Several hours later...

Tug gave a warning call seconds before the bandit charged out of the trees and swung his sword at them. Rearing up to avoid the attack, Tug pranced out of the way snorting in anger. Before Will could get in a good shot, the bandit turned and ran down the path toward the bridge across the river.

Clapping his knees into Tug's sides, Will gave chase to the bandit. Shooting in the space of a heart beat, Will hit the bandit in the back with a gray shafted arrow. Will then spotted four more bandits coming out of the trees farther up the path, but before he could shoot them something unexpected happened.

Tug tripped.

Will was thrown into the air and landed on his left shoulder, rolling to the side in an attempt to avoid the shock. Tug screamed as one of the bandits swung his sword at him, keeping him away from Will.

Jumping up, Will avoided a punch from one of the bandits, but felt a knife cut him on his back forearm from the second bandit. Swinging his leg out, Will kicked the second bandits feet from under him then turned and slammed his palm upward into the first bandits jaw sending him sprawling onto the ground.

Will turned and narrowly escaped the death path of the first bandits sword as he came back in another attempt to finish Will off. Getting a shallow cut on his chest, Will pulled out his knives and fought against the next round of blows from the bandit. After fighting for several seconds, Will stepped into his blow and preformed the double knife sword defense, slipping his sax knife blade between his ribs, and a few more seconds, the bandit was dead.

Before the other bandit could come at him, Will had put an arrow through him, sending him dead to the ground.

Gasping for breath, Will slowly turned to face Charles, the leader of the bandits who had stepped out of the trees on the other side of the bridge sword drawn. Charles took a step forward onto the bridge, causing it to sway with his weight.

Will did like-wise, his knives back in his hands, his bow in the dust, for the string had snapped when he had dodged from one of the bandits sword stroke. "You killed my men, now you will pay." without warning Charles leapt forward and attacked Will but he was ready.

For what seemed like years they fought, attack, counter attack, offense, defense, over hand, block, parry, on and on it went

until the sharp sound of rope snapping filled the air.

The partly sawed-through ropes could only hold so much and all the movement was causing them to fray, the bridge was starting to collapse.

Will pushed Charles away and stepped towards the shore, not turning his back, but the bandit leader launched another desperate attack, and by the time Will deflected it, the bridge went tumbling down into the rapidly flowing water.