Gabriel didn't wait for Tess to react. The moment the hinges groaned again, he lunged forward as the church door opened just enough for a grey monstrous head to appear with drool falling from its dagger-like teeth. Gabriel slammed his shoulder against the door, driving it closed and trapping the vampire between the wood and frame.
The creature shrieked as the sound of cracking bones thundered around them, and caught in the doorway, it could do nothing but thrash its arm wildly in hopes of hitting the demon-eyed adventurer.
"Hold it," Tess barked.
He shoved at the door harder while the half-trapped and injured beast whimpered in pain. Tess approached with her sword in hand, looking the monster dead in the eyes before thrusting her blade into the vampire's skull. The squirming stopped instantly, and she took her blade out before pushing the body back into the church.
Gabriel kept shoulder pressure on the door and managed to push it shut as soon as the obstruction was cleared, but loud growls came from within as the commotion drew the attention of the other six vampires in the main hall.
"Hold the door," Gabriel shouted to Tess. "I need thirty seconds, do not let them through."
Tess immediately switched with the former paladin and used all her might to push against the door while Gabriel began climbing the outside of the church. He had noticed an opening to the left of the door where a window should have been.
The wooden door began shaking violently as Tess pushed her hardest, counting up to thirty. Gabriel made it up to the opening and peeked his head through to see all six vampires crowded around the door, clawing their way toward freedom.
The wood began splintering as Tess's voice got louder. "Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight."
Gabriel closed his eyes for a brief second and whispered, "Righteousness begets cruelty."
"Now move!" he shouted.
Tess jumped away from the door, spinning and raising her sword as it burst open to reveal six grey silhouettes at the opening. The low growl drummed away in her mind, and she took a deep breath, trying not to allow the fear to paralyze her.
Two silver glints appeared in the doorway, followed by black fluid floating through the air. The rear vampires began screeching in pain, and when the front guard turned to look, Tess saw her chance. She lunged forward without hesitation and slashed her sword with precision at the distracted vampire, cutting through its back before pulling her weapon free and readying for the next strike.
It was already on the floor with two silver blades covered in black blood sticking out of its body.
The growls had stopped, replaced by pained groans that faded to nothing. Gabriel stood in front of Tess, covered in the liquid that seeped from the beasts, his head tilting slowly as he checked each corpse for even the slightest twitch.
Tess began leaning against the door frame as a smile crept onto her face.
"It's a shame we can't take the bodies," she said between breaths, chuckling as she tried to regain some stamina.
His lips curled upwards slightly, and a faint noise that resembled a whispered laugh crept out for just a second. Gabriel wiped the blackened blood from his face, exhaling slowly as the tension released from his shoulders.
Tess pushed herself upright, still leaning on the doorframe for support while her heartbeat settled. "Let's move," Gabriel muttered before turning into the main hall.
The scent of rotten meat was thick in the air, and wood from the broken pews lay scattered around the altar that had been desecrated by the creatures. Bodies were piled up in the back left corner, and Tess placed her hand over her nose as she examined them.
"Look at their armor, they are adventurers," she said.
Gabriel nodded in agreement.
"I don't recognize them, though. Maybe they're from the capital's guild?" Her muffled voice came through her hand.
"There are at least ten bodies, all from the last week," Gabriel interjected.
She looked at him with confusion. "How do you know?"
"All the corpses have a different smell, and the strongest ones are the oldest. This one here is the freshest." He pointed at one of the bodies.
She removed her hand and looked at him with disgust creeping onto her face. "You can tell that by smelling them?"
"Yes," Gabriel replied with a puzzled look. "What's wrong?"
"The capital's guild would not have sent adventurers without a request being made directly to them."
"When I asked the tavern about missing people, he said no. These people went to Blackstone first, which means they are missing people."
"They set them up." A smile crept onto her face for just a moment before fading. "Did they set us up as well? Do they know about the nest?" Her voice became more agitated.
"I don't know." Gabriel moved on from the corpses.
"Don't just walk away, people are trying to kill us and you're acting like—"
A roar exploded out of the ground and shook everything in the church.
Gabriel turned to Tess, whose face had gone pale. "There's an opening by the altar." He began walking towards it, but Tess ran to him and grabbed his shoulder to stop him from moving.
"Gabriel, that was not a lesser vampire. We need to go back and report it."
He removed her hand softly. "I know." He continued walking despite her protest.
"The contract was the nest, not what's in it."
He reached the opening next to the altar as another roar boomed through and hit his face like a gust of wind. Tess followed hesitantly while Gabriel stared at the hole in the floor for a moment before sheathing his swords.
He looked over his shoulder at Tess. "You need to report Blackhaven to Hanitz."
"You want me to leave you here?" Tess's breath got caught in her throat.
"Yes."
Another roar rolled through the opening, and the vibrations could be felt through the floor as Gabriel's eyes began glowing, as though they were answering the challenge of the beast below.
"Go now!" His voice was low and harsh.
Tess walked to his side and barged into his shoulder, causing his head to snap to the side as he glared at her.
"I'm a higher rank than you, so I give the orders." A forced smile was written on her face.
He nodded once and proceeded to lower himself into the opening, and the moment his boots slipped through the floor, it was as though he had been swallowed whole. No torchlight, no glimmer, and even his eyes didn't give off their usual glow in the suffocating darkness.
Tess followed with her breath trembling as she dropped into the void after him.
Their boots struck stone, and then there was light. Rows of candles and torches flickered at their arrival, and one flame after another ignited along the walls as if they were being lit by unseen hands. The chamber stretched out before them with markings etched into every inch of the stone, and beams from floor to ceiling were uniformly scattered across the room.
Tess took a deep breath. "It's beautiful, what is it?"
"It's an elven temple, but that's impossible," Gabriel answered.
"Why?" Tess questioned sharply.
"Because there are no elven temples outside of Elivian."
"The elven isles?"
"Yes."