The Abysswalker's "Pilgrim" Game

This is an archived version of FeralFront. While you can surf through all the content that was ever created on FeralFront, no new content can be created.
If you'd like some free FeralFront memorabilia to look back on fondly, see this thread from Dynamo (if this message is still here, we still have memorabilia): https://feralfront.com/thread/2669184-free-feralfront-memorabilia/.

    His head shifted under the helmet in an attempt at shaking out a 'no'. His good hand came up, and he pointed in the general direction of the cliff behind himself, at the edge of which was the nest seen before.


    "They need you there, friend."


    "I used to think they needed me."


    "It's clear that I was wrong."


    "There is an old saying in my family, you see..."


    "...'Thou who art Undead, art chosen..."


    "...In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the Land of Ancient Lords..."


    "...When you 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."


    "Ah, before I forget, here. Another gift to you."


    He drew his sword from its sheath, setting it on his lap. Unlike anything else in the Undead Asylum, it was well-maintained, and seemed to boast good health... which made no sense, considering it was metal. Nonetheless, it lacked much of the wear and chipping that everything else, from walls to people, seemed to carry by default.


    "My sword. I wouldn't dare keep it, once I've gone Hollow."


    "Use it for something good, will you?"


    He didn't wait for an answer, as he winced audibly. In a short moment of pained seizing, the sword fell beyond his knees and into the dirt. He made no move to pick it up.


    "Now I must bid farewell."


    "I would hate to harm you after death..."


    "So, go. Now."


    "...And thank you."

    He gave a nod to the knight, "Thank you." He said quietly, gently picking the sword up before he let it slide into the scabbard he had attached to his belt. It seemed to struggle for a moment before it was able to slide easily into the leather and wood housing. "Before I go on my way, might I get your name that I will remember it through my travels?" He asked him.

    [align=center]He gave another weak shake of his head, like before.


    "No... I couldn't do something like that."


    "Just forget this face, and keep walking."


    "Putting names to things would just make it harder."

    He nods slightly, "Very well then, I bade you farewell. I wish you luck in your later endeavors." He said, even though he knows that he will go hollow at some point, like the most of the population.

    The knight said nothing, and simply let himself lay against the dirt now that the proverbial torch had been passed on to someone else.


    Meanwhile, further up the hill the massive bird nest remained. The forms of two gigantic eggs were still there, but the third, black object was long gone. Before any investigation or inquiry could be made, the stillness was broken as several large crows, each easily large enough to scoop up a grown man, broke the horizon by the cliff. They rose high into the air and began to slow to a glide, after which it could be seen that they, in fact, were carrying things that looked quite a lot like people. Their colors were dull gray, more like stone than cloth, but the shapes were undeniable.


    They continued on, over the asylum, and soon vanished in the distance, taking their passengers with them.

    Whetting his lips he slowly walks up the rest of the hill, peering over the cliffside, doing his best to keep from a very, very long fall. As a shiver ran down his spine he backed up, looking around for a moment, feeling as though something was watching him.

    [align=center]...And true to his cautious instincts, he was still not alone, even on this desolate-seeming cliff, for the moment he let himself draw too near to the edge, one of the giant crows nigh erupted from the empty air in front of him. Time felt almost slowed as the beast of a bird leapt from nothing, wings spread wide and talons stretched as it caught hold of the lone Knight, swiftly tearing him from the ground and into the air where the others had gone.


    Only, in the ancient legends it is stated, that one day an undead shall be chosen to leave the undead asylum, in pilgrimage...


    He was carried far upward, high above the tallest broken spires of the Undead Asylum, where all could have been visible, were it not for the persistent clouds which clogged sightlines and obscured all that may have been seen.


    ...to the land of ancient lords...


    The clouds began to thin. An oddly warm light filtered though, foretelling the greatest of changes in quite some time.


    ...Lordran.


    The crow broke the clouds completely, and below stretched a great span of architecture. Bronze, marble and gold came together in an expansive city that seemed hindered only by the range of mountains surrounding it, from which walls had been erected. Beyond even those were more cities of gray stone and wood, and even further beyond were another layer of walls, giving way to wilderness that looked to span endlessly into the distance.


    [img width=510 height=88]http://vignette4.wikia.nocooki…/latest?cb=20131120054737[/img]





    The flight took quite some time still before the crow neared its destination, an event signaled by slower speeds, and a bit less altitude. A distinct ridgeline came into view nearby one of the castle towns, adorned by what was probably once a great church, but had been reduced to a spread-out wreck of rubble and brick. In the very center was a pile of ash, impaled by a grotesquely coiled sword.


    The crow wasted no time with ease or courtesy, and simply allowed the Knight it carried to slam into the ground as it passed overhead. It set off immediately, flying above the destroyed main building where another nest had been build near the top.


    Nearby, a short way to the left, a man donning a full suit of bare chainmail sat upon a particularly large brick. He slouched over, head in a hand, and looked at the newly-dropped-off Knight with a combination of boredom and brief amusement. The little amusement there was quickly left his face, replaced with more boredom as he turned his eyes away, staring blankly into space like most Hollows would. It wasn't something that seemed right for him, as he bore none of the physical changes that would come with Hollowing. Rather, he looked as healthy as could be.

