Fantasy The Will of the Great Ones

[Resting Witch Face]

Blood begets blood, a vicious cycle. We are made men by it, reborn by it's rapturous qualities, and undone by it's curse. Fear the old blood, indeed.
The town of Yharnam seemed far removed from the natural cycle of things. Where hamlets and villages fell to their shortcomings, the city seemed to prosper. Disease and ruin seemed faded from their memories like an ill-received nightmare. Something was not quite right, and yet you still let your better judgement be clouded by your needs. Whatever they might have been, you checked into the clinic in the darker part of town to sort them through for good. Then it was there that the truth struck you quite profoundly, but it was quite truly too late. Now, coursing through your veins, was liberation from your shackles of fate. No longer did your being suffer, your soul could finally rest. And yet still peace eluded you, like chasing rays of moonlight in a smoke filled room. A dense fog began clouding your mind, quietly singing a lullaby.
Before long you feel yourself lulled to sleep.

And then the visions began, cursed scrying into realms beyond your understanding as you slept. It started with simple whispers, taunting you from the edge of darkness, to replacing your dreams with horrific nightmares of alien rituals and ungodly abominations. Beings that lurk in the shadows, watching the masses with twisted fervor. Eternal slaughter. Unbreakable evils. Your mind has begun the terrible fall into madness, or so you believe. None of this could be the machinations of a sane person! And yet you feel cleaner and more clear-headed than ever. Your thoughts are focused, your will is steady. You can feel the pulse of your own heart beating out of your chest. Suddenly, light floods your darkened reality. No longer a slave to the nightmares terrorizing you, you float upwards, towards your point of origin.
You feel the warm embrace of something just beyond.

And you wake up in your bed, the same bed from the night of your infusion. Or not, as it turns out. The room you remember being inebriated within has shifted in appearance.

It's been quite some time since your infusion, you can plainly see. The clinic that old man had treated you in was dusty and ruinous, falling apart wherever your gaze went. No longer did that cleanly odor permeate your senses, no, it had been long replaced by the universal sign of decay. No patients had been treated in this room for years, decades even. As your atrophied body snapped itself into motion, twinges of pain could be felt through your aching joints. It felt as if you had been in a coma for that long as well, like the infusion had set you into a deep, deep sleep. Your lungs were hard pressed to draw breath, your eyes too dry to blink.
It felt like death had forgotten your soul in your mortal body.

Your mind is foggy, your movements stiff, and an unknown world lingers at the periphery of your perception. Not one to let it prepare itself, you rise from your bed like an ancient awakening from slumber, and begin your journey through this new world. Or you would have, anyway, had the sounds of coughing and movement halted your body in it's tracks. There seemed to be some life in this chamber yet, though it did not sound familiar. Looking back across the small sea of beds and medical equipment, three other bodies make themselves known by following in your example. Together, the four of you make an even team of two men and two women. You cannot fathom what mechanisms led to your shared awakening, and likewise is the situation with the people you have found yourself sharing a room with. Unpredictable and afraid, they would likely react poorly to each other, or so you think. They give you the feeling of a rugged band of misfits, outcasts to the rest of society, who have no other place to turn. Unlikely that anything would come of it, but retreating into a possibly hostile old hostel such as this could have disastrous consequences on your immediate well being. Not like you could force yourself to go it alone anyway, the fear of the unknown seemed to be compelling you.

It is a night like no other, the feeling it gives you digs a deep pit in your stomach. ​

 

[Aleph Null]

Just what exactly did I get myself into? Adrion thought, If I knew I was going to wake up half dead in some abandoned clinic I would have just found a nice tree to climb up and sleep in. He was beyond annoyed by the situation he found himself in and also a bit on edge seeing as he was far from being in the best condition possible and he wasn't alone either. Adrion was never that great at interacting with other people, it was one of the reasons he always kept to himself and traveled alone.


Adrion took the time to properly look over the three other individuals he found himself sharing the room with. He took in their features, height and frame and estimated what personality each might have going off of body language and facial expressions. Once he was done he pondered on whether or not to initiate a conversation with any of them, they did seem to be an interesting looking bunch and it appeared that they were all in this predicament together. Bringing a hand up to his he began to think of good ice breaker to start of with.


