Planned this for a while. Also, I want to thank HalfWitHillbilly (mainly him) and Echo129 for their suggestions in a certain bit of this chapter. They are good at helping me. Now onto the chapter.
A Hunter's Guide for Running a Hotel
IX
Discovering
It was time for Charlie to finally read that notebook that the Hunter gave her not long before he left. She inspected it, but the outside cover didn't paint much of a picture aside from it being worn with use and stained with old, dried blood that she was able to sniff out.
The symbol on the front reminded her of a rune, but it didn't match any of the ones she had ever seen. That made the insides questionable. But questionable or not she was doing this for the Hunter's sake. She could only wonder what dark things the contents would be, to have made the Hunter who he was today.
The first page was already throwing flags.
To whoever reads this,
These are the sins I committed in my time in Yharnam.
Yharnam. So that was where he came from. But where exactly was Yharnam? Charlie could faintly remember hearing that name, but she can't place her finger as to where. She continued to read.
The place where I was going to find the cure for my illness, I did not expect the city to be so dark in the light of the cursed moon, but the sewers were darker still. This city was a bad idea to come to look for my treatment. There were Beasts everywhere.
Charlie felt her brain pulse, then saw a vision of the Hunter, who was wearing some foreign garb, his face hidden with a hood, stop writing in the notebook. She could see it like a memory. He was in what looked like some strange medical clinic, abandoned and dark. There, she saw what looked like a werewolf devouring a corpse. It was… wrong. It was somehow less human than the Hellhounds, yet something about it made her eyes itch.
I died.
That monster pinned me to the ground and devoured me. I remembered screaming in pain…
She let out a gasp upon looking at what he wrote. "The Hunter…died?" If that was the case, he would have been in Hell by now. This story doesn't add up, where did his equipment come from? Her mind pulsed again, then she saw.
But then I woke up. From a nightmare to a dream. I awoke in a field of flowers, with a workshop in front and graves all around. I saw these… creatures that offered me weapons and this notebook. I didn't know what to do with it. Gilbert, a man I met later, suggested that I write my thoughts whenever I have a bit of time. 'To keep your mind' he said. I would need it on this Night of the Hunt.
Charlie raised an eyebrow at the last part. A night of the hunt? What where they hunting? There was definitely something wrong and she needed to persist in reading the whole thing. Even if these visions were giving her a mild headache.
She flicked to a random page. As she did so, she found herself in a cemetery where the Hunter stood over a recently deceased Beast.
Killed him. Or whatever that could still be considered a human. He turned, right in front of me. From a deranged Hunter to a wild Beast in the blink of an eye. It's terrifying. To see what the Hunt can do first-hand... I pray that wherever this place leads me to- I won't suffer a similar fate.
I confess I did not know what to make of him the first time- but I've come to know he was the father of the same little girl I talked to at the window. 'Find my mother', she said... A Red Jewelled Brooch. Lord, what will I tell her? That her father went mad? That the only one she could trust this Night killed her father?
Charlie could feel her head start to pound. Turned? Beast? Was it like werewolves? But that thing from earlier was no wolf, something was not right.
Flicking through the pages, she saw another note. But the ink seemed scattered, like the Hunter had been crying when he wrote this entry. She found herself in the dark sewers of Yharnam, where the Hunter, who was completely covered in blood in his unique attire, held onto a blood-soaked white ribbon.
She's gone. Unable to believe her parents' death... I should've been there—No. I simply shouldn't have given the Brooch.
What an infection this is. To twist men's minds and flesh alike.
The Princess was pained to read this. She didn't know the Hunter had felt such heavy guilt in Yharnam. As much as she wanted to stop reading, she knew she couldn't stop now.
Flicking a couple of pages…
An endless tomb of a dead civilization and their maddened queen…
A brief image of a strange, ruined dungeon appeared before her, and she bore witness to its many monsters. A great flaming hound, rotting giants covered with sharp blades, and a queen in white, stained in red. "Yharnam…. The Lost Queen!" She remembered now. An entire civilization had just… died. No one knew what had happened, and they never came to either Heaven or Hell. It was like they died, but their souls didn't leave. From what she saw and read, that might have been the case.
