The aurochs was a terrifying beast. With few natural predators in most forests. A large enough bear or a huge pack of wolves could have threatened it, but even such animals would rather avoid it. The massive horns could easily gouge out an ursine eye, or the creature could simply trample several of the lupines as they tried to surround it. It weighed nearly a ton after all. With enough desperation, a hungry pack or a bear could have gone after the target anyway, but the risk was rarely worth it.

  The only real threat to these oversized cows were monsters. An adult wyvern could kill it with a single snap of its jaws. Though even such behemoths would struggle to lift off in the air with an aurochs in their claws. They had to eat it down on the ground, wherever they found it, which made it less of an appetizing meal for the flyers.

  Ironically, the actual deadliest enemy of these bulls were the humans. The nobility primarily hunted for sport, not food, so they were willing to take extra risks and invest resources into tracking down these bovines. Though people often died or got hurt in the process, with enough force and dedication they could succeed. Over the years, they only got better and more efficient at it.

  Yet Aurochs hadn’t evolved to fear humans. And that was their greatest mistake. They ignored the smell and allowed trackers to approach. They even dug their hooves into the ground as a warning before charging. A smart idea against most other beasts, but such behavior only taught the hunters the exact distance they could safely approach to.

  Yet despite the animal’s bravery and might, when a horde of nearly twenty riders broke through the trees and charged straight at their quarry, it turned and ran. It was powerful and it felt confident, but seeing such a massive group spooked it.

  Varre rode right alongside Rodger. If he had more experience, the monarch would be expected to lead this attack, but in the kingdom of Logres it was normal to defer this privilege to the real experts. The lord had defeated plenty of aurochs over the years and knew exactly what he was doing. He also instinctively understood how to maneuver between the trees and maintain a consistent speed of pursuit. Unlike his struggling guest.

  “Alright, shoot him!” Rodger called out.

  Several of his manservants drew back their bowstrings and unleashed their arrows straight at the target. Shooting from a saddle was a complicated endeavor, so they couldn’t use proper longbows. When used by an enhanced human, those weapons were powerful enough to pierce through plate armor. It wasn’t unheard of killing a rider and his horse with a single hit.

  Their massive size though got in the way. A longbow was almost as tall as the archer himself. While theoretically it could be used sideways, while the horse stood still, during a chase the head would get in the way. Besides, in order to unleash its real power, the user had to plant both of his feet firmly into the ground.

  Instead, the manservants used more maneuverable short bows. They could be used even while charging ahead, though hitting anything was exceptionally difficult. These men were well trained in their jobs and could even enhance themselves to achieve greater strength, but they still struggled to hit anything.

  Regardless, they kept releasing further projectiles. One of them struck true. Then another. Given enough time, the animal could be felled. Though more likely, they’d run out of arrows far before that.

  “Good! Keep shooting!” the lord yelled, “keep it panicking!”

  The aurochs was dangerous. If it chose to stand and fight, it could easily kill a horse and end up trampling over the rider. As long as it continued to flee, the nobles were relatively safe.

  “Now watch this Varre,” Rodger said, as he pulled one of the spears from a long bag attached to his saddle, “here’s where we come in!”

  Though the bovine was surprisingly agile and maneuverable, the lord was able to keep up with him. While holding the spear, he braced himself and stabbed out, aiming right for the bull’s back.

  It squealed, but even that hit wasn’t enough to kill it.

  “Alright! Again!” the lord called out as he drew another lance.

  Over the next few minutes, the hunt’s participants attempted to strike at the animal. Varre went next, though hitting such a quickly moving target proved difficult. He almost slammed into a tree while getting close to it, but eventually managed to get a proper hit in.

  Kerryn went next. Though this wasn’t his first fight against this beast, he had done so with a party of adventurers before, not nobles.

  Etty chose to stay back. This was a little too dangerous for her. Though she rode through the forests often enough to keep up with the others, and in all likelihood was much more skilled than the king, she wasn’t trained in the use of weapons. She couldn’t enhance herself either. The risk of injury was too high, so she enjoyed the thrill of the chase instead.

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  The mages were offered the same opportunity, but they preferred to use their mystical powers. They knew Rodger wouldn’t appreciate that, so they refused. As did all of the Royal Guards. Though many of the knights secretly wished of joining the hunt directly, they knew that this wasn’t their real objective here. They were meant to protect their liege today. They could have fun on their own time.

  Finally, after a good hit from the lord, the beast clearly started to struggle. This was the end. Without its agility, it made for a much easier target. It only took two more attempts to bring it down.

  The aurochs collapsed to the ground with a whine. It was far too wounded to get up again. The hunters surrounded it from all sides, but this time, Rodger ordered everyone to remain mounted. Though it couldn’t run away, the huge horns could still deliver a deadly injury if anyone got too careless.

