"Wait," you say as you begin your trek back, "would ye mind if I took a look at the Chapel before we left? I'd like ta meet this 'dweller' ye mentioned."
"Be my guest," she replies. You wonder if she's as thankful as you are for this excuse to procrastinate. You make your way up the stairs and through the gated archway. More chained-up coffins line the path, which is rather odd considering there's a perfectly good place to bury the damn things just around the corner.
"That lantern wasn't there when we arrived," she notes.
"Aye, it popped up while you were checkin' out the Chapel."
"There never did seem to be any rhyme or reason to them. They are quite convenient, though."
"Can ye use them?"
"I could, some time ago. No more dreams for me. I take it you can? Even though you're not a Hunter?"
"Doesn't make sense ta me, neither."
You slosh through a waterlogged room and follow Eileen up another ladder. Maybe they need so many graveyards because people keep falling off these things.
"Is the Doll still there?" she asks.
"Her and Gehrman. She's a sweet thing. Not entirely sure about him."
"He's lonely. He smiles and laughs, but he's lonely and there's always something he won't or can't say. That's honestly all I know for certain about him after all this time."
The ladder leads into a study lined wall-to-wall with bookshelves and haphazardly-stacked tomes. A pair of long tables with papers strewn about and what look like gyroscopes on lamp stems atop them dominate the center portion and an ornate chest squats next to the exit. One note in particular, written in the forceful scrawl of frustration, catches your eye,
"The Byrgenwerth spider hides all manner of rituals, and keeps our lost master from us. A terrible shame. It makes my head shudder uncontrollably."
You are so fundamentally not a doctor that you're a bit surprised you can touch Iosefka without the both of you exploding, but you're pretty sure he should get that looked at.
"Y'ever heard'a 'Byrgenwerth?'"
"Byrgenwerth is a college where the study of blood first originated. You could call it the birthplace of the Healing Church; supposedly, researchers from Byrgenwerth discovered a 'holy medium' beneath Yharnam. That's their story, at least."
You head over to the chest and begin fiddling with it. To your surprise, it's unlocked, and you heave it open to find an odd metal tool. It looks almost like a wine opener, possessing a grooved handle you can turn to raise or lower the stamp-like bottom.
"Any idea what this is?" you ask, offering it to your companion. Eileen looks it over, turning it this way and that in her hands.
"It looks like something you'd find in the Dream workshop. I'm afraid it's been too long for me to remember exactly what it's for." She hands it back to you. "Gehrman would know."
You "pocket" it and sweep your arm towards the stairway that leads out of the room in "after you" fashion. Eileen obliges and you ascend the narrow flight to emerge into the cavernous Oedon Chapel.
The smell of incense is almost enough to knock you off your feet and you glance jealously at Eileen's mask. Candles burn throughout the room, illuminating the beautifully-made statuary and tastefully-placed pottery. Even with the decor, it's still plenty spacious enough to serve as a makeshift clinic for Iosefka.
The bundle of rags next to you coughs.
You hop back and move to draw your weapons before a pair of spindly gray arms emerge from the pile of red fabric and wave their palms back and forth.
"Sorry! Sorry! It's the incense; I'm pretty much used to it but it still gets to me from time to time."
You gawp as Eileen snorts behind her mask. She steps over to the man(?) in the pile.
"Father Anderson, this is Agatha. He takes care of the Chapel. Agatha, this is the man I was telling you about."
The hooded gray face, eyes milky and flesh taut, lights up with a smile.
"Oh! It's a pleasure to meetcha, Father Anderson. Miss Eileen here tells me you're planning on bringing a doctor here to help survivors. That's, y'know, that's wonderful. It's a bad night and people need all the help they can get."
He laughs nervously, wringing his fingers together.
"The Chapel is all yours; it's as safe as can be. If there's anything I can do to help out, you just let me know."
He's odd, certainly, but quite earnest. His nervousness strikes you as less "evil mastermind" and more someone who isn't particularly adept at social interactions. You're also not sure those skinny arms are physically capable of picking up a knife, much less stabbing you in the back with it.
"It's good to meet ye as well, Agatha. Thank ye for yer hospitality."
"No trouble at all. Just be sure to tell anyone with their wits about 'em about this place. It's a bad night, I tell ya."
You nod, although you're fairly certain he can't see it.
"We'll be back in a bit. Gotta go pick up the flock."
"Alright. Safe travels to you both."
You take another look around the Chapel, admiring the stonework, and follow Eileen back down. You pass through the graveyard without a word and make your way towards the lift she opened.
"He seems nice," you say.
"He's given me no reason not to trust him, and I am always looking for reasons."
The lift itself is plain, save for a raised square in the center, and just large enough to accommodate the two of you. Eileen presses herself to one side and waves you in. As soon as your foot touches the square, it sinks down and the lift's gate slides closed.
"Is that a pressure plate?" you ask as it lurches upwards.
"Yes."
"This thing is activated by a pressure plate?"
"Yes."
"So if ye'd accidentally stepped on the plate while you were going in, I'd have had ta wait until it went up, you got out, and it came back ta get on?"
"You'd have had to pull that lever there to bring it back, but yes."
"What fucking idiot designed this city?"
"Someone from Byrgenwerth, I believe. Can't recall the name at the moment."
Maybe it's worth going there after you deal with the Church. If they don't have a complaints department, you'll fucking well make one.
You step out of the lift to find yourself very near the tall building you traversed to get to the Great Bridge earlier in the evening. You see a pair of the big Notre Dame bastards mulling about and both you and Eileen make your way towards them.
You try to grin and muster up your righteous fury, envisioning the pair as surrogates for the Byrgenwerthian architect, but you're just not feeling the happy slaughter funtimes. With a sigh, you launch a bayonet through each one's head from long distance and watch them collapse. Eileen looks at you and tilts her head.
"How're we gonna tell the girls?"
"Explain to them what happened and be there for them. That's all we can offer."
You walk side-by-side in silence. By now, the air is thick with flies and carrion birds line the streets in food comas. A couple of them burble at you and make half-hearted efforts to peck at you before passing out again.
Your barrier is untouched; you can feel it from a block out. You approach and, with a force of will, dissipate it, although you're ready to bring it back up at a moment's notice. You and Eileen look at each other for a moment, waiting for the other to step forward, before you sigh and knock on the door.
"Yes?" asks Iosefka from within.
"It's us, Doctor."
You hear her disengage the locks in rapid-fire sequence. The door swings open, revealing her worried face. It lights up at the sight of you, then drops when she realizes that both of you are looking away.
"What happened?"
[] Explain to Iosefka, then get the kids
[] Get the kids, explain to everyone
[] Write in...
