Smoke rises, the field ablaze, Ruth, pointing her sword at Barbara, waits for her to respond.

“Run, Pepito!” Yells the girl, again.

“We need to put the fire out.” Lupe tells Demitrio. “Maybe the river’s spirit can help.”

“Can you communicate with it?” Asks Demitrio.

“We have to try.”

Demitrio picks Lupe up in his arms, and runs towards the river.

“Damnit, Ruth. You always take things too far.” Mumbles the boy, before making a run for the city.

“Hey! I knew we couldn’t trust you, you little shit!” Yells Barbara at the boy as he disappears into the night, she then turns her attention back to Ruth. “Your stance is shitty. You’re obviously out of your element here. Drop the sword and leave.”

“We’re settling this right now.” Yells the girl, fire cracking behind her.

Barbara looks around, she grabs a broom leaning on the wall, breaking off the brush, she holds onto the handle in her defensive stance.

“You’re bringing a stick to a sword fight? This isn’t going to end well for you.”

Barbara doesn’t respond, they stare each other off, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Tired of waiting, Ruth lunges forward, pointing the tip of the sword right at Barbara, she jabs forward. Barbara easily sidesteps, allowing her momentum to take control, smiling as the girl runs past, leaving her back open. The wood snaps against her flesh, Ruth winces at the pain.

“Told you. You’re out of your element.” Boasts Barbara.

“Shut up, you stupid bitch.”

Ruth repeats her last move, this time, as Barbara steps aside, she swings the sword around, Barbara stops the blade with the stick, the swing too weak, barely chipping at the wood. Ruth backpedals with swift jumps, separating herself from Barbara’s reach.

“I’ll trade you.” Offers Ruth.

“You can barely handle yourself with an actual weapon, now you want to take me on with a stick?”

“Do you want your sword or not?”

Confident that even without the broom handle in her hands she can run circles around this girl, she throws it at Ruth, who catches it in the air. Barbara’s sword lands near her, the tip sticking on the ground, she retrieves it.

“The scabbard too.”

“Hang on a second.” Demands Ruth.

The girl unwraps from her belt a hidden dagger, tearing off a piece of cloth from her sleeve, she ties the blade to the tip of the stick, a makeshift spear now in her hand, she unties the hilt from her waist and throws it at Barbara.

“That’s better. I was always better with a spear than a sword.” She flurries the makeshift spear around, testing its durability.

As Barbara straps her sword hilt around her waist, she observes that the girl’s movements are a lot more fluid with the spear.

“Now, let’s settle this.”

Ruth lunges forward again, ready to sidestep, Barbara wasn’t ready for Ruth to stop just before she reached her sword’s range. Instead, Ruth stabs at Barbara from a safe distance, a flurry of strikes Barbara can barely keep up with. Now the one on the retreating end, Barbara widens the gap between them.

“Not so cocky now, eh?” Taunts the girl.

With the spreading fire nearing the house, Barbara realizes she can’t play a passive role any more. She runs down a list of possible moves in her mind, but unsure of Ruth’s spear fighting style, hesitates once again to make the first move.

“I got what I wanted. There’s no reason to fight, now. Why don’t you fuck off and let me help my friends put this fire out.”

“This isn’t about you getting your sword back, stupid. This is about you getting humbled. Since you first set foot in this town you’ve been fancying yourself as hot shit.” She grips her staff. “I think it’s about time someone taught you a lesson.”

Repeating the same move, she lunges forward. This time, Barbara strafes to the left, but Ruth efficiently changes the direction of her charge. Ruth stabs at her face, the blade nearly missing Barbara’s cheek, with a single fluid movement, Ruth winds the other end of her spear, striking Barbara’s left arm.

Trying to ignore the pain, she swings at the girl, not her best work, but still manages to make Ruth retreat back a little.

Their attention is drawn to the peculiar sight of small water golems, the size of children, about a dozen or so, walking in a single file line, making their way towards the fire. Must be Lupe’s work. The little men made of nothing but water belly flop on the flames, helping to stop the spread of the fire down towards the river, although it continues to spread in every other direction.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Ruth stabs at Barbara’s chest, her moves much more aggressive than before. All Barbara can manage to do is deflect the makeshift spear, but every time she does, Ruth regains control and thrusts another stab at her. Once again on the defensive, Barbara slowly backs away as Ruth continues her onslaught, thinking she’s got an opening, Barbara swings her sword around. Ruth uses her spear to vault over Barbara, landing on her feet behind her, she swings the length of the spear, once again hitting Barbara on her left arm. In a single motion, she draws the spear back and lunges at Barbara’s throat, missing once again as Barbara leaps backwards, holding on to her pain-ridden arm.

Cattle ranchers appear with buckets of water, everyone doing their part to stop the fire.

“Hey, you two, stop fucking around and help us put out the fire.”

“Shut your mouth!” Ruth screams at the man.

Some of the ranchers stare in awe at the little water golems walking towards the flames and throwing themselves at the fire, others, bearing shovels, attempt to smother the fire with dirt. Their efforts do little to stop the spread of the flames.

Her left arm numb, although still responding, and the flames getting nearer to the house by the minute, Barbara knows she has to finish this sooner than later. Closing her eyes she takes a deep breath in, and out, becoming one with her surroundings. She can almost see everything around her through her mind’s eye, the people trying to put the fire out, the small water golems, the wind as it brushes the grass beneath her. Barbara opens her eyes, focused, she lets her left arm hang aside, puts her right foot forward, her quickdra stance.

Almost simultaneously, they both dash towards each other, Ruth’s predictable, yet effective move is eloquently dodged, as if she were dancing, Barbara’s movements seem unreal, unable to keep her eye on the long steel, Ruth can feel the width of the sword gently slide across her belly, the point of the blade barely leaving a scratch. She grits her teeth, insulted that this outsider would take it easy on her.

“What the fuck was that?” Demands Ruth. “You could have killed me.” The realization settling in, Ruth’s face turns pale.

Before Barbara can come up with a witty one-liner, they both jump as the earth beneath them trembles. They both turn around, gawking at a water golem the size of a three storied building approach.

“Ruth!” Yells a voice from the darkness.

Recognizing the voice, Ruth turns in the direction it came from, the same direction the golem is coming from. Just like the smaller golems, the giant belly flops over the flames, big enough to completely put the fire out, the remaining water surges in every direction, leaving a giant puddle in its wake.

“Kelak!” Yells a voice Barbara is familiar with.

Turning to the direction of her name being called out, Barbara has a tough time seeing through the darkness now that the fire is out. She turns to Ruth, expecting for the fight to continue, only to find that the girl has disappeared. Relaxed, now that the fight is over, she puts her sword away, and looks for Demitrio and Lupe.

“Over here.” Calls Demitrio.

Torches begin to light up around them, the cattle ranchers talk amongst themselves about what just happened. Barbara finds Demitrio carrying Lupe.

“Lupe, that was amazing.”

“Keep it down. Not everyone takes well to magic around here.”

They make their way back to the lodge, a crowd gathering around the door, waiting for an explanation. Demitrio puts Lupe down on her feet, she makes her way to the head of the crowd and begins making up an explanation about how she was smoking from her pipe earlier and the wind must have set the field ablaze. The respect the community has for Lupe must be substantial because they accept the explanation, but-

“What about that giant water demon?” Yells out someone in the crowd.

“They don’t know Lupe can do magic?” Whispers Barbara to Demitrio.

“No, and let’s keep it that way.” He responds.

As Barbara’s eyes adjust to the darkness, she sees in the distance, making their way towards the city, three figures, Ruth, Pepito, and another, taller figure, leading them back to the city.