Dark Souls

[Pete for President]

Aye, that's what I'm wondering. It certainly is possible to beat him straight out the gate, but it's damned hard to do so with a broken sword hilt. xD

Oh, very important question. Does Quelana sell a pyromancy flame? I forgot to buy a second one off Laurentius before he went exploring, the bastard, and I'm not willing to upgrade my Power Within one, since that would not be good for me. However, if Quelana sells a second one, I will upgrade my current one and use the other for Power Within.

That sounds familiar! I bring bad news though. Pyromancy flames can not be bought, they can only be obtained by picking the pyromancer class, saving Laurentius, or talking to Eingyl. IIRC Quelana does not give a pyromancy flame. I believe having obtained a pyromancy flame is a requirement to make her appear in the first place.

Now for the tricky part;

Getting 2 flames in 1 playthrough is a mystery. People claim it is possible, but I never got it to work. If you have the pyromancy flame by picking the class, Laurentius does not give you another one. If you get your first one from Laurentius, Eingyl does not give you another one. In fact, I never even got one from Eingyl, so I can't confirm myself whether he even gives out one. The wiki's say he does though, but I reckon it's only if you haven't saved/spoken to Laurentius, and there's an INT requirement too.

I tried many times to beat the system; dropping my flame before talking to Laurentius and Eingyl, putting it in the bottomless box etcetera, but never succeeded. If someone knows the secret, please share!

Edit: right, so since the big 1.06 update people also claim the damage received by Power Within no longer increases if you upgrade the flame. I don't know what to believe though, so I might test it if I have the time.

Edit #2: Also; HANG IN THERE BLACK ORB! DON'T GIVE UP!