The Northern wind slashed at their faces as they approached the church door. The sun burned overhead, but the abandoned village remained blanketed in darkness.
Only the frost-covered surrounding hills dared to absorb the light.
Gabriel staggered out of the church, wiping the blood from his nose with the back of his torn sleeve. Tess followed, her limbs still tingling from the strain they had been through.
Her breath uneven and heavy.
She had used her last drop of energy on helping the former Paladin seal the opening into the temple.
She fell a few steps behind.
"Gabriel…" she muttered, stopping.
He turned slightly, glancing over his shoulder.
"What does this all mean?"
"That the church lied to us." His face tightened as the words left his lips.
He turned back and continued walking.
"But why?"
I don't know.
Gabriel heard her, but he had no answer. He didn't understand why he had been lied to.
His hand closed around his medallion, squeezing it tight.
"We have to get back to Blackhaven."
Tess sighed, lowered her head, and stepped forward. Following behind him.
They continued towards the path leading up the hill.
"I'll be glad to see the last of this place," Tess turned her head, spitting on the ground.
Gabriel began slowing his pace.
Tess almost collided into him.
"Watch where you wa-."
Her eyes flickered down to the ground where they had left their supplies.
"The bastards really did set us up. They stole our bags." A vein began bulging on her forehead.
"I'm going to kill them." She continued
Gabriel lowered his head, taking in a deep breath.
"Let's move," his voice hesitant
The journey back to Blackhaven would take them half a day. Gabriel wanted to be somewhere less exposed when the moon steals the sun's place.
Both of them were injured and exhausted, in no condition to fight.
The journey back was slow.
Neither of them spoke for the first hour. Only the crunch of the frozen dirt under their boots broke the silence.
Gabriel kept his eyes forward, concentrating on each pained step he took.
Every breath.
Tess stole glances at him when she could.
His steps were getting slower.
His hand continuously raised to support his arm as he traversed the uneven ground.
But he said nothing.
Just continued.
Her own legs ached, the burn deep in her muscles. Their stolen supplies meant no food. No water. Just the clothes on their back and the little strength they had that hadn't abandoned them.
The sun was already lowering, slipping through the horizon.
"What are we going to do when we get there?" Tess muttered.
"Find out why." Gabriel didn't slow.
She rolled her eyes, "There are at least 200 villagers, we can't kill them all".
He never answered.
Is the freak going to kill them all? Her eyes widened at the thought.
The faint outline of Blackhaven appeared as they reached the peak of the hill they were currently climbing.
Small wooden rooftops, smoke rising from chimneys.
The dull glow of torches around the outskirts.
As they descended, the smell of the ocean thickened, salt and stale fish.
Villagers moved through the square as they always did at dusk.
Repairing the nets.
Carrying crates.
Talking amongst themselves.
Children could be heard running around, playing and enjoying their evening.
Gabriel and Tess kept their hoods up, avoiding eye contact.
Tess blinked, pulling the cover of her face.
"Gabriel, three people have looked at me," She muttered under her breath. "No one cares we're back."
"Hmm," he replied, "Let's go to the tavern".
If the villagers didn't know, then the only person who could have set them up was the tavern owner.
Gabriel's fist clenched at the thought.
A fisherman brushed past them without a word.
A woman carrying firewood didn't even glance at Gabriel's blood-stained tunic.
He stopped, raising his head to look around.
Tess rubbed the back of her neck.
"Maybe they didn't," the words leaving her mouth as Gabriel stepped into the tavern.
The tavern owner was slouched over the bar, talking to the same patron from the previous night. Cleaning a wooden cup with a dirty rag.
He glanced over at the door. A tall black silhouette stood there, with two red glowing dots where its eyes should be.
The owner straightened up, taking a step backwards, hitting the wall behind him.
Gabriel stepped forward. The candlelight revealed his face.
"Your- your- supposed." His words failing him.
Tess pushed past Gabriel, rage in her eyes.
"Supposed to be what? Dead?"
She continued towards the owner, getting her second wind.
Drawing her sword from its sheath, the light from the candles hit it, showing the dried black stains spread across the blade.
The owner raised his hands, sliding down the wall, cowering.
Tess approached. Jumping over the bar with assistance from a chair placed at its front.
Landing in front of the cowering barmen with a thud.
The only villager drinking stood up, dropping his drink to the ground in the process. "Get off him!" he shouted.
He attempted to move around the bar to help, glancing towards Gabriel as he did so.
Gabriel's eyes began glowing, streaks of red breaking off from the corners and fading into the air.
The villager stopped dead in his tracks.
"Sit!" a low voice reverberated through the room.
The patron obeyed, moving back to his chair and sitting down.
Tess turned towards the former Paladin, nodding her head.
She turned back to the tavern owner, lifting him to his feet.
"Why did you send us to get killed?"
The man attempted to reply, but the words jumbled into an inaudible mess.
Tess raised her sword, the edge of the blade digging into his neck.
His beige coloured trousers began to darken, as a puddle flowed from the opening at the bottom of his trouser leg, spreading across the wooden floor.
Tess glanced down with a disgusted look across her face.
"Talk now, or your head will be rolling in piss when I take it off."
"The chief told me to send adventurers." He spat out through tears.
She clenched the hilt of her blade.
Creating a fist reinforced with metal, and thrust it towards the side of the owner's face.
He fell as the light left his eyes.
Tess didn't flinch.
The tavern owner hit the floor in a heap, cheek caved in from the impact. His eyes rolling around in the sockets.
Blood began spilling from his mouth.
"You killed him," the villager at the bar shouted as he began rising before thinking twice, and sitting back down.
"He's unconscious". Tess replied, turning towards him. "Now, where's the chief's house?"
"Across the square, the last house on the left."
Tess smiled and nodded as she walked past the man, who had now also collected a puddle on the chair he was sitting on.
She walked towards Gabriel, brushing past, "Come on, let's go see the chief".
He nodded and began following her.
The pair marched over towards the chief's house. Tess at the front, Gabriel in tow.
The villagers had begun gathering around the front of the tavern after hearing the commotion. As they approached the door, a woman's scream echoed across the village from the crowd.
Tess didn't knock. Her boot met the middle door, taking it off its hinges.
The chief was sitting at the table with his wife and son when the door burst open.
They all instinctively covered their heads.
The chief looked up, seeing a silver tip pointed towards his eye.
Gabriel was standing at the door, watching the crowd outside point and begin approaching.
Tess's sword arm was unyielding. Not a single tremor along her blade visible.
"Why have you been sending adventurers to their deaths! Talk!"