After being slain by the Chosen Undead, Artorias wakes to find his arm healed and no longer corrupted by the Abyss. Despite this however, he still hears the other side of his mind screaming in rage and agony...
(Part 1 of the Unfortunate Souls Series)
Artorias. Second in command to the Four Knights of Lord Gwyn. Having trekked the abyss once, and was told once again to, Sif and himself venture to Oolacile, only to find it's inhabitants turned against their will by Manus. After he and Sif venture into the Chasm of the Abyss, Artorias finds himself surrounded by strange creatures. In a desperate attempt, he tries attacking with sword, but it goes through them, he bashes with his shield, and the Abyssal creature destroys his arm. Able to no longer carry the burden of his shield, he gave it to his wolf companion as the Abyss swallows him and changes him...
Not long after, the Chose Undead finds himself triumphant against Artorias, sending the corrupted Knight fading away.... Although, this is not the end of our Abyss walking friend...
He was feeling weak. Every thrust, every strike, every movement in general hurt to his very core, but the threat in front of him couldn't be ignored. A figure, the size of a human, walked into the colosseum, wearing the armor of his King, as well as wielding his blade. The shield he held seemed familiar, but yet he could not put a name to it. He only knew two things:
His name was Artorias, and it was his mission to stop the Abyss.
This... creature, was it too from the Abyss? The monster he had pinned under his sword writhed weakly, before he pushed in farther and twisting, ending it life. His left arm dangled uselessly on his side, but his right still held his sword, which is all that mattered. He could hear its voice calling in his head.
"It wants nothing more than your soul... It wants what's left of your Humanity... Kill it before it's too late!"
The energy around Artorias gathered until he let out a painful, agonizing scream before whipping up and launching the monster on his blade at human. The Undead human rolled out of the way as quickly as he could to avoid it, but caught sight of the corrupted knight leap in the air, ready to strike. He quickly hid behind his shield, to which Artorias was still having trouble to remember why it looked familiar, as the knight slammed his blade down in the dirt. Quickly recovering, the Undead swung his sword meeting with the knight's weak arm.
Artorias got a good look at the human. He had golden hair, and hard look to his face, like that of someone who had been beaten multiple times. Scars traced his face and arms and most likely his chest, back, and legs too. The Abysswalker snarled and swung his blade whilst flipping back, striking the intruder.
Artorias then knew three things. That his name was Artorias, it was mission to stop the Abyss, and that if he ever wanted to complete this mission, he was going to have to win against this human or die trying.
"My Dearest, Most Faithful Student, Twilight,
"You know that I value your diligence and trust you completely, but you simply must stop reading reading those dusty old books! My dear Twilight, there is more to a young ponies life than studying, so I'm sending you to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this years location: Ponyville. And I have a even more essential task for you to complete: Make some friends!"
Twilight's ears folded down and she let out a pitiful groan. "Look on the bright side Twilight, the princess arranged for you to stay in a library, doesn't that make you happy?"
"Yes! Yes it does. Ya'know why? Because I'm right!" As she was explaining to Spike her plan it prevent Nightmare Moon's return, she failed to notice the small light out in distance of the Everfree Forest. While talking to talking to Twilight, Spike noticed a pink pony walk up to them.
"C'mon Twilight, just try!" He said with a smile. Twilight looked a the pony with a hesitant look.
She smiled, almost shyly, and spoke, "Uhh... Hello?" Almost immediately, the pink pony jumped into the air letting out a huge gasp, before zipping off. Mostly talking to herself, Twilight said, "Well that was interesting alright..." Before walking off with Spike to their first stop, Sweet Apple Acres.
As soon as they entered the gates, they suddenly heard an outcry of "YeeeHAW!" and watched a orange Earth Pony gallop at full speed, before braking herself and simultaneously turning around to kick the apple tree in front of her. When all the apples from the tree fell into the buckets, she crossed her foreleg over the other and smiled at her work. "*sigh* Let's get this over with... Good Afternoon, my name is Twilight Sparkle--" Her introduction was suddenly cut off by the pony shaking her hoof vigorously up and down.
"Well how do ya do Miss Twilight, a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. I'm Applejack, we here at Sweet Apple Acres, sure do like making new friends! So, what can I do for ya?" She said, finally letting go of her hoof, but yet Twilight's kept going. Spike stifled a giggle and stopped Twilight's hoof for her.
