A/N: Thanks to ShiverInTheLight and Gunlord500 for reviewing! And thanks Gunlord500 for telling me the real name of the village so I could fix it! All of you who read this, thanks for reading! I write for you!

Chapter 2

Rider and Hetha entered the gates of the village of Caldea. Caldea was a small clifftop town, really just a bundle of buildings. Bandits would continuously prey on it through the years. Most recently were the Serpent Gang.

The mercenaries entered an inn in hopes of finding information on the gang's location. Inside were a group of four men gathered around the innkeeper, a cloaked man sitting in the corner, and a pair of children hiding beneath a table.

Each of the men had a tattoo of a slime green snake curling around their right arms, the symbol of the Serpent Gang. A large hairless man was holding the innkeeper up off the ground by his shirt.

"You trying to hold out on us, scum?" he said angrily. "We'll make you regret that!"

"You tell him Shiv!" said one of his companions stupidly.

The newcomers glanced at each other with eyebrows raised. Hetha turned back to face the bandits as she said, "Put the man down and we won't kill you… slowly."

The man known as Shiv turned to face them. When he saw Hetha he grinned wickedly. "Hello there beautiful! Are you here to watch me show this punk a lesson?"

She sighed with exasperation before saying, "I won't repeat myself. I suggest you do as I say before I get angry."

His grin widened, but he put the man down. "Oh come on sweetheart! Why don't you ditch scowls over there and be with a real man!"

She didn't answer him. Instead she said to Rider, "May I, sir? He's being rather rude."

"Sure," he began, "but don't kill him. We don't want to give the children nightmares." He gestured to the pair under the table.

The man began reaching for Hetha. Suddenly she gripped his wrist and twisted his arm painfully. Then she brought her fist down on his elbow, shattering it.

He shrieked in pain while his friends stared in horror and fear. "Any of you want to try hitting on me next?" she asked calmly. As one they shook their heads.

"Y-you're gonna pay for that!" Shiv stammered. "I'll make you wish you had just done what I said!" With that, he and his men sprinted out of the inn.

"Thank you so much!" cried the innkeeper. "You saved my life! If you hurry you may be able to follow them! Please take this as thanks." He reached over the counter and handed them a vulnerary. "I know it's not much but…"

Hetha smiled and accepted the gift. "You don't need to worry. Shadowblade and I can take it from here."

One of the children's eyes widened. "You're Shadowblade? I hear the grown-ups and some of the older kids talking about you all the time!"

Rider sighed. "No, my name's Rider, kid. I don't know what idiot decided to call me Shadowblade, but it isn't my name."

"Okeydokey Shadowblade!" replied the child with a big smile. Rider's scowl deepened.

In all the commotion, no one noticed the cloaked figure slipping through the doors.

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"Boss!" shouted the now broken armed Shiv.

"What's up?" inquired the bandit leader.

"The villagers hired some mercenaries! They're on their way over here!" he replied.

The leader grinned wickedly. "Prepare an ambush! We'll teach those idiots in the village what we do to people who make us angry!"

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The pair rushed after the fleeing bandits. The trail led them threw to narrow valley. Steep rocky cliffs trapped them on the small road from both sides.

They rounded the corner just in time to see twelve archers stand up from the sides of the cliff, and five more bar the path, including Shiv and his men. Rider realized with confusion that the bows weren't pointing towards the mercenaries. Following their gazes he saw that they were all aiming for a cloaked man further down the path.

They didn't even have time to shout a warning before the twang of arrows being released was heard. They prepared to hear the sound of flesh being struck, followed by the figure collapsing to the ground.

Instead, they heard the arrows clatter to the ground. Rider thought for a moment that by some stroke of luck they had all missed. Then he saw the arrows.

Each one was cut perfectly in half by a sword stroke.

There's no way… He didn't even have a sword out a moment ago!

But sure enough, he held a blade loftily in his right hand. For a moment the figure seemed to blur. Then seventeen cries of pain filled the air as every one of the bandits fell to the ground clutching mortal wounds.

The figure turned to face them as he removed the hood of his cloak and sheathed his blade. He appeared to be in his late seventies with grey and white hair and a winkled face. He had kind, calm eyes as he met Rider's. He held his arm in a crooked position against his sword hilt.

"Hello," he said calmly. "My name is Stefan. Lovely weather we're having, yes?"

End of chapter

A/N: well there it is. Don't worry, he won't be that old and pulling off stunts like that easily. I figured since the Branded live long lives I'd make his even longer than most, just to fit the story. As always, please review!