A/N: Yes, Yes, I know. About time I got around to updating here. Fairly generous sized chapter this time.

Regardless, this is -still- not dead. Watch it twitch.

B.W.E. Is a fan creation, and as such i make no money off of it. I own nothing but the perspective character

I glared into the darkness across the bridge. Several pair of glowing red sparks glared back. They knew I was here. They knew I knew they were there. Then why weren't they-

I felt someone poke at me. I ignored them.

Why weren't they proceeding across the damn bridge to come for me? I've only been waiting on them for-

"Hey."

It was Vince. I ignored him in favor of spanning my crossbow. The last three shots hadn't encouraged them to come, but maybe number four would-

Vince poked me again, "I have an idea-"

"I swear on your gods Vince, that if you suggest anything involving crossing that kill zone while they have casters up, I'll dump you off the bridge myself."

Needless to say, the decision to continue on had less then my full support, and I might have been feeling slightly surly. So, business as usual. Of course, had anyone else had any sort of plan on how to proceed forward, my mood might have been somewhat sweetened. Instead... well... clerics.

He bristled, "I was going to suggest that we ask for the gods power to protect us while we cross."

I paused, and had to actually put down the crossbow before I did something that I would definitely not regret, but would have Reah very sad, "I'm... I'm going to function under the assumption that you are referring to a miracle here, rather then just... praying." because if he wasn't, he was going to get a one way trip to the lowest floor.

To my relief however, he nodded, "The miracle of Force will protect us, and reflect the fiends assault."

Of all the obvious- "Sure, I had considered that, quite some time ago actually" I told him through gritted teeth, "but I ran into a problem with that strategy. Maybe you could de-bug it for me."

Vince narrowed his eyes, "What would this problem be?"

"So Force stops the first volley. Tell me Nico, what happens when they stagger the spells on the second?"

He opened his mouth, then his brain caught up and he turned slightly pale "Uh... "

"It's more or less the same reason that they haven't come for us, despite me taking potshots at them." I picked up the crossbow again and started to line up another shot, "even at a sprint we wouldn't get across before they got off at least two, possibly three shots each."

To be fair, while we would only get one, one would be all we needed to clear the bridge off. I really was going to need to procure our girl Reah something rather nice as a thank-you slash don't-hurt-me bribe. Maybe chocolates. Or flowers.

I let the bolt fly, and cursed as I heard the sound of metal striking stone.

Maybe a bow, because having a second person with a legitimate ranged option would be really awesome.

"There... Might be merit to Vince's idea." This time it was Reah that spoke.

I took a deep breath and had to remind myself to be patient with them. It wasn't that they were stupid, it was that they just weren't as nasty of a person as I was and so couldn't see the underhanded tactics I could.

On the other hand, Reah seemed to have the best head on her shoulders. She also did Stuff, which was better then the rest of us, save Oscar, could say.

She continued, "Our objective is to go down correct?"

I nodded. For some reason i didn't like where this was going.

"There is a gallery below us, yes?"

I nodded again, "blasting the floor could cause structural damage and by extension a cave in though." best to head of that train of though before she killed us all.

"Oh..." She looked somewhat disappointed. She turned her gaze out the 'window' for a few more seconds, then she nodded herself.

Ok, definitely don't like that.

"Do you trust in the gods?"

No. but how do I tell her that? I thought back to earlier, and silently cursed myself. She gave me her trust, and that was a double edged sword.

Still. I was put on the spot.

"No." The truth came out. "But I might be able to trust you."

The girl closed her eyes. "That might just be enough."

"What do you need me to do?" I asked, already knowing my personal feelings on the matter.

"I need you to vault out of this." She said, tapping that edge of the hole in the wall. She looked me directly in the eye, "And I need you to trust me to catch you when you fall."

Her plan clicked, and my heart rate skyrocketed.

I could see why she wanted me to do it rather then any of the others from a logical perspective. I was probably the most resourceful of us, probably the least likely to crack on another death if she did screw up, and with my crossbow i could divide fire making it more likely for the others to get across the bridge.

The problem was that I also knew that my loss would hurt the least emotionally if it came to that. That... stung. But i couldn't fault her for it.

I also knew that while it wasn't exactly our only chance, it looked to cost us the least amount of resources for the comparatively greatest amount of success.

