It's quiet, you notice. Whether that's a product of your enthusiastic meet-and-greet campaign, you're not sure, but it is welcome nonetheless.
Around you stand gravestones, some fresh and some so weathered that they are as nameless as the empty husks beneath them. You stamp your feet exploratorily; the soil is soft and yielding.
You've got time.
For want of a dedicated spade, you pull out the massive sword bequeathed by the Messengers. It's a shame to use such a lovely thing for this kind of task, but at the end of the day, that's all it is: a thing. Pure, devoid of emotion and mercy.
Like you should have been.
Something clatters to the ground by your feet. A glance confirms that it's a shovel, while a look towards its presumed point of origin reveals Iosefka, holding an identical specimen.
"The grave digger keeps some spares around the yard," she explains as you re-inter the sword. She walks up to join you, pointing out an unoccupied plot of earth large enough to house the former Lumnia.
You toss huge heaps of dirt aside, vastly outstripping Iosefka despite the doctor's best efforts. For a time, the earthen 'fwumps' of your efforts are the city's sole backing tracks.
"I'd have thought you'd want to burn her," she says between grunts. "Seems more fitting for a holy man."
"Already drawn enough attention ta this place," you reply. "And besides, this way she's givin' back ta the world. Keep an eye on this spot after all this is over; kinda interested in seein' what grows out o' her."
Maybe space mushrooms? Tried them once. Wouldn't recommend it.
The hole is a little uneven and short on elegant angles, but she'll fit. You place her, all of her, gently into it, closing her eyes and folding her arms across her chest. Making the sign of the cross, you rise up and heft your shovel.
"I'll take care o' fillin' it back up. I want ye ta go inside, get her weapons, and pick up everythin' important ye can carry. The clinic's not safe anymore."
She nods and walks briskly back inside as you begin the process of undoing all of your previous efforts. Even without Iosefka helping, your sheer strength lets you fill the hole and pat it down smooth in record time.
You plant a bayonet at the head of the mound. Might get her a proper stone once this is over and done with.
Before long, Iosefka returns with a large pack slung over her shoulder and Lumnia's cane and pistol in her hands. She offers them to you hopefully, but doesn't seem surprised when you shake your head.
"I've never fought, Father Anderson. I very much hoped I would never have to."
"Ye'll have ta learn, then."
She looks back towards the clinic, frowning.
"You alright?" you venture. She sighs, fiddling with the cane.
"I joined the Church to help the sick. I left it because I felt I could do more on my own. The Hunters would hunt the beasts, I would treat them and any survivors of the Hunts, and Yharnam would live another day. I knew it could never last, but I was comfortable. I was doing good."
Her shoulders slump.
"This is all terribly complicated," she says after a moment's silence.
You clap a hand on her shoulder.
"The path o' the righteous is never simple, for how can we grow if we never struggle?"
She still seems sad. Damn, and you'd batted 1.000 with that platitude.
"Look," you say, meeting her gaze, "we have ta keep goin'. Can't do nobody any good if we don't."
You continue resting your hand on her shoulder until she straightens up and takes a deep breath, rubbing at her eyes with her once-pristine sleeves. She looks up at you and nods.
"Right, then," you say. "We can't stay here. We might be able ta come back and get supplies later, but it's not secure anymore. Any idea where ye could set up shop?"
"Oedon Chapel," she replies. "It's large and secure enough for me to take care of multiple patients if need be." She pauses, apparently remembering something. "If it's a night of the Hunt, the bridge will be closed, but there's an alternate way through the aqueducts. You can get to them from the main plaza."
"I've mostly cleared out the streets, but I've not been through there." She raises an eyebrow at "cleared out the streets" before getting the picture. "Is there somewhere ye could stay before I make a path to the other place where ye could stay?"
That sounded a lot better in your head.
She puzzles over this for a moment.
"With Gascoigne, perhaps? I know he's done a lot to secure his home. And he used to be a Hunter himself. He can be rather terrifying, actually. I'd feel quite safe with him."
And there's that name again. Everything comes back to Gascoigne.
At least you'll finally get to meet the bastard.
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