"Your coins?" The barbarian held the four stacked coins between the index and thumb of his left hand, then closed them in his fist and, with his right hand, drew the hammer from his back. The tool was so large it almost reached the ceiling before being pulled forward. "Come and get them!" The rectangular hammer was smooth on one side and pointed on the other.
"No! Fights outside, please, go to..." A fat, rosy woman pulled the innkeeper into the crowd, and the man's voice muffled and faded into acceptance.
For a moment, the tavern was silent. Only the drops falling on the roof broke the silence of the place. The lanterns ceased to sway. Adam felt his head grow lighter and the pain he felt dissipate. "Finally," he thought. A macabre smile crept across his face.
In the blink of an eye, the barbarian spun his body and thrust his hammer towards the boy. It took no more than two strides for the brute to reach him. Adam was even faster. His sword descended until it nearly touched the ground as he leaped forward in a somersault, then he raised the sword and used it to deflect the barbarian's hammer away from his head. The steel passed smoothly, unbalancing the brute, who only regained stability after the pointed end of his hammer struck a man near where Adam was. The sound of wood creaking beneath Adam's feet was quieter than the sound of bones breaking nearby. The man hit by the hammer flew over the crowd, his lifeless body torn and blood spraying in all directions. Some women screamed briefly; everyone seemed to press even tighter, creating space for the fight to continue without further interference. The barbarian stopped beside the door, huffing. Some men advanced on him, trying to exit through the door, while others shattered the colored glass of the windows and unsuccessfully attempted to pass through the steel grates protecting the tavern. A lanky man with a shaved head pushed the barbarian to reach the door. The response came quickly; the barbarian grabbed the man by the neck, lifted him, and threw him back to where he had come from.
"Anyone who leaves here will be a dead man!" The barbarian's voice had become deeper and hoarser, as if he lacked water in his throat.
"Too bad he didn't get his beer," thought Adam. The lad waited patiently with the sword lowered in his right hand. The dark blue had a slight gleam inside, as if magic were trapped there.
With a few quick steps and a shout, the barbarian lunged at the youth again, throwing his hammer over his shoulders and crashing it down onto the boy. But Adam seemed to anticipate that move, the lad bent down and passed under the hammer, raising the sword and slashing through the leather that protected the barbarian at his waist.
"You're lucky to have armor." Adam's attire consisted of pants, a cloth shirt, and a fiber belt, nothing more.
"Aaah!" Without pausing to catch his breath, the giant attacked Adam again, using the same move. The lad raised the sword and deflected the hammer from his body. The barbarian ended up near the door once again.
Adam swiftly moved towards the end of the space cleared by the crowd on the other side, near where he had been sitting just moments before. Suddenly, something crossed his mind. A feeling of anxiety, as if he had remembered he should be somewhere else. The lad stared fixedly into nothingness as he turned his back to his opponent, lost in thought.
"That's enough." Adam gripped his midnight-blue sword with both hands and the blue turned to darkness, a shadow that seemed made of smoky night. The blue gave way to black. The young man turned and hurled the sword across the tavern. The blade spun until it lodged into the barbarian's chest, piercing him. The brute let go of the hammer, which fell with a loud thud. The man's dark skin grew pale. No blood spilled from the gash in his chest. Instead, the veins around the wound dilated, as if the blood were flowing from the man's body to the sword.