"Easy now, Fellar, easy. What's gotten into you?" an elderly man asked, his tone calm but laden with curiosity.

 

Gabriel gasped for breath, his voice quivering as he replied:

"Did... did you not see it? That ship—it came from hell itself!"

 

The old man frowned, his weathered face creasing further.

"Ship? What ship, son? There's no ship here. Not at this hour."

 

Before Gabriel could respond, the old man's body convulsed violently. Flesh tore apart with a sickening squelch as his skull and spine erupted from his form, leaving his shredded remains to fall lifelessly to the ground. The skeletal remains turned to Gabriel, blood dripping from its bony visage, and in a voice that echoed with the fury of the damned, it hissed:

"Perhaps I did see them after all. Ha... ha... ha! Hear our warning, Gabriel. Do not go to that house. No mortal man can face what lies within!"

 

Gabriel collapsed, the world spinning into oblivion. When he awoke, the old man stood over him, shaking him gently.

"Are you alright, lad? You were talking to me, and then you just fainted."

 

Gabriel bolted upright, panic etched into every feature.

"The ship! Did you see it?"

 

The old man shook his head, a bemused smile on his lips.

"No ships come here at this hour, my boy. Perhaps you've had one drink too many,

Gabriel thanks the old man and goes on his way. In the background, we can see the old man smiling a weird smile, then vanishing as if he had never been there at all. The place is filled with The fog and Shadows as Gabriel walks through a scene that is both terrifying and magnificent.