I think.

I hope.

"What are you planning?" Oscar was starting to look alarmed.

"Something awesome if it works." I said quietly.

Which I was less sure of by the second

"Will it?" Reah asked sounding less then sure of her self.

Way to make me feel confident about my odds girl. "I wont say it won't." Because for my sake, it had better.

The head cleric frowned, "Perhaps you two should elucidate us on what will be happening in the next few minutes?" he made the request sound more like an order.

"Perhaps you should have a little faith." Ok, Oscar said not to antagonize him, but it wasn't Petrus putting his life on the line.

Oscar put a hand on my shoulder, "Faith is best tempered with wisdom, perhaps actually explain-"

Oh how I would like too Oscar.

"Nope" I brushed his hand off, and walked deliberately towards the wall opposite my exit."Got to be now, before I lose my nerve."

"But what are you-"

I kicked off into a run at the 'window'. Reah was next to it and had her talisman in hand, reciting a now familiar passage.

This was an awful idea.

I jumped, one hand on the ledge, and vaulted onto it, then kicked off again with my momentum.

Even if it worked flawlessly, I was probably going to die.

The crevasse expanded out in front of me in a massive gaping abyss. Only, this most defiantly had a bottom, and that bottom would be very hard indeed.

Oh god, I didn't even make a 'look before you leap' joke!

A sphere of light hurled past me, and a redish orange light burned above. I was falling, and I could hear shouting. Panic.

Isn't this the part where your life is suppose to flash before your eyes?

The orb and I were level now due to our trajectories and I saw it ripple. Fire hurled past me. I closed my eyes.

This was going to hurt like hell.

Right on que, I felt as though i had been punched by a freight train. Bones snapped, the air forced from my lungs. The second and third impacts were almost completely dull after the first, but even there I felt my right arm break on the first, and my legs after absorbing the second.

I was dying... but not dead yet.

With my remaining semi-functional arm, I ripped an estus flash from one of my pouches. It took a heroic effort just to get it un-stoppered, then I drank. Pain ripped through me again as rips forced themselves back into position. I coughed out blood. I drank again, deeper this time. My right arm mended, electing another silent whimper. I cracked my eyes open and saw how shredded my left was, it too, began stitching itself together. Another. Flesh mended and shredded and mended again as my legs repaired themselves.

This is quite possibly the -worst- thing that anyone has ever gone through.

I took another for good measure, waiting for more agony to tear through me. Instead, I actually started to feel better.

I looked up in time to see another of Reah's force spheres burst in mid air, reflecting more of the fiery bolts from the necromancers. On the bridge itself was a figure that could only be Oscar, illuminated as it was by that blazing heavenly blade.

I took another swig from the flask. If my prose was getting that flowery, I clearly took some sort of debilitating head wound.

The madness above me did serve to remind me of just why I took my little trip however, and I pulled out the crossbow. A bolt of panic ripped through me as the thought of it getting damaged finally crossed my mind, but sure enough the thing was in tact. The mind truly boggles at just how much punishment this thing could take.

As I knocked the coin and heaved, I resolved to have Reah say a few words for the weapon's previous owner.

I placed the bolt home while picking out my target. From below wasn't exactly the greatest vantage point, and I probably wasn't going to tag anything, yet that was hardly the point. I brought the crossbow up and let loose.

A necromancer flinched as the bolt struck the stone next to it and threw off his aim.

The clerics had caught up to the knight and seemed to occasionally burst with a white light, -I assumed that this was the Force miracle,- that seemed to deflect the burning magic.

I spanned my weapon again, but before i could place another bolt i was forced to dive for cover as one of the dead-raisers above me decided that i needed some attention. You know, not that I minded being ignored given the circumstances.

Cursing, I fumbled out another bolt and placed it. Another burst of magical fire blasted the stone I was hiding behind. I slammed the bolt home, and whirled.

It was a bad angle, but it was all I had. The bow snapped, and the bolt skipped off stone before smashing a lantern. Not what i was going for, but I'll take it.

I ducked back in cover to re-span my weapon. My arm ached from the strain.

Then the screams announced that Oscar had finally finished crossing the bridge.

