Chapter 6: A Unseemly Presence
Although only knee deep in the oily freezing water, Karigan felt as if the cold was taking over her entire being. Her coat stuck to her skin, her hair and bangs plastered over her face and her boots made a squelching noise everytime she took another tired step. It was utterly miserable. Everything was dark; the filmy water, the soggy shacks, the sky painted a inky blue with thick rolling clouds threatening to swallow it whole. Not to mention the grotesque creatures that patrolled the watery streets, harpoons and spears in hand. Maria on the other hand didn't seem bothered at all by the atmosphere heavy with desperation. She just continued on ahead, determination and redemption shining through her ivory skin.
"Maria, how do you suppose these fisherman ended up like this?" Karigan asks after the duo puts down another ambush of enraged fishmen.
"Another mistake by the Choir. Kos's body along with the Orphan's were teeming with tiny parasites. Of course we never noticed them until it was too late. The remaining people of this village became infected by the Kos parasites, turning them into some variation of Kin." Maria replies while wiping her blade.
Karigan just nods, knowing that it's probably best not to continue bringing up past events. The two Hunters continue, killing countless mobs of fishmen with little difficulty.
Until they happen upon a well. Maria stops, her stony gaze resting on the sludge covered well. Karigan can feel Maria's tension.
Karigan beackons with her arm, "Is that the well you dropped your weapon in?"
"Yes. Though I do not wish to go down there."
Karigan nods and turns away from the well only taking a few steps before a deep rumbling erupts to her right.
"What the?!" Is the only thing she can get out before a massive charging fish giant tramples her under its weight. She's thrown into the side of a fishing shack and hears a sickening crack. Her back. Pain blossoms and she lets out a soundless cry. She slumps sideways on to the sopping ground, unable to move, watching helplessly as the giant monstrosity of barnacles and teeth makes its way towards her.
Through darkening eyes she sees a flash of silver and paleblood as Maria jumps in front of her, her twin blades drawn and dripping.
"You all right?" Maria yells without taking her eyes of off the roaring giant that crashes through the water.
"I just. . .need. . . some. . .bloodvials," Karigan wheezes through strained breaths, "I can't. . .reach mine." Karigans hands are outstretched, desperately clawing for her bloodvials that fell out of her pocket and now lay a few feet away.
"Just hang on!" Maria gasps as the giant lunges towards her, its clawed hands clumped into fists the size of boulders, "I'll lead it away and try to take it down, you focus on getting back up!" Maria dashes around the creature, pulling its gaze into the center of the clearing. The giant loses interest of Karigan and turns towards Maria who is now holding her ground in the clearing.
Karigan struggles to drag herself along the ground towards her vials, but to no avail. Her back is screaming with protest and every movement she makes sends a jarring signal of pain up her spine. She turns her head towards Maria and the giant. Through blurry eyes she watches as Maria fights with grace and fluidity; her movements fast and precise, slashing the giants flesh to ribbons. Maria ends the fight with a slash to the giants inner thighs, bringing it crashing down to the ground where she plants her blade into its head, killing it.
Maria whips her head around in alarm, remembering her fallen companion. She sprints over to Karigan whose eyes are glazing over and her breaths shaking. Karigan looks up to see Maria's face, her eyes wide with worry and her lips moving, forming soundless words. Her entire world has become engulfed in a silent haze, where sound is lost in a endless void.
Maria leans over and jabs something into Karigan's thigh. Suddenly everything comes back with sharp clarity. The warm peaceful haze is lifted. She gasps as she feels both the pain and relief as the blood coursing through her body mends broken bones and torn flesh. She bolts upright, almost bonking a startled Maria in the head. She takes in a large breath, stale air filling her lungs.
"Karigan!? How are you feeling? Do you need another vial?" Maria asks, her eyes wide with worry staring intently into Karigan's.
Karigan waves her hand and lets out a groan, "No, I'm alright. Thanks Maria." With another groan she slowly pushes herself to her feet where she gingerly tests her back. Maria stands as well, watching as Karigan stretches and swivels her back.
"Phew, if it weren't for you I would have been a goner. Thanks again." Karigan smiles towards Maria.
"You really had me worried there, I thought you were gone for sure."
"There's no need to be worried. If I do die at any point just make your way back to the last lantern and I'll meet you there."
Maria smiles, "Of course, It is just strange to think that death is not the end for you as it is for me. If I were to die in this Nightmare, it would be for good."
"Exactly, so don't needlessly endanger yourself for my sake." Karigan turns and makes her way towards the fallen giant in the clearing.
She lets out a whistle upon closer inspection of the beasts malformed head, "Wow you really did a number on him didn't you? I wonder how he got to be this big?"
