The giant of a man swung his fist around as he sensed a presence behind him. Only Aiden's excellent reflexes prevented the blow from connecting with his chest. As it was, the punch knocked the large branch out of the former soldier's hand. Now he would be unable to knock the bandit out quickly.

Aiden took a step backwards, trying to make room to draw his sword.

"Where are the others?" the larger man pulled an ax from his belt and whipped it through the air. Again, the former soldier only barely missed the razor's edge by a hair, nearly losing his head. He ducked and rolled away, giving him the space to unsheathe his own weapon.

"They are safe, and you will be too if you give up." Aiden's sword caught the light, making him look as formidable as he was. The human giant was not deterred. If anything, it made him more determined to win. His lopsided smile was void of humor.

The bandit wielded the ax again, and Aiden redirected it with his blade. The metallic edges glanced off one another, and both bit into the soft dirt. The action had brought the two men uncomfortably close, and Aiden pushed off the large man to make space once again. However, his action was a fraction of a second too late.

Using his head, the giant cracked his skull against his opponent, and all the former soldier could see was stars. In the back of his mind, Aiden heard a grunt that was not his. He waved his fists vigorously trying to defend against the unseen assailant. "Ho! Steady now," a familiar voice calmed him.

When the Aiden's vision finally cleared, he saw that Conall stood over the bandit's motionless body. In the mayor's hand was the original large branch. Somehow he had the strength to knock him out.

"That man is quite a beast, isn't he?!" Conall exclaimed.

"Yeah, and his head is made of stone, " the other man groaned.

The mayor nodded. He had seen the hit, but had not been able to intervene in time. "Good thing he was so focused on you that he did not see me coming. Glad you are alright. Sorry I took so long with the last one."

Aiden held his head in his hands as he stood. "Better late than never. For a second I thought I was going to meet the Maker. Thanks."

The respite was not long as two more figures, the bandits called Barney and Kelsey, came lumbering up on the scene. Seeing the behemoth tied up on the ground, the two criminals pulled out their own swords and scanned the clearing.

The two men of Rynnlee locked eyes and came to a tacit understanding. Conall stepped into view while Aiden slipped behind.

"What happened?" the mayor asked, acting as shocked as the others looked. The bandits were not fooled and pointed their blades at him, closing in slowly. "I am sure we can work this out," the rotund man said as he held up his single blade against their two.

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Barney made an overhand arc which Conall was only barely able to contain with the cross guard of his sword. He bore the full brunt of the blow in his arm with a grunt. His shoulder felt like it was on fire.

"That hurt!" He barked, as if Barney would care. The woman struck at him too, but her swipe was too tentative for the distance she needed to cover. Instead, Kelsey fell too low and made a gash in Conall's leg. "Seriously, now! Was that necessary?"

Barney steadied himself and reeled back to make his final blow on the fat mayor when his blade was intercepted in a spray of sparks.

"That's enough," the former soldier said. The bandit, realizing that this was the more immediate threat, wheeled around and kicked Aiden at the bend of his knee.

Aiden bit his lip, and let his training take over. He fought through the pain and made the automatic motions to disarm his opponent. By the fighting style of the male criminal, he too had seen a battle or two. They locked blades and fought in circles around the clearing without either gaining a clear advantage.

The worst part was that the human giant lay unconscious in the field of battle with his hands cuffed. He might not be able to attack, but constantly having to be mindful of him and trying not to fall was cumbersome. The former soldier stepped on the giant's foot and nearly lost his own footing. That is when Aiden got an idea. With all his might, he forced Barney back into the giant's torso, trying to trip him.

However, the bandit could see the play coming and leapt clear of his comrade's body, his gaze never leaving his opponent. With a small distance between them, Aiden ran at Barney with all his might, using the giant man as a springboard to jump and attack from above.

With his entire body ramming into Barney with a loud thud, Aiden shoved the criminal into a tree. The former soldier hugged the sapling tightly, pressing Barney's neck against the wood in a choke hold. The bandit tried to wriggle free and even hit the back of the man with the hilt of his sword repeatedly, but he could not get a decent angle with his blade. At last the lack of air caused everything to go black and Barney was sent to dreamland. When Aiden finallly released, the bandit crumpled harmlessly to the ground.

Meanwhile, Kelsey and Conall were having their own head to head battle. Perhaps battle was a strong word. The woman was a criminal but not a fighter. However, the idea of being captured had brought out her scrappy nature as she engaged the mayor with all her might.

Conall did not want to fight the young woman and commented as much as he blocked her strikes. "You already hurt my leg; are you trying to hurt my pride? …I do not want to fight you lass…blast it, I said stop!"

Kelsey was strong and determined, but probably half the weight of the mayor. Her swordsmanship was limited to cutting and slashing, so Conall was able to avoid her with minimal difficulty.

Not wanting to engage the little woman, Conall wished that Aiden had taken her on so he would not have had to. The mayor considered himself a gentleman and had no desire to hit a lady. In between her desperate attempts, the portly man glanced over at the other pair. They were truly dueling.

Seeing the raging battle of skill beside him, Conall decided it was time to act and stop dodging. When Kelsey made her next wild thrust, Conall sidestepped, grabbed her arm and yanked her towards him. She collided with his round belly, bounced off and sprawled out on the ground. The mayor held his sword to her neck as she rolled over to stand.

"Stay down," he said. "It is better to live another day. My sword is a lot less soft than my stomach."

Realizing what her limited options, Kelsey submitted to being bound. Just as Conall finished, Aiden defeated his opponent as well.

"I guess you do not need my help after all," the rotund man looked slightly offended.

As Aiden released the unconscious Barney, he leaned against the tree, panting heavily. He pulled up his pants to reveal the dark purple bruise already forming on the side of his knee. "If you want to help, mayor, you can tie up the brute. What was all that business while I was busy fighting?"

"I did not want to fight her, so I danced with her instead," the mayor joked. Kelsey sneered at him, causing the mayor to raise his eyebrows. "I do not think she believes I am a great dance partner. My wife would agree."

Conall shrugged his aching shoulder and examined his bleeding leg. Neither would be fatal. He looked down at poor Barney. The man's face was expressionless as he laid on the ground unconscious. Conall bent down and attached the cuffs, receiving no resistance at all.

The mayor whistled softly. "You did such a good job on this one, I will be shocked if he wakes up by next week! You'll have to teach me that move."

Aiden chuckled. "You may get that chance to try it out sooner than you think. We need to head back to the river. Do you think Silver waited for us?"

"I am sure he waited for us to come, but once we arrive, all bets are off. I hope you still have a little fight left in you," Conall watched as the former soldier regained his strength. The only thing left of the previous skirmish was a slight limp. There would be time for pain and wounds later. Their task was not done.

Gritting his teeth, Aiden gave a wicked grin. "Let's finish this."

Heading back to the river, Conall released a single dove call. The two men watched as Silver stepped out of the shadows. They could already sense the next round of fun about to begin.