And here is update number two! I'm not sure how long it will be from the first update, but here we go.
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The Castle
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"There were three, and all were dressed in a black, cloak-like garb. The first was easily the fastest and most irritating. It had only a sword and would attack swiftly, but it was predictable and easily countered. The second, with both a sword and a candlestick, was sneaky in its attacks and seemed to love blowing flames at me with said candlestick. The third was some sort of arcane user. It had a mace instead of a sword, and held fire in its hands. It mainly used balls of fire and snakes to try and hit me."
This was but the beginning of the tale told by Navlaan to the Doll, in the workshop. With the Doll on the storage coffin, and Navlaan standing by one of the many piles of books. The Doll had made some of her delicious tea, and while she couldn't enjoy it she was told by those who had tasted it, that it was the best they'd ever had.
While he told his story, the Doll sat eagerly. She knew that he may exaggerate, but she loved them anyway. They were fascinating, and he made the most interesting facial expressions while telling them. Also, she knew it made him happy that someone was willing to listen, not out of courtesy, but out of genuine excitement for his tales.
"And as the twisted creature whistled for one final time, I ran up and slammed my hammer down on it. It fell, and I was going to celebrate. I then remembered that there was still a giant snake out for my blood. I dodged behind the giant tombstone and with a loud thwack, the beast ran straight into it. The stone nearly flew out of the ground, and I almost felt bad for the snake." Navlaan chuckled "Of course, I didn't, but the sound it made when it hit…" He shuddered. "But after that there was nothing but bones and corpses left on the ground, and that was the end of what I like to call The Shadows of Yharnam."
The Doll clapped with the end of the tale, and Navlaan stood with a large grin on his face. "Thank you, thank you." He said with a bow.
"That was one of the most exciting yet, Navlaan!"
"Yes, I think it was, and again I thank you for listening." His grin faltered slightly, before it back at full force "But for now, I must leave you. I have to get to Hemwick."
The Doll was disappointed, but didn't let it show. Instead, she stood and grabbed Navlaan's hand. She then went to one knee, and with the echoes he had gathered, she gave him a great increase in endurance and strength while he looked at her in surprise. When she was done, she stood before him, and he realized just how tall the Doll truly was in that moment.
She finally broke the silence that pervaded the shop. "Please, be safe. You are indeed very important to me, the little ones, and, though he will not admit it out loud, to Gehrman as well."
Navlaan smiled, feeling warmth spread through his chest again. He slowly opened his arms and embraced her again, and again she flinched. But this time, after a few moments, she hugged him back. They stayed that way for several moments in silence, until…
"Oh how touching, you two almost look like father and daughter. That is, if she weren't a head taller than you."
They both let go of each other at a mild pace, and turned to Gehrman, who was grinning like a madman. Navlaan then turned back to the Doll, who looked at him back.
"Are you thinking what I'm-" "Yes."
With that, they both turned back to Gehrman. The Doll's expression calm, Navlaan's was anything but, a large smirk spread on his lips. Gehrman's smile slowly faded as he looked between them both. When he spoke, he there was slight fear in his voice, "Now, now, heh heh. Let's not do anything rash-" And with that, they both rushed him, Navlaan with an arm around his shoulders, the Doll with a slightly awkward grip on his midsection. Gehrman gave one loud shout,
"I AM NOT THE HUGGING TYPE!"
and was silent.
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Navlaan stood over a demonic looking dog. A coach and horses had appeared in the distance, and he could tell from its decrepit design that it was what was taking him to the castle. As it stopped in front of him, he noticed there was no coach driver. The door swung outward, and with a single look around, he climbed inside. The interior was as bad as the exterior, but, after removing his weapon from his back, he sat down. The door closed after him, and he jolted as the coach pulled itself around.
All of the windows in the coach were blocked out, cloth covering all of them. However, from the little light that was seeping through, he could tell they were moving much faster than it felt. After what felt like only an hour, the coach slowed to a stop. As the door swung open, he picked himself up and stepped into the dry and frigid air.
And there stood Forsaken Castle Cainhurst, in all its glory. As terrifying as he thought it would be.
A large grin broke out on his face. He had arrived.
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They saw as he exited the coach, fully aware of what he was. He was one of them, one of the ones who had desecrated the castle and killed everyone. Or so they thought. Most of the servants had lived, simply because they could not fight as well as knights. The Queen lived as well, but only because she could not die.
