Bloodborne : Trial and Error

[kimcora]

Rosalind was not surprised to hear he didn't like dogs, especially after seeing the massive mutts here. She would be through with them if she were him. She followed his instruction and went back to the dream to restock, allowing her mind to wander to Ludwig and exactly what they would be facing soon. She swallowed hard when her mind took a turn for the worse and she began to think of some atrocious beast of nightmare that they would have to face. Surely that wouldn't be their goal today...surely there was nothing that fearsome here...She sent that hope to whatever luck she prayed she had since she had little else she could do. Soon they were back on the bridge, allowing Antony deal with the werewolves. She watched him breeze through and slaughter them like they were nothing but paper in his way. For a moment she wondered if she would ever get to that point where this killing became easier...She brushed the thought away when he moved to the door of the cathedral, telling her this would be difficult. She moved forward, her attention on his face for a long moment before she looked to the doors. She wasn't sure what was beyond this point, but she would be damned if she let it stop her from getting this cure. "Alright. I'm ready for it...Teamwork right?" She said to him with an uneasy smile, showing through her confident sounding tone that she actually had a slight doubt in how this would turn out. She slipped past him, peeking in the door way before stepping in. Her eyes narrowed at the place, looking at the decrepit dusty area with a scrunched face. She coughed when her boot kicked up dust, telling her not many ventured this way...perhaps for a good reason.

[vamperious]

He let her pass him towards the doors and frowned a bit when she said team work, it was going to take a bit more then that perhaps. Walking behind her on the bridge it seemed like it was an empty bridge however it was oddly silent- even the lack of rats. Looking further on he saw the mist about the gate as he had once seen, however he knew what was in that mist and she was walking in blind. Passing the carriage near the middle of the bridge he paused. "Rosalind wait, You should know--" However it was a little late- when they heard a roar. A large beast jumped over the wall of the Church's court yard. His eyes wide as he saw the large beast again, knowing things were about to get serious...Suddenly just out of his direct view was the module that told him what the beast was named and how much health it had and honestly it was still a terrifying sight. "Here we go, hope team works helps here!" he said as the beast came towards him, almost completely ignoring Rosalind. One clawed paw larger then the other he made its way forward and looked not happy to see them. "Hey Ludwig! I got your sword!" he shouted at it as it made an angry growl at him, glancing over at Rosalind, before charging at him, knowing him back across the bridge smashing soem stones under him. He gave a groan, almost on reflex stabbing himself with a needle full of a blood. Getting up he charged the beast itself and brought his sword across its legs, it did little damage but it was obvious it bothered it. 

[kimcora]

Rosalind was not expecting to be attacked so suddenly, let alone by something that was as big as the wall it jumped over. Her body went rigid with terror at the sight of the horrific beast, something between a wolf and a rotting stag. She tried to move, so much as scream as it came at her but all she could do was stare in wide eyed fear. She snapped out of her daze when its thundering steps shook her off balance, making her stagger slightly back. She gave Antony a look at his teamwork comment, quickly fumbling for her belt where the cocktails sat. She heard him taunt the beast, her mouth opening to shout at him to not be an idiot, but it was too late. She heard the impact of Antony hitting stone and instantly her head snapped up. the thing had thrown him pretty far, only showing it was quite powerful. "Hey ugly!" She shouted tossing a cocktail at its head. It connected with a horn, causing the fire to catch on its long hair tendrils. The beast howled but it seemed to be more in anger than pain. Its head swung in her direction, its body crouched for a pounce. "Shit." She muttered under her breath, watching as it leapt at her. She hit the ground in a roll hitting the side of the carriage with a hard thump that made her momentarily see stars. Before she could move again, the beast swung its long arm outwards, connecting with her and the carriage. She tumbled on the pavement away feeling the splinters of wood in skin and the glass crunching beneath her. She spat a bit of blood on the pavement from her scratched lip, getting to her feet achy. "You fought this monster? That's Ludwig?!" She shouted, looking to Antony with wide eyes as she tried to fathom how he took this thing on by himself.

