The figure in the wheelchair turned their obscured face in Farren's direction, but did not speak. Instead it was once again the doll that answered his question: “The Shopkeeper is not so called because they buy, sell or craft wares, good Hunter, but because they are the caretaker of this place. The Hunter's Dream is modeled after the very first Hunter Workshop as built by the first Hunter, you see. The Shopkeeper is the custodian of the Dream and the guide and guardian to its Hunters.”

There was a pause as the Shopkeeper turned their face to the doll and the doll looked at them, resulting in a brief moment of silence. Yet though not a single sound was uttered by the Shopkeeper, Ophelia would feel a subtle itch in her brain. They gestured toward the small house at the top of the hill marking the highest point in the Dream, and the doll nodded her head in acknowledgment.
“The Shopkeeper wants to let you know that while they do not trade goods, they do have an assortment of Hunter tools, weapons and garbs in the workshop that you may take and use as you see fit.”
Another moment of silence, another itch in Ophelia's head, and the Shopkeeper gestured toward the birdbath overflowing with Messengers.
“They also want me to let you know about services offered by the little ones to good Hunters like yourselves,” the doll translated the Shopkeeper's intent. “As I said, the little ones traverse all manner of worlds much more easily than others do. One of the services they provide with this ability is to deliver messages across distances and even between worlds, as I understand they have already delivered a couple of messages for you from the Shopkeeper themselves in the Waking World. Another is that if you ever acquire something that you want to take with you, but would be cumbersome or otherwise troublesome to have on your person, the little ones can keep them safe until you need them.”
At this, the Shopkeeper picked their book back up and held it up to show them – incidentally displaying a cover with large, gilded font reading “How To Pick Up Fair Maidens” – before reaching the book over the armrest of their wheelchair and toward the ground. As they did so, a Messenger immediately emerged from the ground and eagerly received the book into its arms and, as soon as the Shopkeeper relinquished their hold on it, took the book with them into wherever it went.
“Also,” the doll spoke up again, “the little ones find more in the Nightmare than just information. They travel alongside you as you explore the worlds and may occasionally find things in other worlds that may be of use to you. If they do, they will bring such items to this basin.” She pointed to the birdbath. “They will show you the items in the reflection on the water, but sadly the little ones lack the power to manifest these items for you on their own. To get them, you will have to supply this power yourselves through the echoes of your fallen prey that cling to your blood.”
The doll bowed her head. “Though I am but a doll, good Hunters, I can also use these echoes to assist you. If you wish it, I can turn your blood echoes to strength, skill, vitality, endurance, bloodtinge or affinity for the arcane.”

_Farren

listened intently, and though he was slightly disappointed that the so-called Shopkeeper wasn’t actually a merchant OR a craftsman of any kind he did find the explanation illuminating. Still, as the Doll explained, answering in the man’s stead, Farren felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips and an excitement bubble in his veins. That was strange, why was he so excited actually? A frown flickered across his features, but his brief confusion was swiftly washed away as the Doll explained that she too could offer them something for the echoes in their blood.

“You…can enhance the potency of our humors?!” Farren exclaimed, his eyes growing wide as he turned to the doll. That was incredible, he’d never known that such a thing could even be possible.

Yet, that wasn’t what called to him, as evidenced by his eyes quickly shifting back to the building on the hill. Before he could even think of how rude it might be, Farren found himself moving. He’d passed the pair and was halfway up the stairs before he realized that perhaps he ought to say something. He paused, “Ah…sorry, I…I simply must see the workshop,” he called back over his shoulder before he came to the door and did what was needed to make his way inside. If the Doll explained, then surely he could hear it from Ophelia later. The woman would surely bec far more curious than he about such things.

Besides, he vaguely recalled having heard rumors about this place. Whisperings mostly, some were surely tall tales, they’d said the place had been eaten by the city, swallowed by time or some such nonsense. Still, he realized he’d always been rather pulled in by such places…he’d liked the new workshops, worked there once—from what little he could glean of his memories. It felt…right that he would come to use one again and even if his interest had not existed, this was the most practical option. They needed proper weapons…and Farren was itching to see what options might present themselves.

Ophelia listened to the doll's explanation keenly, eyes sharp and still. Though she continued to look up at the moon in the sky, her periphery gave her all the information she needed--there was hardly a dearth of places for her to look at the moon in the sky. She nodded along, slack-jawed with appreciation for the majesty of the place and how vividly rich and detailed this place was. It felt surreal, though she knew with a certainty she could not articulate that it was just as real as the world they had fallen asleep in. She could imagine Victor's shock--and also his stoicism if he'd known all along--at how they must have... vanished, like Torquil's corpse had. That was what the doll had said; she seemed quite earnest and pleasant, though some of that seemed to be down to the fact that she was as expressive as the person interacting with her... and there was this itch in her mind, this tingle just beyond where she could touch with her traditional senses, that intermittently came and went before the doll spoke. This shopkeeper used it as... a doll? A plaything? A translator? It was curious that she should empathise so with the thing, wondering what agency it had, just as she had with the little messengers so eagerly clamouring for her touch and her attention. She breathed in a calming breath, letting the queer scent of the moonlit air rush through her and soothe the fevered ache in her mind, and focused on simply being present and open... and letting her fevered musings melt into distant thoughts, until the smell of it was all her senses could detect.

