Maxine continued her search she was becoming more annoyed with herself. She felt that she should have been able to capture them but she had been too slow. The little girl who distracted her also gave her reason to think. It was odd that a girl of her age would be working alongside such bandits. But even so it was something that she would have to give a little more time thinking about.

Suddenly she heard someone behind her and instinctively she drew her sword and quickly turned around. There she saw her friend Gregory who quickly lifted up his hands, he had also taken a few steps back as he didn't want to be struck. He had seen what happened when she took a swing at someone and he didn't want to experience it first-hand.

"Wow there Maxine it's me," said Gregory. He did have a slightly joking tone in his voice to try and hide his nervousness. He could see her breathing quite heavily. "What's got you into a state like this anyway?"

"I spotted some bandits heading this way," replied Maxine. There was some annoyance in her voice and she tightened her grip on her sword out of frustration. "I was too slow to stop them."

"What they came this way?" He was quite surprised as he had not seen any signs of bandits yet. "Are you sure?"

"Am I the kind of woman who would say things that she wasn't sure of?" She gave him an intimidating look and this made him realise that he had asked her a stupid question. He smiled at her a little in hopes that it would calm her down a little.

"Of course not, we'll search the area and see what we can find."

Working together Maxine and Gregory began to search the alleyways. They didn't think that the bandits had fled out of the town just yet, they were likely still in the area and she was determined to find them. But as they continued to search they couldn't find anything at first, this annoyed her but she tried to remain calm. She had been taught that being annoyed at a situation was never good for getting it resolved.

"I can't find any trace of them," said Gregory who walked beside his very tall friend. "You either imagined them or they're long gone. I would go for the latter if I was a betting man." He paused for a moment. "Wait, I am a betting man."

"This doesn't make sense," replied Maxine who didn't respond to the joke. "There's no way they could have disappeared without us noticing."

"Maybe they climbed above our heads." Suddenly they heard something metallic that did not come from their armour. They looked down at Maxine's foot and they saw a metal cover that led down into the tunnels below the town. It was mainly used for waste water and both of the armoured figures looked down at it. "Or most likely they went below us."

Maxine knelt down and with little effort was able to remove the metal cover. It would be difficult for most people to pick up but she did it with ease and placed it to one side. There was something that she immediately noticed, this was the fact that she was too big to get through the hole.

Even if she took off her armour she would still be too large to squeeze through and she was not prepared to leave something so precious behind. It was one of the few times that her size was a hindrance to her job. She could do nothing but look at Gregory who even with his armour could just about slip through.

"Ladies first as they say," said Gregory as he hadn't realised that she couldn't fit through just yet.

"This is one adventure that I'm going to have to step away from," replied Maxine. "Giant women and small manholes don't mix well."

Gregory tried to think of what he could say to try and convince her to go down into the tunnels below but if she was simply too big then there was nothing that could be done about it. It was times like this he wished that his oversized friend was a more average height that she was now.

Slowly he began to make his way down into the tunnels but it was a bit of a squeeze for him as well, his armour made it difficult but eventually he was able to slip his body through to the tunnel below. One immediate problem that he ran into was that it was pitch black in the tunnels. It was so dark that he couldn't even see his hand which was only a few inches away from his face.

Almost immediately Gregory decided that it was pointless trying to chase the bandits in these conditions so he climbed back up through the manhole. If the bandits travelled down there they would need some kind of source of light. This was something that both armoured figures lacked and thus it would be impossible to follow them in the tunnels.

Instead it was decided that every exit from the tunnels be guarded in case they decided to pop back up. There was another problem though, even with the help of the other knights they didn't have enough bodies to guard each exit. They only had enough for half of them which made the plan relatively ineffective.

Even though they were short on the manpower that they needed the group still guarded whatever manholes that they could find. Maxine was told about one exit that led out of the town, she thought that this was the most likely way that they were getting in and out so easily.