The only thought running through Twilight's mind at the time was that of her plan to stop Nightmare Moon. Now, it was accompanied by her next thought, "Oh sweet Celestia, these ponies are going to kill me before Nightmare Moon does!" After asking to sample the food, Applejack rung an old, rusted triangle and yelled out as loudly as possible. "SOOOUPS ON EVERYPONY!"
Those thoughts were now accompanied by a resounding, "Oh no..."
Prior to the flash in the Everfree
He was feeling weaker than before. His stance faltered, and his blade was feeling heavier than before. Artorias stared at the human with malice in his eyes. Throughout his fight, however, he had recovered so many thoughts and memories. He remembered that he was Artorias the Abysswalker, the one who halted the spread of the Abyss in New Londo. He knew that he was part of the Four Knights of Gwyn, he followed behind Captain Ornstein, then after himself was Hawkeye Gough, and finally Lord's Blade Ciaran.
He remembered how he was commissioned by Gwyn himself and was ordered to to venture to Oolacile to stop the spread of the Abyss once more. He quickly put up his sword to block the greatsword of the human. Although, that was all he could remember. He knew he had a wolf companion, but its name did not come to his mind. He tried hard to remember, but yet he couldn't remember it.
He could feel it, one more hit, then he would be done. Spinning in the air, he slammed his blade in the ground, he repeated this, hoping to kill human, but on the third and final one he found himself unable to remove his sword from the ground. He as fought to dislodge it, it came to him. The name he was searching for.
This was it. The time of the Summer Sun Celebration. Twilight Sparkle and Spike watched from their spots as the Mayor came out and announced the entrance of Princess Celestia. But as the curtains pulled away, the only thing that was there was an empty space. Everypony quickly began to panic, and while the Mayor tried calming everyone down, a cerulean smoke came whisking down. A sinister laugh filled the air as the smoke cleared and revealed the Mare of the Night herself, Nightmare Moon.
"Ahh... My beloved subjects... It's been so long since I've seen your sun-loving faces..." Nightmare Moon said, looking around at the ponies who stood before her. As she continued her speech, a sudden piercing scream flooded the room. Even Nightmare Moon froze at the sound, but found her voice. "Who dares interrupt my speaking to my subjects?! Show yourself, or feel my power!" She announced, waiting for one of the ponies to step forth.
Someone came forth, but he was not a pony. He was not a minotaur, changeling, or griffon. He was something not even Nightmare Moon had seen. A creature dressed in silver armor and a blue cape came spiraling down from the roof, landing in front of the balcony she was standing on. She noticed it's stance and how it held its sword. He was low to the ground with his sword being his 'teeth' to bear at her. A lazy groan came out of the creature, before the ear piercing scream from before returned.
Nightmare raised an eyebrow at this creature. Did... Yes, it did. It wants to fight. She smiled, showing off her sharp fangs. "Then let us fight." She leaped into the air, spread her wings and launched herself at the creature, who stood his ground even when the black alicorn slammed into him. Raising his sword, he quickly spun himself creating a gash on the alicorn's chest.
On the side lines, the ponies and baby dragon watched as this creature relentlessly attacked the evil mare. Twilight and Spike looked at each other as battle raged. The creature slid forward on some kind of goop and swung in a violent arc, because of this however, he left his back wide open and Nightmare took advantage of it. She pierced his armor, hitting his flesh, but yet he didn't fall. He swung out and flipped back, landing it a safe distance as he concentrated. A purple mist soon began to surround him and it exploded outward knocking some ponies back and hitting them out of the way.
Nightmare's eyes widened as he came faster than before. He slid on the goop once again and thrust his sword out towrads her, but she quickly back-stepped out of the way. The armored creature lurched suddenly and with its limp arm, sent the same goop flying towards her. It splashed on her coat, and the pain was immediate, as it leeched her life out of her body. She quickly pulled it off with her magic and looked hesitantly at the creature. He crouched low and sprang up, stabbing his blade into the ground where Nightmare once was.
Twilight looked up to see the mist quickly fly away into the Everfree and ran after it. Applejack watched as Twilight ran into the forest and called out to her, unintentionally drawing Pinkie's, Rainbow's, Fluttershy's and Rarity's attention. The creature looked up to see the mist just enter the forest and charged after it.
"Whoa there sugarcube! Ya just can't run into the Everfree Forest without at least ONE pony to accompany ya! Think for a minute!" Applejack yelled as Twilight ran into the forest without a second thought. Applejack sighed and ran in after her. The others stopped before looking at each other. Pinkie ran in without a word and left only Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.
