7

The hunter stood in the hallway, his prey completely unaware of him. Bare foot and breathless, the hunter glides silently toward his witless prey. Looking down to the great hall, the senseless sentry felt a breath on his neck, as his he quietly quit this world, the victim of his own incompetence, and a slit throat.
Dmitri dragged the corpse of the man back from the stairs and into an empty room. He took the man's iron helmet, which was a loose fit, but would afford a little protection. The man had carried a short sword, but no shield. Dmitri considered taking the sword, but he was unfamiliar with the weapon, and a machete was infinitely more useful.
he element of surprise was still his, and it would stay that way, so long as he acted quickly. Slipping out to the hallway once again, he lay on the floor, and edged toward the steps. Making himself as invisible as possible, he looked over the next of his quarry.
The hunter stalked. The roar of the fire masked any creaking that the stair may have made and, like a whisper in the wind, the predator descended. Too late, his prey came to life, sword unsheathing. Turning to see his reaper, he felt the final agony as his tendon was cut beneath his shoulder, rendering his sword arm useless. He discovered in his last breath that a scream could make no sound when the trachea is severed. The hunter, smeared with blood, left the carcass to lie.
Surprise would not last much longer, and as he looked out into the great hall, he saw his way blocked by three goons. Swiftly, silently, he grasped the sword his last victim had relinquished and launched it toward the nearest man's neck. The hunter became the hunted, as he backed against the wall. Seeing their comrade skewered, the thugs swept after his murderer.
Coming to the stairs, they saw their sentry, his crimson blood pooling around him. For one of them, it was the last sight he ever saw, as his blood soon mixed with that of his late companion. For the other, a far more fearsome sight awaited. The tremendous image of Dmitri the hunter, doused in the spilled vital fluid of his gang mates. A cry escaped his lips as this stark vision came to life.