Suspicious Beggar

Surgit left the dream, back to the Forbidden Woods. He no longer thought of Logarius and Francis' own fight. He had his own mysteries to unravel. The Forbidden Woods were dark and foreboding. Valtr, the league leader had vanished. Surgit took the elevator down towards the snake populated area.

He had some unfinished business to attend to in the windmill he first came through. The tower was big, Surgit hadn't completely explored it. He had a feeling that he'd missed something important in there so he headed that way. Slowly, the hunter crept behind the snake-man, smashing him into smithereens with his Kirkhammer. Next was the other snake man inside the dark tower.

He'd anticipated meeting him head on. He was ready to dispose of him quickly before things became ugly. Things don't always go according to plan though. The snake man noticed the hunter entering the windmill tower. The latter suddenly clutched his head, screaming in agony. Multiple snakes exploded out of his hooded face, then the abomination ran quickly towards Surgit, trying to end him then and there.

The hunter unsheathed his sword, disconnecting it from the big rocky slab. Surgit threw the hammer at the beast, staggering it in the process. He immediately took a Molotov cocktail, ignited it then threw it at the snake man. The abomination caught on fire, hissing sounds ensued as a result. The snakes, burnt to a crisp, stopped moving after a while.

Surgit walked up the stairs of the dark wooden tower. He soon reached the large open window. 'Now I can finally jump down, without fearing the consequences.' Wind howled as the lone hunter reached the window, blowing his hair back. He jumped down landing on a tile roofed balcony. A rasping breathing noise reached Surgit's ears, announcing a large transformed huntsman was lurking in the vicinity.

The large beast, a freakish humanoid body with a furred face, saw the hunter and immediately rushed towards him. Surgit was ready for the attack. He quickly drew his gun and shot the beast before the attack reached him. He eviscerated the poor beast, destroying its internal organs in the process. 'Once in a while won't hurt,' he thought as he advanced forward.

From the tiled roof, Surgit could see the academy's dome in the distance. His objective loomed in the horizon. It felt like Byrgenwerth kept moving away from him, exceedingly eclipsing itself from his view. He had to make his way to the academy, but different things kept showing up. He wasn't even sure he was strong enough to deal with whatever awaited him at Byrgenwerth.

His last experience with Logarius confirmed his doubts and fears. The closer he got to his objective, the deadlier the beasts became. He had to get stronger, but he also had to increase his skill. He had to fight more monsters, learn how to read through their patterns and react quickly to them. Surgit had learned a lot throughout his stay in Yharnam.

'Echoes make a person stronger. But without the skill to wield a weapon, one can't hope to fell the multiple beasts that roam about. I need to learn how to react quickly and kill without hesitation. The beastly form I have is useful, but I cannot use it without moderation.'

Surgit found a ladder, climbed up then found himself at the second floor of the windmill tower. The place was dark and decrepit. The wooden floors had fallen, replaced by the remaining wooden pillars. Surgit, with the help of his torch, slowly walked through the catwalks. The moment he entered the windmill's second floor, his insight activated.

He saw a glowing object in the distance. Surgit got closer, inspected the item then his eyes widened. A smile drew itself on his face. 'A bloody Cannon!' Surgit was ecstatic. He inspected the item with his insight, revealing extra information about it.

"Large prototype firearms fashioned by the workshop heretics, the Powder Kegs. Use of this weapon is equivalent to toting a mounted cannon, complete with its ridiculous weight, staggering kick, and lavish use of Quicksilver Bullets, into battle. Such a monstrosity was doomed from the start, and indeed its development was cut short. Yet, against impossibly gigantic foes, it might be just the thing. "

'I must also keep track of all these snippets of information. If I keep track of all of them, I'll be able to put the puzzle together and figure out what had happened in this godforsaken place.'

Surgit felt a cold breeze brush against his face. The direction of the wind came from a spot, different from the one he'd just came through. He slowly walked towards the place when he saw a door leading outside. He went through it then found himself on a balcony overseeing the village where he almost got obliterated with a mounted cannon. The huntsman, in charge of detonating the projectile, stood behind the weapon, waiting for an unsuspecting soul to pass through.

