The Gemino Glitch

Chapter 8: Voices in the Walls

The knife was glinting in the cold light of the Barrow, the hand that held it shaking and pale. Rebecca felt the blade draw blood, pricking at her skin with every shudder, until a single, thick drop of crimson rolled down her neck. She cursed herself for having the humanity to leave Arvel alive, even for a moment. She should've known that something like this would have happened.

"Now put the weapons down, fellas, and we won't have any trouble." Arvel demanded, his voice as weak as his grip. He seemed panicky, or even mad, and his breathing heavy and erratic in her ear. T'ariq and Felix reluctantly did as they were told, placing their blades on the ground in front of them. Rebecca racked her brains for a plan, anything that would distract the dark elf at her back or negotiate an escape.

"We'll leave Arvel, we'll walk right out. Just let me go." she promised. But Arvel just laughed, giving a high-pitched cackle that echoed around the stone walls.

"You think I believe that?" Rebecca flinched as he pressed the knife closer against her throat. This is becoming a recurring theme, she thought to herself, the irony of the situation dulling some of the tension that would otherwise have scared her stiff. After her few days in Skyrim she was beginning to adjust; although, she would certainly have preferred if she could simply stop being attacked by men with knives altogether.

An idea suddenly flashed into Rebecca's head. She shot T'ariq a warning glance, and saw him nod ever-so-slightly in response.

"Now I'm gonna count to three, and you two will be outta this room and down the hall, you hear me?" Arvel yelled, the fear in his voice still very much palpable. Felix and T'ariq watched him closely with steady gazes, and began to turn away. Rebecca readied herself, closing her eyes and collecting sparks of energy at her fingertips.

"One-"

Before he'd finished speaking, Rebecca turned her palms inward and pressed them into his hip bones. The smell of burning flesh filled the chamber as he let out a bloodcurdling scream and stumbled backwards, giving her room to duck and roll away. The next second, his wail was cut short by frozen shard that pierced his heart. Arvel fell to his knees, eyes open wide in terror. He let out one final gasp, his breath as white as the ice that was spreading across his chest.

Rebecca's eyes landed on the two blackened patches of skin at Arvel's hips where her hands had burnt past his clothing. She had to swallow an urge to vomit at the sight of bone poking through his seared flesh.

She turned to T'ariq, watching him shake off the ice magic crackling between his claws. She nodded to him. "Thank you."

T'ariq pointed to her own hands, which were still smoking. "Well done," he smiled at her. "This was very quick thinking."

Rebecca shook her head, not wishing to be commended for anyone's death, innocent or otherwise. She moved over to Arvel's body, where Felix was rummaging through the dead man's pockets. He pulled a large golden claw out from a satchel, holding it up so that it sparkled in the light.

"What in the Nine is this?" he whispered, in awe of the contraption. Rebecca chuckled and took it from him, surprised at the weight of it in her grasp as the trio moved further into the crypt.

"This is the Golden Claw." She held it out for T'ariq to look at. "And we're not keeping it." she added, snatching it back as Felix stretched eager hands out towards it. 

They finally entered the real Barrow, their footsteps echoing against the ancient stone walls. The air felt mustier, and thicker the further down they ventured, dust swirling in the torchlight. Felix didn't miss a beat, checking every urn they passed for gems or septims and grinning at his finds. But Rebecca's own mindset was slightly less cheerful as they proceeded through the crypt. Arvel's death had shaken her a little, and the prospect of draugr up ahead was no less comforting.