C34: Hemwick Charnel Lane Pt2
1/22/26
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Of course she was promptly shocked by my actions as a massive grin became plastered on my face. I picked her up and spun her around in said joy.
I did this before finally setting her down and giving her a kiss. Of course it was only on the cheek but I'm practically bouncing with joy at only losing four levels as compared to what would have been nine otherwise. I'd say I was pretty lucky as my last big level jump was around 20 levels and I had lost about half of that last time.
Yet now I barely lost anything. Sure it still sucks that I lost anything but this is still a big jump in growth. I only lost one of the ten points i put into strength, two of the five into endurance, and finally only one lost from vitality. Meaning my base stats are now:
26 vitality (instead of 30 by now)
15 endurance (instead of 17)
22 strength (instead of 26)
14 skill (instead of 16)
5 bloodtinge (instead of 7)
And 9 arcana which remains unchanged. Of course these are just my base stats which follow proper game rules while my actual stats are
Vit: 36 (should be 40)
End: 27 (343 stamina) (should be 29)
Str: 41.1 (b/c of collagen .1) (should be 45.1)
Skill: 26.5 (28.5)
Bloodtinge: 15.2 (stays the same)
arcana : 23.3 (stays the same)
Very nice with the exception of the decimals but there's nothing I can do about that right now as it's all random and only obtained from shades essence. Chatting a bit more about my appreciation while she mentions that her technique isn't perfect but that she can try to warn ahead of time of how many echoes would be needed to provide a proper wall against this strange curse I have. I thank her once more and resume the hunt. I teleport back to the Hemwick Charnel Lane but not before checking my weapon once more and finding that I'm just one twin bloodstone shard short of upgrading my saw cleaver to +6.
"Sigh" I huffed in annoyance before returning to the 'shrine' and teleporting back to Hemwick. It's actually quite nice here. Maybe if I can permanently kill all the inhabitants, I can take the Doll out for a small outing. Perhaps the residents would have some secret goodies around. Though for now I can't worry about that as it's time to hunt.
I begin my hunt by walking to the right, down some rickety steps. I notice a giant gathering of tombstones in the center of this area with a few women. They look normal, dirty but normal but there is just one small problem.
They are insane.
Of course it's not the good type of insane. They do grim reaper cosplays with giant burning scythes. That or act like the villagers from Resident evil 4. Handaxes, pitchforks, and scythes. They have quite the large repertoire but it's all useless if they just die in two hits anyways.
Taking care of the 6 women here, I find a side path around the house just next to the large gravestone. There are two types of women here, some with grayscale type clothing that give a few less echoes than the other but they also seem overall weaker. Perhaps they are considered sickly women, not that it matters as they die anyways.
I collect a madmans knowledge near the house where I found a shortcut area that I can't use yet. I do find a lamp next to a house. So I approach and like usual, they begin talking like they usually do.
"Can you hear the graveyard murmurs, Then its almost time, Oh I can't wait. I just can't wait." the voice inside begins to giggle to themselves. I step back and continue on my way. I collect the bloodshot eyeball jar off of a lady that was lying down in a guillotine contraption. As part of the decor, I just grab the item and go, no fuss there.
Going up another set of stairs, I find a single lady coming towards me like a heat seeking missile out of nowhere. Taking her down, I then turned around just to look around and found a glowing object which I had barely noticed out of the corner of my eye when I was walking back down the small hill around the house here. Picking it up, I found my last twin blood stone shards I needed to upgrade my weapon to +6.
With a pep to my step as I look forward to the power of my weapon soon enough. I continue forward into a clearing with a tree on the far side. I spotted a lady and a dog walking down from some steps on the far side by the tree. I take them down by simply shooting the dog which attracts it to me where I easily slay it before stepping forward to get the lady who was standing around in a daze.
Boom fwoosh
"AGh, what the fuck?" I cursed as a molotov smacks into my head.
"Please stop, I already have brain damage." I shake the flames off and comment as I move behind the tree and pick up the item there as it grants me cover from the molotovs. All without burning down itself…somehow. Regardless, I ascend up the steps and back track to put this idiot into the dirt where I take its own molotovs and burn it to the ground. Though not before taking a sip of one of them and immediately spitting out the strange oil within
"Ech, it's PETROL. Get the Govment down here NOW, I need to declare war for OIL." BANG. I'm stuck spitting for the next few minutes as I have nothing to cleanse my palate before just taking out a piece of bread and dumping a bunch of seasoning on it. Anything to rid the taste out of my mouth.
