Throwing Daggers

"Did you see Din's eyes back in that stadium?"

Mun was caught off guard with the sudden question.

"I could barely see because of our gas. Why?"

"I think he was telling us the truth back there. I remember his eyes being black when we rescued him. I could be wrong since I couldn't get a clear look at his face back then."

"There's no way. You know as much as I do that once someone turns into a Spirit, they can't go back," Mun said as she chuckled.

"Right…" Tal still seemed unconvinced. "But what if…"

"Tal, we'll have to talk about that later."

Noticing her unusually serious tone, Tal faced to where Mun was looking and noticed a wolf hiding next to a tree. It was almost impossible to notice especially because of the cloudy sky, but Mun had spotted it. The only light available was the faint blue light emitting through the clouds.

"What is it doing so far from where we were camping?" Tal asked.

"Do you think it smelled us and followed us?"

Tal inspected around the wolf. He suggested, "Looks like it might be alone. I think we should fight it here."

"Are you crazy?! There's no way we can beat a wolf. Do you know how fast they are? Do you want to die?!"

With a swift movement, Tal pulled out two daggers from within his cloak. He slowly paced forward while holding the dagger close in front of him.

They didn't seem like normal daggers. The handle was too thin to be used in a melee fight. Rather than for gripping, the handle appeared to be used for giving weight to the dagger for throwing.

I had seen some on displays in the armory at the academy, but never saw it used before. It didn't seem like a weapon that knights or guards would use, only thieves or assassins.

Just as I was reminiscing about the past, Tal threw both of his daggers in quick succession. Both daggers pierced the wolf, but the wolf didn't fall down. It immediately went behind the trees for cover.

What an accuracy, I thought. Tal must be an expert in throwing daggers.

It made sense with his physique, I couldn't imagine someone with a small build like Tal to be able to fight using a sword. Especially compared to someone like Din, who was tall and had wide shoulders.

Tal didn't react at all to his amazing throws, but instead focused on the tree that the wolf was hiding behind.

"As long as you keep your distance, you should have the advantage, Tal!" Mun began instructing him. "Whatever you do, don't go near it, okay?! Wolves are really fast so if it gets the jump on you, you might be screwed. You don't even have a sword in the first place so if it gets near you, you might just end up dead! And then I won't be able to help you since I only have a short sword."

She pulled out her sword to demonstrate. "There's no way I can hit a wolf with this without getting bitten first! So be careful out there, okay?! I know you already hit it twice with your daggers, but we don't know how fatal those hits were. For all we know, you probably hit somewhere—"

Tal turned around and yelled at the top of his lung, "What do you think I'm doing?! You don't think I know that by now?! And wherever I hit, it was still bleeding so that means it's weakened! There's no way it can just sprint at me without giving me time to hit it!"

"Look out!"

Right as Tal had turned around, the wolf began sprinting towards Tal at an incredible speed.

Tal pulled two more daggers and threw them at the wolf, but the wolf managed to dodge one of them while the other nearly grazed its ear. The wolf leapt towards Tal as soon as he was within range. Tal fell on his back with the wolf standing over him.

"Shit!" Tal screamed.

The wolf opened its mouth to reveal sharp teeth, ready to sink them inside Tal's skin. Tal held the bottom of the wolf's neck and was pushing with all his strength. The wolf was slowly overpowering him and moved in for the kill. But instead of being pummeled by the wolf, the wolf dropped on top of Tal.

"Oof—!"

The wolf laid motionless on top of Tal.

"Tal, are you okay?"

Mun approached Tal as he laid on the ground with the wolf on top of him. Tal had his eyes closed and was breathing frantically.

"W-what the—?!"

As he opened his eyes, he pushed the wolf to the side, noticing an arrow that had pierced the wolf's eye. Tal then turned around to notice an old man with a crossbow.

"Did I get it?" He asked.

The old man was bald with small bits of hair on the back of his head. He was dressed lightly and had a horrible posture.

Tal nodded multiple times.

"Good, good. I ain't so young no more so I was worried there."

With a giddy laugh, the old man approached Tal and Mun.

"Oh yeah, that one there is a nasty critter. It's been getting me sheep for the last couple of nights. I swear I thought it be the neighbor's dog's fault, but here goes the answer. They normally hunt in packs though. I wonder how it got to be lonesome."

"That was a nice shot, sir."

I told him, but just as I'd expected, he didn't acknowledge my presence at all. I just wanted to confirm it.

"Thanks for rescuing me, kind sir." Tal thanked as he stood up.

"Ah don't mention it. I'm happy to help a youngin' in need of me assistance and now I have me some wolf fur for the winter. By the way, what brings y'all to Teril? We don't get many young visitors here in this village, especially at this time of night."

"It's… a long story." Tal replied with a sigh.

"Well okay then, how 'bout I take y'all to the inn so y'all can rest for the night, that sound good?"

"Yes! An inn!" Mun screamed out in joy.

"Thank you, sir."

The old man grabbed the wolf by its legs and then turned around to lead them to the village, but then stopped after a few steps.

"Ehh… mind if I ask y'all something?"

The two looked at him puzzled.

"Why do y'all smell like shit?"