They had been a servant at the time, and when the executioners came, they hid. There were many secrets in the castle, and hidden passages were common. After the massacre, they had opened their passage, only to appear in the Queen's throne room. There was only one way out of the room now, and the Queen was trapped completely, unable to move past the limits of the throne. That man, Logarius, was guarding the main entrance. He had cast some sort of arcane spell on himself, and he became almost lifeless, with basic functions and a purpose to keep the Queen in, or others out.
They shook their head, for now was not the time, and saw as the man grinned to himself. They sneered at him. He wouldn't last long, even without their interference. They would obey their Queen, she would know if they did otherwise, and they didn't feel like attacking anyway. They had already gathered the final dreg, and had simply been waiting for the man to arrive. With a glance toward him, they adjusted their weapon, a weapon of sacrifice to gain power, and left for the Queen.
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As he entered the castle courtyard, he instantly saw the lantern. He swiftly lit it, and looked around. The courtyard was large, with several statues and frozen trees around. A small building lay to his right, and what looked like the main entrance to his left. He decided to explore later, as he wanted to get inside as quickly as possible. His clothing, standard for executioners, kept him fairly warm. But that warmth wouldn't last long. He walked forward a few steps, but stopped short.
'What in the hell are those!'
He started reeling back, not wanting to be spotted by the beastly creatures. He couldn't think of any animal that resembled them in nature. He saw as one of their tongues lashed out. Latching onto a nearby corpse, the thing began to suck what little fluid it could from it's dead victim. Gagging, he looked around to see that there were many of them, but they all seemed entirely focused on the bodies that littered the yard.
After a moment, he slowly began to walk toward the door, praying that he would go unnoticed. He continued to walk until he was at the door, and was beginning to wonder how to open it when a loud shriek erupted from behind him. He turned to see one of the things looking straight at him, and as it began skittering toward him the others turned as well. Then, with a grinding noise, he turned back and saw the door begin to open.
With a noise of irritation, he turned and faced the first beast, hoping to hold them off long enough for the door to open. He pointed his blunderbuss in their general direction and fired, slowing some of them down, but only for seconds. With a second shot and the realization that it was futile, he quickly pushed his sword into the head of his hammer, and effortlessly swung it around to face his enemy.
As the first approached, Navlaan quickly smashed the hammer down on its head, disorientating it enough for a second strike, this one to smash its midsection. It could do nothing as the hammer impacted its extruding stomach, and it blew open, spreading blood everywhere. Some of the other creatures stopped to feed on the blood it had spilled, instead of chasing him. It was disgusting, but it gave him an idea. He quickly grabbed a bottle from his bag, and threw it in front of him. The metallic scent of blood quickly filled the air, and the creatures looked around for the smell, before pouncing toward the remains of the bottle.
All but one, that is. A large beast with a stomach bulge much bigger than the others, ignored the bottle in favor for chasing himself.
He brought the hammer down on it, hoping for a quick kill, but it shrugged it off. As he pulled his sword from the hammers base to attack faster, the creature slashed at him, scratching his chest and stunning him. He was shocked for several seconds, before he shook it off and slashed back with all his might.
Blood splattered as the thing's head was cleaved in two, and as it died the others left the smell behind in favor for the blood of their kin. As they started to lap up the blood from the snow, the door finally opened enough for him to enter. He quickly rushed in, and as he did the door slammed behind him.
He sighed.
There was no going back that way.
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Queen Annalise raised slightly in her seat as the knight entered the room. They could sense the dreg in their bag. They waited for them to kneel before her before addressing them.
"Thou hast returned. Did you catch a glimpse of our guest?"
Instead of answering, they nodded their head.
"Ah, and has thou guessed as to what thy challenge will be?"
This time, a shake.
"You will know in time. For now, the dreg."
They took the the blood from their bag and offered it to her. But instead of crushing it she set it aside. She then looked back at the knight and for once, actually smiled.
"You have done all that we asked. In time, you will see that what you have done shall set you on the greatest path. Until he arrives, remain here. There is nothing you need do till then."
With a final nod, and a 'yes, my lady', they stood themselves up, and walk over to one of the closest statues. They leaned against it, crossed their arms…
And waited.
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Holy crap, that was fun to write. That is currently the biggest thing I've ever written, not counting papers for school. Anyway, I'm glad that this story is fairly liked. I'm sorry if the character's seem a little OOC, I just feel like they should be a bit closer then it feels in the game.
We will soon meet our main antagonist, and we will be entering the RWBY universe shortly.
So if you see any errors, feel free to tell me. I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks! (Edit: Just made things smoother, and I changed a bit of what the Queen said.)