Cold stone, but colder blood…
Charlie gaped at the size of a castle situated somewhere in the freezing cold. Yet, despite it looking abandoned, she saw the ghosts and corpses of the people that used to live in it roaming the palace before finding herself on the roof. A Martyr sat upon the throne, and behind the throne she saw a queen with a ragged dress and a metal mask. "Vilebloods… vampires in all but name. None of the ones I know look this bad though, how long have they been without fresh blood?"
I Finally learned what cursed this city. The Blood of a G̶̲̽r̵͕̽e̴̼̊at̵͖͊̆O̵̠͠n̋ͅë̵̠́
Charlie's headache spiked upon reading the last line of the notebook. However, being the daughter of Lucifer, she was able to understand Eldritch. "Great One? What is that?" It reminded her of some of the older Sinners in Hell, who had rambled about dead Gods and eyes and rivers of blood. People thought their minds had finally cracked from their age, but Charlie saw it in a different light. Maybe, having been around so long, they started seeing things that others didn't. She shuddered at the memory of some of the more… graphic descriptions.
ђє รקเ๔єг ฬครђเ๔เภՇђє๓Ŧг๏๓๓๏гՇคɭ єץєร, ๒ยՇภ๏ฬเรєє
She got her answer when she found herself on the surface of an endless, misty lake... Her eyes darted to a bloated, spider-like creature with many more eyes than it should. "So…this is a Great One?" She uttered in awe. It was barely comprehensible to Charlie, but she could feel that it was more than just a strange, unfathomably old creature. So this was one of the beings the older Sinners had seen. This was what cracked their minds for good. But… how did the Hunter survive? She turned to another page.
ฬђคՇฬє ฬєгє ภєשєг ๓єคภՇՇ๏รєє...
Charlie witnessed as, before her very eyes, all of the Kin that had been hidden by the Spider were made visible. There were hundreds, on the buildings, in the air, just watching the world below. However, she could sense that they weren't quite Great Ones. They seemed Lesser in comparison. She could feel her headache begin to pick up even more, but she was in awe. "How did his mind not snap? I'm resistant to Eldritch, but even Dad wouldn't be able to be here for long!" She would have to reevaluate him, there's no way a mortal man could have survived this. With her head throbbing, she turned another page.
вяαιη σƒ α яσттє∂ gσ∂, мα∂∂єηιηg ιη αρρєαяαη¢є
This one was disgusting to look at. It was a gigantic rotting brain, covered in eyes and hair. "Just what am I looking at?! Another one of these Great One!?" Her headache intensified to a pounding drumbeat, but she persisted.
T̵h̴em̵o̵s̴t̴̷a̵b̴o̷m̵in̷a̷b̷le̴̵b̶e̵as̷t̵̵w̷i̷t̴h̵t̷h̷e̴mi̶nd̷o̷f̶̴a̴m̷a̴n̶
The Princess of Hell was horrified by what she saw. It was a large being that is a mixture of a man, beast, and horse. What unnerved her was the second mouth of the right side of its neck. It opened to reveal a set of multiple eyes. This was the fate of clerics? It was ironic how the holiest Hunters turned into the vilest Beasts. And somehow, it had regained its sanity in its last moments. The willpower required... Not wanting to look at this page anymore, she quickly flicked to yet another unfortunate one.
