Chapter II
The Road to Yharnam
Gehrman returned to his dormitory and found that it was empty of all of his belongings, save for one set of clothing that Laurence had obligingly left behind. He removed his Byrgenwerth scholar uniform and donned his reddish-brown suit with a scarf, a faded green waistcoat, and a simple felt hat.
He went out to the gate of the college grounds, where Laurence, Caryll, and Maria waited next to a carriage. They had all forsaken their uniforms as well. Maria stood out in particular, wearing her expensive Cainhurst attire that looked reminiscent of an aristocratic soldier's uniform, and inspecting a large curved blade.
"Thank you for helping to pack the last of my things, Laurence," said Gehrman.
"Don't thank me," said Laurence. "Thank Maria. I had to help Caryll gather all of his runes."
"Thank you, Maria," said Gehrman. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble."
"Oh, it was not a problem," said Maria with her strange accent from the eastern country in which Cainhurst was situated.
"And put that back with my luggage," chided Gehrman, gesturing towards the blade Maria was holding.
"But it's such a nice blade," said Maria with utter fascination. "Where did you get it?"
"I made it myself," said Gehrman. "I forged it out of siderite."
Maria looked surprised. "Really? Well, now we know what happened to the last of the college's siderite ore. Master Willem wanted it for something."
"Let's just forget that I ever said anything," said Gehrman. "What Willem doesn't know won't hurt him."
"Just put it back, Maria," said Caryll. "We must be going now."
Maria reluctantly put the blade back with the rest of the luggage. She, Gehrman, and Caryll got into the carriage while Laurence sat up front and took the reins.
"Does anyone here know the way to Yharnam?" asked Maria. "The woods are massive, and I got lost when I first came here."
"I think we all did," said Caryll. "But Laurence knows the way. At least, I think so."
Laurence gave a snap of the reins, and they were on their way. They went out from the main gates of the college and started their way down the paved road that led straight into a dense forest. By this point, the sun had gone down, and the forest was illuminated by the moon.
"Maybe we should have waited until morning to leave," said Maria.
"Laurence really couldn't take it anymore," said Caryll. "He told me that he refused to wait for this any longer."
As the carriage trundled along through the trees, the path steadily went uphill. When the companions looked back, they could just see Byrgenwerth beneath them.
Soon enough, the only one left fully awake was Laurence, who remained tireless in his purpose, while Gehrman and Caryll started to feel their eyelids becoming heavy. Maria had completely fallen asleep, and the only sound to be heard beside the horses' hooves and the night breeze was her gentle breathing.
Just as Gehrman was about to close his eyes, he noticed Maria stir slightly in her sleep, and he couldn't help but feel his gaze drawn to the Cainhurst noblewoman. She was pretty, almost uncomfortably so, with her pale, flawless skin, and her light blond hair tied back in an elegant ponytail.
While Gehrman was taking in Maria's beauty, Caryll took notice and started chuckling.
"What?" questioned Gehrman.
"It's just that..." Caryll sputtered through his laughter before he finally calmed down. "Oh, don't worry. I know what you're thinking about. I don't blame you. Wouldn't we all be considering it?"
Not entirely sure what to think or feel, Gehrman lowered his hat down over his eyes and drifted off.
Some number of hours later, when morning had come, Gehrman was awoken by the sound of Caryll laughing again, only this time he was laughing at Maria, who was now awake.
"Oh, you too?" said Caryll. "Joy of joys! This is rich."
"Enough of you," snapped Maria. "My personal affairs are mine to contemplate."
With that, Caryll ceased his teasing. Gehrman wondered what Maria had been doing to warrant Caryll's mocking.
The carriage came to a halt, and Gehrman, Maria, and Caryll got out. They stood before a great open gate, beyond which lay a grand city.
"Here we are!" exclaimed Laurence excitedly. "Behold: the city of Yharnam! This is where it shall begin. Together, my friends, we are going to lift humanity into its next childhood."
Author's note: Not a very eventful chapter, I know. The exciting stuff will hopefully be coming soon enough. Here, we see that Caryll caught Gehrman perving on Maria. This whole thing will escalate later, as we shall see. The blade that Maria was looking at is obviously the Burial Blade, but Gehrman hasn't gotten the idea to put it on a long haft yet.
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