[h3]Vileblood Queen's Chamber, Castle Cainhurst, west of Yharnam[/h3]
“Thy blood is of Cainhurst, forsooth,” the queen conceded, “but not of my line. Thou are of noble stock, sired by one of our knights, but thou'st no royal blood, no oath and thus aren't Vileblood. I wouldst grant thee my blood, my oath and my rune; the curse inflicted upon me by the foul Healing Church, to be wielded against them. Ah, but thou didst not journey here for that, thou seek the chalice. I shall bestow the same quests upon thee as I did your companion, fair Lady Gerlinde.”
Gerlinde – who had been dutifully kneeling this entire time, next to a similarly kneeling but eternally confused Torquil – stifled a giggle.
“I have long been a prisoner, Lady Ophelia,” the queen told her. “Trapped within this room, on this throne, and within this accursed mask. Though I am Annalise, the Vileblood Queen, I am currently powerless against the woe that has befallen me, and have been for many years. I would defy this imprisonment at last. Due to the generous aid of thy Moonborn Hunter 'neath the blood moon, I achieved what my ancestors have always wished for and conceived our Child of Blood... yet I have not even seen my daughter's face. I would be free at last, to truly be a queen to my people and a mother to my children. I would be rid of my restraints. I would be rid of this mask.”
She made a wide, sweeping gesture toward all of them. “I bestow three quests, each of which may achieve this goal, moon-scented Hunters. The key that unlocks this mask will doubtlessly be found in the heart of the Healing Church, either in the Orphanage of the Choir, the Grand Cathedral or their Hunter workshop. Thou could also deliver me the power to defy the mask by retrieving the tools that make men Hunters. A single dose would suffice, though more is eternally better. Or, thou could travel the path of the Moonborn Hunter into the Old Labyrinth, to where they once did battle with my ancestor, Divine Queen Yharnam. The Moonborn already vanquished her, I hear, but they failed to retrieve a precious relic she has kept all these centuries: the dagger called Bloodblade, a weapon whose true power is only expressed by royal blood.”
She paused, coughing quietly. “Perform any one of these quests and I shall bestow thee the chalice thou seek. Perform more than one, and thou can count the Vilebloods as thy most stalwart ally.”