She'd gotten whiffs of hunters before--and she supposed she smelled like that now--but this Shopkeeper was the most like a Hunter she'd ever smelled, as though all the scents were mere imitations of this original. It sat like a gentle buzz in her nostrils, full of character but quite unlike anything else she'd smelled, until she realised that Farren had begun to ascend the stairs up towards the house that the doll had pointed out. Ophelia smiled and excused herself from the little cluster of people, gracefully weaving her way around them to meet Farren up at the top of the hill toward his destination. She stepped inside alongside him, taking in the unfamiliar sights with similar awe to earlier. Her eyes firstly and immediately were drawn to one particular item in the room: the Rune Workshop Tool. She drifted towards it as though pulled by some invisible force, her fingers gently caressing the cold metal handle of the brand with a familiar reverence. Flashes of a distant time came to her, holding this exact tool under the tutelage of the Witches of Hemwick in a life that felt like she'd left it behind. She wondered how it had come to be here, in this place--how much of the Yharnam she'd known before that fateful night had disappeared without a trace? How much of it had sought refuge in places like this? It was something she was quite certain the little Messengers could help her with... she would have to spend some time with them when they were not expected back in the waking world.

A glint of moonlight shot through the window, illuminating a rather unimpressive sword (with a blade far too narrow for the ponderous hilt), that Ophelia's eyes were instinctively drawn to. She wandered over to it as though in a trance and felt her hand reaching out to take it, whispers of arcane power softly radiating from its presence. They were... plaintive, almost, she felt--beseeching, and something in her earnest nature could not help but answer its perceived call. She attempted to heft it off its stand with a single hand but found her strength somewhat lacking, stumbling slightly before adding a second hand to support the surprising heft. She looked it up and down more closely, felt its weight and its balance, attuned herself to its subtler and more esoteric qualities.

As Farren and Ophelia went to examine dreamscape construct that was reportedly a reproduction of the first Hunter Workshop, Torquil hesitated – looking back and forth between his companions and their hosts in the Dream – before finally following, but in so doing he witnessed yet another thing he had not expected. As the last of the Hunters started ascending the stair toward the house on the hill, the Shopkeeper quite simply just stood up from their wheelchair and started to follow. Their footfalls were light and silent, their movements precise and graceful, in a way that quite clearly suggested that this person had never actually needed the wheelchair.
That part confused Torquil, but so did everything he had experienced since the Mad One had bashed his head into mush. He thought wheelchairs were for people who could not walk, or at least had difficulty walking... and how did this person see while blindfolded like that? What was this place, really? And then all the things they had talked about, with nightmares, gods and worlds, and books disappearing into the ground. Torquil did not understand any of it, which frustrated him a little, but he ignored it and told himself to just be happy he had companions who seemed to understand.

Inside the small, quite homely little workshop clearly not meant for more than several people at most, the Hunters found an arsenal of Hunter weapons big enough to equip a small army. Powerful, unique weapons hang on the largest unbroken wall, one large chest was full of more mundane Hunter weapons and yet another was full to the brim of different garbs meant to provide protection during the Hunt without slowing the wearer down. Again Torquil was overwhelmed, faced with a huge number of implements of death he had never seen before and had no idea how worked or how to use.

But Ophelia did not pause at this sight. She immediately recognized the Caryll Rune tools she had used while working in Hemwick, only for those tools to have disappeared when she returned after the Night of the Blood Moon. A small piece of something familiar in this alien place, a fragment of a past she might have thought lost.
And then her attention turned to one of the swords mounted on the wall; a sword positively radiating eldritch power to her senses, attuned to the arcane as they were. She went to it and retrieved it, and though she might try to focus her senses on it, she would find that doing so was not necessary, for simply touching it was enough.
“Huntress... Heroine... Wielder...” Ideas whispered in her mind; they were not words, nor even sounds, but something strange and otherworldly. Whatever this was, it was not something the senses of a regular human could normally detect, nor their brains comprehend. “It has dwelled... It has waited... It has languished... No more... A new wielder... Feel its holy power... Let it calm your mind... Listen, always... Stroke its blade, and listen to the guiding moonlight...”

Within the caverns of Ophelia's mind the eldritch whispers settled, diffusing into abstract streams of thought not unlike a dream within a dream. She felt herself immersed in the soothing radiance of gentle moonlight through the little structure's windows, wood of the floor contrasting against the argent glow reflecting from the keen polish of the blade in her hand. Almost absentmindedly she brought her left hand away from the hilt to the blade to gently caress along it, feeling the thrum of invisible power radiating from it. She lost all focus on anything but the source of the moonlight above them as her mind resonated with the unseen whispers, letting the subtle guidance it promised fill her very being. Something about it called to her, and something about the place they were in had a resonance she could not understand but could detect.

"I am ready, Mother Moon..." she whispered, an almost-silent prayer leaving her lips. The silence that followed grew louder and louder in her mind, all for the nuances and subtleties of the blade's mysterious urgings to permeate her very essence. She felt nearly compelled to do as it bade, so strong was its longing for purpose and for use--and it held an echo of something principled and chivalrous, she felt, though she knew not where that notion came from nor what it could possibly mean. She was not quite sure if she had not simply imagined this whole thing, so familiar was the rune-brand and so queer the moon... but she could feel the thrum of this thing in her hands, the shivering ache of its desire to be wielded again; of the lack that it had endured for so long. It could not be anything but real, and Ophelia wanted nothing more in that moment than to oblige it.

