The first thing they passed by on their way to the bridge was of course, the mangled corpse of the maneater boar with its guts untangled and a host of carrion crows happily taking the opportunity to clean up the fresh organs spilled on the floor. As soon as the quartet of hunters came, the crows began screeching and making an effort to defend their meal. To everyone else's shock, Adam sauntered right up and uncorked a bottle of blood cocktail which made some crows stop while more zealous ones continued making an effort to intimidate him away.

Suddenly, the cocktail was splashed on the pig's gaping hindquarters and the crows picked up the scent rather quickly and began a frenzy of feasting on the main corpse itself, wiggling and fighting to get at the fermented blood cocktail like their lives depended on it. Adam laughed a little and backed away, facing his new hunting partners and pointing with his thumb back to the sight of the crows pushing their heads deep in the pig from behind before saying, "I'm amazed how much animals love this stuff. You should use this more often in Yharnam."

"Well…that's…unorthodox…" Eileen said between snickers, trying to hold back her laughter.

"Wow, what happened to this big beast? Looks like someone pulled its arse right out."

"That would be Adam's handiwork. Gave the beast a thorough examination he did."

Henryk gave an amused laugh while Gascoigne smiled and chuffed in amusement.

"Well, regardless, if crows are as smart as I think they are, they'll be relatively friendly and content now."

As though on que, a single carrion crow used its beak to gently nudge Adam's leg and looked to the bottle in his hands. He chuckled and walked over to a piece of pig that had spread a good deal and dumped a little on it, which the weaker and less zealous crows happily shared.

"Well, you're a peculiar one. I thought I was the only one in this city with an appreciation for the beasts," Eileen commented with a pleased tone.

"Regardless, we have a duty to fulfill, we should keep moving now," Gascoigne commented before walking further through the aqueduct. He was followed, and the group eventually rounded around to the area Adam first fell off. At first, Henryk and Gascoigne stopped, only to continue following Eileen and Adam as they made a left turn to the ladder and up back to where he had first met the Crow Hunter.

Past that, they made their way to the bridge, passing by a few hulking brick trolls in the distance. They were there to hunt a beast after all, and considering there were two patrolling the bridge. As the two beasts pushed their snouts to the ground, sniffing for a sign, a quick strategy meeting was held in which it was agreed Henryk and Gascoigne would take one and Eileen was with Adam taking out the remaining one.

The beasts' ears perked at the sound of footsteps and they turned their head to see the four charging. As soon as they charged back, the hunters split and the beasts followed. Gascoigne ran and slammed his surprisingly blunt ax into the beast and Henryk used the saw transformation momentum to rip a chunk out of the beast who backed away and reared up.

Meanwhile, Eileen took the beast's attention with shallow but quick slashes, getting it to turn around from Adam who proceeded to use the saw spear to follow Henryk's suit and a chunk of fur and gore went flying from the strike. The beast tried to retreat, only for Eileen to strategically cut a tendon, letting the beast fall forward and was promptly shanked by the saw spear like a shishkabob. It quickly went into shock and Evan felt a sweet feeling settle in his soul.

Meanwhile, Gascoigne and Henryk had beaten the beast to the ground and only after a combined strike to the back of the neck when it could no longer move did the beast finally cease breathing.

Wordlessly, they walked across the bridge, Adam taking the lead for some reason. Suddenly, he turned and released a blunderbuss shot to a charging Yharnamite to their left as though he expected it and soon reloaded his weapon naturally. Henryk and Gascoigne exchanged looks, but no one knew what the two were thinking. Eileen noticed and squinted under her beaked mask a little, eying the two carefully with her flintlock still primed.

Up ahead, just before the boss, Evan saw a sight of a brick troll playing little games with a trio of large carrion crows and walked up waving his partially emptied blood cocktail.

"Hunters!" The brick troll yelled before grabbing his brick, at which Adam dropped his weapons and waved the bottle. Confused, the troll cocked his head.

"Easy big guy, we come in peace. We just want to get to the gate behind you. If you leave us alone, this bottle is for you and your friends."

"Hunters not enemy?" the troll asked with broken grammar. "These hunters friends?"

"Yeah, exactly…" Adam said while slowly stepping closer before uncorking the bottle. "You and your friends can have a nice drink, and we won't bother you. I'd say that's a good deal, don't you?"

The troll nodded and both extended their arms before the big fellow gently pinched the bottleneck and brought it to his nostrils for a sniff.

