You need to use a fairly rare item that you won't get for a bit. Don't worry about them for now.

So do I want to go through the area with that one sitting knight and try and fight those guys? I'm going in blind and have never played before so pardon my scrubness

If you just started you want to go to the right of the first bonfire first before you go to the tower of flame with the sitting knights. You'll know your going the right way of you see ogres(run past them hug the wall on the right and there will be a bonfire. You may die tho.) after that just continue on and there will be two bosses, after them you should then head there.

There's only two ways to go for me that I can see. Through a tunnel that leads to an opening with a sitting knight, and then one that leads to a circular building with these things with giant sacks on there stomachs lol I can't progress through the sack lady's so I'm guessing I go past the knight? I can't beat him yet bc I'm not strong enough

When your at the very first bonfire in Majula near the emerald herald(the one who lvl a you up look right and there should be an opening there for you to go through. You should open a gate, see a bridge, and an ogre enemy which you should run past and on the right hand side there will be a bonfire. Then you just proceed killing all the undead hollow solidiers in your way and continue on. Also if your talking about the knight with the blue sword, he's actually a friendly NPC that helps you out at bosses once you unpetrify the statue blocking the path and talk to him. You shouldn't go yet to the area where he's at.