_Farren

entered the building and as he did something about it struck him as–at first–faintly familiar. There was something about the shape of the place, the contours of it, and its contents that truly screamed ‘Workshop’ to him. However, what truly called out to him wasn’t visual. Farren closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply–it was the smell of the place. As he took in that aroma, Farren oddly felt…at home. It was a strange thing, the sweet, pungent lingering scent of hunters, of the oils and greases used to maintain weapons and other tools of the trade. It smelled faintly of stone dust from grinders, the sawdust from recently cut wood, sweat…iron, salt and a plethora of other less apparent notes.

Farren found himself smiling in that moment as his eyes opened once more and he once more took things in. This time he actually paid close attention to the various weapons, tools, and facilities provided to them in the Hunter’s Dream. There were some familiar implements that he felt he’d seen before, that he got brief flashes of being dropped off, picked up…that he’d felt in his hands before—if only as he made sure they were in the best possible shape.

As he took it all in, he marveled at the fact that they had so much available to choose from, but particularly what drew his attention was a single, warped curved blade that hung in a special place on the wall beside a number of other weapons. Farren began to drift towards it as he took in the room, but after a moment he narrowed his eyes slightly and stopped himself. Shaking himself slightly, Farren turned away from the wall of singular weapons and went to one of the chests instead.

As he looked through the various weapons therein, his eyes widened slightly due to the sheer quantity of choices. He took a step back and closed his eyes again and tried to really focus on what he wanted. After a few moments he opened his eyes and fished out a few weapons. Gently he laid them on the ground in front of him and then he stood there for a moment, looking them over. After a moment he put a number of weapons back into the chest, leaving him a much smaller potential arsenal.

Farren smiled and then crouched down and tapped two of the weapons. Somehow he knew their names, Bulwark…Kirkhammer. “Messengers…could you hold onto these for me?” He said, feeling a bit awkward talking to thin air, but then the little figures began to emerge. Farren nodded a bit, stood, and began to take off the makeshift weapons and holders he’d fashioned at the clinic. He laid the sabers and the axe on the ground in the same area as the two weapons he’d asked the Messengers to take, “These too,” he added, figuring that there was no real reason to dispose of them. That done, Farren moved around, grabbing what he felt he’d need to affix the various implements to his person. However, before he moved further, he shifted the positioning of his chosen weapons so they wouldn’t get in either Torquil or Ophelia’s way.

Then he checked the second chest and found a series of garments. He’d seen hunters wearing them before, but he wasn’t strictly certain what the differences were…aside from style and general convenience of each depending on how one intended to arm oneself or move about. Nonetheless, he picked out a few and—after a few moment’s consideration—Farren decided on one. Naturally, he didn’t change right that moment, but simply put the clothes aside along with the dual harness he’d picked out, and the belt-loop hooks that he’d decided he’d be hanging his firearms from.

Once he was satisfied with his choices, he noted Ophelia and Torquil’s presence and positions. Ever-so-briefly he considered if going somewhere else to change was necessary, then he decided against it. He didn’t much fancy being bare as the day he was born beneath the giant pale eye of that moon.

So, he grabbed his chosen garb, starting with the cloak, and affixed that. He turned his back to Ophelia so it concealed him—more for her than for him—and began to shed the rest of his clothes. He started at the bottom, then pulled on the various pieces that composed the Crowfeather’s set, those raven-colored garments. Once his pants were secured, he removed the cloak, folded it back up and set it aside and began donning the rest, though he took a similarly dark-colored hood and donned that along with the coverings for his torso and arms. When that was done he affixed the belt hooks at his left hip, then strapped the dual harness onto his back. All that finished, Farren stepped back over to his chosen armaments—those that the Messengers hadn’t taken at least—and began to affix them to his person. First were the Beastflayer and the Piercing Rifle, both which went into the harness at his back, both with their pointy ends poking out behind his left hip. The butt of the rifle was roughly at his shoulder blade, while the last bit of the glaive’s shaft poked up above his shoulder just enough that he could reach back and grasp it with two hands if they wished.

That done, Farren plucked the other two firearms (Hunter’s Pistol and Blunderbuss respectively) from the floor and hooked them securely into place at his left hip—the mechanism being basically identical to what he’d seen Victor do for his blunderbuss. Yet…his right hip felt empty and he found himself frowning a bit and glancing back at the wall of special armaments he’d first been drawn to.

He didn’t know what that strangely enticing warped blade was…but now that he felt properly equipped otherwise, he decided to investigate.

Farren glanced at the feathered cloak, offered it to a Messenger that emerged when he whispered under his breath, and then strode across the room. He made a beeline for the warped blade, his strides covered the distance quickly. He stopped smoothly before it and almost reverently reached out and took it from its perch upon the wall. Farren’s azure gaze swept over the implement and his brow furrowed. After a moment he placed both hands on the distinct sections of the grip and then in a single swift motion he jerked his hands apart. The blade split in two and Farren couldn’t help but grin the expression filled with a glee that was half boyish delight and half a new predatory amusement likely derived from the pale blood that now flowed through his veins.

This time, unlike the other weapons, nothing came to him as he held the blades. After a moment he glanced at the floor and angled the tip of one the blades so it nearly touched the wood, beckoning the messengers to help in deciphering the mystery of the strange paired trick weapon.

