Cruran crested the ridge nearest the village and stopped, his breathe was heavy within his chest and each exhalation growled from his throat. The village was a mess, and the army of would-be invaders was performing its job poorly, though it was not them that drew the greatest of the barbarian's ire. Upon rooftops were many of the defenders, and even some of the attackers. They had kicked down their ladders to prevent the raiders from claiming their heads with blades.<br/><br/><span style="color: Red">Fools.</span>Cruran growled as he watched them. All it took was one wise fool among the attackers to light the houses they were upon ablaze and they would all perish.<br/><br/>As he continued to look, Cruran's brow furrowed. The northern road was unhindered by attacker's boots. Cruran knew he saw blazes to the north, fires that could be of nothing but the bandits. Why did they not attack? The barbarian shook his head. It did not matter; it was an error that would likely save this village of the weak people of steel.<br/><br/>The barbarian closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply, lifting both his arms and his face to the heavens. He held them there for a moment, not breathing nor opening his eyes. Then he brought his arms to his back and slowly pulled his great-sword from his back. As the tip of the blade crested the bound furs that held it, he pulled the leather strap from his chest and discarded the sheathe upon the ground. With both hands he grasped the sword and brought it's handle to his chest, the blade upright, pointing to the heavens. The man opened his eyes and brought his gaze down the weapon's length to the village before it and he bared his teeth, releasing his held breathe in a single, deep growl.<br/><br/>Cruran's mind echoed only a single thought wreathed in blood.<span style="color: Red"><i>Kill them all.</i></span><br/><br/>One heavy footfall followed another as the barbarian, began to walk, bringing the blade to his side. A walk became a run and, in what seemed like but moments, the man was among the buildings. Narrow dark alleys not yet infiltrated by bandits greeted the barbarian. Cruran moved quickly between the buildings, drawing ever closer to the front line. The sounds of shouting grew louder and louder until he could at last smell blood in the air.<br/><br/>It would not be much further, perhaps just beyond the next road ahead of him at the end of the alley before he would find the battle. But the battle, it seemed, had decided to find him. A host of armed men, raiders and bandits all, appeared, running down the road ahead, likely looking to flank whatever was left of the villagers. One of them looked left, and saw Cruran between the buildings in the narrow alley and called to the others, many turning as well. Cruran cursed the narrow passage and his sudden discovery.<br/><br/>As the bandits charged forward they narrowed to single file as they entered the alley, the leader of them holding a flimsy wooden shield before him. To Cruran's right was a wooden door with flickering candlelight visible through the cracks. Cruran threw his shoulder into the door, finding it gave easily, swinging open before the man as he entered.  The Barbarian quickly turned and shut the door behind him. It was an open area, he observed quickly, with several tables set out along the floor, each with a half melted candle upon it.<br/><br/>He heard the bandits arrive at the door and readied himself. As the door began to swing inwards as the leader rushed in, Cruran kicked the door with no small measure of force. The sudden shift in direction snapped the door from its hinge and sent it and the man behind it into the alley. Those that followed the leader of the raiders didn't even bother to lift their comrade from the ground, instead stepping on the door upon him as they made entry. Cruran grasped his blade and took a step back, luring the men away from the safety of the tight doorway and into the open room where the barbarian's long blade could cleave through them better.<br/><br/>The first charged him, howling like an untrained animal. He too had a wooden shield worn down by many years, though he abandoned its protection in favor of simply raising his blade over his shoulder to attack with reckless abandon. Cruran brought his sword around from the right, swinging it shoulder level, right where the man held his shield. The bandit reacted only moments before impact, his howl and wild eyes turning to sudden bewilderment and surprise.<br/><br/>Cruran's sword struck squarely upon the shield, staggering the bandit under the force of the blow. The barbarian wasted no time and released his right hand from his sword and, surging forward, grabbed the man's throat. With a single movement Cruran lifted him into the air, shouting back at the bandit, and brought the man down onto one of the tables with the majority of Cruran's body weight behind the throw. The table couldn't take the weight and broke, dropping the bandit to the floor. Cruran released the man, who had stopped moving, and grabbed the handle of his sword.<br/><br/>The other bandit who had been eager to enter stood petrified, only a longsword in his hand. He stared slack jawed at the motionless bandit amid the splinters and timber before raising his eyes to Cruran, who was smirking at him.<br/><br/>Cruran shouted at the man and rushed forward, bringing the blade about as he had before. The bandit took a step back, his eyes widening and his lungs filling with air in a sudden gasp. He lifted his meager sword to block the blow. Cruran swung only to suddenly have his blade halted mid-flight, jarring the man that held it. Cruran looked over to see the end of his blade embedded in a wooden pillar that sat above a bar. The bandit looked too and released his held breathe in a sudden laugh of relief. Cruran punched the man in the face instead, sending him tumbling backwards and to the ground.<br/><br/>Cruran pulled and yanked at his blade to free it as four more bandits filtered into the building through the broken door. They observed their fallen brothers then looked at Cruran who finally yanked his sword free. These men didn’t fall prey to the other's impatience. They lifted their weapons and shields, if they had them, and spread out. Cruran retreated one step at a time, making his way backward through the bar until he hit a wall. No, he thought, it was wooden. It was a door. The barbarian eyed the men as they closed in until...<br/><br/><span style="color: Sienna">Get him!</span>One of them shouted and they charged.