I held my fire now that friendlies were in my target zone, and simply watched in bemusement as the neigh insurmountable caster problem promptly dissolved once the noble got into sword range.

Also, completely unrelated note; defenestration is hilarious as long as you aren't the subject getting chucked out of a balcony. I think I have my new modus operandi now. If i have a problem, throw a Reah at it. If that don't work, try an Oscar. Hell, if a problem gets bad enough, I might need to use both.

Speaking of... "I believe I have found a flaw in my plan milords" I heard the priestess' voice call over the newly made still. "While it has succeeded in dividing our foes attention, it has also split our party."

What.

Oh.

"Damn it!"

I kicked my brain into high gear. So far all we had seen was skeletons and necromancers. The Blackheart was keeping to itself for now, but given that it was an opportunistic bastard chances were good that was going to change relatively shortly.

"Stay where you are, we will find a way down and across!" Oscar hollered.

Ahahah no.

"Oscar, If you'll remember our tall dark 'friend' for a moment, you should see why staying put would not be in my best interests!"

While staying in place would make it easier to find me, one must also keep in mind that being found is only a good thing if the clerics are the ones to do it.

A slight pause, "Fair point!" Oscar came to the same conclusions, "however if you were to move towards us, it would be fairly easy to set up an ambush!"

And like that, all my paranoia switches come online. Bastard.

"I don't think I like you very much Oscar!"

"Dreadfully sorry about that!" His voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Perhaps we should decide on how best to re-establish our party so that you might express yourself without shouting!"

Of all the things he could pick up off of me, it would be sarcasm.

It was a point though. We had hardly been stealthy in our decent, and Reah's little trick would have highlighted me pretty blatantly for anything that happened to be watching. Plus, you know, this shouting back and forth were probably not doing us any favors in that regard. While I don't think that -all- of the necromancers in this forsaken hole knew where we were exactly, the Black Knight most definitely would.

Or at least, i had to assume so. It was the worst case scenario after all.

...

Second worst case scenario.

"Start finding your way down!" I called, "I'll keep moving slowly, with luck, you all not needing to creep around will let you gain on me."

"I don't like this plan!"

"I don't think I've got a choice in the matter!" Well, I sort of did, but frankly they added up to 'die tired' and 'die terrified'. "The closest thing I think I have to a chance is to have us both move and hope that Tall Boy decides to keep an eye on you guys rather then me!" Of course that just means that I pick both but in a manor that felt a little bit more on my terms.

"Can't chase two hares without losing both!" Oscar noted, "I still don't like it!"

"Just get moving, Oscar!" I groused, "And make enough noise that I can hear you coming!"

"I don't like that plan!" It was Reah this time. Good, maybe if she ends up surviving this, I might be able to corrupt her into becoming a more sensible person.

"You have meat shields, I don't!" Ignoring the shouts of protest, I called up again, "Bye now!"

I stepped though a darkened archway and quieted my breathing as much as possible. The room was a largish mausoleum, filled with stone coffins. I brushed the top of the nearest with a pair of fingers. Really dusty, and a touch comparison with the filigree in my pocket indicated that the place had remained un-looted.

Now, I could think of a couple of reasons for this. Frankly, neither of them pleased me very much.

The first was that the necromancers hadn't gotten this far. Now, if they were normal looters, I'd discount this at once given that delving for the richest treasures would be top priority. Given that the corpses were probably just as valuable if not more so to these particular looters, the upper floors could very well have kept them busy depending on how long they've been camped in here and how many of them there were.

I unsheathed my sword, and called my flamed to the palm of my shield hand..

The other was that something was parked in here for an extended period and the whatever-it-was did not like company. Alternatively, it like company so much that it decided not to let them leave. Neither was something I wanted to share tea with.

I closed my eyes, and concentrated on the hunger. If I was right in my assessment of it, it would draw me towards anything with a strong soul, with special consideration for Pinwheel. Now, depending on how it worked...

My heart rate spiked and my eyes burst open.

Something strong was lurking just ahead of me. It didn't pull on me quite as hard as Oscar, but that's like comparing a steak dinner to a perfectly cooked halibut. I peered into the darkness, and slowly I began to discern a large shape. It was hunched, and seemed to have a sphere, no, a ring floating above its head.