[vamperious]

The beast was howling as it prepared to attack again, however Antony heard her words which were humorous to him honestly. "Nope! Never met the man myself. I tried many times but the Father told me off of this to another location." He said back referring to another hunter he had encountered briefly when he ahd called for help as he had once been cowering beneath the large beast before them now. Dodging tot he right be barely missed the wall as he got out of the claws way before getting behind it and slashed at it a bit more, getting more of the red bar down just out of his vision. He was much stronger now, so this wasn't too hard but for Rosalind this was going to be an uphill struggle. He took off at a run- away from the beast and swung another vile of blood liquor at the beast setting it aflame again, seeing as it had done a little damage- it left it pissed and reckless- meaning it could die but they were likely to follow with similar injuries.  
It charged threw the flames and right into him- horns first throwing him back again- then slung its' claw up and pinned him to the floor, some slobber or body fluid falling onto his neck, making him feel like he might throw up but knew he needed to focus and not get killed- Rosalind couldn't stand by herself here. It was an odd thought having to worry about soem one here again, since he only had his sister for such a long while it was odd, that this strange felt like a good friend after they had killed so much- it was like a form of bonding now. It clubbed him hard in the head once before another wave of fire came over it as he assumed Rosalind threw more fire at it. He struggled to right himself since he couldn't see properly as he had a lot of blood on his face form the beating. Ludwig hit hard- thank god he had enough stamina for this shit. He thought to himself with a sick sense of humor he had acquired before getting a few needles into his legs before he could stand properly and lug his sword about better. He watched as Rosalind took on the beast- it was brave but he had a feeling they weren't going to get far with this mess- not on what they had alone, plus if he got taken out and left her alone- she would simply get slaughtered, so he needed a back up...
Pulling a bell from his bag, he rang it, it barely made a noise but it was rung none the less. He knew there would be help soon, as soon as they were able since it was how the bells worked- it was a miracle to have here but it was often as dangerous as it was helpful. With in a short few seconds- it felt like minutes however- dodging the beast and making small damage he was getting tired, he could see Rosalind was too- A tall man came out of the mist the way they had come in.  Tall was a slight under statement as he was almost seven foot perhaps, dark black clothing of the Healing church, looking patchy and was wielding an ax, and a wicked gleam in his eyes. "You called boy? I am father Gascoigne. Allow me to help." He said in a loud voice however it sounded a bit scratchy but it was how he always sounded to Antony.

[kimcora]

Rosalind blinked at his response, wondering what the hell he was talking about some Father helping him. How could they actually have religion in such a terrible place? Sh offered him a knitted brow look, especially because he basically said he ran off before fighting this. What did he expect to happen to them now? She was newbie and he was experienced. If they were having as much trouble as they were then what was he expecting them to do with this thing? She dove out of the way of more shrapnel from smashed stone. She caught sight of the beast pinning Antony and beating away at him. She felt afraid for him, regardless of the knowledge that he could come back to life. Still, seeing someone you were relying on get slammed around was not a good sight for anyone. She lashed out at it with cane whip but the blades only seemed to scratch it instead of doing too much damage. Like an angry beast just looking for something to eat, it turned around and lumbered over. It seemed to not care who it killed, it was just throwing energy into attacks that would turn her to pulp. She flipped out of the way, trying to aim the gun at it but it was quick to jump out of her range. She growled under her breath something unintelligible before attempting to go at it again, this time shooting it in the arm with a few bullets. The sound of a bell chiming nearby made her body tense and she looked at a rather bloody looking Antony who was now standing beside a lanky man with an axe. She blinks at the man's blunt introduction, her confusion showing since she hadn't seen a man there before. "Help, please." She said quickly, her breath failing her when it was knocked out of her by the creature whipping its head and smacking her with a face full of its nappy hair.

[vamperious]

