152 Flora

After the battle ended, Surgit headed straight for Isoefka's clinic. 'That old man wore a hunter's garb similar to mine. The only difference was the color and feather attached to his hat.' Surgit started seeing some symbolism to the clothes hunters wore. Gascoigne wore clothes that associated him to the healing church. Eileen had a strange garb. Her hunt wasn't related to beasts but to hunters.

What Surgit experienced in Yharnam pushed him to start analyzing everything, down to the smallest detail. There was no way for him to know exactly what happened in Yharnam. He wasn't willing to unearth all the secrets either. He only wanted to find enough information that would lead him to Paleblood.

Yharnam held too many secrets. One wouldn't even know where to start. Surgit realized that he couldn't rush things anymore. He stayed in Oedon Chapel and made it a base from which he could operate. From all the people he visited in Central Yharnam and the Cathedral Ward, he managed to gather some clues.

The few sane people that remained were afraid of hunters and the church. Most of them would even praise him then send him away in a diplomatic manner. Surgit understood that the church and hunters held the highest esteem in society back then. Overtime, people still feared dealing with the church, but they were unwilling to help or listen to their advice (in this case Surgit's advice).

'The church had lost people's trust. I'm not sure if that happened before or after the burning of Old Yharnam.' Every experience Surgit went through before that point flashed through his mind. 'What I know is that few hunters stayed behind to defend Central Yharnam. The note Francis showed me is proof of that. Perhaps, people even went to the street to defend themselves but fell to the beastly scourge.'

Surgit was slowly walking towards Iosefka's clinic. He cleaned the place of all beasts before. He didn't have to worry about ambushes. He took an item from his pocket and inspected it with his insight. "Radiant Sword Hunter Badge: One of the badges crafted by the Healing Church. The radiant sword indicates the heirs to the will of Ludwig. These hunters, also known as Holy Blades, are what remains of an ancient line of heroes that date back to a very early age of honor and chivalry."

'Chivalry, hmph!' He couldn't imagine a hunter being chivalrous. 'That Ludwig must've been a prominent figure in the history of the healing church. I should probably check the weapons I can buy with this badge. Perhaps I can find some more details about this hunter.' Surgit arrived in front of the clinic with too many questions that needed solving.

There was the matter with Cainhurst first. He had found a way towards Byrgenwerth thanks to Arianna. Before the entrance to the forbidden woods he met Alfred, the hunter who helped him against the Blood Starved Beast. That hunter had told him a thing or two about Cainhurst. He wondered if Francis knew that they could visit the castle. 'I wonder where Francis is right now.'

Then there was the matter with Byrgenwerth. He knew he had to head there but he kept delaying his departure. He didn't want to go the Forbidden woods without prior preparation. He had hoped he could get his hands on sacrificial materials for the root chalice. He wanted to get stronger before hitting the road. Luckily, he stumbled upon Hemwick and had a fruitful haul.

All beasts had been exterminated in the village, suggesting Francis had come through there. That's what pushed Surgit to think of him. Hemwick could be accessed through a road next to the Great Cathedral.

On the other side of the Great Cathedral, Surgit stumbled upon something that made him visit Iosefka one more time. He found a strange elixir. From the description provided by the insight, the elixir could make a person's hide tougher than iron. Surgit tried it once. The backlash he suffered after the effect subsided caused him to be extremely wary of it.

He had to use it against hunters that ambushed him in the area where he found it. He had a hard time repelling two skilled hunters while other snipers shot him. The lead elixir allowed him to deflect the bullets while taking minimal damage from the two hunters' attacks. He couldn't move fast since his bones were turned to lead.

That mysterious substance really worked, but its backlash made it a double-edged sword. After the effect of the elixir subsided, Surgit was out of breath and couldn't lift a finger for almost two minutes. If he wasn't out of the sniper's range, he would've died to the bullets.