Once he decided on a good enough opener he made his way to short browned haired woman and bowed in greeting, although anyone with half a brain would be able to tell it was done mockingly. "What are your thoughts on this entire situation? I for one love the decor and ambiance of this... establishment."he said sarcastically. He was more nervous than anything else but that would do little to changing his overall attitude.

Returning to his full height, Adrion eagerly awaited the woman's response, he also wanted to know the events that led up to her waking along side him and the two others but he doubted if she would even answer such a question from a stranger she just met a few seconds ago. For all he knew she could have even attacked him right then and there for approaching her so unannounced.

 

[Resting Witch Face]

Floating around in nothingness is always such a mixed bag. For Ada, it wasn't her first time. No, in fact, she used to get visions like these in her youth. She basked in the surrealist nature of the hallucinations, almost as if she were high. But nothing compared to the feeling of never coming down. This was around the time a tiny dread was sewn into her heart, growing by each passing hour in the nightmares. Soon she couldn't tell how long it had been since the transfusion of blood, the days and months in this landscape were nothing. Time, as a whole, was stripped from this place. She began questioning her faith in the god's ability to keep her from madness, praying for release from the infernal entrapment of her own subconscious brain.

And then, dragged forcibly back into the waking world, she arose from her slumber. Never before had she spent so long inside the nightmare, her bones ached and moving her equally sore muscles needed painful amounts of reconditioning. She had barely moved the cloth serving as a thin blanket off of herself before she noticed others waking up. She began running through scenarios in her head. There was a possibility they induced the sleep upon her, but looking at them she realized they were in quite the same predicament as her. Could they be trusted? She wasn't exactly planning on shaking hands any time soon... "no, they must have been in the nightmare too. Maybe this is the God's way of showing me my way." she thought with hope, finally working up enough energy to sit up and put her legs on the floor beneath. Just then, a dark thought was expelled from within her... "They took the blood, they're church hunters. Either that or more sick townsfolk. Dirty, wicked lot, wouldn't want to have a saw to my back."

Shaking her head seemed to clear her psyche for the time being. Normally she wouldn't have let something dark surface in her, but after such a long time diving into the dread pools of black some things tended to... overstay their welcome. After making sure her legs would not fail her, she began pacing around the walls of the room. Presumably looking for an exit or other such way out.​

 

[dae mec]

Her lungs were too stiff to hyperventilate, or Clara would be well on her way to suffering a fit. Had they caught her? Had her nightmares come true? As she looked frantically around the clinic, a sliver of reason pierced the fog of panic. No, this ruined place wasn't one where he would enact his revenge. And it echoed the place she'd last remembered, though significantly more decayed. Clara clutched at her pockets and coughed once. The aches of her body were new, strange... almost as strange as these new companions.

One of them, a young man with dark skin and dark eyes, actually approached her. Clara jerked back and scrambled off the bed, banging her knee as she tried to force her muscles into compliance. He bowed, asked for her thoughts, and looked at her with a gleam that made Clara want to reach for her weapon. But no, that was just the cowardly rat in her talking. She could expect the worst, but she didn't need to act like it. Not yet.

Her eyes darted across the room. "I-I, ah, I'm not sure what's happening?" Her back was against the wall, so she hastily moved away from the bed. "This isn't... how I remember things being." Clara swallowed. "I think I... we should get out. I don't like this. Lingering would only lead to problems, I think." She was rambling, her nervousness fueling her mouth.

The other woman seemed to be looking for a way out. Hesitant, Clara ran a hand against the wall, looking for a door or window. It reminded her of the times she'd case a building for entry, just done in reverse. The other hand went to her lock picks, tucked snugly in her apron. "Do you see a way to leave?" Her voice rose in pitch, almost a squeak at the last word.

 

[CystalChompound]

Most of the folks Kian met around town so far had a drinking streak, drowning themselves in the pleasure of ale rather than facing reality. He's never had a taste of the sin beverage before because god knows whatever happened to whoever indulged in its properties. He preferred to keep a clear and concise mind.

But god damn, he thought.

If this was what if felt like to get a hangover then to hell with beer or ale. He'd pledge his sword to whatever god there was of sobriety.

Except...

He internally sighed as he didn't know what to believe anymore, much less which god was 'pledge-able' to. He groggily rose up from his...bed?

He opened his eyes and looked down as it was a bed. But not the kind you'd expect at an inn and certainly not the one he expected when that old man led him to the bed. In fact, as he took a precautionary glance around, the whole place seemed more clinic-like than the place he'd been in. It was a farcry from the place the innkeeper had led him to.