Or a crescent...

Memories burned, and I realized that i had stumbled into the room with the Titanite Demon.

This... brought up an interesting possibility. If the Demon was here, then the coffin to Nito's domain might be here too. Now, Nito was a pretty chill guy in the games, so it might be possible that he'd be willing to help a guy out. Particularly if said guy offered to kill necromancers desecrating his city. If he received aid.

Maybe.

Of course, I also kept in mind that Eyes of Death were required to get into the covenant in game. While I was pretty sure that such things weren't totally necessary, good etiquette would probably get me further then kicking down the metaphorical door.

If the Demon was here, and Nito's coffin was here, and the area had remained pretty much untouched, then I might get lucky and find a couple of Eyes... on the other side of that demon.

I debated my course of action and decided that not getting rag-dolled by the horrible stone slash metal monster was probably in my best interest.

...

Then why, I reflected, were my feet carrying me forward, towards the demon? Oh right, because I'm a greedy bastard, with far too little self preservation instinct. Why though?

I'd seriously need to consider that question later, but for now, delaying my suicide seemed the bigger concern.

What did the demon have in it's repertoire? Bolts of lightning for one, and I had to assume that they would wreck me as badly as any of Reah's miracles. It was massive, and had serious reach with that pole. It had a tail if I could remember right, though I couldn't see it from here. It did have two arms, so grappling could be a thing that would ruin my day.

It was made of stone and metal, so the sword probably wasn't the best thing I could be doing. Fire might be a thing, depending on the melting point of the metals. The hall it was in was cramped, so it's catch pole would hinder it as long as I kept the fight there. I could see that it was missing a leg just as in the game, so mobility would be more limited.

Conclusion? I would have a hell of a time hurting it let alone killing it. So given that, what are my choices?

I could leave, which would be awesome. If, you know, i wasn't such a greedy bastard.

I could try and get around it. Now, it's pretty big, so that will take some doing, but the real trick it what comes after that when it knows I'm there and I may or may not have anywhere to go.

I could lure it out, and try some kind of sneakiness but that would involve me and it sharing a room where it could use that catch pole to it's full effectiveness.

The problem, I reflected, was that I really didn't know anything about what I was up against. I couldn't really formulate a plan. Sure, I knew what it could do in a game, and I could make a few educated guesses

I halted my footsteps with a heroic effort.

Ok, aside from leaving, luring it away seems like the option with the greatest amount of success, given that fighting would end with me as a smear, and getting around it would end with me smeared from behind. Probably.

I knocked back a bolt, and fired at the thing speculatively.

Frankly, with how big a target it was, I was hardly going to miss, and I tensed as the bolt slammed home sticking into it's chest.

And nothing happened.

I knocked another. Maybe it was broke?

Fire. No response.

"Huh." I noted quietly, and started forward again, still cautiously and trying to make as little noise as possible.

Nothing.

My paranoia levels were through the roof at this point.

I finally had closed up with the demon, and what I found was somewhat disturbing.

The demon was covered with the same kind of filigree as the rest of the room. The difference was that these delicate vines seemed to pulse with magic. A bit of further inspection showed that the demon really did want to crush me, it's ore based muscles straining against the mocking cage of filigree.

Something wanted me down here and wasn't about to let this thing kill me.

Dots started connecting.

The filigree had expanded the who city, and was coating this demon. Now, while mundane sources could be behind the stuff on the walls, the demon was an entirely different matter.

The soul hunger was new, only appearing after I had died down here, and it seems to have completely subsumed my hunger for humanity. Or if not subsumed it, made it seem irrelevant by comparison. This indicated something powerful, and probably scary.

The hunger itself was drawing me towards powerful souls yes, but it seemed to be pulling me towards Pinwheel in particular.

Whatever magic put the filigree on the demon wants me in one piece. That suggests that I'm either doing what it wants, or it's made me a pawn somehow. Given that the only notable thing I'm doing here on my own relativity free will is finding the rite of kindling, the same thing that wants me to kill Pinwheel probably is pulling the demons strings.

The Catacombs were Gravelord Nito's domain.

I grimaced. I was being played like a fiddle, and it took me this long to figure out that very little of it was my own idea. I also had a difficult time deciding whether this was 'just as planed' for me as well, or my absolute worst case scenario made manifest.

