Black Dog Attack at the Cliff and Sae’s Fall

The Black Dog Attack at the Cliff and Sae’s Fall is a sudden reversal in which Sae’s skill as an archer saves Makokan from the attacking pack, only for her own rescue to become impossible when a beast drives her over the edge. The encounter turns a shared journey into a desperate search, ending not with confirmation of Sae’s fate but with Makokan alone in a snowstorm, unable to find her.

The Ambush

As Makokan and his companions traveled along a narrow trail beside a rock wall, movement appeared above them. A black face emerged from the undergrowth, and then he saw what seemed like countless animals scattered among the bushes, watching with yellow eyes. They were too large to be mountain dogs; they might be wolves. Before Makokan could do more than draw his sword, the black shapes launched themselves down the sheer cliff with startling agility.

The attack’s approach is delivered through Makokan’s physical alarm and partial sight: he senses something before he can identify it, then sees the animals massed overhead. That brief uncertainty gives way to immediate violence. The predators do not approach along the trail but rush down the cliff toward the travelers, turning the rock face above them into the attack’s point of origin.

Sae’s Intervention

One attacker suddenly flipped and fell. Makokan then realized that Sae had jumped from her mount and was firing rapidly from her bow. He could barely follow her movement from quiver to bowstring; each arrow struck a beast in midair, sending it crashing onto the trail or tumbling into the valley. Her accuracy buys Makokan time amid an attack too fast for him to watch closely.

Makokan fought with his sword as the beasts came at him, while the reindeer beneath him pranced in fear and threatened his balance. When he briefly lost focus, one animal lunged for his throat. He raised an arm to protect his neck, but the beast shrieked and wheeled away: Sae was standing with her bow aimed in his direction. Her intervention has a clear cost. To protect Makokan, she has left herself open to the pack.

The Fall

A moment later, a beast pounced on Sae. She staggered beneath its weight, and her foot slipped off the edge of the trail. Makokan leaped from his mount and reached out, but he was too far away to catch her. She fell down the steep incline, striking dry brush as she went; from above, Makokan saw the woman and the beast flung apart, followed by a spray of water. A white speck surfaced briefly and was swept away by the torrent.

The scene does not confirm whether Sae survives. Makokan leans over the cliff and shouts her name until his voice is hoarse, but the wind carries it away into silence. He sees no living beasts left, and the attack itself appears to have ended; neither fact resolves the more urgent uncertainty of Sae’s whereabouts.

The Search in Snow

The reindeer descends the slope by a gentler route, allowing Makokan to reach the riverbank without injury. By then, snow is falling thick and fast. He rides along the bank calling for Sae, but the snowfall blinds him, and he finds no sign of her. He thinks he hears a dog barking downstream; when he looks ahead, he sees only blowing snow.

The search ends at the close of the scene without a recovery or confirmation. The white landscape obscures the riverbank just as the rushing water has carried away the figure Makokan glimpsed. Sae’s fall thus remains unresolved, while Makokan’s survival carries the weight of the debt created by her rescue: she saved him, and he could not reach her in time.