with the courtyard acting as a pathway between a set of double doors located below a somewhat large stairway and the chapel, and an overhead pathway opposite where Pyrrha and Greirat came from.

Pyrrha and Greirat hid behind bushes near the center of the courtyard, where two of the knights from the High Wall were patrolling alternatingly. Greirat however saw a pattern.

“ Ah, I know how we’re getting past this”

“ How?” Pyrrha asked.

“ They patrolling, but occasionally they’ll both face the same way. In that moment we dash to the other side and enter that chapel” Greirat said as he pointed to their destination.

They agreed on the plan, and once the knights had turned their backs they ran across, heading up the stone flight of stairs to the walkway overlooking the courtyard. However, as they made their way across, they found a knight walking up to the opposite side of the walkway near the chapel, which spotted them.

“ I did not know he was here” Greirat sputtered, quite embarrassed as Pyrrha readied for a fight.

The knight lifted its sword upright on the other side of himself and swung at them as he approached them. Greirat backflipped back while Pyrrha raised her shield, which pushed her slightly back. Pyrrha immediately retaliated with a slash, which the knight tanked and followed by slamming its shield into her face, slightly dazing her. It prepared for another slash, but as it did Pyrrha slashed and when it swung she ducked, slipping behind and stabbing the knight in the back, Pyrrha pushing the knight off her sword once the damage had been done. The knight began stirring, but Pyrrha leaped and plunged her sword into it before it got up, causing it to start dissolving into bright, white particles. Greirat nervously approached a somewhat tired Pyrrha.

“ My, you’re good, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone beat a Lothric Knight in personal combat.”

Pyrrha straightened and took a sip of Estus, “From what I can see they aren’t ones to be around for long.”

“ Oh yeah, ‘course that’s just a normal rule I have. The ‘pillars of Lothric’ don’t take kindly to ill-doers such as myself.” Greirat explained.

Rather quickly afterward, and after waiting for the other knights’ patrol to synch up, they entered the chapel, which was much larger than had appeared on the outside, its form hidden by being connected to the rest of the wall. The inside contained a large hall, with large wooden beams connecting to the ceiling and a large red carpet lining the middle, which lead up to a shrine at the end of the hall, in front of which was an old woman wearing a blue cloak sitting on a wooden throne.

“ Who goes there? What business have ye both?” cried the old woman.

“ Ah, I’m sorry for intruding miss. I’m Pyrrha Nikos, I was told you can get me to the Undead Settlement.”

“ Oh? Are you...yes, you must be the Ashen One.” the old woman investigated.

Pyrrha shifted. “So I’m told.” Pyrrha somberly muttered as the two approached the throne where she sat.

“ I am Emma, High Priestess of Lothric Castle. You must have been made aware: you won’t find the Lords of Cinder here, they’ve abandoned their thrones. I can grant you access to the lands at the base of this castle, where the Lords have returned to their churning homes. Please take this.”

Emma reached behind her and handed Pyrrha a small banner on a somewhat small pole.

“ Forge on through the main gate and plant this banner to proceed.”

Pyrrha took the banner and stared quizzically at it. “But, what do I do with it after?”

“ Patience child, once you raise the banner, the rest shall follow suit.” Emma provided vaguely.

Greirat then turned to Pyrrha. “Well, I believe I fulfilled my end. Do you know of a safe place I can go to wait while you go off on your merry way?”

“ Well, I’d say go to Firelink but I don’t see-”

“ Very well, sounds good enough.” Greirat said. He then fished out the pair of bones he took from his pocket. “I’ll make my way over. Here, I’ve’ a spare. Don’t forget your promise Pyrrha. I meant it when I said she needed that ring.”

“ Wait, what is this?” Pyrrha said halting Greirat, somewhat disturbed by holding a bone most likely from the corpse of the hollow.

“ Hmm? Oh, well these are what we used to call ‘homeward bones.’ Just hold them, think of a sanctuary you know of, and then crush it in your hand, you’ll be there in a heartbeat.” Greirat then demonstrated, stepping back to a kneel, muttering almost inaudibly, before crushing it, a strange bright pattern forming around Greirat before he and the pattern disappeared almost in a cloud. Pyrrha looked to the bone in her hand and pocketed it, making her way out of the chapel.

Sneaking past the Lothric Knights, she went down the stairs that lead to a large set of double doors, opened. Through it, she went into a large room, about as large as the chapel’s had been, except mostly empty and stark, lined with the same empty suits of armor as the fountain plaza. She made her way to the very end of the room, which had a large gate covered in thick, encrusted vines. She reached out to touch them, however she then felt a strange, piercing chill...and heavy breathing. She turned around and saw a large, white plume of icy vapor, in the middle of which was forming a large being. As the vapor settled, the figure was revealed. It was large and intimidating, though sporting a large belly, and having ornate silver and blue armor, with impressive shoulder pauldrons and, most prominently, a snouted, intricate helmet through which she saw glowing blue eyes, and armed with a large flanged mace. Most disturbingly however, the being was in all fours, its body positioned perfectly for the stance, seeming more a dog than a person. By then the only vapor still surrounding this beast was that emanating from himself. It then arched backward and gave a loud howl into the sky and prepared to do battle.