He was thinking of using the cannon he had just found to give the huntsman a taste of his own medicine when he heard strange slurping sounds. He turned to his right. A strange scene unfolded before him. A man, wearing but tatters, was kneeling next to some bodies. Surgit didn't know what the man was trying to do. The slurping sound alarmed him though.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

The man, startled, jumped up and turned towards the hunter. "Oh! Blimey... Don't scare me like that, on a night like this -- I took you for a monster."

"Look who's talking! What are you doing here? I didn't expect to see anyone with their wits about them in this dark place."

"There was that beast down there…" the man started. He had his eyes bandaged, Surgit wondered how that old man could see anything with his eyes closed like that. "Ooh, that thing had me trembling, frozen in my boots. And then you came along..."

"You haven't answered my question. And what's that behind you?" Surgit approached the man, the smell of rotten flesh filled his nose, almost asphyxiating him.

"Oh, thank the stars, you're fairly normal. Was it you who put down that awful beast?" The man was obviously trying to stall for time, Surgit narrowed his eyes.

"What happened to the people behind you?" The fact that the old man didn't answer any of his questions made Surgit more alarmed. He didn't like the way he continuously dodged his questions.

"You're a hunter, aren't you? Do you know of any safe haven? This place is dark and full of terrors."

The man kept talking to Surgit, as if the three corpses behind him didn't even exist. The stench on the man's body reminded Surgit of Father Gascoigne. "I don't know any," replied Surgit. "I'm just here to slay beasts."

"Oh, yeah, of course not. I should've known... This whole place is falling apart once again. It's the curse of Yharnam."

"What do you mean? The curse of Yharnam?"

"These beasts, this unending nightmare. Don't you see? Every night comes with its terrors. The town is in disarray, people lose their minds. There are no safe places left. This town is simply finished."

"Such elegant words for someone who feeds on corpses! I can smell death on you old man. Last chance to tell the truth, what are you doing here? And how on earth have you reached this place?"

The old man growled, showing his canine teeth at Surgit. His intuition was right, that old man was no good news. "Have you got a screw loose? Or is it your... animal intuition? It doesn't even matter... You hunters have got more blood on your hands!"

"What about the blood on your hands, teeth and whole being old man? You're no different from the beasts we hunt." Surgit drew his sword. He had no choice but to exterminate this unexpected threat.

"Fool," said the old man, noticing Surgit's hostile intention.

What happened next sent shivers down the hunter's spine. Bolts surrounded the old beggar. Surgit had to cover his eyes. The light emitted from the lightning bolts blinded him. Bones cracked. Drops of blood fell on Surgit's face. He drew his hand away. The old man transformed into a beast akin to the darkbeast he had encountered back in Yahar'gul.

Fur covered the newly formed monster. Its body, thrice larger than Surgit's, emitted countless bolts of lightning. It dashed towards the surprised hunter and slammed its large hand on him. Surgit barely dodged the attack when lightning struck him, paralyzing him in the process.

"Oh, you are a sick puppy... You drink the blood of half the town and now this... And you talk of beasts? You hunters are the real killers."

The beast's deep voice put fear in Surgit. He had never met a beast capable of speech. This one was intelligent, ruthless and used arcane powers to top it all. The beast jumped at the paralyzed hunter, aiming for the kill. Surgit, with unparalleled willpower, willed his body to move away from the monster's attack.

He jumped to the right, avoiding a thrust attack. The beast's sharp claws almost pierced his body. Surgit realized how the perilous situation he was in. He quickly drew the newly found cannon and blasted the beast away with it. A loud explosion echoed through the Forbidden Woods, announcing a fierce battle in its dark confines. Lightning disappeared from the beast's body for a moment. The monster growled again, releasing lightning bolts stronger than the ones it had before.

The situation had quickly turned ugly for Surgit. The cannon barely damaged the beast. It even made it angrier. The hunter jumped back, avoiding another slam attack. The shockwave that resulted from the powerful slam destroyed the tiles and propelled Surgit several feet back. Fortunately for the hunter, the shockwave sent him rolling back inside the windmill tower. The door leading inside the tower was too small for the beast to fit in. So it stood outside, staring at Surgit with murderous intent.

"I won't leave this place unless I kill you," shouted Surgit. He wiped the blood that seeped from his mouth. "Perhaps you consider me a beast. Perhaps I am a beast after all, failing to realize my own nature. But you, you take advantage of your human appearance to feed on the unwary. Killing you will be my first step towards dealing with this town's horrors. I won't be intimidated by your freakish nature."