She took it on herself to assign herself this exit. A couple of the other knights protested as they didn't think that she had the skill for such a task. However, none of them were able to show her that she was incorrect in her theory, they were mostly too intimidated by her to stop her from doing what she wanted. One knight in particular thought that it was best to state that she wasn't capable because she was a woman. This was quickly responded by a strike from her thick iron clad hand.

After that no one went against her wishes as each of them stood by their assigned manholes. It was unlikely that they would catch the bandits now but they were still doing as they were told. None of them wanted to say no to her, especially Gregory who had seen the large woman in action.

After a few minutes Maxine reached the exit to the tunnels that was outside of the town. The exit was rather large and a little obvious, she was surprised that this wasn't guarded as well like the main entrance. There was a small amount of water which streamed out of the tunnel and into a small nearby river.

Once again, she placed her helmet back on her head and she truly looked like an intimidating figure. Rather than moving around she stood there still and simply waited, she was feeling tired but she refused to rest. Not until the job was done, only then would she allow herself the luxury of sleep.

"You dumb fucks," said a childish voice. This caught the attention of Maxine but rather than moving she remained where she was and simply listened. The voice was child like and heavily echoed. It was obvious that it was coming from the tunnel ahead. She could also see a small light and this caused her to tighten her grip on her sword. "You had one simple job and you fucked it up!"

"Sorry boss," replied a male voice. It sounded a little funny to heat the voice of a man apologising to someone who acted like a child in this manner. Normally it would be the other way around.

"Do you know what you cost us tonight?" The voice gave a sigh. "Do I have to do all the thinking around here?" She was about to berate again when they suddenly saw Maxine blocking the exit. They stopped dead in their tracks and there was nothing but silence for several moments. They watched as she took a couple of steps toward them and the clanging of her armour could be heard very clearly.

"Stop where you are right now," commanded Maxine in a somewhat intimidating tone. She wanted to make it seem like she was in control of the situation. The truth was that she didn't entirely but it was a good place to start the confrontation.

"You're the big one, aren't you?" replied the Little Girl. Maxine looked at this girl who was barely half her height and looked rather cute. However, the towering knight could see that there was much more too her than she seemed. "I'm not going to beat around the bush here but I'm willing to make you an offer."

"What kind of offer?"

"I've got a nice little business venture going on here and I'm willing to let you be a part of it. A body like yours is too much of a waste to go to something like what you're doing now. Join with me and you'll be rich beyond your wildest desires." It almost seemed funny that such words were coming from such a little girl. Maxine would have chuckled to herself if the situation wasn't so serious.

"So, you're offering me untold wealth for my services?" There seemed to be a tone of curiosity in her voice. The made the Little Girl smile as she thought that she was going to gain another employee of sorts.

"Yes, everything that you want can be yours. All you have to do is join us and you'll get exactly what's coming to you."

"Hmm." A small smile appeared on the face of the extremely tall woman and her decision was made. "Sorry but vast amounts of wealth hold no interest to me, I'm here to do a job and that's what I intend to do. There's nothing that you can say or do that can change my mind. Now come with me." She drew her sword and allowed a moment for them to realise fully what was going to happen. "I will not ask again."

"How predictable." She then looked up at the two men standing beside her. "Go get her boys." The two men stood there with some fear. They didn't want to take the chance of going up against her as they knew that they stood little chance. "You cowards." She then placed a couple of her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly.

No sooner had she done this Maxine felt something strike her back. There was a metallic sound of metal on metal that could be heard for a moment before subsiding. It was enough for her to turn around and look at what had struck her. She realised that it was an arrow but before she could react she felt another similar impact. This time it was on her head, another arrow had struck and if she hadn't been wearing her helmet she would have been killed instantly. She remained standing but she soon realised that these three bandits weren't the only ones that she was dealing with.

"As you see you're not alone here," said the Little Girl. She walked closer to Maxine with some confidence but she made sure to stay out of range of the sword. "I have archers in the trees above us. Your armour might protect you from the arrows but it won't be long until they hit a weak spot. Not every part of your body is so well armoured, even a well-placed arrow is able to fall a giant like you. So, let us be on our way and you can walk away from this situation with your life."