"Good Hunter…" he muttered to himself before walking away, his small gang of crow friends following suit.

A little stunned, the other three walked up to Adam, only for him to continue on wordlessly. The three hunters eyed the troll and crows as they passed, a few crows giving curious glares not without suspicion as the hunters stared back. Once both passed, they each returned to their own goals. After an arch was passed under, Adam began lighting a few molotovs for some reason, only for a massive blood curdling screech to sound as a several meter tall cleric beast climbed the bridge and screamed into the night before glaring at the hunters and jumping down.

"That's the cleric beast you were talking about?!" Eileen yelled, only for Adam to take aim and throw his first molotov which slammed into the beast's head. "It's fookin huge!"

The molotov collided and an explosion of fire erupted, stunning the beast as it began rubbing its eyes and backing away. Gascoigne and Henryk charged in response, but were forced to retreat as the beast pulled its comically large arm down and began swinging.

"Yup, but it's a cake walk compared to another certain one named Laurence," he said as he proceeded to throw another molotov giving a 'yeet!' to emphasize his throw for some reason Eileen couldn't understand.

"You're bloody insane, even for a hunter, but I guess all of Yharnam is," Eileen said before splitting her blades and running to join Henryk and Gascoigne who were wailing away at the beast after another opening had been created by yet another molotov being thrown into its head, forcing the beast to kneel down.

The beast twitched unlike Adam had seen it do before and watched as it protected itself from the onslaught of three hunters with its arms before the large one twitched and wound up.

"Retreat!" Adam shouted before picking up his saw spear and running for them. Eileen was first to hear, and she only managed to just get out of the sweep. Henryk dodged behind the beast and ripped into its back with the spear, only for Gascoigne to be slammed into the side of the gate and having to rip out a vial.

The beast turned to Henryk and slammed in the ground in a single movement, but the experienced hunter dodged out. That's when Adam charged with the saw spear and impaled the beast in the lower back, leading to it screaming and flailing while it retreated then began hugging itself and giving a low frequency screech before it ripped some fur out and a pulse of red shot outward from the beast and it screamed.

A shot rang out as Eileen aimed for the head, leading to the bullet somehow ricocheting off the skull, and the creature screamed more in response. The four reconverged on the beast and hacked away, only to find that the wounds had slowly started bubbling before being sealed off with a scabby layer of blood.

"Since when did cleric beasts heal?!" Henryk asked in shock as he slammed his cleaver back to its serrated form before quickstepping away from its smaller arm.

"Doesn't matter, we have to kill it!" Gascoigne replied as he slammed his two handed ax into the back, forcing the beast to flinch which allowed Eileen to aim for the tendons at the legs and gave a decisive cut. The beast wound up its arm and swung, forcing the hunters to yet again retreat. Problem was, Adam failed to retreat properly and only got his spear out in time to collide with the beast's arm and the weapon went flying along with him.

"Oh, right. I don't have invincibility frames…" he muttered to himself before looking for his saw spear, but looked to see the beast's arm moving to grab him.

A shot rang out from Henryk's pistol and the bullet flew into the beast before it slammed into an eye and the beast screamed before the tendons finally gave out from Eileen's cuts and it knelt down and looked at Adam with an empty look in its eyes as the quicksilver streamed into its blood. Adam finally found where his spear landed and grabbed it. Dropping his blunderbuss, he grabbed a horn and the beast's eyes finally regained focus only to feel the serrated spear rip into the side of its neck and it screamed horribly, panicked.

Not long after, a hand was shoved into the hole and viscera was gripped along with another jugular and Adam grinned, looking the creature in the eyes before he smiled under his mask and said, "Good night."

With a rip, the life essence and necessary artery of the beast was pulled out and it reared back up on its legs, holding the wound as it bled. Blood dripped like a leaking pipe and sprayed out, held back from full potential only by the beast's vain efforts as it backed away from the hunters and gazed at them before it clearly became delirious. Sensing its own demise, the beast finally let go and screamed to the sky once more as blood fountained out from the wound and fell, unfortunately on Adam and the rest, but mostly Adam which made him thankful for the mask.