Pyrrha reached for her shield and sword when it charged, raising its mace for an upward strike. Pyrrha blocked it but was launched back into the gate, where the creature then grabbed Pyrrha and threw her, sending her flying and landing hard on the stone brick to the left of her, near the wall. Pyrrha got up shaken, with the dog-like knight slowly advancing on her. She reached back and took another sip of Estus, rejuvenating herself more. The knight stepped back and prepared a long swing, but Pyrrha was ready this time and dived underneath, followed by stabbing the hand the creature used to hold itself up. The creature briefly faltered from the pain, but used the hand she stabbed to slap her away. Pyrrha fell to the ground and the creature leaped back and then up to crush her. Pyrrha saw this and rolled on the ground to avoid it, being directly underneath it when it landed, completely unharmed. The creature remained still, momentarily confused, allowing Pyrrha to sit up and start slashing at the beast above her, slashing at its stomach as blood fell on top of her. The beast began reacting to the pain and abruptly turned, knocking over her over. The beast then slammed its mace into the ground and held it there, with white, icy vapor beginning to billow from the ground and the beast itself. Pyrrha scuttled away and raised her guard, but she could feel the chill, and frost began to cover her shield, even going behind it.

The mist subsided, and the beast stepped back, and without warning dashed at Pyrrha, knocking her violently aside as it rammed into wall behind her. All the air in her lungs was knocked out from the force, and she felt extremely weak, with several parts of her body numb, but she crawled up and tried to make ready for another attack the beast may make. She took another sip of Estus, but as she brought it down she saw there was very little left, probably only good for one more drink. The creature turned around and charged again. This time Pyrrha was able to leap and grab hold of the beast’s armor, hanging on as it charged towards the door. As she hung on, she tried slashing at the beast’s neck. It kept running but after a few strikes it went faster and then abruptly stopped, launching Pyrrha against the door. She fell to a heap at the base of the gate, but the beast stopped and began to inhale. Through her pained haze, she saw cold mist flowing into its face and quickly she dove underneath the beast. As she did, it blasted a plume of freezing, frost inducing air, which quickly started freezing the gate. Underneath it, Pyrrha also started freezing. Although not taking the brunt of the cold air it was exhaling, the freezing effects still took hold, Pyrrha wincing in pain as her skin became brown and hard with frostbite. Pyrrha then crawled out from the beast as it stopped breathing out and it turned around. The beast stared at her for a beat before charging again, Pyrrha only having enough time to dodge its attack. She limped back to the gate and turned to face it as it stopped. Behind her however, she noticed the entire gate was frozen, including the vines. An idea came into her head. The beast prepared for yet another charge, with Pyrrha raising her guard to bait it. The beast charged, at full gallop, towards Pyrrha. At the last second however, Pyrrha dodged, and the beast crashed into the gate, launching itself outside and tumbled out onto a broken bridge high above the ground. The stone bridge could not hold its weight, and it began to collapse, the beast only barely managing to grab hold of a stable chunk of the bridge. Pyrrha ran outside and began to attack the beast’s hand, causing it to roar in rage and pain. It swung its mace with its free hand, slamming her back. She got up however and continued slashing, the hand’s grip becoming weaker and weaker before finally it lost its grip and plummeted into the chasm past the mountain the castle stood on, roaring a mad roar the whole way.

Pyrrha panted and breathed heavily after the exhausting task of killing the monster, and she fell onto her back and rested for awhile. She was exhausted from her task and the fight against the beast. However as she lay there, she felt a sharp pain all across her body, but then she felt a strange rejuvenating feeling, all the pain she suffered during the fight had gone, and was replaced by consistent warmth. She sat up and looked at her hands, which had begun to glow, her skin fractured by glowing, miniature rivers of ember, as though her body had once been set on fire. Her body also gave off floating embers, flicking off even the parts of her body that weren’t affected.

Confused by this development, she got up and took out the banner Emma gave her, somewhat banged up by her fight. Following her instruction she raised it as high as she could, overlooking the land outside the High Wall. Beyond it was a large expanse of land, with several trees, which surrounded a small settlement with a tall manor and a keep to the right of each. Closest to the High Wall was what appeared to be a bridge, with a gate and gatehouse. It looked almost as though it connected to the castle, before the mountain the castle was built on was raised. She waited for awhile. Nothing had occurred. After awhile she began to ponder if she were doing something wrong. She set the banner down, but as she did, she noticed a thin red hand at the edge where she was standing, its owner climbing up, revealing itself to be a truly hideous creature, with a lanky white body, a cranium that was shaped like the brain that was supposed to be contained and long curved ears, a rat like face, and large bat-like wings. Three of these creatures crawled up and before she can ready her weapons, two had taken her arms and started flying with her. High above the gap separating the castle from the rest of the world. Finally she was being flown to the tower at the gatehouse and the creatures had dropped her there, Pyrrha accomplishing a three-point landing to break her fall. Next to her was a bonfire, which she lit and sat down at, resting herself and trying to recover before journeying forward, and seeking out these Lords of Cinder she was told to bring. She had a whole world to explore.

 '''Author's Notes: Chapter 7 nice and ready. A bit of bad news, this is probably the last of the backlog, and end of semester bulls*** is in full force, so there's a good chance I won't be able to update next week. But I'm hoping I can get something for you guys before long. Thank you so much for reading. See you Friday, hopefully. '''