I put all that out of my mind. I'd been more or less pushed across the Rubicon at this point, so now I had just had to hope my dice didn't roll snake eyes.

Of course, even if they did i had a sneaking suspicion that I would get up again to regret it later.

Confident that the demon wasn't going to crush me this time, I put away my weapons, and trotted down the hall.

I passed several open coffins, all in fairly good repair, and made a note of them. Probably how to have my audience with the Gravelord. Nap in a coffin.

Before too much longer, I'd hit the end of the hallway, and found a small alter with a bag of small calcified 'eyes' to the side of it. They didn't look too much like how i remembered the graphic, but I didn't see anything else that seemed to fit the bill, so i shrugged and started back towards the coffins.

I was just mentally preparing myself to get in when I heard a large crash from down the hall. Sounded far too loud to be Oscar and co. No human voices.

My blood froze, and I leaped into a coffin.

Five seconds. I heard a faint grinding noise of metal on stone.

Ten seconds, another crash, this one sounding different, and also much closer

fifteen seconds, the catch pole came into veiw, and the demons crawled behind it.

It arced its shattered head slowly side to side, and though trying to see or listen. I could see debris falling off of it. I realized with a start that the bits and pieces falling off of it were the filigree.

The demon was no longer my 'friend'.

Twenty five seconds, the demon scraped out of view, and I made a barely audible sigh of relive.

Thirty seconds, just as the coffin started to shut, a black horned helmet loomed in the darkness above, with an axe raised above its head.

As the axe rebounded from the closed lid, again and again, shaking the coffin as the thing from nightmares hewed away at it, I started to scream.

The impacts stopped long before my screaming did, and it was even longer until the coffin lid finally creaked open again.

What it opened to was vastly different however.

Where there was once a stone hallway, there was now a bleak cave. Getting out of the coffin revealed that it was simply laying in the middle of floor, no lift mechanisms, nothing.

I was seriously unsure whether I liked that or not. It also highlighted just how little about magic I knew. Pushing the thoughts aside, I started onward. The Gravelord was waiting, and frankly I wanted to get this over with.

"Abomination."

I halted mid-step.

That voice resounded with a hundred individuals. All ages, all genders, all species and cloaked with the sound of death itself.

This was a terrible idea.

I pivoted on my other heel... and the coffin was gone.

"Darkspawn."

That twisted voice was growing closer, and it did not sound pleased. I gagged on the smell of lingering death. I looked around, frantic. This was not where I wanted to be. This was a terrible place. I needed to run, hide, escape.

"That which should not be."

But there was none to be found. I turned again, unwillingly, to find myself staring into the cloak of terror.

Gravelord Nito. First of the Dead. Lord of the Catacombs, and the Tomb of the Giants.

I couldn't speak. I felt the claws of death wrapped around my soul, and I knew that my fears had been confirmed.

"Thou hast not destroyed the traitor." The grasp was tighter, my sight hazed. "Inability, or lack of opportunity?"

I writhed, for what else could i do? The power of the Gravelord was so immense, it was impossible for me to stand against.

"I shall choose to be charitable."

The pressure eased, and I gasped for breath.

"Speak, Aberration. Tell me why thou hast come to seek audience with the Gravelord."

A million things blazed across my mind. I had forgotten that this was not a meeting between peers. I had something that Nito needed, but that did not mean that I was in a position of any strength. I was also aware, now, that if I turned out to be a... poor investment so to speak, the Lord would snuff me out and find someone else more suitable.

"I require aid."

They were dangerous words, but truthful. I just hoped that admitting my weakness didn't cause this being to fast-track onto a decision to eliminate me.

Nito considered me, flexing a skeletal hand "Elaborate."

So far so good, "My strengths lay in cunning and subversion Gravelord. Yet the task I have at hand has obstacles that can only be vanquished with power."

The dozen skulls nodded slowly.

"Err" Skulls were notoriously difficult to read. "A great spirit, sealed within black armour seeks our demise." The Great lord remained silent, so I took it as him wanting me to continue, "My allies have the strength of arms to vanquish it, yet it is too cunning to confront us directly. I wish to destroy it, that we might complete our quest unassailed."