The great beast finally ceased its cries and fell to its knees, just in time for the blood to start raining over a wider area like a short storm until it suddenly stopped as quickly as it had come. With a crash, it fell forward and slowly dribbled what little blood it had left onto the bridge, its eyes glazed over with no sign of life. It didn't even twitch. The three hunters looked at it in wonder and shock, questioning how they had even managed to fell such a terrible being. They then looked over to the one who had delivered the fatal blow, only for him to crush the pile of gore in his hands, squeezing blood out like a sponge as his eyes shook and he started laughing slowly.

"You alright over there kid?" Gascoigne asked as the laugh developed into a mad cackle.

"Man, what a rush! Who knew killing a massive beast felt that good!" Adam said with his mask folding from a wide grin and his eyes shrunken like a madman, yet Eileen nor the other hunters saw any sign of lycanthropy in them, only some kind of drug-like madness that swiftly faded after whatever rush he felt left his body and he walked over like nothing happened.

"Good hunt, now, let's get digging," he said as he raised the saw spear before diving it around and under the beast's skin where some remnants of cloth from the human once were.

"Digging for what?" Eileen asked with a raised eyebrow no one could see. Then, to her shock he grabbed an unidentifiable piece of bloodied cloth and ripped it out before looking for another one which he surgically cut out with a small scalpel blade some church hunters used as projectile knives.

"You sure he's ok?" Henryk asked Eileen with a low volume voice.

"I'm not sure, as far as I know, he's always been a nutcase. Somehow, he isn't truly mad, yet he is at the same time. So long as he doesn't kill anyone innocent, I'm willing to see what happens."

"Found them!" Adam declared with victory as he brought the blood soaked cloth over to them and their jaws dropped after he ripped out a sword hunter badge and, even more astonishingly, the chief hunter's emblem and waved them around like trophies.

"Oh, that's not good…" Henryk commented lowly. "So...assuming the worst, I'm guessing the reason that thing was so big and powerful…"

"That means…that was the chief hunter…or the beast killed him…" Gascoigne affirmed.

"Well, hey, one less beast. Let's start rounding up some Yharnamites."

The three hunters exchanged uneasy glances before following suit as Adam walked with a spring in his step to their next objective. Eileen gave one last look at the cleric beast and gave a short gesture of prayer and a dignified bow while muttering some rights to the cleric beast, who had once been a respected hunter themselves.

For once, she wondered whether her deeds really made a difference, that is until an image of silver, black, and red flashed to her mind. She turned around to follow her fellow hunters to the next objective, burying the moment of doubt.

Just before a split, the Good Hunter stopped and turned on one heel to face his comrades and cheerfully stated the following, "Ok, so we have a few…people to check on. Eileen, you remember where we first met? Well, outside there is a dog barking at a door with a grumpy old lady, just tell her Oedon Chapel's safe and leave her be. Gascoigne, go grab your children, they need their father to comfort them. Tonight's a rather…tough night for them. Henryk, there's a man named Gilbert on the way to Iosefka's clinic. I gave him some of the special blood, so he should have stopped turning. I'll go check on Iosefka, and then we'll all reconvene at the Cathedral Ward and plot our next move."

The three hunters simply nodded and each went their respective ways, leaving Adam alone with Henryk and the two made their way over to the first street where a bunch of carrion crows and hounds were already working on the field of corpses Adam created. As the old hunter followed the dreamer, he looked at the carnage before him, trying to make sense of how one hunter could do all of this. Thankfully, a lifetime of desensitization to the carnage that took place in Yharnam meant Henryk held his stomach together through the whole trek until they came to a gate where Adam stopped and pointed Henryk over towards Gilbert's house before he sauntered over to the clinic. Henryk merely watched a little before shaking his head and focused on the task at hand, stepping over the first three Yharnamite bodies Adam had created before climbing the ladder.

Meanwhile, Adam opened the clinic and found a worrying sight at the door Iosefka normally had locked.

Yes, normally, because the door was busted open and the smell of fresh blood tickled his nostrils. The insightful hunter quickly put two and two together before he started rushing through the clinic, yelling "Iosefka!" in a worried voice as he followed the smell of fresh blood. That continued until he rounded a corner and opened a door. Upon entering the room, his inner eye twitched nervously, looking at the direction Josephine would normally confront the hunter.

"Who's there?!" a familiar voice sounded before he saw someone peak down the balcony before grinning in an unnerving fashion and their eyes met. "Ah! Moonlit scents…you must be a hunter…welcome to my clinic, are you in need of…treatment…perhaps."

Adam's inner eye blinked uncomfortably and madly before he finally forced the thing to stop distracting him, until he realized the reason.

