The Travels Of Xiang, Episode 12

Xiang watched as a villager opened the door to one of the houses.  "This is what we have available," the villager said.  "As you can see, it's still in good condition.  There was a family staying here...but unfortunately they won't be needing it anymore."

She knew what that meant.  "Oh...is this really okay?"

"If you ask me, it's not enough," the villager said.  "You saved us all from oppression and, quite possibly, brutal deaths.  If you plan on staying a while, please accept it."

Xiang entered and looked around.  From the way things appeared, you'd never know the village had been terrorized for a week by bandits.  The beds were clean.  There wasn't even a sign of a struggle.  This was too good.  "One of the other families could use this."

"We all got together and decided you should have it," the villager said.

Well, she couldn't refuse now.  She turned and bowed.  "I humbly accept.  Thank you."

The villager smiled.  "Okay, I'll leave to you get settled.  You've had a long night, don't be in a rush to help us out."

It really had been a long night.  Hiking to the village, fighting bandits, footing it back to the camp, then marching all the way back to the village with her belongings in tow.  Maybe she would kick up her heels for the night.  She started to thank the villager, but they had already left.

She closed the door, slipped out of her boots, then collapsed on the bed.  Then, she pulled a carrot out of her food bag and stared at the ceiling as she ate, contemplating the day's events.  She whipped out her journal to log everything before she forgot.

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door.  "Come in."  The door opened and in came the boy who lead her to the village.  "Oh.  What brings you here at this time of night?"

"I just wanted to thank you," he said.  "I didn't think anyone could beat all those guys, but you did it.  You saved our village."  He was fidgety, as if he was hiding something.

"Whatever it is, you don't have to be afraid," she said in a comforting tone.  "Just say it."

"I'm sorry," he said.  "It's just that you're so pretty, and strong, and...pretty.  Would you marry me when I grow up?"

She laughed a little.  It was too cute.  "I'm not going to be around that long.  But I'm sure that you when grow up, you'll find a woman as pretty and strong as me.  I have no doubt she will marry you, so make sure you grow up to be nice and strong yourself."

"Okay," he said.  "I'll make sure to grow up nice and strong so I can marry you."  With that, he left.

Almost immediately, there was another knock on the door.  "Come in."

It was the first woman she rescued.  She'd cleaned herself up, but the bruises from the beating she received still showed.  There was a package in her hand.  "If it weren't for you, I'd be...I don't want to think about it.  Anyway, I wanted to thank you formally."  She held out the package.  "It's fish.  The bandits forced me to catch some earlier, but I hid a few from them.  I was going to have them for myself, but I want you to have them instead."

It was almost embarrassing.  "You caught it, so you should eat it."

"But I owe you my life.  It's the least I can do.  Oh...maybe you'd like a fresher catch.  I'll head out right now."

"I'll tell you what," Xiang said.  "We can go out fishing together tomorrow.  We can enjoy each other's company as we stare out at...wherever your fishing spot is."

"Okay," she said, looking at the ground sadly.  Then, she perked up and said, "Your feet must be tired after all that running around.  Maybe you'd like a foot massage."

"My feet are fine," Xiang said.  "Just make sure you're ready to fish tomorrow and you'll have paid me back in full."

After she left, Xiang went back to eat her carrot and writing in her journal.  Once she finished her carrot, she pulled out an apple and ate that.

Then, someone else wrapped on her door.  "Come in."

It was the man who lead the mob.  "How is everything?"

"Just fine.  Everyone is so friendly and inviting."

He nodded.  "Good.  Our previous village elder was killed back the bandits, so I've been made the new elder.  If you need anything, don't be afraid to look me up."  With that, he left.

"What an interesting village."  She wondered what it was like before it had been raided.  She intended to find out, because she would help restore it with her own two hands.

The Travels Of Xiang, Episode 11

Everything had been going so well up until now.  She had saved a several citizens from terrible fates at the hands of the bandits.  She was almost done beating them all.

Now, here she stood, staring down a bandit with a crossbow aimed at her.  She was so close.  Is this where it would end?

"Hands up, you stinking piece of garbage," he growled.

She reluctantly complied.  "You don't want to do this."

"Shut up, garbage!" he barked.  "I don't know who you are, but apparently you're pretty tough."  He gave her a sick smile.  "Ain't bad on the eyes, either.  Not letting that body go to waste.  You'll still be good for a few minutes after you're dead."

She realized he was going to shoot her anyway.  It was all or nothing.  The fate of an entire village rested on her shoulders.  She could let herself be killed here.  She had to close the gap and give him the beating of his life.  She dashed toward him.

He took the shot.

Trying to shatter it with the Burst Fist would be too risky.  It was going too fast and there wasn't enough time to get set, generate the necessary energy, then throw the punch.  It would end with an arrow through her arm...if she was lucky.  No, she had to, "Duck."  She forced herself into a crouching run.

She watched the arrow pass safely over her head.  Then, she hurried in before he could reload and gave him a beating he would never forget.  After tying him up, she headed for the Village Hall, where the bandit leader was holed up.  She needed to use caution, though.  There was still another crossbowman out there somewhere.