"We're seriously not going in there are we?" Rainbow asked only to see Fluttershy dart in without a word as well. Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash and shrugged leaving only speedster to herself. "We're so going to die..." She mumbled before flying in after the diva.
It was strong, she would give it that. This creature was by far a formidable opponent, but she needed to recover if she wished to take on the creature again. The old castle, which little Luna like to play would be a good spot to recover. As she fluttered down to the floor of the crumbling castle, she inspected her wounds, more promptly where that sludge had hit her. She noticed the sickly black spots it made on her already black coat. Whatever it was, it made her coat darker than black. It was... unsettling, knowing that she was hurt, and she found it humiliating that she had retreated, in front of her subjects no less! She heard its cry in the distance, but by the sound of it, it was getting closer...
Meanwhile, Twilight and the others chased after the creature and Nightmare Moon. "Darling please! Slow down, I'm going to get a-- AH! CRAMP!" Rarity yelled as she halted and grabbed her leg in pain. Rainbow rolled her eyes and picked up the diva before starting to follow them again.
"I'm sorry girls, but this is important! Whatever that creature is, it's anything BUT friendly! As much as Nightmare Moon is our enemy, I'm honestly afraid for her life!" Twilight yelled back to them. A sudden outcry was heard in front of them as they saw armored creature leap and bound across the forest. "Darn it! C'mon, we have to follow it!" She yelled back again running in its direction.
"That's alright sugarcube," Applejack huffed, "as long as YOU don't get hurt in the process!" Applejack was the most athletic in all of Ponyville, barring Rainbow Dash and her brother, Big Macintosh, but even she couldn't keep up with Twilight at this point. "Oh... I hope you're right about this Twilight... As much as our first meeting went, I hope you're worth your salt..."
It was a creature from the Abyss! Straight from it! Its blackened coat, its sharp fangs, it could even use dark magic! It had to be stopped, or else he would lose this place too, like Oolacile or New Londo. He would not lose this place to that Primordial Serpent again.
It was getting closer, she could hear it crashing into the ground. While her wounds healed, the sickly black spots remained. It was odd... She was immortal, nothing could kill her, yet this sludge that had been afflicted on her... As if its only sole purpose was to--
Her thoughts were cut short as the doors slammed open revealing Twilight Sparkle and her friends. "Ah, it seems that creature wasn't the only thing that was following me." She smirked standing on the old throne pedestal. A purple bubble suddenly wrapped around her and she gave off a hearty laugh. "Do you really think you can contain me in here?! I'm an alicorn, and you a unicorn! I'm stronger than any of--"
*CLANG*
The field around her shook violently as she looked up at the creature who was hunting her. She wasn't being contained. She was being protected. It screamed again, and swung his sword violently, each blow putting a crack in the shield. "I... Can't hold it up... any longer!" Twilight strained as the last blow shattered the shield allowing the creature to Nightmare. "The Elements... they're our only hope..." Twilight said as she brought each stone down from their platforms. "A spark of Magic will awaken them..." She concentrated on the stones, feeling the magic within them.
As she did this, the armored creature stared down Nightmare. As it began to raise its sword, she growled with rage. Her ethereal mane lashed out, grabbing the creature's arm and twisting it. With a pained howl, he let go of sword and quickly felt its sting. He stared wide eyed at his own blade sticking out of stomach, then lurched in pain as it was tugged out then slammed back in. This cycle repeat for three more times before Nightmare fully pulled out and then slammed it into his back. She pulled out, only slightly before slamming down again whilst turning the blade and pinning him to the ground.
It coughed up a black sludge, that she figured was its blood and watched as it flailed about, trying to pull himself free. She chuckled a little, finding it funny that it hunted her down like a wolf stalking its prey. She barely even noticed his hollow face when the Elements struck both of them...
VICTORY ACHIEVED
Humanity: Rare tiny black sprite found on corpses. Use to gain 1 humanity and restore a large amount of HP.
This black sprite is called humanity, but little is known about its true nature. If the soul is the source of all life, then what distinguishes the humanity we hold within ourselves?
Miracle: Moonlight Serenade
Miracle granted by The Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon.
This powerful Miracle allows the caster to be one with the Moon. Its beautiful streak of ivory will mesmerize any who are unfortunate enough to meet its blow as well.
"My King..." Artorias said, bowing in Gwyn's presence. Gwyn laughed lightly before addressing the young hunter.
"Artorias," He said with a smile. "I have heard many stories about you. How you are the head of the clan in the forest, and that you have made friends with a wolf pup. Alvina has told me that you are the highest in your ranks as well, and I just couldn't help myself."