T̛̛̗̦̜̑ḩ̸̼͎̉̚eR̴̩̈es̵̘͒e̴̦͗ä̷̘̜́̊̕r̵̯͚̓̇͝ḉ̴̗̼̈́h̵̫͖̽̂̾̂͐͘Ḧ̴̪̯́̕a̵̧̪̎̑̍ll̋.̵͉̆
̶̘͚̔̿͆H̴̗̹̬̄e̋̃r̵̖͇̯̾e̵͚̭̳̐̈́ ̷͖͛͗̑Į̷̬̰̆͂̈́ ̶̠̠̈̈́͜l̶̤̟̉͝e̶̡͈̥͐͌͂ȧ̵͍ŗ̴̛̊n̵͉̙͎͗ë̴̬́͒͗d̵̷͈̹̩̜͔̔͒̀̕̚͜t̶̘̥̽̆h̴͙̰̏͋e̷͓̲̗͆̓ĭn̴̳͖̺̉̓hṵ̴̓m̶̩͉̞̂̏͘a̷̧̭̘̽n̷̹̺̂e̶̶̛͉͉̒̊̿͒͌ac̷͙̦̊̀ṭ̷̛̫͒͝ĭ̈́o̴̢̒n̷̻̄̌š̷̷̨̮̭̈͑̕̚͝ͅẗ̴̖͈͈́ha̵̢͑t̴̶̼͎͋̍ͅt̵̝͚͌̿h̵̡͗̾͠ể̶̩C̷̟̽h̵̡̏̐̿u̒r̶͉̥̔c̶̩̮̞̈́̎h̵̨̫̒̒t̴̥̉̍̕a̷͖̾k̷͕͕̹̋͝e̴̵̢̜͕̐̅͗͘͠t̵̩̓̈́o̷̵̦̹͖̍̃͂͒͜â̈́͗c̴̨̿h̴̦͕͓̋̍i̷̟̟͓̋ë̷̙͓́v̷̛̞̠̐ẻ̵͕̱̪̍̋ ̵̰̞̀̕͠a̵̢̩̍sc̵̥͓̆ẹ̴͉̘̽̔͘ṅ̸̦̫̝̂ṡ̸̗͓ͅi̇̆̆on̈́.̵̵̷̙̲̗̤̞̖͖͂͂͊̊
̇̍͝Ț̷͓́͂͐ḩ̷̬̻̓̊ě̵̡̤̣͝p̶͖̯͒ati̊̀͝ͅe̷̙̣͑n̵͔̐̎̈́t̷̨̲̞͂̈́͘s̵̶̥͚͇̓̒̐̓̚ͅt̶͇̟̑̚ḧ̷͎́ĕ̷̡̄̏ȑ̴͇̞̘ẻ̶̴͇̮̲̱͚̎̏́͝ḥ̶̂̕a̵̤͛d̵̴̢̰͇̣̹̿͛͗̚͝t̶̺͙̲̅h̶̯͖̱͐e̵̡͂ì̷̬r̴̶̞̞͚̆̓̊͘h̷̩̥̻́͝ë̴͔̰̠͋̀â̴̳̗̆̕d̷̺͌̓͝s̵̴̡̤͙̔͌̑̓̈b̀̊l̶̰̈̽ͅơ̷͍̼̾̊a̵̯̯̝̔t̶̤͒̍e̶̥̲̐d̵͖̀.̴̶̰̼̙̞̏̍̄͘M̷̺̪̏o̷̥͝s̶̟̜͋t̷̴̰̭̩͓̄̇͒̈o̶̡̳̓͗͝f̷̴͎͇͎̿̿͑͆͊͊t̴̜̰̱͛̒̋h̵̛̻͗͝em̴̫̼̄͆̂ŵ̶̘͙̲̓e̵̞̠̭͒r̴̫̭̩͊̍eͅm̷̳͖̊̀ͅî̶̙ndl̄͆͋ë̵̡͎̩́͝s̀ṡ̴͖̹ ̶̟̿ḧ̴͚̘́̎͋û̷͎̱̚͝s̵̢͂̏͘k̷̥̼̉͐̽ṣ̴͇̉.̴̨͇͈̍
T̴̞͚̰̎̉h̵͔̄e̷̶̩̜̦̽̈́̏̈́c̋à̵̹ṵ̸̾s̷͔̺̎̑̉ê̴͕̅̕͜ỏf̶̖̪̩̍͐͘o̵̫̬͋ư̴͔͐̿r̵̷̡̛̦̱͉͐͗̀̀̚w̵̹̎̃ö́̂ḛ̵̹͍̔s̷̹̀͋͂,̷̶̣͖͆́̈́ͅt̷̰͓͒h̵̢̩͂̽ḛ̶̿ ̶͚̺͛ṣ̛͛p̌͜ő̷̥̱̄ì̶̛͙̜͖lë̶͖́́d̵͉̃ ̨̯͎̆͂b̀ḹ̵̅̇o̶̡͚͔͗̐ö̴̱̟̭d̶̶̡̖͓̘̺̘̿̄̒͌o̒͠f̶̵͈̖̱̫͆̍̆̈́͝͠a̶̵͕̹͚͑̂͝d̷̪͖̿̚ĕa̵̠͋̐d̵̶̛͎͙̺̦͚̪͊̑̀͘ģo̒̇͠d̴͇͂͌̐
