He gasps what air he can and dives aside. The cold makes him sluggish.
"...!!!"
It was too close.
His hand goes to his tool belt, searching for the hilts of his daggers. He finds one dagger, but not the second. He must have lost it while evading the attack.
He exhales. This elk is no mere elk. It is the Nhiven, the sacred protector of the Stake, an apex predator of this mountain. Bears and wolves do not compare. Only a Garm might, and a Garm does not usually come this high. It does not need to.
"...this was the one that I was following?"
The Nhiven's eyes are on him. The horizontal slits blink. Its maw hangs half-open, fangs turning it into something far worse than any bear or wolf.
"Shit."
Sol grips his dagger and draws. His eyes flick left, toward where the girl stood.
She is gone.
Of course she is. She must have run the moment she heard the commotion.
He inhales. The air is crisp and burning in his lungs. Survive first. He can find the human sorcerer later.
He blinks. In that split second. Nay, in that split of a split second, the Nhiven's maw is already upon him.
He rolls again, barely evading the massive snap from the Nhiven's maw. The dagger finds no purchase. He aimed for the legs to dissuade pursuit, but this thing is too fast.
Without even a small pause, the Nhiven charges. Sol has not recovered when it closes half the distance.
The impact slams into his chest. The pronged horns drive into him. Two tines stab through his left and right arms. Some stabs him through the stomach.
He coughs blood.
The blow flings him upward. He lands with a heavy thud, even cushioned by the massive amount of snow.
His consciousness fades. His breath turns shallow. He lifts his head. The Nhiven is no longer where it stood.
He searches with his eyes.
He sees no movement.
To his left, heavy steps pound toward him with haste.
This is it.
This is why they sent him west.
Why they pointed him to the ridge.
They wanted the Nhiven to find him. They wanted him to find the Nhiven. They wanted him to die here.
From his left, the Nhiven gores him again and sends him flying.
At this point, he can't really feel any pain anymore.
He knows he can no longer move. His wounds make it difficult for him to move, nimble and dexterous evasions are definitely out of the question.
Then, what's the point of resisting?
Thud.
He lands between two massive rocks. Using everything he got, he tries to slide deeper inside. The crack is smaller than the Nhiven's head. If he dies inside, at least the beast will struggle to eat his carcass.
The Nhiven sees him and rams the rock with brutal force. The vibration sends pain through him like fire.
"I guess that's it."
He smiles painfully. The reality rings clear in his head. This is the end of his short life.
The elk peers through the crack. Green slits weigh whether to dig him out or drop the boulder.
Apparently, it doesn't really care about his carcass. It just wants him dead.
And it wants him dead now.
It shuffles back, horns forward. A full charge that will most likely bring the stone down on him.
Sol looks into its eyes, and it looks into his.
"Do your worst, you oversized deer."
It charges. Sol keeps his eyes open, he does not flinch.
The charge ends midway as a massive white wolf crashes down from the ridge and slams into the black elk.