Immediately, he sat up with alertness. Where the hell did that daft old man put me? Right after sitting up though, a swelling nausea punctured his forehead and he groaned down, taking deep breaths.

More importantly, however, were three other people around the room, who, he'd just begun to realize were in the same sticky situation as him. He swung his legs over the bed, and, with a lopsided gait, he walked over to the group.

"Where are we?" he asked the raven-haired woman hoarsely from the thrist in his throat.

 

[Aleph Null]

Adrion shrugged nonchalantly as his eyes scanned the area for anything that may have looked like an exit. Maybe I could find a window to jump out of, he thought, but that would depend on how high up we are. Adrion wracked his brain trying to remember what the senile old man told him that night... something about old Yharnam being burnt down, beasts and gods? He quickly gave up trying to recall the old man's words and opted to just focus on escaping the dilapidated building he found himself in.

"This place almost looks like a maze...and judging by how big it is it won't exactly be easy to find the entrance, at least not quickly. Maybe we can start by looking for a hallway and move on from there...or at least a window to jump out of. My name is Adrion by the way, Adrion Nephus and what's yours?" Adrion responded to the browned haired woman, he believed it would be easier to refer to her by her name than simply the brown haired or short woman.

Adrion in the meanwhile felt around his body to ensure that he still had his yagan blade and whip concealed and let out a sigh of relief. He remembered spotting his medical bag near the side of his cot and quickly went over to retrieve it before returning the woman... he was also interested in asking the other two for their names as well. Although they would all probably go their separate ways after getting out of this abandoned clinic.

He began stretching then and there, his joints all cracking together to form a symphony of unpleasant noise. He felt like garbage ever since waking up but it was nothing he wasn't already used to given his line of work. Speaking of work last time I checked I was running a little low on money, and I recently came up with a concoction I really wanted to try on someone too. He thought slightly irked.

 

[Resting Witch Face]

A loud crash was heard outside of the room, the distinct sound of glass shattering on a hard surface and sprinkling in all directions. The sound broke up the relative silence of the ward, prompting a cacophony of howling and moaning from all around them. They were most certainly not alone. As the noise faded from earshot, Ada began walking towards the three others, towards the origin of the shattering glass. She noticed they were looking for a way out, and since her pacing had yielded no easy access to the outside, they would have to cross through the hospital proper. Just the thought of walking through the darkened hallways with gods know what lurking just out of sight gave her spine an icy caress.

"Some sort of hostel or clinic of sorts. It reminds me of the one I was being treated in, though shifted a little in appearance." she answered the younger looking male with honesty, not thinking of who or what he could be but her current situation. "I'd imagine you three were in the same boat, came for an infusion and woke up here?"

She did not wait for an answer from any of them, instead opting to walk out of their small treatment room and into the unknown, darkened clinic. Deep in her body red flags and alarms began sounding off like a disgruntled crowd in a sport, urging her to stop advancing and to retreat back into the relative safety of their domicile. Ada had learned to ignore these fears long ago, for the utter terror of worshiping the Gods had left her somewhat removed from them. But now, she had begun learning anew.

"Dark places are better left alone, but I've the light of the holy to guide me. We are not in any immidiat-" she spoke quietly as she tip-toed through the quiet and blackened room, careful not to disturb the same glass bottles that had been carelessly shattered, before suddenly disappearing without a sound. A few tense seconds passed, and a loud shriek filled the dead air once more, signalling the beginning of their woes.​

 

[dae mec]

Clara glanced at the second man who joined their impromptu group. He seemed older than the one who approached her, but younger than Clara herself and the strange dark-haired woman. How odd. It couldn't be a coincidence that they all woke up at the same time, right?

She cringed, knowing that the young man--Adrion--was likely right. "Th-the hallway sounds good," Clara stammered out, shaking her head once to clear the mental cobwebs. "I don't want to stay in here for any longer than I got to." She gave him a weak smile. "I'm Clara Smyth," she said.

The other woman answered the second man's question, and the dread pooled in her stomach. That was exactly the last thing Clara remembered, aside from the dreams that she didn't want to remember. "Yeah, I guess we're all in the same boat--" she began to say, but the woman was already walking away.