    Groaning with the effort, he stood back up, dusting himself off slightly. He looked around for a moment before his gaze settled on the other man sitting on a collapsed piece of stone. Walking over to the man he opened his mouth to place his question. "Where am I?" He asked, his brow furrowing behind his visor.

    [align=center]He gave that smile again, though it was starting to look like more of a smirk.


    "Why, don't you see? You're in your own little slice of paradise."


    "You've arrived in Lordran, of all places."


    "Let me guess- 'Fate of the Undead', right?"


    "Well, you're not the first."


    "But there's no salvation here. You'd have done better to rot in the Undead Asylum..."


    "Well, too late now."


    "Since you're here... Let me help you out."


    "Unless you want to be wandering about without a clue, that is!"


    "Hah hah hah hah..."


    Judging by his words, sarcastic as they may have been, he was willing to help the Knight to his greatest ability. His tone, however, portrayed a man with no real motivation to do anything at all. How helpful would someone like this really be?


    ACCEPT HIS ADVICE
    YES NO

    As irked as he was by the man's sarcasm he nodded anyways. It would be better to deal with an ass than go in blind and get himself killed. "What's this.... clue you offer?" He asked, glancing behind himself for a moment before he sat down on a mossy stump, pulling his scabbard up to rest across his legs.

    [align=center]"It's not to complex, I assure you."


    "There are actually two Bells of Awakening."


    "One's up above, in the Undead Church. The other is far below, in the ruins at the base of Blighttown."


    "Ring them both, and something happens... Brilliant, right?"


    "Not much to go on, but I have a feeling that won't stop you."


    "So, off you go. It's why you came, isn't it? To this accursed land of the Undead?"


    "Ha-haah, hah hah hah..."


    He shoo'd the Knight away with a hand then, returning to his ever-so-important task of staring at nothing. He wasn't done talking, though.


    "Oh, and before I forget, the path up is off that way."


    "Plenty of you fools think to go running off over behind the Shrine."


    "It was quite the joke at first."


    "But it did get boring, inevitably."


    He pointed to a rather obscure set of crumbling steps that wrapped around the cliff on the far side of the area. Beyond it, an aqueduct could be seen by those patient enough to strain their eyes that much. Between it and the pair of speaking Undead, a wrecked well had been installed at some point, though a long-dried corpse was now slumped over the side, with a small black fog crowding it. Not too far from the well, the local Bonfire sat dormant.

    He nods slightly, "Thank you for the information." He said, giving him a slight wave as he got up and headed to kindle the bonfire, his hand resting on the pommel of the sword for just a moment. It lit up nearly immediately and he sat down in front of it, letting out a quiet sigh.

    [align=center]With the Bonfire lit and respite taken, a short moment of orange light and all-encompassing fog signals the passage of time...


    Area reset. Estus Flask restored to three charges.

    He stared at the flask for the moment, a brow in slight confusion, but he quickly brushed it off as he got up and headed in the direction that the man had pointed out. He glanced back at him for a moment, wondering if he would ever deign to become a companion on his journey.

    He made no indication that he had any such intentions, instead remaining on his brick and giving a wave of departure as a sort of pity-grin spread across his face. Meanwhile, as the Knight came closer to the ridgeway of stairs, a Hollow came rushing around the bend. With the Knight looking the other way, it latched onto his shoulders and kicked off to its left, taking them both over the ledge...


    [size=36pt]YOU DIED[/size]
    DEATHS: 1



    With the Chosen Undead slain, a short moment of orange light and all-encompassing fog signals the passage of time...


    Respawned The Abysswalker at Firelink Shrine bonfire.



    Once the friendly warrior sitting on his brick noticed the Knight moving for the first time in a while, he gave a wave and a smile just like before, though this time he was obviously holding back a great deal of mocking laughter.


    Achievement Unlocked: I am So Sorry
    "Died from something sneaky!"


    Achievement Unlocked: Welcome to Pilgrim
    "Died for the first time!"

    He shook his head as he stumbled for a moment, a low curse leaving him. A light shiver ran down his spine at the fact he had just died. His mouth set into a hard line as he unsheathed his sword and pulled his shield up before he made his way towards the corner once again.

    [align=center]From around the bend in the cliff came a speeding Hollow, who made a grab for the approaching Knight only for its hands to collide with the face of a metal shield. Its fingers found no purchase in it, and as a result its momentum carried it to the side, and it sailed over the edge of the stairs, falling down into the ravine below.


    Ahead, the movement was noticed. The ridge split into another set of stairs on the left and a rather large platform on the right, which came close to touching the second level of the aqueduct. On the first, higher level, two other Hollows stood at the top of the stairs, though they were different from the barely-clothed embarrassments that had been seen before. These wore the torn remnants of what were once uniforms of the local militia, and even had metal helmets to protect their heads. One stood at the very top of the stairs with a cracked wooden shield held in front of itself, and another hand behind its back. Further behind, another waved an axe above its head for some indiscernible reason. A warning, perhaps.