Bloodborne

Chapter 18

A city on fire, crucifixes everywhere and beasts tied to them. The beasts are also on fire and they seem to howl and wriggle out of their bounds to no avail. People are watching them as they burn and they seem to be laughing hysterically, as if enjoying the scene before their eyes. A man, dangling upside down, hangs from a rope and blood seems to be falling, drop by drop from his neck.

Surgit opened his eyes to find himself in the house. Was he dreaming? He could only remember the feeling of dread before waking up, but nothing about the dream. Gherman was nowhere to be found in the house or outside. He had vanished to G.o.d knows where and Surgit, feeling the urge to go back to Yharnam to find some more clues about what"s going on in the city decided to pay the messenger a visit. "Hey little one, can you show me that lamp again? I"d like to go back to where I was" the ghostly creature pulled out a lamp from the pool underneath it and held it to Surgit. He looked into it and pictured the last place where he saw the lantern pole. He felt some force dragging him towards it and slowly the image of Yharnam started expanding in front of him.

A cool breeze brushed against his face. He was back on solid ground, to silence and loneliness. Suddenly, he heard a cough… the sound emanated from the house with barricaded doors. He approached it and shouted "h.e.l.lo? Anybody here?" he didn"t expect to get any answer and he was ready to dart back in case some beast came crashing through the doors. "The window…cough…cough… come towards the window." Someone was actually alive and answering his question. There was a small window on his left, next to the closed Iron Gate. Once he reached the window, Surgit could see that a lantern was hanging from the top part of the steel frame that was protruding outwards in a circular shape. People in Yharnam apparently used any mean necessary to protect themselves from beasts. "You"re outside on the night of the hunt? You must be an outsider and a hunter to top it all" said the man from behind the curtains. "You hunters have a special scent. This is how we can tell" continued the man, as if answering Surgit"s inner thought.

- "I"m Gilbert, an outsider like you. This city has given me hope, I thought my case lost but their miraculous healing is real." He said as fits of coughs interrupted his speech.

- "How long have you been here?" Asked Surgit

- "Who knows? I"ve been recovering from my illness, before this hunt began. Yharnamites will not open their doors to you on a night like this."

- "What is this night of the hunt anyway?"

- "This is when hunters go out and hunt beasts, the night always ends but this one seems to linger more than others"

At long last, Surgit had found someone to give him some information about what"s happening in the city. So he decided to stick around and ask him more questions.