Ingrid urged her comrades on. As Silver had thought, she wanted an opportunity for the bed of the stream to start to dry out before she approached the villagers.

"Give them a chance to be scared," the woman had been known to say. Tomorrow she would swoop into the surrounding towns like a Fate offering a miracle. In many places, that was all it took to get the peasants to give whatever they had. Water was what they needed to survive, after all.

For the few places that did not succumb to her pious lies, an outright threat was given. Ingrid was not sure if she enjoyed fooling or scaring the villagers more. Either way, by day after tomorrow, the bandit would be all set and could find a place to hole up and relax for a while.

They had gotten very good at this scheme and with only a day or two of work, they could make out with enough loot and tribute to last them at least a month. Now, in order to expedite the work, Ingrid was hoisting a large stone into place about halfway across the stream. With a great splash, the small boulder landed in its desired location. Ingrid seemed oblivious to the icy water that now dripped from dress.

Her muscular arms came to rest on her hips as she surveyed their progress. Pursing her lips, the boss realized they were nearly out of stone. While the location she had chosen was perfect, the materials that it provided were less than ideal. The water here was close to the surface, which had created a beautiful silt, but not many stones. The soft earth which prevented digging deep wells was the same earth preventing her from finishing her dam. Ingrid needed wood.

The leader had sent three of her men into the forest to cut down some saplings to finish the job, but that had been hours ago.

"Those three dimwits can't do anything right." She muttered to herself. "Probably off drinking while the rest of us work. Barney!" she called loudly. "You and Kelsey head up and check on our fearless woodcutters. They seem to have gotten lost." There was not much use to keeping everyone here when they had nothing left to do. Perhaps the five of them could carry enough timber to finish the job.

"Yes, boss!" Barney called back. He and a woman from the group peeled off and headed into the wood. Ingrid heaved a sigh. She motioned to the man near her.

"Check the ropes on the temporary dam. If it gives now, our progress may be washed out. The rest of you come take a rest," Ingrid ordered.

While one of the gang members went slightly up river, the final three bandits waded to the bank and sprawled out on the grass. They had no care for anything but basking in the sun that filtered through the trees to dry out their clothes.

Ingrid, on the other hand, found a spot rest with a good vantage point. Sitting up straight, she scanned the trees. No one knew the bandits were there, but you could never be too careful. Fortune favored the vigilant. Slowly her diligence waned and she leaned up against the nearest oak waiting for the others to return.

Silver crouched completely still in the brush close by. He watched as Ethyn picked his way through the trees a little back from the stream and circled around toward the temporary dam. Although Silver could see Ethyn's movements every so often as he tracked the boy's progress, the party on the shore never glanced in his direction.

'Success has made them comfortable. Too comfortable.' Silver mused. He was glad for the gift. Ethyn was good, but certainly not flawless. Gazing back across the stream, the cloaked figure waited for a signal from Conall and Aiden. He would not act until he was sure they had secured the bandits in the trees. As the element of surprise was the two men's greatest asset, he has no desire to steal it by revealing himself too soon.

After a time, Silver registered a new sound in the wood. Although faint, he could hear the clash of metal that was happening in the far distance. Fortunately, those on the shore seemed not to be able to hear the skirmish happening in the trees. The Guardian felt the urge to help Aiden and Conall, but knew his assistance would likely be too late and hurt their overall cause. After what felt like an eternity, Silver heard one single dove call from the far bank. He relaxed and gave a small smile. It was time. He looked to see if Ethyn was in place, but the boy was far enough off that Silver could see no movement. 'Good.'

Taking a deep breath, Silver swept onto the bank into the unsteady shadows of the late afternoon sun. His movement was intentionally visible, and the effect was immediate. The crew of five audibly gasped, and Ingrid leapt to her feet drawing a knife from her belt.

"It wasn't just a rumor. I told you there were demon beasts in this wood!" One of the men exclaimed excitedly. As he turned tail to run, the person next to him grabbed his arm. The group tenuously held their ground as Silver emerged into the sun. However, his full appearance did not set them at ease.

Ingrid fixed her gaze on the cloaked figure. The void where his face should be was unnerving. But she would not give into her fear. "It is not a demon beast, you fool." She said confidently. "This one here is flesh and blood. If I am not mistaken, this is the Mighty Silver, Guardian and Servant of the Fates?"

Although Ingrid's tone was dripping with sarcasm, the men behind Ingrid were shaken even more than if it had been a ghost. A demon beast was bad enough, but according to their bedtime stories, a Guardian was far worse. They had heard the (possibly inflated) tales, and all of them ended with the bad guy losing. As far as they could see, they were the bad guy in this scenario.

Silver noted their reactions. 'Good. Be afraid.' Finally he spoke, "I see you've heard of me. Surrender now, and I won't loose that demon beast of mine on you. You have all been very naughty, after all." Silver's voice was low and menacing.

Ingrid raised her blade higher and smiled grimly. "You may have them all fooled, but I refuse to be frightened. There is only one of you and ten of us." She motioned toward the wood.

The Guardian laughed until his whole body shook. The gang shot each other nervous glances behind their boss and began to back away upstream. "Your crew up in the trees will not save you. Trust me. Now surrender." A flash of Silver came from beneath the Guardian's hood. 'Try not to enjoy this too much,' he told himself as a smile formed on his lips.

---------------

Conall and Aiden were only two men against three possibly dangerous criminals, but they were not worried about the prospect. The mayor knew no fear for his own safety and Aiden had seen more than one battle as a soldier. Nothing made you more prepared for battle than having already been through the fire. The burly man felt the usual surge of adrenaline as he flexed his hand around his trusty sword.

Though he had never fought alongside Conall, Aiden believed him to be a trustworthy companion. That alone went a long way for them to prepare for the encounter. "Pick them off one by one if we can?" Conall asked.

"Absolutely," Aiden whispered with a glint in his eye.

In the trees, the three loafers were lazily cutting the easiest branches. A thin, muscular man with a mole over one eyebrow threw another branch on the pile that they were collecting. "Surely that is enough," he complained.

"Just a couple more," another man with a finger missing from having been caught stealing from another thief answered. "I want to delay getting back in the water as long as possible."

The third man, who was tall as a small giant, ripped a branch off with his bar hands. "If we wait too long, we will be doing this in the dark. I would rather have the sun to dry me than a fire."

"Good point." The first man nodded as he took an armload of wood to head back. "See you losers later. Don't worry, I won't tell the boss how lazy you've been."

"Get back here and carry more wood!" the man with nine fingers yelled. A muffled cry answered him that he mistook for a laugh. He marched out of the small grove of trees only to find the wood scattered on the ground and his friend missing. "Buster, what are you trying to pull?"

A harsh hit across the back of his head made the world go dark for the second man, and by the time the giant exited with his load, the other two bandits were missing and even more wood was scattered. He got a sinking feeling that the other two were not just being lazy.

He was right. They were not. He was next.