Charlie began to hyperventilate at the words she read. This Eldritch or whatever was becoming too much for her to handle. But she had to persist. she managed to flick through one more page. "One more…just one…more…"
M̴͎̟̭̓̑̀y̴̧͎͚͈͐̆͠f̵̣̽͜a̷̮̼͍̋u̷̳͐l̦̏̿̚t̴̵̳̻̩͍̋͛̑m̵̜̳̹̂̄ÿ̶̳̟͗͆̉f̶̣̫̫̐̍͊a̶͈̿ū̴̹̣̦͝l̴̢̠͎͑͑͛t̷̞̯͐̒a̶̳̅͂͠l̒͝ļ̴̴̟̝̺̒̕m̴͇̦͘y̨̧͚̾̏̃ ̵͈̄̋͠f̵̖̙̬̿̾̂a̵̳͔͂̇͝ŭ̷̧́l̷̦͍͊̚t̶͖̮͗̒̒!̶̵̢̙̰̦͆̋̊̈Ț̷͗̆͜h̴̘̩̳̓̽̔ĕ̴̢̛̅ŷ'̴̫̓͛̾ḓ̶̨̛̺̾s̴͚̪͉͝t̷̳͆͠i̒l̷̳͌̋̇l̴̵̨͕̯̗̅̍̒͌͂̚b̷̭͚̓̏͌é̶̱̐ą̵̉̈́̌l̴̹̮̂i̶̱͋v̌e̵̵̝̪̿̏̽̍͝i̴̺̚f̴̵͇̖̜͖͋̓̿́i̊ṫ̷̷̡̧̙͕̎͑͑w̌̋̒ẽ̈̅r̴̘̗̆̋̒ȩ̸̖̋n̷̢͆'̴̯̲͐t̴̶̛̼͎̭̀͂͑̃͠f̵̙͘ö́̓́ŗ̴̳͉́̈́ m̷̱͍͓̀͊ḛ̴̳̐.̷̣̼͔̓̔
̷̢̌Iͅc̶̛̗̊̐a̴͈̲̣̋n̷̘͕̽́'̴̼̃͒̂t̴͛̋͜͜ḡ̵̰r̶̻̪̈́i̴͓̤̾̀ͅeͅv̷̦̋͑̀͜e̶̵̟̤̹̺͆͘͝t̶̞̳̅̕h̴̛̻̹̓̋e̷̫̥͛ḯ̵̩̬̚ŕ̷̗͕̐͗͝ͅd̶̼̹͒̓̈́e̶͔̬͙͗a̶̮͙͔̋̌ṱ̴̨̫͂h̶̰̔͗s̴̠̖̈́ ̷̥̙̘̅̐̉r̶̰̲̿̂ͅȉ̸̖́͝g̶̳̼̹͠h̷̲̎t̷͙́ ̊̓n̴̤͑͊́ow̴̭̻͉̐.̶͙̰̦͐̾̽̈́ͅD̃a̶͖̚w̶̢͉̻̿ṇ̸̷̩͉̬̐̎̋̊ì̵̮̭s̷̷̢̜̫̯͙̤͂̆͐̓̄̒a̴̲̋p̵̜͚͊̊p̆r̄ỏ̴̡͝ā́c̋̕h̴̯̗͇͐͑ï̷͈̐n̷̜̻̱͗͒g̴͔̜͇̋,̵̣͍͇̫̼̔̈̋̈̄å̶̡n̵̰̈d̷͉̰̈̌͆Ǵ̶͈̙͝eḧ̷̪̼̺́r̴̞̗͉̅̃m̵̮̄́̒ả̴̰̹͇̊ņ̷̵̥̻͈̜̈́̂͐͜ä̴̯̎͊ͅẅ́̌ã̀i̶̼̎̅t̷̡͕̎̄͝s̷̶̗̹͓̠̼͑̀̆̊̃̀m̷̙̂̽͛e̷̴͓͔̯͒̏̃̕ă̶̫̚t̴̻̱̦̀̎̕t̶̢̬͛̇ḩ̸̫̞̌e̶̵̝͚͕̪̐̌̄͘G̵̘̼̈͒̓r̶͙̒e̴̫͗͜ä̶͎̣͍t̶̴͍̮̝̔͗̈́T̴͍̲̏̐͑ȓ̶̤̈́͂͜é̴͕ë̵͚́͂.̶͍̆̀
This memory was too much. The pain was too much.
