A highway robbery

Deep into the woods, you begin to hear the faint echoes of human voices not your own for the first time. At first your group takes heart; they could do with a little company. But soon you start to hear less welcome noises: shouting, screams, the clanging of metal. You give the order for your men to advance at speed to see what's going on, sending your fleetest men ahead to apprise you of the situation. You're not sure how long you run before your men return, but it only feels like a minute. "It's bandits sire, about a dozen of them! They've attacked a small trade caravan and are slaughtering the whole bunch!" Disturbing news. You and your troops continue at a gallop, weapons drawn.

In no time your group explodes into a small clearing, and it's just as your scouts reported. A handful of wagons line the path, all of which is splashed or soaked in blood. The survivors of the traders are desperately battling a numerically superior band of bandits in ratty clothes and armor. The fighting pauses temporarily as each sides turns to look at the newcomers, wondering which side if any they will support if any. Your men, hand-picked for their experience and skill, quickly identify the threats and begins slashing and stabbing from atop their mounts. The bandits do not have their customary element of surprise, and without it their ragged formation of poorly armed men falls apart. At least half are cut down before the rest start to flee. A small blonde woman in the same tattered rags as her fellows shouts curses at her fleeing comrades. Could this be their commander? You've never heard of a woman leading a party of bandits. That leaves just one more question to be answered. You direct one of your unengaged men to come with you as you draw a small mace from your side. Riding at her as fast as you can in the small area, you swing your mace at her weapon hand. With a sickening crunch you strike true, and she screams in pain as she drops her sword. Your soldier dismounts, tackling the woman as she clutches her broken fingers. Almost effortlessly he ties her wrists together with a length of rope. The battle is over; time to take stock of the situation.

The trader party is nearly wiped out. It wasn't large to begin with; you asked the survivors and they say they had 10 people originally. Now, all that are left are a badly wounded old man who you gather to be the merchant, a hired guard who has taken minimal wounds, and the trader's daughter. Your own men have only two wounded, one severely. None of the bandits who didn't flee have survived except for their commander. You count 9 bandit bodies altogether.