<- Previous update: No Step on Snek
Recap:
- Made it through Sen's Fortress
- Destroyed the Iron Golem
- Made it to Anor Londo
Current missions:
- Crush
- Kill
- Destroy
(This is honestly a really boring update, so feel free to TL;DR this one. I split Anor Londo into three parts anyway.)
After successfully smiting the Iron Golem, I was promptly seized by these two pink, lanky demons who gradually flew me up to the promised land: Anor Londo. It's been a long time coming, and I didn't quite know what to expect--and after having played through it, I'm not quite sure how to feel about it, either.
Gazing upon the city itself was probably my favorite part. Its idyllic opulence coupled with the perpetual sunset makes for a stunning visual treat--and though I'm not one to labor too much over a game's graphics, I do still appreciate a pretty visual when I see one, and Anor Londo is beautiful.
However, for all its grandeur and gorgeosity, it just feels... so...
empty. Like, agoraphobically empty. And very, very quiet. There's just not a whole lot going on. I'm not saying that's good or bad--it was just... strange. They give you this big-ass wide-open space to run around in towards the beginning, but there's not really much to do, except fight a few of those giant sentinel knights--and even they remain
completely still until you approach them. Everything is so passive and blasé, like purgatory.
Thankfully, though, all the emptiness gave me an opportunity to reflect on myself--what I'm doing, where I'm going, how I'm going to do it--and do some general planning
on the go, which hasn't always been possible in previous areas.
The sentinel knights weren't so tough. They have a bad habit of using their shield slam in the most inopportune of moments, after which I can counterattack with a strong punish. Fighting two at once is pretty fun, though.
Interestingly, I appear to have reached the point in the game where previous bosses are just regular enemies now. A gargoyle not unlike the bell gargoyles I slayed a few months ago could be seen flying around the city. I managed to cut its tail off again, but I didn't get anything out of it this time. Unfortunately, he doesn't respawn when you kill him--and I say "unfortunately" because he was essentially my only company in this part of the city. So fucking empty.
The only friendly face I saw as a Fire Keeper leaning against a wall in her bonfire room. She didn't have a lot to say--not that I expected much, but seeing her in the first place was kind of odd. To my understanding, every bonfire has a Fire Keeper, but there have only been small handful of occasions where I've actually
met the Fire Keeper: This one, Quelaag's sister, and the one in Firelink Shrine.
Oh, wait. That one's dead. I still have to avenge her. Hopefully I'll be able to find and kill Lautrec soon--I haven't forgotten about that.
Off in the distance was a castle, which my critical path was no-doubt headed towards. My forward path was thwarted, however, by this unique bridge mechanism which was malfunctioning. The midsection of the bridge is designed kind like an elevator--it ascends on the pull of a switch, and from there, it'll connect itself to some cathedral's balcony on the left. If you wanted to get to the other side, you'd have to descend the bridge first. Unfortunately for me, the bridge was stuck in its ascended position, so I had to figure out a way to bring it back down.
I tried finding a way to that balcony. Through a broken window, I managed to sneak into that cathedral--until I was greeted by these mysterious white-garbed hostiles armed with throwing knives. They were pretty pathetic, to be honest. I think they're supposed to be ninjas, but they do such a shitty job. They had strength in numbers, though, for there was a massive collection of them down on the first floor of the cathedral.
Way up on the second floor, the only way to make it to the furthest balcony was to walk along some narrow boards--which were populated with more knife-throwers, of course--and a big-ass chandelier as the centerfold. I wasn't really in the mood for suffering a hundred-meter drop, so instead of fighting the ninjas head on, I decided to pick them off one by one with a few arrows. As I was priming each arrow, those fucking idiots just STARED at me the entire time, without even attempting to move away. That's one of those dumb video-game-y things that people just kinda accept, but personally, it kinda takes a small toll on the immersion. Which sucks--because Anor Londo
really sucks you in--but stuff like that just takes me
right out.
As I made my way across, I noticed I could probably cut the chandelier's support to make it crash down, so I did. I'm sure the ninjas on the first floor appreciated that.
Eventually, I did make it over to that balcony, where I was able to finally lower the bridge--after slaying another gargoyle, of course. Not only did I lower the bridge, disconnecting it from the cathedral's balcony--it also held a spiral staircase going downwards from its center. It led to the first floor of the cathedral, where I was able to see the damage I had done by dropping that chandelier on top of those ninjas.
There were still a lot of them, which made them harder to deal with that I anticipated, but shit if that wasn't fun to do.
I don't remember
exactly what items I picked up throughout this portion of the game, but rest assured, I picked up a lot of stuff. I remember picking up a set of Black Iron armor, but nothing else jumps out of my head.
Prominently anointed in the back of the cathedral was a massive painting. I could tell this was an important painting, because it's the only one I've been able to interact with so far. In this case, I was given the option to "examine" it--which did nothing--and then I knew.
Since this thread's creation, I've heard whispers of this so-called "Painted World." A lot of people seem to be wondering whether I'll be able to find this area. Well, guys, I believe I found it:
This painting will lead me to the Painted World--I'm almost dead certain. Now, it's just a matter of figuring out how to get there. I can't seem to simply jump into it, Super Mario 64-style--but I think I have
one good hint.
You see, I've always been very attentive to the game's loading screens. They allow you to read the descriptions of some rare or powerful items, and for all I know, there could be some important information in there. As it turns out, there is a special item that appears on occasion during these loading screens that serves as the game's
sole acknowledgement (as far as I know) of this "Painted World": the Peculiar Doll.
Its description:
A strange doll in strange dress.
There once was an abomination who had
no place in this world. She clutched this
doll tightly, and eventually was drawn into
a cold and lonely painted world.
So, basically, I need to find this doll.
Where could it be? Don't answer that, because I haven't the faintest idea.
One thing's for certain: it's nowhere in fucking Anor Londo. I look around every corner, every crevice, stabbed every wall that I could, and I never found the bloody thing. So, it seems like I'll have to search elsewhere. I don't know if I'll ever find it, but I really really want to--I just hope it's not behind any illusory walls.
...It probably is...
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