Iron Keep / Sol Belfry

After a short stint of PVP with the Rat covenant I returned to the Iron Keep. This Bowser's Castle-like area has a knight on every corner. Fortunately the melee ones are a doddle, as despite wielding what looks like a katana they do one attack and then pause for a long time leaving them wide open. I was one-shotting them for fun and racking up the souls to boot.

The archers are more of a pain but it's really the environment which poses the greatest issue with its narrow walkways over lava etc. Not far in I came to a boss, the Smelter Demon. He seems like your average human-type boss with sword. He did an AOE on me whilst I was on the ground (cheap!) which seemed really powerful. Decided to investigate the pathways behind his room before returning.

Up there I came across the bane of my existence - the turtle knights - on narrow walkways too! The following room granted me access to a bonfire via a Pharros device which was a welcome respite. The bonfire area doesn't allow you access back to the Iron Keep but instead sees you climb a ladder to the Belfry Sol. I don't like Belfry Sol from the annoying leprechaun who grants access to the covenant to the seemingly random NPC phantoms that dropped by to the little gnomes with their fire axes.

I got invaded after ringing the bell (does that trigger it?) and was doing quite well until a second invader appeared. A swift death and I decided to join the covenant to prevent further invasions. The area is quite short and saw me dropped back to where I'd left off in the Iron Keep.