The sun rested on the horizon, tinting the scattered clouds in hues of red and yellow, letting everyone know that evening had arrived in the little farming village. The fires next to the church had been extinguished and the villagers had gathered their children and barricaded their homes. The village defenders, comprising of Kattalina, the party of adventurers, and a handful of men who felt they could not simply stand by and leave the defence of their village to strangers, had gathered in the centre of the village just in front of the church. A bonfire was lit, and a regular patrol of the area had been organised, ensuring that no one was ever sent out on their own.
"Do we really expect to see those bandits return tonight?" asked one of the villagers, as he returned from his patrol.
"Tell me this, what were they able to make off with last night?" asked Riegert.
"Not much to be honest, maybe a little grain, but Miss Kattalina here did a fantastic job of chasing them off."
"Well, the grain was probably their target to begin with, it's a product that they can easily sell to almost any large city. There's a very good chance that we will be seeing them again."
"Is that why you stationed that big fella out by our barn?" asked another villager.
"Precisely!"
"But then shouldn't we have more people stationed there?" asked Kattalina.
"Bandits don't like being made to look bad. So, even though they will come back for the grain, their first stop will definitely be the village, they've got a score to settle now. Besides, if any of them did choose to go to the barn first, I can assure you that Jackson will make them regret it."
"Great, so are we just supposed to let them take our grain? I mean if it weren't for you passing by when you did, then this village would have been wiped off the map by morning."
"Unfortunately, that happens all the time. That's why it's important for villages like yours to encourage adventurers to make their home in your village. Let them buy a house at a cheap price, or if you have a talented blacksmith who can work on weapons, let them offer their services for free. Do whatever you have to in order to encourage some adventurers to make this place their home. If they are able to make a name for themselves and return here often enough, that will be enough of a deterrent to keep bandits away." Said Fellaroth, causing everyone to silently ponder his words.
"Is this a common practice where you're from?" asked one of the villagers, after a long pause.
"It used to be, a long time ago. I honestly don't understand why the practice has died out."
"What about you lot?" interjected yet another villager, causing Fellaroth to look to Riegert for an answer.
"I'm afraid we can't do that. Jackson, Calvin, and I are from a small village near Brightwatch, so we return there quite regularly."
"Brightwatch, you say? That's a very long way away from here! What brings you all the way out here?"
"We couldn't exactly call ourselves adventurers if we stayed in our backyard now could we?" laughed Riegert.
"No, I suppose not."
The fire continued to crackle long into the night, as the small group of men continued to spend their time talking about topics that seemed to have no other purpose than to help pass the time. Hot beverages were prepared by people in the nearby houses and were brought out to those on guard, and as the night stretched on, they started to question whether they would indeed be seeing the bandits again. Morning was fast approaching, and a handful of the volunteers had long since fallen asleep next to the fire. The people from the nearby houses had all but stopped bringing out hot drinks and all conversation had ended, leaving only Kattalina and the adventurers fully alert and on guard.
"Do you think Jackson will be doing alright out there by himself?" asked Kattalina, breaking a silence that had seemed to have lasted an eternity.
"He'll be just fine; I have no doubt about that!" Answered Fellaroth, standing up from next to the fire and extending his spear to almost his own height. "It looks like our guests have arrived; I think it would be best if we don't take any of their lives here tonight!"
"I see you've done a little remodelling, was this all for us?" a voice from the darkness beyond the village limits spoke so loudly and so fiercely that the tired villagers snapped to attention. "You lot injured my men… I think it's time that we returned the favour."
"Your men wouldn't have been injured if they had just left when they were told to!" exclaimed Kattalina defiantly.
"I take it you're the one that sent my men running for the hills?" asked the aggressive voice of a silhouette that approached the village boundary. The large figure lumbered through the gate and approached the group, stopping just as his scarred features were lit by the dancing fire.
"I am, what's it to you?"
"We could use someone with your skills, why don't you join my crew?"
"I'd rather carve out my own eyes with a splintered wooden spoon!"
"A simple no would have sufficed!" exclaimed Calvin, after having that image implanted in his mind.
"You may just live to experience that!" said the bandit leader as he drew his sword. "Kill them all and burn this village to the ground. I don't want there to be a single building standing when the guards arrive in the morning!" at that, a raucous cheer erupted from the darkness as a hoard of bandits rushed into the village brandishing weapons of every description. The villagers stood around the fire, frozen with fear as they saw this crowd of bloodthirsty bandits charge them with lethal intent, leaving only Kattalina and the adventurers to defend the village.
The wave of advancing bandits was met by Riegert, Calvin, Fellaroth, and Kattalina, who had become an awe-inspiring vision to the villagers who watched on, seeing them beat back attacker after attacker with very little effort. The clash of iron weapons was always and quickly followed by a soft thud, as the adventurers used either the side or back of their weapons to knock out their attackers. Bandits fell in quick succession as the adventurers advanced from the fire, pushing the invaders back and away from the villagers.
Seeing his men fall to mere adventurers so easily enraged the bandit leader, causing him to raise his large greatsword and charge his adversaries. Approaching Riegert, the bandit leader suddenly found that his path had been blocked by a streak of red that he quickly recognised as the short woman who had so openly defied him mere minutes ago. "Come to beg for mercy, have you?" he taunted with a devilish smile.