He gave the King a confused look, before he caught a thought that he wanted only wish was his imagination. "You don't mean...?"
"Ah, yes my boy, I do. Welcome to the ranks of the Silver Knights..."
*Beep... Beep...*
"So...what is it Twilight?" Spike asked as he looked at Artorias' prone form. Twilight only shook her head, as she was for a loss of words. Not long after Luna had been purified, she took one glance at him and backed away, refusing to look at the beast. Celestia was no worse for wear, threatening it if it had harmed Luna. After she quickly explained that the Element's had it hit both him and Nightmare Moon, Celestia seemed to calm down, if only just. When she suggested that one of them take the creature, no one really opted to the idea, until Twilight perked up and volunteered.
Now, Artorias lie prone on her basement floor. His sword, she discovered, was eaten by something she had never saw before. The blue sludge in the blade refused to come off, but looking at his once broken arm, she saw some of it dripping down. Taking a cotton swab, she gently rubbed the goop, and what happened shocked her. The sludge, if she could call it that, swallowed the whole cotton swab, which was impossible considered she was trying to get a sample the size of a bit.
"Spike, hope your taking notes..." She said as she continued to study. The tassel on his helmet was once a bright cerulean, but it appears to be faded by the same material corroding the sword. After the Elements had hit him, a primeval scream was heard throughout the forest. They all assumed it to be from Artorias.
His breathing was stable, but yet all the cuts, and more importantly the stab, should all say otherwise. When Nightmare Moon had stabbed him, it was once through his belly, then a second and third time in his chest. Any normal being, barring dragons, would've been dead in seconds. This being on the other hand...
"Spike, do me a favor and bring me the sharpest knife we have..." Twilight said to Spike, who only gave a concerned look before dashing off to the kitchen. When he came back, she took the knife from his grasp and set herself up on the same machine he was on. "This machine is calibrated to record the feeling of the one hooked up to it," she said as she positioned the knife to her foreleg. "So... if I just give it just a little push..." she said as she yelped in pain as the knife punctured her skin. The machine beeped and recorded waves that showed that she received the pain.
"Okay... That's how my brain responds to the pain, but him?" She said doing the same thing, but his results showed nothing like hers. In fact, he didn't receive the pain at all. "Extraordinary..." she mumbled.
Spike on the other hand quickly rushed to get band-aid for Twilight's cut. "You know, you're really irresponsible sometimes..." he said. The beeping of the machine started to quicken and they both looked at the knight who was shaking on the table.
"Again!" Gwyn yelled as he launched from his position. Artorias, the rookie Silver Knight, held his shield up to block the Great Lord's attack but came up to slow as he was thrown from his position on the sparring ground. "You'll never be a knight, let alone a Silver Knight if you keep loosing your balance! This isn't the forest anymore, boy!" He said delivering a fierce kick to his shield, knocking it away. Gwyn's greatsword came flying with all his strength, but the young Artorias rolled away in time. Seeing that Gwyn's back was open, he made an attempt.
Gwyn launched a hand out and stopped the sword in it's tracks. "You are learning young one..." He said breaking the sword in his grasp. "But you still have much to learn." He sheathed his own sword and began walking away until he felt a small pebble peg the back of his head. He turned to see the young Artorias with his helmet off, tears stinging his eyes and his broken hilt in his hand.
"Don't you dare walk away..." he said with in his most commanding voice. "Don't you DARE! Walk away..." He gripped his broken sword with both hands and threw his shield down. "I have come to far to just have you leave on me... I refuse to admit defeat to you! Silver Knight's are not defeated... only lost in battle..."
Gwyn looked at the ferocity in the boy's eyes and began to laugh. "You really take that saying to heart don't you... Fine. Ornstein!" Gwyn called and the Black Knight Ornstein appeared at his side.
"What is it my king?"
"Give this boy one of your swords... He wishes to spar some more and his weapon unfortunately broke." He explained and Ornstein gave him a questioning stare.
"My king, why would this rookie knight need a one of the Black Knight's swords? Yes, I see the plight of having a broken blade, but my king--"
"Are you questioning me, Ornstein?" Gwyn said very calmly. Artorias saw Ornstein shiver at the Great Lord's glare. It amazed him, to see a Black Knight tremble was unheard of. Ornstein cleared his throat and presented Gwyn his sword. "It's not for me, Ornstein."
