Last time Klaus led Clare through the bloody and abandoned streets of Yharnam to a location he deemed safe from the deranged citizens and beasts that lurk the once proud city. Along the way, Klaus gave insight into what exactly had caused the people to lose themselves. Warning this story contains violence, blood, gore, strong language, and dark topics.

Clare was awoken by the sound of knocking, she immediately sat up in the bed she was sleeping in and looked around frantically for her sword. However after a moment she remembered the events of the previous day, being dragged into the lake by that giant tentacle and ending up in the plague ridden city of Yharnam. "Oi, you alright in there Clare? You can tell me to bugger off if I woke ye up." The voice of Klaus could be heard on the other side of the door as Clare let out a sigh. Clare was still trying to figure the strange Hunter out, he seemed to be walking a narrow road between sanity and insanity with how casually he talked about things like the deranged and beasts he's killed or how much blood would cover his clothes by the end of a hunt.

         However another part of her realized she would've been long dead if he had not shown up and assisted her the way he did. "He is rather strange, seemingly one the verge snapping, yet having the compassion to save my life and being somewhere safe." Clare thought to herself as she threw the covers off her body as she stood up and walked over to the door before opening it. She found Klaus standing in the doorway, dressed in the same large black coat with short cape draped hover is shoulders. The one difference being the cloth covering his mouth and nose and the tricorn hat were currently not on his person. Clare finally got a better look at him, his brown hair could only be described as a crow's next, hairs sticking up and out in every which way.

          His hazel eyes had a slight dullness to them, noticeable bags were under them as well, he looked as if he hasn't slept in days. "Oh, you could've told me you weren't completely decent." Klaus said as he shielded his eyes as Clare gave him a confused look. Clare looked down and noticed that the night gown she was wearing had slightly slipped off her right shoulder. Clare quickly corrected her attire before turning her attention back to Klaus. "You can look now." Clare said as Klaus uncovered his eyes before he held something out to Clare. Clare looked down and noticed that it was her claymore, the blade wrapped up in a white cloth. Clare took the weapon from Klaus's hands before turning around and walking over to her bed before setting it down and unwrapping it.

Clare's eyes widened slightly in surprise, the blade had been cleaned and polished, the edge had been sharpened, even the hilt, guard, and pommel looked they had minor repairs made to them. "Did it turn out alright? Or did I botch the whole thing up?" Klaus said as he slowly took a step into the bedroom. Clare picked the claymore up before examining it closely, she could see not abnormalities or damages to her sword, it looked like it was in better condition then before she arrived in Yharnam. "Your repairs are much appreciated." Clare said simply before she wrapped the claymore back up in the cloth. Klaus let out a relieved sigh as he walked into the room before sitting down in a chair in the corner of the room.

          "Doll is fixing us breakfast, don't expect much here in the Dream. Considering what Yharnam is like, you can imagine popping down to the marketplace for fresh ingredients is difficult." Klaus said in a joking tone as Clare briefly glanced at him over her shoulder, still trying to figure the strange man out. Clare then noticed her white bodysuit and armor were folded up on top of the dresser. "What exactly are your plans for today?" Clare asked as she once again stared at the man sitting in the corner of the room. Klaus let out a sigh as he stared up at the ceiling above him for a brief moment. "I gotta go spelunking through a damned forest. It leads to Bygernwerth, some academy for higher education or some nonsense." Klaus explained as Gehrman had mentioned the school held something important.

           Clare nodded her head in understanding before she laid her bodysuit and armor out on the bed. "I will accompany you to this forest then." Clare stated frankly as Klaus gave her a surprised look. Klaus got up from his chair and took a step closer to the silver eyed woman. "Are ye certain? Why would you want to accompany a poor sod like me through some hellish woodlands? Ye say first hand what me line of work entails." Klaus said in his usual brash voice as Clare simply rolled her eyes. Clare then ran a hand through her hair before looking Klaus dead in his eyes. "I believe my best odds of finding a way to return to my homeland would be accompanying you on your hunts. Do you take issue with me joining you?" Clare said coldly as Klaus cocked his head to the side at her statement.