It actually tastes pretty good even though I most definitely used too much seasoning. I need my local corner store to restock now.
Yet my luck soon runs out as while I was distracted, I got hit in the back with a giant hammer from another lady that was seemingly wandering around.
Rolling away, I retreat and rub my aching back before huffing and rushing forward, my foot slamming into the woman's thigh, causing her posture to break as she is forced to kneel and I make her chug down the rest of the oil in the bottle i took a sip from before i ignite it and set the lady ablaze from the inside out. She had attempted to slap me away during this time but my saw cleaver smacked her own arms away. I might have accidentally severed the tendons around her wrists, stopping her from attacking further.
"Bitch" I spit on her corpse before proceeding onward. Going up some steps again, I enter a small hallway type section as the only way is forward and there is a brute which immediately charges at me upon spotting me. Jumping towards me with a ground slam attack, I shoot it, stunning it midair as it falls down to it's knees. I plunge my fist and take it out. Collecting the two vials from it's dead body. I then rush forward as I spotted another lady with molotovs on the next level up.
Dashing towards her, I take her out in two hits before analyzing the area around me.
The way forward is blocked by a giant metal gate, I see the switch on the other side, a few feet away. I could technically climb up the scattered brick walls as they are not uniform but arranged in a way that suggests an artificial wall. It's totally climbable, even if I don't somehow polymorph into a goat, it's climbable.
In fact, as I scan around and find a side path which very likely leads back around the gate as im not seeing any other proper path. In this side path, I do spot a small hillside area with tombstones scattered around which I can walk between to climb up to the house here and then climb down on the other side….but thats boring, and i might miss out on loot and echoes, so no. I don't think I will.
Walking down the path, I find a crow blocking the way forward but before I can dispatch it, I am struck on my back again by another woman who was hiding in a little shitty ass crevice on the left side of this little tunnel down. Smacking the crow, I get around it before taking down the woman as well.
I heal with a vial. And then walk back to find another twin blood stone shard by itself.
Going down the path, my tracking skill informs me of a group of crows bunched up on the right side of this open space. I first take down the one by itself though that does alert the others who begin slowly crawling towards me as I instead dash between them multiple times, taking them out without getting hurt at all myself. I collect the sack of pebbles these crows were guarding, almost feel bad for them until I remember they would happily peck me to death if they could. After that my guilt dissipates.
I then spot the elevator nearby, this is the shortcut elevator I noticed earlier. The one just next to the crazy person mumbling about the graveyard bash going on here. I step on it just to activate it for me before using it to get back up.I then look around to find a small pathway forward.
The tombstones act as guard railings as on one side, I just have more giant rocks piled up to make a wall while the other has a bottomless pit leading to just white….
"Is this how they made all these tombstones and bricks? They excavated until they reached the void? Why is it so bright down there then? God dang this place would be beautiful if not for all the tombs scattered around into random piles everywhere" I cant help but comment as I keep looking down into the glowing abyss below.
After a solid minute of theorizing to myself, I step away from the edge and go around this corner here to slay a pitchfork scythe wielding woman and collecting the bone marrow ash (8x) here before crossing the rickety wooden bridge which is really just a group of planks nailed together…even though I can't see the nails at all.
'This better be industrial glue otherwise I'm gonna get my lawyer and sue the witches of hemwick.'
I take down the brute across the bridge as it had powerwalked towards me but the moment it raised it's hand to slap me with a brick, I shot it and plunged my fist into it's cavity. I nearly get it's soul but in the last moment, i shocks me away. I crawl on the floor a bit to not fall off as the bottomless hole is still here. Taking the brute down. I continue forward around the left corner which leads to a barn house.
It's a pretty easy grind so far to get 6,356 echoes up till now. Not as efficient as Hypogean Gaol with the pigs but good enough as it's much safer with no risk of being run over by a random cow or mauled to death by a pack of dogs.
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Word Count = 2104
Returning to the hemwick charnel lane lamp and beginning the hunt. This can be considered the official first half of this area. Maybe I'll give a sneak peak at what I have planned for the boss next chapter
Enjoy
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