Her eyes darted between the two men. "I... I'm going after her." Clara turned and hurried after the stranger. The woman seemed to know what she was doing, at least. Her breath came in short gasps as she took in the dark room. "I have a match," she murmured. "Should I light it?" No candles, though, which was a pretty stupid oversight.

Clara was beginning to be reassured by the woman's words, but the odd shriek washed away all chances of that. One hand went to her gun, while the other went to her trusted knife. She pressed a finger against the blade but didn't cut herself yet. She had enough bullets for a few shots before she needed to rely on the other bullets.

 

[CystalChompound]

Before Kian could even stop himself, he let out a rueful sigh as he heard the news. He swept his gaze around the clinic once again, surveying the abandoned deserted clinic. Around them were a multitude of hospital beds, harboring ghosts of the pasts. The rickety floorboards seemed ready to collapse beneath them at any moment. Out the door, the moonlight bathe the hallway with a meek luminescense.

The black-haired woman, or 'Raven' as he'd nicknamed her for now, silently strode across the room, unbelievably not triggering any creaks on the floor. She disappeared behind the doorway not a moment later to explore.

The brown-haired girl, I mean Clara, also stood up, although with significantly less vigor as Raven. He would have followed suit had he not heard a shriek.

Immediately, he backed up in alarm, one hand going for his satchel and the other at his side, where a sword was left untouched from last night. He looked at Clara and saw too that she was prepared. Unbidden, he was relieved but then right after that he chided himself for worrying about others.

Shaking his head, he warily approached the door sword in hand

 

[Aleph Null]

Adrion peered into the dark void that the raven haired woman disappeared into and where the piercing shriek that nearly shook his core originated from. He looked to clara and the older man of who he had yet to learn the name of and saw that they brandishing weapons of their own, Good, He thought as he brought his own blade out of concealment, looks like they're capable of taking care of themselves at the very least.

"A match would die out quickly but could prove to be helpful depending on how well we'll be able to see the dark, any amount of light could be valuable in pitch-black darkness. What do you think could have made that sound anyway?" He asked them as he moved forward his sword tightly gripped in hand. He secretly pondered on if it was something that he would be able to experiment on and not just some random animal... but sound that it made didn't sound like any animal he's encountered before.

His mind raced back the night of his infusion and the words of the old man rang once again in his head, he had spoken of beasts. Was it those very beasts that were making their presence known at this moment, or perhaps something else. Whatever it may be Adrion just hoped that it was kill-able.

He steeled himself in preparation for what may be lurking in the dark.

 

[Resting Witch Face]

The ear wrenching screams continued on for quite some time, stopped every now and then by a loud, fleshy slap. It sounded as if something was pummeling a poor being into the floor, uncaring for what may be lurking around them. Even after the terrorized, agonized cries were silenced the sound of fist on body could still be heard every few seconds. As the trio made their way deeper into the darkness, they found themselves drowning in it. All directions were barely distinguishable from the others, making navigation tricky, especially with the glass bottles waiting for them to make a mistake at every turn. Though they did make it through a substantial part of the room, closing in towards the sounds of a bloodthirsty and merciless beating.

As the group got closer, they began making out details on the edge of their clouded vision. A figure was planted on top of another, both too drenched in black to see properly. It was clearly the source of the sickening sounds, and hopefully not the site of the raven-haired woman's grave.

After a few more steps into the unknown, light begins flooding the room. If anyone were to take the time to look, they would see a great bay window on the far end of the room, with the moon's glaring light peeking in through the gaps of the thick, dark clouds. As the clouds shifted, more light was permitted within the clinic, and the trio could see the scene before them much more clearly. Sat atop a long dead man wearing a hospital gown was Ada, slamming her fists into the hairy man's chest and face. As if a spell had been lifted, her voice could be heard as well. She seemed to be in prayer.

"Donum profferest inficio, bestia cum execratione maledicta congessit. Orate ne veni de bestia sanguinis in legenda! Inficimur, in tenebris aquae..." She murmured thoughtlessly, her icy blue eyes dulled to a deep navy. As her prayers kept her eyes closed tight, she did not notice the horrendous beast sneaking up on her from the flank, likely hunting for another filling meal. As it's toothy maw opened up to let out it's disgusting panting, it began advancing on her rapidly.​

 

[dae mec]

The second man followed her silently, and Clara jerked to the side, looking over her shoulder so that he wouldn't be exactly behind her. Adrion and him both took out weapons, their thoughts clearly going in the same direction as hers.