            "Not at all, just making sure he don't regret following a bloke like me into back into the damnable city." Okay stated before he promptly took his leave from the bedroom so Clare could have some privacy while she changed out of the nightgown she was wearing and back into her equipment. Clare slowly took the nightgown off before she began dressing herself back into her standard armor. "Why would I regret traveling with him? He's seen me handle myself in battle before, what issue is there with me following him until I find a way back home.?" Clare mumbled to herself as she finished putting on her bodysuit before she began strapping her shoulder pauldrons and cape on. Clare then sheathed her claymore onto her back before she promptly exited the bedroom to join Klaus.

One Hour Later
After a brief breakfast, Clare was in the workshop room of the Hunter's Workshop. Clare watched as Klaus pulled his Whirligig Saw and Hunter Pistol from a chest. Clare also noticed Klaus grab other items, such as vials of what appeared to be blood, those silver pieces of metal that the Doll referred to as "bullets" as well as stranger things like brown pellets and pieces of paper. "Alright, I think that's just about everything." Klaus said as he reached into the chest before pulling something else out. Klaus walked over to Clare before holding this last object out to her. Clare looked down at the object only to find it was one of those strange gun weapons.

"This here is the Hunter Blunderbuss, while it certainly doesn't pack as much of a punch as my Hunter Pistol. This little beauty has a wider spread, considering you have no practice with them I thought it'd be a good starting point." Klaus explained as he held the gun out to the woman. Clare gently grabbed the weapon before closely looking it over. "How exactly do I use this weapon?" Clare asked as she looked the Blunderbuss over, trying to figure out how exactly it worked. "You have a maximum of twenty bullets in the Blunderbuss, you simply aim it at what you want to hit and pull the trigger to fire." Klaus explained as Clare located the trigger the Hunter was referring to.

"Understood, is there anything else I should know?" Clare asked as she gave Klaus a curious look. "Aye, ye can't fire bullets off one after another willy nilly, there is a delay between shots ye need to take into consideration." Klaus explained as Clare nodded before strapping the Blunderbuss to the back of her waist. Klaus nodded before pulling the cloth up over his mouth and nose before grabbing his tricorn hat before placing it on his head. "Well then, we best leg it to the Grand Cathedral, from there we can make our way to the forest." Klaus explained as Clare nodded her head in understanding before they both exited the Hunter's Workshop. Klaus led Clare over to one of the gravestones lining the side of the staircase. Klaus crouched down in front of it as Clare grabbed hold of his shoulder. Klaus held his hand out to the grave as both of them disappeared in a dreamlike mist.

Grand Cathedral
Clare's eyes fluttered open as she once again felt like she has just woken up from a peaceful sleep. She immediately looked around, surveying her surroundings, only to find that she was standing in the center of a large Cathedral. Specifically standing in front of the alter in the main room of the holy building.

"Alright, now I should warn ye that the door here is guarded by a pair of servants of the church. Real mean pieces of work they are, so be on your guard." Klaus said as Clare nodded before she followed the Hunter out of the room and down a small flight of stairs that led to a large set of double doors that were slightly ajar. Klaus pressed the index finger of his left hand to his lips, indicating he wanted her to remain quiet. Clare nodded her head in understanding before they both crept towards the doors. Once they were close enough to look through the opening, they found a large man standing guard. He was dressed in black priest robes, wore a matching black hat. Gripped tightly in his hands was a large piece of wood that looked like it would be used for crucifixion.

               Klaus slowly crept up behind the priest before raising his mace above his head before bringing it down. Klaus struck the Church Servant across the head, disorienting the figure. The Hunter quickly took advantage of the situation by clipping his mace to his belt before piercing his right hand through the church servant's back. Klaus swiftly ripped his hand out as blood sprayed everywhere and the church servant collapsed to the ground, dead. Clare heard the sound of fast moving heavy footfalls as she noticed another church servant charging up the stairs with a large wooden post at the ready. Clare drew her blunderbuss as the church servant raised the post above his head.