She also had eyes staring back at him, with a curiously sinister gaze that was accentuated by her unnerving smile.

"Josephine…" Adam growled, causing the imposter's grin to falter before she started cackling madly. "What have you done to Iosefka?!"

"Oh, her. I'm not entirely sure. She seems to have broken out a window and made her escape. She's wounded, so I'll just follow the blood trail back, but enough about her. Let's talk about us, dear hunter."

Adam cocked his blunderbuss, only to see her chuckle in response.

"Now now, there's no need for that," Josephine remarked. "I won't hurt you…if you behave. But, if you're insistent on fighting me, I've always wanted to try my hand on a hunter…" Josephine licked her lips a little with a smile, seemingly hungry for the knowledge a hunter could bring to her research.

"If you turned your own sister into an emissary, I will not hesitate, do you have any idea what Iosefka was working on?!"

"Do you have any idea what I'm working on?!" Josephine shot back with a shocking amount of venom. "Oh, it's always about her, prodigy Iosefka, the genius healer. She always gets thank yous and kisses, meanwhile I wasted my life in the orphanage, caring for unwanted children Yharnam was determined to turn its back on anyways. Do you have any idea what it's like, living in the shadow of someone of your own flesh and blood, when you're just as capable and talented?!"

The eye inside shriveled and quivered as Josephine's own eyes gazed back with a manic hatred.

"Oh, I know what's going on in the orphanage. If you really worked for the Choir-"

"Then you know why I left those…those…ugh, there's not a word to describe my hatred of the Choir! Either way, they're no better than the beasts! Micolash opened my eyes, the only way to save humanity is to ascend, and the only way to do so is to break a few eggs. Besides, once she's an emissary, she should be safe from the beastly scourge, as should all I transform into a more perfect form."

"Even if the Choir and Church tried the exact same thing but failed?"

"The church doesn't deserve to ascend! Let them rot, stewing in their beastly scourge they created. Laurence was a fraud and Ludwig a murderer! How long will it take you people to understand that blood isn't the way? Your kind preach of salvation and healing, yet you murder and experiment all the same, using your twisted philosophies to justify your sick actions. At least I'm honest, I'm not hiding the fact I'm experimenting on anyone, or transforming humans into cosmic kin, but it beats being slaughtered like a beast!"

"Whatever," Adam said, lowering his blunderbuss. "I'm going to look for your sister. I'm going to take her and all the other sane Yharnamites to the Cathedral ward, at least they'll be safe from you."

"Sure, go save the helpless prodigy, the clean and kind Iosefka. Clearly little Josephine isn't worth your time and effort."

Adam groaned and flipped her off while backing out the door then pointing two fingers to his eye then back. He closed the door on his way out and waited, listening just in case she decided to come see him herself. He then made his way over to the broken door and onto the roof where he wandered around until he saw some crows around a corner, patiently waiting for something to happen.

Using his last blood cocktail, he trailed the crows away without harming them and then looked to see what the excitement was all about.

There, with bruises and cane lacerations was Iosefka, holding a stab wound over her stomach as she breathed quietly, eyes closed and dried tears on her cheeks.

"Iosefka!" Adam shouted as he rushed over and knelt before pulling out a fresh blood vial in his pouch.

The healer opened her eyes and blinked, shaking them and struggling to focus before she slowly made out Adam's shape then smiled weakly.

"Ah, Good Hunter…you're here…but why?"

"I came to bring you Oedon Chapel, I thought I still had time before Josephine came, I'm so sorry."

"It's…" she coughed blood and it trailed down her white healer's garment before she continued smiling, eyes waking out a small light glare of moonlight as fresh tears came to her eyes. "...It's alright Good Hunter, thanks to you I was…able to escape, but I don't think I'll last much longer."

"No, I'm going to save you," he said before tapping the syringe and her eyes shot open and narrowed. Suddenly she started moving, flopping on the ground and trying to crawl away. That was until Adam grabbed her and she used her other hand to grab his wrist, a panicked look in her eye.

"No! Please, that blood is tainted, I beg of you, don't inject me!"

"Iosefka, calm down, it's just one."

"That's what they all say, but I know, it's poison, please, I'd rather die than be injected with that foul fluid! I-I don't want to become a beast!"

"Iosefka!" he shouted while pulling her arms and aiming her gaze to his own. She looked horrified, and he knew he didn't have much time. "We don't have a choice. You have to live, otherwise who else will save Yharnam from continuing to abuse the Holy Blood?"