The withered, eyeless helpers rose from the floor swiftly, eagerly holding aloft a scroll as high as they could. Farren squinted a bit, the words shifting around in his vision...or perhaps his mind? It took him a bit longer, but eventually managed to unravel the text of the scroll.


“Blade of Mercy, huh?” Farren commented with a chuckle before giving the Messengers a grateful nod. turning his attention back to the blades, Farren--with a bit of fiddling--managed to fit them back together with a satisfying snap. Promptly he carried it back over to another area and found a scabbard that would suit its form. Affixing that, Farren then sheathed the unified blades at his right hip, finally satisfied and too caught up in arming himself to notice the strange air that had come to almost possess Ophelia.

As Ophelia's left hand caressed the blade and muttered her invitation to her Mother Moon, the sounds of Farren and Torquil moving around and rummaging through the equipment they had been offered stilled. The entire world seemed like it fell into total, unblemished silence, the candles that lit the interior of the workshop seemed to dim, and the sword in her hands seemed to grow progressively greater. Not bigger, but more significant, important and imposing, somehow... as though it commanded respect and authority, even though it appeared to be but a tool to be wielded.
Again the moonlit whispers filtered into her mind, touching her in a way that spoken words could not. “Then it is done... A pact is forged... You will carry it into battle... and it will carry you to glory...”
The silver light that spilled in from the unnatural moon outside seemed to bend and twist, and the air touched by its radiance seemed to glitter as though filled with diamond dust. In the gloom that had descended upon the room, the moonlight seemed almost blindingly bright as it crept across the floor, the walls and the ceiling, gradually enveloping everything around Ophelia until the entire world seemed entirely bathed in it, so pervasive that it seemed to erase all shadows.
“It has languished for too long... The other did not feel its whispers... But you do... You will help it...”
Slivers of magnificent moonlight slithered from the pommel and up the hilt of the sword, seeming to grow brighter with each passing moment. It wrapped around the blade like a fine mist of stars, a cloud ripped from the Cosmos itself. The room slowly grew darker again, but this brilliant nebula only grew thicker and brighter, as if devouring all the light in the world. It was hauntingly beautiful.
“The Huntress will wield it... and it will wield the Huntress... It will guide you... and give you power...”
With a sudden, brief gale, all the remaining light in the world seemed to instantly collapse down on Ophelia, leaving everything pitch black. She could not even see herself in the total, abyssal darkness... but she saw the sword. The light had condensed and solidified, taking the shape of an almost ridiculously over-sized sword-blade; broad, thick, long, and made of the purest, lambent silver luminescence.
“Hark, Huntress, for you hold now the light of the Cosmos... Hark, and take heart, wielder of the Holy Moonlight Sword...”
Light returned to the world, both the moonlight from outside and the candlelight from the inside, and the blanket of silence that had been wrapped around Ophelia relented. The world returned to normal, but the sword in her hands remained unchanged: its blade expanded into a giant form of ethereal radiance.

None of the others experienced any of this, of course; to Farren and Torquil, Ophelia merely stroked the blade and, as she did so, summoned its blade of light. They did not see any of the rest, nor did they feel the sword's whispers.

Torquil, meanwhile, was overwhelmed by much more mundane concerns. He looked at all the huge pile of weapons in one chest, a whole load of bundles of Hunter's garbs in another, and the broad selection of remarkable, unusual weapons mounted on the wall, and felt completely lost. He had no idea what most of it was, let alone how to use them, and being faced with having to choose any of this felt almost as stressful to him as his first bout of combat had earlier.
Sheer indecisiveness almost had him just opt to ignore all this fancy Hunter-gear and just stick with the clothes he had woken up in and the axe he had found in the clinic, when something in the chest of weapons caught his attention. His eyes widened and his grip loosened, ultimately allowing the ordinary axe that had followed him here from the Waking World to slip from his grasp and clatter heavily to the floor. He stepped over and past it, went straight to the chest and retrieved a Hunter's axe.
It felt nice and heavy in his hand; light enough for him to use in one hand, but heavy enough to pack a serious wallop. His only regret was that its handle was too short to use properly with two hands... until he remembered that Hunter weapons – or “trick weapons” – were supposed to be able to transform. He spent a moment examining it, trying to figure out what its “trick” was, until he accidentally discovered that the handle was somehow telescopic and extended to become much, much longer, turning the one-handed battle axe into a long axe.
He grinned broadly, and compressed it back into its smaller form. Anything he hit with this was going to get hurt.

Again he turned to the chest of garbs, only to actually walk over there to rummage through and find something more protective than his ordinary clothes. Though he was fine now, and in fact felt better than he had in as long as he could remember – which was admittedly not very long, but still – the memory of getting pummeled effectively to death was still fresh in his mind. The agony of how the Mad One had beaten him, the feeling of his brain rattling around and his skull fracturing, his teeth shattering, his eyeballs... the experience had been quite traumatic, after all. Even if what the doll had said was true and he would reawaken here if he was killed, he did not want to ever feel anything like that again.
He picked some gear, stood up and went outside to change. A few minutes later he returned clad in the light, thin yet sturdy suit of metal plates that was the Cainhurst armor, only forgoing the matching helmet in favor for a Yahar'gul helmet. Rather than the ragged cape he had found with the set, he donned the coat of a tomb prospector.
As he reentered the workshop, he immediately marched straight across the room in his new outfit, directly to the wall decorated with remarkable, unique gear, and, without hesitation, tore the Loch Shield off its mount to hold in his left hand.