"The remnant has been a thorn..." Nito noted. "It's destruction would... be favorably received..."

My heart leaped. Did this mean that I'd-

"My reach has... diminished. Which is why thou art required." Nito rasped, "Thou shalt find a way." The tone of the voices told me clear as day that the phrase was an order, not a platitude.

God damn it.

"Do not think... I shall not grant thou aid." The mountainous corpse turned, and gestured for me to follow.

My feet stepped forward despite my inward protests.

"If thou art cunning, then thy greatest weapon is... knowledge." The ancient lord led me to a massive coffin at the back of the cave, "Know first, I would have you succeed."

I remained silent. That really was a comforting bit of information to know, though I couldn't see how it was particularly relevant. It did make me more inclined to take anything I learned here to heart though. If the gravelord thought that what he had to say was worth knowing for my task, then I certainly wasn't going to argue.

"Know second, I would have thee succeed in both the endeavor that brought thee to my domain... and the task I have set out." Nito's arm twitched slightly, gesturing the direction he wished me to follow, "Once the white clerics have claimed what they seek, they shall come to seek no more."

I bobbed my head a little bit, "Would I be correct in my guess that by solving one, I have an opportunity at the other?"

The mound of corpses nodded.

Now, to confirm if my guess about the pinwheels location is correct.

"Where, gravelord would I find the Pinwheel"

Nito halted abruptly.

Crap. Nito had never told anything about the traitor, and 'pinwheel' would be a name based on it's appearance.

"What do you know, Aberration?"

The Gravelord then imposed his will upon me.

Images flash across my mind. Free thought of my own will was impossible, but some primal part of me railed.

The Gravelord picked through my mind, my memories, and my motivations with relative impunity. That primal fragment struggled and fought, yet my pale soul was no match for the only remaining sane lord.

My own mouth told Nito everything. The day to day lives we lived, the wars, the political struggles, the technology. A bare touch to my fragile mind and everything spilt like water. The Gravelord learned of wonders. Automotives, wondrous machines powered by fire and explosion. The internet, a vast, almost living consciousness forged of wire, and data, overseen and cultivated by millions.

I struggled, but the little fragment was simply to weak. The majority recounted everything Nito desired. Not only that, but the majority wanted to recount everything. That veil of power was so terrible, yet wonderful to be a part of.

And so I continued.

The Gravelord learned of Dark Souls. Learned of his own world on a level and a way that he could not have comprehended before now. He learned of Seathe's growing madness, and the depths of the depravity the dragon could achieve. He learned of the hollow Gwyn. The fate of Lady Izilith's kin. He learned of the Pygmy, so small and weak as to be overlooked and forgotten to his own devices, and of my speculation on humanity being the fourth lord soul. The dark soul.

Nito also learned of the differences I had seen. How not all that was in this 'video game' was set in stone in this world. Of how Lordran was a living thing that would punish any who would assume that all was the same as -what the lord now knew- was a pale imitation.

The process took hours.

Then just as suddenly as my will was stripped, Nito released his hold and I collapsed like a puppet whose strings were abruptly cut. Briefly unable to decipher what were my wants and needs and the desires of the god like being I trembled before.

Nito had finally found enough.

I tried to rally, gather up my scattered thoughts, and tried to disassociate myself from how the Gravelord had so easily violated my mind.

I wanted to cry so hard, but all I could do was shake.

"The traitor rests betwixt the catacombs of my servants, and my own domain." The dead king paused, "The... 'Tomb Of the Giants' by thine reckoning."

I nodded numbly.

Nice to know have confirmation that my guess was right I guess, even if the directions on getting there were hazy. If only the price was worth it.

The Great lord wasn't done yet however.

"Thou art dangerous, Aberration. Know there is not a single being in this land that is more so." Nito hissed at me. "It is for that reason that though I -must- destroy thou... I shall not."

I swallowed.

"Though it is impossible to guarantee thine subservience past the completion of my burden, thou art valuable in thine... properties. Thus, the scales tip to thine favour. Thou shalt have the aid... thou requested."

Nito reached out, and grasped me. I suddenly felt fire burn through my being, but that fire brought strength, not agony.

"Return once thou hast completed my task... Return that which I have gifted thee."

