Go hunt that barbarian

What better way to start your career than taking some badass barbarian down? You don't even pause before accepting the quest to hunt 'Hildaran the Plunder'. Before your eyes, the town morphs again, many of the buildings showing signs of disrepair, and even more of them in shambles. The few civilians you can see look haggard and destitute. The myriad soldiers don't look much better.

Even as you wonder just what the hell you've gotten yourself into, a brief history of what happened here injects itself into your field of view. Skimming it, you learn that Hildaran has ravaged this town for more than six months, demanding its' surrender or eventual destruction. The city hasn't been besieged, just raided repeatedly. After every raid, Hildaran retreats back to a mountain stronghold, though no scout has managed to return with its' exact whereabouts. You've been hired to succeed where the military and scouts have failed. The city represents a primary stop on a major trade route along the highway, and cannot be lost at any cost.

Closing the window, you look around the city again, finding the situation to be worse than you though. Hildaran has wrecked entire swathes of the city, leaving smoldering ruins throughout the city. The citizens you can see, for the most part, have their heads down, either sitting listlessly alongside battered buildings, or aimlessly shuffling to and fro. Their clothing has seen vastly better days, as has the armor of the soldiers you see moving along the street. In the distance, a massive mountain looms predominantly over a range of mountains, visible through the hardy forest surrounding this city. That must be where Hildaran's forces are hiding. The air is cool, but not cold, and the air a bit thin. You're definitely not at sea level.

Something catches your attention briefly, a shadowy figure whose eyes glint dangerously from beneath a shabby cloak. A few more figures lurk behind him in the darkened alleyway he stands in. It's obvious he's observing you, and closely, making you glance down self-consciously at your feet, and it hits you. Dressed the way you are, in obviously new and rather revealing leathers, you're making yourself quite the target in this war-ravaged hellhole.

As you watch him out of the corner of your eye, you see him gesture towards you, then raise his hand and beckon to you. What could he want from you? Is it worth risking entering the alleyway where he stands? Or do you just shrug and head off towards your objective? For that matter, you have no idea what exactly you're facing, nor are you exactly well-equipped for an excursion into the mountains. There's no guarantee you will find much in this city, but it never hurts to look.