"Y-Yeah, I guess I can try to light it," she said to Adrion's comment.

Gun still in hand, she tucked away her knife and lit a match with other. It didn't pierce the darkness, though, and it died out quickly. There was no light, but the screams continued. She flinched at the sound of each fist on against flesh, each scream causing her nails to dig deeper into her palm. Just as she thought of lighting another match, no matter how useless, the moonlight filled their path.

For a moment, Clara wish it hadn't, because she could now see the other woman beating a man to death. She covered her mouth, eyes wide with horror. Oh, gods. What was happening? Why? Oh, gods! No. She shouldn't invoke them. Not when the strange woman was so fervently in prayer.

Then Clara noticed the beast, and she took in a sharp breath. Oh gods, oh gods, what was that? Oh, gods, it was going to eat them! Terror fueled her, but it didn't make her hands shake. She raised her pistol, and with steady aim, fired the gun straight at its head.

 

[CystalChompound]

Bang!

The sound thundered off the hallways and reverberated through the whole building. Smoke trailed off the beast's head from where Clara fired it.

He still couldn't believe that the meek little girl he'd met so far would know how to handle a gun, much less use it. He even almost forgot the readied sword at his hand.

Almost.

He sheathed the blade back to his side and let out a shaky breath. "What the hell was that thing?" he asked.

He laid down to one knee, inspecting prodding it carefully lest the monster awaken. Finally, he felt its arm, brought out his sword again, and sliced open a rather bulging artery. Black blood spilled out from the cut in gushing spouts, some flecks of it even hitting him in the face. He wiped it away and collected a meager amount of blood in a vial.

When he was done, he stored away the sample and faced them again with an uncertainty in his eyes.

 

[Aleph Null]

"My God..." Adrion was at a lost for words, while he knew that Clara carried a gun with her he had no idea that she was capable of wielding it so efficiently- not only that but she reacted with such speed as well. He made a mental note to be wary when approaching her... for he could have easily been at the other end of that gun if she had he had tried to introduce himself earlier?

"Excellent Job Clara!" He congratulated her with a tone that could have been mistaken for sarcasm, as he reached within his bag to produce a syringe a vial. He simply shrugged at the older man's question before getting ready to collect a blood sample from the creature but was pleasantly surprised to see that the man had already beat him to it, not that that would have stopped him from getting his own sample from the beast.

"What are exactly are you planning to do with that vial?....Oh and I don't believe I quite got your name?" He asked the man quizzically. Was he perhaps a man of science as well? That would certainly make things a lot more interesting for him if that were the case. After retrieving the sample and placing his items back into the back he diverted his gaze back to the raven haired woman who had seemingly just beat a man to death.

He whistled at the sight, slightly taken aback by the brutality of scene and wondered what was the reason for the woman taking such action... He was also intrigued by the words she chanted above the man's corpse. He recognized it as Latin but was not able to fully decipher what it was that she said.

 

[Resting Witch Face]

Slowly but surely Ada came down from her frenzy, pummeling the dead man in shorter and shorter bursts. As she looked back at the scene before her, a twinge of disgust struck a chord within her, and another dark thought fought it's way to her surface. She prayed it was not loud enough for the two collecting samples to hear.
"Damnable doctors, it's the inquisitive ones we have to blame for this mess we're in. Do you think trifling with that thing's blood will do any good?"

She sighed audibly, blinking a few times and standing back up, albeit meekly and with strain. As she gave the body lying on the ground one last strike for good measure, she turned to the shorter woman with the gun and gave her a long stare. It seemed as if she was looking directly through her, at the wall behind. After a significant and awkward silence, she spoke with a calm, relaxed demeanor.
"Nicely done, but lucky shots are few and far between. Though, if you hadn't gotten the beast when you did there is no doubt I would be in much worse condition. And worse, my prayer may have been interrupted..." As she spoke, there seemed to be a mounting energy in the room, or the rooms surrounding. The howling and groans had subsided into little more than whispers, and the feeling of eyes on the back of your neck is unshakable. Ada seemed unaffected by the sudden change in atmosphere, an unsettling grin forming on her face.
"The gods are testing our resolve, I can feel it. They seem to fancy you, gunslinger."

