Previously on Dark Souls: Morgan wandered in a little too deep and got toasted by a giant lava man.
Bereft of my souls, and not too interested in wandering back into the lava giant’s domain to reclaim them, I decided that it was time to leave the Demon Ruins for now. In all likelihood, it would still be there if I came back later. A little birdie had informed me that ringing both bells had opened a fortress gate not far from the Undead Parish, so I began to make my way back to the surface.
On my way to the Blighttown bonfire, I noticed a large vertical pulley system that looked like it was built to ferry people up and down. I climbed up to it and hopped on. At the top of the lift, I found a ladder that headed farther upwards, and a small cavernous area in the stone. Entering the cave first, I was almost immediately beset by a team of blowdart jerks. I was able to take them out just before succumbing to the toxins that their blowdarts had inflicted upon me. You Died.
Frustrated that I hadn’t stopped by the closer bonfire before exploring, I hoofed it out of the Demon Ruins again, and made my way back through Queelag’s Domain. This time, I took a minute to warm up at Blighttown”s fire before heading back up the lift. I went back into the cavern, now void of blowdart jerks, and found myself a Fire Keeper Soul. This was a ridiculously valuable treasure, as it allowed me to upgrade my Estus Flask to restore more of my life with each swig. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the ability to use it on my own, so I’d have to find someone else to make the upgrade for me.
Leaving the cave, I began ascending the myriad ladders that led ever upward. It was a long climb, and I was consistently hindered by giant mosquitoes on my way up. Taking the time to slay each and every one of them was a waste though, as they were chipping away at my health at a good pace, and they weren’t quite fast enough to keep up with me as long as I kept moving.
At the top of the structure was a short tunnel infested with barbarians, who I dispatched ratehr quickly. On the other end of that tunnel, I came out in the middle of an enormous gorge. I want to say that the ledge I found myself on was about halfway down, but truth be told, I couldn’t see any bottom to speak of.
I slowly crept my way along the narrow ledge, crossing over a perilous rope bridge. I could hear a strange, repeating noise. A rumbling that came and went rhythmically. Poking my head around a cliff wall, I discovered the source of the noise: a sleeping dragon, clinging to the edge of the path I was on. Quietly, I crept closer, and noticed two things. Firstly, the dragon seemed to be half-rotting: a messy corpse of the great beast it once was. Though like too many of the corpses I’d seen during my travels, it was most certainly still alive. Secondly, the dragon was huddled over several human bodies, and what appeared to be a nice stash of treasure.
Obviously I couldn’t just ignore treasure. I sidled along the wall very slowly, careful not to make any noise, until I was basically staring the dragon right in the snout. I started collecting my bounty, a bunch of souls, a shield… as I set my hand on the sword that was laying right in front of the dragon, the undead beast roared to life and Immediately unleased a torrent of purply vomit at me. I was just barely able to dive out of the way, and another wave of icky barf was already rushign at me.
I up and ran away from the undead dragon, hastily clambering over the rope bridge and nearly tripping over my own feet as I sprinted down the narrow path. The dragon did not follow, opting to simply wait at his perch for any other prey foolish enough to get too close.
Following the valley in the other direction, I came to what seemed like a dead end at the base of a tower. Inside the tower was a mechanical lift that took me upwards. I came out in a dark cavernous area, and off in the distance I could barely make out what looked like a flooded ruin. Passive undead were all over the place here, and further exploration yielded another lift that took me up to… Firelink Shrine! Safety at last!
A mute girl here helped me to upgrade my Estus Flask, and then I started my juorney back to the Undead Parish. Again.
Tune in next week for Part 18: Dr Fangs and the Electric Mayhem