"Of course." he said turning to Artorias and presenting the sword. The sword was unlike anything he had seen. It's design was not like that of the Silver Straight Sword, but rather had a more promising look of death on it. The blade started thin, but ended broader much like a greatsword, a weapon he was familiar with.
With a flick of his wrist, Artorias tossed the blade from his right to his left. "This time, I wont hold back."
"Interesting... Left handed swordsman? Those are few and far between! However..." He trailed off as he took his sword from his right hand into his left as well. "I can play the same game too..." His blade danced between his fingers before he bounded towards the Silver Knight and quickly swiped. Artorias, quick and confident, did something unheard of at the time. He raised his right arm, and preformed a parry on the Great Lord.
Ornstein gasped in shock as did the other Silver and Black knights. Gwyn held the most shocked face of all, for he had no idea what to expect of this young Silver Knight. Artorias took the black knight sword and thrust toward the Great Lord but stopped short and instead struck him with the pommel, sending him to the ground with a small gash on his forehead.
Artorias held out a hand towards the Great Lord and smiled. "You're much to sluggish." The Great Lord blinked, and laughed out a hearty bark.
"I must be if you could down me!" Taking his offered hand, he pulled himself up as he pulled Artorias down, lightly stepping on him, and proclaimed his victory. All the while, a shadow lingered in the dark, silver dagger ready, and a gold sword thirsting for blood...
"Twilight! What's going on?!" Spike yelled running under the table for cover. Twilight could see several things happening to the monster on her table, almost all at once. The dark blue splotches began to fade away slowly, his broken and battered arm quickly fixed itself in a blink of an eye, and he suddenly screamed to the heavens, and a dark cloud formed above him and quickly dissipated. The machines beeping slowed to a crawl showing that he was now in a deep, deep sleep.
"I...I think it's okay to come out now Spike..." Twilight reassured as she looked closer at Artorias. His armor now shined like polish silver, his cowl and plume were now both restored showing the fine craftsmanship. Most importantly of all however, is that the sword and his arm were now restored as well, the former showing a blade that could destroy a small house. It seemed as if this monster was somehow... Purified.
Artorias was, for the most part, not having a bad day. It had been a few days since he had become a Silver Knight, and he was becoming the talk of barracks. Even Ledo, the strongest of the Silver Knights, was anxious to meet the man who had knocked down Lord Gwyn. He was wearing pride, on the battlefield your worst enemy, but here at home, it was his best friend. He wrote to Alvina whenever he could, asking how Sif and the others were doing. She always said they fine, and how proud of him they were. As he was contemplating what he would do next, he heard several footsteps behind. Looking behind him, he saw nothing. He strained his hearing and heard nothing.
"Imagination, I suppose... Hmmm.... But just to make sure..." He took out an old hunting item that he and Sif had used as a fetching ball. An Alluring Skull, granted these were only used when a Soul-Eater or a Soul Feeder was present to lure it away, some guards had showed a sudden likeness to it. Judging the distance of the footsteps, he raised his arm and threw it next to a pillar. He saw the blue glow and waited for a few seconds for something to come out, and when nothing did he slowly drew his sword and crept up the pillar. He counted to himself and on three he jumped unsheathing his sword and now in full stance, only to find empty air. He blinked behind his helmet and chuckled to himself. Sheathing his sword he continued back to his room, but now unknown to him, the footsteps followed his own in tandem, effectively hiding them. The only thing that could give them away was the shifting of clothes, and thankfully the clanking of armor hid that too. He breathed a heavy sigh and had gotten a sense of nostalgia almost.
For him it was hard to believe that a forest dweller like him had become one of the elite knights to guard the palace. He grew a big smile when he knew next time that he would be ranked as a Black Knight, one of the Royal Envoys and Royal Guards to the Princess Gwynevere and the Darkmoon Gwyndolin. Then only the best of the best become Gwyn's personal knights, also known as the Four Knights of Gwyn. As of now, it is known that Hawkeye Gough, Dragonslayer Richter*, Lady Tillion of the Grand Cathedral, and Shunti of The East are the current Knights. Gough and his colossal greatbow, Richter and his giant dragon slaying greataxe, Tillion with her healing miracles, and Shunti a warrior skilled in the art of the Blade, with nodachi in one hand an a kusarigama in the other, he was the Lords top assassin. He smiled to himself thinking that one day he would join their ranks... Before he could open his door however, a sickly looking dagger was pressed to his throat.
