Interrogated By My Rescuer

Just shortly after landing to save the day, the wolf lunged forward with bared teeth in full display at the knight, and once close enough, its jaw opened up as the wolf's head tilted simultaneously to grab its opponent's legs. With a brisk side-step, the knight dodged the oncoming, knashing bite.

"Gotcha," the knight said.

The sword arched through the air and came down with a mighty swing at the wolf's exposed neck. This spectacle of a fight finally revealed my savior-knight's face. It was a woman. Not that I was shocked to see a woman in combat or seemingly as a knight, but their cute and elegant face was now engaged in a tense battle. As a matter of fact, she had quite a determined look and didn't seem to break a sweat.

Just as her sword was about to come down for a clean chop, the wolf freakishly panned up to bite down on her sword.

CLANG!

She was stuck. The wolf not only blocked her attack, but also kept her from making the next move as it had her sword in its mouth. This creature was absolutely nuts.

The wolf growled menacingly as it shifted and tugged, trying to pull away the knight's weapon from her. Once it seemed to be going nowhere, the knight's left foot raised and kicked the wolf right in its huge neck.

What was she, crazy? The wolf was ginormous, no way will-

POW!

The large wolf let go of the sword and was sent flying toward the trunk of a tree twenty feet away.

"Holy-"

A delayed sound of a crash finally met my ears after the quick movements. The wolf fell back to the ground with its legs spread out on its side, facing us. The wolf's eyes were white, and its mouth gaped open. It seemed to be the end, but this thing was still kicking, thus the fight was still on.

The knight grabbed her sword from the ground and immediately charged at the wolf's belly. Her speed and movement were unnaturally fast, and I was only now realizing it. Her strength was powerful enough to send this wolf through the air with a mere kick. What kind of muscles was she packing underneath that armour? Still, no matter what, no amount of conceivable muscle power can do something like that.

"HUAGGH!"

The knight roared as she stabbed the wolf's belly and twisted the hilt of the blade, causing the lying wolf to howl in desperation for backup that wasn't there. The knight pulled out her sword, lifted it up with both her hands on each crossguard, and brought it down on the wolf's neck, cutting the howl to silence.

"Wow," I said, taking a deep breath.

The knight wiped her blade with her front garment hanging below her torso armor. Luckily, her cape and garments were red, so there would be no obvious visible stains to fret about.

"You're lucky," she said without looking at me.

"What?"

"You're lucky it was just one and not a pack."

"What was that thing? It's enormous."

The knight began to inspect the dead beast, yet kept her sword in hand rather than sheathing it. "A direwolf. They normally don't hunt this side of the mountain, and most villagers stay clear of this range. So no wonder it took a liking to you."

"I'm just glad you got here in time. Thank you," I replied.

"Where do you come from?" she asked, still focused on the corpse.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't seem to be a local, so what is it, do you come from another region, or kingdom?"

"I'm just a traveler… so, no, I'm not from here."

"What are you doing here, and what caused that fire in the air?"

She must've been referring to the flare I tried to shoot at the wolf a minute ago. It's probably the reason she found me and was able to save me in the nick of time.

"I got lost, and I don't know what you mean about fire," I said.

I didn't want to lie, but something about her tone was hostile, and this started to feel like an interrogation. I now understood that we were in a fantasy world, but how far had this world progressed in terms of technology?

Is there even magic in this world? If so, why would something that looked like a flare trouble her? But if magic isn't commonplace, and technology is still within the medieval era, then a device like a flare gun might put me in hot water. I could be accused of witchcraft and put to death if it came to the worst. The best course of action is to play dumb until I can figure out which time period this world is more aligned with.

The knight asked again, but this time with more weight in her tone, "It was a red flame that flew up into the air and popped. When I traced its origin, I found you here. You must have witnessed what caused it."

"I'm afraid my attention was a bit preoccupied with the wolf trying to eat me," I nervously chuckled.

The knight casually walked over to me and raised her blade towards my head. Her white hair, parted in the middle with subtle curtain bangs, revealed an elegant face that contrasted with her formidable fighting skills. Her piercing ice blue eyes finally met mine, staring down daggers of their own.

"Don't lie to me. Answer truthfully, and this will go over well, traveler. There is a rising number of invaders on the far borders of the kingdom, raiding villages and causing chaos. Disposing of suspicious vagrants such as yourself would not trouble me in the slightest. Last chance, traveler. What was that flame I saw?"

My mind panicked, trying to make a decision quickly on what to say. She was reading right through me, and I didn't want to draw any more suspicion. I took a deep breath and answered, "It was a flare signal. I had a tool that fired a propelling flame of light into the air to call for help."

"How?" she squinted perplexedly.

"I don't know. I bought it from… a merchant far from these lands. It ignites a black powder that catches fire quickly enough to launch projectiles. Like what you saw earlier."

She was dissecting my answer, and began to feel less menacing, but her blade did not lower just yet.

"Where is this tool of yours?" she said

"After using it, I threw it at the wolf in that direction, where I ran from. I don't know exactly where, but feel free to look," I pointed behind her.

"Why lie at first, then?" 

"Anyone would be fearful of telling the truth with a blade being held by an intimidating fighter such as yourself,"

"Quite often, those who withhold the truth have something more to hide- a trait found in criminals," she tilted her head.

"Or overly cautious travelers who don't know the customs of these lands. I promise I'm just a visitor and mean no harm. You can trust me."

With this final plea, the knight lowered her sword and returned it to its scabbard. "All I trust you with is to hopefully not make any trouble."

"Thank you, miss," I sighed with relief.

"'Miss'? That's 'lady' to you, traveler," she corrected.

"Of course, my lady knight," I said earnestly. 

"Well, you certainly don't know the customs of these lands, that's for sure, but I'll leave it at that. Where are you off to now?"

"I'm heading to the village down there," I said.

"Very well. Get there safe and no trouble," she said as she mounted her horse.

"Will do, and thanks again. For saving my life. What you did was nothing short of a miracle, so yeah…"

Right before the knight took off into a gallop with her steed, she nodded at me with sincerity, which so far was the warmest gesture she's made with me. "It's my pleasure. Hup hup, Luna!"

The horse took off back up the trail from which I had come. She probably was going to investigate the flare gun I mentioned. If she did happen to find it, she'd have no use for it. The thought of its design being alien to this time period did worry me, and it would definitely shock her. Regardless, I'll soon be away from this place and will probably never see my savior knight again.

Already, this world was brimming with oddities and mystery. Still, my mind was currently troubled with understanding the movement and strength of that knight. What I had just seen was a feat no regular human back on Earth could do. A prime Arnold Swartznegar with Olympic speed wouldn't have won that fight. She had the strength of ten men combined and moved as fast as a cheetah at full sprint. Was this considered 'normal' in this world, and is it possible for me to achieve it?

Oh, wait, shoot! I should've asked her for a ride to the village.