  The lord looked his monarch up and down and grimaced. “Forgive me your majesty, but this part is a little dangerous. It’s better if I do it. At least the first time.”

  Varre raised his hands defensively. “Go ahead! I don’t mind.”

  Rodger nodded grimly and pulled out another spear from his oversized quiver. Already, there were seven javelins sticking out from the aurochs’ back at different angles. And several more arrows. The next one, would go straight to the neck. The beast put up a good, honorable fight, but it was time to take it out of its misery.

  The lord stretched out his shoulders and took up position. He was going to approach the creature from the front, as tradition dictated. Hitting the target from a side was seen as cowardly, especially at this stage. It deserved one last chance to succeed. The charging knight needed to gauge his speed and distance accurately and ride alongside it. If done correctly, he could stay out of the range of the horns, and strike the beast right into its neck. Killing it with a single blow and saving the skull for a nice trophy.

  It was difficult, but it was a valuable skill for a warrior. A charge such as this one was in many ways similar to charging right at an enemy spearman. It took confidence, skill, and experience. Luckily, Rodger had each in spades.

  Yet something was stopping him from advancing. Right as he was about to spur his horse onwards, he heard a strange sound in the woods. As if somebody was singing.

  This wasn’t the time for distractions though. The lord shook his head, to recover his concentration, rolled his shoulders and fixed the grip on his spear. Everyone was watching him now. He couldn’t look like he was hesitating.

  But the song only got louder. A female voice filled his ears and he struggled to focus his mind on anything else. He looked around, wondering which one of his companions decided to show off their musical skills at a time like this, but everyone else was just as mesmerized.

  All of the Royal Guards relaxed in their saddles and looked around the woods, as if trying to spot the singer too. That was strange. These men were supposed to be the most elite warriors in the kingdom. They should be on the lookout for enemies, or ready to charge and stop the aurochs if it somehow managed to get up again and put its eyes on the monarch. Not sit around enjoying the music.

  Even the mages were affected. The twins were smiling, with blank eyes and gently swaying as they observed the trees around them. Just like the knights. Only Elvira appeared to resist the urge, holding her temples with both hands, but eventually the music got to her too. The same gentle smile fell on her face and she moved in rhythm to the voice.

  The lord looked towards Varre next. His liege was glancing around just like the others. Even the guest of honor was more interested in the sound than this glorious hunt.

  Yet something about him seemed strange. The king wasn’t swaying to the music. He wasn’t smiling. And he appeared to look at the other hunters, not the trees. As if confused.

  The music kept getting louder until a lone woman appeared in the distance. With the dense foliage all around them, she must have remained hidden before, but she couldn’t be more than a couple hundred feet away from the soldiers.

  The mystery finally revealed itself. She was the strange singer and her voice carried between the leaves as she slowly walked towards the group. As if flowing between the bushes and branches. As she passed by the closest riders, her fingers gently caressed the horses’ necks.

  Her image was perfect. She looked like a beautiful nymph, right at home in this wild forest. Now that the source of the music was clear, everyone’s gaze focused on the girl. All of the hunters, the high ranking nobles and councilors, the grizzled warriors, the simple servants, and even the masters of the arcane arts, all of them could do nothing but stare at the beautiful woman as she walked through their formation, uncaring about their status or weapons.

  All except Varre.

  “Who are you?” the king asked her, raising an eyebrow.

  This wasn’t part of the plan. She didn’t look like any normal citizen from Lindridge. Or anywhere in Logres for that matter. She didn’t wear any of the rough spun tunics and patched up dresses common amongst the peasants, not the elegant, ornate vests and gowns of the nobility, not even the practical rugged clothing like some of the craftsmen and lumberjacks.

  Instead, she wore long, flowing robes, that seemed to move on their own around her body. As if swaying in rhythm just like the mesmerized people. They were strangely fine, almost ephemeral, which only added to the strange mystical air around her. She had long flowing golden hair, with pretty flowers tied in between her locks. She had a strangely beautiful face too. Varre could have assumed her to be some kind of a high ranking priestess of a god he was unfamiliar with, until his eyes finally settled on her ears. They were unnaturally long and pointy.

  An elf! he finally realized, we somehow stumbled on an elf in this forest, but what the hell is she doing to my soldiers?!

  He watched as she stumbled upon hearing his voice, taking a little bit of the effect out of her confident entrance. Clearly she wasn’t expecting him to say anything. She was probably more surprised that her magic wasn’t working, than Varre was at her sudden appearance.

  That’s when he finally realized it. Why the hell am I the only one immune to her charms!?