As the words escaped her mouth, the tension kept thickening as lightning streaked across the dim sky, bathing the room in even more light if for just a second. Surrounding them at almost every side were at least dozen patients like the one Ada had been attacking, wearing uniform hospital gowns and matching expressions of blood lust. Their faces seemed contorted, like they had no control over their facial muscles. Eerily, the silence in the room was palpable as the light of the thunder died out. The moonlight still gave them enough to register but it was fading by the second.

In unison, each of the mangled humanoids let their jaws hang freely from their skull in mindless frenzy, letting loose a torrent of gurgling noises and muffled screams.​

 

[dae mec]

"I don't know what that was," said Clara shakily to Kian. "I just know I don't want to see them again." In a different tone, said by a different person, it might've been a joke. Clara was dead serious, though. What did it matter? It wouldn't bother them anymore.

She smiled weakly at Adrion's compliment. "Th-Thank you." Was he being sarcastic? Clara wasn't really sure, but he'd been nice so far. She probably just heard him wrong.

Both Kian and Adrion seemed interested in the thing, so she shuddered and looked away... right into the woman's eerie gaze. For a few moments, Clara couldn't look away. The words fell like a hammer on her heart, and she took a sharp breath. "I don't think I want their attention..." she murmured.

Clara screamed when it seemed like a dozen creatures appeared out of nowhere. She fumbled with the gun and got off another shot before she started stumbling backwards, eyes darting as she looked for another way to retreat. Clara shot another bullet at the closest one before her gun jammed. She frantically pushed at the bullet, hoping to get it to work before she got torn apart by whatever these were.

 

[CystalChompound]

What did he expect?

Of course she didn't know what it was. He himself couldn't even decipher what branch of monsters it came from. It face seemed to be a patchwork of bandages and wrap. Perhaps that was the real reason why he scrounged the body, for it might hold any clues as to what this monster's origin might hint to.

Beside him, the young man looked at him with a sort of curiosity. "I don't believe I quite got your name?"

Kian looked at him with an unconcealed wariness before wilting. "It's Kian," he replied.

Raven snorted at the two of them as they huddled around the corpse as busy as bees. She seemed to gaze down at them with a hint of something in her eyes...disgust? It was hard to tell down here as his bloodied hands got to work, working to find the beast's heart.

"Do you think trifling around with that thing's blood will do any good?" he heard her mutter quietly.

He snorted. Amatuers.

He didn't finish the thought, however, as an inhuman shrill pierced the quiet gloom. He looked up in alarm as a swarm of monstrosities out of nowhere, attracted from the sound earlier, and cornered them into the hallway.

For a moment, fear and panic filled his heart, until he felt his hand search through his satchel. Suddenly, an idea sprung into his head.

A very crazy idea.

He heard another scream, this time it was particularly near him. His hand went immediately to his sword until a crack fired, nesting itself in the beast. It staggered for a moment before dropping dead.

It only brought little reprieve however as the horde made its advance. He only had a second to think. He took out a vial which held an airy and bluish substance, and threw it right at the swarm.

The glass shattered against one or two of the beasts, spilling the contents and letting it sink into their bodies. "Hellfire and brimstone heed my call, banish these lost souls once and for all," he chanted immediately as the essence was absorbed within their bodies. Not a moment later, a wisp of bluish flame curled at their feet before rising above. The flames seemed to be only interested in them, clutching tightly to their bodies as the wisps grew higher and higher.

They began to burn.

 

[Aleph Null]

Adrion simply ignored the raven-haired woman's whisper, he could not expect a god fearing woman to understand his interest in all that is living. He enjoyed the thrill of observing how living organisms responded to positive and negative stimuli alike, he dedicated his life to training to become a bounty hunter just so he would have free rein over a unique selection of test subjects to conduct experiments on- he couldn't have cared less of what she thought of him.

Adrion stood back up at his full height as he became aware of the situation they now found themselves in, his eyes scanning over the horde with a hint or morbid curiosity as his could feel his adrenaline pumping. He watched carefully as Clara aimed her gun and shot at a few of them while Kian threw a vial and chanted words before he saw a few monsters ignite on fire. Should I stay and fight with them or run away while the group of monsters are distracted? He contemplated for the briefest of moments.

Having made up his mind he unhooked his whip from the belt and let it unravel to the ground as he took up a stance. He suddenly threw his arm up into the air before thrusting his whip forward with a resounding crack! that echoed throughout the room as it made contact with one of the monster's face, he didn't stop there however as he quickly retracted his whip and went in for a second strike on a another monster all while being careful not to strike down one of his "allies"by mistake. He wondered how effective his attacks would be on such monsters and pondered if he should perhaps use his sword instead.

