The growl faded into the silence of the forest.
Osric didn't move.
Another low sound followed from somewhere to their left.
William slowly straightened, his grip tightening around the handle of his axe.
"Yeah…" he muttered quietly. "They found us."
Osric kept his eyes on the trees ahead.
"There's more than one."
A branch shifted somewhere deeper between the trunks.
Then another.
They were being watched.
Osric turned his head slightly toward William.
"Leave the cart."
William nodded without hesitation.
Carefully, he guided the cart a few steps off the logging path and lowered the handles onto the frozen ground. The wooden wheels rested quietly against the edge of the brush.
The leather tarp and ropes inside barely moved.
Good enough.
Osric stepped away from the cart and drew his sword.
The steel slid from the scabbard with a soft sound.
William rolled his shoulders and lifted his axe while raising his shield.
They moved a few steps farther into the trees.
The path disappeared behind them as branches and thin bushes surrounded the small clearing.
Another growl echoed through the forest.
Closer now.
Osric spoke quietly.
"There should be five or six."
William nodded.
"I see the tracks."
Osric glanced at him briefly.
"We take two first."
William looked at him.
Osric continued calmly.
"One strike each."
William grinned slightly.
"Kill fast."
"Yes."
Osric raised his shield and adjusted his stance.
"After that, we hold."
William's grin faded into focus.
"Defensive?"
Osric nodded.
"They'll charge once they realize we're here."
"So we block the charge and counter."
"Exactly."
William shifted his footing in the snow.
"Sounds simple."
Osric didn't answer.
His eyes moved slowly between the trees.
The forest remained unnaturally still.
Then something moved.
A lean shape stepped out from behind a tree roughly fifteen meters ahead.
Dirty brown fur.
Yellow eyes.
A Feral Dog.
Another appeared to the right.
Then one behind them.
Osric raised his shield slightly.
More shapes moved between the trees.
The pack had already surrounded them.
Osric's voice remained calm.
"Now."
Osric moved first.
He stepped forward before the nearest Feral Dog could react, his boots crunching lightly through the thin layer of snow.
The beast had just begun lowering its body to spring when Osric's sword came down.
The strike was fast.
Clean.
His iron blade split through the dog's skull with a heavy crack and buried itself halfway into the ground beneath it.
The beast collapsed instantly.
Beside him, William charged his own target.
His movement was slightly slower, but the force behind it was tremendous.
The Feral Dog tried to turn away, sensing the attack a moment too late.
William's axe came down in a brutal arc.
The blade smashed through the creature's head with a dull crunch.
The body dropped into the snow without even managing a full yelp.
Two dead.
The remaining Feral Dogs reacted immediately.
Snarls erupted from the trees as the pack lunged forward.
Osric and William stepped back together.
Three quick steps.
Then they stopped side by side.
Both shields came up.
The first dog launched itself straight at Osric.
The impact slammed into his shield with a thud as claws scraped across the iron rim.
Osric didn't retreat.
His stance held firm.
The moment the beast's weight collided with the shield, he turned slightly and drove his sword forward.
The blade punched through the dog's chest and into its heart.
He kicked the corpse away as it collapsed.
To his right, another Feral Dog snapped at William's leg.
William blocked the bite with his shield and immediately brought his axe down.
The heavy blade crushed the animal's skull against the frozen ground.
Two remained.
The last pair circled cautiously now.
Their snarls were lower.
The sudden loss of half their pack had broken their confidence.
One darted forward toward Osric again.
He met it with the shield first.
The animal slammed against the iron face and rebounded slightly.
That was enough.
Osric's sword flashed downward and opened its neck.
Blood spilled across the snow as the body collapsed.
The final Feral Dog hesitated.
Its ears flattened.
It backed away a step.
William snorted.
"Too late."
The animal tried to turn and run.
William closed the distance in two strides.
His axe struck the back of the creature's skull and dropped it instantly.
Silence returned to the forest.
For a few moments, neither of them moved.
Six bodies lay scattered across the snow.
William exhaled.
"Well… that was quick."
Osric wiped the blood from his blade against the fur of one of the corpses before sheathing it.
"Yes."
He glanced briefly at the surrounding trees.
The forest had already begun to sound normal again.
Birds chirped faintly somewhere in the distance.
The fight had lasted less than half a minute.
William looked around at the dead animals and grinned.
"Easy sixty copper."
Osric shook his head slightly.
"Not yet."
He gestured toward the cart waiting beside the path.
"We still have to move them."
William groaned.
"Right."