Eventually, she did make it to the Village Hall.  She was about to walk up and punch down the door, but the door opened.  She scampered behind the nearest building and observed.

Out came a man with a crossbow, looking confused.  "Is someone out here?"

"What's going on?" a coarse voice asked from inside.

"I thought I heard someone creeping around out here," the crossbowman answered.

"Find whoever it is, but don't kill 'em," the voice inside ordered.  "Bring 'em to me so I can kill 'em.  Stupid villagers are gonna learn not to defy us."

Suddenly, a scream came from the distance and pierced her ears.  It was male.  One of the villagers must have been torturing one of the bandits.

The crossbowman set off running in the direction of the scream.  If he saw any villagers roaming free, it wouldn't be good.  She used the alleyway between buildings to follow him and stay out of sight.

It wasn't long before she heard him say, "Not sure how you managed to pull this off, but the boss is gonna have fun with you."

Xiang peered around the corner and saw him pointing his crossbow at someone she couldn't see yet.  She hurried back around the building, came out from behind him, and sent him flying with a Burst Fist.  With him out of the way, she saw the first woman she saved and a group of kids with sticks, clubs, and rocks had surrounded one of the bandits.  He was naked, badly beaten, and looking quite scared.  She wouldn't stop them.  This was their justice.  "As you were."  She turned away to the sound of the bandit's screams and pleas for mercy.

She saw the bandit leader run back into the Village Hall and close the door.  He must have known there was a beating in his future.  He was probably barricading the right now.  She headed toward the building, but did not punch down the door, for as easy as it would have been.  He was expecting her and would probably have an ambush set up.

She walked around and looked through a window to see him standing on the other side of the door, sword raised over his head and laughing maniacally.  Unfortunately for him, she would be the one getting the drop on him.  She climbed through the window, snuck up behind him, kicked him down, then wrestled his sword away and threw it aside.  She could see the fear in his eyes as he looked up at her.  "What's the matter?  Things didn't go as you planned?"

"Please, let us go," he begged.  "We won't do it no more."

She shook her head.  "I'm not the one who's going to decide your fate."  She opened the door, where they could see the mob still beating the bandit.  The group had gotten noticeably bigger, roughly three times the size it was before.  Apparently, some citizens gathered some courage and decided to join in.  There were even a few men in the group.   She dragged him out by the hair kicking and screaming.  "Hey, everybody!  Look who it is!"

Everyone looked their way.  "Look!  She got him!"

"No!" the bandit leader screamed.  He jerked his head, ripping out his own hair to escape her grip.

She kicked him down, then performed a heel drop on the small of his back, resulting in cracking sounds.

"No," he cried.  "I can't move my legs!  Help!"

She looked down at him coldly.  "You're going to face the people you've wronged.  They will be the judge, jury, and executioner.  They will decide your fate."

One of the men reached her first and offered a handshake.  "We have you to thank, young lady.  If not for you, we all may have eventually been killed.  All that's left now is to deal with these pieces of garbage and start over."

She shook his hand.  "I'm always willing to offer my services to those in need.  If you need help rebuilding, I'd be happy to stay a while."

He shook his head.  "You've already done so much..."

"It wouldn't be a problem," she said.  "I want to do it.  And from my understanding, you're going to need some more able bodies.  I'm volunteering mine.  I simply need to go back to my camp and gather my belongings.  I'll return shortly."

He smile.  "Alright.  We'll get a place ready for you.  Feel free to stay as long as you'd like."  He turned his attention to the bandit.  "And you...you killed our men, beat our children, and raped our women.  We can't in good conscience just let you all go so you can victimize someone else, can we?"

"No!" the bandit begged.  "We promise not to do it no more!  You'll never see us again!  No!"

"It's time for you the learn what happens when you treat people wrong," the man growled.

Xiang walked away to the sound of the bandit's bloodcurdling scream as the mob surrounded him.  He was right about one thing.  They would never be seen again.

The Travels Of Xiang, Episode 10

Xiang and the boy were situated on a hill overlooking the village.  From here, she could see everything.  After an hour of observing, she managed to get an accurate count on the number of bandits.  There were seventeen total, three of them armed with crossbows.

She also good a general idea of their patrol routes and places to hide.  Brute force wouldn't cut it here, especially with those crossbows floating around.  And if she sent people flying with her Burst Fist, that would draw too much attention.  She couldn't beat seventeen armed men in straight combat.  Even if she could, they might start killing villagers to try to get her to give up.  Stealth and intellect would be the key here.

After a few minutes more of observation, she stood.  "Stay here.  If anything happens to me, run."

"This is crazy," the boy said.  "How are you going to beat all those people?"

"Where there's a will, there's a way.  Anyway, remember what I said.  Don't leave this spot unless something happens to me.  And please don't charge in trying to play the hero."  With that, she headed toward the village.

