A cold and somewhat overcast morning had greeted the massed number of Crerian barbarian settled within the borders of Kealath, many of the war-camps having been set up spaced apart, but as more and more arrived, the last arrivals had to take what little space remained, even if it meant setting up right besides and sometimes within the camps of their enemies. However their hatred and war-like nature towards one another had been put to one side. Far greater rewards were held to the south, for Kaelath was ripe for the taking with it's borders pressured by not one, but two armies.<br/><br/>One would not usually call anything the Crerian massed to be an 'army' but as of late it had become more of such. A frightening mass of blood-thirsty, aggressive and undisciplined soldiers and warriors behind crude, make-shift defenses of their frontal camps. The fertile lands of Kaelath having been trodden and fed with the blood of it's people, their outer-villages and towns looted and burnt to cinders without survivors. It could no longer be ignored as a simple barbarian horde, it was beginning to form organisation. Chieftains had momentarily thrown aside their differences and joined in raids, hunting parties and gathered forces to match those of the Kaelath as they'd sought to drive the Crerian might from their territories.<br/><br/>Such a Chieftain was Labhruinn Stonejaw, an immense man by most standards, thick set muscles and a solid, imposing form. Rumoured to have torn men in half and even eaten the corpses of his fallen enemies, however unlikely these stories, there was always some truth behind them and it left the other Chieftains and even his own Clan wary. One such clansman was tasked with disrupting his Chieftain in the main tent, a large structure of hide and wood with a large burning hearth in the center. Women, both Crerian and Kaelethian lay by the hearth on deer and sheep skins covering the floor, burning braziers cast a flickering light and the Chieftain's right hand men enjoyed their 'rewards' and 'bounties'.<br/><br/>Dropping to a knee and slamming a hand to his chest before his Chieftain, the soldier looked up at the off-white skull mask and spoke as Labhruinn chugged from a pitcher of wine, the red liquid cascading from the corners of his mouth and down his bared, muscle bound chest.<br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"Chief Stonejaw, we have captured Kaelath riders on the bordering hills, they were spying on the camp."</span>he reported, standing and watching as Stonejaw lowered the pitcher of wine and wiped his mouth with a forearm, slowly standing from the hide covered throne that had been stolen from one of the Lords homes.<br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"Ride faster they should have, now they will know of Crerian hospitality!"</span>he rumbled with a thick chuckle, discarding the jug of wine and raising his hands above his head, his men around him roaring in appreciation. As Stonejaw practically shunted the soldier aside to get to the tent flaps, he squinted slightly at the sudden change of lighting and then strode across the encampment to a gathering of men by the camp entrance.<br/><br/>What he saw was a pitiful sight indeed. All three horsemen were battered and bruised, assaulted and had appeared to be dragged back by their ankles by their own horses.<span style="font-weight: bold">"Is <span style="font-style: italic">this</span> what the Child-King has! Is this what the great armies of Kaelath speak of soldiers and men! Sniveling, grovelling runts of boys!?"</span>he roared slamming a fist to his chest twice and preaching to the men around him, who bayed and roared in agreement.<br/><br/>Labhruinn grinned in appreciation, a mad and malevolent grin. Fixating his gaze behind the bone mask back on the three men, he moved over and grasped one by the hair, yanking his form up and off of the floor by a few inches in one movement, the muscles in his arms bustling to find space to move beneath his tanned skin. Spitting in the riders face, he bared his teeth and snarled.<br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"You will die this day in pain and alone. Hope you are the first to go so you do not witness your death in your companions."</span>he sneered, before throwing the man back down and turning to the second, who appeared to be praying beneath his breath. That soon stopped however when a fist connected with his jaw and sent his face into the dirt with a spray of blood.<span style="font-weight: bold">"Does your Boy-King send you to spy, does he wish to know of his impending doom as the Crerian rape and destroy and pillage your bountiful land and name it Creria?"</span>he asked the third, squatting down before him.<br/><br/>The man looked up into the dark brown eyes of his capture and swallowed, before speaking clear and with purpose.<br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"We are merely messengers for our Lord, we were to seek your numbers and report them back. If you let us go we will tell them false information in return for our lives."</span>he attempted to plead, to gain a foothold in a precarious situation. Stonejaw rolled his lower jaw and ground his teeth and was silent for a few moments, before he roared a laugh in the man's face and shoved him down.<br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"Untie them, give them weapons and let them die as men, let us see how Kaelath men fight."</span>he bellowed and raised a fist to the air, walking away from the three men and shrugging off his furred cloak, leaving him in just a thick loincloth and studded belt. Around him the gathered men slammed their weapons together and chanted in a frenzy as they knew what was about to happen.<br/><br/>Labhruinn rolled his neck and shoulders and was thrown his large, two handed bone and wood mace. Twirling it in his hands, he lowered himself like a bull and snorted, his gaze fixated on the three men being pushed towards the much larger individual. However the hope of survival was much more intense than fear and it caused the first of the three to charge in with a shout, his sword raised in a defiant swing. Stonejaw caught the blade with the shaft of his mace and kicked forward, a sickening snap resounded as the man's leg buckled and his scream was cut short as  his head exploded like a melon with the blow of the heavy mace. The crumpled body slumping.<br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"Come, let me send your broken corpses back to your Child-King so he may know what I will do!"</span>