Scrambling to his feet, Ry'kanos watched in silence as the she elf brought up her bow and loosed an arrow that soon elicited a cry from further in the forest. Nodding in satisfaction, he rose to his full height and gripped his spear tightly. As he did so, he noticed that she traveled with a wolf. He nodded in greeting to the wolf. He had met few elf-kind that had traveled with the wolves of the great wood but it was not unheard of. Rangers of the highest skill would earn the boon of such a companion in times of great need. Well, he supposed now would be the time of great need with his people gone from the earth. He could not recognize the she elf but that was hardly surprising. The Elves of E'saie were spread across the world and, everywhere you went they were fading or being exterminated by the hated humankind. For a moment, Ry'kanos' mind was away as he thought of the great tribes that once existed before the rise of the human nations. None were as hated as the Kaldean Empire though and it was that thought that brought Ry'kanos' mind back to the present.<br/><br/>The enemy had learned and had spread out, taking the time to move slower. Meanwhile, the hounds they had brought with them were loosed to distract the female archer. Five great hounds, nearly the size of the wolf at the she elf's side, came bounding out of the woodwork, their mouths slavering as they caught the scent of elf flesh in abundance, more than what they had promised. As they came charging towards the pair of elves, Ry'kanos stepped forward from the tree he had been leaning against and drove his spear in to the hound on the the furthest left of the she elf. A cry ushered forth from the mouth of the hound as Ry'kanos great strength pinned it to the ground. The other hound next to the pinned one turned from it's trajectory to launch itself at Ry'kanos. Meanwhile, the other three had decided to go for the wolf and she elf, figuring they were the greater of the threats than the slave elf they had been unleashed to capture or kill.<br/><br/>While the hounds kept the elves busy the humans had moved forward. Where once there were ten were now nine and they were armed with spear, axe, and club and wore leather jerkins and a few pieces of mail so as to facilitate movement through the forest. Vicious grins were plastered on their faces as they thought of the horrors they would inflict on the elves, especially the female who had just killed one of their friends with a single arrow.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, Ry'kanos had pulled knife from belt and met the charge of the hound with his feet spread apart and as balanced as he could be. However, the hound was near two hundred pounds of rippling muscle and he still slammed Ry'kanos down with his weight, heavy jaws closing within an inch of Ry'kanos' face. Growling in reply, the elf brought his knife up and slammed it in to the eye of the hound again and again. A deep cry broke from the hound as the knife finally penetrated it's brain. Struggling up, Ry'kanos peered over to see how the she elf had fared against the hounds as he turned to see what the humans were doing.