"I could but there's just one problem with your plan," replied Maxine. She took a step forward which caused the little girl and her two colleagues to take a step back. "If that were true I'd be dealing with a flurry of arrows right now. Instead I only have two and from how they struck me I'm guessing they're from the same direction." She took another step and she felt another arrow. This one struck her back but once again her thick armour was more than enough to protect her. Once again to her it felt like it had the same point of origin. "Which means that you're either foolish enough to have all of your archers huddled in the same place or you only have one."

By now the Little Girl and the two Bandits were back in the tunnel and Maxine was entering as well. She had to duck to get it and she couldn't stand up straight. This didn't seem to bother her too much as it added to her intimidation tactic. Plus, she was now out of sight from the archer. Her eyes had adjusted more to the darkness and she could still see, even with the light of the fiery torch that the bandits were using.

"I'm not paying you idiots to stand around, get her!" shouted the Little Girl with an angry voice.

The two Bandits stepped toward Maxine with fear. They knew that they stood little chance against her but the Little Girl was able to run under her long legs and toward the exit. This distracted Maxine but before she could give chance she felt an impact on her legs. The bandits had struck her legs but her armour still protected her.

Before she could chase the girl, Maxine had to deal with these two. She turned back to them and slashed her sword down right in front of them. The strike would be strong enough to slice a man in half if it had struck. She intentionally missed but it was enough to scare them both witless. Before one of them could properly react, he felt her metal fist strike his face with such force that it the momentum lifted off his feet and went flying toward a nearby wall. He struck it hard and was instantly knocked out. He also lost several teeth in the process as well and blood trickled from his mouth.

The second bandit was in absolute fear of this metallic juggernaut. He stepped back and turned to run but he felt a large hand grab the back of his collar. With little effort she lifted him off of his feet and he kicked his legs in a vein attempt to free himself. He felt the back of his neck get grabbed by her and he was brought closer to her. He was lifted to the point where his head was close to her helmet. He was in absolute fear as he knew that she could end his life whenever she saw fit.

"Your leader isn't what I expected," said Maxine. "Who is she?" Her voice sounded more intimidating.

"She's Violet Bucket," replied the Bandit. He was still afraid and it was more than enough to make him talk. "She's not what she seems."

"I can tell that, what exactly is she?"

"I-I don't know. I was only hired today, she said that she could bring me wealth. I've been living on the streets for three years. I just wanted something to go my way."

"You're lying to me."

"No, I'm not. I swear I'm telling you the truth. Please don't hurt me, I never intended to hurt anyone."

Maxine gave a sigh as she knew that she wasn't going to get any answers. Instead she slammed him against the nearby wall and knocked him out. She was annoyed as she knew that the Little Girl would most likely be long gone. Even before she had tried to interrogate the bandit she knew that her enemy would have gotten away.

Instead of giving chase she picked up the two unconscious bandits and walked out of the tunnel. She expected to have another arrow fired at her but nothing happened this time. It seemed like the archer had also fled with the Little Girl and this was a small relief. She didn't want to admit to herself that although she was fully armoured that she was still somewhat vulnerable.

There would be a small reward for the bandits that she was bringing in but she knew that there would have been more money if she had been able to catch the Little Girl as well. It seemed funny that someone who looked so young was actually in charge. Her speaking and mannerism were much like an adult. It sent a shiver down her very long spine as she thought that someone like her was in charge of a group of bandits.

For now, there wasn't much that she could do and she picked up the two unconscious bandits and began to take them back to Teasel. They were still completely knocked out and it was unlikely that they would be waking up soon. To Maxine they were dead weight but she still lifted them with little effort. She might not have gotten the big fish just yet but she thought that a small reward would be coming their way for their capture.