"S-Someone else-"

"No! No one else can or should do it, be selfish, please. I want to save you!"

Iosefka blinked, her horror morphing to shock as she looked into the hunter's emerald green orbs which had started to glaze over as they moistened with her own.

"Please…" Adam begged before sliding his arms down to gently grab her hands. He rubbed her palms calmingly and Iosefka suddenly felt herself give up. She sighed, gurgling out a little blood from her gut before she gently grabbed his hands back, feeling the leather meant to protect this hunter from the things he fought, what she was trying to prevent.

"V-Very well, but just one. I don't care if you have to carry me back, but I will follow you, this once."

Adam gently pulled her sleeve and took off one of his belts to wrap around her arm. She winced and breathed a little heavily as the makeshift limiter of blood tightened and her vein began swelling. She looked at the needle and gulped, a thick metal taste filling her throat even more as blood returned back to her gut. Adam noticed this and looked at her, his gentle eyes locked with her own and he said, "It'll be alright, just calm down and focus on breathing."

Iosefka nodded and took a deep breath, struggling not to cough as blood entered her lungs, until she felt her arm grip and a sharp pain enter along with a sweet sensation. For her, it was like a brief moment of heaven, and she felt her body surge with a warm feeling as flesh began bubbling and boiling with blood until it re-stitched itself, leaving only scar marks and scabs where the wounds had been.

Finally, she could breathe again.

With a sharp intake and a series of coughs that finally pushed the blood out of her lungs, Iosefka had stopped dying. Adam gave a sigh of relief and pulled the syringe out before slamming his thumb onto the wound, applying a gentle pressure.

"What are you doing, Good Hunter?" she asked curiously, looking at his hand still on her elbow.

"...Applying pressure to prevent the bleeding?"

Iosefka couldn't help it, and she chuckled a little, a bright, soft laugh that made Adam himself smile even though he didn't know what she was talking about.

"You don't need to bandage Holy Blood ministrations, the wound seals itself up."

"Oh, sorry," Adam said before removing a thumb from where there was now a small scab and a bruise to attest to his sloppy injection.

"Still, the thought itself is sweet, thank you," she said with a bright smile that forced him to rub the back of his neck nervously. This caused her to release another giggle which made him blush.

It was good he was wearing a mask.

"Well, I've still lost a lot of blood, but at least I'm not dying. I don't think I can move just yet, so…" Iosefka held her arms out with a smile, and Adam felt his ears turn red. He smiled and gave a short chuckle before placing his arms under her figure and she gave a short, surprised yelp as strong hunter arms picked her up like a babe, or a princess. She looked, blinking wide-eyed at her savior before noticing his green eyes staring back and turned away, blushing a little while holding her hands clasped near her chest.

"I-I guess this works…" she muttered before Adam began walking towards the window. Thankfully, Josephine didn't notice or care for their intrusion and they exited. Iosefka took in the Yharnam night sky, and she would have to say one thing about her current predicament.

Despite the smell, the corpses, and the sounds, none of it mattered. She found herself enraptured that she was being carried like a princess, under a moonlit sky by a very kind hunter. She felt her heart swell, and soon she found herself noticing only the moon, and Adam's emerald green eyes, focused on carrying her to safety.

A knock sounded on the door and a little girl tensed up, shutting a music box as she listened carefully.

"Anna," a familiar old voice of a man called. "It's me."

"Father!" Anna shouted with joy before sprinting to the door and swinging it open. She registered the face she had seen countless times then bumped into him for a big hug. "You're back! Oh, mother was so worried…wait, where is mother?"

Gascoigne blinked and gently pushed his child away so he could look into her eyes.

"What do you mean, where is Viola?"

"She was worried, so she went looking for you. She didn't take the music box though…I was worried. You haven't seen her?"

A pit formed in Gascoigne's stomach. What was Viola thinking?! Going out on the night of the hunt without the box? In his previous state he wouldn't have recognized her without it.

"No, I haven't seen them, but we'll find her, I promise. Where's your sister?"

"Emma was visiting the neighbor's below when the hunting bells started. I've been hearing terrifying noises all night from there...do you think she's alright?"

Gascoigne's grip tightened around Anna's shoulder and he kneeled down to eye level.

"Anna, I'll go see your sister, but you must go back inside, lock the door, and only answer for me. I'll use the secret knock so you'll know it's me. After that, we'll take you and Emma to a safe place."

