where should i go next?

[RuuRuuRuu]

alright im still on my first playthrough and ive just finished off quelaag (well actually someone else did while mildred tanked her i personally got only 3 hits in while running around like a headless chicken which was a bit meh... ) and ive been wondering where to go next? ive looked around the beginning of sen's fortress and got squashed by the first boulder i ran into, literally x)
ive also been to the beginnings of dark root garden where i got until the stone knights which pretty much whooped my a** with their stupid spell lol
i can also get possibly get past the graveyard and the sleeping dragon to valley of drakes but i just dont know where i should be going next?
the serpent said go fetch the lord vessel which seems to mean get through sen's fortress, but wouldnt i be missing out on the forest and all the other stuff if i go straight to anor lando?  

[h k d dummy]

The forest has some neat loot to be found in it. as well as a hydra sub-boss wich drops a ring that gives you double of each spell at the cost of half your'e life. it has about 5 outfits 1 covenant and 1 boss you shouldn't worry about till later. there is an ember for making enchanted weapons but it's only really helpful if you prioritize intellegence. sen's fortress is the correct destination to continue the story. and don't worry, you can always go back later. as long as you don't get stuck in the painted world of arimes or whatever the name was. but thats optional. oh yeah there was the moonlight butterfly you could beat right now to get it's soul and the divine ember. it's in the forest past the door thats locked. keep going past(or through) the stone knoights that stand up to the ruined tower. clime it,kill boss. then use the soul.(when the time comes.) to make the ring shield.(A shield that shoots rings of light as it's strong attack in off hand and deals ALOT of damage at the cost of durability.)
the key to that door can be bought by the blacksmith in the undead parish for 20,000 souls.(or you can kill him and take it,but doing so means you can't forge weapons to lv 10 and can't mix souls to them.) anyways hope this helps. any problems just ask.  

[RuuRuuRuu]

hmm ive been thinking of taking my sorc to the forest today (she is lvl 33 ) or at least the beginning area of it where the trees are since they seem to drop the purple moss rather frequently and just do the swamp area afterwards.
i suppose Sif is the boss i dont have to worry about until later?
ive read about the ring and that you can also enter a good farming spot with it but 20k souls is a bit out of my range for now on either char lol

really wanna play my sorc again and 'unstuck' her, i like the deprived and all but melee (she mostly str/vit/end ) just isnt really my thing i much prefer the good range of the sorc >_<
and that shield sounds interesting biggrin but can it be repaired if it costs durability?  

[h k d dummy]

yeah the shield can be repaired, and in fact it doesnt cost much to do so. usually 200ish souls even when close to break. good shield save it only has 90 physical res. to make it you need to lv a shield to +10 then when you get to anor londo the blacksmith there can make it. and for quelaags fury sword, make sure to have a scimitar +10. kind of a pain but worth it in the end.