I really hope I don't end up getting blood on my only pair of clothes. He thought lightheartedly, betraying the serious look of concentration he seemed to have had on his face at the moment.

 

[Resting Witch Face]

Looking at the crowd of beasts gave Ada a melancholy feeling. It was these exact same early converts that she had been incarcerated for protecting, at the will of the gods no less. Looking at them she no longer saw the last shreds of humanity hanging off of their sleeve, like the beasts of Old Yharnam. They were like animals, cruel and hungry. But before she could even lift a finger the crowd had been thinned. Raging fire danced across beasts while gunfire and quick whip strikes kept them at bay. Ada hesitated, fearing the gods not for what they would do if she disobeyed, but the consequences that breaking her oath would wreak upon her mind and soul.

But she finally came to her senses. These were not worth protecting, and if she did not act they would. As the group of ravenous patients advanced, undaunted by the utter decimation of their ranks, Ada produced a small cane with a curious metal sphere top from her sleeve. Planning on using it later had turned out to be a lapse in judgement, but it looked like they would be torn asunder if she did not, as the five left alive through the onslaught closed the gap.

"Forgive me, deus meus, but your tests will not break me."

In one swift movement, she slammed the side of the cane into her shoulder, prompting a chemical reaction within. As small vents opened on the metal dome, jets of flame consumed the volatile metal. She was shocked as the unstable contraption held it's composure, as it usually tended to overheat and go from weapon to explosive very quickly. She had gotten lucky, as her lapse in maintenance had somehow perfected the chemical mixture contained in the sphere.

Flaming mace in hand, she swung heavily into the encroaching crowd. Her swing connected with three of the five, cleanly eviscerating them and leaving their bodies a smoking mess. Unfortunately, the two remaining were within arms reach just as her weapon stopped flaming. Light headed from her exertion just out of what was essentially a two or three decade coma, she couldn't stop them from landing a savage blow to her arm and chest. She wasn't gravely injured, but it certainly wasn't painless.

She just hoped the others were loyal enough to back her reckless play.​

 

[dae mec]

Now the creatures were on fire. Clara didn't freeze, but she let out a whimper as bodies burned around her. Who were these people? What were those things? Why were they stuck here? The questions looped around in her mind, made faster by the terror, but she didn't let herself acknowledge it. Clara simply focused on her gun. It took a moment, but she un-jammed the bullets in her revolver. She looked up. Adrion and Kian seemed to have taken care of the creatures by them, but two more were savaging the woman.

Clara let out a strangled scream, aimed, and fired. The bullets hit the creatures, but through all the smoke, Clara couldn't tell whether or not they were dead. "Who are you people?" she said out loud, the terror clear in her voice. "What are these things? H-How did you make the fire, a-and the..." She was panicking. Now that the danger was over or close to it, her tenuous grip on her composure was gone. "Oh, gods, we're all going to die!"

She stumbled backwards, hand groping for something to keep her for collapsing. Her hand found the bedpost of a patient's bed, and she clutched it tightly as her eyes darted from the three humans to the corpses to potential danger that could be lurking just out of sight.

 

[CystalChompound]

Another shot fired again, resounding through the moonlit corridor as another beast was felled. Kian looked towards the source and found a wide-eyed Clara holding a pistol to the remaining pair, one of which was laying on the ground unmoving.

Smoke billowed around them as he strained to find the other pair. Upon discovery however, dread and anticipation pooled in his stomach. The last one remaining advanced towards Raven, who was busy panting as she tried to lift her mace, unaware of her appraching doom.

He didn't think this time.

Fishing through his satchel, he brought out his doll and the vial of blood he'd collected earlier from the course. He dipped a little onto the doll's heart and with a whisper under his breath, he mouthed an incantation. "Gods of Old and men of arrogance, assault thine foe with plague and pestilence."

Out of nowhere, the beast suddenly stopped, as if taking a breather. It suddenly moaned before bending down and puking. Their hands started molting into a steady crawl upwards, spreading the disease until it wrapped around their throat almost as if someone else was choking them.

The putrid stench began to permeate the air as their skin melted away.

 

[Aleph Null]

So that's why he collected the blood, Adrion thought What a very interesting and frightening ability. He directed his attention to Clara who seemed to be have been in a state panic. He hooked his whip back to his belt before carefully walking up to her, making sure to be very alert of his surroundings as he did so.