The First of the Dead dropped me, and moved to rest in his coffin.

Stillness reigned.

It took me several long minutes to get myself under control again. This was surreal. Also really bad. Also really good. And terrifying, can't forget that either. And traumatizing. As the weakness in my legs wouldn't let me forget.

I set all of that aside with difficulty, finally standing to make my way back to the coffin i knew would be waiting for me again. The important thing was that I was still mostly sane, I think, and now I had a gift from the first of the dead to smooth my way with.

'That went well." I told myself, trying to ignore how thin and weak my voice sounded. "That went well."

"By the gods man, you look like you've fought a war!" Strange how getting ones mind violated makes the hours feel like months have past.

"Thanks Oscar." I drawled at the other man, "Way to make me feel better."

The hours that I had spent with the lord of the dead had two upshots. The first was that the Black Knight had decided to go away and pursue more productive matters, as opposed to sitting and waiting for me to show up again. The other was that my companions had caught up to me. Passed the mausoleum actually, but only just and it was only the work of a shout and a minute or two to catch up.

It also didn't escape my notice that the Titainite Demon was gone. One more boot to to drop. Joy.

"You all aren't looking terribly fantastic yourselves." I commented, having finally looked them all over.

Oscar seemed the most composed. His eyes were focusing considerably better then they had been before our separation, but now there were dark specters dancing behind them. He seemed tense, but not particularly jumpy, which I took as a good sign.

Reah's eyes were red and puffy, not to mention that her once white and gold robes were now red and soaked through with blood. From the way she moved it didn't seem like she was injured, so I guessed that blood belonged to someone else. Whatever happened though, it was pretty clearly as awful for her as my own... experience was for me. Regardless, she seemed to have worked passed the worst of it now, because she was moving with a purpose she hadn't been before.

The Clerical knights however, were both wrecks.

Petrus was glancing around every couple of seconds, and constantly touching his talisman. His Armour had a few new nicks and scratches, but I couldn't see anything that could account for the level of paranoia that he was displaying.

Vince reeked of the wine that he had brought for their sacraments, though it seemed to me that more of it was covering him than was on his breath. He also seemed strangely listless... almost like whatever vital spark he had before had vanished.

"We..." Oscar glanced over at the rest of their party, as though not sure if it was his place to continue.

Fortunately for him, Reah came to his rescue. "We found... what that thing made Nico into."

Uhm...

I pinched the bridge of my nose."I don't know if I like where this is going."

"You don't." Reah said softly, "It... tortured him. Used the healing arts of Anor Londo to..." Her voice chocked, "What we found was Nico once, but no more. It was just a horror of steel and flesh and agony."

Clearly, the Black Bastard was up to tricks. And just as clearly those tricks had served their purpose of crushing the spirits of the knights, but had inadvertently shoved more steel into our little priestess' spine.

Also, I totally called it.

"Nico is at peace now." Oscar said softly, "We used the wine to help burn the remains. Your flame would have made the process... easier for all involved, but Vince insisted that we needed to do it then."

He was just one death away from joining the ranks of the mindless hollows. It broke him, I realized. Vince was gone, following Nico to the endless black. It was only a matter of time until he just faded away.

But not yet.

While Vince was clearly not all there, he also stood firm. All but hollow, but for his devotion to his lady. That alone kept him here, even if it was just for a little bit longer. I could only marvel, and respect him for that. He would see this one last task through.

Petrus on the other hand, was now a liability. I didn't know what was crawling around in his head to do this to him, but i knew that just as surly as Vince would hold until we were through, Petrus would break and run at the earliest opportunity. A distant memory of the game crossed my mind, and I resolved to keep a particularly sharp eye on him.

It was sobering. I was tempted to press on for details of what exactly happened there, but this was neither the time, or place.

Of course, getting to that time and place meant getting out of this mass grave.

"Lets get moving." I said firmly. "I have information. What we're looking for is at the bottom."

I had the groups full attention now.

"It's guarded by a being that is more or less the patron of the necromancers defiling these halls" I continued, "And the Pinwheel probably won't give it up easily..."

I gave a deaths head smile

"But given that we have the Gravelord's blessing in this endeavor, I think we'll do alright."

And the power that Nito loaned me danced imperceptibly between my fingers.