The man nodded at her plea for help and nodded, watching her get thrown back, he however lugged the ax and  did a massive blow on the beast, causing it to cry out in a pained howl. It whipped its head in the father's direction making him attack it more, distracting it from both Rosalind and Antony. The back and forth battle was intense however the Father backed off after a short bit of straight fighting, his breath catching a bit as he was struggling, Antony took the step into the spotlight and stood before the beast as it looked him over and growled. He tossed his last four vials back to Rosalind since she had used a lot of hers. "Behave and stay here- I'll be back soon." He said as he pulled his sword up and seemed to be waiting however his weapon began to glow a bit as the beast got closer as it charged him. He lunged at the beast and stabbed it, getting a good hit on it even, knocking its health down however its' jaws went about him and crushed him- He knew he couldn't survive this encounter- that was his last bit of helping her. The crunching noised he heard were surprising to him as he knew it a fraction of a second before the pain came to him that it was his body- breaking beyond the normal scope of what was possible. This dog- this beast had bested him, as he expected since he was there to draw from Rosalind to help her survive more- he wanted her to actually get threw this gross place to perhaps get back to her life, unlike how this place had always shadowed his life. 
The beast picked up the body and shook it- parts of it getting thrown over the bridge before it let it go and it dissolved into ash as he was simply gone. It turned its gaze to Father Gascoigne as he was the next challenge it seemed.  The father smiled and attacked again getting its health down to the final blows, he however stabbed the beast threw the top of its head and pinned it to the ground looking at Rosalind, expectantly- like he was giving the lady the honors. 

[kimcora]

Rosalind watched the large man take on the beast with a certain awe. The strength and fluidity of his movements showed old skill, something that even shadowed Antony. It was scary as well as awinspiring that someone could become that good at killing...She smiled a little as the beast took hit after hit, its energy waning and health draining away with each decisive blow. She pulled another cocktail from her waist, about to chuck it at the things head again when suddenly Antony was in front of her. She blinked in confusion, her eyes narrowing at him as she almost told him to get out of the way. Instead he tossed blood vials at her and said something that made her expression ease in surprise. What did he mean by that spiel? She was about to ask him, her mouth opening but before the words could come out the beast began to charge. She jumped back to avoid, but skittered to a stop when she saw Antony wasn't dodging. "Ant--" She froze when suddenly the beasts jaws were around him and she saw that though he was able to strike at it was a critical hit, he wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time. She moved forward, almost an attempt to get to him to try and help. Instead her effort was only returned with her being hit by a splash of blood when he was smashed between the beasts jaws. Her eyes widened at the sound of bones snapping and her stomach rolled to the point she felt sick at the sight of the ripped up body being flung when the beast shook it. It sparked a certain terror at the situation, something that made her heart squeeze painfully at the sight of watching someone die in front of her. Not a monster, but a person...She shook slightly, not exactly from the fear but instead from an anger that built up inside her towards this beast. This poisoned, evil being attacking them for no more reason than to cause pain. She reached for her cane, almost ready to strike at the thing but the Father was faster. She was impatient as he took the thing down, her anger making her feel obligated to tear something off of this beast. Instead, Father Gascoigne moved away after stabbing it threw the head, looking at her as though he would let her deliver the death blow. She gave him a nod of agreement before she went forward, allowing her cane to form a solid blade. With a glare in the creatures general direction, she rammed the cane into its eye socket, killing it instantly. She pulled away watching the thing screech and then suddenly explode into blood and a bright light. She stood there amazed for a moment before her attention went to the new face she wasn't sure what to think around. He helped them, sure. But Antony had told her trust was not something she should give freely here...she wanted Antony back at the moment, but knew she would have to wait for him to meet back up with her. "S-So...thanks for the help with that thing." She said, offering him a bow of hr head since the man deserved thanks for his work in killing that beast.

[vamperious]

The man looked her over and grunted in response to her words before simply walking back the way he had come, not really caring much anymore since his summoner was gone and well the beast was dead, his job was done. he walked back threw the fog as though there hadn't even been a fight since he wasn't injure din the slightest.  The corpse of beast was gone however a brightened spot on the ground help the blood echoes for the kill, waiting for Rosalind- however a place was also visible where Antony had gotten killed- a darker red light holding his blood echoes and a few other materials of his. 
--------------
Antony sworn he was in hell when he woke up, the pain was there but then gone, making him lay there a few moments trying to breath around the phantom pain. After a few minutes he got up and checked himself over, before heading back to the bridge. It hadn't been too long, at least it didn't feel like it had been too long. Killing the werewolves there on the bridge he passed threw the fog to see Rosalind still there. She was a bit further ahead of him ,so he went to reclaim his blood echoes wondering exactly what happened, since there was no sign of the help. "I'm happy to see you survived that mess. I figured it would help out if you got more echoes...Then you can take a bit like me." He said in a bit of sour humor since the last hit he had taken had made him broken and very much so dead.