<br/><br/>The door burst outward onto the street, the barbarian man upon it. He held one of the men at his chest, his arm around the man's neck, the man having charged at him to break his guard for the others, instead sending them both through the door. Cruran squeezed and rolled, intending to break the man's neck, and if not, squeeze the life from him. The kill was quick and the Barbarian scrambled to his feet, grabbing the greatsword which had gone spiraling into the street as the two went through the door.<br/><br/>The barbarian stood, now in the middle of a street and looked around. Of course, he was now surrounded. As the raiders swept into the nooks and crannies of the village, seeking to gain the advantage against the defenders, they had found streets and alleys to follow. Cruran was now standing in one such street. The raiders had all stopped and now stared at the barbarian, some exchanging confused looks before the other three that were pressing Cruran emerged from the building's empty doorway, weapons in hand. They looked at their suddenly changed odds and chuckled, tapping their weapons against their shields or boots.<br/><br/><span style="color: Red">Well...</span>Cruran said, looking around at the group of them.<span style="color: Red">Come on then!</span>He roared.<br/><br/>It was a sudden surge, and a sudden retreat. Cruran's blade outreached the raider’s weapons, and the barbarian fell back toward the opposite side of the street, keeping his swings broad and in the direction of those brave enough to advance, but a flank finally caught the man. Steel clashed on steel, Cruran's blade finding purchase against flesh and worn leather, as much as it did against shield and blade. Some enemy strikes Cruran managed to parry, while others he narrowly avoided. Some were not avoided enough and the barbarian's blood was drawn, only spurring violent reaction from the man. Still, he kept his movements steady, making progress to the other side of the street. He needed to make an example, to make a point, but not here among this isolated rabble. He needed to strike at the raider's very beating heart. From the sounds of it, the southern road lay just behind the row of buildings Cruran battled his way towards. They were two stories high, and would offer an excellent vantage of the front line.<br/><br/>Cruran swung again as he finally arrived at one such building. Most of his advancing attackers backed as he swung, while others without the wits or reaction felt it gore their flesh. The barbarian wasted no time, using the momentum from his swing to twist and shoulder bash the door down. He moved quickly once inside, spotting a torch lit staircase to his left. He charged toward it as the throngs of attackers pursued him through the door, their chase slowed greatly as they fought one another to get through the narrow hole. Cruran grabbed the torch from the wall as he charged up the stairs. A raider was hot in pursuit however, and the wooden steps creaked wildly as more and more men managed to fight through the doorway.<br/><br/>Cruran, feeling the closest man near behind him spun and stabbed with the torch as he would a knife into the man's face. The flaming weapon struck true, the searing hot metal and incinerating flame engulfing the man's face. He screamed wildly and dropped his weapons, reaching for his face, but Cruran shoved the torch, sending the screaming man back down the stairs and into the advancing horde. It would buy the barbarian time, but not much.<br/><br/>Cruran hurried down the hall at the top of the stairs, kicking down doors as quickly as he could, looking for a window. He spotted one and rushed into the room, closing the door and bracing it with a nearby chair. With no mind to the window at all, Cruran thrust his sword through the glass, shattering it. He ran the blade around the edge, unceremoniously tearing at the wood and glass shards that remained until it was safe enough to climb through.<br/><br/>Cruran looked through the window and saw the edge of the roof nearby enough to jump to. He climbed out the window as the first thumps and smashes could be heard against the room’s door as the small army of raiders finally found their way to it. Cruran tossed his sword onto the slanted roof, praying that it did not slide off into the street below. It slid, but only briefly before the blade turned and found enough friction to halt itself. Cruran quickly followed the weapon onto the roof, heaving himself up as the door began to splinter and break. The bandits still within the house saw only the end of a boot as the barbarian heaved himself onto the roof and collected his sword. They wouldn't be able to follow him, laden as they were with armor and weapons, the fools.<br/><br/>Cruran lifted the sword onto his shoulder and huffed up to the roof's zenith and looked down at the wide street and absolute chaos below. He saw them at last to the south, the mad throngs of raiders and villagers brawling in the street with clubs and swords. They made a glorious mess of things, and Cruran grinned. Here it was at last, the place of blood and death.<br/><br/>The ones in armor that glistened with metal and blood called out for a retreat to the center of the village, and to protect something called a Chantry. Cruran looked left and saw not far from where he stood a large stone structure that looked of importance. It was certainly in the center of the village. It must be the Chantry, Cruran concluded. It seemed an appropriate place to defend. Another man, not much further down the road, shouted orders for the raiders to pursue as the villagers began to fall back. The raiders surged forward to fill the moving gap. The villagers retreated and Cruran waited, letting a repressed feeling in his chest begin to boil. Soon they would be below him and would fan into the courtyard before the Chantry.<br/><br/>As the retreating and advancing line came to him, Cruran looked right to where he had seen the villagers and archers. He saw many of them leaping across alleys from roof to roof in his direction, likely in accordance to the armored men's orders. Among them Cruran saw a familiar face. With the blade on his shoulder, and a wild look in his eyes he smirked at the little woman.<br/><br/>Cruran lifted the blade from his shoulder and looked down at the army before him and inhaled deeply, gripping the handle of his sword until his knuckles turned white. Then with a single unleashing of fury, a final unchaining of the animal within, he roared, lifting his blade into the air as his bellow broke through blood stained night and echoed against the houses below. He shouted until all the breathe had left his body and he felt nothing but the wanton desire for blood.<br/><br/>And, with that, the barbarian dove from the roof with his blade swinging before him toward the mass of raider flesh below.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>