[b]“You're at a clinic for blood-ministration."[/b]

Ludolf's gaze snapped from the giant over towards the door. The speaker, he saw, was a tall man garbed in robes that might once have been ivory, but had been stained through with blood. So much blood, in fact, that the smell of it was almost dizzying in the confined space. There were two others with him though neither one of them spoke before the first piped up again. 

[b]"In Yharnam. You're probably Hunters now. So are we.”[/b]

The introduction was a simple one for what it was but it caused Ludolf to freeze and go still just the same.

[i]Hunters . . . [/i]

Oh yes, though his mind still felt full of fog, the word brought with it memories — no, understanding of the term. Images appeared in the back of his thoughts. Strange spectors in black armed to the teeth with cleavers, swords, and axes. Corpses . . . of beasts mostly, but also of men.  There were other memories, too. Ghosts and shadows. A courtyard drenched in blood. Fuzzy sketches akin to a Rorschach test penetrating in the darkest corners where he dared not tread.

He glanced over to Nigel, but when the tall stranger did not speak, Ludolf straightened and dusted off his frock.

[b][color=ed1c24]"You say this rather casually,"[/color][/b] he drawled, making an effort to keep his tone light. [color=ed1c24][b]"Yet, I've never known a gift to come for free. Not in Yharnam at any rate. What is it you want?" [/b][/color]

But before Victor or anyone else could answer, something bubbled at his feet. Astonished, Ludolf stepped back, but just where he had been standing, creatures began to emerge. They were small and hideous, with grotesque mouths and empty eyes, but it was their hands that attracted his attention the most. They were straining for him, their palms turned upright in a position that bore a striking resemblance to the monsters from his dream. With a slight hiss, he leaped back, his expression flickering from guarded to outright disgust faster than a set of traffic lights. No one else had reacted, but even so, the appearance of the unsightly creatures immediately set his heart to his racing.