This felt better. Safer. He did not want to die again.

Ophelia tried to gasp in awe at the wondrous slice of the cosmos filling her vision, but found her body unable or unwilling to move in the presence of such unfathomable energies. It communicated not through simple and base words, but through thought and image and feeling--and in the glints of the starlight filling her mind's eye Ophelia could see a pattern stretching back longer than time had existed. In the spaces between their brilliance, the lightless void that gave meaning to the world of sidereal splendour, she saw the infinite maw of entropy and decay, of the certainties of ending... and in the light, she saw the infinite glimmers of potential. Of new life, born into this mundane world of blood and bile and flesh, and chosen to ascend to a realm of purest starlight. This dream was but a mere egg, or cocoon, like the magnificent blade of gleaming incandescence that now surrounded her weapon. There was no sight in the waking world that had ever compared to this, to the unparalleled majesty of the night sky and the moon's slick whispers. Ophelia was immediately and irreversibly transformed, her mundane awareness touching a relic of genuine power for the first time--at least, the first time since she had become a Hunter--and her mind unfurling to the true nature of the universe.

The others could not see it... but perhaps that was for the best. Her blood coursed with silver and starlight, while theirs was born of filth--the awareness was so vast and so penetrating that she could not even make sense of it, and she instead simply let the transformative knowledge wash over her while keeping as much of herself intact as she could. She found its excoriating brilliance to never be too much to bear, however, only enough to sear itself into her very essence and become an immutable part of her.

"What could stand against such brilliance and live..? What darkness awaits us that the Holy Moonlight Sword has chosen another..?" Ophelia asked incredulously, the words leaving her lips as the deafening envelope of revelatory silence peeled away and she was once again returned to the Dream. She took a moment to collect herself, breathing in shakily through her nose as she fought back tears of profound joy, and simultaneously a crippling and gnawing fear of coming to understand just how small she really was was born within her, its shadow the consequence of her soul's illumination. She paid it no mind for now, weak and cowed as it was, and turned to face Farren and Torquil.

"Ah, you look much better now! That axe is much more suited to you isn't it, love? And you, Farren, my! I see the little ones will have their hands full... You look prepared for anything; by the Moon above we'll need it... Ah, perhaps you'd like a rune? As luck would have it, the very tool I used to use is sitting right here! I'm certain I could use it to grant us the powers offered by the runes... I wonder, my guiding moonlight, is there anything you think I should see?" she spoke, turning to the gleaming blade in her hands as she addressed it with her final question, her voice lowering to a whisper and her head tilting slightly to the side as she listened closely for its whispers in her mind.

The shimmering light of the blade filled Ophelia's vision, gentle enough as not to be blinding, yet somehow its brilliance seemed to overshadow everything else. Her whispered question directed into it seemed to echo endlessly for a moment, as if bouncing back and forth across a large, empty room... or being repeated back to her by other voices that sounded exactly like her own.
The gleaming sword dominated her vision... accompanied by tiny little playful, dancing sprites of light. And accompanying these sprites, the whispers:
“It has already granted its power... For now, all it can offer... is its guidance...”
Another word was conveyed to her, but it was beyond what could easily be transcribed into human speech. While the sword's other whispers had been intelligible and somewhat easily understandable, this singular utterance seemed to contain more knowledge and meaning than all of it combined, all compressed into something less than a syllable, less than a grain of sand. It was a piece of a wisdom that surpassed human comprehension, and only due to her familiarity with Caryll Runes could Ophelia even begin to guess at its meaning.

Ophelia has obtained the Guidance Caryll Rune. When branded on a Hunter's mind, this rune will sometimes reveal sprites of light that draw attention to powerful traces of the Nightmare.

_Farren

took a deep breath, and felt himself relax despite the added weight of the gear he’d donned. With his eyes shut for a long moment, he tried to understand why this felt so much more comfortable, so much more…right. Was it just that he was a hunter and now his weapons and garments suited that newfound nature? Farren’s brow furrowed slightly and he shook his head, no that wasn’t quite it. He drew in another slow breath, running a hand over the scabbard at his left hip, and the butt of the pistol that hung at his from the hook on his right. The feel of the materials somehow took him back, eliciting a feeling of comfort, of preparedness that apparently he was used to.

Farren wasn’t sure what business he’d had in the Workshops of Hunters prior, nor did he know what he’d done when away from them, but it must have been…strenuous, even dangerous. Farren’s azure eyes opened once more and he found Torquil had properly equipped himself as well. He gave the man a smile, “Good choices,” he commented, gesturing at the armor…and the axe, “the axe suits you,” he added, then Ophelia addressed him, pulling his attention to her.

Farren found his eyes widening as he laid eyes on the otherworldly blade she cradled in her hands. It was a marvel and he stared at the greatsword with naked awe. It took him a moment to register her words proper as a result, but he soon managed to tear his eyes away from the blade and meet her gaze. “A rune?” he asked, frowning slightly, searching for any familiarity with the concept…and finding none. “...to what end? What purpose do they serve?”

