Everyone knew a version of the tale of the man of the mountains. According to the rumor, he is a great swordsman in a class of his own, master of a sword style that allowed its wielder to take on multiple foes at once, minimalist movements, but with precise fury. Every county under the Sun claims that their mountains are the ones where this old sword master resides, there is at least one person in every town who claims to have been trained by this master. Rarely, however, did anyone even get a chance to get a genuine look at the man, much less recognize him as the man of legend.

When the group of bandits woke up that morning, at no point while getting themselves ready for the day, stationining themselves on the only pathway to the reservoir from the north, not one of them expected to bear witness the authentic sword style most of them had heard so many tales and legends about.

The day was going like any other, they had dealt with cattle traders before, always making a huge profit off of them. It was simple, really, kill any mercenaries or guards the cattle farmers might have hired, take a few dozen heads for their own to either sell for themselves or use for food. Today was different, these two giant twins they hired have a short fuse, to add to that, they apparently were accompanied by a young, skilled sword master.

A pin drop could be heard in that silence, everyone was frozen still, the smell of blood mixing with the boiling sand released fumes into the air. A medium height girl, with a slick and obviously sharpened hand-and-a-half sword stood above the smelly mess.

The man that lied before her, cut clean in half, was known as Grime to the group. He wasn’t amongst the original members of the gang, rather someone that joined after the gang had started seeing success in their exploits. Grime was from the same village as the leader of the gang, the currently unconscious pelt clad man, known for being quiet, and keeping to himself. All everyone else knew about the now deceased man was that his aunt, who had raised him his whole life, was either a very close personal friend to the boss, or maybe even a lover.

There he lay dead, at the hands of some cocky child standing above his corpse, her chest held high as if proud of herself. His surviving comrades convinced that this little bitch needed to be taught a lesson, no one messes with the Water Devil Gang.

The twins were quick to react, now each taking on one the bandit in single combat. Two men slowly walk towards Barbara, a defiant look in her eyes. Despite being busy fighting one bandit already, the twin she’s sure shot second grabs one of the men approaching Barbara by the collar, pulling him in to fight them two on one, allowing Barbara to face off in single combat against the man leering at her.

“You’ll die for this, little shit.” He raises his sword, clumsily, charging at Barbara.

The man clearly has no formal training with the sword, he swings his sword down, missing Barbara who took a simple side step out of the way of his slash. He draws the sword from the ground, now swinging erratically, hoping one of these uncoordinated attacks lands a blow. Barbara ducks, dodges, and steps out of the man’s reach, sheathing her sword back into its wooden guard, waiting for the opportune moment to strike him with her sheathed blade.

“Stop fucking with me!” Demands the bandit, still swinging his sword frantically.

He swings wide against the direction his feet are facing, leaving him wide open, with the guard of her sword she smashes the man’s rib cage, a loud crunch sends a shiver down her spine. The wind knocked out of him, he dropped to the floor in silence, arms wrapped around his chest as he struggled to gasp for breath.

The twins continue to clash their swords with the three remaining bandits. The third wheel, like his friends before him, grabs his crossbow hanging on his back. He fastens the bolt into its slot, lifting it, ready to shoot at a weary Barbara. The twin he was fighting catches a glimpse of what he’s trying to do, jumping in front of the bolt as it is released, piercing through his leather padded armor, just above his right pectoral.

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He releases a primal yell, overtaken by the pain, replacing his anguish with ravenous fury, he takes a mighty swing at the thug that just shot him, gashing his stomach, the bandit drops to his knees, holding tight to keep his innards in place. His comrade sees his mate drop to the ground, emboldened by the need to avenge his fallen comrades he lunges at the injured twin, his moves just as sloppy as his peers. The thug and the twins' swords collide, they put their weight into their swords as they test their might, gritting their teeth, beads of sweat drip down their brows, the twin shifts his stance, pushing back with his right hand, he takes a swing with his left, smashing the man’s face hard enough to loosen a few teeth, dropping him to the floor.

The dust settles, leaving Barbara and the twins victorious, all three still standing after the twin Barbara is sure shot first dispatches the man he was fighting. The cows that got a front row view of the action, still a bit restless, try to push against the herd moving in the opposite direction until a soft, strong voice is heard singing a calming melody.

Lupe appears as her flock steps aside to make way for her. Without missing a beat of the song she sings she looks around at the aftermath of the fight that just took place, a hint of sadness in her eyes as she looks around at all the blood that had been spilled.

The man holding his stomach drops to the floor, unconscious, the man that got his ribcage smashed coughs blood as he cries, still kneeling on the floor. Barbara had knocked two out, killed one, her composure calm, she's not proud of herself. A groan is heard as the pelt clad leader of the gang begins to regain consciousness.

“What the hell?” Dazed and confused, he looks around, quickly noticing the numerous pools of blood. Horror seeping into his eyes at the sight of his comrades on the ground. “You bastards!” He screams, quickly getting to his feet, drawing his blade.

Lupe gently walks up to him, her soft, gentle demeanor eases the man a bit, tears streaming down his face, he points his trembling sword at Lupe, preventing her from getting closer.

“You and your friends were fully aware of the risks such a life would entail.” She tries to reason with him. “Honor them by leaving here with your life. We will make sure to give them all a proper burial.”

“We will?” Asks the uninjured twin.

“And we will tend to the wounds of those still alive.” She says, looking around, noticing not all of the bandits lie on top of a pool of their own blood.

As if on cue, the first crossbowman Barbara had knocked out begins to regain consciousness as well.

“Take your friend back to your hideout. Drink the day's ration of grog you surely have stored in some cave around here. By tomorrow morning we will be gone, your fallen comrades buried, and those still clinging on to life with at least a bandage for their wounds.” She bows her head.

The thug hesitates, frustrated, wanting control of the situation. Humbled, the man nodded his head, tears welling up in his eyes.

“What’s going on?” Demands the man regaining consciousness, looking around him, he turns to Barbara. “You. You did this!” The man looks around him, bending over to pick up his crossbow.

“Stop it.” Orders the leader, wiping away tears. “No use in dying here too. Let’s get out of here.” He turns back to Lupe. “If I come back here and don’t find my friends properly buried, I’ll hunt you down,” He looks Barbara, both the twins, and lastly Lupe in the eyes. “I’ll hunt you down to the ends of the earth.”

“Why don’t we just finish this-” The twin with a bolt sticking just below his shoulder stops what he’s about to say, silenced by the look Lupe gives him.

Turning to the bandit, she eases her expression. “Go, now.”

As if rehearsed, the thug leader, and the first bandit Barbara had knocked out, picked their friend, still coughing up blood, to his feet. They walk down the gorge, past their fallen and injured comrades, making their way through the twists and turns until they are no longer able to be seen.

A loud thud is heard, Barbara turns to see the twin that had been shot has fallen to the floor.