The Way of Roses

The great escape

## Trophies

*You may run... but no one can escape their own blood!*
Vitalis Bénévent

"**The Way of Roses**" is the tenth chapter in *A Plague Tale: Innocence*. It introduces the main antagonist, a new companion, and a brief puzzle sequence.

## Plot

### Synopsis

> Amicia entered the University, deftly navigating the town under martial law. She was nearing the Sanguinis Itinera, the mythical book that will help Hugo pass the First Threshold, a crucial step in the evolution of his illness. But the Inquisition was already there...
>
>

### Summary

Having managed to sneak into the University after braving the plague-ravaged city outside, Amicia recalls that Lucas told her to follow "the path is strewn with roses" and that the Sanguinis Itinera is locked in the building's basement. The University, once a thriving center of learning, is now a shell of its former self having been ransacked with most of the books seemingly missing or strewn about. The "roses" turn out to be embroidered on banners, following which will eventually guide Amicia to where she wants to go. Of course, she is not the only person in the building: the Inquisition have set up shop here, and are themselves looking for the same book. However, they are being held up by a certain door which blocks off entry to the basement, whose maker they have fetched to get it open, and Grand Inquisitor Vitalis Bénévent himself has arrived to aid in the search.

In a chamber deep within the building, Amicia finally catches sight of her greatest enemy: Vitalis, who is not only sick with the Bite as was rumored but is so weak he is chairbound and is being kept alive with blood transfusions forcibly taken from fresh subjects as well as injections of Episanguis, which Amicia saw being collected from rat droppings outside. Just as Amicia arrives, a young blacksmith is being brought in to see Vitalis, his father having created the door now blocking their progress. When they tortured his father to force him to open it, he died rather than comply, leaving the boy, named Rodric, their only option.

Rodric is sent to be tortured and Amicia, seeing him as a potential ally, follows him at a distance. In an attempt to taunt the young man, they take him to the door his father made. One of the knights guarding him is wearing heavy armor, but she defeats him by shooting down a large chandelier onto his head, killing him and allowing Rodric to overpower the other soldier himself. Rodric opens the door while Amicia holds off several guards with her sling as the chandelier she brought down has caused a fire. Once the door is opened, the two flee into the maze-like basement corridors with Rodric in the lead and they agree to escape together once they have found the book. They come into a chamber full of other forbidden books, and spot the Sanguinis Itinera flanked by rose banners. Making use of a special mechanism that raises/lowers the shelves to form a path, Amicia finally takes the book from its pedestal just as Vitalis and his men arrive.

The Inquisitor reveals that his order has been watching the de Rune family for much of Amicia's life, waiting for the Prima Macula in Hugo's blood to wake up. The children flee through the wall via a special hatch but are forced to battle through several burning rooms as the fire Amicia caused earlier spreads. The two must escape before a timer runs down and the two run out of breathable air or are caught by guards. Rodric even shoulders open a door, nearly catching on fire, The two escape the building with the book, with Amicia pausing to gaze in horror as the building is consumed by the inferno before running into the night as the scene fades to black.

## Trivia

* In the escape sequence, Amicia is carrying the Sanguinis Itinera in a white fabric sling on her back, leaving her arms free. In the cutscene directly following this, however, she is holding the book to her chest and the sling is nowhere to be seen.
* The heavy Inquisition knights seen are wearing frog-mouth helms, a helmet ill-suited to combat due to the narrow vision and difficulty swiveling one's head in it, and instead was designed almost entirely for use in jousting.

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