This is a one shot for now. I may re-work it as part of a long story about all the warden recruits.
When we came into the hamlet it was obvious that something was going on. All of the trees near the Chantry were decorated with garlands and we could just make out the sounds of chanting from inside. Outside, several older folks were making tables out of planks and sawhorses, setting out food and otherwise getting ready for a celebration of some sort.
We could also see a small mercenary band coming in from the other side of the village. The villagers began to move around. Some of the men went inside the Chantry. Others went into the houses. The women went from setting out food and decorating to covering food and putting away breakables.
The leader of the mercenaries said something and the nearest women shrank back.
Tabris said "Oh no they don't!" Then she ran forward. The rest of us followed at a slower pace. I wondered what had her in a state. We could easily handle the mercenaries if we had to and all they were doing so far was low level harassment.
Our elven rogue skidded to a halt in front of the louts.
Her voice came clear over the background noise, the rattle of our equipment, the squeal of Bodahn's oxcart wheels and the mercenaries' noise.
"You need to leave. Now."
"You're telling us to leave?" Their captain seemed bemused by the very idea.
"This is a wedding. You will not ruin it."
"What if we just want to have some fun? What then?"
"If you stay you won't enjoy it. I would hate to stain the grass, but I will if I have to."
Just then one of his men plucked his arm and pointed at us. He looked at us appraisingly, calculated odds and then nodded.
"Alright, if that's what you want. We will leave."
I heard a collective sigh as the villagers all stopped holding their breaths.
The village elder asked us to stay. Once again Tabris spoke for the whole party and declined. This was a day for elven assertiveness, apparently.
Once we had passed through and were out of earshot I asked Tabris "What was all that about?"
"Did you see the tables? Those are poor people. They don't really have enough for themselves. Staying would have been a burden."
"No, I get that. Why did you interfere in the first place?"
She didn't answer for a bit. When she did speak, all she said was "Every woman deserves one beautiful day. I don't know who she was, but she deserved to have her day."
We continued in silence after that.