"Word to the wise Miss Clara, you should be careful not stray too far from the group in a room that be potentially full of who knows what lurking in the shadows. We should be able to move more freely now though so I think it would be in our best in to find away out of this place as soon as possible" He said extending a hand out to her.

Adrion felt the longer that they stayed within this building the more surprises that would jump out from the darkness at them, and while he did pride himself on his adaptability and stamina, he doubted he would to easily handle and dispatch everything that would be thrown their way.

If Adrion didn't know any better he would have thought this whole thing was just some vivid fever dream he was mind had created, but all of this certainly felt real and he was willing to test such a theory out.

 

[Resting Witch Face]

Ada had closed her eyes tightly, waiting for another brutal attack from the rabid patients. But, much to her surprise, it never came. As she looked about the room, her heart skipped a beat. Eleven bloodthirsty converts, eager for their first meals as Beasts, laid upon the floor in bloody silence. She wasn't emotional about it, no, she was rather shocked that they had made it out relatively unscathed. They, not her, she was painfully reminded as she tried to move. Her left arm hung loosely at her side, not responding to the movement that she tried putting into it, and her chest ached harshly. Running a hand over her collarbone she could feel two deep gashes running parallel from each other, not three inches from her heart, vital organs and neck. She was lucky to be standing.

"That one is correct, staying here will only lead to more unnecessary battles. That being said, I can't see many ways out of here that will not lead to more fighting none the less. These halls are seething with beasts, and no doubt every corner we turn will have a surprise in wait." She gritted her teeth, her wounds sending waves of pain through her body, "So we need a plan of action. Some way to get out of here without spilling too much blood, theirs or ours."

As she spoke, she had begun unpacking her small bag. Laid out on the small bed she had found were needles, stitches and what looked to be either a bottle of drinking alcohol or rubbing alcohol. Not that the two were separate for Ada, as she took a swig of the clear liquid and dabbed a small amount onto a cloth she had in hand. As she began to cleanse her no-doubt infected wounds, several loud grunts and expletives escaped her mouth. She had to be quick, they would likely leave her behind if she took too long. Or, at least, that was her expectation as she began the painful work of stitching herself back up. As she managed to get the first stitch into place, it was clear that her shaking hands weren't exactly helping her condition. The needle wobbled endlessly, and it was hard for her to find a good spot to attach it. Sighing in defeat, she looked up.

"I can't seem to do this properly, do any of you have a steadier hand?"​

 

[dae mec]

Her eyes widened at Adrion's comment, and she pressed her lips together, forcing herself to take deep, shaky breaths through her nose. She couldn't lose it now. No, freaking out before the danger was completely gone was a recipe for disaster. She shakily took his hand and let herself be brought closer to the group.

"Y-You're right," she said. "We need to get out of here." Clara had said that more than once, she needed to assure herself of it. The woman, who was the most injured out of all of them, seemed to agree with that. Clara winced and looked away from her injuries. They looked painful. Clara had stitched herself when needed, but she hated it, and her hands weren't steady now either. She glanced to either man, wondering if they'd offer.

"The window, maybe?" she offered for a solution. Her nails were digging into her palms, and her eyes blinked rapidly with the force of keeping back her panic. As she talked, though, her voice grew a little steadier. "We'd have to be careful, but if we tied the blankets on all these cots together, we'd have a rope long enough for climbing. And I could pry open a window."

Clara had scaled open more than one building during her time as a thief (and during the few times she did still steal). The handholds might be a little rotton, but they seemed managble. And she'd rather take her chances with the outside.

 

[CystalChompound]

Kian bent over the cool wooden floor, panting, as he recovered his energy from the spell earlier. Looking behind him, he saw the others gathering amongst themselves and looking towards the windows. He didn't need to listen to them to know what they were planning.

But how?

Clara them seemed to motion towards the room from before. What for though? All it had were rusted beds and possibly torn blankets. Oh, the thought slammed into him right as he thought of it.

Atlhough risky, what was even riskier was staying here. He exhaled once more before taking out a bottle with glowing green liquid. He eyed the contents before taking a large swig of it. Not a moment later, energy, albeit a meager amount of it, flowed through his limbs and legs.

He shook a leg or two before walking towards the group and confirming his suspicions.