Scribblings

The sound of combat woke him instantly.  Ardel slipped out of bed and grabbed his broadsword from the scabbard by his bed.  Quietly, he moved to the door of the barracks.  Opening the door, smoke billowed in and he coughed violently before rolling through and to the side of the open door.  It was lucky he did as a score of crossbow bolts ripped through the space he was standing in moments before.  The screams of his squad tore through the air as he lay on the ground trying to catch his breath.  Painfully, he pulled himself around the corner of the barracks and looked back the way he came.  Crossbowmen stood in a semi-circle in front of the barracks and a bonfire had been lit with green branches to create smoke.  When the door opened, the smoke was pulled in and that signaled the attackers to fire.  Now they were just firing as fast as they could.  Ardel saw one of his fellow soldiers crawl out of the door and look right at him.  Ardel motioned at him to stay down and crawl towards him.

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