A gleam overtook Ophelia's eyes as the motes of light showed to her by the Holy Moonlight Sword were reflected in her pupils, and the whisper poured knowledge directly into the luscious boughs of her mind as she became familiar with a new Rune--something she'd not learned for the longest time, not since that fateful night of the Blood Moon. It promised the glimmers and glimpses of higher understanding offered to creatures native to the worlds beyond ours--to the heirs and heritors of the Nightmare--distilled down into a form that she could understand, a single syllable or thought of their means of communication that her base and unworthy form could comprehend. She turned to the brand at Farren's reply, looking over her shoulder at him as she picked up its familiar heft and prepared herself to receive of its kiss and have the glimmers of Guidance reside in her mind.

So-branded, she answered Farren's question cryptically: "Runes are... well, love, they're hard to explain. Imagine if I could say the word "fight", sear it onto your mind's eye, and have you become suddenly imbued with the knowledge of martial technique. The runes are that, but... with concepts passed down to us from higher beings. I know only a scant few myself, though if we encounter more out there I'll be certain to learn them--there's the "Lake" rune, which hones one's inner eye through the sounds of water, an augur to the eldritch Truth... it gives one impressions of danger just before they are about to happen, reading the reflections of the world. There's the "Eye" rune, ahh... it opens one's inner eyes, lets them see more of the Truth. I bore it myself, long ago. I... well, I think you'd both benefit from the power of the Lake, hmm? Don't worry, dearies... the pain is temporary."

Something about her demeanour was much more natural here than it ever had been in the waking world, as though more free and uninhibited in the world of dreams. They might think it manic, or simply insane, or not even notice at all--but it was obvious that Ophelia spoke with a familiarity and sincerity that might open their minds to just how much more in tune with the secret ways of the world she was than they. If they, like her, shuddered in exuberance at the brightness of the lambent Moonlight (though they could see little of its true glory like she could), the brightness might illuminate within them an equally dark fear or revulsion: that the price of such insight was curiosity, and her curiosity might lead them places they would prefer not explore. Fear of the unknown was, after all, the oldest fear known to mankind--their cursed inheritance, such as it was.

_Farren

listened carefully to Ophelia’s explanation, but despite his diligent attention, he found his understanding falling somewhat short. Nonetheless, though his nature was of a less studious sort, he did understand one essential thing: their utility. “I see,” he replied, a thoughtful half-frown on his visage as he stared at the ground for a moment. Then, it seemed he came to a decision as his eyes flicked up to meet hers once more. “Very well. This Lake rune you spoke of, I will endure the…pain for the boon it provides. It’s only practical that we increase our odds after all,” he said, his hands clenching briefly into fists before they relaxed once more at his sides.

He glanced at the tools required for the application of this…‘rune’, nodded once, then met her eyes again. Farren felt he was no stranger to pain, and even if it marked his flesh…he was a Hunter, it would be a temporary thing, a flesh wound. That aside, though Torquil’s reappearance within this…place after he’d been slain implied they were essentially immortal, Farren nonetheless found that his survival instinct was entirely intact. He would not be rushing recklessly to his death, even if it were a temporary affair, so any advantage he could eke to prevent such a circumstance, he would gladly take so long as the price were not too great.

It could come as no surprise when Ophelia, upon searing the Guidance Rune into her mind, began to see the Hunter's Dream she had only just discovered rather differently. Everywhere she looked there, inside and outside; darting across surfaces, crawling up the legs of tables and chairs, weaving past obstacles, flitting through empty air; everywhere, absolutely everywhere in the Dream was alight with Guidance sprites. Their light was dim enough to not blind or dazzle her, but if Ophelia needed any further proof that they were truly in a realm of the Nightmare, she now had it. Before her eyes, and her eyes alone, strong, resilient moon-sprites swarmed and danced...
A wordless whisper from the sword – her sword – gently caressed her mind. Though she would know that she could share the Guidance Rune with the others the same as she could her Lake and Eye Runes, she would also have a very strong feeling that it would not work as well for them. She could feel the Holy Moonlight Sword resonating with the rune in her mind, empowering it. It relished her admiration, but she could also feel its influence try to calm her; to dampen her fervor and restore her focus.
As it had with its most famous wielder, the great Ludwig, the Holy Blade... as it had continued trying to do, even as he was lost to the Nightmare and became Ludwig, the Accursed... the Holy Moonlight Sword did its best to safeguard her from madness. It would be at her side, through it all. It would be her true mentor. Her guiding moonlight.

Torquil looked from Ophelia to Farren, then back to Ophelia again. He did not understand what they were talking about at all. He did not understand what these runes were, the effects Ophelia were describing, nor why she was speaking to her sword. It was all very confusing to him, but then so were lots of things. In the end he just gave up trying to make sense of things and, as was becoming habit for him, simply accepted whatever judgment the others made.
“If you think it's useful,” he said, his voice slightly muffled by his new helmet, “you can put a rune on me, too.”

Meanwhile, over by the door through which they had all entered, the clicking of her heels and the ruffle of her skirt announced that the doll had climbed the stairs as well, and now joined them in the workshop. She looked briefly to the Shopkeeper, then back to the Hunters.
“The Shopkeeper is surprised, good Hunter,” she said, looking straight at Ophelia. “They have not known a Hunter to come to the Dream for the first time to already be familiar with Caryll Runes before. They wonder if you are perhaps from Hemwick, and might have been an associate of the witches who used to live there?”

