The Beast, the Boast, and the Battle by John Enck

When Falcon and Rebekah travelled south to distance themselves from the trials and tribulations they encountered in the port city of Akonon, they came across a small village being terrorized by a gruesome beast. Curious about the nature of the beast, they visited a tavern for more information. There they found a sword-brandishing woman promising to dispatch the beast on her own. Despite Rebekah’s resistance, Falcon decided he needed to look deeper into the village’s troubles. --- The woman wore leather breeches tucked into tall boots and a leather tunic covering a white silk blouse. Short blonde hair swirled around her head as she danced while swinging a sword above her head. Falcon took the measure of the woman – he guessed she was nearly as tall as him, but her frame was slim, absent of the curves he had come to appreciate in Rebekah. What surprised him most was the ease with which she handled the sword. The dancer and the crowd were engaged in a chant of some sort. The dancer shouted: “The king has sent me…” And the crowd shouted gleefully back: “To kill the beast!” The exchange between the dancer and the crowd repeated over and over. “The king has sent me…” “To kill the beast!”