"Be careful dad…" Anna squeezed out along with her doll. Gascoigne smiled and planted a kiss on her forehead and ruffled her hair a little.

"Good girl, I'll be right back."

The door shut and locked, and the father pulled out his ax and walked over to the gate before opening it and looking down the ladder. That's when he saw a massive troll carrying a broken statue sitting in front of the door as though he was occupied with whoever was in the house. No lights were on, but he didn't want to take any chances.

A thud sounded as the old man landed on the troll, knocking it down and delivered a devastating blow to the back of the neck, giving an audible and loud crack which spelled the being's doom. He then walked over to the house and knocked on it in a specific way which elicited a small gasp, barely audible and deeper within the house.

"Emma, it's your father. Come outside, we need to take you and Anna to the Oedon Chapel for tonight."

"Father?!" Emma's excited voice sounded before it rapidly went to the door and it unlocked. She peaked it open and gave a wide smile before flinging it open and she too jumped into Gascoigne's arms. "Father, you're safe, and you're not wearing your cloth anymore!"

"I have a fellow hunter to thank for that, I'm just glad I can finally see you again, dear daughter."

Tears welled up in Emma's eyes and she hugged him, burying her head into his chest and sobbing. Gascoigne said nothing and simply returned the hug. After a while, they finally headed back up the ladder and with the 'secret knock' coaxed Anna out who gave her sister a big hug and Gascoigne felt his heart warm at the sight.

"Tonight's hunt is going to be long, so we're going to Oedon Chapel, where we'll all be safe. You may see some scary things, maybe even see dad fight scary things, but dad loves you both and will never let harm come to you. No matter what."

Both nodded with a determined look in their eyes and they took both his hands.

"Ah, lovely, more visitors," the dweller said with his oddly cheerful voice. "Well, everyone take a seat and get comfortable. The night's gonna be long, but if you stay in the chapel, you'll all be safe."

Eileen and the old lady were first to enter, the grumpier of the two taking the opportunity to march over to another room and bring back a chair which she set firmly, away from where everyone else settled. She sighed and looked back to see Henryk gently preparing a place of rest for Gilbert and Gascoigne introducing his girls to the dweller, her heart sinking as she remembered what Adam said, and realized those words had been confirmed when she saw Anna holding the music box and no sign of Viola.

Adam was last, walking in carrying Iosefka like a princess before setting her against a wall and leaving to grab some form of resting materials for her. Eileen, feeling curiosity getting the better of her, walked over to the young healer after she waved Adam good bye with a smile she had seen on hundreds of young women, including herself once upon a time.

"Well, you must be Iosefka. Quite an entrance, being carried in like a princess."

Iosefka gave a small giggle, twirling her hair a little, which made Eileen smile wryly under her mask.

"My name's Eileen the Crow, Hunter of Hunters. I've heard whispers of you, and I must thank you for finding a way to reverse Gascoigne's lycanthropy. He was falling apart…but…" Eileen dared a gaze over to see the man and his daughters happily chatting with the dweller. She warmly smiled at the sight and then returned to her conversation partner. "I must say, I'm impressed. Normally I would've killed Gascoigne by now, but thanks to you, he and Henryk are sane and ready to continue their services."

"I see…" Iosefka responded, pulling her legs in nervously as the heavy load of information and darker knowledge was delivered to her, but soon after she smiled and said, "I'm glad I could be of assistance. It's a good thing Father Gascoigne is still with us, Henryk as well."

"Well, that's a nice smile. Tell me, who seduced whom first?"

"W-What?" Iosefka asked while blushing and balling herself closer to the wall further.

"Oh, first time? I saw the way you were looking at Adam. I would've thought a young, smart, beautiful lass like yourself would've had multiple suitors by now, but that look in your eye tells me everything."

Iosefka smiled then said, "Well...I don't know, Adam's a wonderful man. I guess I wouldn't be against it if he decided to court me…"

Eileen chuckled slowly before continuing, "Well, love is blind they say. I'd warn against letting it blind you, but I honestly don't know what to make of him me-self."

Iosefka stilled and her smile faltered. Eileen noticed and scoffed a little before chuckling in a more humored manner.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm far past my prime. I've no interest in romance or a flowery love life. What I meant was that I can't exactly discern what kind of person Adam is. He has the moves of a hunter, the knowledge of a scholar, and the insight of a madman with an attitude to match half the time. I will say that madness has come in handy, but you know what they say: Don't toss sheets with the mad."

