Alive

Returning to the castle

## Trophies

*It's the story of a little boy who's going to get a lot better now.*
Amicia to Hugo on the Sanguinis Itinera

"**Alive**" is the eleventh chapter of *A Plague Tale: Innocence*. It introduces a new companion and a major plot twist.

## Plot

### Synopsis

> Grand Inquisitor Vitalis also wants the Sanguinis Itinera, but Amicia stole it from under his nose. She was helped by Rodric, a young blacksmith she freed from the hands of the Inquisition. They return to Château d'Ombrage with the book. The elixir for Hugo seems within reach...
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### Summary

Daylight breaks over the Château d'Ombrage as Lucas and Hugo, atop one of the ruined towers, spot Amicia and Rodric returning to the castle along the cliffside path. Amicia and Hugo embrace with joy as Rodric tosses Lucas the Sanguinis Itinera, a special book which the two had narrowly stolen from the Inquisition, joking that "it smells a bit burnt". Once Rodric is introduced, Lucas immediately begins to glance over the book, and when Hugo asks what the book is about Amicia tells her young brother that it is the story of a little boy that is going to get better. Rodric calls for a meal and the children all head inside.

A few weeks later, snow is falling over the castle as the December winter rolls in. Amicia inspects one of her target dummies as Rodric, having settled into the castle's forge, angrily works with some metal. He takes a break to ask Amicia about a certain door leading to an area no one had yet explored, the last of its kind in the castle since the children had settled there. The two decide to explore the place, and Rodric, in his typical fashion, shoulders the door open. He whimsically notes that, when he enters a long-abandoned place, it feels like he is interrupting a secret conversation between the building's stones. The tunnel curves and ends in two doors; one of which seems dangerous and full of debris, and the other, once also shouldered open by Rodric, leads out into the courtyard and a workbench. Rodric then shows Amicia a fresco in the courtyard floor and he remarks that, while he does not know what it means, he senses that they will be fine living in the castle.

Lucas calls over to Amicia in a state of panic and the two run into the great hall to find Hugo in the grip of a high fever, the blackening veins now having spread further as the Prima Macula in his blood progressively worsens. Lucas admits that he does not have what he needs to complete the elixir in the Sanguinis Itinera that Hugo desperately needs, and that he needs a proper lab like what the de Rune's mother, Béatrice, had at their estate, as she had been an alchemist.

Rodric calls from the courtyard that Mélie has returned with Arthur, who she had set out weeks ago to rescue after he was captured by the Inquisition guaranteeing their escape. They had returned because Arthur had seen the guards at the Bastion dragging a woman to be tortured and overheard her name: Béatrice de Rune. Amicia and Hugo's mother has, in fact, been alive all this time. The group agrees to keep this news from Hugo, but without their knowledge, he has been listening from atop the stairs. Then, the boy collapses in another fit, screaming in pain. Lucas and Amicia agree that there is no time to spare, and Lucas dashes to get the book and some equipment as the scene fades to black.

Navigation

* I – The de Rune Legacy
* II – The Strangers
* III – Retribution
* IV – The Apprentice
* V – The Ravens' Spoils
* VI – Damaged Goods
* VII – The Path Before Us
* VIII – Our Home
* IX – In the Shadow of Ramparts
* X – The Way of Roses
* XI – **Alive**
* XII – All That Remains
* XIII – Penance
* XIV – Blood Ties
* XV – Remembrance
* XVI – Coronation
* XVII – For Each Other