The moment the iron gate was locked again, everyone realized at once what "escape the sanatorium" in the Instance mission really meant.
Nina carefully locked the iron gate, then hung the keys back at her waist.
"All right, please follow me..." She turned and led everyone farther inside.
In the weed-choked forecourt, the fountain standing in the center had long since dried up, its basin filled with fallen leaves that had also dried out and crumbled. The angel statue atop the fountain was riddled with cracks from neglect. Though its hands were now empty, snow-white pigeons crowded its head, shoulders, and arms, lending the sanatorium a rare touch of life.
Yet these pigeons seemed utterly unafraid of people. As the players passed, they remained motionless on the statue, staring intently at everyone with black, beadlike eyes, their heads turning to follow the group's movements.
It made the players, already unsettled by their surroundings, even more uneasy.
Only an iron gate separated the two sides, yet stepping through it felt like entering another world. Apart from the click of Miss Nina's high heels and the scuff of the players' footsteps, everything was so quiet that not another sound could be heard, as though there were no other patients or doctors in the sanatorium besides their little group.
It was quiet enough to... set their nerves on edge.
"Um..." One player seemed unable to bear the deathly silence any longer and bravely broke it. "Miss Nina, how many pat-"
"Shh-"
Before he could finish his question, Miss Nina abruptly stopped and turned, raising a finger to her lips. "Keep your voice down, sir..."
She stood right in the shadow cast by the peaked building, the darkness hanging so heavily over her that they couldn't make out her expression. "Now, we are about