Blood Ties

Béatrice and Hugo fall into a trap set by Vitalis

## Trophies

*We've been after him for weeks, and then he simply turns up here asking to see his mother...*
Nicholas

"**Blood Ties**" is the fourteenth chapter in *A Plague Tale: Innocence*. It shifts to Hugo as the playable character.

## Plot

### Synopsis

> Amicia got lost trying to find Hugo. Exhausted and emotionally drained, she fell into a hallucination where Hugo was but one of the many ghosts of her guilt.
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### Summary

Deep within the Bastion, the Inquisition's headquarters, the sun shines at about midday. An Inquisition Magister has just finished drawing a large vial of blood from Hugo de Rune, who turned himself in to Lord Nicholas after running away from the Château d'Ombrage hideout. Although told he could eventually see his mother, Béatrice, who Hugo had come to find, the magister informs him that it is up to the Grand Inquisitor Vitalis Benevent. When he leaves, a passing Rats shows Hugo an opening in the back of a cabinet, which he uses to go into the next room with the door open. His small size gives him a great advantage in sneaking through cupboards and under tables. Suddenly, he is hit with a wave of pain in his head and hears voices: the Prima Macula is still rearing its ugly head although the elixir Lucas made for him has slowed it down. He sneaks past Inquisitors hard at work refining Episanguis for Vitalis' treatments, but the supply is decreasing as more harvesters are killed by rats.

Making his way past the Episanguis refinery, Hugo finds himself in a grand hall where Archbishop Gauthier is arguing with a guard, wanting to see Vitalis. The Catholic Church has become wary of the Inquisition's actions, and the Inquisition senses that the pope fears the political power Vitalis will gain when he ends the plague. Hugo then overhears that his mother has been moved to the basement. On his way downstairs, he finds himself in the chapel where Vitalis is awaiting the Archbishop. Vitalis all but ignores the church official, accepting an injection of Hugo's blood which will bind the two, allowing them both to cross the first threshold together. Gauthier, fed up, informs Vitalis that the pope has ordered his excommunication, but Vitalis calls the Archbishop a mere puppet as he leaves. Lord Nicholas arrives, informing his superior that "he is with us" and leaves to check on Béatrice.

Stealthily following the Inquisitor's path, Hugo makes his way to the basement. He spots Nicholas talking to his mother and is warned away by a nearby cellmate, but after a long month away from his mother, he is finally reunited with Béatrice. She urges him to free her before the torturer arrives, so he leaves to find the keys. Powerless against the guards himself, he decides to free some rats which scares away them away. Obtaining the keys, he suffers another, stronger attack which momentarily blinds him. Realizing they will never escape otherwise, she coaxes him closer to the threshold by "replying" to the Macula in his blood, allowing him to control the rats so long as he constantly commands them. Finding their way out of the basement, they encounter cages full of hairless, white rats that Hugo cannot control.

Mother and son then fall into a trap; this whole event was allowed to happen by Vitalis's order. Nicholas sends soldiers to kill Béatrice, but a horde of rats is unleashed, forcing Hugo to take control of them and kill the soldiers. This puts him on the cusp of the first threshold along with Vitalis, but not quite over the threshold yet and leaves him mentally and emotionally exhausted. As Béatrice is taken away, Vitalis looks forward to all that he and the boy will accomplish together 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