         Clare pulled the trigger firing a spray of pellets that caused the church servant to stumble and drop his wooden post. Clare lunged forward before stabbing her claymore through the church servant's chest. In one swift motion, Clare swung her sword up, slicing the deranged priest in half. Bloody mist floated out of their bodies and into Klaus as he let out a sigh of relief. "Nice shooting there! Not bad for someone with bugger all practice." Klaus said as he gave Clare a gentle pat on the back. Clare simply nodded her head before sheathing her claymore back on her back and the blunderbuss on the back of her waist. "Alright, now if we head right at the bottom of this here staircase and keep going for a spell, we should reach a set of doors that'll lead us into the Forbidden Woods." Klaus explained before he led Clare down the staircase.

After around twenty minutes of walking, the duo arrived at a set of large double doors that led to the Forbidden Woods. "Password?" A sickly voice asked from the other side of the doors as Klaus walked right up to them. "Fear the Old Blood." Klaus said simply as the sickly voice chuckled before the doors swung open on their own. The duo walked through the doors only to find a skeleton sitting on a stone by itself, there was no sign of who could've actually asked for the password. Clare looked at the skeleton, an unsure look on her face. "There is no way that skeleton was the one who spoke. However nothing in this land makes logical sense." Clare thought to herself as she studied the area around her. Clare then noticed that Klaus was already entering the woods as she started to follow him into the thicket of trees.

Forbidden Woods
Klaus and Clare both walked through the treacherous path through uneven rocky terrain as they both remained on high alert. "What exactly are we looking for?" Clare asked in her usual neutral tone as she continued to survey the area around them. Klaus tightened the grip on his mace and Hunter Pistol as he seemed on higher alert then usual. "For a lamp, I haven't been through here yet and I need a checkpoint. Believe me the last thing I want to snuff it without having a spot in this forest to wake up in." Klaus explained as Clare cocked her head to the side in confusion. However before she could ask what Klaus meant, stopped walking as he was studying something. Clare followed his gaze and saw a stone bridge near a house that led deeper into the forest.

"That house looks like a checkpoint if I've ever seen one, let's clear it out." Klaus said as Clare nodded before they both made their way towards the abandoned brick house. Klaus then spotted an unlit lamp on the pathway leading to the bridge that he approached before pulling a box of matches and striking one. Klaus lit the lamp with the match as messengers clawed their way out of the ground and surrounded the now lit lamp. "Good to see ya here lads, now we best start investigating this forest." Klaus said as he turned to look at Clare who was standing nearby, a blank look on her face.

"Now that we found the lamp, what exactly are we trying to locate?" Clare asked as she waited for the Hunter to answer her question. Klaus walked up to the brick house before grabbing the metal bar door and pulling on it in an attempt to open it. However the door did not even budge slightly as Klaus let out a frustrated sigh. "Figures it's locked from this side. What we're looking for is the path through the woods that leads to Byrgenwerth, Gehrman said that those blokes at that school were hiding something important." Klaus explained as he stepped away from the door only to hear a beastly screech. Klaus felt the talons of a bird dig into his shoulders as a sharp beak stabbed itself into his back.

            Clare drew her claymore and blunderbuss as she looked at the strange creature latched onto Klaus's body. It was a disfigured crow that was the size of a dog. It's eyes were pure white, almost lifeless looking.

Klaus grabbed the Carrion Crow by its torso before forcibly ripping its talons out of his shoulder before he threw the damnable bird to the ground. Clare swiftly lunged forward and decapitated the monstrous bird with her claymore. "Bloody hell! I hate those winged pests! Aye the little blighter got me good." Klaus groaned as he reached into a pouch on the back of his belt. The Hunter pulled out a syringe filled with blood that he swiftly stabbed into the side of his thigh. Klaus injected himself with the blood as the holes in his body created by the Carrion Crow started to close up. "That blood has healing properties?" Clare asked in slight surprise at the sight of mere blood healing such severe wounds at such an alarming rate.

