The dust from the shattered door drifted through the room in a slow, hazy cloud. Tess remained pressed against the wall, staring at Gabriel like she would any monster.
Outside the room, the tavern erupted.
Footsteps, voices and furniture scraping.
Gabriel forced his breathing to steady, but the red smoke still swirled around him, pulsing like it was alive.
"Move". He said quietly.
Tess didn't flinch.
Heavy footsteps climbed the stairwell. Someone shouted from below, "What happened up there?"
Gabriel pushed himself to his feet. His stomach twisted, not from injury, but from the lingering echo of the Commander's voice in his skull.
His hands trembled, but he pushed them to his side.
"Tess," he said, this time his voice lower. "Move".
She swallowed and finally stood up, grabbing her things.
Gabriel crossed the room, stopped at the ruined doorframe and crouched. He could already hear the tavern owner reaching the top of the stairs.
This is going to alert the whole village.
If the village is alerted, we get no information.
Without information, we will never find the nest.
The tavern owner appeared at the top of the stairs, eyes widening at the destruction.
Gabriel lifted his head just enough to meet the man's gaze.
Immediately, the man flinched and halted his steps, he didn't want to get any closer.
A smile washed over his face "Apologies, sir, my wife and I were a little rough, you know how us adventurers are." He turned to glance at Tess. "We would be happy to pay for the damage".
The man blinked, confused, scanning the inside of the room. "You did this whilst-"
The owner's eyes met with Tess's.
Her mouth agape.
"Miss, are you ok?"
Tess stared at him, stunned at what had happened, stunned at the lie, and stunned by the way the demon-eyed adventurer was acting.
Gabriel straightened.
Tess had finally regained her senses.
"Did you not just hear my husband?" she scolded.
She stepped forward, clutching her shoulder where her bag rested. "We need to move, pay him. Two silver coins should cover it."
Walking straight passed the man and Gabriel, heading down the stairs.
The owner couldn't believe what he had heard. Two silver coins for a door, they must be some rich city folks
Gabriel pulled his coin purse from under his robe. He gave the owner the coins without hesitation.
Usually, the parting of 2 silver coins would take hours of him contemplating the pros and cons of the purchase, but right now, he wanted to see the lie through and get out of the tavern as soon as possible.
"Thank you, son", the man said, not taking his eyes off the coins. "There's another room, just down the hall. No extra charge".
Gabriel shook his head, his body straightened up "No, but I need information. Have there been any monster sightings recently? Any disappearances? Anywhere around the local area that the villagers are refusing to go?"
The man raised his hand to his chin, "Now that you mentioned it, there's the old village just under half a day's walk from here, straight North, and we still have nets in the ocean for trapping fish up there." The owner lowered his hand. "The fishing up there is great, but the land was shit for farming."
Gabriel nodded along with every word.
"The young lad Tarlen swore he had seen a grey creature standing on the old church when he turned back at the top of the hill".
"But you can't take what he says too seriously, young lad was dropped on his head when he was knee height. Hasn't been the same since." The old man shook his head.
"Did he mention noises?" Gabriel replied, his eyes flaring up.
The owner took a step back. "What's wrong with your eyes, boy?"
"No, No, nothing else, go on if you're leaving, get to it, the sun's rising soon, and I've got to get the Tavern ready".
Gabriel thanked the man and proceeded to walk downstairs, his boots thudding against the wood. The tavern's main room was empty, no villagers, no one serving.
Tess wasn't there.
He stepped outside.
The fierce wind from the ocean slapped against his face. The sun hadn't yet risen, just a faint orange glow peaking across the horizon.
Tess stood near the side of the tavern, back turned to him.
She was in her full armour now, breastplate tightened, gauntlets secured, metal plates strapped to her legs. The robe she had worn was bundled at her feet.
Her sword was on full display at her hip. Her hand hovered over the hilt.
Gabriel approached slowly. Footsteps crunching the frozen dirt.
"Tess," he said.
She didn't turn. "Stay where you are".
"I spoke with the tavern owner," Gabriel continued. "There's an old village, half a day north. Someone saw something there. We need to move quickly"
Tess spun in one motion, drawing her sword and pressing the tip to Gabriel's throat, applying enough pressure that crimson liquid began dripping out.
"You tell me what that was in there," she hissed, the blade digging a fraction deeper, "or I swear to the creator you will not make it back to Eldenreach.
Her hands trembled against the sword hilt, but her stance was strong, unyielding.
Gabriel simply stared back at her, expression unreadable. The faintest red glow came from his eyes.
"I told you the other day, I don't know"
Tears built in Tess's eyes, "that feeling." Her voice raised, "It was wrong, Gabriel!"
"I felt the same feeling when I touched the handprint".
Gabriel's brows furrowed.
Her sword arm tensed up. "How did you get it?"
He raised his head a little, exposing more of his neck. Remaining silent.
The two of them stared at each other, neither giving ground.
Her grip tightened.
Gabriel stood there with her blade at his throat, chin lifted, refusing to move, refusing to speak.
"TELL ME!" Tess snapped, her voice cracking from the pressure built up in her chest.
He didn't
The faint red embers in his eyes stared through her.
Tess' breathing turned heavy. Fast and short breaths came out as the sword in her hand began feeling heavy.
She dropped the blade back down to her side.
She hunched over, using it as a crutch to hold her weight up.
Tears now streaming down her cheeks.
Gabriel remained unmoving, watching as she broke down.
"I don't know what they did to me." His voice softened, "I don't know about the powers I have."
"All I know is it's evil. It destroys everything and everyone in its path."
Tess raised her head "Who did it to you?"
Gabriel's eyes began glowing more intently. The air around them began humming.
"I don't know what they wanted, but I do remember their faces."
"Every soldier who beat me, humiliated me, cut me, and burned me".
The wind began swirling around, picking up a mixture of dirt and ice from the floor.
"I will find every last one of them". Gabriel walked closer to Tess. Raising his voice.
"Fitz, Dannis, Ariya, the Commander, my brother and the rest of them".
He knelt, putting his face closer to Tess's.
"They will all die by my hand."