The Princess of Hell slammed the book shut and set it down firmly. She felt her headache, a roaring pain, settle into a mild throbbing. She felt like there was something moving in her head from the things she had read. Trying so very desperately not to think of eyes popping up like daisies on her brain, she refocused on what mattered.
"The Hunter… he's been through so much pain. He's lost so much. How could anyone smile through that?" She had to help him. Charlie got up from where she sat and walked to the door. "I…need to…see him…now…"
She managed a few steps, then dropped to her knees and fell unconscious. A few minutes later, Messengers popped up on the side of the Hunter's notebook and saw her lying motionless on the ground. They eventually left to inform him what had happened, but not before taking the notebook with them.
-Scene Change-
Vaggie yawned as she walked into the lobby. The paperwork always made her feel tired, but it was finally done. Entering the main room, she saw Angel lying on the couch scrolling Voxtagram as per usual, Husk at his bar attempting to kill his immortal liver, Niffty cleaning every corner of the room, and Alastor outside having his cup of coffee, somehow keeping that tight, lipless smile even while taking a sip. Two people were missing. "Has anyone seen Charlie and Hunter?"
The Porn Star knew where one was at least. "Nah, just missed him. Hunter left the hotel, but said he'd be back in a week." The manager felt he needed time to cool off after the stunt he pulled yesterday. "As for Charlie… no clue. Probably still asleep."
Vaggie was concerned by this. "Charlie never oversleeps! She is always up at this time."
Husk, just wishing they'd shut up, took another swing of his alcohol. "I wouldn't say so. Why don't you check up on her then?"
"She is your girlfriend, after all," Niffty said as she popped out from a cupboard. "Imagine how dreamy it would be for her gallant knight to swoop in while she sleeps, vulnerable and—" Vaggie kicked the cupboard closed, but could still hear Niffty giggling away, quietly joined by Angel, and (the traitor) Alastor.
The manager scoffed at their words, but they did bring up a point. "Fine. I'll go check on her." She left the lobby to head to her destination.
Vaggie may be putting up a strict and disciplined individual, but Husk knew she was both concerned about her girlfriend and upset that the Hunter hadn't informed her of his suspicions beforehand. "Vaggie would have shown her true character by now."
Angel agreed with him. "Yeah. Viagraboobs uses that façade to keep Sinners like us in line. That includes Mister Hunter."
The clean-freak maid giggled at that. "Mister Hunter is a bad boy. I doubt she'd ever give him to her demands."
Husk knew those two would be butting heads for a while, but still felt that he was missing something. Their animosity seemed a bit more… instinctive. Like they felt wrong around each other. At first, he thought it was simply due to their personalities, but the Hunter had his hackles raised too when they first met. Something about those eyes… Vaggie needed to be careful around him, the Hunter was something else entirely.
Speaking of the girl, she was on her way to Charlie's room. Along the way, she was deep in her thoughts. "Why would she oversleep? She wanted to speak to the Hunter after he nearly killed Pentious this morning." She already knew that the strange, infuriating man left but didn't see the reason why the Princess would go to her room. "But that isn't important right now. What is important is to get Charlie up, and today's activity going," she said aloud.
She approached the door that led to the room. It was utterly silent. Which raises concern. Charlie, the angel that she was in a figurative sense, snored. Loudly. And if she wasn't snoring, she was talking to herself or reading aloud. She opened the door. "Charlie! Are you okay, Hon? Everyone is waiting—"
She didn't finish. Charlie, on the floor, motionless. Her heart stopped. Time stopped. Then it started again.
