A menagerie of forest animals began to appear from the edge of the clearing. A large buck, with a third of its right antlers broken off, led the pack. It was flanked by two wolves, with a flock of birds roosting on what was left of the antlers.

“Interesting...” Elscer said, drawing his sword fully out of its sheath, holding it in front of him with his single arm.

The wolves split off on either side slowly prowling towards Elscer in semicircles. The buck took a step forward, a collection of the birds taking flight. They flew straight for Elscer, he had scarcely seen such furious fowl.

He made quick work of them with his deft hand, using the palm of his hand to pivot his sword. The momentum of the birds and the blade made it easy for him to dispatch them with little effort. In the blink of an eye, the ground around him was littered with fresh poultry. But, of course, it was never the birds that had worried him.

The wolves were now on either side of him. They were experienced predators; he couldn’t easily get both in view at the same time. The buck continued to stare him down, unmoving. That was what worried him most.

One of the wolves leapt. Lanya, still hiding behind the rubble, screamed “Look out!”

The Ronin, however, was already moving. It would be difficult taking down such a beast with his sword alone, the same problems he encountered with the bear. However, a single opponent is always easy, no matter how large or skilled. Every additional opponent makes the fight exponentially more complicated.

He fell down to his knees, making himself nearly eyelevel with the wolf’s gaping maw as it soared towards him. He brought about his sword, bracing the back of the blade upon his right shoulder. He leaned away from the wolf, using his blade the angle the beast’s momentum over himself. Of course, as it moved along the blade, he began to slice the bottom of its belly. It wasn’t enough to kill it, the hide was too thick. It was still enough to slow the wolf, and to spill some blood on Elscer’s face.

The wolf fell on its side, but quickly found its feet again. Now, the pair were next to each other. The uninjured wolf growled at Elscer, showcasing its teeth. He brought his sword up into a defensive position, following suit with his stance.

Another pair of birds flew towards him, hawks. Once again strange, in these climates they tended to roost closer to the mountains. He didn’t have much time to think about this, however, as their razor claws keened for his throat.

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Elscer turned, slicing both birds out of the air with a single strike. However, this gave the wolves the time they needed to pounce. They both struck towards the Ronin, one going high and the other going low. Elscer moved deftly out of the way, his poncho snapping to catch up with him. As the higher wolf flew past, he swung his katana in a wide arc, cleaving cleanly through the beast’s neck. The body fell to the ground with a solid thump, followed shortly after by a far lighter impact as the head hit the ground.

The other wolf skidded to the ground, still on its feet. Elscer faced it, his back now towards the Buck. Elscer and the wolf faced each other, in a sort of stand-off.

It was strange, he thought. All the animals were focusing on him...

The Ronin’s thoughts distracted him enough that he was a second too late to hear the buck approached from behind him. If he had been paying attention, he could have easily dodged the attack, perhaps even riposted to kill the deer. However, due to his momentary negligence, he was too late.

His only option was to go down to avoid the antlers aiming for his back. It wasn’t a great move, but it would keep him in the fight longer. So, he crouched down, rolling towards the buck, to keep him away from the antlers. This, however, brought him towards the beast’s trampling hooves.

Thankfully, the buck couldn't stop its momentum easily. Though the fore legs struck him squarely in his chest and right shoulder, it wasn’t enough to decommission him. Unfortunately, the deer stopped over him, nearly pinning him in place. The remaining wolf began to prowl towards him.

Lanya’s arms wrapped around the wolf’s neck, the knife Elscer had given her in one hand. She had managed to slink out from the ruins without the wolf noticing, as it was fixated on Elscer. She buried the knife deep in the wolf’s neck, and pulled with all the force she could muster, severing the beast’s throat, and sending it slumping towards the ground.

Elscer sprung on the moment, twisting underneath the buck. He swung his sword towards the deer’s hind legs, cleaving through both of them with a single stroke. As the beast bleated, falling backwards, he swung out from underneath it, striking at the beast’s belly as he went.

The two blows were mortal. The buck’s lifeforce slowly began to drain, slowly slumping over until the breathing stopped.

Elscer leaned back from the buck, now finally dead. Breathing deeply, he sheathed his sword, and turned back towards Lanya. The poor girl was nearly speechless at his display. Elscer simply made eye contact with her and spoke.

“I have other places to be tonight,” he looked towards the carcasses on the ground. “Looks like you’ll have plenty of food for the next while. You probably have too much adrenaline in your system, take the time to butcher the animals, if you know how.” He gave her a sly smile. “Your new knife should work fine.”

Lanya tried to stammer out a sentence, but she was unable.

“Don’t worry. I will be back. I’ll make sure you stay safe,” he looked at the woods around him. “Have the beasts ever attacked you before?”

Lanya simply shook her head, still clutching at the knife Elscer gave her, streaked red with the wolf’s blood.

“Then I think you’ll have nothing to fear.” He looked back down at the carcasses, and then up at the forest. “Strange portents indeed...”