As she left the tunnel she did notice that things were a little brighter than they were a few minutes ago. She realised that it was getting closer to dawn and as she yawned fatigue set in. She had been up for close to a full day and even her large body required rest, she knew that she wouldn't be capturing any more bandits that night so she made her way back to Teasel with haste.

Within a few minutes she was back and dropped the two bandits off at a local law enforcement office. Rather than giving her a reward they gave her a slip of paper that she would need to take back to the Mayor. She didn't bother looking at it properly as she simply made her way back to where she had met up with the other knights the night before.

She could see that they were resting and she thought that they had finished their patrols early and had retired here. This annoyed her as she felt that she had put in a lot more effort than they had. But she kept this anger to herself as she saw Charles lying on the hard floor and fast asleep.

One thing that Maxine did wonder would be how the events of that night would have played out if he had been by her side. It was likely that he would have just gotten in the way and she looked at him for a few moments. Rather than waking him up she allowed him to sleep for another half an hour. She passed the time by drinking a little bit of ale that had not been consumed the night before and even eating a small amount of bread.

Eventually she nudged him with her food and this caused him to begin to open his eyes. He yawned and as his vision returned he could see Maxine looming over him. At first, he was confused but when he realised who she was he slowly sat up and began to yawn once more. He saw that her arms were crossed and how her red half flowed down her head. It was a sight for him to behold.

"M-Morning ma'am," said Charles. He was sitting up but didn't think that it was the best time to stand up just yet. "How was last night?"

"It had its ups and downs," replied Maxine. "But I have some tasks for you while I'm resting. My armour has become dirty thanks to my efforts last night, you are to clean it and sharpen my sword. Also, I have been given this parchment to give to the Mayor for a reward." She lowered the parchment to him. He carefully grabbed it and had a quick look at it. "When you receive the reward, I want you to record it down immediately and then give Gregory what we owed him last night."

"As you wish ma'am, but am I allowed to spend a little of the reward on essentials such as food?" He was a little blown back by these tasks that he was given as soon as he woke up but he knew that he should have expected something like that when he became her squire.

"Only if you record it down and keep a good amount of gold left over. Oh, and one more thing, if you disturb my slumber you will feel my full wrath, got it?"

"Crystal clear ma'am."

Maxine began to move herself toward a door that led to a small room. It didn't have that much space for her but it was somewhere where she could sleep without the others seeing her. She left the door open slightly so that air could come back inside and she began to take off her armour and leave them outside for Charles to pick up and clean. When all of this was done she placed her large head on the ground and fairly quickly she fell asleep, she was even more tired than she thought as she was completely knocked out.

This left the somewhat confused Charles to fulfil the duties that she had just set out for him. Although he was still tired he got to work cleaning up her armour. He still had the polish that he had bought previously, with it and an old rag he cleaned up the armour as best as he could. There was some difficulty with him lifting the pieces so that they could be cleaned. A part of him couldn't believe that someone was able move let alone walk around and fight in such heavy armour. This was just another indicator to him about just how strong Maxine actually was.

One thing he did notice were a few small dents in the armour and one in the helmet. One of them he recognised as where she had been struck by an arrow during their arrest of William Bellamy and his gang. He guessed the others came from similar arrows, since one was on the helmet it made him thankful that she was wearing it. She was big and very strong but even he didn't think that she could survive an arrow to the head. It was something that every person would be vulnerable against.

It took Charles almost two hours to fully polish the armour and it tired him out. But when he looked at it the armour looked shiny and clean. He knew that she would be happy with it but he could hear something. To most they would think that a monster was approaching him and that he should find somewhere to hide.

Thankfully this was something that he didn't have to do as this beast was nothing more than Maxine snoring. Charles had been careful not wake her but the truth was that it was unlikely that he could. She was so tired that barely anything could wake her up, she was dreaming as well. Her squire would think that she was dreaming about taking down other knights and achieving honour. Instead she was actually dreaming about a mountain made out of every pie known to man. Not only was she climbing the mountain but eating the pies as well until she eventually reached the top.