"CHARLIE!" The Hotel Manager rushed towards the Princess's side and knelt down to her before shaking her. "Charlie, Charlie, wake up! What happened, who could have done this to you?!" There was no response from the Hellborn, she wouldn't wake up and it was scaring her.
She scooped Charlie up as quickly and gently as she could, then rushed to the main room and cried out for help. While almost everyone gathered around, she could barely keep her thoughts straight. "What happened who did this Charlie Wake up please Charlie WAKE UP WAKE UP."
In the haze of her panic, one name rang clear. Hunter. He did this, he had to. She had to find him, NOW.
-Scene Change-
Charlie had her blazer taken off and was laid on the main couch. Vaggie was tending to her with a blanket and ice pack given from Razzle and Dazzle. She felt the Princess' forehead with the back of her hand. Hot. Bad. She placed the ice pack on her forehead, then leaned back to give her some room. As she tended to her girlfriend, everyone was watching with varying levels of concern.
Razzle and Dazzle were beside themselves with worry, whining by Charlie's side like dogs. Angel was worried about Charlie's safety (but his free crash pad being compromised). Husk was worried about Vaggie's reaction (and his stash of alcohol disappearing). Niffty was too busy laughing at something no one else could see, and Alastor straight up did not care. If anything, this was good for him, maybe the Fallen Angel will make a rash decision he can capitalize on.
Angel couldn't help but crack a joke to ease the tension. "Y'know, it would have been unfortunate if the Hunter–"
Vaggie snarled at the Porn Star. "DON'T even bring it up! I'm already stressed enough at the moment!" Angel slowly put his hands up and walked away like she was gonna tear out his throat. She might have if he riled her up anymore.
"Aren't we all?" Husk chimed in while pouring several shots of whisky.
Alastor seemed to join in the wagon as he leaned on his microphone-cane. "Seems like Miss Morningstar has had a nightmare of some sort in her sleep."
Nifty added something. "More like a wet dream!" This time no one kicked her, but she still ran away laughing.
The Manager scoffed at the Radio Demon's claim. "Sí, como si eso importara!" She muttered sarcastically. Then, Vaggie heard a pained groan, and turned to see her girlfriend twitching in her sleep. She grabbed one of her hands with her own and held it close. "Just hang in there, hon."
-?-
Charlie's eyes stirred as she looked up to a…gray, cloudy sky?
She sat up slowly and looked around. She saw white flowers and tombstones, and trees so large she couldn't see the tops. A strange, burned building was in the distance. "What…is this place?" Already, she got goosebumps being at this place.
The Princess turned to the burned building, hoping to make sense of this place. At it's side, under a great tree, she found a new tombstone at the top of the hill next to an old, abandoned wheelchair. She noticed that, while worn, it still had its metal finish and was not rusted. Walking towards the tombstone, the Princess of Hell saw a name she recognized. Leaning closer to the tombstone, she read what was written.
HERE LIES GEHRMAN, THE FIRST HUNTER
A DEAR FRIEND WHO WAS CURSED TO WATCH THE DREAM
NOW HE DREAMS NO MORE
As Charlie read it, she failed to notice a pair of light footsteps closing in.
Then…
"Greetings, good Princess."
Looks like the Princess of Hell is in the Hunter's Domain, The Hunter's Dream. And looks like she is about to meet a dear friend of his.
Crimson Soldat: Can;t believe this took a little while to write. I can't believe I got some help with someone who knows much more than more. Still, I am grateful for his help.
HalfWitHillbilly: Crimson writes the words, I make the edits. Chapters 7 and 8 had edited bits by me, and me and Crimson practically co-wrote 9 and this chapter. Glad to make a difference.
CS :Damn, I am going to like the next chapter. I feel like we're going to have some lore dump. And how it will affect the rest of the story.
HH : Aye, the Doll has patience and sanity(?) The Hunter lacks. She'll gladly answer Charlie's questions.
With that said, I will see ya all in the next chapter, motherfuckers!