[kimcora]

Rosalind was a bit uneasy when the stranger began to leave, leaving her alone in the creepy foggy bridge. She sat a moment collecting her breath as she tried to get over that fight. Not only had she survived taking on a beast quite larger than herself, she did so after having to call a ghostly man and at the expense of Antony dying. She bit her lower lip, wondering a moment if she was even going to survive this place. Probably not...not on her own at least. She wouldn't admit that Antony, not after all he was helping her with. Perhaps it was childish for her to feel thankful that she had him there, but a part of her didn't care...she felt like Felix would be happy she made a friend here. Well, he would be happy that she hadn't pissed Antony off by being rude. She smirked a bit sadly to herself before picking herself up and going to investigate the bloodechos the beast left. She picked up the ones that were hers and decided to leave the others for Antony to collect when he returned. She was getting impatient by the time he showed up, her look slightly frosty since she hardly understood why he felt the need to die so horrifically. Was it to make a point, as most of his lessons had? However, her look eased at his humor to the point it faded as though she wasn't even bothered anymore. "I don't think I'd want to survive that. You are alright, right?" She asked, looking him over for good measure, but found he still looked intact as if nothing had happened. Damn this place was strange and disturbing. She cleared her throat and decided that her question might have been dumb so she moved on. "Anyways the way is clear...though I'm a bit lost on where that Father Gascoigne came from." She said since the man had disappeared just as quickly as he arrived.

[vamperious]

He smirked as she looked him over her concern cute. He looked over at the mist where he was sure the father had left as he ahd come threw. "I'm fit as a fiddle, each time its better- After you get stronger you can perhaps survive more. The father- he helped me once before." He said in a way of explaining a bit to her however he glanced over at the walls of the healing church. "When I was much younger- the first time I came here, I slipped past those wolves and into here thinking it was a clear shot. Much to my surprise I was one hit killed a few times before one time-I had some how survived a hit and as I laid there broken and bloody on the pavement- the father came and helped me- I watched from there on the ground as he killed the beast and told me that what I was seeking was not in that direction. " he said in a more explanatory way to her as he looked at the walls of the great church before them, the sky looking beautiful in a dark way there by the churches spirals. "I went another way and found many other things but nothing that lead to what I needed, so this is the only other way to go- to the Healing Church." he said before he slowly took his eyes from the building and back to her wondering if she would understand why he took the death dealing blow instead of her. 

[kimcora]

Rosalind gave him a look when he said that his stamina only got better with more deaths. She liked the idea of surviving bettie, but at the expense of her being there longer was not so appealing. She honestly wanted this cure and for Antony to find what information he wanted so she could leave. Sure she could run off with the cure and never look at this place again. But...that would be wrong. She owed Antony for helping her and the least she could do was stick around...maybe this secret he was after could be beneficial to her too. She shook the thought off as he spoke of his relationship with the Father Gascoigne. It was odd that a man would just help someone so readily when it seemed here that help was hard to come by...But maybe there was another reason he stepped in to help Antony. She wouldn't get into the details but instead looked at the church with him. "Well I hope this Healing Church has what your looking for. Gascoigne didn't give much of a clue just what is behind that wall." She looked back at the spatter where Ludwig was and gave a huff. "And that thing came out of there so I'm assuming it can't be pretty." She added, almost mentally preparing herself for something awful. After all, Antony didn't seem to like the church at all. She could tell that he was annoyed even having to come here...She would have to ask him later why, but for now she wanted to keep this mutual understanding between them. Besides, he might not even answer her if she asked. What reason did he have to share anything with a stranger?

[vamperious]

When she went on about what to find at this church perhaps he nodded, understanding the feeling. Neither of them had been int here before so this was going to be interesting. They headed to the gate and it creaked open loudly but nothing stirred beyond the gate. Looking around Antony glanced back at Rosalind and actually gave her a smile. "You know, your not half bad." he said more out loud then to her.  He was referring to her fighting and determination even when she didn't look the part she went where she needed to be. "Your determined if not a bit stubborn, and you are willing to fight the impossible, not bad." he said in a way to explain his earlier words and compliment her perhaps. She had done very well and she deserved the compliment. 

