Sinister Blood Moon

After Francis left, Surgit and Karla eyed each other is silence. They didn't understand the reason behind the old man's sudden change in behavior.

"Do you think he got cold feet?" Surgit asked.

"I bet he's hiding something. That old man is always full of surprises," Karla replied.

"What do we do now? We only went to Yahar'gul because Francis asked us to," Surgit said.

Karla took her time ruminating. She tilted her head to the right and scratched her head. "I think I know where he went. At least some notion of it," she finally said.

"He said he was going to Cainhurst," Surgit retorted.

"And you believed him?" Karla asked with a cynical smile.

Surgit chuckled nervously. "I don't know. Half the things he says are lies. The other half are truths disguised in lies. Come to think of it, he's never been frank with me."

Karla's lips parted into an amiable smile. "I saw a corpse in a cage in Yahar'gul. From its garb, I think it belonged to a member of the Church."

Surgit raised an eyebrow. "Did you use your insight on the corpse?"

Karla nodded. "It definitely had something on it. Francis came back to us from the entrance downstairs. Whatever he's picked, it must be important."

"If it's the Church, then we should get back to Oedon Chapel," Surgit suggested.

"My thoughts exactly," Karla replied with a wide grin.

Both hunters teleported to Oedon Chapel then. After everything that happened, Surgit had forgotten to check on the people he rescued. He found the prostitute folded in half, moaning in pain.

Karla noticed her, and a cold sweat ran down her spine. Surgit hurried toward the ailing woman. She wouldn't speak to him no matter how many times he called out to her. She only clutched her stomach and groaned as though it was about to burst.

When he asked the suspicious beggar about it, the latter only shrugged. He was still content that everybody had gathered in the chapel, despite the clear change in atmosphere. Everything gradually changed in Yharnam, save for the beggar. He was always happy to help, always friendly when spoken to.

The nun sat in her comer, muttering to herself. When Surgit approached her, she only giggled and stared at the floor. Surgit got a bad feeling about the woman. In fact, only women seemed to have been affected. The narrow minded man sat in his corner, silent and staring at an invisible point only he seemed to see.

The biggest change was the rude old lady. She had turned completely docile, even took to calling him "dearie". She was a completely different person. Intrigued, Surgit asked Karla to step out in order to discuss this whole mess.

"Something wrong happened here," Surgit whispered to Karla after they went out.

Karla seemed to share his opinion. She nodded. Her sight was set on the corner of Oedon Chapel. "We walked through here before but... Why didn't we notice that thing?" She pointed at the Church's roof.

Surgit looked up. As soon as he caught sight of what Karla was pointing to, he jumped backwards. His hand instinctively went for his sword.

"I don't think it can attack us," Karla said.

"Oh yes it can," Surgit replied. He turned to look at his friend and gave her a wry smile. "It grabbed me once, back when I fought Father Gascoigne. It was right after we parted ways. I experienced the same feeling we got from the Amygdala near Yahar'gul..." Sugit shuddered.

"Do you think it can take us somewhere? Is this what Francis found?" Karla asked.

"I highly doubt it. The first time it grabbed me, I ended up lying on the cold cobble stones. I was at the verge of death," Surgit said.

"And the second time it caught us, you had the Tonsil Stone," Karla retorted.

Surgit's eyes widened. "I sure hope he didn't get the key to that realm..."

They went back into the Church and asked the suspicious beggar about Francis. He'd told them he was indeed in the Chapel right before they arrived. He also told them the old man headed toward the Upper Cathedral Ward.

The suspicious beggar handed Sugit a sealed enveloppe. He said the old man had left it behind for them. Surgit inspected it while Karla looked over his shoulder.

"This is a letter of summons, to the Castle of Cainhurst," Surgit observed.

Karla snatched the envelope from Surgit and ogled at it for a long while. "That old senile bastard..." She hissed.

"What? What is it?" Surgit asked.

"Gavril, the crow feather hunter, he sent me to the past to get him these summons..." she said in an undertone. Her hands shook heavily.

Surgit looked concerned. "Francis has access to Cainhurst, he must have found it there. Do you want to hand it over to Gavril?"

Karla glared at the hunter, and the latter unintentionally backed away. "I want to make him suffer..." she hissed.

"We will, rest assured," Surgit said in a comforting tone. "How about you hand that envelope back to me? The sight of it clearly upsets you."

Karla reluctantly handed the letter back to Surgit. He pocketed it then looked back at the elevator that took toward the Upper Cathedral Ward.

"According to the beggar, Francis went up there. I saw a locked door in there before. He must have gone through it," Sugit said.

They took the elevator upstairs to find corpses littering the place. Francis had definitely been through there.

Once they reached the top of the tower, they were disappointed to find the door still locked. Karla pounded at the door, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Why's Francis's disappearance so upsetting to you?" Surgit asked, bewildered.

"This is where the leaders of the Church used to reside," Karla said after she vented out her anger on the clay pots that surrounded the door. She had smashed them all to pieces, but that was still not enough. She looked depressed, almost defeated.

"What did you see back then that upsets you so?" Surgit asked.

"I saw the church and their bloody ways. If Francis has access to the Upper Cathedral Ward, this only means he wants to delve into their experiments. I've been his body guard for too long. I know when he's plotting something sinister..."

Karla's shoulders shook heavily. "It's all happening again... The ailing woman, the red moon... It all connects to this place right here!" she kicked the door then immediately regretted it. She held her foot and winced in pain.

"We can wait for him here, or we can find another way inside, if you're so adamant on following him," Surgit suggested.

"No," Karla dryly replied. "Francis may be in there for a while. I need to get stronger. As long as Gavril lives, we will never be safe."

"Let's just hope we manage to kill him before he does us," Surgit said with a cynical smile. He extended his hand toward Karla. "Get up, grumpy. We won't get stronger by moping near a closed door."