Alaric didn't sleep particularly well that night, or many nights since his first death. When the sun arose, he was already awake, staring into the bonfire. The firekeepers words the night before still jumbled around his mind. [i]One month.[/i] he thought. [i]One month to do the impossible. One month to do what a hundred of Balder's best knights could not.[/i] The thought wasn't exactly reassuring.

He looked off to the side, near the winding cliff path that led from Firelink Shrine, and saw two figures walking that direction. [i]So they plan to get a head start? I gain nothing by sitting here and waiting for the others.[/i] With that, he strapped on his claymore, picked up his bedroll and his shield, and followed quickly behind them. It was only that he caught up with them that he noticed it was Gerhard and Saira. "I would warn you both. Many of my father's knights died walking this path. I can assume that their hollows are still here."