He came to see Iosefka in order to give her the elixir and extract some information from her. "Aah you're back! Find any survivors yet?" Surgit didn't send anybody to Iosefka. He noticed that her behavior changed. The elixir was his method of confirming that. "The city is crawling with beasts. I'm afraid there are no sane people in the streets anymore," Surgit answered.

"A pity really! But if you find any, let them know that my clinic is a safe haven for survivors. The beastly scourge shouldn't be feared. Doctors have sworn to protect and cure their patients. Hunters hunt beasts and protect the people. I must play my role and protect the afflicted from their sickness.

"It's a pity the city has fallen to this sorry state. I would be roaming the streets myself otherwise. Good hunter, help me fulfill my duty as a doctor. I'm even willing to reward you." Iosefka spoke with an excited voice. Surgit was moved with those words. What bugged Surgit's mind was that they didn't match her previous resolve. The doctor was still not willing to open her door to him though. Surgit suspected that it was from fear, not her resolve to keep her clinic safe from infection.

"I have found something strange. I was hoping you could tell me what it is." Surgit took a pot containing the elixir from his pocket and showed it to the doctor, through the broken glass of the door. A pair of eyes peeked from the hole and instantly widened.

"What an interesting item you've found." Surgit could feel greed fill the woman's tone. That sudden change didn't go unnoticed by Surgit. "Do you recognize it?" Surgit asked. "I will need to examine it closely to be able to give you a full report on it. I've read something about it long ago. But I'm not sure if it's the same liquid the text spoke of." As the woman spoke, Surgit anticipated her question. "I can give it to you, for your research purposes of course. However, I'd need something from you in return."

Iosefka was startled. She realized that she'd been seen through. "This doctor has nothing of great value for a hunter I'm afraid. If it is blood vials you wish for, I can provide them to you." Surgit's eyes narrowed. "I just want to see the good doctor's face once more," Surgit said with a friendly tone.

Iosefka told Surgit once that she looked forward to the end of the hunt. Only then would she open the door and meet him face to face. He didn't know what Iosefka looked like. If the woman behind the door opened it to him, then she must be an impostor. "I'm sorry but this door can only be opened to host patients. I'd really like to see good hunter again, but this night is really long and treacherous. We wouldn't want to spread some disease to the clinic, would we? The matter last time was just a mistake. I can't open this door to the good hunter anymore."

Iosefka's footsteps were heard leaving the place. Surgit stood there, going through what had just happened. 'If this isn't Iosefka, where is the real one? Or…' A crazy idea came to Surgit. 'Could it be? No, if she had a double personality then I would've noticed some contradiction in her speech before. She suddenly changed her behavior. It was too sudden, too fast.

'Since then, I couldn't recognize the doctor. She doesn't even offer me her vials anymore.' Surgit felt like he was hit by lightning. 'She offered me blood vials earlier! Even if she had double personality, Iosefka would still have her blood to offer. She was clearly interested by the elixir. But instead, she offered me blood vials that could be gathered from corpses of beasts and drunkards.This woman has definitely been outside, and she is not the doctor.'

Surgit visited Gilbert on his way back to the chapel. He exchanged some words with him then left. He was the only true friend he had left in Yharnam. After offering him to leave with him to the chapel and being met with refusal again, Surgit left him alone. His health had deteriorated. Gilbert was adamant that he'd get better by staying in his house.

This pained Surgit but he didn't want to force a sick man out. He had no way of helping him ease his suffering either. Iosefka couldn't be trusted anymore. He arrived to Oedon Chapel then used the lantern to go to the dream. He was ready to explore the root chalice and collect more echoes. He was sure of travelling through the Forbidden Woods would be much easier after that. When he arrived to the dream, Surgit went directly towards the doll.

He was surprised she wasn't in her usual spot. After looking for her for some time, Surgit found her kneeling next to a tombstone. The stone was located next to the backdoor of the workshop. "O flora, of the moon, of the dream. O little ones, O fleeting will of the ancients. Let the hunter be safe, let him find comfort. And let this dream, his captor, foretell a pleasant awakening. Be one day, a fond, distant memory."