Iosefka's response was to turn very red to the point Eileen thought she was looking at a living tomato rather than one of the most talented healer's of the current generation.

"Eileen," Gascoigne's voice called over. The old crow gazed at the hunter and his partner who were over by the library entrance.

"I've got to go, but do take my wisdom to heart. Don't commit until you're confident it's the right decision. You'll only likely get hurt otherwise."

Iosefka nodded grimly before watching the aging assassin saunter over to her fellow hunters and disappear to the library. There, Gascoigne leaned against a shelf and Henryk started pouring over some of the notes. Eileen looked between the two before settling eyes on Gascoigne and asking, "Well, what is it?"

"Viola's missing, and I don't know where. Has Adam told you anything about her by chance? He's awfully keen on what seems to be going on tonight."

Eileen took a sharp hiss to intake breath before whisper swearing, "Fook…"

Gascoigne eagerly awaited the response, only for Adam to open the door and re-close it upon entering.

"Ah, you're all here, good. We should chart our next move."

"Yes, and for me that's finding out what happened to my wife," Gascoigne flatly replied.

"Oh…" Adam stopped and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked around nervously, and Gascoigne felt his blood rise. "Well…I'm not sure how to fully explain this…but…"

"You better tell me, or I'm leaving this fellowship! Viola's out there, and I need to find her!"

Adam, finally snapping out of his awkward stupor nodded tightly then walked over to the ladder, beckoning Gascoigne to follow.

The hunters followed anxiously, but they didn't need to wait long before Adam stopped at a drop off and looked down, taking a deep preparatory breath and looking at them.

"She's here…I'm sorry…"

Gascoigne felt his eyes widen and he sprinted over, and over the edge, he saw it, the mangled corpse of Viola, neck bent and nearly coming off as she clutched the broach on her chest. Gascoigne fell to his knees, knowing exactly what weapon made the cuts, and whose it was. Henryk walked over and took in a small, but audibly sharp breath through his nose and placed a hand on his partner's shoulder.

Adam simply walked away, trusting Henryk to do a better job at comforting the old hunter than he. Eileen gave him a pointed look through her mask, but he only stopped as the shaky voice of the grieving called out.

"Was…there anything that could have been done…?" Gascoigne asked in a low voice.

"...No, not unless a miracle were to happen. I don't even know why, all I do know is what happened and what may happen should we not change the course of events."

After that, Adam walked over and made his way to the chapel, once more leaving behind an old hunter with a nasty truth. He didn't even look at the dweller as he cheerfully greeted him and simply knelt to the lamp, opting to escape to the hunter's dream.

When he awoke, Adam found himself in a rather peculiar position.

"Ah, Good Hunter, you're awake," the doll's voice soothed as her wooden hands stroked his hair and he felt the sensation of a wooden lap pillow below his head.

"Well, this is a first…" he said before pulling himself up. "And here I thought you would be standing…wait, why am I in your lap to begin with?"

"You were asleep, so I simply comforted you. Was it unwanted? If so, I apologize."

"No, no, I know your intentions were…pure…I think, but it makes sense when I think about it."

"Ah, good," the doll said with a demure smile. "Then, allow me to introduce myself. I am a doll, made to look after you hunters and embolden your sickly spirits with the blood echoes you collect from coldblood."

"Yeah, I kind of knew that, so how exactly do we do this?"

"Very well, let the echoes become your strength. Let me stand close. Now shut your eyes..."

Adam did as instructed and soon he felt the doll's power reach into his soul and grasp at the echoes it held. It felt odd, to say the least. On one hand, he had never had his very being probed before, but at the same time there was a gentle, motherly kindness to the touch the doll gave his soul. It was as though she were caring for him like a child, and a love seated deep within her found its way into his chest.

Suddenly, it stopped, and the doll removed her hand.

"Your spirit has been emboldened. It isn't much, but you should notice a difference."

Indeed, as soon as he opened his eyes, he could see, hear, smell, and seemingly taste sharper. He also noticed some bits of knowledge he didn't have full use of yet, but he felt like he could do something with it later on. He also noticed he felt stronger, faster, more alert. Even his newfound inner eye looked around excitedly, seemingly seeing new things that his own eyes couldn't.

"So, doll, how is Gehrman?"

At this, the doll's face fell.

