Shaded Woods

Past the petrified woman pulling the lever just through the cave in Majula.

Description
The shaded woods lives up to its name nicely. It's a nice woodsy place, great for taking a walk. It's also full of tanooki-esque guys with giant ball sacs hoping to beat you into a pulp. Fortunately, they don't try to beat you witt their giant ball sacs.

First Bonfire:  Old Akelarre

The first bonfire is just past the formerly petrified lady, after a nasty ambush. Once you've reached it, if you travel or die, the door will close behind you. If you want to get ambushed again, just open that door again. Make sure you grab the Pharro's Lockstone in the room across from the bonfire.

Take the trail instead. You'll fight through a couple groups of those guys. I'm gonna call them tanookis even though they bear no resemblence to racoons. Just go slow and watch out for minor ambushes. A little before the next bonfire, you'll find an Estus Flash Shard! Eventually you'll get to the second bonfire.

Second Bonfire:  Ruined Fork Road

Here's where it starts to get interesting. From this bonfire, there are three ways to go. The first door is on your left when you first enter the bonfire's chamber. Take a left almost right away out the door and you'll find some tanookis guarding an item. I think it's Ring of Life Protection. Then head down the main path again, and pretty soon you'll run into a big scary demon with no back and two fronts. He. Hits. Hard. However, if you're a man of faith, Emit Force takes him down very quickly. He's guarding two items:  Golden Falcon Shield and Dragonslayer's Crescent Axe. From here, you can go up a little path to the Temple of Winter, but you can't go in without a Symbol of the King.

The next path (forward from when you walk into the bonfire chamber) gets you a red teardrop ring and a dead end. Something about needing a bigger soul or something.

The third path (on the right) is foggy. Very foggy. Also, it sucks. All the enemies are invisible. You can see their shadows if you bring a torch, but it doesn't help a ton. If you follow the left wall in the foggy area you will find a path that leads to a headless guy named Vengral???. He warns you of his body which is still wandering around, notes how he likes peaceful days of not killing things and watching the days go by. Sells a few items, and the Magic Barrier Miracle. If you follow along the left wall further you will eventually get out of the fog and go up some stairs into a long rectangular "building" with a bonfire behind you. Be careful, there are laughing curse jars all around, taking them out with emit force from a distance seems to be the best way to handle them.

Following the foggy woods along the right leads the player to two chests, the first containing the Sun King Ring?? which explodes damage to enemies after the player has taken so much damage. Be careful, you will be ambushed by invisible people at each chest. Best way to deal with them is keep your back to a wall and look for them, they will look like very faint "ghosts" from other worlds, but they are very much in your world and very much out to wreck your shit.

NPCs
Headless Vengral??

Giant Half Scorpion Guy who won't say anything.

Items found here

 * Estus Flask Shard
 * Golden Falcon Shield
 * Dragonslayer's Crescent Axe
 * Ring of Life Protection
 * Red Teardrop Ring
 * Scrotums
 * Pharro's Lockstone
 * Chloranthy Ring +1 in a chest in the foggy area.  from next bonfire, go back into foggy area and go left

Connects to

 * Majula