"I haven't the slightest idea, but it could be that the parasites did different things to their bodies, depending on their size or background." Maria shrugs and turns away from the fallen creature.
The two continue, working together in harmony as they push their way deeper into the village. After defeating yet another fish giant, they come upon a small tattered lighthouse. A lighthouse containing both a lamp and a broken body of a fellow Hunter.
"Simon!" Karigan rushes towards him, bending down to get a closer look, "What happened?"
Simon's weak voice floats through the air; "Oh, you, I'm afraid I've made a botch of things. . . I can hear the bell, now. . ." His voice quivers with fear, "The beast-hide assassin, he's after me. . .again and again. . .It never ends. . ."
Karigan's eyebrows knit together, and she looks behind her, where Maria stands, concealing herself from Simon in the shadows. Simon's voice brings her attention back toward him.
"Please, I need you to do something. . .bring an end to the horror. So our forefather's sinned? We Hunters cannot bear their weight forever. . .It isn't fair. . .It just isn't fair." And with that the harrowed hunter let out one last tired breath before succumbing to the peaceful allure of death.
"Go in peace my friend." Karigan bent her head in respect and stood up to see that Maria was nowhere inside the hut. She walked her way out to see Maria standing on a ledge that overlooked the dark sea. Her head was bent towards the ground as if she were looking at something.
Karigan stopped a few feet behind Maria after noticing she was looking at a small grave surrounded by drenched Lumenflowers. "Are you alright?" Her voice was the only sound besides the soft pitter-patter of rainfall sliding into the mushy ground.
Maria said nothing for a time, her gaze switching between the little grave planted in the earth and the far horizon that stretched the limits of the heavens. "It pains me to see the result of my misdeeds first hand. That poor Hunter's words strike deep within me, bringing back ghosts of my memories that I would rather see left untouched. I did not want his last sight to be person responsible for his misfortune and suffering." Her voice is as heavy as the dark clouds shrouding the sky.
Karigan walks until she is right beside Maria, "But you are here now. You are ready to face what you did and you will be the one to help me bring this Nightmare to an end." She bends down to look at the small grave before her, "You built this didn't you?"
"Yes, though both the Orphan and the villagers deserve far more."
Karigan studies the grave some more. Something about it feels strangely familiar, as if she's seen it countless times. She makes the connection.
"Wait a minute! This grave, I know why it seems so familiar!"
Karigan's outburst shakes Maria from her solemn thoughts. "Hmmm? What do you mean?"
"Inside the Hunter's dream, I access this Nightmare through a small grave that looks just like this one. It even has small flower's engraved in the stone. I've even seen it in the abandoned workshop in the real Yharnam." Morbid realization dawns on her. "I think. . .I think that it was your grave Maria."
"My grave? In the Hunter's dream?" Maria asks, seemingly curious.
"Yes, but it's also in the real world as well. It's where I found. . ." Karigan's voice draws off as she remembers the small item in her pocket.
Maria leans in, her eyebrows drawn together and raised. "Where you found what. . ?
"Uh, where I found this." Karigan pulls the small Hunter Bone from her pocket. The Hunter Bone that allows her to quicken. A Hunter Bone that more than likely belonged to Maria.
"Are you saying, that. . .that is my bone? From my grave?"
"I believe so. . .yes."
"Then why in the gods name do you have it?!" Maria's face isn't angry, just very, very confused.
She lets out a nervous laugh,"It's not like I dug it up or anything! It was just sitting there on top and when I picked it up it allowed me to quicken!" Karigan waves her hands in front of her face defensively.
Much to Karigan's surprise Maria laughs, "This is a rather strange situation, is it not?"
"You're not angry?"
"No no, why would I be angry? It's just strange that I happened to stumble upon a Hunter that is directly carrying a part of me with her." Maria continues to softly chuckle, her accent curling her laugh, "Ah, enough of this, we have a Nightmare to end." Maria turns and walks down the bank, further into the fishing village. Karigan follows behind, unaware of the faint toll of a bell floating along the thick air.
She crosses a bridge, watching as Maria disappears behind a corner.
It's too late by the time she notices the presence behind her. A wet sound resonates through the air. Something doesn't seem right in her chest. She can feel a warm fluid running down her front. She looks down to see a bloody mass of cruel spikes protruding from her ripped abdomen. A small gasp escapes her lips as she slumps to her knees. The man behind her frees his weapon from her body. She feels herself falling sideways to the ground, her cheek rubbing against the rough wooden planks.
"Unending in death, awaits those who pry into the unknown." Those are the last words Karigan hears as she accepts the comforting darkness.
-Authors Note: And Brador enters the mix! Hope you liked it