Ophelia observed the glut of Guidance sprites with a small grin, following them about their sojourns throughout seemingly every surface here in the Hunter's Dream. She could see in her periphery how the long and flowing braid of her silver hair had somehow wound its way around the incandescent blade of the Holy Moonlight Sword, and the sprites danced playfully in the nooks and crannies therein. She could feel the gentle resonance in her mind, a keening whine that soothed her inflamed thoughts and smothered the fire in her blood with purest radiance--and she let out a tense exhalation as she felt that infernal and incessant heat finally dissipate.

"It'll help avoid a repeat of the events that brought you here last time, my sweetness, let's say that much. I'm sorry, it will burn something fierce--but it's easier to experience it than to be told." she smiled to Torquil, though she moved toward Farren first--he seemed to better understand what the process entailed, and she thought it might offer Torquil some small comfort to see what was going to happen firsthand before accepting it upon himself.

Ophelia turned to the Shopkeeper as she was readying the brand, having been interrupted from actually applying the rune by the doll's question--though she seemed quite serene all of a sudden, and nodded with a look of pleasant surprise upon her face.

"Oh, yes! Well observed. This... I don't know if it can be the same, but... I swear, it's exactly the same brand that my mentors used to use. The Witches... ah, I miss them. They were peculiar, and quite certainly mad, but... they were gentle and sympathetic to me, at least. My guides, for a time, but they are gone now... and I have a new guide instead. Quite keen, aren't you, mm?" Ophelia replied, a look of fond reverie written upon her face as she remembered a distant life that felt so infinitely far away from where she was now. She awaited the reply wordlessly, instead focusing upon the peculiar instrument she'd used to brand herself with and focusing on it very intently--and then turning to Farren, metal brand extended towards him. She made a quick motion with the brand towards his hand, hoping he would understand what to do after having observed her use of it on herself moments prior.

Upon hearing Ophelia's answer to the question the doll had conveyed for them, the Shopkeeper turned their head right, then left, then abruptly dropped to their right knee and bowed their head to her deeply. Beside them the doll looked at the caretaker of the dream, took a step back and let out a small gasp of surprise before turning to Ophelia again.
Yet she hesitated, glancing at the Shopkeeper – who remained kneeling – and asked: “Are you certain, good Hunter?”
The figure nodded their head affirmatively without looking up.
The doll's eyes refocused on Ophelia. “Good Hunter, the Shopkeeper would like to offer their condolences and their apologies. These tools are indeed the very ones that once belonged to the witches. Five years ago, the Shopkeeper brought the tools here... after killing the witches.” The doll shuffled uncomfortably in place for a second before continuing: “If you wish it, the Shopkeeper offers you their head. It is not much as the Shopkeeper is bound to the Dream as you are and cannot be so easily killed, but they want to minimize the animosity you feel toward them.”

Ophelia nodded thoughtfully at the sudden revelation, though her expression did not seem saddened or dismayed. Instead she simply seemed serene, as calm and placid as a perfectly still lake. She gave the shopkeeper and the doll a little upnod, beckoning the former to stand, and sighed wistfully before she spoke again.

"... You've nothing to apologise for, dear. That night, the Night of the Blood Moon... if you are indeed the one who spared all Yharnam a grisly fate, it was a worthwhile trade. They... they would want to know that life and death continued apace, that all their insight and knowledge went towards protecting Hemwick. Bound also to this Dream as I am, I suppose that is my legacy now. Rise, Good Hunter, and know that no offence is taken." Ophelia mused, a wan smile creeping across her face as she recounted memories of her studies and sojourns into the deep and dark woods. She had another guide, now, and Farren and Torquil to take on as her own pupils. She knew that the witches would be proud of her, in their own way, for continuing their work--something, thanks to the ministration, she was now able to do... and, being almost immortal, what better guardian could Hemwick ask for?

The Shopkeeper stood at Ophelia's encouragement and nodded their head in acknowledgment, but even now they did not utter so much as a sound. The only noise any of them had heard from the Shopkeeper so far was the soft rustle of their long Hunter's coat when they moved; had it not been for the slow rising and falling of their chest, none of them could even have been sure they were breathing.
“The Shopkeeper thanks you for your forgiveness and your kindness, good Hunter,” the doll relayed, bringing her hands together on her stomach and bowing to Ophelia once again. “As you guessed, the Shopkeeper is indeed responsible for ending the Night of the Blood Moon, though things may not be as simple as one would assume... though that may be a tale best saved for another time.”

With but another faint rustle of their coat, as even their boots on the wooden floor seemed soundless, the Shopkeeper went over to a table that stood under the wall with unique weapons – a table filled with tools that Farren might recognize as being for the maintenance, adjustment and creation of Hunter weapons – and raised both hands to place a number of objects there. From their right hand they placed three padded satchels that would be recognizable to both Ophelia and Farren, as it was exactly the same type of bag that they had seen Victor retrieve the blood vial he had given them from earlier. From their left came three curious tubes, mostly metal but with one continuous section from bottom to top made of glass to allow one to see the interior.
“The Shopkeeper wants you to have some of the standard equipment of your profession, good Hunters,” the doll explained, though she remained by the door and merely looked on from a distance. “Those satchels are to safely store restorative blood vials while making it as unlikely as possible that they break as you fight. The tubes are for storing quicksilver bullets, preventing them from becoming fluid.”
Not done yet, the Shopkeeper than placed three quite peculiar-looking syringe-like devices on the table. “Those are for extracting blood and compressing it into blood bullets,” the doll explained. “They aren't as stable as quicksilver bullets, but just as potent.”