"'Twilight, I understand that your situation with this creature is a troubling one, and I will get Luna to help you as soon she can, but for now please try to get as much data as you can. This is something we cannot let slip by. The Elements have never took this long to purify or revert anything this long before. Whatever was in him at the time must been nothing but pure evil. However, if what you say is true, then he has no reason to be a threat to us or we to him. When he awakens, come to Canterlot castle at once, I would like to speak to him personally.' Your Mentor, Princess Celestia, P.S. Luna says hello." Spike recited as he set down the letter. Twilight continued to look at brain wave monitor, and the readings on it made it clear he was dreaming, or maybe even remembering something from a long time ago. She picked up a clip board and a quill and wrote a quick list.
Scan for any anomalies: Check Determine his magical ability: Check (50 above the standard 200) However when she got to the last part of the list, it made her halt. Potential friend: She looked over at him, then the monitor, then back to the list, thoughts wracking her brain. She took one last look at him before going back to the list. Unsure
Just as she had written that word in, machines started beeping, Artorias began to thrash and he let out a piercing scream. Twilight and Spike covered their ears, and watched in horror and awe as an inky black cloud began to float overhead and several red eyes began to poke out from said cloud before it smashed out of the window and went north into the mountains. The machines, all beeping, had all at once silenced and the duo turned their attention to Artorias who was now sitting up. Spike was the first one to do something, and waved at him. Artorias, confused by the gesture, waved back albeit a bit awkwardly.
Spike looked at Twilight, "Well, he's up now. But now the real question is 'Is he able?'"
The Blade was unlike anything he had ever seen, it was thorned like a rose, yet it seemed almost alive, as it secreted toxin from the quill-like thorns. "You have made a name for yourself you know that? A rookie Silver Knight felling Old Gwyn with a simple pommel tap to the forehead. Had it been my way, I would've killed you on the spot, but... Seeing the Old Man smile so much made me put it off...For then anyways. Now that you're alone and no other witnesses..." His assailant began to draw the blade across his exposed neck, but he had a plan. In the forest, he had been in this situation before, where an assassin came and held him hostage. When the assassin least expected it, he simply stomped his foot and ran him through with his claymore.
"Well," he began, "If I am going to die, would you like to hear my last words? I know assassins love hearing them." Always start by stroking the ego.
"...Yes, it would make a fine tale for my friends, how the rookie Knight died a coward and begged for his life."
"Alright, hear are my last words then." He said pausing for a brief second and suddenly stomped on her toes. As expected with assassins, they wore all cloth clothing, even the shoes. His assailant yelped in pain and grabbed the knife from her hand and held it to her neck as he tackled her to the ground. Now, he was straddling her knife on neck, and they were both breathing heavily. It was about this time that Black Knight Ornstein and Hawkeye Gough came from around the corner and saw the two in this rather compromising position. Ornstein and Gough stopped short and Artorias and his assassin looked up at them. It was a rather long time before Ornstein snapped.
"JUST WHAT IN GWYNS HOLY NAME ARE YOU DOING ROOKIE!" Ornstein shouted, shaking the windows. Artorias shot up like a bullet and the would be assassin did too.
"I'm sorry sir I just--" Both Artorias and her stopped and looked at each other. "I mean he/she was--! Stop copying me! No, you stop copying me! I'm not!!" They both growled at each other before Ornstein bapped both of them with the pommel of his Halberd.
He took a deep sigh. "Artorias, what were you doing?"
"Going to my room, sir. I was told to rest up by Dragonslayer Richter, sir."
"That you were, I was there. And you Ciaran?"
"I... Just wanted to scare the new guy, but after I heard he had felled Gwyn, I suppose it turned more into just scaring...
Ornstein took a deep breath, "Artorias, rest up. After today, you deserve it. As for you Ciaran, I will be telling Master Shunti of your... Mischievous behavior. Is that understood?"
"Yessir... I'm am sorry sir," She said bowing her head. Ornstein said nothing, but grunted for her to follow him. She turned to look back at Artorias and scowled at him. Gough looked down at him.
"Artorias," He said slowly and labored. "What reason was thine compromising position we found thou in?"
"I... was wrestling the knife from her hands, when you walking in, sir." Artorias said, and Gough chuckled.
"It may not seem like it now, but I think you two would work well together." He said before clutching his bow. He took large Great Arrow from his quiver on his back and pulled back as far as he could. He held his breath, and fired. Artorias watch the speeding arrow before it was out of his sight... then he heard a dragon screech off into the distance and Gough clenched his fist in victory. "While it was impressive, I still believe my truest shot will come, one day." He said before lumbering off to catch up with Ornstein and Ciaran.
