He found 'her' a woman certainly older than him considering even past the end of time wouldn't even weaken an undead through old age.
Here back when this wasn't a lawless age, when the gods still had plans for this dump.
Oh well, she turned to him, the first change in her scenery she had in only the gods know how long.
"Hrm? Well, this is most unusual. You haven't lost your head. And more importantly, you're free."
"Well yes being undead and alive is no longer," he had to pause at this, to correct himself, morals and ethics were foreign concepts here, just because you are immortal doesn't mean you get tortured by scientists to see how to make you because they already have mass-produced the phenomena and can do it to anyone.
"Well it still is a crime and you still get imprisoned for it but I kind of escaped!"
"How on Eart…. ...Well I shouldn't pry"
"Oh, I kind of almost killed the warden, she was a demoness from Izalith, well they lost the war and all you know, or don't know, no postal service here, or is there?
"I am Ricarda of Vinheim. I was once an established smith but look at me now. Can you believe it?", she said almost out of it, half overcome with happiness to finally be seeing someone half of it with fury at the memories of the degeneration of her social standing with the spreading of the news back then.
"Oh I can back then it must have meant the world to be undead or not, well the world is no longer quite that good of a place as that it makes much of a difference. I'm Noel nice to make your acquaintance.", he offered his hands through the prison bar of her cell window, the actual exit must have ceased to be long ago, half the monument they stood on had fallen into the water so something must have collapsed should he tell her she was sitting here because the church could have experimented on her and she spent millennia in self-hatred the revelation alone could end her, if any amount of time was anything to those creatures.
He was undead he knew from his interactions with souls and humanity, anyway but the timescale they worked on was so foreign to him, well it makes more sense when you think that a blood of smudges drags itself over years to a bonfire to drink Estus and accelerate it's healing.
"So you are a merchant of sorts my companions should I take a sorcerer catalyst and an instruction to Soul Arrow please.", he reached in to pull the souls out of himself, he knew the prices if anyone would ever blame him for going the easy route, he would allow them to be conscious sludge that drags itself over years back to a place that would be halfway free of violence just so it could heal, no thank you too that experience he could live without having to go through that hundreds of times.
"That will be 2500 souls.", she knew not how he knew or what he knew but kept her tongue in check, she had little in here besides her lonesome to keep her company she wouldn't call him out or even try to dismay the conversation but what could she say that would make him stay.
No longer used to others around or even talking, her jaw felt weird but even then she handed over what was ordered, as she should as a 'merchant'.
"So you are really going to stay here what if the water rises or the river bank from overhead starts digging into the bank more, it would all spill her, and you would drown pretty quickly no?
"What river? There was at most a little stream above,-"
"Back when you got put here and when was that?"
She was silent at that telling the time wasn't among the best traits of an undead or any creature in a world that hardly moves even after millennia, it out a bit of fear into her, maybe a bit of panic all are afraid of an unavoidable death, and he would let things out and manipulate if it got him what he wanted."
"I-I have no intentions of escape. It's safe here."
"Yes it is safe but for how much longer, you see the banshees and the ghosts and the ravagers those humanity hunters from here you know what they do, how they hound one how they hunt for you, and what they do when they finally get you. It is just a matter of time till they find a sitting duck."
"I-I can't bear the thought of going hollow out there!"
"Oh you won't, you'll be hollowed inside out in there plenty. I mean makes you think that just a stone's throw from the covenant known for its excessive cruelty you'd be safe?"
Her words choked, she didn't have much to go on, she knew nothing of the world outside, but it mattered little to her now, he seemed to speak the truth or she lost the ability to tell apart people at all, it was an option.
"Well we are both cursed so-so there is nothing to really moan about?", why did she say that? Her thoughts of decadence were showing, her desire to not think about the inevitable and to distract herself gave way to her nature as a woman with nothing but her fingers in a cell for millennia.
Yes, the water was rising it hadn't been drained since that fateful day, but she didn't have to think about it, did it, tears were suppressed but they didn't matter was it now just a waiting game till the end?
Noel wasn't really thinking much of it, his companions just found him, who hides stairs behind a wall, which is just as infuriating as a double illusionary one.
"So we have a few things to sell.", he said as he saw his friends with their loot approach.
This was the first man in ages, the first person to talk with her and not a mindless hollow that in self-flagellation accidentally walked or stumbled down the stairs and fell into the water that was a grizzly sight that were both the highs and lows of the month But what made him think that she had any buying power or any other customers.
Here face distorting at what she would have to do, "Why would you think that I am buying?"
"Well you are a merchant so you buy and sell right?", not having noticed the obvious Noel just continued, he was so proud of disarming the mindless and selling their weapons to further empower himself.
Both her hands were locked in front of her mouth at how she should tell him, looking at her he started to understand, the awkwardness of it all.
"Well, I don't suppose you sell any Bottomless Boxes?"
She shook her head in silence and he let out an almost equally silent "Shit".
He turned to his companions, if you have any souls she can repair your equipment. Just ask her about the price she should be open about it.", part of him wished to just gloss over the fact that even now they still carry the weapons with them, he would say it once everything is repaired, but he knew it was just an excuse to delay it, old habits do die hard.
Elekta and Oskara were almost enthralled as they watched her repair their arms even with limited means and barely half a hand full of tools.
He watched the equipment on the stairs so that they wouldn't fall down into the water never to be recovered.
Almost the entirety of Oskaras armour had to be repaired or at least handed through the bars of the window to be properly inspected, he wasn't allowed for whatever reason to watch, but oh well.
"Well as you said before I might actually need something of a weapon so I will take one off your arms at a premium just this once.", if she ever needed to get out here
She took the axe, and they got a hundred souls for it not bad not good, considering its quality but better than nothing he didn't have 4000 souls for the better version of the spell, but it would have to do.
"Let's go.", all business was concluded and all were happy, the girls hadn't questioned him, he would tell them to leave the weapons at the shrine when they passed it.
The smiths eyes followed them for as long as her cell allowed it, part of her wished to touch upon her old mastery of enchanting, to bring her craft back to its peak another wished to escape out of self-protection, but she remained afraid of the world at large, and another that betrayed her solitude as one hand wandered down to her loins, she couldn't get them stained, she would have to strip and stand in the corner no one could see to do the deed there.
The group went back to Firelink shrine to finally rest a bit.
"So I think we can just dump the stuff here until we get a Bottomless box to safely store it all in.", he hoped they wouldn't call him out on his stupidity but it was an honest mistake.
The crestfallen girl still just looked at them, but oh well.
Oskara was watching the Estus slowly refill, while Elekta inspected and tested her weapon, he went over the spell and tried to do his best to cast, it was a beginner spell it couldn't be that hard he had the stats for it, sitting at the bonfire the system translated for him, as he selected the attune options.
He had 90 shots, damn was attunement this good back in Dark Souls 1 no these were mixed mechanics of one 3 and maybe 2, he wouldn't look a gifted horse into the mouth.
He could almost safely steamroll the way to the next bonfire without having to worry about even letting the hollows know about his presence. He would redeem himself, in his own eyes at least better not to think about how his presence was now basely mental pollution to the poor mindless hollows that he would kill and worsen.
Now to wait for the Estus, refilled the journey was far too easy, almost, unarmoured hollows were easy picking, for the girls.
They reached the same place as before in not even a third of the time, the waterway they would use to enter the city was already in view, and he hadn't even had to fire a single spell.