Finally, the Shopkeeper turned away from the table and back to the Hunters. They raised their right hand toward them, fingers closed in a fist and palm upturned, only to open the hand and reveal three small silver hand-bells there. Quite notably, none of them had seen the Shopkeeper retrieve the bells, the tubes or the satchels anywhere; in fact if anyone was paying close enough attention, they would realize that the items just seemed to spontaneously apparate in their hands.
The doll nodded her head slowly. “While the other items are equipment most Hunters have, these bells are the Shopkeeper's gift to you, and only you. Whenever you might feel that you have encountered something for which you require assistance that you do not have, use those. If you ring one of these bells, it will summon the Shopkeeper to your side for a time.”

_Farren

saw the confusion in Torquil’s eyes at Ophelia’s initial explanation. Truthfully, he understood that to a degree, all of this was rather arcane…and he could hardly blame anyone for not following. He had a feeling that had he not had the background he did–though mostly forgotten–that he’d struggle far more in understanding almost everything that left Ophelia’s lips. Nodding slightly, Farren outstretched his hand to Ophelia, holding it in place even as her attention was pulled to the Shopkeeper and his Doll. Farren’s head tilted slightly at the display that ensued, but was grateful that Ophelia seemed the forgiving sort. Even if this Shopkeep had willingly submitted, it was better to have someone like them on their side, rather than holding even a hint of lingering resentment. As things concluded he braced himself then felt the sudden hot bite of the brand upon his flesh–despite the fact that at no point had he seen the woman heat it.

Oddly, he noticed, that while typically pain might cloud his mind, this pain brought a sort of clarity with it, and the burn was not so much one in his flesh. It felt like a sear in his head, causing his other hand to snap upwards and clutch at his temples, almost clawing at his own skin before the sensation rapidly began to fade. As it faded though, the clarity became more intense and it felt as if some unseen skein were shifted away from his eyes. Farren blinked and shook his head. By the time he’d began to adjust, the Doll was explaining the offerings the strange Hunter had bequeathed unto them.

Farren gritted his teeth slightly, not in response to any of the man’s boons, but rather on account of the lingering memory of searing pain. “Damn that’s unpleasant,” the azure eyed hunter muttered under his breath, giving Ophelia a nod nonetheless. He reckoned that the Rune would benefit him, maybe even serve the group as well, but gaining it was patently agonizing, if mercifully brief.

Still rubbing his head with the base of one palm, Farren approached the pouches and the offered bell–quickly fastening the former to his right hip before gratefully accepting the latter from the Shopkeep. He gave the man a respectful nod, for while Farren knew little of the Night of the Blood Moon, he knew enough from the mutterings of others that whispered through his mind that it was a significant thing, one worthy of great gratitude and esteem.

“Appreciate the tools and…your hospitality,” Farren managed, though the words felt awkward, sounding a bit gruff, as they slipped from his lips.

“Of course, good Hunter,” the doll replied to Farren's expression of gratitude with a small bow. “We exist to serve. Feel free to stay as long as you want, explore as much as you desire and ask any questions you have; this Dream, and everything in it, belongs to you.”
She turned around and gestured out the open door she and the Shopkeeper had entered through. “When you decide to leave, you can do so by using one of the engraved headstones of the Dream. The four large stones right outside this door in particular will connect to lanterns you find and light during your travels, allowing you to return to them at will. The lantern you used to get here,” she said, indicating Ophelia and Farren with a nod of her head, “will also require a name. Simply look at the glowing spot on the stone and speak the label you wish to give it. Once inscribed, you need only touch the engraving to reawaken in another world.”

Ophelia looked at the proffered tools with a grateful smile, but quickly stroked her free hand down the length of the glistening moonlight blade next to her to return it to its original form - before she gingerly placed it down on a nearby surface in the light of the moon above. She whispered that she would return for it in just a moment before accepting the tools and placing them down nearby. She would have to get herself some new clothes, like the others, and affix all of this gear to her person--but she found herself a little shy at the prospect of stripping down to her unmentionables in the presence of these two men. The Doll she would not mind so much--but the Shopkeeper was just as unwelcome as Farren and Torquil.

"Hrm... a thoughtful gift, dear. I thank you for it... something has crossed my mind, though: it's no coincidence we three can suddenly see the little ones and access this dream, is it? There is a whole building full of nascent Hunters like ourselves; I suspect those that awaken soon shall find themselves here too, hmm... This place might be busier than you've seen in some time! Shopkeeper, what do you think of the Healing Church? You, I suspect, have seen them at their worst, if you lived through the Night of the Blood Moon... the Witches never trusted them an iota. It... do they really have the power to grant people access to this Dream? Is such a thing even possible? It must be, I suppose, but..." Ophelia trailed off, her verbalised thoughts becoming faster and more frantic as the machinery of her mind whirred. It had none of the manic energy that she'd previously exuded, however, merely a calm and contemplative curiosity. After getting a reply, she spoke again:

"Forgive a woman her insecurities, but would you all mind stepping out while I change into more appropriate clothing?"