"He has…been uneasy. He is meditating under the great tree as of now. He hasn't neglected his duties to the workshop or the dream, but it would be understandable if he did."

Adam looked towards the final arena of the game then back to the doll.

"Perhaps when you next come, you shall find him ready to speak. For now, I believe he needs more time. In the meantime, if there is nothing else I can do for you, I bid thee farewell. May you find your worth in the waking world, Good Hunter."

In moments, he was back at the chapel, rising from the ground.

"W-What the…Adam, since when could you do that?" Iosefka asked after backing away.

"Since I woke up in your clinic," he replied, leading to her giving a small gasp. His inner eye blinked and he said, "Dreamer stuff. You don't need to be alarmed."

"I-If you say so…"

"Well I say it's incredible. I've only heard tales of dreamers, but I never thought I would meet one," the chapel dweller added excitedly, earning a slightly pointed look from Iosefka as though the man were a hindrance to her conversation with the man in front of her. He seemingly ignored this and asked Adam, "Well, what's it like? Dreaming and being immortal?"

Adam stilled, remembering the brief abyss of death he had to repeatedly visit and shook his head with an unpleasant sound as though he were shivering.

"Not very pleasant, I take it…"

"All I'll say," Eileen butted in from the door. "Waking up from the dream is a surreal experience. You awake in a stronger body and a sharper mind, but it all fades in moments when you gaze upon the sun rising over Yharnam. After that, you remember nothing, and the night of the hunt all seems simply a bad dream, even if it was as real as the warmth of the Yharnam sunrise. People will speak of deeds you scarcely remember, sing praises and titles you earned over the night, and you yourself may think them mad for it. Either way, once he awakens, Adam may remember very little of the night, or he could be one of the lucky few who wake up and remember the dream."

"I see, that is…concerning," Iosefka commented before gazing at Adam whose eyes switched back to her and she looked away. "So, he may not remember all the good he's done, that does sound rather sad…"

'Oh, you also gain opinions of people you've never met and emotions to match. Again, a very surreal and unnerving experience when you look back on it. Not all too unpleasant at the moment though."

"Ah," Iosefka sounded before turning away from both, muttering "I see, that is indeed good…"

"Oh, Iosefka," Adam called, which made the healer squeak a little for some reason. "This is awkward, but…"

She looked at him with hope filling her eyes, which only made the question more awkward when it dropped with the subtlety of a boulder.

"We could use more blood vials, just in case, if that's not a problem…"

Iosefka blinked twice before remembering exactly what he was asking.

"Ah, those. I'm afraid they require special equipment, which can be found in my clinic. I don't think Josephine would be willing to part with them…"

Adam sighed and looked to the ground.

"...But…perhaps the church could spare some extra equipment, if necessary. What we really need is a device that can spin in place. I'm fairly certain only my clinic holds such a device, after that most of the procedure can be done with common tools and ingredients, should you be willing to find them. Only with the spinning device can I make purified blood vials that do not enhance lycanthropy symptoms, but without the rare ingredients and other tools I used to enhance the first four, I don't believe we can make any vials capable of reversing the disease…"

That was going to be a problem. Adam knew the church was bad news in game, and if they were caught they could be dragged before Amelia, who they may have to fight. He didn't want to outright say this to Iosefka, but he knew that if they wanted to stand a chance in the upcoming battles to end the hunt, they would need blood, good blood.

"Do you think the church would even spare equipment in this state?"

"I don't see why they shouldn't, but it would need special permission from Vicar Amelia to allow someone like myself to use their equipment."

"Could…you just tell me where the equipment would be…and I'll go get it?"

"I don't think that's a good idea…"

Adam sighed then said flatly, "Alright, look, she's on the edge of turning, and part of me hopes the sooner we can get blood, the sooner we can stop that…and since we used two of your vials on Henryk…another on Gascoigne…and finally Gilbert…"

"Ah, I see…" Iosefka said while her face fell slightly. "I guess I could tell you where the church equipment is, but you won't be welcome without permission. Just be careful if things turn violent."

Adam smiled and nodded. Sure, it was just some Pthumerian Church enforcers, what could go wrong?

Author's Note

So...I'll be honest, I wrote like 98% of this in a few hours. That 2 percent gave me writer's block.

Since this story is inspired by Dying Tickles, ya'll know what you signed up for if you've stuck through that story as I have. Just planting some seeds is all...*innocent whistling*