TheAugust 13th—-
My unorthodox arrangement with the Lycans has proven more useful than I had ever anticipated. Though the story of the ailing prince that walked from his own grave is but a fairytale to most, the tale bore enough information, even altered and watered down as tales become over the years, to lead me to Castle Montcroix. The Lycans are more than willing to allow my personal research, in return that I should locate this prince, and if, through my research, I could help their prince still living with this ailment to prevent this fate. This place is crucial towards my research. The subjects here are centuries old, I suspect spanning across generations. It seems that here, in this state of being, royal dead mingles equally with common dead. I have much reason to suspect this, due to appearance and mechanism of death mainly. Most notably, I spotted a ghast dressed in rich finery, like that of someone of high royal status. I got such a small glimpse of him that I couldn't be certain if he was indeed the missing prince I was requested to locate. Even in darkness, I could make out the gleam of jewels round his neck. Admittedly the common type are far more common than royals, but it is intriguing no less.
Most intriguing of all is a specimen that I have come to call, 'Black Sheep.' He behaves most peculiarly of any that I've encountered. Being a non-mortal myself, these creatures referred to as ghasts don't seem to notice or care for my presence in their dark habitats beneath the castle. Their prey consists solely of mortals, after all. Though the dark-vision vampires are fortunate to possess is ideal for this environment, my photographical equipment does require assistance in lighting. This normally deters many a subject, to the degree that this photograph is absolutely exceptional. A study of any of the sparse photographs of these entities could foster an appreciation of the clarity and focus of this image, and its subject.
I first encountered this particular subject early on in my field studies: the field being the ancient plumbing system beneath Castle Montcroix. The castle staff refuse to enter the system beyond the initial entryway to the boiler room, due to fear of those that they call "lurkers." Hastily shoveling coal into the furnaces is reserved only for the lowest of cur amongst the castle workforce. Any further maintenance beyond this is offered to prisoners in the dungeons in exchange for freedom. Few accept this offer. It is unclear what happens to those that do accept, but resoundingly it sounds as if they are not seen again.
The entryway itself is sealed off heavily with an iron-bar door and locks, which I am given free access to and from. Along the circular, pipe-like hall towards the maintenance lobby and boiler room, the darkness engulfs quickly. There are lanterns meant to be lit along the path, but no one has lit them in ages. I could easily imagine the fear a mortal would feel entering this place. The boiler room is in a door on the right wall of the entry hall, an off shoot of where the hall ultimately leads: the cistern. The staff refer to this great chamber as the cistern, as it is the meeting place of all the pipes through out the castle, supplying the water. It has a catacomb-like quality with the pillars forming archways in the ceiling in a decorative, but macabre fashion for such a room. There is a skylight opening up somewhere above ground letting light in to illuminate the cistern, but only during the day. The staff fear this room so greatly, but if they were more familiar with the creatures that they fear, they would know only to fear it during the night. Ghasts shy away from light. Even the moonlight, I suspect, would be enough to discourage them.
The blueprint of the waterways provided to me proved invaluable, as the gaping, black mouths to each pipeline entryway were easily disorienting. Each carried water, and provided access to, a different part of the castle. They were easily large enough for one to walk through, and were made for such with stone walkways for maintenance. I recall setting up my first expedition in the waterways, in hopes of gathering information of the ghasts' habitats, habits, and any information of the "lifestyle" of these elusive creatures. The cistern was misleadingly bright and noisy with the dripping of a thousand leaks and water droplets echoing into the chamber. Misleading in that when I entered a chosen waterway, sound and light was engulfed. Pitch blackness, and just the sound of my own footsteps treading carefully on damp stone accompanied me. Even my eyes had difficulty with this unnatural darkness.
