I don't really like this one as much as the first, but I guess it'll have to do. Read and Review, please! :)
Bulgar
It was about noon in the city of Bulgar, and the streets were alive with noise. The merchants had set up shop on either side of the road and were haggling with their customers. It would have been a typical day in the Sacaean capital except for the three burly men that were harassing a merchant, one holding the round little man off the ground by his collar while the other two helped themselves to his gold storage. They were troublemakers and commonly disliked among the people of Bulgar, but nobody could do anything about them.
Nobody except the petite figure crouched on a rooftop about thirty feet from said point of interest. She had watched the scene with growing distaste and decided that it was high time someone did something about or to these nasty street bullies.
She was very well equipped to accomplish this task. A thin katana-like saber adorned her hip, opposite a quiver filled with thirty razor sharp arrows, the complements to the slender yet sturdy handcrafted combat bow that was slung casually over her right shoulder. Unslinging the bow now, she fitted a grey-shafted arrow to the string with ease, bringing the bow back to full draw. Instinctively, the bow snapped up to firing position and launched the deadly missile on its path. While the first arrow was still on it's way, she drew and fired another, demonstrating her impressive speed. The two arrows struck both their targets dead-on. One man suddenly flung his arms up and fell, and the other slumped to the ground upon impact. The remaining man, panicked at the sight of seeing his companions struck down by a seemingly invisible force, dropped the merchant and turned to run.
"Don't even try." The voice rang from across the square. Turning slowly, the troublemaker was greeted with the sight of a razor-sharp point pointed directly at his chest. The stranger spoke coldly, without wavering or slowly. "First one goes through your leg. Second goes through your heart. In my opinion, I think you should make it easy on yourself and put down your weapon. "
The street bully made three fatal mistakes here. First, he doubted that any archer could actually hit a running target from across a square. Second, he assumed the first two shots had been pure luck, nothing more. And third, he could not believe that a girl could actually beat him in a fight. He charged her, heavy sword raised high above his head. The first arrow hissed through the air on an arcing path, burying itself in his left calf.
"Last warning."
Even though his leg was immobilized with pain, he judged that the odds were still roughly in his favor. The girl brought her bow up to full draw, then tossed it aside in favor of her own sword, flicking the sheath clear of the sharp blade with contemptuous ease, daring the man to attack. He took the bait, charging like a mad bull. Her sword twirled twice before striking a painful gash across his non-sword arm. Blinded by pain, he struck out once, twice with his own sword, but hit nothing but open air. He looked up to see that insufferable girl, smiling at him with mock concern.
"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do to make the pain go away?" she asked sarcastically. "Well, I can think of one method."
The sword caught the sunlight on its blade and flashed on its way downward. The brigand's last thought was wondering how such a little girl could move so fast.
Hanon cast a sideways glance at the brigand she had just dispatched before turning away. While retrieving her bow and her three arrows from the bodies, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Miss?" It was the victimized merchant, a pudgy little man with a round face.
Hanon nodded to acknowledge his presence, then returned to her task of removing her arrows from the corpses.
"I was just wondering if I could do anything to thank you."
Hanon stood, replacing her arrows in her quiver. "You could pretend like I was never here. It'll save me the trouble of avoiding the rest of that nasty crowd." Without even waiting for his response, she turned and walked away, to a small shaggy horse that waited patiently by the city gates. Hanon swung herself into the saddle with practiced ease, and spurred the little pony into a brisk trot. When the merchant was asked about the three dead brigands lying facedown in the street, he could only respond that he had been blessed with divine providence.
Sacae Plains
The little horse trotted along at a brisk pace, carrying its seemingly absentminded rider. In reality, Hanon was scanning the forest growth for signs of brigands set on revenge for their comrades that she had felled. She'd seen three already, but nothing to be worried about quite yet. No, what she was looking for was the huge gang of bandits that would no doubt be closing in on her position even now. Best to get to an open space where her bow could inflict the most damage before they caught up to her. She strung her bow and laid it on her lap within easy reach, with an arrow already on the string.
The bandit leader concealed in the trees was no fool. He had seen the girl and her bow, which she could obviously put to deadly effect, and so stationed a few of his men on the left side of the path, directing them to make themselves obvious. Then, he and his main party had moved along on the right side of the path, unseen, or so he thought, from their dangerous ranged adversary. Suddenly, the air was filled with hissing arrows, striking down his men at a frightening pace. The little horse that the girl rode had nullified the one advantage that he thought they had. Horses weren't supposed to be effective in forests. Yet this one was galloping at a breakneck pace, carrying the girl within easy shooting range. He ducked behind a tree, and instantly, four or five razor sharp arrows slammed into the trunk. An ugly swear word sprung from his mouth. The girl could shoot like the devil and twice as fast.
Hanon sat upon her galloping horse, admiring the results of her shooting. Out of twenty-two fired, seventeen had hit lethal marks. A brigand much larger than the rest was attempting to hide behind a tree half his size. She slung the bow back over her shoulder and drew her sword. The bandit stepped out from his 'hiding place', hefting his massive axe high over his head. Hanon leaped from her horse and rolled into a standing position, twirling her sword in a glittering arc. She ducked the axe swing, and then quickly dived to one side to avoid the murderous reverse cut. The bandit was fast, and much more skillful then the others she had faced. He charged again, this time leaping high in the air to add the force of gravity to the immense force behind his strike. Hanon pretended to stumble in order to goad him into overpowering the finishing blow. The bandit's eyes glinted with triumph as he cocked the axe back and slammed it downward…into nothing. The girl had tricked him! Too late, he tried to reverse the downswing, to no avail. A brief flash of pain in his neck, and then darkness.
I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter, but I think it sets the stage fairly well.
For those of you who want more backstory, I'm going to keep it secretive a little longer. Remember how tight lipped Rath and Shin are? Their ancestor must have passed something down to them.
I'm pondering whether to introduce another of the legends next, or to check up on Roland and Elimine coming to Sacae. Any suggestions?
