Chapter 9 - Ghastly reception

After the dreadful events that had transpired in Iosefka's clinic, Tanya needed to occupy her restless mind with something before she could properly compartmentalize and analyze the implications that she really didn't want to deal with right now. Like always, whispers of tears and curses, laughter and howling echoed through her veins, if from the droplets of fresh blood that had sprayed onto her skin or from the all-consuming presence of despair that suffused the city, she could not tell. Staying sane in Yharnam meant that ignoring such things, contrary to her usual mindset, was a requirement.

Inside her pocket, her gloved fingers slid over the unsealed envelope that reeked so obviously of a trap that she could nearly feel the daggers digging into her back already. An old letter with her name on it? Addressed specifically at this date and time? No, that was suspicious beyond measure. Unless time travel was possible here...

Ugh, she would definitely not go down that rabbit hole.

Still, it was intriguing. She could easily ignore the invitation to Castle Cainhurst, but she would also miss out on a unique opportunity to learn more about the world and perhaps come one step closer to escaping it. The best way to deal with a trap was to purposefully spring it, encouraging the enemy to reveal their true plan.

Yes... That sounded like a relatively sound idea.

Conveniently the messengers of the dream emerged from the ground to wave their gangling arms at her, leading Tanya towards the nearest lantern, away from the dusty, dark building that was starting to erupt in purging flames.

~\\∞۞[ ]۞∞/~

Hemwick Crossing was somewhat peaceful under the moonlit blanket of the night. Few beasts bothered to patrol the outskirts of the small town when there was far juicier prey to hunt elsewhere. Only a select few maddened prowled the broad street which had long since been overgrown with weeds and shrubbery. Naturally, she relieved them of their misery and stripped them of their valuables, as was an age old hunter's tradition.

Just as she finished cleaning the last scraps of viscera from her weapon an ominous rumbling in the distance drew her attention. It was difficult to make out in the darkness but it looked like a carriage drawn by two horses was making its way directly towards her position.

Indeed it was a coach, although curiously without a driver or a servant to open the door. The seat sat strangely empty, suggesting an undetectably arcane method of steering. Slowly the door creaked open, spilling cool mist from the inside of the cabin onto the street. Tanya couldn't help but compare it to a tongue lolling out of a gaping maw to welcome her inside.

Checking her gun and sharpening her senses for poison or ambushes, she entered hesitantly before the carriage turned back around and rushed through the nightly fog to whence it came as if possessed.

~\\∞۞[ ]۞∞/~

Surprisingly Tanya's ride was both smoother and quicker than she expected. Due to the combination of darkness and fog outside it was impossible to see their travel route, but the wailing of strong storm winds noticeably increased over the course of her journey. Temperatures also started to fall until she began to slightly shiver under her coat.

Finally her transport gracefully came to a stop, the door once again swinging open to let in the cold winter breeze that carried a strong smell of blood and seawater.

Stepping out into the pale moonlight, Tanya initially was stunned by the sheer awe-inspiring sight of the enormous castle. Innumerable towers and spires hewn from black stone pierced the cloudy sky, calling back to an age before Yharnam and its gothic architecture. This ancient building looked far more... primal, for lack of a better word. It was a literal fortress that held firm against the crashing waves of the ocean below and the destructive forces of time.

She turned only to take a shocked step backwards.

The coach that seemed antique, but usable mere moments ago was now a frozen wreck, covered in icicles and snow. Equally jarringly the mounts lay dead on the grounds as rotted carcasses which clearly were deceased months ago. What terrible witchery was going on here?

Then it hit her.

The bridge to the mainland was also destroyed. A large gap broke through the giant stone monument, cutting off all access to where she came from. This was absolutely ridiculous. How had she crossed a destroyed bridge, dozens of meters above the raging winter sea?

Maybe she should have listened more to Alfred's ramblings after all...

"Damn it..."

Oh well, thanks to her forceful binding to the Hunter's Dream she wasn't exactly mortal anymore. Whatever this place could throw at her she would handle it. Hopefully.

When the towering, black portcullis of the castle raised itself to let her pass she did not even bother to comment.

~\\∞۞[ ]۞∞/~

With watchful eyes and light feet she traversed the crunchy snow, attempting to stay far away from the shambling monsters skulking about in between the forest of stone statues littering the courtyard. They were miserable creatures, appearing to be giant, humanoid ticks, bloated with the stale blood of long festering carcasses.

Their thin hide was easily pierced, but she took no risks with this completely unknown prey. When given the chance to attack properly the superior range of their spindly limbs might prove advantageous. Even the weakest abominations could be dangerous when they crowded together to pile on their victim, driven mad with hunger. She had learned that the hard way with Yharnam's crows.

Despite her thick leathers, the bitter winds here seemed to cut right through it, down to the bone, forming a chilling ache that could only be soothed by steaming, hot life fluid.