She wouldn't use the main gate at the south.  There were two people there, including a crossbowman.  She would get to them eventually, but she wasn't just going to enter their line of sight and walk up to them.  No, she would hop the wall and enter from the west.  The wall was more like a tall fence, raising to just slightly above her head.  It was just tall enough to keep creatures out, but worthless against human being with even the slightest bit of athleticism.

After climbing, she leapt down and landed behind a house.  She found herself looking through a window to see a terrified family looking at the door.  The son and daughter were clinging to their mother, whose clothes were in tatters.

"Where did those men take daddy?" the daughter asked the mother.  "Is he coming back?"

The mother answered both questions with one answer and a cracking voice.  "I don't know."

Xiang balled up a fist, trying control her anger.  She whispered to herself, "They will pay."  She would make it so with her own two hands.

Before the family could see her, she crept to the edge of the house and peered around the corner.  It was here that saw how bad things really were.  The fly-covered corpses of humans and animals lined the street.  The stench was horrid and her urge to vomit was strong.  She resisted that urge, though, because someone had to be strong for these people.  Seeing as the coast was clear, she headed down the road, sticking close the houses in case she had to get out of sight.

Suddenly, she heard a gruff voice come from one of the houses.  "Take it all off before you end up like your mother and father!  Do it now!"

Xiang ran to the side of the house and peered through a window.  Four people were inside.  There was a bandit and a scared woman about her age.  On the floor, both of her parents lay dead.  The bandit was facing the door, making for a difficult situation.  If she simply burst in, he might take the woman hostage or even panic and kill her.  As much as she hated it, she had to wait for an opening.

"Strip," the bandit barked at the woman.  "Pants first."

Tears in her eyes, the woman did as she was told.

The bandit face broken into a sick, sleazy smile.  "Heh, heh!  Yeah..."

"Please," the woman cried.  "I don't want to do this."

The bandit slapped her down and said, "Shut up and strip unless you want to join your parents in the afterlife."

The woman cried.  "Somebody...help me..."

The bandit mounted her and started beating her.  "What part of what I said don't you understand?  I won't say it again!"

This was Xiang's chance.  The bandit was looking away from the window because he was preoccupied with the woman.  She quietly slipped through the window and kick him in the side of the head, knocking him off the woman.  Before he could respond, she pummeled him unconscious.

"You..." the woman started.

"I'm going to save your village," Xiang said.  "Let's tie him up.  He's all yours after that.  Have fun ."

An evil smile came across the woman's bloody face.  Revenge was coming.  "Thank you.  I'll have plenty of fun with him, heh heh."

After helping her secure the bandit, Xiang peeked out the door, saw it was clear, and continued down the road.  She didn't get far before an old man came tumbling out of a house.  She quickly took cover behind a house and watched.

Two bandits came out of the house and beat and stomped the old man.  "We'll teach you to cheat us," one of the bandits said.  "We'll beat you in the middle of the street and make an example of you to anyone watching."

Xiang found a rock a her feet.  She picked it up, took aim, hurled it, then hurried back behind the house before it made contact.

"Argh!" one of the bandits cried.

"What happened?" the other one asked.

"Someone threw a rock at me."

"Must be one of the kids trying to be a hero."

"I'm gonna find that turd and teach him a lesson."

"Drag him out here so I can get in on the beating, too."

She heard the footsteps getting closer.  Then, just as he appeared, she whipped him behind the house and pummeled him out.

"Hey, what's going on?" the other bandit said.

She heard him running over.  When he rounded the corner, she tackled him and knocked him out with a good pummeling.  She then stripped them and tied them up with their own clothes.

Having finished that, she went to check on the old man.  "Are you okay?" she asked, kneeling at his side.

"No," he answered.  "Those young'uns gave me a good whuppin'.  I can't move my body."

She pointed to the house he'd been ejected from.  "Is that your house?"

A young boy ran out of the house.  "Grandpa!"

She hated to seem cold, but there was still business to take care of.  She couldn't afford to dawdle around.  "Get your grandfather back into the house.  Also, there are some goons tied up around the corner.  Get your mother or father to keep an eye on them."

"Who are you?" the boy asked.

"I'm the one who's going to thrash these bandits and free your village."  With that, she continued down the road.

She stealthily took down bandits when she saw them and tied them up with their own clothes.  She hadn't come across the crossbow users, which was troubling.  But here she stood, hidden around the corner of a house behind the men stationed at the main gate, one of them with crossbow in hand.  She knew what she had to.  That crossbow had to go first.  Beating the other guy would be like stepping on a cockroach after that.

"I gotta take a piss," the crossbowman said.  "I'll be back soon."  He then turned and started heading in her direction.  This would make things easier.  She'd simply drag him around the corner and give him a thrashing.  Then, she could run out and take out the other guy before he had a clue what was going on.

She executed her plan flawlessly, tying them up with their own clothes after the beatings.  "Good.  Only three more left."  As she stood, she saw a bandit roughly twenty feet away with a crossbow pointed right at her.  There was no way she could close the gap before he fired off his shot.

"Hands up," he growled.  "Don't try anything funny."

Uh oh.  Not good.