Meridith at 33 Years Old

The heat of the forge felt good on their bodies. Then Meridith leaped to her feet. She was tall, muscular, and a Dwelf (half Dwarf (on her mother's side, and half Elf (on her father's side)). The bright fire lighting through the window facing the lone street of the Hamlet of Knoll Tree was not normal. The shouting was more than just a fear of a rampant fire. There was trouble.

Her chain armor was too much of a hassle to don in the dim light of the forge fire. Traban threw her a heavy leather work apron. It was sized for his Human body, not her statuesque frame, and so covered only her torso. Though for him it reached to his knees. She grabbed two of the heaviest hammers he used and unbolted the front door.

After the warmth of the blacksmith's workshop and the raging heat of the burning Inn of the Golden Grouse all coolness of the winter night was forced away. Though the tiny village was little more than a Hamlet, The Dwelf thought of them as townspeople. Though there had been negative prejudice, abated by her size and strength, and goodwill. Most had been pleasant to her, allowing her a clean stall in the livery and a mattress brought from the Inn at half cost.

Traban the Strong, Human blacksmith had been a welcome distraction in her stopover. Though he was shorter than her by more than three feet he was not intimidated by her stature and had a pleasant smile and demeanor. He followed her to the street.

An Elf with dark green, coily hair and metallic, bronze skin that shone bright in the firelight had a handsome Human teenage lad subdued with a short knife at his throat. Two Elf women bore cudgels and kept the peacekeeper at bay.

Meridith believed immediately that the hale looking trio had been voted out of one or two communities for not providing their fair share, or other atrocities. Some Elfs turned to brigandage to make their way in life. Kidnapping for ransom, or pleasure was not unheard of in any of the sentient species, but to think of her father's people being this despicable drew bile to her throat. The leader sneered.

The two female Elfs stood guard in front of their leader. Maybe they had become some sort of mutated blended family, maybe he was charismatic, maybe they were just dumb enough to just do what he said. A human woman laid on her side in the dirt before them, possibly the boy's mother. He was crying.

The Dwelf stopped Traban from rushing in. Turning her head to talk to him over the roar of the conflagration, she gave him an order. Then yelling, told him to help the townspeople hurrying to create a bucket brigade to save the adjoining buildings. He sprinted off into the shadows.

Meridith approached the Elf thugs. They appeared to be sisters. Their coily hair was pale yellow, though flaming in the firelight, and each had dazzling, copper metallic skin. One cudgel glistened wetly. The Dwelf lifted her hammers. She held them close to the iron heads; the better to punch with.

The women wearing boiled cuirass armor on their torso were slightly better protected than she, but the hammers would hurt if used effectively. Meridith approached with disdain written plain on her face. "This is your last warning! Leave now." The women grinned evilly. Either masochists or sadists they relished a fight that was two on one, even with a full grown Dwelf.
The bandit leader still held his knife to the boy's throat, and watched his underlings begin their defense of him. The Dwelf could be a problem if she succeeded.

Meridith closed on the two, wary of the first attack. Typical of most Elfs they would be agile, and dexterous. Speed would be their greatest asset. The Dwelf thought her brute strength could overwhelm them. She thrust out such a striking snake with both hammer heads. Her dexterity was equal to theirs, and the blows would have crippled them if they had hit. They had dodged expertly

As the muscular Dwelf overextended her trusts the cudgels landed squarely on her back as her head shot past. She had learned from experience that unlike the pliable fibrous bones of a full blood Elf she had inherited the stone like bones of her mother. The impact would bruise but did not break her spine as it could have if she had been Human. Falling forward she twisted to land on her aching back.

In a prone position she was as vulnerable as a tortoise. Yet she still had her hammers. She threw them at unprotected knees; one each of the females. Whether by luck or grace of the Goddess Jordan the Protector the iron squares impacted and snapped the joints. Both Elf women fell to the ground shrieking and dropped their cudgels to grasp at broken kneecaps. Two problems stopped.

In an instant the Dwelf was on her feet and watched as Traban wrestled with the Elf bandit leader and though there was a good two feet difference in height the Human was holding the knife blade from slashing the graceful neck. Meridith lent her vaunted strength to the contest, and grasping the bronze hand in a crushing grip forced the blade away. With a cry the wicked Elf tried to let go of the walnut handle, yet in vain as his fingers bent and then the bones were splintered.

Epilogue:

Though it was a Human-inhabited Hamlet, the townspeople of Knoll Tree were not hateful of the Elfs on principle. Their actions of course were different and before the sun came up it was decided to hang the trio. The bandits were led or carried to the huge oak tree in the meeting square and it was unanimous. Three ropes were looped over the 'long branch' and the three were lifted off the ground till they stopped defecating and struggling. They would harm no one else,

The mother of the teenage boy was cared for by the Witchy Man of the Hamlet, and made a recovery, though she lost quite a lot of hearing on her left side.

Meridith stayed on till her bruises healed and helped with the heavy lifting of the massive tree trunks used as the beams of the new Inn of the Mighty Dwelf.