The adventure

The road to Arnika was dangerous. They encountered a small camp of outcasts and looters, and then some far tougher highwaymen with some brawlers. They could take a fair old beating before crumpling up, and dished it out too. Margreet's flashes and Quentin's terror kept them from outnumbering the group, but the highwaymen were experienced thieves. Karen stood solidly and took the punishment in the leather armour they had scrounged from the monastery, but Shu Ting struggled. As the fight wore on she rapidly became exhausted, and fell over a couple of times. Her two swords were vital to their efforts; Karen alone couldn't take one even three of the highwaymen at once, which were the best odds they could get despite the constant mindless fleeing that the magic caused.
Quentin woke Shu Ting repeatedly with magic smelling salts, giving her a quick boost of energy, but a few punches and she'd be exhausted again, and far more injured than before. Karen turned red as her blood oozed from the many cuts she'd taken and mingled with the splashes that her sword created. Margreet, whose magic was so essential for their protection, began to tire, the fists of the brawlers making heavier contact. They'd killed half the attackers, but there were still many left. A brawler took Shu Ting down and a highwayman stabbed her, and her scream echoed in their ears before it collapsed into a gurgling. Blood trickled from her mouth in bubbles.
An angry Karen killed them both, and Quentin felt in his pocket for the strange powder they'd found before. He muttered as he sprinkled it over Shu Ting'd dead body, and her blood began to disappear, and that last wound closed up.
A very angry, very energetic Shu Ting completed the clean-up operation. The attackers changed their astonished focus to Salvador, who laughed as their quick, accurate punches simply ended in the quilted jacket he'd found. Their focus on him made them even easier targets for the vengeful girls.

The shock of Shu Ting's death made them careful, and they found a crevice in some rocks to camp, as Margreet and Quentin cast their magical healing spells to help them recover. They all slept deeply all afternoon, before wearily trudging to Arnika by the light of the moon.