"Not a chance, I've simply come to put an end to all of this. I'd bet anything that if I were to separate your head from your shoulders, then your men will stop attacking us!"
"I like your thinking, girly, care to test your theory?"
"I thought you'd never ask!" she said, disappearing from view, only to reappear in the air above the bandit leader. She swung her curved sword with all her might, only to be parried at the last possible second, sending her crashing to the ground a few metres away.
"My, you're a fast one, aren't you!" chuckled the bandit leader, looking past his enormous sword that was still next to his head. "But that won't be nearly fast enough to catch me!" he added, suddenly appearing next to Kattalina, and thrusting his sword toward her chest, missing her by a hair's breadth. Kattalina had managed to scatter, just as the gargantuan sword was baring down on her. Barely out of its way and still down on her hands and knees, with one hand on the ground and the other on her sword, she felt a sudden pressure in her gut as the bandit's boot made contact. With a swift kick, the bandit lifted Kattalina from the ground, only to send her crashing back down with a single blow from his large fist. "This head of mine doesn't appear to have moved just yet!" he laughed triumphantly.
"Well, my sword hasn't left my hand yet, so this is far from over!" said Kattalina, managing to slice through his enormous thigh as she darted past him to the right, only to be intercepted by his mammoth sword that was on a perfect path for her head. Staring death in the eyes, Kattalina had no time to react as the massive sword was about to make contact with her skin, she closed her eyes tightly and awaited her end, only to realise that she had been waiting far too long. After another moment's pause, she hesitantly opened her eyes and saw that the colossal sword was still there, inches from her nose, and yet completely motionless. The world had fallen silent and Kattalina dared not look around. She wondered if this might not be the moment before her death and if her brain had somehow extended the moment to allow her to appreciate the folly of having challenged a man who she had known nothing about.
Continuing to contemplate her fate, Kattalina heard the sound of the crackling fire and realised that time had not frozen, she looked up and saw a pole protruding from the bandit's left eye, with blood pouring down his face. She followed the flow of the blood down the pole and saw that it was a long spear that was being wielded by Fellaroth.
"My apologies for interfering with your fight Kattalina, I just couldn't see how you could have escaped that blow!"
"It's quite alright Fell, I'm not so arrogant as to not be able to admit when someone has saved my life. Thank you!" she said, looking back at the sword that was still just inches from her face. Fellaroth then pulled his spear free, allowing the bandit's body to crash to the ground with a thunderous thud. With the cloud of dust rising around the body, the sounds of clashing iron rang out in the village as some of the bandits began to throw down their weapons, while others ran off into the darkness.
"Collect all of their weapons and restrain them, the man we sent to Pivoton should be returning with the town's guards in a few hours, we'll just have to hold them until then." Instructed Riegert.
"What about the ones that ran off?" yelled one of the villagers.
"We can't do anything about that, there are far more of them than there are of us." Answered Calvin.
"You mean to just let them regroup somewhere out there and attack us again after you've left?"
"Their leader is dead, they'll be fighting among themselves for a while, at least until one of them can prove himself to be stronger than the rest, that will likely take some time. Until then, I don't think this village has anything to worry about."
"That is not a satisfactory answer, you have saved this village, that makes you responsible for us!"
"You seem to be mistaken, sir. We are not guards; we are adventurers. If you would like someone to look after you then I would suggest hiring some guards. We will be leaving with the Pivoton guards as soon as they arrive, make no mistake about that. Whatever happens here after that is no longer our concern."
"How dare you threaten to leave our village unprotected after you failed to capture all of the bandits. I will see to it that each of your ranks is lowered, just you wait!"
"That's a fantastic idea!" interrupted an elderly lady from the church doors. "Let's all run off to Pivoton and tell every person we meet about the group of passing adventurers who healed our wounded, helped us barricade our village and then fought off seventy-plus bandits while our people stood by and watched. Let's also be sure to mention that they are also the same group of adventurers who completed our goblin request that we placed with The Guild a few weeks ago. Yes, let's show our thanks by telling everyone how we would like to see them lose ranks for their troubles. I wonder how many adventurers would be willing to assist this village the next time we call for aid?"
"You completed our goblin request? But why didn't you say anything when you arrived here?"
"We were only passing this village to make sure that none of the goblins had escaped us and raided the village again. When we arrived, you were recovering from a bandit attack. You needed our help, not for us to tell you that we had dealt with a problem that at that moment didn't matter to you any longer." Answered Riegert.
"Don't you worry about this fool!" Said the elderly lady, who had by now arrived at the fire. "He is just afraid that's all. We are truly grateful for everything that you have done here and will not soon forget it. I wish there was some way for us to pay you for your efforts, but we spent almost all of the village's money on the request at The Guild."
"You needn't thank us for helping you here tonight, there is no way that we could ever pass a village in need and not lend our aid."
"You're very kind. I tell you what, the son will be rising in a short while, why don't you collect your friend that's out by the barn and we'll have some breakfast made for you to enjoy before you continue your journey!"
"I'm on it!" yelled Calvin, running in the direction of the barn.