[i][color=fff200]“Salvio!” [/color][/i]

The word was like a roar, and it dragged Salvio from his sleep with a sudden start. His back was stiff from the uncomfortable sleep, but his hand was already clasping the handle of one of his hammers as his eyes wildly scanned the clearing. The voice sounded again, like a bark.

[color=fff200][i]“Riders! And more men in the trees!” [/i][/color]

Salvio was already clambering to his feet as he caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eyes. A man that he vaguely remembered seeing arrive during the night, although sleep had already been dragging him under. He had the look of a bandit, and even as Salvio watched, he loosed an arrow across the clearing. Following it’s flight, Salvio saw the riders for the first time. Ten of them, armoured and carrying spears, they were quickly bearing down upon the group. Glancing around, Salvio cursed under his breath. The rest of the group was only just beginning to stir, there would be no time to organise a proper defence. He himself was only clad in only his chainmail tunic, his heavier plate armour lying against the makeshift bed of rubble. But he had his two hammers, and even as his mind raced, he could feel the amulet around his neck begin to grow warm. 

Hearing a strange crack in the air, Salvio turned to see that the bandit was gone. In his place stood one of the riders, noticeably dazed, but still heavily armed and in the very heart of the vulnerable camp. Salvio moved quickly to cover the ground, but the rider was quick to regain his senses, snarling as he turned to face the charging priest, and drawing back his spear for a heavy thrust. 

[i][b]“Stop!”[/b][/i]

Salvio channelled his voice into a weapon, and it collided with the rider like a punch. The man’s arm went limp, the spear tip dipping to the ground as confusion and panic crossed the rider’s face. He only had an instant to wonder, as Salvio’s hammer slammed into the side of his head. The chainmail hood offered no protection against the force of the blow, and the air was filled with a sickening crunch. Bone and blood sprayed across the clearing, and the rider slowly slumped to the floor, dead before he hit the floor, his skull crumpled. 
Glancing back to the other onrushing riders, Salvio saw confusion spreading through their ranks from the right, and he could have sworn he caught a glimpse of the bandit, before he was gone, only to appear somewhere else. But Salvio had no time to question it, as four more of the horses were quickly bearing down on the camp, spears levelled. 

[i][color=fff200]“Salvio, there are some gathered here who are not warriors.”[/color][/i]

Turning back to the group for an instant, Salvio could see the others were still groggily rising to their feet, and Salvio he bellowed out an order as he turned back to the approaching enemies.

[i][b]“Those who cannot fight, find cover in the ruins. Those who can, hold these bastards back!”[/b][/i]

The sound of pounding hooves was a deafening roar, echoing through the shattered remains of Silverwick, but Salvio kept a clear head. He could feel his guiding angel flowing through him, and while he stood, he would fight. The front rider was only a few paces away, so close that Salvio could make out the grin etched across the man’s face. With a wordless roar, the priest slammed both of his hammers into the ground at his feet. The sound was like a thunderclap, and the ground shattered. 

The earth beneath the rider’s horse fell away, sending both man and horse tumbling to the ground. From his screams, Salvio could tell the rider’s body had been shattered by the fall even as he slammed one of his hammers through the man’s chest, the ribs snapping like dry twigs and the cries of pain resorting to a gurgle of blood and vomit.

[i][color=fff200]“Salvio!”[/color][/i]

He only had an instant to react, and as he turned he was able to knock the wickedly sharp tip of the spear to one side, but he had no time to avoid the charging warhorse. He braced himself, but the impact still knocked him to the ground and drove the air from his lungs. The hard stone paving came up to meet him like a punch, and Salvio’s vision was glaringly bright for a moment as he struggled to breathe, his ribs screaming in pain. One of the hammers lay a few feet to his right, but he somehow still gripped the other in his left. As he caught his breath, his vision came rushing back and he looked up in time to another of the riders baring down on him. With a grunt of effort, he threw himself to the side in time to avoid the pounding hooves. 

Rising to his feet with a sudden burst of effort, ignoring the pain in his chest, Salvio was prepared for the final rider as he came charging towards the camp. Stepping smarty to the side, the holy man grasped the hilt of the spear, and held it tight, the rider’s own momentum pulling him from his horse and sending him crashing to the floor, his horse continuing its wild rush. The rider had half risen, grabbing at the hilt of the dagger at his belt, when Salvio brought the hammer down onto his head. The man’s skull cracked like an egg, sickening pulp and a river of blood spilling onto the cold stone as the lifeless corpse fell down, twitching for a few seconds before lying still. 

With the three bodies around him, the stench was almost unbearable, the acrid smell of blood and the stink of death all around Salvio. But he barely noticed it as he collected his other hammer from where it lay. Gritting his teeth, the amulet around his neck hot now, almost burning his skin, Salvio squared himself, eyes darting as the footmen quickly closed in. He trusted that his companions would be able to handle the two riders that had slipped by him, but for now, he would lie down his life to purge the filth that he saw before him.