[kimcora]

Rosalind followed him to the gate, her attention on the building and watching for anything that might jump down and attack. She couldn't help admiring the church however since it did look so ancient and classic it was beautiful. She loved seeing the old architecture around here, despite most of it being marked with blood and age...It was also quite dark here, which made it hard to enjoy it more than a slight thought. She paused when Antony spoke to her, her eyes going to his smile in her direction. She had to admit he had a nice smile. It complimented him better than his more serious look he usually had. She gave him a smirk at his compliment that she wasn't half bad. She wasn't sure what he meant by that. Did she come off as trouble? She knew she could be a little mean at times, but only when she was frustrated. He was a rather patient guy with her and it made her feel a bit better to know she could at least get along with him. She was surprised when he described her, hi lighting the fact that she was a fighter in a sense. She was a stubborn girl and she figured that would keep her alive longer here. She was also happy to not hear him talking about her like she was a damsel or just a nice face. She often got that from alot of the men she dealt with and was glad Antony wasn't one of them. In fact he had treated her with respect the entire time he dealt with her, which earned him brownie points in her eyes. "Thanks." She said, though felt she should offer him a few kinder words herself. "You're not bad yourself. You're a good teacher. And.." She said moving to walk next to him since she felt he needed to be looking ahead. "I'm glad one of us can get things done and look like a bad ass." She said since that sword was kick ass and effective at dealing damage.

[vamperious]

he grinned at her compliment it going straight to his head. "My pleasure being the resident Bad ass." he said with a mock bow to her before his eyes went over their surroundings again to look for anything. There was a long bridge ahead of them and it was oddly empty however he could almost make out torch light near the end. The area about them currently was empty and it was odd to him, there as a trap here, it was just a feeling he got.  He held out his hand to stop her from climbing the steps to the bridge as he figured the men down the bridge were headed their way- after such a commotion it would be hard not to. "Wait. I have a bad feeling about this bridge." He said as he looked about, moving to take a few steps, finding it safe so far but he wasn't sold just yet. Walking a bit farther he could make out a hunters party and he frowned at how plagueish they were. They were making slow progress until he felt a loose tile under his feet, it fell a bit- like it was settling or he had stepped on a trigger for something. "Shit." he cursed before he turned tail and ran back towards Rosalind not needing to explain why he was hauling ass out of the way as a large flaming boulder came crashing down the bridge- taking out most of the hunting party with it. He dove off the edge of the bridge near the entrance and ducked wondering what that kind of trap was doing on the bridge by the church. 

[kimcora]

Rosalind liked his grin and gave him a roll of her eyes at his bow, though her smile showed it was mostly a tongue-in-cheek gesture. "Yeah yeah, like it while it lasts. I don't give compliments often." She said, since it was the truth. She learned from childhood that it didn't help to be be the positive one, always force-feeding people kind words. The world didn't work that way, not unless the person was actually deserving. After all Antony had done so far, he deserved some praise. He had her respect at least, if that was enough...She was glad that it seemed to get a bit lighter as they moved along, the area seeming all too calm. She was having an odd feeling about this. Like something was sorely missing...Probably the fact that there were no diseased monsters after them. Surely they were not scared off by that massive beast. So then where were they? She kept close to Antony till he stopped her, making her bump into his arm from her lack of paying attention. She nodded when he seemed to confirm her thoughts on this being strange , though she wasn't too pleased he decided to investigate the bridge himself. She watched him climb the steps, her eyes narrowing when she could see shapes moving in the fog. She assumed they were monsters by the way they lumbered, which wasn't a pretty sight itself. She huffed and drew her cane, figuring they would fight them. Instead, she was caught off guard by Antony running in her direction. She blinked at him, about to ask what was going on till suddenly there was a bright light hurdling towards them quickly. Her eyes widened when she realized it was a ball of fire tumbling across the bridge. She skittered back, throwing herself out of the way into a roll to the other side. She felt the heat was searing the stone beneath the boulder as it passed, leaving ashy scrapes along the cobble stone. She let out a quick breath, her eyes flicking to Antony from her place out of the way. "They rigged the bridge. Seriously, a massive monster wasn't enough?" She growled, her eyes flicking to the bridge where she saw a few monsters were left, dragging themselves or swiping at the fire that was on them.