"Aye, damn miracle cure ain't it? Not tryin to be stingy, but can't let ye use them. Might run the risk of turning into one of those damnable beasts." Klaus explained as Clare nodded her head in understanding. The duo then began traveling across the bridge and deeper into the forest as they traveled down the dirt pathway that led deeper into the dark woodlands. However as they continued down the dirt path, Clare heard something from the woods around them. "Something is following us." Clare said sternly as she drew her claymore and readied her blunderbuss. Klaus readied his mace and Hunter Pistol as he and Clare stood back to back with each other. Out of the woods burst two large humanoid figures, they're limbs were elongated and they showed signs of lycanthropy transformation. Clutched in their hands was a log saw.

The two Large Huntsmen let out strangled howls before they raised their log saws above their heads. Klaus took this opening to fire his Hunter Pistol, striking the beast in the chest, causing it to stagger and drop down onto one knee. Klaus lunges forward before thrusting his right hand through the beast's chest. Klaus then thrust his hand to the left as blood sprayed out of the Large Huntsman. The beast yowled in pain as it collapsed onto its back as Klaus readied his mace for combat.

        The Large Huntsman shakily got back up before dropping down onto its hands and snarling at Klaus, who twirled his mace. "Come on ye mangy bloke, kill me if ye think you're tough enough!" Klaus taunted as the Large Huntsman pounced on him violently. The large humanoid beast swung its claws at Klaus, who leaped backwards but still ended up getting shallowly slashed across the chest. Klaus let out a hiss of pain before aiming his Hunter Pistol at the Large Huntsman. Klaus shot the beast through the right eye ball causing it to clutch it's face and let out another pained howl. Klaus lunged towards the Large Huntsman before striking it in the neck with his mace.

        Blood spurted out as Klaus struck the beast in the neck three more times before a sickening snap was heard. With its neck broken, the Large Huntsman collapsed to the ground, dead as red mist flowed out of its body and into Klaus. Klaus let out a sigh of relief before turning to look at Clare. Clare aimed her Blunderbuss at the remaining Large Huntsman before pulling the trigger. A spray of pellets dug into the beast's skin, but it did not slow it down as it sliced Clare across the chest with its log saw. A bloody gash stained Clare's bodysuit as she snarled and aimed the blunderbuss at the Large Huntsman once again. However the Large Huntsman was quicker and swiftly knocked the blunderbuss out of Clare's hand before slashing her across the chest again, leaving another bloody gash.

Clare snarled in pain as she tightly gripped her claymore. Her pupils turned into slits as they went from silver to an intense yellow. Clare's teeth sharpened as the muscles in her sword arm bulged immensely.

Klaus watched this, taken aback by the transformation taking place before his very eyes. "What in the bloody hell?" Klaus mumbled to himself as he watched Clare lunges forward at blinding speeds. The Large Huntsman raised its log saw above its head only for its arm to be cleaved off. The Large Huntsman howled in agony as it raised its remaining arm to claw the silver eyed witch. However that arm was swiftly sliced off as well, causing the Large Huntsman to let out another bowl of agony. Clare's yellow, beastly eyes bore into the Large Huntsman, causing it to cower in fear.

           The Large Huntsman lunges forward it's mouth wide open in an attempt to bite down on Clare's neck. Clare raised her claymore above her head as the muscles in her arm bulged further before she swung the weapon down, slicing the Large Huntsman in two down the center. Blood sprayed everywhere as Clare sheathed her sword as her eyes, teeth, and muscles returned to normal. Red mist flowed out of the remains and into Klaus's body as he walked up to Clare. "That was right diabolical! What even was that Lass?" Klaus asked as he shot the young woman a curious look. Clare looked at Klaus for a moment before turning on her heel and walking down the dirt pathway. "It is nothing of your concern, let's continue on our way." Clare said shortly as she continued to walk deeper into the forest. Klaus remained silent for a moment before he followed after Clare, deciding it better to not press the matter with her.

So Klaus and Clare have entered the Forbidden Woods in order to reach the academy of Byrgenwerth to find something important. However the forest has proven to be rather hostile. Klaus also caught a glimpse of Clare's true power when they were ambushed. As always please leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments! What awaits the Hunter and Claymore in the depths of the Forbidden Woods? What other dangers will they cross paths with? What awaits them at the academy of Byrgenwerth? Find out in the next chapter of Claymore: Fear the Old Blood!