The de Rune Legacy

Establishing shot

## Trophies

Nicholas: *I won't ask again... Where is your son?*
Robert: *In good hands.*
Nicholas executes Robert

"**The de Rune Legacy**" is the opening chapter of *A Plague Tale: Innocence*, and serves as the beginning of the game, the story, and the tutorial.

## Plot

### Synopsis

> 1348. In the serene region of the Kingdom of France, Lord de Rune's family lives in fragile peace, while the borders of Guyenne tremble with the echoes of the war against the English.
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### Summary

The scene opens in November 1348 Aquitaine in the Kingdom of France, with the fall season evident in the orange and red leaves falling from the trees. Amicia, the oldest of the de Rune children, arrives in the forest near the family estate with her father Robert de Rune and their dog Lion, with Robert wanting to spend time with his daughter after the two had become estranged. They walk and talk, bantering back and forth while repeatedly interrupted by Lion's playfulness.

Amicia wants to take the "Knight's Challenge" again as she did five years before, and Robert humors her, leading his daughter to an apple tree in a clearing and tells her to use her sling to shoot six apples from the tree in ten seconds to win.

Suddenly, the dog catches the scent of an animal and takes off to find it with Amicia following close behind and Robert following at a distance. Lion leads the de Runes to a young wild boar grazing in another clearing, giving Amicia an opportunity to use her sling on a moving target. Although she stuns it, the boar quickly recovers and runs deeper into the forest with Lion in pursuit. Amicia, despite her speed, loses sight of the dog for a couple of minutes but continues to follow.

The atmosphere darkens as the tree canopy thickens, despite several trees having recently been knocked over, the area becomes thick with mud, and Amicia is shocked to come across the boar, not only dead but stripped of flesh in the short time she had lost sight of it. She becomes apprehensive not only with this discovery but when she realizes that Lion has stopped barking. Following the trail further, calling for her pet, she finds the dog alive but badly wounded and halfway into a hole in the ground. She comforts the whimpering animal as Robert catches up, arriving just as the ground begins to shake and an unseen entity drags the dog into the hole to his death. Amicia attempts to go after Lion, but Robert draws his sword, pulls her back to safety, and the two quickly return home.

Dismounting at the family estate, Robert decides to mount a hunting party to figure out what has been happening in the forest and sends Amicia to find her mother Béatrice. Before leaving to arrange the hunt, Robert comforts his daughter by telling her that Lion was a good dog. As Amicia makes her way through the estate, she overhears snippets of conversation pointing to other problems, such as the currently ongoing Hundred-Years War between France and England. Eventually, she finds Béatrice in her study where she has been caring for Hugo, Amicia's junior by ten years, who Béatrice has kept under quarantine since birth for reasons unknown to his sister. Amicia and her mother talk briefly before Béatrice notices something happening outside and the shouting of men in the courtyard. Urging Amicia to hide and take care of Hugo, she goes to deal with the problem. As Amicia looks outside, she sees her father and the servants being rounded up by members of the a holy order known as the Inquisition, led by Nicholas who demands to know where Hugo is. Robert coldly replies that the boy is "*in good hands*", at which Nicholas kills him and orders his men to search the house, killing all who resist.

Keeping Hugo close, Amicia and her brother sneak through the house, avoiding the Inquisition as they slaughter the staff. As they reach a back door, they are nearly caught by a soldier, but Béatrice bashes him over the head with a rock. Sneaking through the garden, the de Runes come to a small gate leading away from the property where a bodyguard is waiting. Hugo's condition is made apparent with the onset of a sudden headache and weakness in his knees, but Béatrice soothes him with her soft voice. As Nicholas rides to intercept them, Béatrice entrusts Hugo to Amicia's care, telling them to find her mentor Laurentius, Hugo's doctor, and shuts the gate to delay the Inquisition. Nicholas' bloodied sword blade is driven through the gate and Béatrice is heard screaming; Amicia realizes her mother has been killed. Fortunately for Hugo, he is unaware of this, and Amicia coaxes him to follow her with the promise that they will rendezvous with Béatrice later on.

The two flee through the darkening forest as the enemy can be heard in pursuit, initially throwing spears and shooting arrows to kill Amicia and capture Hugo, the red light of their lanterns coming ever closer. The ground starts to shake as it did before, and the soldiers can be heard screaming for retreat as an unknown threat attacks them. With nowhere else to run, the siblings leap into the river and are swept downstream as the scene cuts 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