Saria faced her opponent, or in this case, her opponents: A large man, clad head-to-toe in bulky, rusted iron armor, and also wielded a warhammer. He was a full head taller than Saria was, and from the looks of him, he was quite the brute. His companion seemed the complete opposite. 

She was a girl, who seemed much more quick and fleet than he was. Instead of armor, she wore a set of silky, flowing robes that danced in the wind with every step she took. She carried in her hands a bow, and along her waist a pair of knives hung lazily.

“Ah, the Blood Devil herself. Allow me to introduce my partner and I. Sir Gerrick is my name, and she is Nil.” The man’s voice, through his domed helmet, was muffled and sounded quite silly. It was as if he was trying to speak while gagged.

“My, you have been causing quite the trouble lately. Responsible for over fifty murders across the countryside, I couldn’t believe it when I saw the flier. But as I look at you now, I can see why. I see a deranged, savage animal. And such animals can only be exterminated. Now, before we kill you and take your head back to the guards, care to explain why you would do such a thing? I am quite curious, really.”

Saria unsheathed her sword, its reddish blade glinting an angry crimson. She didn’t care what this fool of a man thought of her duels. They chose to fight her, and she won. Simple as that. Inwardly, she sighed. She had made a mistake coming here. The warriors of these lands were too soft, too fragile and fearful. One scratch, and they ran away. Shameful. The same went with these two. One cut, and they’d likely be off, pissing themselves as they went.

“I dueled them as I duel you now. That is all you need to know.” Gerrick laughed. Nil merely smirked.

“Oh, you think this is a duel? That is where you are wrong, lady. This is a--” Like lightning, Saria lunged forward, swinging her blade. Gerrick raised his warhammer to block, but Saria met it with full force, hitting the wooden grip of the hammer and shattering it through the middle, knocking Gerrick off balance.

“What? You--” Saria followed up with a punch, her armored gauntlet colliding with his helmet, denting it and sending him sprawling to the ground. 

Saria went over to finish the job, but a sudden, burning pain in her side stopped her. She looked down, and saw a dagger jutting out of her side. She looked around, and saw Nil a few paces away, a smirk on her face, preparing to fire an arrow. Saria quickly yanked out the dagger, sending more flashes of pain up her side, and threw it towards Nil. 

She ducked out of the dagger’s way, but the momentary distraction gave her enough time to get close. Saria charged into Nil, throwing her to the ground. Before she could recover, she raised an armored boot, over her head. Saria saw fear in her eyes. Good. 

Without hesitation, she brought her boot down, hearing a satisfying crunch as the woman’s head caved in.

[i]Vermin.[/i] 

She sauntered over to Gerrick, who was just starting to stand up. Before he could, she kicked him in the face, sending him back to the dirt. She flipped her sword over, ready to stab him while he was on the ground. He tried to reach over for his warhammer, or what was left of it, but her foot pinned his arm, restricting movement.

“To be honest, you and your companion fought… horribly. A word of advice, concentrate less on your vocabulary and more on your strikes.” 

“Wh-What happened to Nil? What did you do?” Saria shrugged, and raised her other boot to show him what happened. 

“Gah-- you-- you monster!” He struggled more, but it was of no use. Saria had defeated him, and now he was going to die. But as she raised her sword, she heard something strange. A series of gasps, or choking noises coming from Gerrick. 

[i]Is he… is he crying?[/i] Saria stayed her blade, listening closely. Yes, indeed, he was crying. 

“No… Nil… please… no....” Saria sighed, and jammed the blade through the helmet, into the eye-slit. She felt a spasm, a twitch, then nothing.

[i]You’ll join her in the afterlife, I suppose.[/i] 

She wiped her blade and sheathed it. However, as she began to make her way down the road, she heard footsteps behind her.

[i]Oh, you cannot be serious.[/i]

Again, she unsheathed her sword and spun around, ready to face her opponent. 
“Whoa, Whoa, wait!” Two people, dressed in strange, greenish cloaks stood in front of her. They looked to be a bit older than her, one man, one woman. The man was the one who spoke, and the woman held out a strange metal device in her hand, pointing it at Saria.

“What do you want?” Saria demanded.

“You are Saria Silverlocke, yes?” The man continued, regaining his composure. Saria nodded, though she had no clue of how these strange people knew this. 

“What do you want?” Saria demanded, again.

“We are here to propose to you a tournament.”

[i]A tournament? Interesting.[/i]

“Go on, I’m listening.”

“To keep it simple, if you win, you will be granted a single wish. It may be anything you desire.”

“I desire to fight and die in battle. Can your people accommodate?”

“An… unusual wish, but it can be granted.” 

“Alright, so where do I go?”

“Follow us, please.” The two crossed the road, where the two former bounty hunters lay dead. They ignored the bodies, and stepped into the thick trees. Saria followed them through, keeping her hands on her sword. She still had the sneaking suspicion that this was a trap. 

After a moment, however, the trees cleared, and she was shocked to see a massive, paved courtyard in front of her, which sat in front of a massive, unusual looking building.

[i]What the…[/i] 

Saria turned back around, to see the forest, but it wasn’t there anymore. All she saw was stone.