Random Tourist's pov:

"Wait you haven't heard that story? I get that you're new here, but the tale probably has hit the capital by now."

Ever since I was little, I've always dreamed of visiting every region in Esu. Now that I'm an adult, that dream can become a reality. Currently I'm drinking at a slightly rundown bar in a remote village called Charelvilles. Its in the north region in an area fairly close to snakefolk territory so it isn't visited that often. That made it very affordable and with the high cost of travel I couldn't pass up the opportunity for such a cheap trip to the otherwise expensive north region.

"If you visited this town a few months earlier, you probably wouldn't be able to leave. Well leave alive anyway."

What? That's super scary. I guess I'm lucky I had to delay my trip.

"R-really? Why is that?"

"You see for a good six months this town was taken over by an outlaw and his gang. Bastard called himself Henry Blue. Rumor has it that he was quite the successful slayer until his wife died and he turned coo-coo. Built up quite a bit of strength in the slaying profession, he did, and he leveraged that power over this here Charelvilles."

"And the crown was just ok with this?"

The bartender shrugs and answers, 

"Well, I wouldn't say ok, but they weren't burning to help some random backwater town in the north region either. They basically treated Henry Blue and his men like random bandits and put a bounty on their heads. If it lasted more than a year then some nobles might've sent a few men just to save face. Most of the nobles in this region are to busy partying it up in the capital to care for their territory. Unless they start losing tax money to waste, or some other nobles start talking behind their back most nobles in the north wouldn't really care."

"Well that's kinda shitty, but if it wasn't the crown or nobles, who dealt with Henry Blue?"

The bar tender starts smiling as he continues,

"That's where the story gets interesting, lad. You see, one day a stranger wandered into town. They were a beautiful lass with skin dark as night and hair as bright as the sun! I'm talking about the real deal! Her smile alone could get her married into the royal family I say! I should've tried introducing my son to her while she was here."

"Alright Alright, I get it already! She was a real looker, but what did she do."

"Well she was stopped at the gates by the guards. Her beauty wasn't her only conspicuous trait. She rode in on some kind of lizard monster she tamed wearing a full set of black armor and had a huge chunk of iron on her back."

"A lizard monster?"

"Yeah like nothing we've ever seen before. What's left of the  local branch of the monster-slaying guild had no records on anything like it. Some who saw it say the creature ran faster than a horse."

"I highly doubt theres some species of monster the monster-slaying guild has never seen before on Esu. Especially if its been around long enough to be tamed."

"I didn't see it myself but its real I tell you! There's been tons of new lizard monsters popping up in these parts!"

Hmm I suppose there is some plausibility to his claim. The massive thunderstorm about a year ago has heavily altered monster's habitats. Maybe some undiscovered species are just showing themselves due to the environmental change.

"Anyway just continue the story."

"Ah, right! So the lady was stopped at the gate by Henry Blue's men. The girl said right to their face that she was after Henry Blue himself. The guards of course laughed at her ridiculous claim, but that didn't stop her. She proceeded to beat up the guards with her bare hands and entered on her own. People are still looking for those two guards' missing teeth!"

"That must've been real embarrassing."

"Right? Well the stranger strode right into town, and with the loudest voice I've ever heard, shouted out a challenge to Henry Blue. She requested a duel to the death when the sun reached its zenith the next day. There was no way the outlaw didn't hear it holed up in the noble's vacant manner."

"Surely an outlaw wouldn't go about such a duel honorably."

"And you'd be correct. Henry Blue had the inn keeper poison the stranger's food."

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes, lad. However the lass ate it all with a smile and asked for seconds."

"That'd surely be the end of the girl right?!"

The bartender chuckles

"Nope. They ate double the lethal dose and had no ill effects."

Did she use some kind of magic or something? The bar tender continues the story,

"If you thought that was shocking just wait until you here how the duel went."

The bartender clears his throat and changes the way he speaks for the climax of the story.

"As the sun reached its highest height the two strode into the town square. The stranger's supposed poison immunity spooked Henry Blue, but he was confident he could beat the stranger in a match of physical strength. What he and the townsfolk didn't expect was that the big piece of iron the girl carried was actually a weapon. With movement like lightning and a sound like thunder Henry Blue had his head decimated."

"D-decimated?"

"Mhm, he lost a good 4th of his cranium and it took the town about a two days to clean up the brains scattered on the cobble."

"What kinda weapon even does that?"

"That's another part of the mystery. Henry Blue died so quickly that nobody knew what happened. One second he was fine and the next we could all see what was on his mind!"

"That's terrifying!"

"Well, at least it seems that the weapon is in the hands of the good. Just between you and me, I think it's gotta be some kind of magical artifact. The general consensus is that the weapon is ranged although there's some who say it was all the stranger's physical strength."

"C-changing the subject, what did the girl do after dealing with Henry Blue?"

"Well, she left faster than she came in. Didn't even mention her name or pick up the reward! She just vanished into thin air."

"Huh, weird. Got anymore stories barkeep? You're quite good at spinning tales."

"Hahahaha, thanks lad. I used to be a minstrel before settling down here."

The bartender puts on a contemplative face before finally deciding on something.

"Ok how about I tell you the tale about the seven headed lizard monster I spotted in the sky."

"Ok, there's no way that one is real!"