Tanya swallowed reflexively.

A heating spell was not terribly difficult, but would be costly without a computation orb, not to mention that if she miscalculated the output in her head it could literally cook her skin, so she refrained from using her magic to alleviate the effects of the unpleasant weather conditions.

Instead she searched for an entry into the castle proper that did not involve breaking through a window. Getting out of the storm would do wonders against the insetting hypothermia.

Absent-mindedly she threw a knife at the overstuffed underbelly of one of the bloodsucking beasts, hiding from its sight behind a cluster of nearby statues. As expected the blade got stuck, but its wild thrashing pulled it loose and leaked the contents of its guts onto the icy grounds.

Instantly two of its vile brethren noticed the smell and approached to sniff for the spilled delicacies. Due to its unnatural regeneration the wound had already closed and the creature was happily licking up the essence that stained the ground, but the others would not let this small meal go uncontested.

While they were distracted she hurried off towards the largest gate she could see through the blowing snow and fog. At her approach it partially swung inwards, revealing darkness and a few unknown forms, which was the perfect setup for a trap.

Tanya was half tempted to throw a Molotov inside to flush any defenders out, but reconsidered.

Somebody was obviously expecting her, as evidenced by the letter, the carriage and the lit lanterns along the way. Vigilance dictated for her to stay silent or find another way inside, but caution of offending her powerful host urged her to at least make the attempt of an introduction. Maybe she would find a great ally here, as unlikely that was in this cursed land, and burning down their home was unlikely to endear them to her.

Guardedly the young hunter entered the marginally warmer hall, taking in the lavish red carpet, marble columns and crystal chandeliers while her eyes adapted.

"Greetings. I have come as the invitation addressed on my name demanded." she politely stated to the empty air.

Inwardly scowling Tanya immediately regretted giving away her element of surprise for the possibility of entertaining some ghost. Most likely nobody here had enough consciousness in them left to understand her anyhow.

To her surprise though, the distant sobbing in a corner of the great hall stopped.

With much shuffling a whimpering the deformed figure of a decrepit old man approached her. He was dressed in rags that she guessed must have looked quite fine long ago. His back was hunched and stiff from age, his hands blackened either by sickness or the cold and his hair and beard were long and matted as if it hadn't been cut in years. Lastly his eyes were sunken hollow pits that shone with madness and terror, but also the slightest hint of intelligence.

Taking the chance for an actual conversation she pulled her bandana down and smiled as nicely as she was able to. Hopefully he was lucid enough to understand her if she articulated herself loudly and clearly.

"Hello, good sir. Do you know anything about my invitation here?" she spoke extra slowly and held the dirtied envelope in front of his wrinkled face.

"Huh?" he grunted unintelligently before squinting his beady eyes and dragging himself closer.

Tanya kept the welcoming smile even while she readied her weapon behind her back.

"Oooaaaoohhh..." groaned the skeletal husk and sniffed the parchment.

She interpreted that as a sign of recognition.

"Yes, this is my invitation. Where do I have to go to meet my esteemed host? You know, the one who wrote this?"

"Huuuu..."

How helpful.

Suddenly multiple candles on the eastern side of the room got blown out without an apparent reason. The surrounding banners had not moved at all and the candelabras adjacent to them shone untouched. Shortly thereafter the ethereal cry of a young woman dimly resounded through the halls.

Simultaneously the senile half-dead servant flinched as if struck by strong pain and fell to his knees where he hastily started to polish the shining marble floor with the rag clutched in his claws. Fearful sounds spewed from his mouth like a disturbing imitation of a beaten dog.

Alerted, Tanya hugged the nearest wall and tried to sink into the shadows. As usual something strange and sinister was going on wherever she went.

For the briefest moment she believed to have seen a vaguely human-shaped shimmer in the freezing air, but that could have been an illusion formed by the steam cloud escaping from her nose after every shallow breath. Backing up further she surveyed the area.

Whatever it was-

"Aaaargh!"

By pure instinct she narrowly dodged the angry slash from the transparent dagger that had materialized in thin air beside her.

"Aaaaahhhh!" shrieked the bluish-sliver being back at her.

Because of its translucent nature the features of her assailant were hard to make out, but in the brief few heartbeats before her Threaded Cane slashed out Tanya saw the ghostly presence of a richly dressed noblewoman whose hands were bound and eyes blindfolded. Most interestingly however was her cut throat.

In spite of her being surprised, the trick weapon struck true, ensnaring the apparition and tugging it off balance. Not letting such opportunity go to waste, the hunter drew a knife and repeatedly stabbed it into the iridescent woman's incorporeal chest.

Silently the... thing faded away into clear, white mist leaving nothing behind besides goosebumps on her killer's skin.

Tanya thanked her lucky stars that even ghosts apparently could die.