An unexpected acquaintance.

Your hand grabs the silver dagger by the handle. You almost started to attack...

However, instead of a monster, your gaze sees only a hunched, gray-haired human old man with a long, completely gray beard.

He coughs.

He is dressed in a very worn fur coat.

There is a knapsack on his back.

"What the hell?! Old man, don't you know that it is mortally dangerous to walk in the forest now?! Are you from the village of Olinsford?" - you say rudely.

"Khh... Khhh... What did you say, boy? Speak louder..." - the old man, as if not realizing the danger, slowly walks between the coniferous trees and for some reason separates small pieces of bark, throwing them into his knapsack.

This meeting is very inopportune...

All this prevents you from continuing your hunt for the monster...

You put the silver dagger back in its sheath and approach the old man.

Losing patience, you shout: "Get out of here, old idiot! It's dangerous here! A werewolf is hunting in these forests!"

The old man squints weakly and continues to do his job, ignoring you.

Indignantly, you approach him closely and grab his hand, intending to **** him to leave this place.

"I am Raul the Wolfkiller! Get out of here immediately!" - you manage to shout before you realize that something is strange about this situation...

Touching the old man's hand allows you to feel that his flesh is very hot...

Atypically powerful blood circulation and hot blood.

A backhand strike!

Your body flies three meters to the side from this blow.

You almost hit your head on a tree trunk.

Pain...

The **** of the blow was so strong that you cannot immediately get up.

A belated realization: the appearance of decrepit old flesh does not correspond at all to the real power of the muscles of this... creature.

A sinister laugh, in which you hear less and less human...

The silhouette of the old man undergoes a rapid, terrifying metamorphosis...

A huge shadow of the monster covers the space between the trees.

Lying in the snow, you frantically try to grab the hilt of your silver dagger.

"Heh... Heh... I always liked a little joke... Old Sigvald likes fun... Heh... Although some might say that I should not play with food... But you are so pathetic and ridiculous, boy... It is much more fun to play with you than with that whiner Durlen. I have many toys... But torturing you was a pleasure... Perhaps this pleasure will be prolonged a little... You are so absorbed in your imaginary status as a hero, you are so funny with your pathetic pathos and pretentiousness... I will torment you for a long time for the glory of the Horned Overlord..." - from the grinning mouth of a huge white-furred werewolf come phrases imbued with sadistic pleasure.

Finally, you overcome the pain and snatch your silver dagger, pointing its tip towards the werewolf.

"Don't come near me, monster!" - you scream.

The silhouette of a huge white-furred werewolf begins to move rapidly with lightning speed.

The speed of his reflexes is simply incredible...

You get to your feet, brandish the silver dagger and try to predict the direction of the enemy's attack.

However (to your surprise) the werewolf was not moving in your direction, but somewhere to the left.

The monster disappeared among the trees.

The next second you heard a deafening crack of breaking wood.

Before you could react, you felt a flash of pain.

Your consciousness fades.

The trunk of the fallen broken tree crushed your body and caused you significant wounds.