The flame of a campfire shot flickering, orange light bouncing off the trees and shrubs nearby. A pot of water hung over the fire. An elf stared into it.

In the reflection, between the occasional bubble, sat the figure of a female, brunette elf. Her brown hair was contrasted by her green eyes. Elves were creatures that could live for centuries, thus aging differently than humans. Despite being nearly 100 years old, the elf looked like any late 20 year old human.

The light from the sun had begun to change the sky from black to purple. It was a beautiful sight, the stars slowly disappearing as purple light covered the sky to the East. As the water finished boiling, the elf carefully removed the pot from the fire. After a few minutes, the water had cooled, and the elven woman began to pour the water into a pair of water bladders. 

She carefully rolled up her blanket and put it away in her bag. The sun had finally risen, giving light to the dark forest. Picking up her bag, she exited the clearing she’d made camp in. She walked along a dirt path, surrounded by trees. It was entirely empty, with nothing, human nor animal in sight.

For hours, she walked along the path. The sun rose into the sky, then began waning downwards. An eerie feeling crept up her spine as she approached a patch of the trail, enclosed in shadow. Her resolve wavered. Reaching the darkness, she walked towards it. 

The eerie feeling never left. As she walked in the shade, looking left and right, her pace quickened. 

WHAM

A massive wooden club slammed through the trees to her right. Instinctively, she jumped backwards. The club smashed into the earth in front of her. A figure lumbered out of the woods. In front of her, the shape of a minotaur formed. It wore a giant metal chestplate, and wielded a large wooden club.

It reared its head and glared at her. She reached out her right arm. A staff of light formed in her hand. As it finished, it stopped glowing, appearing as silver. She twirled it, then pointed it at the minotaur.

The Minotaur charged. She pointed her staff towards the minotaur, firing a blast of light toward the minotaur. It took the hit and swung its club down. She dodged left, quickly regaining her balance.

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SLAM

She felt herself being propelled forward. A massive pain shot through her back as she slammed into a tree and fell. Roughly, she rolled to her side and coughed out some blood. Her eyes began to unblur from the shock. Above her stood a second minotaur.

It paced forward. Both creatures loomed over her. Her staff had disappeared, the shock of the blow having depleted her magic power somewhat. The minotaurs conversed in huffs, seemingly trying to make up their mind with what to do with the elf.

An arrow sailed true. It split the air, cruising towards its target. The metal arrowhead pierced the skin of the massive beast’s head. The minotaur yelled in pain, turning towards the direction it came from. The elf looked in the same direction

Standing on the path was a man on horseback. He had dirty blond hair and brown eyes. Atop is head sat a strange looking wide brimmed hat (Similar to that of a Gamblers hat). Along with that he wore a long, black western-style frock coat, black pants, and white button up shirt with suspenders. Aside from that, under his coat was a leather belt. It contained two strange leather sheaths containing two strange magical weapons, several small metal cylinders, and a quiver on his left hip. 

The man drew another arrow and nocked it on his longbow. He slid off the horse and pointed the bow 45 degrees up, then pulled back on the string. Leveling it on the second minotaur's head, he let go of the string.

It careened towards its target, striking it in the neck. The first one to be hit broke off the arrow and charged towards the man. In turn, he quickly pulled out another arrow from his quiver and nocked it. Quickly, he leveled and pulled back, sending another arrow towards its target. This struck the minotaur in its chestplate, bouncing off.

“Damn.” He muttered, setting his bow aside. The minotaur stuck in the neck began to charge with its brother, but collapsed. 

The man readied himself, waiting for the standing minotaur to attack. It did just that. In it’s rage, it put all its might into a massive downwards swing, intending to crust him.

The elf watched as the club went downward, and downward. In the blink of an eye, the man stepped in and to the right, dodging the attack by inches. He quickly rebounded off the ground, grappling up the massive beast. It failed wildly, trying to shake him. The man drew a knife from his beltline, swinging his arm around.

The knife swiftly plunged into the creature's throat. He dragged his knife horizontally across its neck. Blood spewed out, trickling down its neck and chest. With great flourish, the beast fell.

The elven woman watched as he climbed off the dead minotaur, then moved to the other, which was attempting to stand back up and retrieve its weapon. As the man mounted the beast, her eyelids felt heavy. Slowly, she passed out.